I was worried about what I’d do if I couldn’t find the exit alone because I fell off with Curtis in a fit of anger, but fortunately, when I went back the way I came, the rock that was tightly blocking the front was cleared a little.
I wondered if the rescue team had arrived, so I ran out and saw people sweating as they pushed rocks.
“Hey, watch out for the rubble!”
“One, two, three!”
Knights dressed in neat uniforms encouraged each other and chanted as they heaved.
Grumble. Come on. The huge rock that seemed unlikely to budge no matter what they did moved little by little. The beam of light shining inside the mine grew. Moving toward the light, I found Adrian pacing around the knights and saying something.
“Rian!”
Turning his head to my voice, he came running and hugged me tightly. It may seem strange that a shabby man who was at least a head taller than me was rubbing his head in my arms, but Adrian was just cute. I stroked his fluffy hair and opened my mouth.
“Did you wait for a long time?”
“Hiiiing…”
I wiped his white cheek at his poor voice.
“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting so long.”
“It’s okay, it’s okay. Edith, I’m worried.”
I glanced over Adrian’s shoulder, who was almost clinging to me, at the knights still wrestling with the rock. Some of them glanced at Adrian and their jaws dropped with surprised faces as if their eyes were going to pop out of their sockets.
‘Are they surprised that Adrian is so handsome?’
At first, I thought they recognized him as the Crown Prince, but people from the imperial family would immediately make a fuss to take Adrian away.
“But who are these people?”
The man who seemed to be in command of the knights bowed politely at my question.
“Good morning, Lady. I’m Mel… Oh my god!”
“Rian!”
My eyes widened at Adrian trampling the foot of the man trying to introduce himself to me. Cry. Rian, who growled briefly at the man, bared his teeth and came trudging back to me.
“I’m sorry.”
“Oh, no. It’s all right.”
The man waved his arm and opened his mouth in a hurry at my apology.
“I’m just a traveler and mercenary who just walked by. When I heard that the Lady had been trapped in the mine, I moved the rock for her.”
His armor was too brilliant to just be a traveler. Although the pattern was covered by his red cloak, the well-polished silver armor was too bright not to see.
“As you passed by, you saved me for no reason?”
“Yes.”
My jaw hung open to the man’s answer. They were knights of chivalry.
Are they like the real knights of this era? The knights of the empire adhered to chivalry quite thoroughly, but moving rocks with their bare hands in this scorching heat wasn’t an easy task.
“What can I do because I’m grateful? I owe you a lot.”
“We don’t mean to be compensated, so don’t worry. Well, then I’m off.”
I don’t know why, but the man seemed afraid of Adrian. He glanced at Rian and flinched with a pale countenance. I hid Rian behind me because I thought he was worried about being bitten himself, so I hurriedly opened my mouth.
“Hold on! Still, I can’t not even say thank you.”
I offered the man a little gemstone from the mine.
“This… It’s small, but it’s Oriharcon. Take it.”
“Oh, Oriharcon?”
The man’s eyes widened at my words. Under the sun, Oriharcon emitted a subtle light that couldn’t be defined whether it was gold or silver.
“I can’t smelt it into a weapon because it’s small, but I can make an amulet.”
If the knights hadn’t moved the rock, I would’ve gone back to Curtis, and that would be quite a blow to my pride.
I knew the Oriharcon flowed from Edith’s mine, it was fine.
“Huh, I can’t believe the day comes when I could touch Oriharcon before I die…”
I waved the Oriharcon at the man who was almost crying with emotion.
“Please accept it without hesitation.”
“Thank you, Lady. May I ask your name?”
The man, who used to be polite, but now submissively glanced at my face as if he saw me somewhere. He looked worried, so I shrugged.
“It’s Edith Abina.”
“If you’re Abina, then the Marquis of Abina?”
“Yes.”
The man’s jaw dropped as if he couldn’t believe what I said. I was so different from the image he pictured through the rumors after all.
“Hiiiing!”
As the conversation with the man dragged on, Rian began to groan next to him. I smiled as if to appease him.
“Uh, okay. Let’s go now.”
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