As the carriage made its way towards the castle, the sky above was shrouded in a thick blanket of grey clouds, casting a sombre mood over the land.
A heavy downpour persisted all night but stopped this morning. However, the darkened sky suggested that rain was imminent again. The carriage’s wooden wheels creaked as they rolled over the damp, black soil, leaving muddy tracks in their wake.
Despite the gloomy weather, the carriage continued its journey, determined to reach its destination. The driver urged the horses forward, their hooves splashing through puddles of muddy water as they made their way towards the castle gates. They have now reached the Grand Duchy of Gerhard.
The carriage rolled up to the entrance of Gerhard’s grand castle, where a group of guards stood at attention. The knight who drove the carriage pulled out his badge, showing it to the guards as proof of his identity.
After a mont of inspection, the guards bowed respectfully, and the gate to the castle’s entrance was lifted, allowing the carriage to proceed into the castle yard.
The castle of Gerhard lood grandly over them, its walls made of sturdy stone and its turrets reaching for the sky. As the carriage stopped in front of the main building’s grand staircase, the knight and his young teenage companion alighted from the vehicle.
Noah removed his robe and went to the back of the carriage to check on the rear axle. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that the axle had been damaged, most likely due to the carriage being driven over rough and uneven terrain. The constant jostling and vibrations had caused the axle to bend, requiring imdiate repair.
It was clear to the knight that the second-hand carriage he had purchased from Ardel was poorly maintained, as evidenced by the worn-down parts caused by rough usage.
To make matters worse, the carriage had been driven quite a distance from Constance to Gerhard, putting additional strain on its already overtaxed components.
As Noah inspected the damaged axle, Arl, the young teenager who accompanied him, looked on curiously.
"Is it broken?" he asked with concern.
Noah stood up. "It’s dented," he replied. "We’re lucky to make it here before it completely gave out."
Arl nodded in agreent, acknowledging the near-miss. They had pushed through the bad weather the previous night, eager to reach the grand duke’s castle as quickly as possible. It was a risky move, but one they felt was necessary to expedite their journey before their transport breakdown.
The knight rapped his knuckles on the carriage door, signalling the passengers to open it. As Emily pulled open the door, it let out a creaking sound. Noah wasted no ti in delivering the bad news.
"As I expected, there’s damage to the rear tyre. We’ll need to find another ans of transport to get to Gantz. Get down first and take a rest while I arrange for it," he instructed the won.
Emily’s expression turned solemn, her eyebrows furrowing with concern.
"Sir Brooks, Da Clara is not doing well," she reported.
From beneath her hooded robe, a weak voice spoke up. "I’m fine, Emily," Clara reassured her.
Noah’s expression turned to worry. "What happened?" he asked.
"She’s had a fever since yesterday," the young woman revealed.
The knight’s face twisted with anger. "What? Why didn’t you tell ?" he scolded Emily.
The young woman shrank back, her voice dwindling to a whisper. "Da Clara didn’t want to tell," she explained.
The knight let out a sigh, trying to calm his temper. "Get down now. I’ll carry her out," he said, beckoning for Emily to leave the carriage.
Not wanting to enrage the knight further, she quickly descended the carriage steps, allowing Noah to take Clara.
"I’m fine! We should go to Gantz!" the knightess protested weakly.
But Noah could feel the heat emanating from her body as he lifted her.
"You’re burning up right now! We can’t go to the capital like this," he decided. "If anything happens to you, Lady Raychard will never forgive !"
With Clara in his arms, the knight made his way up the steps of the main building, followed closely by Arl and Emily.
Just then, a man in his forties with black hair and grey eyes approached them, greeting them warmly. He was the steward of the grand duke’s castle.
"Welco back, Sir Brooks!" he said.
The steward’s face registered surprise as he looked at the unfamiliar faces, particularly the dark-skinned woman carried by the knight.
"Please make the necessary arrangents, Mr Foster. These ladies here are important guests. I’m heading to the treatnt room now as she’s not well," Noah instructed, his gaze fixed on Clara in his arms.
"Can you get soone to attend to her?" he requested the man as he continued walking. The steward hurried to keep up with Noah’s long strides.
"Forgive , Sir Brooks. But the healer and his assistant are not available at the mont. They have yet to return ho from Gantz. Sir Skyler inford they escorted His Highness the Grand Duke and his new bride to the palace," the man replied, apologetic.
"I know that! I an, find another healer from the town or sothing!" Noah growled, frustration creeping into his voice.
The man was about to answer his question when a voice interrupted them from down the corridor. Noah’s steps ca to a stop, and he turned his head in the direction of the voice.
A knight with a sturdy build, more prominent than him, walked over to them. It was Garin Skyler, the third-in-command knight.
"Who are these people?" he asked inquisitively. His gaze turned as he looked at the guests.
His brown eyes locked as he saw Arl holding a white puppy in his hands. The knight’s face lit up with surprise as he recognised the teenager.
"You! You’re the forager kid!" he exclaid.
Arl was equally surprised to see the knight, but he quickly composed himself and replied, "Yes, Sir! I’m Arl Chester, son of William Chester from Mistdale. We’ve t before."
He bowed respectfully, rembering seeing the knight a few tis before at the camp but never having the chance to speak with him.
"Please excuse the introduction for now," Noah interjected, gesturing to Clara in his arms with his head. "She requires imdiate attention. I’ll fill you in on the details later."
"Right. Please proceed," the knight acknowledged with a nod as he caught sight of the woman being carried by Noah.
The knight led the way without hesitation, quickly bringing the knightess and Emily to the treatnt room.
"You, wait here," Garin instructed Arl, who was about to follow.
"Yes, Sir," the teenager replied, nodding hesitantly. The knight’s stern voice made him feel uneasy.
"Get a healer from the town as soon as possible, Mr Foster. In the anti, can we have soone attend to the ladies?" the knight asked.
"I will arrange for a healer quickly, Sir Skyler. As for the ladies, I’ll get the new maid to attend to them," replied the steward, offering a solution.
"Good," Garin agreed.
The steward hurried off to carry out the given instructions, leaving the knight to scowl at Arl, who stood not far away, looking restless under his fierce gaze.
"Give a good reason why you’re here, kid," the knight demanded.
Arl took a deep breath and recounted the events that had transpired at the deserted camp in Dartrey Forest.
"I see. Since you’ve successfully brought them here, you no longer have any business with them. The others are familiar with the road from here to the capital, so you don’t need to be their guide any more. You may return to Mistdale," the knight ordered in his firm tone.
Arl’s eyes widened in surprise at the knight’s demand. "But... Sir Brooks ordered to bring them to Gantz to see His Highness and his wife! We only stopped by Gerhard because of the damaged axle," he countered, confused and unsure what to do.
"Kid, listen to my advice. Don’t try to et the lady or His Highness the Grand Duke again. You have no idea what chaos you caused last ti," the knight warned him sternly.
"What did I do?" Arl asked, blinking his eyes cluelessly.
Garin sighed as he crossed his arms against his broad chest.
"You gave the lady a bouquet tied with a red ribbon, rember?" he said, recalling the infamous incident that had caused the grand duke’s jealousy to erupt and shake the entire camp.
"I... I did. But... it didn’t an anything!" Arl rebuked, feeling defensive.
"Don’t lie, kid! A knight’s eyes are sharper than a blade. Several knights saw it clearly when you gave her the flowers," Garin said sternly, his tone brooking no argunt.
Arl thought montarily and was reminded of the two knights in the infirmary who had witnessed him presenting the bouquet to Anna. He inclined his head in remorse.
"I’m sorry. I didn’t know she was married. I wouldn’t have done it if I had known," Arl said in a defeated tone, regretting his action.
"Well... things happened, and her eting you afterwards brought a bad outco to everyone involved, including her. So, I strongly suggest you stay away from the lady for your own good," Garin advised.
The teenager looked up urgently. He didn’t realise their last eting had caused trouble for Anna.
"What happened? Did... did His Highness hit her or sothing?" he asked anxiously.
"Of course not!" the knight responded. "Lady Raychard is his wife. He wouldn’t hurt her for anything. But they got into a huge fight, and the escorts were reprimanded. Luckily, they reconciled quickly."
Arl heaved a sigh of relief, grateful that nothing worse had befallen Anna. He was already feeling guilty and knew he would have felt much guiltier if sothing more serious had happened to her.
"Please forgive if I have caused trouble to everyone. I’ve never ant any harm," the teenager apologised.
"It’s fine now," said Garin. "Though everything has settled, it’s best for you not to appear before them, for everyone’s sake. His Highness dislikes it when others covet his woman. Do you understand?"
Arl nodded fervently.
"Yes, I do. I will not go near them if it’s best for the lady. Besides, a re pheasant shouldn’t desire closeness to royalty," he said in a low tone, as he already knew the actual status of the lady and the commander he t at the camp.
No wonder he felt sothing when he heard the ’Raychard’ na back then. It was the surna of Cassian’s royal family.
"It’s good that you know your place, kid," said Garin.
The knight looked down at the white puppy held by the teenager.
"Is that the puppy she gave you?" he asked, recalling Eric’s explanation for the lady’s eting with Arl.
The teenager replied with a nod. A wistful smile was etched on Garin’s lips.
"Take good care of it," he said.
The light pitter-patter of the rain hit the window panes, indicating the beginning of another downpour. The knight gazed at the gloomy weather outside.
He turned to the teenager and said, "You can stay until the rain stops completely. Before you leave, I’ll ask the steward to get you so food and drinks."
"Thank you, Sir Knight."
Arl respectfully bowed to Garin as the knight walked through the corridor, raising his hand in a gesture of no need to thank him.
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