A dozen kilometers away from Ferrol Town. A week prior
"Ah~ We're finally almost there!" The beautiful pink-haired woman looked at her friend in puzzlement, "The travel to this place is so troublesome. Why do you even bother?"
Cassandra didn't answer her immediately. They were currently headed (i.e. running away towards) her cousin's territory.
This wasn't a bad idea on its own because, after all, a relative's territory was generally safe. The problem was: the town was many days away from her own.
But… Cassandra knew she really didn't have a choice. She couldn't stay there anymore.
"Aren't you tired of staying in the same place?" She asked Veronica, "I know your territory had already upgraded to town, but it'll take a while for the scenery to change, right?
"Wouldn't it be more fun to go home after a while and wait to be surprised by the changes?"
Veronica, of course, knew that this had nothing to do with her. But she knew that her friend was going through something so she didn't call her out (for now).
Fortunately, after a long time, the torturous days of travel were finally reduced to a couple of hours so her mood was no longer so dour.
Some time of traveling later though, Veronica couldn't stop herself from just asking directly. "Come on, Cassy. I'm your best friend. Tell me what's going on?"
At her question, Cassandra stared for a while before sighing in defeat. She combed back her luscious purple hair, looking out the curtains of the carriage. "Do you think thirty is old?"
"No, why?" Vanessa asked, looking up and down at her friend. "Are you talking about our age?"
Cassandra nodded.
"Thirty? We're practically adolescents!"
"Then does it make sense my parents are pushing me to get married already?"
Veronica pursed her lips at this question, wondering what to say. In the end, she answered truthfully. "Well, you're the only child and a woman, so…"
Cassandra sighed at her misfortune. In fact, she wasn't really an only child. Her father had plenty of mistresses, but her mother's family was too strong and there was no way her father would let an illegitimate son take over.
That left one option: A grandson.
That meant: Her giving birth, as soon as possible.
Cassandra frowned, rubbing her temple. She knew this, of course, but she didn't want to believe her whole life was planned so strictly that she didn't even have a choice on who to wed and when to do so.
That was the rest of her whole life! She was so young!
However, she didn't have the time to mope for too long as the whole carriage soon shook wildly before abruptly stopping.
Not far away, they heard one of the guards yell out. "A mob!"
"What?" Veronica yelled and her maid opened the curtain for her. There were scores and scores of mobs around them and their guards dutifully guarded their carriage. Unsurprisingly, the beasts that pulled their carriages stayed still, neither helping nor joining the mob—as always.
Veronica paled a bit but then she looked closer at the fight outside.
"They're not even level 10." She said, but Cassandra shook her head.
"You forget we only brought a few guards with us," She said, "Even they would get in trouble with such a large mob. And, although unlikely, what if the mob managed to trigger our mount—"
Before she even finished her sentence though, the beast carriage shook wildly and it lurched forward so quickly that the four girls inside fell down down their chairs.
Flop!
"Kyaa~!"
"Misses!" The guards yelled, but they were being mobbed by dozens of monsters each. Although they were ten levels stronger, it was difficult for them to fight such a large mob.
Cassandra, Veronica, and their maids struggled to get back at their seats and hold on to them for dear life. One of the maids yelled at the driver, but no answer came.
He was probably dead, and their hearts dropped at the thought.
Anyway, one of the risks of a beast carriage was that the monster could get confused by the mob. Although unlikely to attack its owners, their orders may fall on deaf ears—as was the current case.
They continued on forward, moving wildly, and they could feel the carriage hitting tree after tree. Her maid covered her mouth and tried to stop herself from vomiting, and everyone else was extremely dizzy they wouldn't be far from puking themselves.
Then a splatter outside was heard, and the carriage stopped abruptly. The momentum was so sudden that the carriage went off balance. Unexpectedly, the door opened and the four of them were pulled out.
Her head hit a hard chest and she looked up, meeting one of the most handsome faces she had encountered.
"T-Thank you…"
"Hm." was all he said, letting her go and focusing on the mob at hand.
He actually let her fall down to the ground, but she didn't mind. Her eyes unconsciously just followed his movements.
He was extremely dashing and she watched in awe as he manipulated two elements—fire and earth—skillfully combining them into one attack, which melted every monster that it touched.
He was obviously lower in level than her and the guards, but he looked so much stronger.
She watched him fight, purple eyes ingraining his image, and deeper and deeper in her heart.
"Thank you," She said, demurely approaching him and exuding all the grace she learned growing up. He only stared at her for a second before nodding without any emotion.
He then turned to the head guard. "Can we get a few carcasses? It's lunchtime."
"A-Ah, of course." The guard said and the handsome man gave a curt thanks before taking a few monsters with his team.
Not once did he look in her direction again.
This was the first time she was saved so gallantly, by a man who had no lust for her, her wealth, or her position.
Inexplicably, her heart beat faster.