It wasn’t just Elje who was surprised to hear Shan’s voice, Harvin was also surprised. He said loudly in an embarrassed voice.

“Sir Crixus?”

Harvin hurriedly shook his head at Elje as he turned around the counter and walked to the shop’s door. His gesture was indicating that she should quickly go through the back door. Elje hastily gave him a sign of appreciation and ran out through the door Harvin opened.

Beyond the back door was Harvin’s workshop. The front of the building was the weapons shop while the back was used as a smithy. In her hurry to hide, Elje realized that she didn’t close the door completely. A voice could be heard through the slightly open door.

“What brings you here?”

Harvin treated Shan with extreme respect. That old man treated me so rudely! Elje got angry at the wrong time, it wasn’t that important now. Elje hurried to find another door that led to the outside.

“Oh……”

There were people standing outside the door. Elje could tell that these men came with Shan by the swords around their waists. After seeing the men filling the alley, Elje realized that she wouldn’t be able to leave that way and hid back inside.

Inside the shop, the two continued to talk.

“I’d like to order a new sword.”

“I told you, Sir Crixus, that I couldn’t make you a sword.”

“Ah.”

Harvin bluntly refused. However, ordering a new sword was just an excuse that Shan used. Despite Harvin’s refusal, Shan continued talking without showing any signs of regret or sadness.

“Have you made a sword recently?”

“I have.”

“What sword did you make?”

Harvin remained silent for a while. However, it was clear that Shan already knew everything. Harvin hesitated, but finally spoke the truth.

“……A rapier and parrying dagger.”

Elje almost let go of the bag she held in her hand, but managed to clutch it tightly at the last minute. Shan must have come when he heard that Harvin was making a rapier and a parrying dagger.

Elje felt as if she were trapped in a gradually tightening spider’s web. Her heart was about to burst. She looked at her surroundings in a hurry to find a way to escape. However, no matter how hard she looked, there were only two doors; one led to the side alley and the other led to the shop. Shan’s voice was heard again.

“You won’t tell me even if I asked you who you’re dealing with.”

“……”

Shan continued to speak as Harvin remained silent in front of him.

“It’s really difficult to wield a rapier and a parrying dagger. A lot of people carry them these days, but no one uses them properly.”

Elje could hear slow footsteps as Shan walked around the weapons shop.

“The truth is, as Master Harvin knows, that’s ridiculous swordsmanship. It’s impossible without monster-like skills and a good sense of sword fighting.”

The sound of footsteps halted.

“Except for one person.”

Silence filled the air. Harvin, who kept his mouth shut the entire time, responded slowly.

“……I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“Master Harvin must have heard of his name.”

With a low laugh, Elje could hear her name.

“Elje of the Elijah Mercenaries”

“……”

“It’s just that, it doesn’t mean anything else, so relax.”

Fortunately, Harvin didn’t mention Elje at all. Elje patted her chest; she reminded herself to thank Harvin later. Shan didn’t seem to pay much attention to the smithy at the back of the shop. Elje was planning on hiding there until Shan left and then she would sneak out.

“The back door is open.”

This bastard……

Less than 10 seconds after thinking that she would get away with hiding, Shan shattered her hopes and dreams.

Oh well, I don’t know. Elje took off her skirt and her tight pants were revealed. Elje buttoned the blouse she was wearing all the way up to her neck and took out the parrying dagger, being careful not to make any sound.

She cut up her skirt into long pieces of fabric and used one to hold her hair up. Then she wrapped the other piece around her face. She looked like a masked robber with only her eyes showing, but she had to cover up her face. It wasn’t the time to care about fashion.

After all the preparations were done, Elje thought for a moment about whether to take out the rapier as well. However, she had to carry the bag anyway, and it would be inconvenient to wield the long rapier in the narrow alleyway, so she decided to only use the parrying dagger.

She only had one chance. Elje gently opened the side door. The men leaning against the wall of the alley didn’t notice the side door opening silently. They only noticed Elje after she popped her head out.

One, two, three, four……, five.

Elje quickly counted the number of men outside and then she threw the bag she held high over her head. The bag soared into the air.

Elje moved before they could pull out their swords and position themselves. Elje pulled the closest guy to her by his collar and struck his solar plexus with the pommel of the parrying dagger. He seemed to be wearing light leather armor, but it offered no protection against Elje’s strength.

“Argh!”

Using his scream as a signal, Elje leapt forward. Elje, using the pommel of the parrying dagger, only attacked vital spots such as the stomach, the back of the neck, and the lower leg. One by one, the men collapsed.

There were some who tried to react belatedly, but it was difficult to pull out their long swords in the narrow alley. They couldn’t move properly, unlike the quick Elje.

In the blink of an eye, five men fell to the floor and Elje lightly caught the bag that was falling in the air.

“Huu……”

Elje took a light breath and jumped over the high wall using one of the fallen men as a stepping stone. Elje rose lightly on the wall and threw her bag over to the other side. At the moment she was about to jump over, the side door opened with a bang and a loud voice echoed.

“Elje!!”

It was Shan’s voice. Elje stopped. She knew she had to keep running, but she couldn’t move as if she were caught under a spell.

She could feel his gaze. She even felt a tingling sensation from the gaze stuck on her back. But Elje didn’t look back. Shan said to Elje who still didn’t turn around.

“Why.”

She couldn’t see his face, but just from his voice, Shan seemed angry. He growled.

“Why are you running away?”

Elje gulped. She wanted to answer him, but her clear voice now was different from her voice that was roughened on the battlefield. Any slip of the tongue and Eljenès would be in trouble. Elje didn’t say anything and Shan continued to talk to her back.

“I thought you were my friend.”

Friend…… at Shan’s words, Elje clenched the hand holding the parrying dagger. The word ‘friend’ shook Elje’s heart. She didn’t realize that Shan regarded her in that way.

Shan did not trust anyone on the battlefield. The only person he bowed to was Raymond, the crown prince and the commander-in-chief. His disposition for not respecting anyone or treating them as equals was famous, so the proud noblemen stayed away from him.

Of course, there were many who followed Shan. The attribute that was valued the most on the battlefield was strength and Shan was the best of the best. Captivated by Shan’s inhuman strength, they flocked him like bees and regarded him as a god.

However, no one could be called Shan’s friend. A man surrounded by people, but always alone. That was Shan.

But now Shan was telling Elje that she is his friend.

“If you feel the same way that I do, at least……”

Shan was sincere. Elje felt suffocated. His sincerity weighed heavily on her heart.

“Don’t lie to me.”

He urged Elje.

“Turn around right now and look at me.”

In the end, Elje had no choice but to remain silent.

“……”

Shan let out a low laugh as he looked at Elje who didn’t turn around or answer. Then he despondently asked.

“Is that your choice?”

His desperate voice was filled with a sense of betrayal. Elje’s heart ached. She wanted to ignore everything and just tell him that she was Eljenès, the woman who he would soon marry and become his wife.

But she couldn’t. This wasn’t just a problem for Elje. The honor of House Targayel and the survival of the Elijah mercenaries all depended on this.

I’m sorry, Shan.

Elje whispered an apology to him in her heart and ran away.

“……Ha.”

Shan clenched his fists as he watched Elje’s back disappear over the wall. His hands trembled briefly.

“Elje……”

His purple eyes fluttered fiercely.

*