Although His Blackstone hadn’t planned to give Ni Wei such a long vacation before they set out, since they had already come all the way to the Royal Capital, the two spent another two days sightseeing before preparing to head back to the domain.
“Let’s go.”
His picked up his luggage and walked toward the inn’s entrance.
“Oh…”
Ni Wei followed behind him, her head slightly lowered.
The pair of earrings set with emerald-green gems on her earlobes caught the morning light, scattering tiny shimmers.
His turned back, his gaze sweeping over the girl, and the corners of his mouth curled up involuntarily.
‘This girl sure changed fast.’
‘But well… this style of earrings really does look good on her.’
The green gems complemented her light golden hair and fair skin far better than the blue ones he had bought for her and Rafina before.
“What… what are you looking at me for?”
Ni Wei noticed His’s stare and instinctively raised her hand to touch her earrings, a faint blush spreading across her cheeks.
“Nothing. Just thinking my taste isn’t half bad—the earrings I picked suit you well.”
“Hmph, this young lady is naturally beautiful. I look good in anything.”
Ni Wei turned her face away, her tone still full of pride, but a tinge of crimson quietly crept onto her cheeks.
The two walked along the street toward the city gate.
His led the way, mulling over his trip to the Royal Capital. Surprisingly, he had achieved all the goals he’d set out to accomplish—much smoother than he had anticipated.
Now all he had to do was leave the city safely, board the carriage, and return to the domain. This journey would be a complete success.
Yeah. Simple as that.
***
Just as they were within two hundred meters of the city gate, the rhythmic clatter of hooves echoed from that direction.
His instinctively looked up.
A squadron of knights clad in silver-white armor was approaching from outside the gate, their formation neat and uniform, horse hooves striking the bluestone slabs in crisp synchronization.
From their attire and bearing, they were likely part of the Kingdom’s official Knight Order.
“Wow!”
Ni Wei stopped in her tracks, curiously sizing up the troop.
“So imposing! Is this the Royal Capital’s Knight Order?”
“Yeah, looks like they just finished patrol and are heading back.”
His replied casually, then his eyes swept along the column—and froze.
At the very front of the formation, leading the group, was a woman who appeared to be in her early twenties.
Her silver hair was tied back in a neat ponytail, swaying gently with the rhythm of her mount.
Even from a distance, those ice-blue eyes made His feel a sharp chill.
He knew that face all too well.
Ai Lin, Vice Captain of the Kingdom Knights, known as the “Sword Maiden of the Kingdom.”
And… supposedly his fiancée.
At that thought, His shook his head vigorously.
‘Get a grip, His!’
‘In the original game, she was one of Feng Aotian’s harem members!’
Her swordsmanship was terrifying—even against a fully awakened Feng Aotian in the late game, she could hold her own for hundreds of exchanges. She was arguably the strongest combatant in Feng Aotian’s harem.
She wore a set of silver-white light armor slightly different from the other knights, with a long, slender sword at her hip.
Though there were no extra decorations, the sharp aura emanating from her very bones caused surrounding pedestrians to instinctively clear a path.
His watched Ai Lin approach, swallowing hard.
If he remembered correctly, in the original game, Ai Lin’s family originally lived in the Blackstone Family’s domain.
Her father, eager to ingratiate himself with the Blackstone Family, had taken the initiative to propose a marriage contract between Ai Lin and His to Duke Blackstone.
Considering that even back then Ai Lin had already displayed extraordinary talent in swordsmanship, Duke Blackstone agreed to the engagement in hopes of securing a strong support for his useless son.
Not long after, Ai Lin’s swordsmanship talent attracted the attention of the Kingdom.
The then-Captain of the Kingdom Knights personally came to recruit her, offering to have her receive training at the Royal Capital along with a generous stipend.
That’s when Ai Lin’s family moved to the Capital.
As the two grew up, Ai Lin’s fame swelled, earning her the title “Sword Maiden of the Kingdom.”
His, on the other hand, had his reputation grow worse and worse…
Having such a “fiancé” was a huge stain on this Sword Maiden.
Though Ai Lin had tried multiple times to find His and break off the engagement, considering his backing from the Blackstone Family, if she reneged, even if she could protect her family from retaliation, the public’s scorn would drown her and her family…
The power of public opinion troubled the young Sword Maiden greatly.
In the game, Feng Aotian seized on this very point.
Through constant wooing, she made Ai Lin stop caring about worldly judgment, personally tore up the engagement contract with His, and turned Ai Lin into a major asset for toppling the Blackstone Family.
Crap!
Crap, crap, crap!
Running into her in the Capital—that’s practically walking into the trap!
‘Flee!’
‘I have to flee!’
‘As long as she doesn’t notice me, it should be fine.’
His lowered his head deeply and grabbed Ni Wei’s wrist.
“Quick! Let’s take a detour!”
“Huh? Why? The gate is right ahead…”
“Don’t ask, just hurry!”
His’s voice was urgent as he pulled Ni Wei into a side alley.
However.
Trying to slip away unnoticed under the “Sword Maiden of the Kingdom’s” nose proved to be a bit naive.
“Stop right there.”
A cold voice came from behind His.
‘Oh boy, I’m done for.’
His slowly turned around, forcing what he thought was his friendliest smile.
Ai Lin had already dismounted and was walking toward them.
Her pace wasn’t fast, but it carried an overwhelming pressure.
Up close, His found her expression even sharper than from a distance.
She was practically an iceberg.
“It really is you.”
Ai Lin’s gaze landed on His, her tone indifferent.
“What’s the matter? When you finally run into your fiancée, your first instinct is to run?”
“Well… Ai Lin… actually I…”
His started to explain, but Ai Lin cut him off.
“Did you do something bad?”
“Absolutely not!”
“Then why do you look so guilty?!”
Hit by a combo, His was left speechless.
Just as he was racking his brain for a reasonable excuse, a voice rang out from his side:
“Why are you being so harsh with him?!”
Ni Wei stepped forward and positioned herself in front of His.
Though the girl was slender, she looked like a cat with its fur bristled, head held high as she stared straight at the silver-haired female knight who towered over her.
“Oh? You care about him quite a bit. What’s your relationship?”
Ai Lin looked down at Ni Wei with interest, raising an eyebrow.
“He’s the young master of our family. We’re just in a hurry to leave the city and return to the domain!”
Meeting Ai Lin’s gaze, Ni Wei planted her hands on her hips, completely unafraid, a hint of stubbornness flashing in her eyes.
For some reason, facing this girl made Ai Lin feel uncomfortable.
She shifted her attention back to His.
“I have things to do, so I won’t bother with you now. Don’t do anything that causes misunderstandings next time.”
With that, Ai Lin turned and walked back to her formation, swinging herself onto her horse in one clean, decisive motion, not sparing His another glance.
The hoofbeats resumed.
The knight squadron set off again, heading toward the inner city.
Only when that silver ponytail had completely vanished at the end of the street did His let out a long sigh.
‘That was close!’
‘I thought I was about to get publicly executed by the Sword Maiden of the Kingdom.’
“Hey.”
Ni Wei’s voice came from beside him.
His turned to face her somewhat dissatisfied expression.
“She said she’s your fiancée?”
Ni Wei’s tone was cold.
“Why didn’t you mention that before?”
“Well… it’s not what you think…”
His waved his hands frantically.
“Then why were you hiding from her? And dragging me along?”
Ni Wei sniffed.
In her view, His’s behavior just now was exactly like a cheater caught red-handed.
And that would make her…
“Hmph!”
Ni Wei stomped her foot hard.
“No matter what, you have to give me an explanation.”
Seeing this, His knew he wouldn’t get off easy unless he explained clearly.
So he told her about the engagement their families had arranged when they were children.
“But don’t worry. You saw how she acted—she clearly dislikes me. Once I’m back, I’ll write to my father and talk it over. We’ll probably dissolve the engagement.”
“Tch.”
Ni Wei pouted.
‘That’s more like it.’
‘How can you keep looking at the pot while eating from the bowl?!’
His confirmed the knight squadron was far away, then pulled Ni Wei toward the gate.
“Let’s go. We still have a long ride. If we move fast, we might make it back to the manor by tonight.”
“What’s the rush? It was you who wasted time just now!”
Ni Wei complained, but her steps unconsciously quickened to match His’s pace.
The two passed through the city gate, one after the other.
***
On the inner city avenue of the Royal Capital, the Sword Maiden of the Kingdom sat astride her horse, her mind replaying the earlier scene.
That golden-haired girl had stepped between her and His without hesitation.
She looked so fragile, yet facing her, she hadn’t backed down an inch.
‘What… kind of relationship do they have?’
‘Whatever. Not my business.’
‘I should find a chance to bring up the engagement dissolution.’
Ai Lin withdrew her thoughts and gently spurred her horse.
***
Sitting in the carriage heading back to the domain, His couldn’t help feeling relieved.
Based on the current timeline, Ai Lin’s impression of him was probably quite poor.
The good news was that, thanks to his accidental chain of blunders earlier, Feng Aotian still hadn’t left the Novice Village.
For now, Ai Lin had no opportunity to cross paths with Feng Aotian.
At that thought, His breathed a little easier.
But since they had already met, there would surely be progress on the engagement.
He needed to start preparing as well.
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