Chapter 3: Hero saves beauty
“No!”
It was a cry so piercing that it caused a pang in Claude’s chest. Despite the pleasing tone of the voice momentarily mesmerizing him, he immediately realized the distress behind it.
Feeling inwardly ashamed for even momentarily enjoying the heavenly voice, Claude spurred his horse towards the source of the sound.
“Follow me!”
“Yes!” Leia’s expression also changed, adjusting her horse’s direction and closely following Claude, with Laogeri in tow. The knights behind them, with solemn expressions, reacted almost as quickly as Leia and immediately galloped after them.
Ignoring the branches and vines hitting his face, Claude’s determination spurred him on relentlessly! Because the despair in that voice would drive anyone to rush forward without hesitation to rescue.
At the same time, from the other end of the forest, came the rough roar of a man.
“Scoundrel, loosen your grip! If you don’t loosen it, I’ll have to resort to violence!”
Claude’s face darkened upon hearing this, evidently recognizing it as the voice of the perpetrator.
As he dashed past the final cover of the forest, what caught Claude’s eye was a girl whose mere profile suffocated him. However, when he took in the whole scene, he saw a rough-looking young man, about seventeen or eighteen, attempting to undress the girl. His eyes were bloodshot, breathing heavily like a bull, while the beautiful girl’s face revealed despair.
“Scoundrel!”
A lump formed in his throat, Claude felt angrier than he had ever been before.
“Beast, stop it!”
He roared out, clearly startling the perpetrator, who along with the girl, looked his way. However, both of them showed hopeful eyes.
“Perfect! Sir, could you lend me the sword at your waist? It’s urgent. I don’t think I can hold back any longer. I need to tear these pants open with a sharp object,” the young man said joyfully, his expression as if Claude were a lifesaving straw.
However, the previously dark-faced Claude now lowered his gaze, his narrowed eyes revealing a bloodthirsty coldness! It was the ruthlessness that only appeared when besieging a band of thieves!
“Get lost!”
“Huh?” The young man seemed very puzzled, but at the same time, he showed no intention of letting go, continuing to undress the girl without hesitation.
“Scum!” Facing the hopeful gaze of the girl, Claude had no intention of negotiating with the scoundrel for even a second. It would be more accurate to say that telling the guy to “get lost” earlier was already a great deal of restraint.
Claude drew his silver longsword, which gleamed brightly in the light of the setting sun, emitting a sharp glare!
No more words needed. This kind of scum must pay the price!
Claude swiftly charged towards the young man, swinging his sword down.
“Wow!” It was unclear whether it was by chance or the agility of the young man, but what should have resulted in a severe injury was avoided, leaving only a wound about the width of a finger on his arm.
“Ah!” The young man fell to the ground, clutching his arm in pain, while the beautiful girl seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, her entire body drained of strength, fainting.
“Wow! Are you trying to kill me? Who are you?”
The young man’s expression darkened, but he fell silent, because the man’s gaze told him that if he said another word, the consequences wouldn’t be as simple as an injured arm.
Back in the woods, Leia and Laogeri quickly caught up.
“How… was that scream just now from this girl?” Leia was first stunned, then exclaimed.
“Oh my god, have I… have I seen a goddess?!”
Even Laogeri was shocked and speechless. Despite his worldly experiences, he had never seen such a beautiful girl!
Claude was naturally shocked as well, but remembering the scene just now, he couldn’t help but grow gloomy.
“That’s right.”
Claude told Leia about what had just happened. After listening, Leia angrily shouted.
“Damn scum, I’m going to kill him!”
Laogeri, on the other hand, remained silent, a hint of anger flashing in his eyes. He didn’t stop Leia.
But Claude held Leia’s horse back,
“Stop. Actually, he hasn’t committed a great crime. I have already injured him. There’s no need to kill him further, and even if you shed the blood of such a person, your sword will only be tainted!”
“But…,” Leia reluctantly complied despite her countless objections in her heart. She had to listen to the young master.
The young master could be too rigid at times, she grumbled inwardly with dissatisfaction, but Leia suppressed her overflowing combativeness.
“Let’s go, it’s not late yet. Grandpa will worry if we go back late,” Claude was about to turn back, but Laogeri squinted his eyes and said, looking at the girl on the horseback.
“Master Claude, I think it’s better to capture that rude person.”
“Why is that?”
“After all, this young lady is dressed strangely yet exudes a noble aura. She doesn’t seem like someone from an ordinary family. It would be good to capture that rude person and extract some information. This way, we can be prepared for how to approach this young lady,” Laogeri said with a wise gleam in his eyes. Obviously, the old man’s words held deeper meaning, but Claude and Leia, not being wise themselves, simply found Laogeri’s words reasonable and saw nothing amiss.
“Laogeri is right. I was too careless. Captain, your timing is perfect. Go and bring the young man from the forest over here. If he resists, you have my permission to deal with him as you see fit, as long as it doesn’t result in death!”
“Yes,” with the command acknowledged, the well-trained captain of the knights immediately dashed into the forest.
In no time, the burly figure of the captain rode back on a silver warhorse.
“Apologies, Captain. When I went over, the young man had already disappeared. Even with heightened senses, I couldn’t find any trace of him.”
“It’s unavoidable. You’ve worked hard. You may step down,” Claude sighed inwardly. After dismissing the captain, he glanced apologetically at Laogeri. It was a rookie mistake. If not for being blinded by anger at the time, a more careful consideration would have led to a judgment no worse than Laogeri’s.
“It’s not your fault, Master. It’s just a missing clue. With the intelligence from the Duke’s estate, we’ll surely reach the same conclusion!” Despite still being somewhat angry, Leia couldn’t help but encourage Claude when she saw his somewhat crestfallen expression.
Laogeri just smiled and shook his head, saying
“The day is indeed getting late. Our plan was to return to the Duke’s estate before sunset. Making the old master worry would be our dereliction of duty. Well then, Master, let’s discuss this matter further on our way back.”
“Yeah,” Claude sighed and shook his head. He couldn’t deny that this time it was his mistake. Meanwhile, he glanced at the slightly relieved young girl on horseback, feeling a ripple of emotion in his heart.
