Chapter 8

"What do you want to eat?" Aina asked Alan, who was behind her.

"Ah, do you intend to pay for my order, Lady Aina?" Alan replied, his tone teasing as if he was flirting with Aina.

Over time, Aina would get used to this behavior because Alan often teased her.

Aina chose not to answer him.

What Aina remembered, though, was that Alan was the second-best man in the Audellian kingdom, right after the crown prince. He appeared very professional next to the crown prince as his right-hand man.

After meeting and interacting with Alan directly, Aina's impression was quite different.

"Why are you not answering, Lady Aina?" Alan asked again.

Aina replied in a flat tone, "Because you also didn't answer my question."

"What would you like to order, Lady Aina? Let me pay for your bill," Alan responded again, to which Aina only answered with a mumble.

Aina chose not to answer his question. Though she wasn't really upset, it seemed like she was getting used to Alan's attitude.

Afterward, two waiters approached Aina and Alan. They asked what Alan and Aina wanted to order at the same time.

After a while, their orders arrived. Aina then ate her dinner in silence.

It seemed that Alan also knew his manners, as Aina did not hear Alan talking behind her anymore.

Once they finished, Alan spoke, suggesting they continue their journey.

****

It was still dark when Aina opened her eyes. She hadn't realized how she had fallen asleep in the carriage that night.

She had been sleeping in a sitting position, leaning against the carriage wall.

A jolt woke Aina from her sleep. She opened her eyes and realized the carriage had stopped.

There was a commotion outside the carriage.

Aina froze when she realized the sound was familiar.

Curious, she wanted to check what had happened outside. She opened the carriage curtains.

When she opened the window curtains, Aina froze as she saw what was in front of her.

Aina saw the vast dark sky. There was nothing but darkness.

To make sure of what she was seeing, Aina opened the carriage door and stuck her head and half her body out.

Aina's eyes instantly widened as she looked down.

How could she not realize that the carriage she was riding was floating in the air?

Aina squinted. She tried to see what was happening below her. The moonlight helped a little with her vision.

Down there, Aina saw a group of people dressed like bandits. The bandits surrounded a man who looked familiar.

Alan?!

Alan appeared to be fighting five bandits surrounding him. He managed to parry almost all of the bandits' attacks. He even managed to injure them.

However, one attack hit Alan's shoulder.

It was an arrow that managed to graze his shoulder, causing blood to flow.

Alan looked toward the trees. He realized the arrow had come from between the gaps of the forest trees.

There was someone else, aside from the five bandits he was facing directly.

Because Alan was focused on dealing with the five attackers, he didn't notice the arrow that was aimed at him. It was what caused his shoulder to be injured.

Alan still tried to ignore the pain from his injury and struggled to take down all the people near him.

Then, Alan succeeded in knocking them all down.

As he moved to look for the person who had shot the arrow, Alan lost his balance. He fell to his knees, holding his shoulder.

He stared at the wound on his shoulder and realized something. There was poison in the arrow that had grazed his shoulder.

Alan felt dizzy, and his vision blurred. His face turned pale.

"Alan!" Aina cried out when she saw Alan fall.

Alan looked up. He saw Aina's frightened face from the floating carriage above him.

"Don't come out, Lady Aina!" Alan called back.

Just after that, an arrow shot toward Aina.

Aina, who was at the carriage door, immediately hid behind the wall.

The arrow missed Aina because of her swift movement to hide.

Aina didn't dare to show herself outside the carriage anymore. She quickly closed the carriage door.

However, a few minutes later, she became curious and worried about what was happening to Alan.

Finally, Aina gathered the courage to open the carriage door once more.

The moment she opened it, the carriage suddenly shook. Aina gasped when she saw the situation outside.

The carriage was descending uncontrollably as if it was about to crash into the ground.

Before the carriage hit the ground, Aina took a deep breath. Then, she extended her hands downward.

A layer of wind formed around the body of the carriage, creating a shield beneath it and slowing its descent.

The carriage slowly approached the ground.

Finally, Aina breathed a sigh of relief when she successfully landed the carriage and herself safely.

But just a moment later, Aina lifted her head and searched for Alan.

This carriage floated because of Alan's power.

This carriage could fall because something happened to Alan.

Aina ran out of the carriage when she saw Alan lying on the ground, seemingly unconscious.

It was as if Aina forgot or didn't care that another arrow was aimed at her.

And indeed, an arrow flew toward Aina once more.

Whether it was because the archer wasn't focused or because Aina was running, the arrow missed her again.

"Alan!" Aina sat down and grabbed Alan's body.

It turned out Alan had lost half of his consciousness. He groaned in pain as Aina placed his body on her lap.

"Hey? Are you alright?" Aina looked at the wound on Alan's shoulder. Even though it wasn't too serious, Alan seemed to be in great pain.

"Hand over all your valuables if you want him to survive." A voice whispered in Aina's ear.

Aina lifted her face and saw a man with black hair standing in front of her. He had pitch-black eyes.

Perhaps because she had been too focused on Alan, Aina hadn't noticed him approaching.

The man held a bow in his hand, with several arrows still on his back.

It seemed this man was the one who had attacked them with arrows. It was obvious to Aina.

"He's been poisoned by my arrow. Only I have the antidote," the man said again, but Aina responded with silence.

Aina lowered her head. She looked once again at Alan's face, which seemed to be in great pain and continued groaning.

Aina then glanced toward the carriage.

She wondered why this man didn't immediately search the carriage.

Didn't he want their valuables? Why hadn't he gone through it when the carriage landed?

Although Aina was curious, she didn't want to ask directly.

She also thought the man was foolish. Therefore, Aina didn't want to take the risk of asking. The man would realize his foolishness.

And Aina wanted to take advantage of that stupidity.

Aina spoke up, "Give me the antidote first. After that, you can take all our belongings. We won't stop you."

Aina extended her hand toward the man, requesting the antidote.

It seemed Aina understood the man's stupidity when he handed her a small glass bottle.

In reality, the man was afraid of her. He didn't refuse and immediately complied with Aina's request.

The man didn't immediately search or take their belongings from the carriage because he had seen Aina use her wind powers.

The second arrow that missed wasn't because the man wasn't focused. It was because Aina's wind powers deflected the arrow.

The man realized that Aina and Alan were not ordinary people.

He had managed to shoot Alan because, at that time, Alan was focused on the five bandits around him. Alan hadn't noticed the man at all, which allowed him to injure Alan.

Now, the question remained: would Alan truly recover with the antidote from this man?

***