The Duke's Passion

"No, hey, don't! Look!" 

I hollered, and at the same time, the child froze in the middle of the street while the galloping horse came close. Before I could think, I dashed towards the child as fast as I could and cradled her in my embrace while we rolled to the side. 

My heart was pounding so fast and hard I didn't mind the bruises and minor grazes I inflicted. The child trembled under my grip before I let her go and held her small shoulders.

"Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?" I asked in worry. A deep sigh slipped past my lips upon seeing her pale complexion. "It's alright now. You're safe, hmm?"

The little girl didn't answer me and just stared at me while she unconsciously clutched my sleeve. Really… be it in Grimsbanne or in the Capital, some people just don't know the proper decorum.

I shot my eyes back and saw Ramin and Charlotte managed to stop the carriage. As a bearer, what they did was justified, even if the person inside that carriage was a nobleman. This was the heart of the Capital and they shouldn't ride like that as if they were in an open field. 

'I'll break that one.' I thought before I returned my eyes back to the child. "Can you stand?" 

It seemed she already recovered as she nodded. So, I assisted her up and checked if she had inflicted wounds. To my relief, it seemed she didn't.

"Thank you for saving me, my lady," she expressed. Her tone was sweet and muffled, making me smile subtly. 

"Just be vigilant next time, alright?" I patted her head as I sighed once again. This reminded me of that same incident years ago.

"Nitri! Let's go!" Suddenly, another child's voice came from the side as she urged the child I saved.

Nitri looked at me while clutching her hand to her chest. She seemed hesitant to go, but I offered her a smile.

"Are you sure you're not hurt anywhere?" I asked for the last time, and she shook her head.

"Thanks to my lady, Nitri is not hurt," she reassured and managed to put up a smile. 

I was amazed by her strong character for her to recover so fast. "Alright then."

She gave me a nod before she ran towards the two young children waiting for her. My eyes watched the three children as they skipped their steps, singing something I couldn't hear properly until they were out of my sight.

When I couldn't see them, a glint flickered across my eyes as I walked towards the carriage.

"Why did you stop us? Do you think you can afford to offend the person insi —"

While the coachman argued with Charlotte, I gritted my teeth and kicked the carriage's wheel. Their argument stopped as the carriage rattled and they turned their heads to me, wide-eyed.

"Coachman, please don't misunderstand. We didn't mean to offend anyone. However, we're merely concerned about the bad shape of your carriage." I expressed shamelessly, with a disheartened expression. "How can we turn a blind eye to a carriage that is bound to cause an accident?"

The coachman was rendered speechless, as he didn't think I'd put it that way. There were no witnesses when I kicked the wheel and left cracks in it. All they had seen was me approaching after kicking it.

"That's right!" Ramin was the first one to recover after my remark. "We cannot let a carriage that is in awful shape to continue. You don't want to put your master into an accident, do you?" 

"If something happened to your master, it can cause a problem not just to you but also to the country!" Charlotte also chimed in as she raised her chin up arrogantly."

"But —"

"What do you mean, but? We can't let anything bad happened to the guest of the kingdom, or are you telling us you would like to use this carriage despite all the risk? Are you planning to start a war by purposely letting a distinguished guest be in an accident while in the capital?" 

If we put it this way, it would be the coachman's fault. Well, it was not like he wasn't at fault in the first place. 

The coachman fumbled with his hands as he clutched his hat, glancing at the carriage. Even if he argued now, they still had to rent another carriage as the wheel I kicked would shatter, eventually.

Suddenly, a knock from inside the carriage reached our ear. We unconsciously turned our heads upon hearing a woman's voice.

"What is all this commotion?" Her voice was muffled as she didn't even uncover the curtains. 

"My lady, the thing is…" The coachman hesitated as he broke out in cold sweats.

"There seems to be a problem with the wheel of your carriage, my lady. You might be in an accident if the wheels gave in, so we stopped your carriage." Ramin explained the situation calmly, since the coachman was too anxious to churn out words from his throat.

"A problem with the wheel?" the woman inside the carriage repeated. "I see."

"We can assist you in renting one." He offered but received silence for a long time.

"Geez… do they still plan to go on using this piece of trash?" Charlotte grumbled to herself, having a terrible impression of the noble lady inside. 

"Charlotte," I whispered, gesturing her to keep her tone down, which made her frown even more.

Shortly after, the door finally opened. As if on cue, the coachman hurriedly went to the carriage door to offer his hand. However, the lady didn't put her hand out and remained inside. 

"Get your filthy hands away." The woman coldly turned him down.

The coachman seemed to realize his heedless actions as he bowed and stepped aside. "Ah, yes, my lady. My apologies."

"Then, if you let me —" Ramin was also cut off as the woman spoke.

"I want that dame to assist me." She requested, making us look at each other. Which lady was she talking about? Did she hear Charlotte's previous remarks? 

"My lady, are you talking about me?" Charlotte inquired while pointing at herself.

"Are you a lady?"