I Don’t Want to Be a Lady

“There is no such absurd thing as this!”

I was running rampant in front of the carriage with the wheels off.

“I’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry about?”

At my angry voice, Luiden replied awkwardly. “If I hadn’t asked you to come with me, you wouldn’t have gone through this trouble.”

Glancing at him, I said, “So you know that. Then go ahead and fix that wheel. I can’t stand it anymore.”

In response, Luiden said as if embarrassed, sweeping his forehead with his hand, “I don’t realize that I’m such an insignificant person. I can’t even fix the carriage wheel.”

“I know, right. The prince of the Harpion Empire can’t even fix the carriage wheels.”

“…I have no face.”

At Luiden’s apology, I smiled and said, “Enough. I’m sorry. I was a little sensitive.”

I pouted my lips as Luiden looked at me unexpectedly and raised my brows. “I know how to apologize too.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

I rolled my eyes at him, then turned my gaze somewhere and asked. “What will you do to the crown prince?”

Luiden looked at the crown prince and said, “I don’t know either. This journey is a series of things that I didn’t expect.”

Looking at Luiden’s distraught face, I spoke indifferently. “After experiencing it, it seems that he’s not a bad person. He’s a little dumb though.”

Luiden chuckled and nodded in agreement. Then he raised his index finger as if he had remembered and said, as if warning me. “From now on, you should only say that in front of me. You know that’s an insult to the imperial family, right?”

“Is it an insult to tell the truth that he’s an idiot?”

Luiden raised the corners of his mouth in my reply. “I admit that my brother is not ordinary. Still, I ask you to bear with him for the sake of the imperial family’s face, Baroness Devit.”

I replied coldly. “I was thinking of doing that even if you don’t warn me. I can grasp the situation too.”

Luiden looked at Arianne with a smile as if she was cute.

“We’ve got the parts! Just wait a moment. We’ll fix it right away and continue the journey again.”

The coachman who went to get the parts came back. I, who was watching the coachman fix the wheel, turned around and thought, looking at the border in the distance. I hope everything’s okay… Bein must have said about it, right?

Now, I was just one more day away from the border. After a day, I would be able to see him. Charter…

I, who suddenly thought of our kiss on the wedding day, fanned my flushed face. Seeing me like that, the crown prince came and asked. “Baroness Devit? Are you sick? Your face is very red.”

“Don’t mind me. Anyway, Your Highness is too clueless.”

The crown prince, who had been shunned again, had an unfair look at the unknown bruise, but he didn’t add his words. Only Luiden, who was watching this, looked at the crown prince with pity.

“I’ve fixed it all! Now we can go!”

I was delighted at the coachman’s shout and hurried into the carriage. After that, I said to the coachman, “Let’s get going. I must see his face by tomorrow.”

* * *

“We have a report from the scout.”

“Say it.” Charter, who was looking into the map, replied without looking at his aide.

“It is reported that an additional 10,000 troops are dispatched.”

“Where is the location?”

“Where are you?”

“It’s 10 kilometers off the plains.”

Charter seemed to be pondering for a moment and then asked the aide. “How about the canyon? Have there been any reports of movement?”

“Yes. Since the canyon side is narrow and there is a risk of ambush, wouldn’t it be too much for the Kelteman’s army to invade there?”

Charter looked up at his aide with sharp eyes and said, “In wartime, you have to think about the number of all cases. Keep in mind that what we think might be something they’re thinking too.”

“Yes, I will keep that in mind. Still, we have enough people deployed on the side of the canyon. We’re also prepared for the ambush above the canyon, so you don’t have to worry.”

Leaning on the back of the chair, Charter said, “Call Viscount Bening.”

His aide, Kris, bowed his head and left the tent.

“10,000…”

Currently, the number of Harpion Empire’s troops exceeds 30,000. They had the advantage in terms of numbers and position. However, Charter couldn’t get rid of the uneasy feeling.

* * *

“Hey, stop walking around. I’m so distracted that I’m going to die!” Madrenne shouted at Bein, who continued to walk around the tent.

“Aren’t you worried? It’s already been 3 days. Something must have happened!” Bein scolded Madrenne for being insensitive.

“Then what? Do you know where the Baroness is? Don’t you know that it’s better to wait patiently than go looking for her, which could lead to cross paths?”

“Still!”

“Noisy! Get out!”

Bein shook his head and left the tent as if he couldn’t help it at Madrenne’s shout. The maid, who had been serving the baroness since childhood, showed no signs of worrying about her master and just lay around peacefully. She resembles her master’s eccentric personality…

Bein slowly began to feel uneasy when Arianne’s arrival was delayed more than expected. If she had been attacked by assassins sent by Duke Krow… He couldn’t lose Arianne now. He couldn’t blow away this golden opportunity that had come to him.

“I must see the duke.”

It was then that Bein was heading to Charter’s tent.

“The enemy is moving! Everyone, get ready! Prepare for battle!”

“This.”

Bein quietly turned back the way he had come. He had to go back into the tent where Madrenne was. It was because Charter excluded Madrenne from the battle. He had to hold his breath next to her even if he didn’t want to be swept away and dragged into the battle.

“As expected, about 10,000 troops. That’s enough to stop them.”

“They could have predicted our troops…”

There was something that made Charter feel uneasy. He wasn’t sure yet, but he felt like there was something else enemies were aiming for. But his thoughts didn’t last long.

“The enemy is moving.”

Charter mounted the horse and shouted in the lead. “Today’s victory belongs to our Harpion Empire! Never let the enemy take one step into our empire! Lancers to the position!”

“To your position!”

The battlefield was simply fierce and full of creepy screams, destructive sounds, and unpleasant smells of blood and gunpowder. Some soldiers lost their judgment due to excessive excitement and fear, wielding weapons regardless of friend or foe.

Charter continued shouting so that the soldiers wouldn’t lose their sanity. “Get yourself together! There are not many enemies left!”

After cutting down the running cavalry, his aide, Kris, approached and shouted. “This is a message from the rear. The canyon! They say they are being pushed!”

“Didn’t you say there were enough people!”

“That’s strange! It’s definitely enough people, but we’re being pushed back!”

Charter thought as he scanned the battlefield. This place can hold out without any problems. I have to go to the canyon.

“I will go to the canyon. You and Viscount Bening will take charge of this place.”

“Okay, be careful!”

Charter rode his horse to the rear. He led about 2,000 soldiers waiting in the rear to the canyon. As his aid said, the canyon was like an abyss. Despite having a clear geographical advantage, the Harpion Empire’s army was being pushed back.

“What happened?” Charter asked the man in the officer’s uniform.

“I don’t know. Suddenly, the enemy forces rushed in, and we didn’t have time to react.”

“No way. What happened to the troops who were in the ambush? Where is the commander?”

“I don’t know. I’m busy blocking the enemies—”

“Incompetent!”

Charter gritted his teeth. It was his first time seeing this officer. He must have been an officer brought in as extra troops, but he seemed to be quite incompetent.

“Listen, Harpion troops! There may be an enemy ambush at the top of the canyon, so be careful and suppress them!”

If they were pushed back to this extent, it would have been right to say that the troops in the ambush had suffered.

At the command of Charter, the Harpion Empire began suppressing the Kelteman Empire’s army. The enemies tried to retreat quickly as if shocked by the sudden appearance of the reinforcements. Still, the retreat was slowing down due to the narrow canyon.

It was a one-sided fight after that. The Harpion Empire’s army attacked the Kelteman Empire’s army mercilessly due to the narrow retreat. Then at some point, the Kelteman Empire’s army was pushed back into the canyon.

“That’s enough! Everyone line up and hold your position!”

But, perhaps because of their excitement, some troops did not hear him and followed the retreating Kelteman Empire’s army into the canyon.

“Don’t leave them alone! I’m going to kill them all!”

When a soldier rushed into the enemy camp, the soldiers around him also began to rush.

“Come back! Harpion troops, don’t enter the canyon!”

Despite his shout, the troops pushed into the canyon as if they were squeezing into it.

To the shame of his cry, the soldiers pushed into the canyon as if they were putting a thousand pieces into the mouth of a narrow water bottle.

“Damn it!”

He couldn’t lose the troops like this. Charter looked over the canyon. After confirming that he couldn’t see any movement, he ran his horse as if determined and entered the canyon.

“All the Harpion Empire’s army, step back! This place is dangero—”

Fwit~

Damn it!

It was then, with a whistle that seemed to be a signal, countless arrow rain poured down from above the canyon.

“Retreat! It’s the enemy ambush! Retreat!”

Charter led the troops to the canyon’s exit, hitting the arrows that flew in. At the moment when he was about to leave the canyon, some people blocked the entrance with spears.

“Get out of my way! The troops are in danger!” shouted Charter hastily.

However, they weren’t moving at all. One of them opened his mouth. “I’m sorry, but you have to die here.”

“!”

Charter’s uneasiness hit the nail on the head. It was a trap. His face darkened. Riding his horse, he was able to escape through those spears. But then the soldiers in the back… I’ll have to break through them and clear the path for the back.

As soon as Charter tried to kick the horse’s side, the horse staggered and fell sideways.

“!”

Having managed to jump from the falling horse, what he saw was the same troops who had just been following the enemy in excitement. They were smiling at him.

“Oh my. Well, you should have been careful. A canyon like this might have an enemy ambush, right? Don’t you know how many of the troops are dying because of coming to save us like this?”

“You bastard. You’re spies.”

The soldier laughed and said, “That’s none of your business. And now you have to die!”

A soldier wielded a sword and attacked Charter. After exchanging blows with him several times, Charter realized. “You’re not the spy of the Kelteman Empire. In that case… are you from Duke Krow?”

“…”

Silence soon became an affirmation. Swords were aimed at him from both sides. On one side were the spies of Duke Krow. And on the other side of the canyon were soldiers of the Kelteman Empire. The reason they didn’t use guns was probably that they were trying to disguise themselves as someone from the Kelteman. They were still using arrows rather than firearms.

Ugh. Charter gritted his teeth. He soon fixed his sword as if determined, sending a terrible force toward his enemies.

When he thought this would be his last moment, he remembered her, whom he missed so much. Arianne. If only he could see her one more time before he died…

Charter let out a self-help laugh because he had a ridiculous imagination. His tension was so great that even the sound of their breathing annoyed him. In the twinkling eye, Charter moved. It was then he heard her voice from afar.

“Charter!!!”