It’s Not Night - Chapter 115

From the side, Jonathan looked at Dustin with a displeased face. As if it’s not enough for Dustin to cut him off mid-sentence, he even took away Jonathan’s opportunity to speak.

However, since he was in front of Andra, it was clear that he was putting up with it. Andra hastily rushed to Jonathan before the situation got any worse.

“I will go. First of all, it is dangerous outside the camp.”

“Yes, it’s as he said, Anna. Your treatment comes first.”

Jonathan gently escorted Andra, though she didn’t really need help. Andra gave him a small smile as a thank you, then quickly separated Jonathan and Dustin.

Dustin walking alone from behind looked a little bothered by it, but she couldn’t help it. She can’t actually defend Dustin in front of Jonathan.

Arriving at the camp, Andra was treated by a doctor who just woke up. The doctor seemed puzzled at the red handprint on Andra’s shoulder, but said nothing. He treated her and handed her some painkillers. Then he insinuated that, if possible, to ride with someone else and not drive the horse herself.

“Do I… have to ride with someone else?”

“If you want to have a sore shoulder for the rest of your life, you can.”

Though with a smile, the doctor said this sharply. Andra had no choice but to keep her mouth shut and nod back.

After the doctor had gone out of the tent and Andra had finished dressing up, Jonathan went inside.

“I heard from the doctor. He told me not to let you drive a horse alone. That’s rather good. I was worried about Anna, so you can ride with me.”

Andra was a little spooked when Jonathan suggested that they ride together so calmly, so she waved her hand. She couldn’t be an obstacle to the imperial family who needed to be protected.

It was clear that the movement of a horse with one rider and two riders would be remarkably different. If there was ever a need to run away, the horse carrying the two would soon get tired.

“I can’t harm the prince.”

“Harm? Anna, your shoulder comes first. And to be honest, you came here because of me. So I have to take responsibility.”

“It would be uncomfortable if we ride together…”

“What was one of the things I was most confident about?”

Jonathan pulled out a chair and sat down beside her. That question reminded Andra of the young prince who played in the fields with her a long time ago.

Even before he became an adult, Jonathan would come to the East every fall to play with at the Avellin estate. In particular, Jonathan and Andra rode horses and ran together through a wide wheat field.

“…It’s horseback riding. But I am also confident in it.”

“That won’t do with that shoulder. And above all, what are you worried about?”

“The worst.”

Andra gave a small answer. In response, Jonathan let out a small sigh and took her hand.

“You have been like that since you were a child. Thinking of the worst.”

“Because you can’t guarantee that only good things will happen every time. Prince, even now. Things have changed a lot. A monster appeared. Really bad things could happen on our way. If that happens, I will be a hindrance to the prince.”

Andra, who had promised Viola to protect Jonathan, could not act as a burden to Jonathan. Andra did not come here to be protected, but to protect. She had to do her best in her duty.

“I will ride with someone else. Of course, I won’t leave the Your Highness’s side. So you don’t have to do that for me.”

“You’re really as sharp as a knife. You never back down no matter what.”

“Think of it for your sake too.”

“…Would it have been different if I had handled the sword well like my sister?”

Suddenly, Jonathan exhaled calmly and asked back. Andra shook her head at once.

“Prince.”

“Never mind. It was just something I said.”

“Your Highness is doing well enough even now.”

“Thank you for saying that. I wanted to ask you earlier, what did Lord Airak do to you?”

Jonathan quickly changed the subject. His gaze was on Andra’s shoulder, which was wrapped in bandages.

“It’s nothing. I was looking around here and there in search of sound and almost entered a dangerous place, but he sensed it right away and hurriedly grabbed me by the shoulder then pulled me.”

“Does your shoulder end up like that when he pulls it?”

“It was an urgent situation. He must not have been able to control his strength.”

“Hmm…”

Andra’s answer made Jonathan ponder something. Then he turned his gaze to Dustin’s jacket, neatly folded on the table not far away. It was what she was wearing when he found Andra outside the encampment.

Because of Andra’s personality, there was no way she would have put on the enemy Dustin’s jacket herself, so Airak put it on her…

“Has your relationship with him gotten better?”

“What?”

“In the past, if it was something from Lord Airak, you hated just being around it.”

Dustin’s jacket! It was an astute point. Andra recalled that she did not return the jacket to Dustin. She had come all the way here wearing his jacket so naturally.

Jonathan looked at her strangely. The relationship between the two people that he knew before was an enemy who thoroughly hated each other.

“Looking at it, Lord Airak is also hanging around here…”

“I’ve been bumping into him lately that I feel numb to his presence now. And because we’re both Awakened. Even if I don’t want to talk to him, there are times when we need to share our opinions.”

Andra responded quickly. There was like a trickle of cold sweat running down her back, but she pretended to be as calm as possible while looking back at Jonathan. In times like these, being bold could be helpful.

Fortunately, Jonathan didn’t seem to doubt the relationship between the two. They had always been fighting nonstop before, but now, their relationship seemed to have gotten milder. He might be feeling curious as to what was the reason.

“Really?”

“Above all, we can’t just keep fighting when we’re on a mission together. We have to distinguish between public and private matters. Actually, I made an agreement with Lord Airak the other day, that at least outwardly, we’ll cooperate with each other as much as possible.”

“Avellin and Airak? That’s so unlike you two.”

“Because we’re in the presence of the prince and the princess. Above all, I made a big mistake in the past…”

Jonathan, who recalled what happened during the coming-of-age ceremony, exclaimed, “Ah.” Yes, it was really serious back then. His mother’s expression was no joke.

As for Andra, it was a memory she did not want to recall, but she could bear mentioning it again and again if she could manage the situation now.

“I don’t want to make the same mistake twice.”

“Yes, cooperating with Lord Airak isn’t bad either. True to his family name, he is an outstanding knight.”

Jonathan nodded, saying he understood. Andra saw this and finally sighed in relief. Then she spotted Dustin standing through a crack in the tent entrance, looking this way. Just as Jonathan said, Dustin had been hanging around here all along.

Andra unknowingly said what was in her mind.

“Anyway, once this matter is over, things will go back to normal. Something like this… will only be temporary.”

* * *

As Andra was told that she had to ride a horse with another knight due to her shoulder injury, Viola simply said,

“Then ride with me.”

What else is this? In a daze, Andra looked up at Viola. Two people, easy for my favorite horse. With a satisfied smile, she gently stroked her red horse. Beside her, Jonathan looked at his sister with a puzzled look.

“Sister. Rather I…”

“You can’t. If your horse is exactly like you… It’s going to be too much for you alone. And you think that I don’t know your ulterior motive?”

Jonathan was at a loss for what to say hearing Viola’s words. Then Viola spoke again to Andra, who looked back and forth between Viola and Jonathan bewilderedly.

“Why? Do you hate riding a horse with me, Lady?”

“No, no. Not that… I was worried that I might be a hindrance to Your Highness…”

“How can that be? Forget it, let’s get going soon. We’re pressed for time.”

Without warning, Viola picked up Andra and placed her on the horse. Reluctantly, Andra managed to keep herself centered and perched on top of her horse. How could she disobey the princess’ words, who is in charge of this group? She didn’t know that things would turn out like this.

Viola also got on top of the horse. She skillfully held the reins.

“Lady, if you’re really tired, it’s okay if you hold my waist. I’ll let you. There are times like this, aren’t there?”

Viola moved her horse and said to Andra. Of course, Andra, who had some knowledge of horseback riding, noticed that Viola was teasing her. She could have been a little sarcastic by saying about holding her shoulder. Andra couldn’t even say anything to Viola because her shoulder injury was her fault anyway.

“…Yes, thank you.”

“Then, let’s go.”

Viola urged her horse forward and set off. The knights began to move around the two imperial families.

As they approached the Morgennis border, the forest started to get foggy. Because of this, they had to move slowly. Fortunately, they did not encounter the monster they were worried about. The forest was just as quiet as if monsters didn’t exist.

“Monsters…”

“I can’t see any.”

“It’s quite different from what I’ve heard.”

“I don’t even know what happened.”

Viola answered Andra’s words and briefly looked around her.

She didn’t like the fog that enveloped the forest. The fog grew thicker as they went deeper. This made it difficult to react when attacked by an enemy. If they’d get unlucky, they would perish.

“Lady, let’s hypothesize why the monsters can’t be seen. I think there are two things.”

“Two things?”

“Really good luck or really bad luck.”

Hearing Viola’s words, Andra narrowed her eyes. What does that mean… Surprisingly, thinking that the princess was an erratic person in a different sense, Andra asked back.

“What do you mean?”

“Literally. It could be that we haven’t encountered a monster in the meantime because we’re lucky, but on the contrary, we could be unlucky and we might run into something big soon.”

“…That said, there might be something big enough to drive out all the monsters around here—”

Before Andra finished his words, the sound of footsteps resonating throughout the area began to be heard. Boom, boom… Hearing this, Viola shrugged her shoulders and said.

“Unfortunately, it’s the latter.”