She would be lying if she said she hadn’t considered this possibility. Still, she couldn’t help wondering why this was happening to her. It was easy to anticipate an attack, but she could never have predicted that three of the knights who accompanied her would all be killed at once.
This was no time for regrets, though. She didn’t have the right. She would never be permitted to start regretting things after coming so far. She was only allowed to do the minimum necessary to safely reach her destination and successfully fulfill the duties that her role required.
“Hnh!” she grunted as a tremor beneath her feet made her jump. Reflexively turning her attention to the view outside, she saw only the same vast plains she had seen before. The carriage must have run over a rock or something. Yet the vehicle showed no sign of slowing down—it couldn’t afford to.
She didn’t need to be told that the situation was grave. Even now, the personal guard that drove the carriage said nothing, partly because they did not wish to upset her and partly because they scarcely had the chance. There was nothing she could do, even understanding how dire her circumstances were. Nobody would hear her cries for help in a desolate place like this...and even if it weren’t so desolate, who would come to her aid and visit the danger that had befallen her upon themselves? Right now, the only people in the world who would risk their lives for her were the knights of her guard who were furiously driving the carriage. They could be in the capital, or anywhere, and still...
“Well, maybe if he was here...”
She voiced no further thought before a self-deprecating smile appeared on her lips. That would be entirely too convenient. For one thing, he would never be there to begin with. For another...
“Why would he ever bother to help me? I couldn’t do a thing for him back then,” she regretfully reproached herself, glancing backward as she did so. The structure of the carriage being as it was, nothing entered her vision, and yet she was sure she felt someone drawing near. Riiz Adastera tightly gripped her own arm.