Return of the Female Knight

ROTFK - Chapter 10

The wind gently caressed Elena's face as she leaned her head against the carriage window and watched the passing landscape. She had a spectacular view of the lush forest in refreshing weather, but she was in no mood to appreciate it.

After saving Carlisle's life, Elena had collapsed as soon as she entered the inn. From the moment when she rescued him to the moment he had accepted her proposal, she felt as if her body was being torn in all directions by a leash. It was hard on her poorly trained physical condition.

"...Haaa."
She sighed. She recollected her conversation with Carlisle, but deciphering it was like falling into a maze. Why did he accept the proposal? She had a clear reason to marry him, but the crown prince himself had no reason to accept. With that handsome face, his skill in the battlefield, and the fact that he was the crown prince, he could choose someone better than Elena. When he first questioned her for saving his life he didn't seem to believe her very easily. Which part of her did he like?

'I have no idea what the Crown Prince is thinking.'
He had been disgusted with her until she took of her helmet. Perhaps it was because of incompatible sexual orientation because she looked like a man in that armor? A variety of thoughts around in Elena's head. Their encounter had been brief, and she didn't fully understand his intentions.

She remembered the image of him when she looked back at his figure for the last time. Despite blood seeping through the white bandages, what stood out in her mind was those blue eyes that looked straight at her with an undaunted expression. She felt as if she had seen them somewhere before. Had they really met in the past? It was driving her crazy, but there was no way to find out.

'That's enough. Stop thinking about it. Everything went my way anyway.'
Anything else could be forgotten. If Carlisle became emperor and removed Paveluc from power nothing else was needed so long as her family was kept safe. If she could make herself a princess, she could assist him and eventually make him emperor. After that, she didn't care whether she was banished out or not. No, maybe it was better to go back to her family. She was busy thinking about how to change her future. It wasn't too late to think about the details. As long as her family was all alive, any life would be happier than her previous one.

'He said he would meet me in ten days, so I'd better be prepared then.'
Sophie looked at Elena staring out of the carriage window, then spoke to her in a careful voice.

"My Lady, you're not still sick, are you?"
Sophie was the only one who knew that Elena had gone that night without anyone else knowing. After disappearing like smoke and returning at dawn the next day, Elena had been in dazed state ever since. She looked like a lovesick girl and Sophie was curious about that night's events, but she couldn't ask her directly and instead asked her in a roundabout way.

Elena noticed Sophie's strangely shining eyes and knew her maid was curious about her movements that night.

"Unnecessary curiosity only brings bad luck, Sophie. You're a smart girl and I know you know that."

"O-Oh yes, My Lady,"
Sophie answered reluctantly, but she did not accept it from her heart. Something must have happened to Elena that night, otherwise there was no reason to skip Glenn's wedding when they had been in such a hurry in the first place.

After returning back to the inn for a late night's sleep, Elena suddenly said she was not feeling well and wanted to return to Blaise Castle. Not only did Elena not eat properly on the way back, but she just stared blankly out the carriage window the entire time.

Who was the man that was keeping the young mistress away? Did Elena happen to get caught up in the atmosphere that night? What if she had a baby? Sophie's mind ran wild with imagination. Thanks to this mysterious lover even Sophie's motion sickness was forgotten.