'Harold Barnes, a loyal knight who solely serves the 'lone princess'..
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Far off the mountain horizons, despite the sun's disappearance, a worn-out-looking carriage continues its movement, heading in a single direction; it hastens its pace by the second.
The man who sat atop kept his weary eyes intently focused on the distance—light particles spread from all around him; immediately, once they faded, he let out a sigh of relief and looked over to the inside of the vehicle.
In a corner, within reach—there lay a woman, sound asleep; her brunette hair spilled across the shabby cushions.
"Lady Ipse.."
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I'm a knight—known as Harold Barnes—attending directly to a noblewoman called Lady Ipse. The lady and I are presently at 'that' count's manor, as she has been invited to another one of what 'he' called a 'late-night dinner'
"Ipse! I'm glad you managed to come."
...
Speaking of the man—"managed"—of course she came; you were on the verge of coming to get her.
"I almost went there myself, you know~"
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What did I tell you? Hey! Don't just casually hug the lady—"Ah, it's great to see you too, father."
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Oh, right, Lady Ipse was his daughter.
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Two individuals sat opposite the highly elongated table, filled with delicacies. Both dined in stillness; the man gently raised his glass to the air—"So.. how is the barony?"
He asked a question aimed at the woman in front of him. Slowly releasing the utensils she had been holding. Her hand reached for the napkin next to her before answering,
"I'm handling it fine; why do you ask, father?"
The man's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Is that so? I'm glad then," he said, his voice low.
Silence remained after; the man brought his glass down and continued to eat—suddenly, he heard the light laughter.
...
"So, you were 'that' worried, huh?"
The woman's eyes sparkled with amusement as she let out the remark, a hint of a smile on her lips.
When he could proceed, the door to the room creaked open, and a young man entered—dark hair and crimson-red eyes. He wore the same attire as those of a butler.
"As I was saying, just let me be a father and do my duties—at least take someone here with you—the woman stood up and stepped forward—she walked towards the young man.
"I'll take this one, then."
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At the moment, the knight—Harold Barnes is positioned outside the dining area.
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Does eating really take that long? Or is the lady in trouble? Maybe I should enter—no, no, no, I should trust the lady; breathe and keep yourself collected.
These were his thoughts, recurring in the past few minutes.
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'I definitely need to go—shortly afterwards, the baroness went out of the room.
"Lady Ipse! Are you alright? Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine~ Also, let me introduce—the lady cleared the way.
...
There was a man he'd seen just this morning next to her side.
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As a knight under the baroness—I'm someone who's been observing the lady for some time—I've already grown accustomed to her characteristics.
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The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
We 'three' were childhood friends despite different statuses—I've always followed in 'his' footsteps.
As 'he' was the only heir to the barony—not long after we reached adulthood, we parted ways—and sometime later I heard those two got married,
Well, 'that' guy has always liked the lady—having said that—I knew those two would be happy.
Nonetheless—as they say—as 'good' news spreads fast, 'bad' ones will come after, this time much faster.
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If I'd describe 'that' day, it'll be close to rainy—surrounded by this blurry haze; nothing crosses my mind but the scene where I kept on running and running until that point where I found 'he' centered—in that cemetery—a lifeless man soon to be buried.
In spite of the man who rested in tranquility, those around that mourned him were too 'busy'.
"I heard it was due to a'monster subjugation'—"It's a good thing they even brought back the body—"Do you think the lady will be alright?"—"This wouldn't have happened if we didn't lack...
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Just shut up; shut up already and quit your blabbering—you don't know a single thing about what happened.
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and needless to say, neither do I.
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"Captain, I have a letter for you, a voice echoed through the barracks hall in search of somebody.
In an instant, that person—a young woman—sprang through the air, targeted not far away—"There you are, captain!"
The captain in question, a tall figure, comes into view with his fiery red hair swayed to the side as he sidestepped the approach, avoiding with ease as she stumbles forward, the letter fluttering out of her hand.
"What's it about?" asked the man as he flashed a quick smile, catching the paper as he swung it alongside.
"Not fair!"—the woman swiftly gained her balance as she shook off the ash that fell over. "Ah, yes! I heard it was from your hometown." She said,
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"Anyhoo~ I've come to get you! Those thieves are at it again—at this point they're getting a bit annoying; always at that—the woman's comment remains constant—talking under one's breath—she carries on; leaving the man by himself, he stares at the said message.
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For it to be left unattended.
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"Ips—Lady Ipse." I called the unchanging room. In the past few days, I've done the following: knock, call, and leave food outside.
In those cases, sometimes I'd observe out of sight, but no matter how long I'd stand by, no one would come out, and as for the food I'd bring over, it only kept stacking up.
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If only I read that earlier—if only I subdued them faster—if only. "If" words that circulate in my mind will live on unanswered.
"I'm sorry," I whispered, putting my head down the wooden door—grasping the handle that would stay...
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locked..? I pushed the door effortlessly, and as suspected, there's no sign of anyone inside.
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Upon further entering—at once—what caught my attention was the wide, opened window—its size large enough for a person to fit into... Is it possible that... the lady?
Abruptly, when it occurred to me, I sprinted across that opening.
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Where did she go? Taking into consideration any possible places—I narrowed it down—expanding the range of the activated'search magic'
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It's hard for me to believe, as ever since the lady had always been faint-hearted but undoubtedly—it led me to that 'forest'
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Somewhere near the entrance, I stepped down that sloppy pathway, proceeding to wander around by foot until I found that clearing—a silhouette is noticeable afar—however, rather than a single individual, what greeted me was a pair of figures.
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They moved onward while one carried the other to their back, holding the other with caution. When the said woman spotted my gaze, she let go of the other hand and waved.
"Hall!"
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"L-Lady Ipse?" I responded, as I failed to process her sudden appearance—smudge with dirt, torn clothing—the lady I've last come face to face with—has now completely changed.
Nonetheless.. it wasn't bad.
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"It's been far too long," she said, her voice exuding a hint of exhaustion. "Do you mind? Help me with this."
She gestured to her back; the young boy who I had trouble sensing at a distance has now become apparent to me—and that same man I'd regarded as someone the lady has begun to 'look after'—is now standing in front of me.
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"My lady—what is that 'boy' doing here?" I inquire, showing signs of disbelief—nevermind her growing affection towards that boy; it's unthinkable of him to follow us here!
The lady gave a doubtful look, clasping her hands together. "Ah, you must be mistaken, Hal," she replied, waving her hands at the same time. "As you can see, this is another person."
'Another' how? Look at him! I took in each of his features—same height, same face, same eyes, and about the hair?
Dark brown, huh? In contrast to the other black hair, it's a bit different—only in a slight manner, though—as for the facial expression.
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"What're you looking at, old man?" A gruff voice interrupted my thoughts, and I turned to see that version, narrowing his eyes in disgust.
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To another location, we sight the mentioned young man—acho! My nose tends to be itchy lately—well, it's not like anyone will talk about me here~
I'm bored~ the lady went off somewhere—thus naturally I have no task assigned to do—well, I'd need to actually test 'that' someday.
Oh—the one accompanying the lady, was it Hal? Halor.. Ah! Harold!
Ahh, it's a shame to say this; that 'knight'—
'Harold Barnes, a loyal knight who solely serves the 'lone princess'..
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is willing to offer her his everything.'
will soon reach his demise.