Ara had planned to only bring a few people with her from the mansion. At least, that was what she believed until they stopped for a rest in a town. When she got out, she saw as many as seven additional family guards following her from a distance. Including the two men who had been guarding the carriage, a total of nine additional guards were escorting her. When Ara showed her surprise, the lead guard standing beside her explained, "They were sent by Master Henry. He believed there weren't enough guards with you."
"Henry, my brother... Oh, I see then," she murmured.
Her mind started to turn. How could she go to the battlefield to meet the Crown Prince with all these guards in tow? If she had known exactly where to find him, she might have been able to make use of her family guards, but all she knew was the general location where the Crown Prince had gone. She might have to search for a few days, and she couldn't take her entire entourage with her. Ara had come up with the excuse of attending Danielle's banquet, but what excuse could she possibly give for going to a battlefield?
That wasn't all. Even if Ara managed to persuade some of the guards to help her, she couldn't reveal her fighting skills to them. That would be a significant setback. She had lived her whole life as the ordinary daughter of a general, and for her to suddenly reveal her expertise with a sword? It would cause a huge problem, not to mention the wrath of her father if he found out. She'd rather keep it to herself.
Although she wasn't ashamed of her skills—she was willing to cut down tens or even hundreds of people in the future just to prevent the rise of King Cornell—the fewer people who knew about this, the better. She wanted her family to remain as safe and ignorant as possible. That way, she could laugh beside them as if she knew nothing.
With that decision made, she realized she had to escape and complete her mission alone. It was much more difficult to get away now that the number of escorts had dramatically increased.
'How do I leave this place with all these people?'
There were nine guards, a maid, and a coachman—eleven people in all. Even if the daughter of a general couldn't travel without an entourage, this number was ridiculous. Anybody could disappear without being noticed, but if a member of the family were to disappear, it would cause utter chaos. Was there a way she could deceive them and disappear like smoke?
At the end of the day, they stopped at a luxurious inn where they were to stay for the night. As they walked past the people of the inn, all eyes were on Ara. She suddenly realized the inn had fallen silent before gasps broke out among the crowd. A few men at a table glanced up at her in a daze and said,
"Who is she? I don't think I've seen her before."
"So beautiful, she must be some kingdom's princess."
"True, true. If such beauty existed in this kingdom, we would have heard of her."
"She's like an angel. I wonder if she's already betrothed."
Laughter filled the table as they mocked the man who had just spoken.
"Whether or not she's betrothed doesn't matter. The fact remains she won't spare a glance at you."
"Of course, I can't dream that high. I'm just saying that whoever she's promised to is such a lucky man."
Ara walked away from the inn's corridor, leaving the men's voices behind. Emma, her maid, handed her the keys to her room. She entered the room she was given, and Emma followed behind her, closing the door behind them.
"Get some rest, my lady," Emma said softly.
It would take some days to reach the battlefield, and Ara had to figure out how to get there somehow. The inn had the most luxurious rooms and services, making it a beautiful place to stay overnight for nobles. However, her mood was low, and it didn't matter how comfortable the night would be.
'Damn it, how am I supposed to leave this place?'
She was the esteemed daughter of a general, and she was expected to act accordingly. 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 reach the battlefield yet, but she had to plan as she went. She hoped it wouldn't be too late when she got there.
If she had known she would waste time like this, she would have spent her precious time with Anne instead. She felt angry beyond control. Now Ara had to use the rest of her time as efficiently as possible.
The next morning, as soon as she got out of bed, she did some pushups on the floor and then prepared the armor and sword inside the sack so that she could leave at any moment. Ara took a bath alone without asking for Emma's help and changed her clothes herself.
Emma, who had been waiting outside the door for her mistress to call her to prepare a bath, stood there for a while before deciding to knock. She knocked softly. She heard Ara's voice in reply, as if she had been expecting her.
"Come in."
Emma walked into the room, and her mouth fell open in surprise when she saw her mistress was completely dressed. Even though Ara was a diligent woman in everyday life, it was never to this extent.
"Ah—my lady, how long have you been awake? You should have called me when you woke up, I was just wai—"
Ara cut her off before she could finish talking and said, "You don't have to take care of everything on your own while we're traveling. I brought you here with me for another reason... don't worry about me, I can handle most things by myself."
Emma looked at Ara with a confused expression. When they first left on this trip, she thought her mistress was going to give her a hard time. But she was surprised to see Ara doing everything by herself. Emma spoke in a friendlier manner without realizing it.
"Hold on, my lady. I'll go get you breakfast. The food at this inn is famous for its delicious meals."
"There's no need for that. I've already eaten... tell the guards to prepare the carriage; we'll leave now."
"What? Right now?"
Emma's eyes widened in shock. It was still too early. Everyone might have woken up by now, but she wasn't sure if they were ready to leave yet. Then Ara said something even more shocking to Emma.
"Tell the coachman we won't be making any more stops from now on."
"Huh? How are you going to sleep, my lady?"
"I can sleep in the carriage. There's no need to stop anywhere again."
Emma forced her mouth shut and didn't ask how Ara could sleep in such an uncomfortable place. There was no reason for Ara to explain things to her anyway; she was just a maid. Emma bowed her head slightly and said,
"Yes, my lady. I'll tell them right away."
Emma hurried to the room where the guards were staying.
On the second day of their journey, Emma couldn't take the discomfort anymore. It was so difficult that she couldn't even feel her legs from sitting for so long. She glanced at her mistress, who looked completely fine.
'How could she stand such a difficult journey?' Emma thought.
Exhaustion was written on everyone's faces, but Ara had not complained one bit. Emma glanced at her mistress again and saw her eating the leftover food from the basket, which didn't look good. She spoke in a worried voice.
"My lady, why don't we stop at the next town for food? If you eat spoiled food, you'll suffer from stomach problems."
Ara froze for a second when she heard what Emma said. It sparked an idea in her mind. She had been trying to come up with ways to sneak out without being noticed but had come up with none. But now that she heard Emma's suggestion, a plan began to form in her head. Ara quickly nodded in agreement.
"You're right. Tell the coachman to make a stop at the next town."
Emma's face lit up when she heard Ara's words. She hurriedly opened the carriage window and told the coachman outside.
"Lady Ara wants to make a stop at the next town for a while."
"Okay, got it," the coachman answered briskly, though he couldn't hide his relieved expression. The group headed for the nearest town. Ara had insisted on making haste, which made Emma think they were only going to stop to get food and then continue their journey, but something unexpected happened.
Ara, who seemed just fine a while ago, now had a sickly expression on her face.
"I feel sick. My stomach hurts so badly, I think I need some rest," she said, holding her stomach.
"It must be the food you ate in the carriage. I told you not to eat it, my lady," Emma said with a worried expression. They quickly made accommodations in the town and called a well-known doctor in the area to see Ara. Her health seemed to worsen by the minute, so the group agreed to wait until she fully recovered. However, everyone was tired from the long journey without rest and was eager to settle down.
No men were allowed in Ara's room, and instead, the guards took turns guarding her door. Emma, the only woman in the group, was inside taking care of Ara. She sat by the bedside and put a cold towel over Ara's forehead.
Ara, who was pretending to be asleep, suppressed a self-satisfied smile.
'I finally found a way,' she thought. She had initially assumed she was bound to them, but in fact, they were bound to her. Her health was their utmost priority. Now that she was pretending to be sick, no guards would enter her room. They could stay for a few days until she was deemed well enough to travel again.
'Well done Ara, What a smart girl you are, now is time to rock.' She praised herself internally.