After the inexplicable farce, Lyr kept some distance from the girl and went to check on the coachman hanging from the tree.
When he got closer, he found that the man had already fallen unconscious.
The carriage nearby was wrecked beyond recognition, and the horse had run off to who knows where.
Lyr twitched his lips.
He had paid to hire this man’s carriage, yet before even reaching the destination, it had ended up like this. And there was no way he could just leave the man here.
Whether anyone would find the unconscious coachman was uncertain. If a wild beast happened to pass by later, the man would likely lose his life here.
Fast, indeed very fast. And it blew up just as quickly.
As Lyr was thinking about how to get him down from the tree, a rustling sound came from behind.
The girl had simply tightened her tattered clothes and tied together the burned parts, making her look even more disheveled. Still, it preserved her modesty.
In Lyr’s line of sight, the girl drew a small knife from her thigh, skillfully cut open the giant lizard’s chest, dug out the magic core inside, and stored it in a pouch.
‘Hunting magical beasts and collecting their cores,’ Lyr said.
That was something an adventurer would do. A good magic core could fetch a decent price on the market.
But this girl did not look like an adventurer at all.
Her delicate, well-maintained face and skin were nothing like someone who traveled constantly. In fact, they were the complete opposite.
And the clothes she had been wearing earlier seemed like something only a noble lady would spend a large sum to purchase.
After finishing everything, the girl noticed Lyr’s gaze again.
Holding the small knife still stained with the giant lizard’s blood horizontally, she warned, “If I see you again, I will gouge out your eyes.”
With that, she turned and left without looking back.
Lyr felt helpless. An ordinary adventurer would not just throw out such harsh words; they would be more likely to attack directly.
“Like I even want to see you again.”
He had stayed in the royal capital before. During his time at the academy, what kind of cute girls had he not seen?
Fifteen minutes later, not far from the gates of the royal capital.
Two figures walked one after the other, forming an extremely awkward scene.
The girl walked ahead with an irritated expression, while Lyr followed behind, carrying the coachman and shaking his head as he walked.
Harsh words should not be said so casually. If they could not be carried out, the aftermath would only become more and more awkward.
As they neared the city gates, the girl slowed her steps, as if hesitating about something.
This time, before Lyr could even look, as he passed by her, she glared at him fiercely.
It was as if she intended to carry out what she had said earlier through her gaze alone.
Indeed, if looks could kill, Lyr would have already been executed piece by piece.
Glancing at her from the corner of his eye, Lyr quickly understood why she had stopped here.
Whether it was hesitation or embarrassment, it was not easy to detect beneath that face filled with disgust.
Lyr stopped, sighed, set down the unconscious coachman from his back, then removed his cloak and tossed it toward the girl.
The girl did not catch it, letting the cloak fall to the ground in front of her.
Like a stray cat—when you throw food in front of it, it does not immediately come forward to take it, but instead watches you with even greater caution.
“I do not think you like being stared at,” Lyr said casually.
The girl said nothing, neither accepting nor refusing.
“Well then, if you do not want it, I will take it back.”
As he spoke, Lyr stepped forward, pretending to pick up the cloak from the ground.
Before he could get close, the girl reacted swiftly, grabbed the cloak, and quickly stepped back.
She really was like a cat.
Snatching the food and immediately retreating, with no sign of gratitude.
After hesitating for a moment, the girl draped the cloak over herself, covering her disheveled state. But soon, she frowned.
Aside from the smell of dust, there was also a faint trace of sweat on the cloak.
She had never accepted help from anyone. In her understanding, such help was closer to charity.
If not for her current situation, she would never have allowed this to happen, and there would absolutely not be a next time.
This left her with no gratitude toward the man in front of her, nor did it lessen the disgust she felt toward him.
“If you feel like you do not want to owe me a favor, just return it next time we meet… though there probably will not be a next time.”
Lyr waved his hand and continued forward with the coachman on his back.
If the man ever found out that a noble had carried him into the city, he would probably boast about it for quite a while.
He should never have hired this man’s carriage in the first place. No matter how he thought about it, it felt like a complete loss.
Before he could even get close, the girl’s figure swiftly passed ahead of him. With one hand gripping the cloak tightly, she covered herself securely.
Throughout the process, she did not spare Lyr a single glance, as if he were a complete stranger she had never met.
How heartless.
Even if they were just strangers who met by chance, he had helped her twice. Yet somehow, he had only earned her annoyance.
“Could it be that girls of this age are all like this?”
Lyr thought of his younger sister at home. When she was little, she would always cling to him, but after growing a bit older, she would greet him with a sour face every time she saw him.
When he had returned to the royal capital recently, he felt like she had not even looked at him properly.
At night, there were fewer guards at the city gates compared to the daytime. When the girl stepped forward, the guards recognized her face and let her pass without even asking a question.
Normally, someone wandering around at night wearing a cloak would look suspicious, but they seemed used to it and even somewhat unwilling to provoke her.
Instead, Lyr was stopped.
“The royal city is on alert at night. Please show your identification and state your purpose,” the guard said, glancing at the unconscious coachman with suspicion. “And what exactly is going on with the person you are carrying?”
Lyr was not surprised. If he had still been wearing his cloak earlier, the guards would have probably drawn their swords already.
“Do you recognize this sword?” Lyr gestured for them to look at his waist.
This time, he had returned in light gear and had not brought any identification. But proving who he was was still simple enough.
By the light of the fire, the guards noticed the sword at Lyr’s waist.
At first, they only thought it looked refined, but soon they spotted the emblem on it.
“That is the Gnoh family crest?” The guard immediately became respectful.
“Lyle Gnoh,” Lyr introduced himself.
“So it is Young Master Lyle. Why have you returned in such a state? We almost did not recognize you.”
Lyr did not respond to the flattery or pleasantries. Instead, he asked in the direction the girl had gone earlier, “Who was that person? Why did none of you stop her?”
He had not been back for some time and did not recognize many people in the royal city. For example, he had no impression of that girl at all.
Still, her behavior was quite intriguing.