hapter 239
"Getting married?" Eliza blinked, caught off guand.
Isabelle smiled lightly. "Yes, my father arranged in to marry the nephew of Governor Jenson-you know, the distant cousin of the Henderson family."
Eliza frowned slightly. "If it''s a marriage.. why isn''t someoneing to escort you?"
Isabelle''s lips curled with a soft sneer. "You''re adorable. I''m not going as a wife, Liza-just a concubine. Why would they. bother with trumpets and silk banners for that?"
At those words, Eliza fell silent.
Isabelle shrugged, her voice light as ever. "Don''t feel bad for me. I am the Chancellor''s daughter, after all. Even as a concubine, they wouldn''t dare mistreat
me."
Eliza turned her head voice cold. "Who said I feel bad for you? We''re not that close."
A sh of hurt crossed Isabelle''s face. "Fine. Maybe I was being sentimental. But..... Plutonville is a long way off, and my father didn''t send anyone to escort me. So, Liza, for old time''s sake-could you let my carriage travel with yours for a while? I swear, if you''re notfortable, I''ll stay inside the whole time. You won''t even see me."
She looked at Eliza with eyes full of silent pleading. She looked so pitiful, even Aria whispered worriedly behind her,
Eliza, however, didn''t even flinch. "Isabelle, stop clinging to the past. There''s nothing left between us."
She pressed her lips together, then turned and walked off without looking back.
Watching her disappear, Aria panicked. "What do we do? If she refuses, won''t we be kicked off the route?"
"Who says she refused? Isabelle replied calmly.
Aria blinked. "Didn''t she just say-?"
*You don''t know her, Isabelle interrupted. "If Eliza really didn''t want us there, she would''ve kicked us out on the spot."
She said the words so coldly... but didn''t drive them away.
Liza, Isabelle thoughCt as her lips curled upward, ''you''re still softhearted after all
Half an hourter, the convoy was ready. The ck g troops had assembled, the supply wagons loaded, and the carriages set to depart.
Nn led the way on horseback at the very front, d in full regalia, nked by the ck g guards. Eliza''s carriage traveled in the center-surrounded for protection-while Isabelle''s modest little carriage quietly trailed behind.
Just as she promised. Isabelle stayed out of sight,
And just as Nn promised, with the ck g escorting them, even a tag-along
in the rear carriage enjoyed full protection.
They traveled from sunrise to sunset.
By nightfall, the convoy had reached a familiar rest post-the same one they''d
used during the previous Plutonville journey. But this time, there were no assassins, no sabotage, no Sophie to stir up trouble. The road was smooth from the start.
By the seventh day, they were nearly at Plutonville.
And true to her wood, Isabelle hadn''t shown her face once along the way
an hour.
That evening with only half a day''s journey left, Nn nced at the sky and called out, “Tiene to hale West for heave and have dinner early. Once we''re fel, we''ll ride through the night to Mutolle
Better to eat and travelte than push on hungry in the dark
"Strip her. Let Mr. Bradford have a good look."
"Yes, sir," Ross replied crisply and went to pass down the orders.
Eliza, still inside her carriage, felt ite to a gentle stop. Momentster, someone knocked
She lifted the curtain-it was Nn.
Eliza nodded. "Alright."
"All right" Eliza nodded and stepped out.
As she climbed down, she found herself instinctively ncing toward the rear of the convoy
Nn caught the motion. He followed her gaze, then looked back with a casual remark. "Don''t worry. They brought their own rations. They won''t starve." Eliza said nothing.
They walked to the streamside and sat down. The ck g cooks worked fast- soon arge pot of stew was simmering over open
mes.
Delicious smells filled the air-but only Nn''s bowl held meat. Eliza''s remained her usual fare: in vegetables and soup.
She ate with contentment. Nn, however, watched her with mild exasperation. He didn''t bother trying to change her mind
he''d tried before. Eliza could be unreasonably stubborn sometimes, and when she made up her mind, not even the heavens could sway her.
He finished his own meal in a few hasty bites, then took her te and fork with a
grin. "I was just about to wash up anyway Give me yours."
He was always fast. Eliza barely had time to react.
She held out her hand mid-bite and gave him a mock-annoyed re. "Fine, fine.
I get it. You like washing dishes. From now on, I won''t fight you for it."
Honestly, every meal was "just happened to be on his way to wash dishes"
Eliza was too tired to call him out on it anymore.
Across from her, Nn raised a brow. "I also like cooking. Want to try my cooking when we get back to Hasen C
"You cook?" Eliza looked at him in surprise.
"Mm. Learned it from my grandfather," he said with a nostalgic smile. "His cooking
was amazing-I only learned the basics. but it''s not bad."
"Isn''t there a saying-a gentleman stays out of the kitchen?" Eliza teased
"I''m no gentleman, Nn said with a shameless shrug, shing that handsome smile. "At best, I''m a brute."
He washed both their dishes by the stream and returned, eyes crinkling with amusement. "So''
''So! When we
back, will you
10:46 Sat, 19 Apr
honor me with your presence at Regent''s Manor for dinner?
Elizaughed softly, "With such a gracious invitation, how could I refuse
Nn beamed, already nning out the entire meal in his head.
No meat, obviously-not for her. Butmon vegetables wouldn''t do either. He''d
have to find something forth from the mountains rare, wild, delicious.
He mentally jotted down several ingredients even before they set off again.
He raised his hand-stopping the entire line.
Eyes narrowed, he stared into the dense woods ahead.
Ross was the first to approach. "Sir, what''s wrong?"
"Bow, Nn said sharply.
Ross''s expression turned grim as he handed over the bow from his back without
beutation.
Nn took it, drew the string in one fluid motion, and loosed an arrow with lig
A sharp cry pierced the trees.
Target hit.
AD
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