They camped out for the night and prepared early the next day. They moved slowly to prevent the axle from breaking. The coachman only applied a temporary remedy. They could only move slowly to prevent agitating the axle.
Zenia held a box tightly. She kept the Mortelium plant in it. Gustof told her that the plant could be preserved after being rooted up when she put it in a grass laden box. The fresh grass can provide moisture for the plant.
Zenia's mood became lighter, and Gustof noticed the quick change in her temperament when she saw the beautiful, raw landscape. She was so excited when she got hold of the plant, and it showed on her face. It did not escape Gustof's discerning eyes. He was glad that they found the Mortelium even though he sprained his ankle when his foot got caught between two rocks while uprooting the plant.
Neither of them talked, but Zenia was humming a happy tune. Gustof had no idea what the song was, and he was afraid to ask. He guessed that it was something that Zenia had created, and he was right. However, it had the same tune as the usual songs in Ishelon.
It was fortunate that there were only two of them in the carriage. She let her guard down while looking at the box and forgot that she should not speak or do anything that might connect her to Ishelon. Gustof closed his eyes and enjoyed the ride. He liked the tune that Zenia was humming.
Zenia just looked at the window and enjoyed the changing scenery being unfolded before her eyes. She knew that they were no longer in Lunaria, but she did not ask Gustof about their current location anymore. She saw that he was sleeping soundly and did not have the heart to disturb him. They finally reached the North Gate before sunset.
There was a small house not far from the entrance of the North Gate. Zenia heard the loud voices of men coming from the house. They were laughing and seemed to be having fun.
When Gustof opened the door, Zenia's nose was assaulted by the strong scent of alcohol. The men were obviously drunk and some were already fighting in the corner.
"What's the meaning of this?" Gustof roared as he swept off the bottles of liquor on the table.
"B-boss, why are you here?" Everyone became sober at once. They knew that Gustof was someone they should not offend.
Gustof gave them a sinister smile as he walked slowly toward them. The men felt like they were being pushed to the wall by Gustof's oppressive aura.
"Who told you lot that you can drink while you're on duty? If I did not come today, are you all going to drink until you can no longer stand up? You might as well return whence you came!" Zenia knew that Gustof was stern, but she never thought that he could be uncompromising.
If they were not on the opposing sides, she might have invited him to join her faction. It was indeed a pity. Such a talented artisan reduced to a lowly assassin. The Ninth Prince was too cruel. He was hindering a talented man from achieving great heights as a top-class artisan.
Suddenly, they heard the loud sound of neighing and galloping horses accompanied by the clacking of a fast-moving carriage. People were shouting.
"Stop that carriage!"
"Stop that carriage!"
"Someone please, there's a child in there!"
When Gustof and the men heard it, all of them shove Zenia aside as they ran to the door and did not hesitate to jump on their horses to chase after the carriage. But, what would you expect from someone still intoxicated with alcohol? They all fell down on their knees and stayed in that position for quite some time.
Gustof tried his best to board a horse even though his ankle was giving him a hard time. He did know why, but for some unknown reason, he wanted to stop that carriage. Zenia beat him to it when she swiftly jumped on the horse without hesitation and galloped to the direction of the carriage.
Gustof and everyone else were astonished when they saw that scene. Zenia used the back of one of the kneeling men to board a horse. She practically flew in the sky as she launched herself in the air. She somersaulted before she landed smoothly on the horse's back. It was a spectacle to behold, and everyone almost held their breaths as they saw what she did.
Zenia tried her best to catch up to the carriage. She had no idea what agitated the horse, but she knew that she had to hurry up.
'Damn, if only I have Thunderbolt.'
When she was almost near the horse of the carriage, she learned that the carriage had no coachman. Did he jump and left his passengers behind?
Zenia let go of the reign and jumped on the back of the carriage's horse. She could hear the muffled cry of a woman as she tried her best to console her child.
"Mom, I'm so scared. Where's daddy?"
"Hush, child. I will always be with you."
Zenia knew that the mother and child had no idea that someone had come to rescue them. She did not speak a word and just focused on bringing the carriage to safety. She did every trick she knew to calm the horse down. Finally, the horse submitted to her and the carriage stopped.
Zenia jumped off the horse and walked at the side of the carriage. The woman inside the carriage was startled when Zenia spoke.
"Madam, you're safe now."
The woman opened the door and saw a friendly smile of a young man.
"Thank you, kind sir. You don't know how grateful we are that you saved us." The woman burst into tears and she tried to calm herself.
She was too frightened that her knees gave away. She held on to the carriage to stop her fall.
"Mom?" A little girl peeked from the door and seemed to wonder what happened to her mother.
"I'm okay Jena, mom is just happy." The woman answered without looking at her daughter.
Zenia helped the little girl get down from the carriage. She held the little girl by the hand.
"Thank you, big brother." Jena gave Zenia a bright, warm smile.
"It was nothing," Zenia replied plainly while smiling gently at the little girl.
After some time, the woman finally calmed down. The woman's name was Somita.
"We are supposed to meet my husband at the North Gate when the coachman suddenly abandoned us. There was nothing wrong with the horse when we rode the carriage. The coachman must have done something to the horse."
"Did you offend someone, madam?"
The woman shook her head. "It could be an enemy of my husband."
"What does your husband do for a living?" Zenia could only surmise that the woman's husband could be a businessman.
The woman was wearing fine clothes, and her daughter looked like a princess. Zenia could tell that the husband must be a wonderful provider.
"My husband he's…" The woman was not able to finish what she was saying when somebody shouted.
"Von!"
It was Gustof with some of the men earlier in the cottage.
"Boss!" She answered back.
"Husband!" The woman shouted as she ran toward Gustof.
"Daddy!" The little girl joined them as well.
"My wife! Little bean! You're the passengers of that carriage?" Gustof's heartbeat accelerated.
No wonder he wanted to chase after it for no reason. His family was in that carriage!
He looked at Von and walked to his direction. Gustof suddenly kneeled down before Zenia. He had his head bowed down. The tears that he tried to suppress finally escaped from his eyes.
"Thank you, thank you for saving them. I don't know what to do if I lost them." Gustof stayed that way for a while.
"Boss…" Zenia sat down and continued, "I'm glad that I was able to save your family."
Gustof cried even more. He felt Zenia's sincerity in each word that she uttered. He was used to people taking advantage of him that he no longer had the confidence to believe in anyone anymore – even his master and the Ninth Prince.
He was thankful to his master for teaching him to fight and to defend himself, but his master did all of those to use him later. The Ninth Prince was even worse.
He was constantly being threatened using his family. He had no other choice but to follow. It was the only way that he could protect his family.
Gustof gritted his teeth. He knew that someone did that to harm his family. One of them still orchestrated something like that even though he did everything they asked him to do. Was it his master? How about the Ninth Prince? He no longer cared. All he could think of was finding a safe place for his family.