Medes devoured the food laid out on the table.
Catherine pursed her lips, trying to suppress her urge to eat, and put a piece of bread covered in butter into her mouth.
Carter gave Joey a meaningful look, and Joey simply responded with an apologetic smile without saying a word.
It wasn't that he was unwilling to speak, but rather that he himself hadn't yet figured out the situation.
Carter left, and soon after, the rhythmic clanging of metal could be heard outside.
Catherine had taken off her hood, and her golden hair cascaded down her back like a golden waterfall.
However, all the head ornaments were gone, and even the two gemstone earrings on her ears were no longer there.
Seeing that Medes had almost finished eating, Joey's gaze began to turn to his eyes.
Medes, who was already about 80% full, felt Joey's gaze. He put down the piece of bacon he was still holding and looked at Joey apologetically.
"I'm so sorry, Captain Joey!"
His eyes darted away, and he didn't dare to stare at Joey for too long.
"What happened? Weren't you escorting Lady Catherine to Baron City? How did you end up here? And in such a disheveled state?"
Joey had a lot of questions in his mind. Catherine should be living a life of luxury by now, so why did she suddenly appear in Sandstone City in such a sorry state?
Upon hearing Joey's words, Catherine stopped eating her bread, which she had been silently enjoying.
“Joey, it’s not Sergeant Medes’ fault, it’s all my fault. I’m a jinx, I only bring danger to those around me!”
Catherine's tears welled up again and fell onto the dining table in a soft patter.
"Lady Catherine, you mustn't say that. Protecting your safety is my duty. It's all my fault for not doing a good job, which led to your escape."
“You’ve done a very good job, Sergeant Medes. Without your and the others’ protection, I’d probably be a cold corpse by now!”
"Of all the people who went to Baron City with me, you're the only one left now. I'm so sorry!"
Catherine was no longer the selfish and arrogant daughter of the city lord. Instead, she had developed a grateful heart and an understanding of others. She had seen Medes' protection all along and did not want to see Joey blame him anymore.
"What exactly is going on?"
Joey pressed Medes for answers, eager to get to the bottom of things.
Medes glanced at Catherine, who nodded in agreement. Although Joey was his superior, Catherine was undoubtedly the most authoritative person there, especially since these matters concerned her.
“A few months ago, I was ordered by Captain Sauron to secretly escort Lady Catherine to Baron City!”
"At first, everything went smoothly, and we soon arrived in Baron and informed the King. We were then arranged to wait for an audience at a post station."
“But on the night before the audience, we were attacked. The Imperial Guards inside the post station were all killed, and we suffered heavy losses. We also lost several people while escorting Lady Catherine away from the post station. Then, we were separated from the group by the pursuing assassins. In the end, only Lady Catherine and I were left!”
"These thieves were clearly after Lady Catherine, and they were quite strong. After escaping the post station, we quickly left the city. For Lady Catherine's safety, we took back roads, but we dared not go to the nearest town!"
"We originally planned to return to Saibanda Fortress, but when we arrived, we found that the fortress had been destroyed. We finally decided to settle in Sandstone City, a neutral city, hoping to escape our pursuit!"
After Medes finished speaking, he looked resentful, indicating that his escape had left him feeling quite aggrieved.
"If there are assassinations in Baron City, other towns probably aren't very safe either. You were right not to choose to settle in other towns!"
“I know about Saibanda. It seems you didn’t encounter Captain Sauron who retreated. Uriel also survived that great battle.”
"But I never expected Catherine to attract so much hatred!"
Joey glanced at Catherine. Although he already knew that Catherine had royal blood, he was still puzzled as to why so many people were chasing her. In addition, the story he overheard about Prince Barton in Gold Rush Town was probably related to this matter.
Joey didn't speak up about Prince Barton's matter. After all, it's best not to make irresponsible statements about someone of that status without solid evidence, as it could worsen the situation.
"The continent of Budalas doesn't seem very safe, so I plan to return to Ashfurnace City!"
Catherine was in low spirits; the series of events had made this daughter of the city lord quite sentimental.
"Going back to Ashfurnace City? That's certainly a good idea!"
"But you should rest first, I have a lot to talk to you about!"
Joey changed the subject, a mischievous smile creeping across his eyes.
He had been thoroughly ripped off by this Lady Catherine; the promised gold coins hadn't been delivered yet, and now he had to buy them on credit.
Joey didn't believe Catherine had even half a copper coin left.
"Talk to me? Talk about what?"
For some reason, Catherine blushed and her ears burned after hearing Joey's words.
"Hey, hey, hey, what are you thinking about? I'm a respectable person!"
Joey doesn't have that many dirty thoughts right now. Even if he did, he'd have to finalize the deal first before thinking about those ideas, since Catherine isn't a good client.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
