"Duchess, are you okay? Should we return to the duchy?" the knight asked me as we were already moving toward the palace.
"No, keep moving!" I declined his offer, but I could still feel the fear crawling through my body, making me shiver from head to toe. I couldn't forget how I faced the monster, yet everyone was saying something completely different from what I had experienced. Was I going crazy? Was I losing my sanity? No, no, it couldn't be.
"Duchess, should we take a little rest? You don't look well," the knight said, looking at my sweat-drenched face. Once again, I declined. I couldn't deny it any longer. I couldn't delay meeting the emperor any further. I had to face everything.
The carriage moved forward, and the knights whispered amongst themselves. I could hear their hushed conversations, but I chose not to listen. I knew they had made up their minds about me being crazy, but I didn't want to entertain that perspective.