She thought of a noble family who she could ask for help. Melissa came to her mind first. When she heard about the peasant uprising, she asked Wendy to go with her to her mansion.
âIs the Lowney family there?â
âNo, they are in Halmon, I think.â
It was disappointing. There were not many noble families that she could ask for help. The only nobles that she knew were Lard, Melissa, Jean Jacques Simuan, and a few others who escorted her.
ââ¦Do you know which noble families are there?â
âGalluam, Setoranâ¦well, Hazlet and Guell again ⦠and⦠â
Scratching his forehead, he tried hard to recall the families in Dupern. When she heard the name of Hazzlets, she flinched and straightened up. Earl Hazlet asked the duke to delay punishing her. His image came to her mind uncomfortably like a thorn in her neck.
âWhy did he try to help me? Why, why?â
His mention of the Hazlet family kept her asking questions about his motivation.
What had he in mind back then? Earl Hazlet was on the dukeâs side. Although she ended her blood relationship with them long ago, they were now her enemies in the Benyahan empire.
She didnât worry at all about the fate of the Hazlet family supporting the duke, she still felt heartbroken. She couldnât explain why, but she felt bitter for some reason.
âBy the way, the Heizel family or the Lennox familyâ¦.I wonder if the Scorning family is still there. Thatâs all I know in Dupern.â
âLenox⦠Did you just say Lennox? â She asked when he mentioned it. Her eyes trembled like soft leaves.
After a brief pause, she asked the man in detail where the Lennox family lived.
The man took a piece of yellow paper and drew a rough map. Based on the map, she went to the Lennox mansion. She assumed that due to the injury, Dylan Lennox would still be there because he would still be recuperating.
After walking for a long time, she arrived at the huge iron gate of the Lennox mansion. The doorkeeper of the family, who was standing inside, looked at her with wariness.
âWhat business brought you here?â asked the doorkeeper bluntly, as if he didnât like her appearance.
â⦠I would like to meet Sir Dylan Lennox. â
The man frowned and said, âLook, heâs not someone you can meet just because you want to see him. Go away!â The gatekeeper grunted, looking at her clothes up and down.
He shook his head, grumbling that it was the first time he saw a woman like her in many years.
Obviously, he looked down at her because her clothes, she borrowed from Sophieâs mother, didnât look good. Anybody would laugh at a commoner woman who appeared all of a sudden and asked to meet Dylan. But she couldnât give up here.
âDonât look down on me because Iâm dressed like this. My clothes are shabby because I had a hard time during the chaos in the capital, but Iâve known your master since your master was in Mullerdon. â
When she mentioned the estate of the Lennox family, he hesitated for a moment and glanced at her again.
â⦠Just tell your master that Wendy Waltz wants to see him. It is urgent.â
The gatekeeper looked agonized. He felt he could not simply ignore her request. But at the same time he was worried he would be scolded for accepting her request thoughtlessly.
At that instant, his supervisor shouted, âWhatâs going on?â
As he approached, the surprised doorkeeper quickly made an excuse, âNothing, sir. I was giving her a warning because she was hanging around here.â
Wendy quickly frowned at his ridiculous excuses.
âI want you to tell Sir Lennox my nameâ¦â
âHey, be quiet! â The doorkeeper shouted, checking his supervisorâs look.
She gave up talking to him and tried to explain to his supervisor again.
But even he treated her as a strange woman and signalled to the gatekeeper.
âThe door will open soon. Get her out quickly.â
Hearing that, the doorkeeper came out through a small side door and grabbed her arm.
The two scuffled for a while.
âLet me go, let go of my arm!â
She twisted the arm he held. His grip was stronger than she thought. So, she was about to pull her arm from his grip and kick him in self-defense.
A huge iron gate opened with a squeaking noise. Then, there was the sound of horse hooves and boots trampling on the ground at the same time. Lots of knights and soldiers of the marquisâ family appeared outside the mansion through the iron gate. They inevitably witnessed the scuffle of the two near the iron gate. They stopped. The one at their front hurriedly turned the horseâs head and approached them.
He jumped off the horse at once. He was Dylan Lennox.
âLet go of her hand!â
Dylan grabbed the doorkeeperâs arm and pulled it from her. Frightened, he stepped back and fell on his buttocks. Dylan took a look at her face and looked around her once again and said in a slightly loud voice, as if surprised, âI heard you were in the Imperial Palace. What happened? Are you alone here? You know the situation in the capital is bad. You shouldnât go around alone like this ⦠! â
âDylan.â She cut in and called his name. He was dressed in a knightâs suit, with a light shoulder shield on it. The knights who followed him wore the same.
She said, looking at his waist where his sword hung, âIâve come here to ask for your help⦠Are you on the way to the palace? â
He nodded and said, âDuke Engre revolted.â
She dropped her eyes at his serious remarks.
âCan you hold a sword?
âYes, all thanks to you,â Dylan said bitterly. He was injured so severely that he still had a hard time grasping the sword, but he couldnât sit idly when he heard about the dukeâs revolt. He had to do his bit as an imperial knight. Even if he were killed in action, he didnât want to have any regrets as a knight. So, he was about to lead the knights and soldiers left behind in the mansion to head to the Imperial Palace.
âHave you heard anything about Sir Schroder? â
âI heard he is in the Imperial Palace.â
Wendy held his hands tight. She couldnât help but worry about his safety while engaging in a tough battle with the dukeâs forces. It was separate from her trust in him. She was more concerned about him because she saw numerous soldiers following the duke. But she shook off such thoughts, and focused on what she could do right away.
âIâve got something as important as your march to the palaceâ¦So, please help me. The emperor will surely want it. â
The battle at Kingsbray Palace continued. Lard and Badge cut down dozens of knights escorting Duke Engre. Lardâs body was soaked with blood as they fell bleeding everywhere.
There was no more composure on the dukeâs face. The moment his forces confronted the pro-emperor troops outside the capital, his plan went wrong. When that news was delivered, the morale of his men fell noticeably. As a result, he spent too long in the battle at Kingsbray Palace. According to his plan, his army outside the capital should have stormed the Imperial Palace by now, overpowered the imperial knights, and occupied the palace.
He should have seen the emperorâs head thrown on the floor by now.
âUrgh!â
When the knights defending him fell one after another, the duke hurriedly counted the number of knights around him, but Lard didnât stop swinging his sword. Those who still survived helplessly fell when he cut them swiftly.
The rebels whose morale was low became rapidly exhausted and soon foresaw that their revolution would not succeed.
âLet me deal with these guys!â Badge shouted, asking to get rid of the remaining rebels.
Lard nodded and quickly pointed his sword toward the duke. The bodyguard knight who came out from behind him blocked his sword in vain. Lardâs sword cut him across the chest deeply. Red drops of blood splashed on the dukeâs face.
âItâs time I killed you!â
Lard stabbed the sword in his neck. For the first time, the duke used the sword he carried like a decoration in his hand to block his attack, but he couldnât defend himself long. In no time, Lard swung his sword as if he was going to cut his head at once. The duke closed his eyes.
âUrgh!â He groaned at the sharp pain. Lardâs sword swiped his neck, causing a shallow wound on the skin.
âOpen your eyes. Donât you have to see the end of your life clearly with both eyes? Face the pain like a man! â