Chapter - 13
Leo was quick to accept the quest. He had no reason not to.
Just as he accepted the quest, another notification appeared in front of him.
[Quest Failure: The Lady's safety is paramount. Failure to protect her, or any harm coming to her by your hand, will result in the host not being able to access the system functions for 96 hours, and 4 mandatory quests without rewards will be issued.]
'Oh, the lady is a high value package,'
Soon the golden glow of the quest window faded from Leo's vision.
'A Thorny Rose… Huh?' Leo grinned, looking at the snobbish daughter of the Lord, the name was befitting.
But what was more amusing was the fact that the system did not trust him. He made sure to mention that Leo has to deliver the precious daughter unharmed, protecting her from others as well as himself.
But as the system mentioned, physically harming her was off the table. But the system said nothing about her spirit. He can instil his fear inside her heart, can't he?
This was going to be fun. Leo just hoped he had enough time to play with her.
Meanwhile the pretty lady was completely oblivious to what was going on in Leo's head. She mistook his silence as the dumbstruck awe of a commoner. The fear she had in her heart was slowly fading away. Now she felt she had the situation under control. She adjusted her tattered clothes and tried to tidy up her appearance.
"What are you gawking at, commoner?" she snapped, her voice sharp enough to cut glass, "You still haven't recognised me?"
"My father is Lord Caelum Dargan! The ruler of this entire region! Your reward for assisting me will be more gold than your grubby hands have ever touched. Now, stop standing there like a brain-damaged idiot and escort me to Auravale at once!" The lady commanded. She had hoped after knowing her identity, both of them would be kneeling on her feet, fighting each other to please her.
But a good amount of time passed and no one moved. The Old man stood frozen to his spot after learning of her identity and the young one was audacious enough to look at her with a smirk playing on his lips.
Her command was left hung in the air for a long, disrespectful moment, completely and utterly ignored. Then the younger one turned his back on her, a gesture so insulting it was like a physical slap.
"Old man," Leo said to Grendel who was still in shock, in a calm and authoritative tone. "Search this carriage. Find anything useful, water, food, swords, any spare coin purses, anything which the "My Lady's" dead guards won't be needing. Take them to your cart. We are leaving in 5 minutes."
He then flicked his eyes over his shoulder at the fuming noblewoman. His tone was flat, dismissive, as if speaking to an object.
"And you, my lady. Don't be a baggage. If you can't help the old man carry stuff, then stay out of the way while the adults work."
The silence that followed was absolute. Grendel stopped mid-step. Even the crackling of the burning wagon seemed to quiet down. Aliana's pretty soot covered face went from pale to pink to a deep, blotchy red.
"You?!" A small, strangled sound escaped her throat.
No one, not even her own father had ever spoken to her with such lack of respect, let alone a commander who she could have killed with a single word of hers.
"How… How dare you?!" she finally sputtered, her voice trembling with rage. "You lowly commoner, are you tired of living?
"Do you have any idea who I am? Who my father is?"
"Just you wait you low-life, when my father hears of this insolence, he will have you flayed! He will hang your entrails from the city gates! He will have your brainless head on a spike!" By the end of it, Aliana was screaming at the top of her voice. She was enraged.
But Leo didn't even flinch under her threats. He let her finish her tirade, then slowly, deliberately, turned to face her. He took a step towards her. He was in no hurry, it was a slow, deliberate step.
And while he looked at her, the smile on his face did not fade away. That creepy smile after listening to her threaten and thrash him with her vie words, made Aliana's skin crawl. He stopped barely a foot from her, forcing her to crane her neck to look up at him.
His Predator's Instincts flared, but this time not to sense danger, but to project it.
His gaze was flat, cold, and utterly devoid of the deference she commanded from every other man on the planet. For the first time, Aliana felt a sliver of the fear she'd felt when the bandits had grabbed her, but this was different.
This wasn't the fear of some brutish thug, kidnapping her for blackmailing her father or endangering her dignity. In front of this young boy, she felt as if he could see underneath the high noble lady she was. Don't know why, but she suddenly felt exposed, she felt naked in front of him.
"Listen closely, my Lady," he said, his voice a low, dangerous murmur. "Let's get a few things straight."
"You aren't a princess, so don't expect a princess tournament from me," Leo smirked, "Your title? It means less than nothing out here in the dirt."
"Your father? He isn't here."
"Your guards? They're scattered around us in bloody pieces."
"The only person in miles of radius that can take your perky little flat ass out of here to Auravale is this guy holding this piece of iron. Right now," he said, tapping the hilt of his blood-stained sword, "And that's me."
He leaned in a little closer, his voice dropping even further. "So, here's the new reality. You have two choices. Choice one: you walk quietly behind the cart, you keep that pretty mouth of yours shut, and you do exactly as you're told. And none of us have any trouble."
"Choice two: I can tie you up, gag you again, and throw you in the back with the unconscious bandit whore, your best friend."
"Either way, I am taking you to Auravale, because a little bird told me it would be profitable," The smile never left Leo's face as he explained her situation to Aliana, "But the quality of your journey, however, is entirely up to you."
"I hope you understand your situation now?"
Aliana's mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out as she nodded instinctively. He wasn't playing by her rules. He was forcing her to play by his.
"Good," Leo said, stepping back as if the matter was settled.
Grendel, who had been trying to make himself as small as possible, returned from the carriage. "Found a waterskin, nearly full," he whispered, holding it out. "And a packet of these hard, fancy biscuits."
Leo took them both. He uncapped the waterskin, took a long drink, then handed it to Grendel. "Drink up, old man." He tore open the packet of biscuits, popped one in his mouth, chewed thoughtfully, then handed the rest to Grendel.
He purposefully did not offer Aliana a single drop or a single crumb. The message was clear: Cooperate, and you would be rewarded. Defy me, and I will make you suffer.
Now with the logistics handled, Leo jerked his head towards the cart, "Let's go. You can walk behind the cart. We are losing daylight."
Aliana watched the cart and then Leo, and her expression turned into a mixture of horror and humiliation. She, Lady Aliana Dargan, the daughter of the most powerful man in this region was being forced to walk in the dirt, behind a lowly peasant's cart carrying her own maid.
Leo took the lead, as he walked a dozen steps ahead of Grendel's cart. And the old man was behind the reins driving the cart forward. He was trembling deep in his bones.
"Boiy! Let the lady sit at the back," Grendel asked Leo in hushed voices. But his words fell in deaf ears.
Lady Aliana, on the other hand, was fuming. But she was defeated, she fell into line behind the rattling cart. The hem of her expensive silk dress was already stained brown, and after just walking a couple of hundred feet, she was already tired.
But even the lady was the daughter of the proud Dargan family. She would never bow down to a commoner.
And between the two of them, Grendel drove the cart, his knuckles white on the reins. He kept muttering under his breath, "World's gone mad… Nobles walking behind carts, and commoners giving orders… My poor Hilda, the world is coming to an end. It is coming to an end. I will miss you."
As the sun began to dip below the horizon, the big, deadly forest had long been left behind. Their shadows have started to grow longer than their bodies.
The air has started to become cold, and the cheerful songs of the birds have been replaced by the chirping of insects of the night.
But they were still a few miles away, and until they reached the gates of Auravale, Leo would not feel safe.
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Author's Note:
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