The last thing James saw through the window was Hansh repeatedly trying to attack the assailant & he dodging it again & again. Which continued for several moments before both of them slowing down & the carriage sped up.

Soon the carriage also stopped as hundreds of soldiers came into view carrying various weapons. Some of them talked with the driver & left in a hurry, but some stayed guarding it.

James tried to get out of the carriage many times, but every time he opened the door, a soldier would appear out of thin air & shut it down, telling him to stay inside until they clear the area. So he stayed inside looking here & there.

It was now abundantly clear that the assassination attempt had failed as he & Lucas were sitting inside alive. But what happened to the twenty soldiers & the captain? They were nowhere to be seen.

They were alive, right? Asked James to himself, as it was the only thing he could do. He never thought once in his 26 years of life that someone would try to kill him. But after seeing this sudden action sequence like some old Indiana Jones movie, he was sure that he could have died if the driver or the captain hadn't done something.

James had read many history books & the word assassination was common in it. Many leaders tried to kill their counter parts by hiring people for various gains & the story was similar here. Just like how killing of Archduke Franz Ferdinand started World War I, Leonhart's death could have also started another war.

He was not some nobody anymore. Now he was Leonhart who had many enemies & more attempts to kill him could happen at any moment. James had to be vigilant about everything if he was going to make this life meaningful.

A knock on the door was heard & two guards boarded the carriage saying nothing to the two lords. One sat beside Loen & another beside Lucas, who was now facing floor for the last 10 minutes.

James did not know what happened to him. He tried to talk to him many times, but most of the times he would just stay silent & if he talked he would always say sorry for some unexplained reasons. So it was pointless to even talk with him.

And soon the carriage moved & surrounding it, over 100 guards started moving. The driver gave the information about them being outnumbered & to solve that, they came up with this idea. If anyone had the balls to fight 100 soldiers with fully equipped armors & weapons, then either that guy had to be a moron or a magician who could turn himself into a dragon.

The point was nobody in their right mind would do that & even if some idiots tried, then they could defend the carriage with no issue. So they set out towards the town named Nortion at a higher pace as both the driver & the horses had been replaced with other ones.

"Where are we going?" asked James in a questioning gaze, looking towards the guy to his right. He at least had to know where they headed after all that commotion.

"To Nortion." replied the guard, keeping the stoic expression on his face. He was never a fan of Leonhart & now they were all running everywhere because someone tried to kill him. Many soldiers could have died protecting this obnoxious brat, and there was no sign of his security team arriving.

Did they all died?

Was it even worth sacrificing their own life?

There were many questions going inside the young soldier's head, making him anxious. Still, he appeared calm, as there was nothing he could do to make the situation better.

"Anything about the soldiers who were with us?"

"No Lord, we have not seen them yet, but we are searching."

To his remarks, Leon nodded, saying nothing, keeping a distressed expression on his face & the carriage kept rolling towards its destination.

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***

Evening

The carriage reached the town Nortion which was now filled with thousands of soldiers running here & there. Upon hearing the news of this assassination attempt, each & every soldier present in barracks was mobilized immediately for no reason at all.

Was anyone going to attack the town? No. No one in their right mind would try that. Still, they were mobilized to protect a single man. Yes, it was an overkill but orders were orders.

Most of the roads which lead to the castle were now empty & was heavily guarded by soldiers. Nobody was allowed to step outside until the carriage passed.

James tried to look outside but was only met by hundreds of stares from the soldiers. Not a single soul except people working for the count were present.

The carriage was escorted inside the castle where Leon & Lucas could finally get out. They were immediately taken into a room where some old-looking dudes who were physician/doctors checked them for any injury.

There were only minor bruises on them as they both fell down onto the floor because of the sudden movement. So after some moment Lucas left the room but when Leon tried to, he couldn't. The two guards who were with him just won't let him go.

And when he asked their reply was, it was for his security. So asking no further question he sat there. After some moment the door opened & the count with his advisors entered the room carrying worried expression.

Palatine was beyond shocked after hearing what just transpired within an hour. It was just impossible. His son hired mercenaries for increasing the overall security, which was not odd, as they couldn't use the main army for petty reasons.

Still, it was a shocking fact that how in presence of everyone, something like this could happen & what he was going to do now? Leon was the duke's son, or in other words, he was the future duke who would rule over this region after his father.

This issue could very much jeopardize their relationship, which was not a good thing for them. Heinrich could do anything, as he was a man who took decisions on impulses. Palatine couldn't even stop this news from spreading as most of the men present here were loyal to the duke, not to him.

The soldiers were eyeing him suspiciously, tightly clutching their weapons, which was a sign that meant he was not welcomed here. Still, he had to do something to save the relationship or his family's demise was now set in stone.

"Lord Leon... You are fine, right?" asked the Palatine in a worried tone, moving closer, but was stopped by a soldier who spoke in an eerie tone, warning him not to get too close.

"As you can clearly see, I am perfectly fine." replied James in a causal tone. He understood why theses guards were on the edge. Leonhart was the future duke no matter what anyone said & it was their job to protect him at any cost.

And if they failed, then there was only one thing written on their fates & that was death. Failing to protect the Lord or running away from the battlefield was considered as treason in this era & the punishment was instant death with no judgement.

Also, something James didn't know was Hansh had already informed the chief, who handled all the soldiers in this region, about this plot. He was unsure about its certainty, but he told everything nonetheless & the chief acted upon it.

If something like this happened, then the Count's family was linked to it. So the soldiers were strictly given orders to stay vigilant at all times & not trust anyone from the castle.

"That's a relief." said the count with a little smile, but internally he was freaking out as to what to do now.

Soon some soldiers arrived & escorted Leonhart to his room. Each & every corner he passed, there was someone guarding the vicinity.

The guards stayed outside & James entered the room where he was greeted by both Sophia & Lina who were carrying worried expressions. First one to approach was Lina, who ran towards him & started frantically touching all over his body, searching for any injuries which freaked him out & he took a couple of steps back.

Realizing what she had done, Lina appeared a bit embarrassed, but she had done nothing wrong, so there was no need to fear.

"You are not hurt, are you?" asked Sophia, who was standing at a distance but had moved closer to the duo.

"I am fine. There is nothing wrong with me. So both of you can leave now." said James as he was not in the mood to talk to anyone.

With that, both of them left asking no further questions as they both knew Leon won't be happy if they kept pestering him.

James removed his clothes, took a warm bath, wore another set of clothes & lay down on his too comfortable bad recalling all the past events.

Nothing was out of ordinary until they boarded the carriage. From that point, everything started getting sideways. Hansh & the soldiers got into action mode & Lucas started freaking out for unknown reasons.

And in next 5 minutes the whole assassination arc took place & the result was still unclear. There was no solid evidence that they were targeting him. It could have been Lucas or anyone else. And the only person who could confirm all this was the captain Hansh, who was still not here.

No matter how many times James asked about their situation, there was no clear answer. They were outnumbered & outmatched from the very beginning.

So did they all perished in the battle fighting? They won't die, right? Asked James to himself, but there was no one to answer his question.