Chapter 88: Damsel in Distress

Chapter 88. Damsel in Distress

I looked back at Evelyne.

She lowered her head, visibly embarrassed.

Clara tried encouraging her again. "You can hold my hand, my lady."

"I know."

"Put your foot there."

"I can see it."

"Then slowly-"

The moment Evelyne moved, gravel slid beneath her boot.

She squeaked and grabbed the tree beside her.

I closed my eyes.

This was a side quest.

A beautiful, expensive, aristocratic side quest with terrible footwear.

I climbed back up the slope.

Evelyne immediately straightened when I approached. "I can do it."

"I’ve noticed."

Her cheeks reddened.

Was that embarrassment or anger?

Probably both.

"I simply need a moment."

"We don’t have many moments left before it’s completely dark."

She looked toward the sky.

That shut her up.

I studied her boots.

They were technically designed for traveling, but noble traveling apparently meant walking between a mansion door and a carriage while occasionally surviving decorative gravel.

Clara looked between us. "My lady, perhaps we could return and take another path?"

"The other route adds several hours," I said.

Evelyne frowned. "Then perhaps we should camp."

"No."

Both women looked at me.

"There are monsters here, and I don’t intend to spend the night guarding a campsite because you’re losing a territorial dispute with a hill."

Clara quickly covered her mouth.

Evelyne stared at me. "You are rather rude for someone expecting a reward from my father."

"I never said I wanted one."

That caught her off guard.

She had probably spent her entire life surrounded by people who became considerably more agreeable after hearing Duke Harven’s name.

Unfortunately for her, I already had absolutely no desire to impress her father.

If anything, receiving money from Duke Harven after secretly planting a spy in his house would be so shameless that I might actually enjoy it.

I glanced down the slope again.

We needed to move.

Evelyne tried one more time.

Her foot slipped.

I caught her wrist before she fell.

She gasped.

For a moment, she was much closer than either of us expected. Her free hand landed against my chest, fingers pressing into the torn, bloodstained fabric of my shirt.

Her eyes rose toward the darkness beneath my hood.

I could smell her perfume again.

Soft flowers.

Her cheeks became noticeably pink.

I steadied her and released her wrist. "Careful."

"I know," she muttered.

Apparently that was her favorite phrase whenever reality provided evidence to the contrary.

She looked down the slope again.

Her confidence disappeared.

I stared at her for several seconds. Then at the increasingly dark forest.

There was only one practical solution.

I hated that solution.

Mostly because I could already imagine how ridiculous this looked.

The mysterious hooded killer who had butchered monsters in front of her was apparently about to become transportation.

I sighed and stepped toward her.

Evelyne immediately became wary. "What?"

"I’ve made a decision."

Her eyebrows drew together. "What decision?"

I extended one arm toward her. "I will carry you."

Evelyne’s face immediately turned red. "That’s not-"

"That’s not a request."

My eyes locked onto hers from beneath the hood.

Deadpan.

Completely serious.

I wasn’t negotiating with a woman who had spent the last fifteen minutes being defeated by gravity.

Evelyne opened her mouth, probably preparing to remind me that she was Duke Harven’s daughter, a noble lady, an independent adult, or some other technically correct information that wouldn’t make her descend the hill any faster.

I didn’t give her the opportunity.

If I carried one of my wives, that was romance.

That was affection.

This?

This was a firefighter evacuating a grumpy cat from a tree.

The cat had climbed too high, couldn’t get down, refused assistance because dignity apparently mattered more than survival, and would probably scratch the firefighter for solving the problem.

So, naturally, I stopped asking the cat.

"What are you—ah!"

I scooped Evelyne up.

One arm beneath her knees.

The other around her back.

Her body landed against my chest with a startled gasp, and both of her hands instinctively grabbed my shoulders.

Her face became even redder.

I stared ahead.

She stared at me.

"This is highly inappropriate." ℯ

"So is dying in the forest."

"I wasn’t going to die."

"You couldn’t defeat a hill," I grumbled, starting to walk.

Clara made another suspicious coughing noise behind us.

Evelyne turned her head sharply.

"My apologies, my lady."

That maid was definitely laughing.

I started down the slope.

Evelyne was heavier than she looked.

Not heavy, exactly. She was an adult woman, not a decorative pillow, and carrying another person over difficult terrain required considerably more effort than romantic novels liked admitting.

Fortunately, romantic novels didn’t have Abyssal Reinforcement.

Forbidden Energy quietly strengthened my arms, shoulders, back, and legs until her weight became considerably easier to manage. I kept the skill subtle, allowing no visible manifestation while stepping over rocks and descending terrain that had nearly defeated her.

Evelyne remained stiff in my arms.

Her chest pressed lightly against my bloodstained shirt whenever I stepped down from a larger rock, and each time it happened she somehow managed to become even more rigid.

I ignored it.

I had five beautiful wives waiting at home.

After several minutes, Evelyne finally stopped gripping my shoulders as though expecting me to throw her off a cliff. Her arms relaxed slightly, although she deliberately kept her gaze turned toward the trees.

Fine by me.

Silence was beautiful.

Clara, meanwhile, handled the terrain surprisingly well. She occasionally needed help crossing larger rocks, but she followed my instructions without complaint and maintained a reasonable pace despite her earlier injuries.

Apparently the maid possessed more wilderness compatibility than her mistress.

The rest of the journey became considerably smoother once Lady Evelyne stopped personally fighting every slope we encountered.

Darkness settled completely around us.

I used a tiny Eclipse wisp beneath my cloak to improve my own vision without exposing another skill, while the moon provided enough light for the women to follow the trail. The forest gradually thinned until trees gave way to rolling grassland.

Then lights appeared in the distance.

A wall.

Watchtowers.

The town gate.

Finally, civilization.

And, more importantly, the end of my unpaid babysitting assignment.

I stopped while we were still far enough from the gate that the guards couldn’t clearly see us.

Evelyne glanced toward the distant lights. "We’re here?"

"Close enough."

I lowered her carefully until her boots touched the ground.

She adjusted her coat immediately, then smoothed her dress with the peculiar dignity of someone pretending she hadn’t spent the last hour being carried through a forest by a bloody stranger.

Her cheeks were still faintly pink. "Thank you..." She hesitated. "Sir Assassin."

I almost laughed.

Sir Assassin.

Perfect.

My disguise had worked considerably better than expected.

I gave her a small nod. "Just go."

Evelyne blinked. "You aren’t coming with us?"

"No."

"But my father will reward you. You saved both of us, and you killed those monsters."

"I told you. I don’t need your father’s reward."

Something changed in her eyes.

It wasn’t fear this time.

She simply studied me, apparently trying to understand why a stranger who had spent valuable potions on her and Clara, escorted them through dangerous territory, carried her down half a mountain, and asked for absolutely nothing in return would refuse even to give his name.

Clara stepped beside her. "Let’s go, my lady."

Evelyne hesitated before nodding.

They started toward the gate.

I waited until they turned away.

Then I smiled.

Duke Harven’s daughter was safe.

My new spy was walking directly into his household.

And the mysterious assassin who had rescued them?

He disappeared before anyone could ask inconvenient questions.

[Void Shift]

Space folded around me.

I vanished.