RETURN OF THE FEMALE KNIGHT

3. I Hope I'm Not Too Late

Lalisa had planned to only bring a few people with her from Blaise Castle. At least, that was what she believed until the carriage stopped for a rest. When she got out, she saw as many as six additional family knights following her some ways away. Including the two men who had been guarding the carriage, there a total of eight additional knights escorting her. When Lalisa expressed her surprise the lead knight explained,

"They were sent by Lord Namjoon. He believes there weren't enough guards."

"Namjoon, my brother...I see,"

she murmured, but her mind was turning. She could not rescue Crown Prince Jungkook with all of these people with her. If she had known exactly when and where he was assassinated she might have been able to make use of the family knights, but all she knew was where the crown prince died. She may have to stake out at the location for a few days, and she couldn't take a large entourage there. She came up with an excuse that she was helping with Jihyo's wedding, but with what excuse could she come up with for staying in one place for so long?

That wasn't all. Even if Lalisa managed to persuade some of the knights to help her, she couldn't reveal her abilities in front of them. In fact, that was the biggest setback. She had lived her whole life as an ordinary daughter of a count, and for her to suddenly reveal she was an expert swordswoman? It would be, by all accounts, an inconceivable thing. Lalisa didn't want to explain this to her family or other people.

Although she wasn't ashamed to say expert swordswoman, she was willing to cut down tens or hundreds of people down in the future just to prevent the rise of Emperor Namgil. The fewer people who knew about it the better. She wanted her family to be as safe and ignorant as happy as possible. That way, she would be able to laugh next to them as if she don't know anything...

With that decision, she had to escape and complete her mission her own. However, it was much more difficult to get away when the number of escorts had dramatically increased.

'...How do I do this?'

There were eight guards, a maid and a coachman. Ten people in all. Even if a daughter of a count couldn't go without an entourage, this number was ridiculous. A rat could disappear without being caught by anyone, but if a member of the family were to disappear it would cause utter chaos. Was there a way she could deceive all of them and disappear like smoke?

At the end of the day the group stopped at a luxurious inn they were to stay for the night. Lalisa entered her room, concern furrowed on her face. Dahyun followed behind and closed the door behind them.

"Get some rest, My Lady,"

she said in a soft voice.

It would take three days to reach the place where the crown prince would be assassinated. She had to figure out how to get there somehow.

*

*

*

The inn had the most luxurious amenities and services, making it a fine place to stay overnight for any noblewoman. In fact, it was comparable to Lalisa's room room back in Blaise Castle. However, her mood was low. It didn't matter how comfortably she had spent the night.

'Why didn't I think of this...'

She was the esteemed daughter of a count and she was expected to act accordingly. However as time went by, she began to regret her decision and concluded that spending the night at the inn was a meaningless waste of time. She hadn't thought of a way to find the crown prince yet, but she had to plan as she goes. She hoped there was a little time left to look around.

If she had known she would've wasted time like this she would have spent her precious moments with Roseanne instead. She felt angry at herself, but it was already beyond her control. What already happened, happened, so Lalisa had to use the rest of her time as efficiently as possible.