64 Quiet Story Part 13 - The Leader's Seriousness -




The attack that shook the royal procession began when the king's carriage was attacked.
The two horses of the knight in the lead suddenly lost their footing and swayed from side to side.

What's wrong?
What's going on?" "What's ...... in front of you right now?

At about the same time that the knights' faces became alarmed, arrows rained down from the forest on both sides. I'm not sure what to do, but I'm sure it's a good idea.

Calm down! The enemy's shooting is atrocious, and we have enough protection. Your Majesty must be protected first!

Alford's voice rang out, and the column came to a complete halt. As the knights dismounted, men with swords rushed out from the forest as if they were waiting for them.

"Return fire!

Alford shouted, and the atmosphere tightened.
They are knights. They train hard every day to protect the king and defend the country. They are the most battle-savvy soldiers in the land, and they take pride in being so.
We can't afford to fall behind these people who have no idea who we are.

The united movement of the Knights was great. This year, the number of guards was much smaller than usual (which was unavoidable in light of the recent commotion), but they had gathered the best of the best.
Among them, Alford, the leader of the King's Kingsguard, was a tremendous fighter. With his large body, he wielded a longer-than-usual sword and effectively drove his enemies out of combat. Usually, a long sword wielder has a gap when he raises or lowers his sword, but he never had any gap at all. Once, he easily kicked an enemy who was slashing at him just when he had defeated one of them, sending him into agony. ...... There are not many long sword users who fight with their entire body.
It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for. If you show even a glimpse of an opening, that gentleman-like combat superhuman will jump into your pocket without a trace of restraint. And once he got in his range, Alford had no chance. As he fought with Edward, Alford naturally learned how to fight without showing any gaps, and learned to keep a good distance to his advantage - using whatever he could use, whether it was his feet, hands, or head. He developed a fighting style that might be a bit wrong for a swordsman.

The attackers were amateurs in numbers as well as in skill with the bow and arrow. They had some experience with swords, but that was it. With the best gladiators in the kingdom, the cleanup was a snap.
Some of the men who had attacked him had escaped, others had been captured, and the whole thing had been a very tense affair. As the knights tied up the rogues, their cheeks flushed with victory...

(Something is wrong.)

Alford felt a strange sense of unease. What kind of amateur would attack the king's carriage? Even if he thought it was just a nobleman's carriage, he had never seen such a lackluster and random attack.

"Alford. Is it done?
....... Yes, Your Majesty.

Juke is peeking out of the carriage window. He seemed surprised by the sudden tension outside, but did not panic.

What was the point of all this?
"I don't know, sir. I don't know. Anyway, I'm going to talk to the people who captured him...

Alford's words trailed off. Alford's words cut off in mid-sentence. He hadn't let his guard down yet, but he was still sensitive to the sound of multiple hooves coming from behind him.

"Alford?
Your Majesty, one moment, please.

While he was saying this, the sound of hooves grew louder...

Are you all right, Your Majesty?

The figures from around the corner were the knights of the Royal Guard that had been following Diana. Alford, along with Juke, rolled their eyes.

You, why are you here? What happened to the Red Rose?
"We received word that His Majesty has been attacked, and the Red Rose has sent us to protect him.

The moment he heard the words of the knight of the palace guard, a chill went down Alford's spine.

--It was as if the attackers were uncoordinated, with no discernible purpose.
It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

"Go back!

It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for. It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

"Didn't you hear me? Get back here now! No, you're not enough, I'm coming too. I'm coming with you.
"Oh, come on, Alford, you can't be serious. ......!

By the look on Juke's pale face, I knew he had come to the same conclusion as Alford. Pulling his horse closer, Alford nodded.

"I think it's very likely.
What are you doing here? What are you doing, boys? Follow the Commander's orders!

His Majesty the King's urging. I don't understand, but his words are absolute.
A number of horsemen followed the Commander, who had already mounted his horse and started riding.



This time the procession was shorter than usual, but Diana's carriage was still far behind. As Alford began to regret that it would have been faster to ride by himself, he saw a scene that he had expected but could never admit to becoming reality, but which was now reflected in his eyes as an undeniable reality.
A few shadows attacked a small but elegant carriage for women.

"----!!!

His anger was inarticulate. He rode into the carriage and slashed at one of them. The other man quickly defended himself, but he was no match for Alford's momentum and was blown away.


I could tell just by the way you moved. --I knew this was the main force.

As proof of this, the moment they saw Alford, the men turned and disappeared into the forest. Alford says to his men who have caught up with him, without looking back.

"Go after them. --Don't let them get away.

Alford's voice was powerful enough to echo from the depths of the earth, but never shrill enough to convey his anger to his men. The young but brilliant commander, who never forgets to care for his men at any time, is now really angry.
Alford is good, but his men are also good. He immediately dismounted from his horse, called out to the palace guards who had returned, and then split up to disappear deeper into the forest.

"Catch that man for me.

Alford said quietly to the women of the palace guard, who were standing around the carriage in a daze. His words brought them back to their senses, and they began to move, albeit awkwardly.

--Here, Alford was finally able to face the person he needed to face.

"...... Rita.

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...... You've done well to hold on.

I couldn't find the right words to say. I searched and searched, and finally came up with the right words.
Rita's shoulders began to shake.

"You held on ......? Who's holding out, and how? I don't know.
Rita.
We have to find her. Master Deanna's not used to this place.
Rita, calm down.
Deanna, I'm coming. Wait for me, I'll be right there.

Rita's eyes were completely devoid of life. She is looking at a forest dominated by conifers, green even in winter.
I'm sure you'll be pleased to hear that ...... Diana is in the forest. It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for. In reflex, Alford grabbed her by the arm.

"Rita! How long had it already been since she had entered the forest? Five minutes, is it enough? If we let her go that long, there's no way we'll ever find her!
Let her go to ....... I have to go.
You're not as familiar with the woods as she is. If you move, you'll be lost!
So you're just going to leave me here?

Rita, who rarely raised her voice, let out a piercing scream.

It's my ...... fault. It's my fault. I let Master Diana go because I was too weak. And now you want me to do nothing?
I didn't say that. I'll send out a search party right away. But Rita, if she ...... "Deanna Crester" gets serious in the woods, you won't be able to find her by yourself. You know that. You don't need me to tell you that.
"I don't know that! Deanna-sama, Deanna-sama, Deanna-sama--......

Rita continues to call out for Deanna in a sorrowful voice. The blade fell from her weak hand and made a clanking sound.
Rita's despair flows into Alford through her touched arm. It's a good idea to take a look at a few of the things that are available in the marketplace.
Before ......, she did not properly understand the true meaning of her feelings. It's not that I don't know anything about it, I just thought I did.
But now. But now that Alford has found a "master" in Juke, whom he wants to protect even at the cost of his life, Rita's despair is as painful as his own. If you're not able to protect Juke because of your own inability to do so, and you end up losing him right in front of your eyes,......, you're not going to be able to stay sane either.

Rita, Miss Diana is safe.

He gently pulled her into his arms and whispered in her ear so that only Rita could hear. Rita, who had been trembling and unable to cry, looked up at the whispered words.

She looked up at the whispered words, "Miss Diana went into the forest by herself, didn't she? Then she must be alive. If you can't catch Miss Diana in the woods, how do you expect them to catch her?

I could feel Rita's body heat returning as she spoke. Alford smiled invisibly and said .

I'm not going to let her die in a situation where I know you'll be alone if she dies here.

The truth, for him, dropped gently.

Rita's trembling stopped. The strength returns to her body, her breathing, her eyes.
Alford let go of her arm and body, unnoticed.

"--......, yes.
Oh, absolutely. ...... By the way, maid of honor, may I ask you to tell me more about what happened here?
Of course, Commander Su-Won.

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Sensitive to the enemy's intentions, she left the wagon and took the bait to protect her friends. It seems that Alford arrived shortly after that.
Rita blamed herself, but Alford wanted to blame himself as well. If only he had been able to see what the enemy was after a few more tens of seconds earlier. If only he could have seen what the enemy was up to a few more seconds earlier, he might have been able to help Deanna before she ran away and Rita before she was targeted by the enemy.

It was too dangerous to stay in the forest for any length of time when the enemy was targeting them. Alford sent only the minimum number of people necessary for the escort to go ahead in the procession (Juke was against it, but he told him that he needed to set up a base of operations in a safe place), contacted the local security forces, and asked them to detain and interrogate the captured people (with his men as guards, of course). Then he regrouped his knights and set out to search for the Red Rose.

--Miss Diana, please be safe.

The sun was beginning to set on the fourth day of the trip.
It was the beginning of the longest night of anyone's life.