She stared through the night, watching as she left her father behind. And eventually the dawn would rise, as her driver told her they would be reaching their location soon.
This location was where the Pyreborn awaited her. Since she was traveling in secret, the plan was to rendezvous with the returning knight order and to enter the empire together. That way, no one would be suspicious. Given that they had just returned from an expedition, there were certainly a lot of troops.
From this point on, she would proceed to the empire on her own, without even a maid or a bodyguard to accompany her. It was daunting, but she graced herself before the Pyreborn Knights.
And from among them arose the intimidating commander and bloodthirsty prince, Edward Ruby Martinez, standing dauntingly before Karolina.
Edward told her she was not past the promised time, so there was no need to apologize to them. Since they would be together a long time, he asked for her companionship, extending his hand to her.
Karolina thought there might not be any particularly deep meaning behind his handshake. She got the sense he was treating her as an equal. But once he shook her hand, she squealed in pain. The handshake was quite firm.
Edward apologized, saying he didn't know his own strength, then let her know she would be riding in the carriage with him, and she thanked him for his consideration.
Teodor Garcia interrupted them, asking how long they intended to keep shaking hands. He introduced himself as Edward's assistant. Karolina had heard about him. Teodor was the second son of a viscount and the vice commander of the knight order. He was lauded for his outstanding brilliance and his genius with magic. Despite his kind smile, she felt he was judging her.
This ride was a lot bumpier, and Karolina felt motion sick. Noticing her condition, Edward opened the windows to make her feel better with some fresh air. They had just met and hadn't known each other for very long. But her impression of him was not the bloodthirsty prince as he was known. He seemed more like a gentleman.
Karolina thanked him and apologized for the imposition. However, Edward said he should be the one apologizing, for not providing a standard carriage.
With Karolina feeling better, Teodor got to discussing plans moving forward. First, regarding her engagement and the reveal of her marriage, they planned on making a grand announcement at the Founder's Day fête in two weeks. Furthermore, the wedding would take place two weeks after that, making it about a month from now.
Hearing this, she was a bit distraught. Karolina wondered if the likes of her could really pull this off in so short a time. But she had already decided that she wouldn't run away anymore. It wouldn't be too late to lament this even after she had given it an honest try. So she promised to give it her absolute best.
They set up camp at night, and one of the knights came to apologize to her. He didn't imagine it was pleasant for a noble to camp out like this. He had suggested to Edward and Teodor that she should at least stay at the inn in town, but Teodor shot him down, saying there were too many risks involved.
She appreciated his consideration and asked for his name. Colette introduced himself and felt so honored that she had asked for it.
The knights were called to assemble after multiple bandits were spotted near the clearing to the south. As everyone got into position, Colette told Karolina to remain inside the carriage before drawing his sword and rushing into battle.
The bandits fired a rain of arrows on them, and it managed to shatter the glass of the carriage. Fear filled Karolina. She wondered if she would die here without fulfilling her duty, or ever repaying her father. As fire engulfed the carriage from both sides, it looked like this was her end. Karolina hoped her father would forgive her for being such an insolent daughter.
Bursting the door open, Edward refused to let her resign herself to death like that. She was his bride. He carried her out, explaining that the fire magic he had unleashed to protect her was stronger than he expected, causing the flames to spread to the carriage.
One of the knights then came to inform him that Colette had been seriously wounded.
In the tent, Ron was doing his best, applying hemostasis and healing magic, but the bleeding wouldn't stop. Edward asked him to continue while he went to fetch Teodor. He also asked Karolina to stay here, since this was the only tent with a barrier in place. He didn't want her seeing any of this, believing she was far too young. But she told him she wanted to face Colette's injury earnestly and see him through. She didn't wish to avert her eyes.
As Edward agreed and stepped out, she prayed to anyone who would listen to save Colette's life.
Suddenly, a bright green light filled the room, shocking even the medic. It would seem that Karolina's prayers had reached someone. Not even Ron's magic should have been able to mend such a grave injury.
By the time Edward returned, Colette had made a full recovery. Ron wasn't so sure of the details himself, but he explained that the moment Karolina offered her prayers, Colette's wounds suddenly started to heal.
Karolina said it wasn't her doing, because she didn't have any magic powers. That was the diagnosis she had received during her magical aptitude test when she was young.