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As soon as the woman emerged from the sack, she sat on the floor and let out a loud breath, “Phew!”
“I thought I was going to die!”
For a kidnapped person, her tone was remarkably cheerful.
Of course, that was natural. Because the kidnapping had been planned.
For reference, the conversation at the time of the kidnapping had gone like this:
‘Uh, so you are…’
‘…The guy who came to kidnap you. We don't have time, so get in quickly.’
‘Ah, yes! Should I put my feet in first?’
‘That'll make it hard to carry, so put your head in first.’
Even thinking about it now, it was a ridiculous conversation.
Rahan chuckled, then suddenly looked at the woman, Iris Achen, who was currently struggling with her wedding attire that had become tangled while exiting the sack.
Her hair, which had been neatly braided into two, was a complete mess, and her round cheeks, which still showed a youthful innocence, were flushed bright red from the heat and excitement.
Was this the same woman he had seen earlier?
Rahan was originally good at remembering faces. Naturally. Being the Grand Duke's knight meant protecting the Grand Duke from unknown dangers. No matter how new a face was, he remembered it instantly.
But why?
For some reason, he couldn't clearly remember the face he had seen when he lifted the veil.
Still, it would be awkward to stare openly, so Rahan glanced at her while pretending not to look. However, her face was mostly hidden by her hair and the veil.
Regardless, Iris, having given up on standing up on her own, cheerfully held out her hand.
“Um, could you help me up?”
“Ah, please stand up.”
Harris quickly escorted her. As soon as Iris Achen took Harris's hand, she quickly figured out the knack and slipped out of the sack.
Her movements were quite nimble.
“Thank you. Wow…”
The woman stood up and looked around while tidying her hair. She seemed curious about where she was. Harris beat him to it again.
“This is an inn in Vandel.”
It was likely a place name she had heard before. As expected, Iris looked pleased.
“Ah! I know. The lower village. I thought you would flee much further from the monastery.”
“Yes. We couldn't go too far, so we brought you here. Ah, by the way. I am…”
Harris was about to introduce himself, but she was faster.
“By any chance, are you the one who will become my husband?”
“Huh? No?”
At Harris's bewildered answer, the woman's eyes widened, and then she burst into laughter, looking toward Rahan.
“Ahaha, then is that gentleman Rahan-nim?”
A lively tone. Her voice was cheerful.
Rahan unconsciously frowned and narrowed his eyes.
It was a face that looked very young.
Round cheeks that hadn't yet lost their baby fat, and fair skin that was slightly tanned by the sun. Slender limbs and a small frame. Her slightly flushed face and earlobes were incredibly fresh.
But above all, what captured his attention were her eyes, like tender leaves of early summer catching the sunlight.
It was strange.
‘It's not a face I should be unable to remember.’
“Um…”
Perhaps because he kept staring intently, the woman turned her head toward Harris, looking flustered. Harris also scolded him, looking troubled.
“Captain.”
“Ah.”
Only then did Rahan snap out of it and answer bluntly.
“It's me.”
“Wow.”
The girl, looking back at him, opened her eyes wide. Her light green eyes widened and then shone brightly.
‘Ah.’
Only then did Rahan vaguely realize why he hadn't been able to properly remember her impression.
How should he put it? The moment their gazes met, he felt as if the sense of balance in his entire body wavered for a moment.
It was as if the surroundings suddenly blurred, and only the girl became vivid in an instant.
A strange sensation he had never felt in his life.
The wary Rahan instinctively wondered if she had used magic.
‘What a ridiculous thought.’
But the suspicion soon vanished. There was no way a mage would use magic in the middle of a monastery.
He was probably just tired from climbing the cliff.
Meanwhile, the girl, who had been about to say something, suddenly remembered and lifted her dress to give a curtsy.
Though clumsy, she was imitating the greeting style of noblewomen. To Rahan, who had rolled around in the social circles of the Grand Duchy, it was cute in many different ways.
“May Eridrahan bless this meeting. I am Iris Achen.”
Rahan snapped back to his senses and looked at her properly. In his eyes, she looked far too young to be wearing wedding attire.
‘I heard she was nearly twenty, so I expected a woman of some age.’
At twenty, as some had said, shouldn't she already have two children?
But the Iris Achen standing before him looked incredibly young.
“I am so glad we could meet safely!”
And then there was her tone. Somehow, she spoke as if this kidnapping were some sort of thrilling adventure.
‘Is she just a naive girl because she grew up only in the monastery?’
Well, come to think of it, others probably saw him as nothing more than a frivolous loafer.
“Rahan Norwich.”
“Ah, I am Harris, Sir Norwich’s adjutant. I have no family name.”
After the three of them standing in the inn room exchanged greetings, a strange silence fell. In a way, it was only natural.
The kidnapped target and two kidnappers.
No matter how much they had plotted this, facing each other in person brought a sense of helplessness.
Furthermore, considering what had to happen from here on out... they were bound to worry about how to bring up the subject.
It was then that Iris asked brightly.
“Um, so should I take off my clothes now?”
Pfft.
Harris, who had been drinking water from a corner to beat the heat, spat it out.
“Cl-clothes?”
As Harris asked back while coughing, the girl blinked and questioned him in return.
“In order for our marriage to be valid, we have to spend the first night together, right? That’s what I was told.”
“…That’s….”
Speechless, Harris looked at Rahan. His eyes were screaming, ‘Please, do something about this.’
But Rahan was just as flustered. He replied with his eyes.
‘You’re the adjutant, aren’t you?’
Harris glared back at that look.
‘You’re the one with the reputation of being a libertine, why me?’
It was a truly awkward and embarrassing situation.
That is to say, it was true that they had to spend the first night together. That was the only way to nullify the marriage contract between Philod Ahen and Iris Achen.
Rahan recalled what Grand Duke Lacheize had said.
‘You know what it means to kidnap her and marry her, right?’
‘What does it mean? I don’t know.’
At his blunt response, the Grand Duke had snorted.
‘Kidnap that lady and spend the first night with her as quickly as possible.’
‘…You’re really turning me into the child of a demon.’
‘What, it’s agreed upon. I’m sure the lady knows too.’
He had heard it, but Rahan hadn't actually thought that the first night following a kidnapping marriage would go smoothly.
Wasn't this woman also suddenly thrust into a marriage while just minding her own business?
‘The boss is handsome. I bet the lady won't hate it.’
Harris had talked big, but Rahan thought differently.
Of course, he was a renowned beauty even in the Grand Duchy.
Moreover, even if he weren't handsome, she likely accepted this marriage because he was better than the old man Philod.
But regardless, how many women would actually like or welcome spending their first night with a man they've just met?
“Is that not the case?”
But the partner in question was incredibly proactive—no, how should he put it?
‘Why is she talking about this like it’s no big deal?’
It was utterly baffling.
Consequently, Rahan no longer knew what to say first.
Should he ask, Do you even know what that entails?
Or should he say, That’s correct, so let’s roll around starting now!
Or perhaps, Um, are you always this carefree and bright without a thought in your head?
“Um, Lord Rahan?”
The bright-faced woman tilted her head and called his name. Rahan clutched his throbbing head. He was truly in a bind.
It was then.
“Heave-ho! Ack!”
Bang! The locked door of the inn room flew open violently.
Crash, bang, thud! The one who tumbled in was a priest draped in a robe. Simultaneously, Harris raised both hands and shouted.
“Yes!”
Rahan, who had reflexively drawn his sword and hidden the girl behind him, looked at Harris with an absurd expression.
The priest who had tumbled in was equally bewildered and looked up at Harris. Suddenly becoming the center of everyone's attention, Harris awkwardly lowered his hands and added.
“No, I was just... glad to see you….”
Since Rahan had also been flustered by the talk of the first night, he could understand Harris's feelings.
Still, this was too much.
Then, the girl shouted happily in a high-pitched voice.
“Priest Marid!”
“Oh my, Iris. Are you alright?”
The priest stood up, pushed back his robe, and beamed at the girl.
Only then did Rahan realize that this priest was the one they had met on the cliff.
He had likely tried to ram the locked door with his body and fallen over in the process.
Harris hurried to close the door, and Priest Marid, having fully stood up and dusted himself off, let out a long sigh and spoke toward them.
“I am impressed!”
“Pardon?”
Rahan and Harris looked at each other in confusion. Regardless, Priest Marid smiled brightly and waved his hand.
“No, I was truly surprised! Earlier, when I saw you two galloping down on horseback, I thought, ‘Have these men gone mad?’ But then, all the Achen Elector's knights were scrambling to mount their horses, looking as if they were about to chase you all the way to Arnsberg!”
“Ah.”
Rahan gave a short laugh.
“They probably didn't even look back toward Vandel.”
“Yes! That’s exactly how it was!”
Priest Marid was genuinely admiring the resourcefulness of Iris's second groom.
‘This really isn't going to work.’
Back at the bell tower, Rahan and Harris, who had stuffed the girl into a sack and carried her, had concluded that two men could not carry a woman down the cliff again.
No matter how light the woman was, that cliff was too steep.
Even so, they couldn't just walk down. The only path down from the monastery was a single road. Two men carrying a sack with a person inside—they weren't just suspicious; they looked like kidnappers to anyone.
It was obvious they would be caught by those preparing for the wedding.
In the end, since Rahan was already becoming a rogue who kidnapped a woman, he decided to add theft to the charges.
After stealing two horses belonging to the Achen Elector's party tied up at the monastery, they had sprinted down with the sack.
‘Philod Ahen! From this day forward, Iris Achen shall be my wife!’
…Of course, he had shouted that as well.
Such vulgar phrasing. Just thinking about it made his face flush, so Rahan needlessly wiped under his nose.
In any case, it went without saying that Philod and his knights, who had been acting arrogant at the wedding venue, were terrified upon seeing the kidnapping.
They tried to rush after them immediately, but they couldn't catch someone on horseback.
Furthermore, because Rahan and Harris had released all the other remaining horses in advance, it must have taken them even longer to catch and mount them.
“Thanks to you shouting so loudly before leaving, they didn't doubt for a moment that you had fled far away. Good work.”
Priest Marid said this as he patted the girl.
“Iris, you suffered as well.”
The girl, Iris, gave a faint smile.
“It’s nothing. Priest Marid is the one who will suffer from now on. What will you do because of me? The Ducal House will be in an uproar.”
The young priest seemed to be a man full of emotion. One could tell just by seeing his eyes well up at Iris's words.
“Oh, Iris. You sweet thing. Abbot Wilbert and I will be fine. Are you hurt anywhere?”
“I’m fine.”
As she said this, Iris stole a glance at Rahan and smiled. It was a smile that looked as if she were thanking him, which made Rahan feel strange.
What on earth do you have to be thankful for in this situation?
But before he had time to ponder, Priest Marid urged them quickly.
“This is no time for this. Even if they went to search, Philod Ahen is still at the monastery, so their return will be fast. You must finish the first night as quickly as possible.”
It was a valid point.
However, Rahan seriously wanted to ask if those were words that should come out of a monk's mouth.
It wasn't because he wanted to avoid the awkward topic.
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