After some time, the noblewoman regained her composure and quickly pulled away from the young man. He felt slightly saddened by this but immediately set those feelings aside and smiled at her.
“I hope you are feeling better, my lady.”
“Yes, I am. Um, I must apologize for not thanking you after all that you did to help me. I’m truly grateful that you saved me. If I may ask, what is your na—”
Just as she was about to ask the young man’s name, a voice boomed from behind them.
“Sir Reiner!!! Are you all right?!”
Reiner, the young man, turned around and found Dynus, who looked worried, and Arwin, who was grinning for some reason.
“We’re supposed to be traveling incognito, Dynus,” he pointed out. “You shouldn’t be calling out my name.”
“But you said not to call you ‘young master,’ sir,” Dynus replied.
Reiner pressed his hand against his forehead as though exhausted by his bodyguard, then he remembered that the noblewoman was still with them.
“These people are my, um, friends, so you do not have to worry about them. I apologize if they scared you, my lady.”
At first, Dynus seemed to have reminded the young woman of the brutes from earlier and she’d seemed a bit afraid. However, once she saw his expressive nature and how he’d referred to Reiner as “young master,” she seemed to find him humorous and chuckled a bit.
“No, no. I’m all right. I must say, it’s hard to believe that someone as strong as you is called ‘young master’ by his friends.”
Reiner wasn’t sure what to say and simply looked embarrassed. Still, this had resulted in helping the young woman to smile again, so he decided not to fight it.
“Urgh...yes, it’s quite strange. I’m not very fond of being referred to that way, but if it puts a smile on your face, then perhaps ‘young master’ isn’t such a bad title...”
The woman seemed a bit surprised but pleased by his response. “Oh my, you say such nice things, my lord,” she responded with a giggle.
“Oh, what?! No, um, I didn’t mean anything by it, I just... I-I apologize.”
There was a slightly sweet air surrounding the two, and Arwin cleared his throat in an obvious manner to switch gears.
“I’m sorry to interrupt the fun, but can you explain the situation to me, young master?”
“Urgh, yes, I should have been doing so,” Reiner replied. “I apologize.”
With that, he returned to his usual self and explained to Arwin what had happened there. As Arwin listened, he furrowed his brows, then turned to face the noblewoman.
“My lady, for reasons I cannot divulge, we cannot reveal our names or titles, but I promise you that we will handle this matter appropriately. We will also prepare a carriage for you, so you should return home at once.”
“Oh...yes, I understand. However, I haven’t been able to thank you for your help. At the very least, may I ask the name of the young master?” she pleaded.
Arwin silently shook his head. “I apologize. Like I said earlier, that isn’t something I can share today. Hopefully there will be an opportunity for you two to meet again.”
“I understand...” The young woman nodded in disappointment.
The group then left the area and succeeded in reuniting the noblewoman with her servants, who were all overjoyed that their mistress had been found, and they showered Reiner and his companions with gratitude.
Several moments later, the carriage that Reiner had prepared on Arwin’s orders arrived. Reiner and his companions helped the noblewoman and her servants into the carriage and then sent them off.
✦ ✦ ✦
After the young woman had said goodbye to Reiner and his friends, her servant spoke up on the carriage ride home.
“I’m truly glad that you’re all right, Lady Nanalie,” she said. “I will be forever grateful to those men.”
“I feel the same,” Nanalie replied. “If those men—or rather, if Sir Reiner—hadn’t come to my aid... Just the thought of what would have happened terrifies me.”
She thought back to what had happened earlier and couldn’t help but tremble with fear. Rogus Galliano, the son of Count Galliano, was someone whose proposal she’d had to hear out due to his status within the nobility. She’d formally declined his proposal and had made sure to communicate that to his family through her father, Tristan. But despite her having taken the appropriate steps, Rogus had persisted in approaching her. His behavior had gradually gotten worse and eventually grown to something of an obsession that had made her fear for her safety. As a result, whenever she went out, Nanalie had made sure to creatively hide her identity.
Unfortunately, she’d been spotted by Rogus during her outing today. Not only had he seen through her disguise but he’d also managed to separate her from her servants, which had put her in a dire situation. It was common knowledge that he was a count’s son, so no one had immediately stepped in to help her, and she’d thought that she was done for. But it was at that moment that he had appeared—the young man who seemed to be a civil servant at first glance, yet stood with the might of a knight. He had taken down Rogus and his lackeys in the blink of an eye and saved Nanalie from the brink of despair.
Sir Reiner... Nanalie repeated in her mind. He was an incredibly lovely person.
Her face flushed as she thought back to the earlier events, and a servant looked at her in confusion.
“You referred to him as Sir Reiner, my lady. Did you know his name?”
“What? Oh, I only caught his name because his servant, Dynus, referred to him as such,” Nanalie explained. “But he scolded Dynus for calling him by his name,” she added with a giggle.
She couldn’t help but smile when she thought back on the interactions between Reiner and Dynus. The contrast between how well he’d carried himself in that fight and the indescribable expression on his face when referred to as “young master” made her laugh.
Nanalie looked out of the carriage window, enjoying the view with a smile on her face. She sounded a bit sad as she muttered to herself, “‘Hopefully there will be an opportunity for us to meet again,’ he said? I do wonder if we shall...”