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Prologue
Episode 1
“There will be a checkpoint. Please stop.”
All the people passing by the secluded path along the fortress surrounding the capital came to a halt.
The large knights blocked the front and back of the trail with rigid faces. It was just past midnight, so there weren’t many people on the move. About eight people were imprisoned as if surrounded.
Among those people was Heloise, who had a gentle impression in a plain brown dress.
She was a young woman with round blue eyes, with her wavy blonde hair tied loosely under the straw hat worn by commoners.
What was unusual about her was that she was on her crutches, with a pretty thick bandage around her left ankle.
She had no problems walking, but she was probably slow.
“What the hell is going on with this?”
An unfamiliar woman approached Heloise, who was holding her luggage bag, which had been outdated for a long time, and was struggling with her crutches.
“It doesn’t look like they are even the Imperial Knights, so why are they suddenly stopping us?”
“I know right.”
Heloise replied, rolling her round eyes anxiously.
“I don’t know, but those people look so scary. It’s the first time I’ve seen people that big
”
The knights, each boasting a huge physique, completely blocked the road and began to search the surroundings to see if there were any other people.
In an increasingly harsh atmosphere, the lady standing next to Heloise kept talking to her to see if she was nervous.
“What’s wrong with this road? I sometimes go to the capital this way to see my sister, so I haven’t had any problems in the meantime. Do you know anything?”
“This is my first time even coming to the capital. My legs became like this while working on a farm, and I was forced to go find another job.”
“Oh my gosh, how did your legs get like this?”
“I was kicked by the horse’s hind hoof. I’ll never be able to walk like I used to again, but I’ve heard that with good treatment, I can still avoid crutches.”
“No, did the farmer compensate you? The legs of a working person became like this
”
“No
 Still, he wrote a letter of recommendation to a job agency in the capital. I need to find a job that’s suitable for my body.”
She looked sympathetically at Heloise, who had an innocent smile while clutching her suitcase tightly.
According to Heloise, she suffered a lifelong injury, but she didn’t get paid for it, and she was kicked out. ‘I feel sorry for the young lady
’ Others murmured the same thing.
It was then.
“What the hell is this? To keep people from coming and going in the middle of the night like this!”
Among the people gathered in one place according to the guide of the knights, an old man, tired of waiting, jumped up and pointed, irritating him.
“You guys, with what authority are you blocking us! Let’s see why!”
The other people who could not protest because the impressions of the knights were so frightening, enthusiastically expressed their consent.
Heloise also mixed with the crowd and nodded her head cautiously.
“We are the Knights of Noavik.”
Among them, one of the largest knights spoke in a dry tone.
“We are fulfilling the temple’s order. We ask for your cooperation.”
“Why the hell does the temple block even unsuspecting travelers?”
It was time for the old man, who had gained momentum with the cooperation of others, to protest again with a loud voice.
In the distance, along the road, a man with dark hair and golden eyes was seen riding on his horse. There was no expression on his beautiful face.
“Duke.”
As the man approached, the knights who were blocking them all bowed in unison. A large knight then reported quickly.
“They were all on the way to the capital. I searched the other places carefully, but I couldn’t find anyone hiding.”
The man who received the report remained silent for a moment and glanced at the twenty or so people gathered at the entrance of the road.
His golden eyes stared meticulously at each one like a beast that selects its prey. His hair, darker than the night sky, fluttered in the wind. Even the old man who was protesting shut his mouth at the man’s intimidation.
Heloise, who was mingled with the crowd, clutched her crutches with a nervous expression on her face in silence.
Heloise also couldn’t avoid the man’s gaze. She couldn’t bear to face him, and crouched down.
The man who made people silent with just one glance opened his mouth slowly.
“There is no one else around. If the ‘blue ruby’ didn’t rise to the sky or be buried to the ground, it would probably be one of these people.”
It was a surprisingly low voice. The woman, who was next to Heloise, sighed and gasped.
“Oh my god, my god. That man is Duke Noavik!”
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“Duke Noavik?”
“Johannes Noavik of the North, who is chasing after the first-class bounty of the temple, ‘blue ruby’! Oh my gosh
 It must have been that ‘blue ruby’ appeared around here.”
Heloise gave her a bewildered expression as if she didn’t know. The lady quickly began explaining with a look of great kindness to a country girl who was ignorant of the world.
Perhaps an evil spirit has appeared around here, and it is said that the illegal evil hunter and the first-class bounty designated by the temple, “Blue Ruby”, has defeated the evil spirit. It was speculated that Johannes Noavik, who was searching for the ‘blue ruby’ under the order of the temple that found out about it, might have come to catch it.
“Well, ma’am, but evil spirits are bad beings that harm people. Why is it a crime to get rid of that?”
“Lady, there are so many things you don’t know. Evil spirits must be exterminated at the temple. You can’t do it alone if you’re not a temple person.”
“I know. But why?”
“I don’t know either, because it’s a temple’s order. Anyway, there must be a reason, right? Well, this is a big deal.”
“Why?”
“The Duke of Noavik searched the surroundings, and the fact that there was no one means that there was really no one. I guess there’s the “Blue Ruby” among us. It looks like we’re going to be searched.”
What the lady said was right. Knights began to search meticulously the 20 people.
“The evil spirit cannot be eradicated without a weapon that serves as a medium. Let’s sort out those who have weapons first.”
A large woman who belonged to the Knight Order was attached to Heloise, so she cooperated with the search with a frightened look.
The knight in charge of Heloise was so thorough that she even untied the bandage around her ankle. She was released only after carefully examining the bag full of cheap clothes and the hem of the dress.
“Then, I’ll get going now
”
The empire was not a place where weapons were illegal. The majority carried at least a small dagger on their trip.
Therefore, Heloise, who had no weapons, was able to be released faster than others.
After she wrapped the bandage again with a clumsy touch, she started walking on a street lined with knights on crutches.
The limp was inevitably slower than the average person. Her heart beated faster every time she passed by the knights and headed to the capital.
Finally, it was time to pass Johannes, who was standing at the end of the road to the capital and watching the search.
“Wait a minute.”
A heavy, low voice called her. Heloise’s heart dropped.
“Stop.”
Johannes’ eyes were facing her straight.
Unlike the excessively large knights, Johannes was as tall as them, but he had such a figure that he looked slender because his fine muscles were attached to him.
Nevertheless, the pressure he exuded was incomparable to others.
“Me, me, me, me
?”
Heloise even stuttered and clenched her crutches. Johannes slowly approached and stood in front of her. Heloise’s already small body shrank more.
His body gradually leaned toward her. It was when she closed her eyes

“
You can’t tie a bandage roughly like this.”
Heloise opened her eyes slightly. Johannes was bending down and tying the bandage again. She stared blankly at his elongated eyes and looked down at his sharp nose and jawline.
Duke Johannes Noavik, the owner of the northern part and agent of the temple, was bowing in front of a shabby country lady.
His meticulously re-tying the knot of the bandage was polite.
“I appreciate your cooperation. I’m sorry for causing damage to civilians. I hope you understand.”
It was a hard tone, but it was a voice that felt sincere in its own way. Heloise lowered her head once.
Then she barely spoke in a small voice.
“Ah, thank you
”
Heloise bowed her head and moved away from the Knights.
It wasn’t until she entered the capital that she glanced across the street, where the search was still ongoing.
Johannes Noavik, the hard and straight back of the beast-like man, was embedded in her eyes. She smiled and talked to herself.
“Hah, thank you
”
~*~
The “Blue Ruby”, Heloise, who entered the capital and went into a cheap inn, took off the bandage as soon as she entered the room. She stopped limping.
“I almost got caught this time. Oh
 It was dangerous.”
It was the first time she saw Johannes so close. Usually, he would only appear a long time after she left after eradicating evil spirits.
“I can’t do this. Vincent, you said this would be easy
”
But today was a little different. The new weapon that her colleague Vincent had given her, saying that it would be much better than the one she had been using, was unexpectedly unwieldy.
As a result, dealing with evil spirits delayed time and she missed the timing to run away. In addition, Heloise was not originally athletic.
“Well, that’s a relief.”
She sat in bed and began to dismantle her crutches. Inside the crutches were the new weapon, a pistol, made by Vincent.
She brought it as a test because it was easier to carry than a long gun, but it was too big for her, who had no arm strength, so it was not a suitable weapon.
“They didn’t even take the crutches apart and look at it.”
But when Johannes called her up at the end, her heart really almost stopped. It was just in case she couldn’t act properly as a country girl with a leg injury.
“Hahh
”
None of the people in the numerous temples chasing her were scary. But Johannes Noavik was a little annoying.
This was because he was not only excellent at physical ability, but also the devotion to catch her was great, so she felt like she would really get caught if she slipped up.
“Why on earth is he living as a temple dog when he’s so high in status and excellent in skills? Is there nothing to do?”
Heloise kicked her feet and recalled his surprisingly handsome face. She knew he was handsome, but he looked nicer up close. She forcibly erased his low and polite voice, which seemed to still ring in her ears.
“Anyway, let’s never meet again.”
But her resolution was broken in a very ridiculous way. It was absurdly disastrous.
So not long after that, Heloise was really caught by Johannes Noavik, and furthermore, after returning time

“Hello, Duke. Please marry me.”
She came to visit him for a very special purpose that she would have never imagined.
TL/N: MY FAV AUTHOR WROTE A NEW NOVEL IM SO EXCITED