I Don't Need the Grand Duke's Regret - Chapter 138
She knew it, but it still left her feeling uneasy. If she let it go now, she would live the rest of her life without ever finding out the true reason.
Soon, she would be saying goodbye to Ricardo.
Mirabel swallowed dryly and came to a conclusion. Just as she was about to speak—
“Beasts! Beasts have appeared!”
Ezio’s shout rang out.
Ricardo instinctively turned around, drawing the sword from his waist as he positioned himself in front of the carriage.
Mirabel frantically shouted after him as he stepped out to confront the threat.
“Sophie! Sophie is still outside!”
“Wait.”
Ricardo replied calmly and swung his sword with precision.
The sound of something heavy crashing to the ground followed a sharp yelp. Mirabel held Charles tightly in her arms with a pale face.
It was fortunate the child was still asleep. If he woke and realized what was happening, he would surely panic.
Mirabel, trying to ensure Charles wouldn’t wake up, wrapped his ears snugly in a blanket. Then she whispered a small incantation into his ears.
A soft golden light circled around his ears before fading, and Charles continued to sleep peacefully.
Mirabel exhaled a sigh of relief at the sight of her child’s sleeping soundly.
Though she wasn’t as skilled as Asil, as a member of the royal family, Mirabel had learned the basics of magic. Simple spells like a sleep charm were within her abilities.
Of course, even this basic magic had been taught to her by Asil, making it possible for her to use it.
When Charles was younger, she had often used the spell to help him sleep, but she hadn’t expected to need it again like this.
The charm would keep Charles asleep until she dispelled it herself, making sure he wouldn’t wake up and panic.
With Charles safely taken care of, Mirabel anxiously looked toward Ricardo’s broad back.
He was using his body to block the door, fending off the approaching beasts with swift and deadly precision.
The sound of his armor clinking, the whistle of his sword through the air, and the cries of the beasts all filled the space without pause.
“Uung… Mommy….”
“Yes, Charles. Keep sleeping. Just rest.”
Mirabel murmured soothingly, patting the child’s back. As she gently stroked his cheek, Sophie was suddenly thrown into the carriage.
“Sophie!”
Sophie didn’t answer to Mirabel but instead hurriedly shutting the carriage door. As soon as it closed, the carriage was enveloped in a deep silence. Asil’s protective magic had activated.
Only then did Sophie, who was drenched in cold sweat, take a breath to calm herself.
“Huh… Princess…”
“Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?”
“I’m fine. The commander of the guard brought me here. He told me not to leave the carriage under any circumstances.”
Mirabel nodded at Sophie and then looked out the window.
Ricardo, Ezio, and the knights of Renato were fighting off the beasts, but the beasts weren’t just a handful. Like a black wave surging toward them, hundreds of beasts were rushing toward the carriage.
“My God…”
A shocked gasp escaped Mirabel’s lips at the overwhelming sight.
No matter how skilled Ricardo was with a sword, it seemed impossible for him to fend off so many beasts. It was like placing a single general in the middle of an enemy-infested battlefield and demanding victory.
What’s worse, Ricardo had something precious to protect.
He was using all his strength to prevent the beasts from getting close to the carriage.
Mirabel’s carriage was now like being inside a transparent glass orb—protected, but fragile.
The protective barrier was strong, but once it cracked, it couldn’t be restored. If even one beast broke through the fissure, it would be the end.
That’s why Asil had layered three protective shields over Mirabel’s carriage.
Even if the first barrier broke, two more would remain to protect her.
It was a meticulous design that should have been sufficient against any normal group of beasts.
But not against this—starving beasts running wild, without their leader, desperate after a long snowstorm.
Crack! Crash!
“Ah!”
The sound of the outermost barrier shattering made Sophie flinch, covering her mouth to stifle a scream, worried it might wake Charles. Seeing Sophie, Mirabel gritted her teeth.
‘There are still two more layers. We’re safe for now.’
Mirabel held Charles tightly, her knuckles turning white as she gripped his blanket.
She couldn’t hide her growing anxiety as she glanced out the window again.
At that moment, her eyes met Ricardo’s as he swung his sword.
As their eyes locked, Mirabel watched Ricardo with a tense expression. She saw the muscles tense around his jaw as he focused on the battle.
Ricardo swung his sword in a wide arc, cutting down several beasts at once. Then, without missing a beat, he flicked the blood from his blade onto the ground, mouthing something toward Mirabel.
“Don’t worry.”
Mirabel’s heart pounded as she read his lips.
Her hands trembled.
Ricardo turned swiftly again, gripping the hilt of his sword with both hands, and without hesitation, plunged the blade deep into the snowy ground.
The sword sank into the white snow, and in an instant, a violet energy, like lightning, burst forth from the blade. The sword’s energy spread rapidly, striking each of the beasts approaching the carriage.
“Grrrr!”
“Kknngg!”
The beasts leaping toward the carriage shrieked as they were struck by the violent energy and convulsed as if hit by a lightning bolt.
Within moments, dozens of beasts fell dead, their bodies piling up in a wide circle around the carriage.
Mirabel watched Ricardo anxiously.
‘He just unleashed a sword aura?’
Unleashing such a wide and powerful burst of sword energy was no small feat. It came at a great cost, often causing severe internal damage to the one wielding it.
Ricardo was surely enduring unimaginable pain, his insides likely twisted in agony.
As expected, after retrieving his sword from the ground, Ricardo staggered, looking clearly unsteady.