Chapter 189

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 189
Chapter Title: The Signature
-----------------------------------------------------------------

“...Your Highness.”

Sir Manfredi, fully armed and holding his breath in the dead of night, could no longer bear it after three in the morning and called out to Prince Alfonso.

The back of his neck had long since stiffened with tension.

“Do you really think the Grand Duchess will appear tonight?”

If one were to name the most nervous person here, it would undoubtedly be Prince Alfonso, yet the prince was surprisingly calm.

One might have believed him to be a wise old man, not a youth.

“We must wait and see.”

Beside Prince Alfonso, a gloomy Sir Elko and a somber Sir Bernardino continued to wait. All were in full military gear.

Fortunately, their wait was answered.

About ten minutes before four in the morning, a shout was heard from outside.

“Fire—!!!”

The prince and his knights exchanged meaningful glances. They listened intently to the commotion outside.

The heavy thud of soldiers' boots running out could be heard.

It was clearly different from the soft footfalls of maids or servants gliding through the palace in silk shoes.

“It seems the guards have been drawn away, doesn't it?”

A nod.

The knights affirmed in unison.

“Let's go.”

Prince Alfonso drew his sword, quietly opened the door to his quarters, and stepped into the hallway.

As they were guest quarters, the door had no separate lock, but the area around the suite was heavily guarded by soldiers monitoring Prince Alfonso.

However, at the cry of fire, a significant number of them had rushed off to extinguish it, leaving only three guards at their posts in the corridor.

- *Thrust!*

Prince Alfonso's sword pierced the back of the nearest guard, who was sitting with his back to them. There was no hesitation in his strike.

- *Clang!*

Sir Manfredi lopped off the head of the second guard, who was further out,

- *Thwack!*

- *Crash!*

the infirm Sir Elko and the elderly Sir Bernardino worked together to smash the third guard's head with a blunt weapon.

Behind them, the remaining knights followed silently.

In the narrow corridor, it would have been inefficient for ten men to rush at once. Having worked together since childhood, they instinctively found their optimal positions without a word.

Alfonso looked around.

He wasn't particularly familiar with the layout of the Palace of Montpellier, but all palaces shared a similar structure.

There was only one place in the palace large enough to garrison the Duke of Euldenburg's 300 knights and 1,000 infantrymen.

The palace's rear garden. It was normally used as a training ground and was the primary venue for events like military parades.

“Let's head to the rear garden.”

“Uh... Your Highness.”

Sir Bernardino stopped Alfonso.

“I believe our guide is coming.”

In the direction he indicated with his chin, Grand Duchess Lariesa was running towards them.

It seemed she had really set the fire herself.

Doused in oil and holding a flint in her hand, she looked at Prince Alfonso with eyes full of resentment.

“So, you're leaving after all.”

Alfonso replied indifferently.

“I said I was leaving.”

He was right. Left speechless, Lariesa narrowed her eyes and demanded her due.

“You may go, but keep your promise before you do.”

Alfonso bit his lip. But a promise was a promise.

Lariesa took out a parchment she had carefully stored in her bosom and thrust it at Alfonso.

Taking the parchment, Alfonso hesitated for a moment.

Standing beside him, Sir Manfredi interjected spitefully.

“Oh dear, we have no pen and ink.”

He had deliberately spoken in the Gallican tongue, meaning for the Grand Duchess to hear.

Lariesa bit her lip, shot Sir Manfredi a glare, and then bit her own left ring finger.

Blood spurted, and fresh blood flowed.

With bloodshot eyes, she held out her left ring finger to Alfonso, urging him on.

“Here, use this.”

At this point, there was no backing out. Alfonso gritted his teeth and dipped his right index finger in Lariesa's blood.

Lariesa thrilled at the touch of their skin.

She couldn't tell if it was the pain from her wound or a jolt of electricity from their fateful encounter.

Ignoring Lariesa's ecstasy, Alfonso wrote his name in block letters in the designated space on the document and signed where the seal was to be placed.

*'It's done!'*

Lariesa's face lit up. It was a marriage contract extracted by force, but a marriage contract was a marriage contract nonetheless.

With a much brighter face, she spoke to her 'husband'.

“Husband, follow me. The Duke of Euldenburg's army is stationed in the rear garden of the Palace of Montpellier.”

It was just as Prince Alfonso had thought.

The fact that Lariesa had no further use after he had signed the marriage contract irritated him, and he was quite surprised by this side of himself.

Unaware of her 'husband's' thoughts, Lariesa asked brightly.

“I know a shortcut to the rear garden. Since you are knights, it would be best to blend in with the cavalry, wouldn't it?”

Alfonso replied dryly.

He neither wanted to reveal his base feelings nor engage emotionally with Lariesa.

“The cavalry is small in number, so it's better to hide among the infantry's baggage. If the two units are encamped separately, please lead us to the infantry.”

“Yes!”

Although her suggestion was rejected, Lariesa was happy regardless.

Following her lead, the group silently and swiftly navigated the side paths of the Palace of Montpellier.

Whenever they were spotted along the way, Prince Alfonso's sword did not hesitate.

As if his anguish over killing Duke Mireille had happened in a past life, the prince's sword was swift and decisive.

Grand Duchess Lariesa turned pale as she watched not only patrolling guards but also servants and attendants on night errands being killed, but having resolved to be loyal to one man, she did not intervene.

“There it is!”

At Lariesa's indication, the group finally stopped.

It was a large encampment with countless tents.

It was still early dawn, closer to night, so everyone except the sentries was still asleep, but within half an hour, they would wake, prepare to march, and leave this square within two hours.

“Where would be best?”

Sir Bernardino asked. Sir Manfredi, who had scanned the camp with sharp eyes, offered his opinion.

“Wouldn't the wagons for military gear have the least traffic? The supply wagons are likely to have people coming and going to prepare breakfast and such.”

It was Sir Elko who disagreed with Sir Manfredi.

“...The northerners don't eat grains in the morning when they march. They make do with milk and dried meat and then set off.”

This was a realization gained from nearly half a year as a prisoner of the Gallican barbarians.

“They won't touch the grain wagons on the morning of a march. However, since today is the day of departure, it's possible the gear wagons will undergo a final inspection.”

The decision was Prince Alfonso's. He made it quickly.

“Hmm. We'll hide in the grain wagons. There are more of them, and they're on the outskirts, so it will be easier to slip in unnoticed.”

The knights nodded.

“Let's split into four teams of three. Sir Elko... you'll come with me.”

This arrangement was to accommodate Sir Elko, whose physical condition made it difficult for him to pull his own weight.

- “Yes, Your Highness!”

The knights answered in hushed but firm voices.

They split into small groups of three and departed to choose wagons to hide in.

Alfonso, too, was looking for a wagon to slip into, avoiding the sentries' eyes.

At that moment, sensing their parting was near, Grand Duchess Lariesa called out to stop Prince Alfonso.

“Your Highness.”

Alfonso turned his head to look at her without replying.

Lariesa, who had wanted to call him 'my lord husband', swallowed hard, unable to utter the title in the face of his cold gaze.

But there was something she had to say.

“...You must come back.”

Once again, Prince Alfonso did not answer. He had no intention of returning to this dreadful place.

He didn't want to waste even the mental energy to lie to Lariesa.

Lariesa hadn't said it expecting a reply, either.

She had the marriage contract, after all. Prince Alfonso was now her man. Her man alone.

Even if he didn't return to Gallico, even if he returned to the Kingdom of Etruscan and ascended the throne, he would one day have to summon Lariesa.

To remain a member in good standing within the faith and avoid excommunication, one had to respect a marriage made under God's blessing.

Especially when the other party was not just anyone, but a Grand Duchess of Gallico.

“Stay safe, my husband.”

Lariesa finally managed to say the words she had longed to speak.

With a hardened expression, Prince Alfonso left Grand Duchess Lariesa behind and slipped into the Duke of Euldenburg's barracks.

* * *

- “We're moving out!”

After a military command to depart rang out in a Sternheim tongue the prince and his companions could not understand, the grain wagon carrying them began to slowly jolt along the paved stone road.

It was still before dawn, when the morning stars were out.

Lariesa had not conveyed the full situation, so Alfonso was unaware, but his choice of the infantry as a hiding place had turned out to be an excellent one.

The Duke of Euldenburg's 100 cavalrymen were scheduled to depart later, after attending a departure ceremony with the Duke and the King of Gallico early in the morning.

The slower-marching infantry would set out at dawn for the port city of Lamiens, while the Duke and his cavalry would ride to meet them there after the ceremony.

It was the Duke's well-laid plan, designed to save every possible moment.

Inside the swaying wagon, the prince and his companions trembled with anxiety. What if they were discovered or captured during their escape?

They had already killed just under ten members of the Gallican court on their way out.

Their escape would have been discovered by now.

If captured by the King of Gallico, their next stop would be the dungeon, stripped of even the pretense of being honored guests.

*'We won't be safe even after boarding the ship. We need to be at sea for at least a week before we're found.'*

If they were caught right after setting sail, the Duke of Euldenburg might return Prince Alfonso to Philip IV.

They had to be discovered only after the entire fleet had departed and sufficient time had passed, eliminating the option for the Duke to turn back to Gallico.

*'Please. Let us set sail safely.'*

Amid their fervent hopes, the group was jostled in the wagon for a good four or five hours.

The distance to Lamiens was about 140 miglio, so it was about time they reached the port.

- *Clunk!*

The wagon gave a great lurch and stopped.

Alfonso prayed to the heavens.

Please, let them load the whole wagon onto the ship. Prince Alfonso, Sir Manfredi, and Sir Elko had each torn open a sack of grain and hidden inside, but it was hardly a perfect concealment.

Fortunately, there was no sign of anyone entering the wagon.

The prince, drenched in sweat, strained his ears for every little sound from outside.

- *Jolt!*

The wagon began to move once again.

*'They're going to load it onto the ship just like this!'*

Alfonso finally let out the breath he had been holding. Please, please, just like this...!

- “Captain, the wagon's caught on something and won't move.”

- “Isn't the weight different from the other wagons? Another one did the same thing earlier...”

- *Thud!*

The wagon sank sharply to one side.

- “The axle's broken!”

- “Damn it! It's too heavy to lift the whole wagon. We'll have to unload the cargo from this one and carry it on separately!”

- “Yes, sir! I'll get some laborers.”

- “Laborers? What do you think this is, the homeland? Do it yourselves! His Grace the Duke has arrived. We need to finish preparing for departure, now!”

A cacophony of words Alfonso couldn't understand filled the air around the wagon.

Then, the wagon's thick, waterproof tarp was thrown back, and light flooded in.

“Ugh!”

A groan was heard. It was Sir Elko's voice.

*'What went wrong?'*

Hidden inside the sack and unable to see out, Prince Alfonso listened anxiously.

- “Captain! There's a person in here... a knight is hiding here!”

When the wagon's axle broke, the sack Sir Elko was hiding in must have rolled over, exposing a part of his armor.

- “What?!”

The sound of soldiers swarming in could be heard.

They were surrounded.