Chapter 7

{Elara}: „Is that you, Leo?"

{Leo}: „Yes, it seems Adelinde is the last to arrive."

{Elara}: „Wow, to be late, when the carriage is arriving imminently."

{Leo}: „I best go check on her. Maybe she overslept."

{Elara}: „Don't be stupid, she has butlers for that."

{Leo}: „Haha true, I seem to still be a bit tired. Anyway, what made you actually join the coronation?"

{Elara}: „I think it's unfair, that Adelinde has you all to herself. But seriously, I'm curious, as to what happened to Aldric."

{Leo}: „Wow, seriously? That's kind of crazy, isn't it? I mean Adelinde wasn't pretty content to see him again."

{Elara}: „Contrary to her, I kind of enjoy seeing the person I despise suffer. You'll get it too once we get there."

{Leo}: „From you, I actually expected that kind of messed up answer. But hold on, where is your butler, aren't you blind? How did you get here?"

{Elara}: „Evelyn is packing my stuff in the carriage right now. She just left me shortly, dumbass."

I really feel off today. It isn't just my lack of sleep, something is going on. Either intentionally or on accident. In this condition I wouldn't make a good guard for Adelinde…

Should I let her know? No, I absolutely can't. That would discredit me as a talented swordsman.

{Leo}: „Don't let Adelinde know of my condition, it would disturb her. If you want to spend more time with me it would be best not to let me be replaced by a more capable guard, right?"

{Elara}: „Certainly. You know, we have a lot in common."

{Leo}: „That may be, princess Elara."

Adelinde comes rushing down along with a few knights, who are supposed to escort our carriage to the destination. She has two big bags in her hands, insisting, she hold them.

{Elara}: „Here comes the beautiful princess. Hi Adelinde."

{Adelinde}: „Cut the crap, Elara. Hi Leo. You look sick, are you okay?"

{Leo}: „Couldn't be better. It's a beautiful day today, I'm glad to ride a carriage with a princess on a beautiful sunny day."

{Adelinde}: „Haha, you're too much. What time did you get to bed tonight? I myself fell asleep as soon as you left."

{Leo}: „Lucky~ I had some trouble sleeping because of the pain from training."

{Elara}: „I fell asleep too, you know."

{Leo}: „Haha."

„ Elara, you, miss Adelinde and mister Leo may get in now."

{Elara}: „Don't laugh at me Leo! And yes, Evelyn, we're coming."

Well, this is where my two day carriage trip starts.

The first day was insanely boring, I just spent the whole day either talking with Elara and Adelinde or catching up on some sleep. I had a lot of time to think, and I honestly think, that I, over time, developed some real toxic traits and the reason I felt so good, talking with Adelinde was because I was slowly healing from my vulgar and brutal life at the seventh area. I used to regularly have to hunt carnivorous animals, while risking my life. Every once in a while, there were thieves, trying to break in, so I killed them without even a single thought.

Adelinde must have some real social skills to be able to see through that. That's probably why she insisted on talking with me that night. I should be grateful for her, but here I am putting her in potential danger because of selfish reasons…

*At the temporary encampment*

{Adelinde}: „Leo, are you awake yet?"

{Leo}: „Wait don't come in! I'll come to the carriage shortly, so hold on."

{Adelinde}: „Haha, Leo, I can hear you blushing. Shy?"

{Leo}: „You're brutal."

{Leo}: „Alright can we get going?"

„ The guards have almost finished packing up, you may already step in the carriage."

At night, it is too dangerous to drive, so we halt and take camp in small villages. The weather on the second day was just as monotone as the first. A bright sunny day with barely any clouds.

{Adelinde}: „Leo, do you not like the weather?"

This fucking scary woman how did she deduce that?

{Leo}: „Haha, how did you figure? Yes, I find a sunny day like this to be boring. I much rather enjoy a cloudy and foggy mood. What about you, princess?"

{Adelinde}: „Oh, you were just looking out the window so sad, so I thought that must be it. You know, you can stop calling me princess as well."

{Elara}: „How cruel, I can't even join in on this conversation."

{Adelinde}: „Well, how do you feel right now, Elara?"

{Elara}: „I don't know, kind of stuffy. It's pretty warm."

{Leo}: „I can only agree…"

{Adelinde}: „I guess that is true. I personally like it foggy too, it's pretty romantic."

*A loud thump can be heard and a few people talking*

{Leo}: „We have to go. NOW! Adelinde, Elara, grab my hand."

At this point everything went into a blur like a delirium, similar to one of being drunk. My instincts were telling me to RUN. I quickly dragged Adelinde and Elara out of the carriage and held Elara on my back and ran. As soon as I saw fire on one of the carriages, I knew I chose the right option. It was bandits, but no usual bandits, it had to have been a ploy from the hostile eastern kingdom or else.

I clearly saw the fear in Adelindes eyes, but I didn't have the courage to calm her down, I still regret that. After that, the adrenaline took over and I don't remember anything.

When I woke up, I was under a pile of leaves.

*I quickly stood up*

{Adelinde}: „Ah, you're awake. Thank god."

{Leo}: „Adelinde! I'm sorry, I should have-"

{Adelinde}: „Leo, enough. We're currently not entitled to argue. This situation is serious."

{Leo}: „Where's Elara?"

{Adelinde}: „She's over here, you put her down here and passed out after, remember?"

{Leo}: „I actually don't remember a thing. Can you explain the broad details?"

{Adelinde}: „At the time of the incident, we were just barely before the border. When the incident happened we ran west, so if we intend to return to the scene, we would need to walk east. As a noble, this is a common occurrence, so we have been trained on how to act in these situations. There are probably people from the Sanctaria cult coming to rescue any survivors."

{Leo}: „Thank you for keeping all that info in mind. Are you alright, though? If you want to vent, please do."

Just then, she shed a tear and said something that shook me to my very core. With a bruised up face and a sorrowful expression she says:

{Adelinde}: „Leo, are we gonna die? I dont want to die."

{Leo}: „No, we aren't gonna die, Adelinde. Not with me around."

{Adelinde}: „This isn't the time to be overconfident!"

{Leo}: „With me around, you won't die from just this, Adelinde. You're safer than you could ever be."

Adelinde falls to the ground and cries her heart out. She must be utterly traumatized. which noble, who has never left their house before wouldn't? A huge part of me sympathizes with her, while the other part wants to…, but fails. That little part in my heart, that finds Adelinde pathetic for crying like this. I hate that part of me.

{Leo}: „I'll go out hunting soon, but before that, we have to find proper shelter. You know, I've done proper survival training multiple times before. This isn't that hard"

{Adelinde}: *snuff* „Okay… what do I do?"

{Leo}: „I'll carry Elara and scout for carnivorous animals. You go looking for camp in the south and light a fire, when you've found one. You know how to light a fire, right?"

{Adelinde}: „Yes, please return safely once you're done."

Elara is pretty light, so I confidently move through the jungle. The pressure I felt was way different to any training I'd gone through before. The weight of Elara on my back hurt with every step. At every hint of movement, my body shivered and my mind blanked. At this point, the uneasy feeling in my body, that I had when we departed turned into an outright disease. My body was heavier than before and the amount of sweating was more than unnatural. My stomache was aching and my head brimming. The thought of Adelinde waiting at a beautiful clearing made me push through and after an hour, I put down Elara and hid her as best I could under some leaves. I then proceeded to climb the tallest tree I could find and saw a faint smoke in the far distance. Based on the suns position I figure the direction and start advancing towards the camp.

My calves were burning and my sight was blurry. I couldn't even make out, if it was day or night, I just kept moving forward with Elara on my back. At some point, though, she woke up.

{Elara}: „Leo? What is happening?"

{Leo}: „S-Stay still… We're almost there."

{Elara}: „Are you in pain? What happened to the carriage? Where are we."

{Leo}: „I'm sorry…Not right now."

I slowly start to see a yellowish light and shout out to Adelinde. It was a desperate attempt and unprofessional. We must have been in luck, that there weren't any carnivores nearby, to hear it.

{Elara}: „Leo…"

{Adelinde}: „Leo? Are you there?"

{Leo}: „Come. Get Elara. I need to rest."

Then I saw her, Adelinde, my savior.