# 12
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The eyes of five hundred knights turned to one point at once. Cloy shaved heads, scars large and small acquired as they oscillated between life and death, intense poisonous looks that only those who fought madly to survive possess, hoarse voices, and bodies as massive as mountain ranges.
“Oh my God, thank you.”
While the older knights were having a new revelation that “an exclamation may not be a curse,” Andrew, who had served Grace the water, was nodding, blushing.
Andrew, who had not yet completed his seventeenth year, was the youngest son of Marquis Isaac's family, and had only recently joined the Knights of the Order, following the example of his elder brothers. Joseph said, laughing, “Instead of those you might see in your nightmares, this polite boy is more suitable for the lady’s eyes,” so he sat him in the driver’s seat instead. Small missions were a side addition.
“Sir, what if the young lady faints from being stared at so much?”
Joseph said while chewing bacon, and Walter, who was eating, looked up.
Grace's features were bright. The torrent of attention pouring down like heavy rain should be exhausting, but she seemed completely unconcerned.
“A lot of bacon. "I'll take only half of it, and you eat the rest, sir."
“Oh, no, no!”
The young knight, accustomed to inhumane treatment from senior knights, was at a loss at the noblewoman's kind and polite suggestion.
“You can keep it for tomorrow, or distribute it to others. You've been tired all day driving the cart. “To have a knight of the Duke of Richmond act as chauffeur… I’m sorry.”
“No, never! I love driving the car!!”
Andrew's baritone voice rang out in the dark mountains. Some of them burst out laughing, while others furrowed their brows, as if they had forgotten that they were in the mountains.
“This idiot...needs extra training.”
When Grace laughed lightly and got into the carriage, Andrew closed his eyes tightly. He didn't need anyone to tell him; Five hundred pairs of eyes were digging into his back like arrows.
Please...don't open your mouths.
But the young knight's prayer was mercilessly shattered by the voice of his second brother, Sirius.
“I didn't know Andy liked driving cars?”
As soon as one of the Bloods opened the door, the mass autopsy began as if they were waiting for the signal.
"dew! We don't have a driver! Come to our house when we get back!!”
“Hey! Our home first! There is an arrangement, isn't there?
“And his wages are sent to the family!” We can't borrow our sweet little one for free!!”
Andrew lowered his head and pursed his lips tightly. After serving that elegant noblewoman, and now facing these humans… the words of the metropolitan nobles who were gossiping had automatically occurred to him.
Anyway, knights are rude.
Even Joseph was chuckling at the scene, but Walter poured cold water on him with his lazy voice.
“Others might laugh, but you, Joseph, whose dream was to become a driver... don't have the right to do that, do you?”
M.M.: 🤣🤣🤣🤣
“Ah, sir...”
At that moment, the reconnaissance squad sent out a hand signal from the Heart of Darkness.
[Northwest. The number is approximately one hundred.]
The faces of the knights who were exchanging jokes changed in an instant. Walter drank the water quietly, then nodded to Joseph with his eyes.
"Go."
“I'll finish it without making a sound.”
As soon as Joseph got up, about fifty of his men rose with him, as if by appointment. They left without making even the sound of grass treading, but for those who remained, not even their breathing changed. It was a scene of absolute confidence in the comrades.
“Fools. They only came with a hundred.”
Someone's voice faded into the wind, like a lie, when they felt a heavy vibration beneath their feet.
Doom, doom.
The once calm sparkle in Walter’s eyes changed, and at the same moment all the remaining Order Knights moved with complete discipline. Andrew swallowed and clung to the carriage carrying the noblewoman.
Even a creeping demon from hell would have retreated before that murderous aura that made the cold of the night even more cruel. The distant vibration seemed to suddenly rush, and then a terrifying howl began to cut through the darkness.
The knights pulled out their weapons at the same time, and Walter took large steps towards the carriage and opened its door violently.
Grace was sitting upright, without any appearance of panic. She must have been monitoring the situation outside.
“Follow Andrew's instructions. "Don't be afraid."
"Good."
“It will be over quickly.”
The tranquility was broken, and the sounds of death began to echo from all sides. The clanking of blades intensified, as if the fight between Joseph's men and the killers had begun, and heavy footsteps approached, shaking the ground moment by moment. At the same time, the sounds of four-legged creatures descending from the mountains fell like rain.
When Walter disappeared among the knights, Andrew hurriedly extended his hand to her. Monsters tended to target large objects like vehicles first.
“Put the cover on and get down!”
Grace moved quickly. As soon as I got off the carriage, the screams of a wolf that took its last breath rang out under the swords of the knights. Reflected in the torchlight, the lurkers looked hideous and distorted, and the howls intended to scatter the enemy were enough to steal minds.
On that dark night, in that rugged place, even as she faced stalkers and wolves, Grace did not ask unnecessary questions, nor did she scream in terror. On the contrary, she opened her eyes wide, watching the regime's knights roam the battlefield.
They were men who lasted ten full years in the “Wall of Death,” in which no one can last more than a year. Among such great warriors, it was not difficult to distinguish who was the leader.
Walter's presence swallowed even the sound. Wherever he passed, nothing remained, and it was not even possible to guess how he would fight. He looked like a war god dancing with his sword, a sight so overwhelming that Grace found herf staring at it unconsciously.
At that moment, a strong wind blew. Before Grace could grab her blanket, it slid off her head, and her dazzling blonde hair fell into the darkness.
"dew!!! Above you!!!»
With a shout, Andrew reflexively swung his sword towards the air. But the gargoyle, which looked like an eagle, was faster, snatching Grace with its claws. The bright blonde hair seemed to catch his eyes, as he was fond of everything that glittered.
“Miss Grace!!!”
When Walter finished beheading another wolf and turned around in horror, Grace was hanging dangerously in the gargoyle's claws.
Walter did not think for a moment; Rush towards her.
But Andrew, who was closer, was faster. As if trying to atone for his mistake, he threw himf and swung his sword, cutting off the gargoyle's wing. The monster let out a horrific scream, and floundered before it could let go of Grace.
The problem was that that place… was directly above a cliff.
“Nooooo!!”
The young knight dropped his sword, leaping his body towards the fallen noblewoman. When Walter arrived running like a madman, it was too late; Andrew and Grace disappeared together under the edge of the cliff.