The Story of How We Met III: A Sinless Lady’s Flight

“Sorry to involve you in this,” the young heroine of our tale said to her servant.

“Think nothing of it, miss. I am happy to be of service.”

The young lady was wearing luxurious clothing, the quality of which was obvious at a glance. In a flash, she changed into a different and clearly pedestrian set of clothes. The villager’s outfit wasn’t hers; she’d borrowed it from the servant.

Before long, her transformation into an average village girl was complete. She then strapped on a breastplate and other pieces of protective armor. They stood out against her otherwise plain attire but were nonetheless indispensable for the journey she was about to make.

The young lady was Diana, daughter of the Eimoor family, and she was preparing to flee the estate she called home.

After the deaths of the head and first successor of the family—Diana’s father and eldest brother—her remaining two brothers had been bitterly disputing the inheritance. Originally, the countship should have been passed down to the second eldest brother, who was next in line for the title. However, he wasn’t a legitimate son of the count, so the succession had been muddled.

Just when exactly had it all begun? Had Karel started acting oddly around the time of his father and brother’s deaths? Diana’s bookish and kind older brother had lost his smile and stopped coming by the house.

Diana, who had heard the whole story from her worried third brother, Marius, didn’t understand Karel’s reasons. And around that time, Karel had started plotting. When those schemes had expanded to target Diana, she and Marius discussed what to do, concluding that Diana, who had no involvement with the battle for succession, should hide and wait out the storm.

It was in the midst of that discussion that Marius asked her, “Don’t you think it’s strange?”

“What is?” Diana replied.

“The culprit. There’s an overwhelming possibility that Karel stole the sword, but there’s not a shred of evidence.”

“He must have planned it out very thoroughly.”

“Yes, I suppose so. But look, we’re talking about Karel here. Could he really have thought up such a callous scheme? And, supposing he did, he’d need both money and manpower to pull it off. Where did he find those resources?”

“Maybe he had an accomplice,” Diana suggested.

“Most likely,” Marius agreed. “But I can’t imagine who it could be.” He shrugged.

To describe the situation as tense would’ve been an understatement, but Diana wouldn’t forget this exchange—Marius had been trying to spare her feelings. Both of their nerves had been worn thin from the heavy pressure they lived under day to day, but Diana would always be grateful for that kindness.

“Now then, about where you should hide...” Marius started.

“Do you have any good ideas? All the places I can think of...well, Karel would figure them out in a heartbeat.”

“Yeah, that’s certainly one downside of having a family member as an enemy. He can predict all of our moves. But, rest assured.”

“You mean...?”

“I have a place in mind,” Marius said.

“Somewhere safe?”

“Yeah. There’s a smith who lives in the middle of the Black Forest.”

“A person like that exists?” Shocked by the information, Diana raised her voice without thinking. The Black Forest was notorious within the country—probably around the world—as a dangerous region. It was home to ferocious wolves and bears, but that wasn’t all... Monsters were known to roam those parts as well. It was said that once you entered it, you’d never leave.

Just passing through the forest safely was already an amazing feat. Living inside its bounds was on a whole other level.

Marius grinned. “He exists, all right. As a matter of fact, he forged this sword.” He gestured toward the blade strapped to his waist. Marius had acquired it while he’d been working as a city guard; it looked like any other sword, but apparently, it was unbelievably sharp.

“He’s the real deal?” Diana asked.

“I guarantee it. I’ve met him several times, and he’s an honorable person. After I met him, he struck up a deal with a merchant in the city, so that merchant would probably know his location best of all.”

“I see.”

“If you’re going to hide, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that his place would be the safest in the country...no, the whole world.”

“I suppose so. It’s in the Black Forest, after all.”

“Right. So, like I said, the merchant—his name’s Camilo—knows the blacksmith’s exact location. I drafted this letter, so take it to him. He’ll know what to do.”

“I understand,” Diana said, accepting the letter that Marius held out.

The message was sealed with wax, but it wasn’t stamped with the Eimoor family crest. Was that because Marius was afraid of the letter falling into the wrong hands or because he wasn’t officially the head of the family yet? Diana wasn’t sure, but she trusted her brother to know what he was doing.

“You should leave today,” Marius said. “Sorry for springing all of this on you. I don’t know how much Karel has planned, but the sooner we act, the better our chances of catching him off guard.”

“I agree. I’ll talk to Catalina and the others and start making preparations,” Diana said.

“Then I’ll leave it in your hands.”

Before now, Marius had thought that to win the succession battle, he simply had to be the last one standing. But his life was only one-half of the victory—he also had to make sure that Diana was safe. Ideally, he wouldn’t have to harm Karel either, but that was just Marius’s own selfish desire.

Marius or Karel. Supposing neither fell in battle, the loser would still likely suffer heavy injuries, perhaps dire enough to make leaving the battlefield difficult. Marius had no intention of ending up on the losing side.

Determined, he placed a hand on Diana’s shoulder.

Dressed in servant’s clothes and armor, Diana sneaked out of her family’s estate through the back entrance. She wasted no time, taking a secret route out of the capital that she and her brothers had used to traverse when they’d been little. The route saw little traffic, which made it the perfect playground for four children, and also the perfect escape route for Diana’s impromptu flight.

Diana didn’t know whether to feel sad or relieved. The route was a saving grace, but her joyful childhood memories were now tainted by the present. Right now, the most important thing was for her to get to shelter. Knowing she was safe would also ease Marius’s burdens, allowing him to focus on resolving the conflict.

She proceeded along the road as fast as she could, staying on the lookout for the slightest sign of danger. She hoped desperately that she would not run into any trouble.

She awoke on the roadside the next morning.

The previous day, she had been fortunate enough to meet a group of traveling women—mercenaries, apparently—and had camped with them for the night. The women were journeying to the capital to look for work. Not only were they heading in the opposite direction of Diana’s goal, but she didn’t want to risk involving them in any danger that might be headed her way. So, after eating breakfast together, she parted from them.

It was a beautiful day. The good weather and refreshing breeze lent an air of leisure and peace to the journey. If she hadn’t been in danger, it would’ve been the perfect day for traveling.

Diana’s nickname was the Rose of the Duel Grounds. She was stronger and more athletic than most women, and she was fast and light on her feet. However, the need for extra caution curbed her speed. Bandits could appear or beasts could emerge from the Black Forest at any time. Running outright would draw too much attention, and attracting attention was the last thing Diana wanted to do, especially if pursuers were looking for her.

In the end, all of Diana’s vigilance and caution were for naught.

The first sign of danger was the sound of running feet behind her. She whipped around as soon as she heard her pursuers, but it was too late—they were gaining on her quickly, and she didn’t have enough time to run. She prepared to fight and unsheathed the sword strapped to her waist, then turned to put the Black Forest at her back. If worst came to worst, she would escape into the woods.

Her pursuers were a team of three men, all wielding shortswords. Diana carried a longsword, so she had the advantage of a greater reach. If she fought well, she could hold them back long enough for someone to come to her rescue. Otherwise, she’d have to take a gamble.

The men swarmed her. Diana cursed as she parried their flurry of blows, but it was three versus one. She was clearly at a disadvantage.

I’ll have to make my move soon.

As Diana steeled herself, one of the men faltered. His jerky movement was followed immediately by a swoosh sound. An arrow suddenly flew through the air where the man had been a second ago.

A young, feminine voice called out, “I’ve got your back!” Diana looked over to see a woman—a tiger-woman—carrying a bow. That explained where the arrow had come from.

From a distance, the woman unleashed her arrows with precision, fending off the men who were still attacking at Diana’s openings. Rather than trying to end the fight by whatever means possible, it looked as if the woman was prioritizing Diana’s safety and blocking potentially fatal attacks.

The woman’s strategy bothered Diana. Was she waiting for someone? Did the woman have additional reinforcements on the way that would turn the tide of this battle?

The answer to Diana’s doubts came faster than she’d expected.

“Stop right there, you bastards!!!” a man shouted.

The young woman who’d come to her aid looked relieved, which meant that the man was likely an ally.

Diana continued to desperately parry and attack the assassins, but she, too, felt reassured by the man’s appearance. Strangely, strength filled her anew; it looked like she would make it through this confrontation after all.

Though she didn’t know it at the time, her meeting with this mysterious stranger would change her fate.