"…Will you be okay? I might be able to help."
At Irene's suggestion, Noel shook his head.
"I'm grateful for your consideration. But I don't think this dunce will admit defeat if that happens. I'm more than enough to handle him. So, Irene, don't worry and go first. The soldiers are all gathered here so that it will be safer outside."
From the moment he had a sword pointed at him until now, Noel never lost the friendly attitude, not even once. However, Ascardo could not attack him easily.
He looked like he had many openings on the outside, but in reality, he had no weak attack point. If he made even the slightest mistake, the tip of the sword would pierce his neck.
"… Don't get hurt."
"Of course."
With a gentle smile and a flick of the wrist, he clashed with Ascardo. Irene did not miss the gap and slipped outside. Preoccupied with the battle, no one noticed that she was missing.
"I haven't played the villain in a long time. I should have killed all of you in the forest that day."
"The arrogance is still there, my dear cousin."
Ascardo struck Noel with his sword but was skillfully blocked by him.
When Ascardo's neck was finally exposed, Noel immediately cut down with his sword, but Ascardo pulled back in time, only losing a few strands of his hair.
Ascardo, who straightened his body, breathed hard. He only clashed with Noel for a few minutes, yet he was already out of breath.
On the other hand, Noel didn't even break a sweat. Resuming another stance, Noel said.
"Let's get this over with. My wife is waiting for me."
Inevitably, Ascardo began to attack Noel again.
♔♔♔
Leaving the banquet hall, Irene started running but stopped to look back for a moment. The banquet hall that didn't have a single window to let the light out was buried in darkness. However, she knew that the battle was in full swing, judging by the fierce clash of weapons.
'Noel will be fine. He's stronger than anyone else I know.'
Irene thought to herself.
She was worried. She wanted to run right back in and make sure he was okay. But... she turned away, as it wasn't time to be thinking about Noel, she had a job to do.
Irene started running again.
The place where Louiselle and Ram's mercenaries were waiting for Irene was highly inconspicuous.
"Huh, huh."
Arriving in front of the greenhouse, Irene took deep breaths. The lights were off, but she knew that someone was waiting for her, in there.
"…Louiselle, it's me."
After Irene caught her breath, she stood in front of the door and spoke. Soon the door creaked open.
"Hey, Louiselle! Don't go out on your own!"
Her arrival caused a momentary disturbance in the greenhouse. But still, Louiselle came out and was busy examining Irene's body for injuries.
"Are you hurt anywhere? You're sweating too much. I have a good set of fighting skills, too. It's my fault for not accompanying you. I should have stayed by your side until the end."
Seeing the regretful Louiselle, Irene smiled awkwardly and shook her head.
"Ahaha… No. I don't have injuries anywhere. I'm just out of breath because I ran all the way here. I'm okay."
"Really?"
"Yeah, really."
Irene nodded again. In fact, except that she was out of breath, her physical condition was not bad. Her feet didn't even hurt, thanks to the comfortable shoes she was wearing. The only thing that bothered her was her hair. It was half loose.
While reassuring Louiselle that she was alright, the Ram mercenaries approached her.
"I'm glad you made it out safely, Madame. But what about Noel? I can't see him. Is he slower than his wife? Pu haha!"
"Hey, why are you being informal? Mind your manners."
"Fine!"
"But really, where is Noel?"
When the other mercenaries asked, Irene lowered her gaze slightly and slowly spoke.
"Noel… is still at the dinner banquet."
"Huh? What... wasn't he meant to be coming with you?"
"Correct, but something came up."
Her head grew heavier with each question.
"What happened?"
However, the attitude of the mercenaries was calmer than expected.
Irene had expected the mercenaries to lament how she escaped on her own, so she looked at them with bewilderment. It seemed that none of them, including Louiselle, cared about Noel at all.
She couldn't stand it, in the end, so she asked.
"Are you guys okay? Aren't you worried about him?"
At Irene's question, the mercenaries exchanged looks, unable to understand Irene's question. She tilted her head, not comprehending their reaction as well.