Marin nodded firmly.
She saw the terror in Julia's eyes, watched Daya's face darken with worry. To reassure them both, she reached out and squeezed their hands tightly.
"This carriage is incredibly sturdy. We'll stay inside and wait. Lord Gerald and the knights will protect us."
"Yes."
"Yes."
Outside, a powerful, broad-shouldered knight positioned himself beside the carriage, shield raised. His voice boomed across the road:
"*Do not leave under any circumstances!*"
The whistle of arrows sliced through the distant air.
Gerald stepped down from his carriage in a single fluid motion. His gaze—though sightless—turned toward Olive in the adjacent coach.
"Stay inside."
"Did something happen?"
An ordinary person wouldn't have been able to hear arrows from such a distance.
"Ambush."
*THUNK!*
Almost simultaneously with the word, an arrow punched through the wall of the black carriage.
Olive's hand tightened on the interior handrail.
"Understood. Come back alive."
He'd only trained his swordsmanship to the level of self-defense. His contribution now was to sit quietly and stay out of the way.
The Duke closed the door and spoke in a low voice, barely audible:
"You said the diamond carriage would hold?"
"Yes. Even an axe blow didn't leave a scratch."
The door slammed shut.
---
The knights with shields formed a seamless line before the black carriage—a wall of steel and resolve.
"Three shooters." Gerald's voice was cold, clinical. "You two—eliminate the archers."
On command, two knights dropped to the ground and crawled into the underbrush, vanishing like shadows.
"The rest—two per carriage."
"Yes, sir!"
Six knights positioned themselves as barriers before the three vehicles.
Knight Henders glanced at the chaos unfolding and spoke:
"Yubis."
"Yes?"
"Get inside."
"I can fight too!" Yubis's voice burned with resentment.
"You can argue with me when that leg heals, *puppy*."
Henders grabbed him by the scruff of his collar and shoved him bodily into the servants' carriage.
Slamming the door, the knight turned to face the road ahead—and grinned.
"They're coming. Ten of them, in a cluster."
The Duke nodded in silence.
He'd already counted their footsteps. His grip tightened on his sword's hilt.
"Ha. Moths to the flame."
The ten assassins ran in single file, then fanned out and closed a circle around the Duke—surrounding him completely.
"Henders. To the diamond carriage."
"Yes, sir. I'll cover the ladies."
Henders carried out the order without a trace of concern for his lord. Blind or not, there was no need to worry about the most powerful man in the empire.
One of the killers, tightening the encirclement, muttered:
"Confirm whether he's truly blind."
A cold smile curved Gerald's lips. His eyes remained closed.
"How amusing."
*Why go through with this charade?*
All ten rushed him at once.
Swords, axes, spears—a motley storm of steel converged from every direction.
In a single breath, Gerald parried each strike in sequence. Several blades were torn from their owners' hands, sent spinning into the dirt.
"*Now!*"
One of the killers hurled a handful of black powder into the air.
*Ah. So that's the game.*
Gerald held his breath and drove his blade through the powder-thrower first. The man collapsed before he could even attempt to dodge.
"Ha. So it's not poison?"
The fine dust burned its way toward his eyes, forcing them open.
The attackers saw them—empty, silvery-gray orbs staring at nothing.
One of them recoiled in shock.
"*Confirmed! Retreat!*"
The survivors scattered in every direction.
Gerald's sword whistled through the air, aimed at the spine of the one giving orders.
The leader—even while fleeing—twisted sharply, allowing the blade to merely slash his side rather than split his back.
*Clever.*
The sword scraped flesh, flew past, and embedded itself in a tree trunk—still quivering from the impact.
"*Ugh—*"
Pressing his palm against his blood-soaked side, the leader didn't slow down.
Gerald gestured.
The sword *wrenched* itself free from the wood and shot forward again—a guided missile tracking its target.
The man's eyes went wide as saucers. He threw himself into a desperate roll, barely evading the blow. The blade sank into the earth.
While relentlessly pursuing the leader, Gerald kicked stones at the others fleeing in different directions.
"*AHHH!*"
One was struck in the waist. He collapsed, convulsing.
Another stone punched clean through a man's leg.
The knights immediately descended on the wounded survivors.
The floating sword finally found its mark—sinking deep into the leader's shoulder.
"*Ygh—*"
He was well-trained. He ripped the blade free in a lightning motion and dove into the thicket, vanishing into darkness.
"Your Grace—should I pursue?"
Henders ran up, breathing hard. Aside from the escaped leader, every attacker was already dead or dying.
The sword spun lazily in the air and returned to Gerald's waiting hand.
He could hear the leader's hoarse, labored running—the desperate rhythm of a man bleeding out.
Their goal had been singular: confirm whether his eyes truly saw nothing.
*If they had targeted the diamond carriage instead...*
He would have left no one alive.
"No need. He won't last long."
"Understood."
Henders bowed his head.
The arrows had stopped flying. The archers had been dealt with.
"Clean this up."
"Yes, sir."
---
"Is it over?"
Olive's voice rang from inside his carriage.
"Yes."
The advisor swung the door open, stepped out, and surveyed the carnage. Dead assassins lay scattered across the road—all dressed in black, faces masked.
He clicked his tongue.
"I'll check on the ladies."
Gerald nodded in silence.
Olive made his way to the diamond carriage.
"Ladies—it's finished." Marin was already opening the door, her voice soft but steady.
"Was anyone on our side injured?"
"No. Everyone is safe."
"M-Mr. Advisor—" Julia's voice trembled. Her hands shook violently. "Is Yu-Yubis safe too?"
"He was in the servants' carriage. He should be fine."
"Thank you." Tears welled in Julia's eyes, but she bowed quickly, still trembling with worry.
Marin squeezed her hand warmly.
Watching Julia shake with fear for the only family she had left—her heart clenched.
*I know this feeling.*
She knew firsthand what it meant to lose loved ones in a road accident. She understood Julia's terror like no one else could.
"Julia—do you want to go see for yourself that Yubis is all right?"
Julia's eyes flew wide. She looked from Marin to Olive, uncertain.
"The area hasn't been fully cleared," Olive said over his shoulder, "but all the attackers have been eliminated. It should be safe."
"I'll go with you." Marin turned to Daya. "Stay inside."
She needed to confirm with her own eyes that Yubis was truly unharmed. The servants' carriage wasn't nearly as sturdy as the diamond one.
"Yes, Teacher."
Daya understood. Knowing Marin's past, she could guess why her teacher wanted to accompany Julia. She nodded calmly.
---
Marin and Julia stepped outside.
Black-clad mercenaries lay scattered across the ground—some twisted at unnatural angles, others still leaking blood into the dirt.
Marin's face tightened at the sight, but she felt no sympathy.
"Let's go."
"Yes."
Julia walked slowly, her entire body trembling.
And then—
One of the killers, lying as though dead, jerked upward with his final breath and hurled a dagger at Marin.
Julia was closest to him.
She was the first to see the blade.
"*LADY!*"
El and Julia moved at the same instant.
El's dagger flew toward the assassin. Julia threw herself in front of Marin.
The killer's head went slack—El's blade had found its mark.
But the dagger he'd thrown had already buried itself in Julia's shoulder.
"*JULIA!*"
El glanced at the wound, assessed its severity in a heartbeat, and vanished like smoke—already gone to summon help.
Marin's hands shook. She didn't dare touch the blade protruding from Julia's shoulder. She could only stare, frozen—numb with horror.
"Lady..." Julia's face was bloodless, ashen. But her first words were: "Are you all right?"
Marin caught her as her legs gave way.
Scarlet spread across her palms—warm, wet, *wrong*.
"Julia, everything's fine. Everything will be fine. Mr. Olive—*the doctor*—we need the doctor—"
Olive had frozen for a moment in shock, but he recovered quickly. He scooped Julia into his arms without hesitation.
"My lady—this is faster."
"Y-yes."
Marin, her hands and dress soaked in Julia's blood, ran after him.