Chapter 49: Living in Two Worlds
What is the outside world like?
For those constantly on the move, such a question might hold little meaning. If you were to ask them, they'd likely ramble about work, family, clients, and other mundane matters. In short, it all boils down to one word—reality.
But for someone like Guinevere, born within the walls of King Leodegrance's castle and never once having stepped beyond them, the world in her eyes was veiled in an utterly dreamlike filter.
She believed the knights from stories truly existed.
She believed the princes from fairy tales were real.
In her world, there were dragons that kidnapped princesses—the embodiment of all evil. But evil would always be vanquished by justice, the dragon slain by the hero, and the rescued princess would marry her savior, living happily ever after.
Just as the darkest night must eventually give way to dawn… Eternal Night did not exist in her world.
To her, the world wasn't cruel or dangerous—just unfamiliar.
And as she ventured into this unexplored realm, she even felt a genuine thrill, a mix of nervousness and excitement.
Then…
Guinevere, with her mind full of light, was captured!
Not by a dragon, but by a band of thieves.
"Boss, I can't believe we actually caught a princess like this! She's the daughter of King Leodegrance from the south—Guinevere!"
A thief, nearly entirely wrapped in white bandages with only a black headscarf and clothes, repeatedly checked a list featuring colorful photos that seemed out of place in this era before finally confirming they had indeed captured the Guinevere listed.
The one he called boss, similarly dressed but taller and more robust, stirred a small pot over a campfire and responded with feigned calm.
"Stay composed… This mission comes from a high-profile client who provided these detailed lists. Their identity is undoubtedly significant. If they sent us to capture these princesses, it means they had prior intelligence."
The boss also held an identical list.
His hand, almost entirely swathed in white bandages, traced over the princesses' photos. No matter how many times he looked, he remained amazed by the technology that could imprint such lifelike "paintings" onto parchment.
After all, he was a wanted man.
He'd seen his own wanted posters countless times—the drawings never resembled him.
If those posters used this kind of "painting," he'd have been caught long ago.
The mere thought of his face being recorded that way on a wanted poster sent a shiver down his spine.
But remembering they had captured Guinevere, he smiled beneath his bandages.
The list in his hand contained information on over a dozen princesses, each with a different price tag attached. And the most valuable of them all was Guinevere!
And within Guinevere's information, there was one particular note recorded:
[Double the price if captured alive]
You must understand, she was the only one among more than a dozen princesses to receive such a special annotation!
And double the price!
If I could get that money, who would still want to be a bandit!
By then, I'll buy a piece of land, build a castle, gather beautiful women all day to hold endless banquets, and even hire bards to constantly compose great stories about me to sing my praises!
Then I'll be a noble lord too!
How could he not get excited thinking about such a future!
As he was lost in these thoughts, Guinevere, who was tied up nearby, slowly opened her eyes.
This woman had been wearing armor earlier, but these bandits couldn't understand her thinking. Though she wore armor and carried a sharp sword, she had no actual combat ability, and beneath the armor, she wore a beautiful dress.
Was this what they called the reserve of noble ladies and princesses?
Anyway, they couldn't understand such things.
After waking up, Guinevere looked at the two men before her, tried to move, and upon finding herself tied up, confirmed that she seemed to have been captured.
Then she blinked her eyes and, with her face that could even be described as holy, asked the two bandits before her this question:
"Are you the minions of the evil dragon? Or are you the evil dragon's incarnations?"
Huh?
At Guinevere's words, the two bandits who had been planning to say something threatening froze. Guinevere, waiting for their response, also fell silent.
At that moment, shadows swayed with the flickering flames, and the shadow of the small pot seemed like a clearly defined dividing wall, separating the two bandits and Guinevere into two completely different worlds.
Guinevere didn't understand why they weren't answering her, and the two bandits didn't understand what this princess was talking about.
They were people living in two different worlds from the start.
"Boss, did you understand what she said?"
"Who could understand what these noble ladies are saying... But we don't need to understand. It doesn't even matter if we can't communicate—we just need to deliver her to our employer."
For some reason, the bandit leader felt somewhat irritated.
So after saying this, he directly raised his voice toward the outside:
"Hey, food's ready. If you don't want to go hungry, leave one person on guard and let the others come in to eat."
He shouted like this, but none of the seven people outside came in.
Just as he and his subordinate were feeling puzzled, a man's voice came from the direction where only Guinevere should have been:
"Don't bother shouting. They probably can't come in to eat."
What!?
The moment they heard this unfamiliar voice, the subordinate bandit immediately drew his weapon, while the leader pushed the scalding hot pot toward the direction of the voice.
And in that direction.
Noah completely ignored the temperature of the small pot and caught it effortlessly.
Then he took the spoon from the pot, casually scooped up some of the sticky, paste-like substance, and took a bite.
Pretty terrible.
It was just a paste, completely unseasoned, its only purpose likely being to fill one's stomach.
"I never imagined even thieves are having such a hard time these days."
Noah sighed, casually setting the small pot aside. Meanwhile, Artoria walked in from the darkness outside the passage, holding a sword still dripping with blood.
The two thieves stared at Artoria's uniform—clearly the standardized equipment recently issued by the so-called King Arthur to Camelot's patrol units—and instantly understood what they were facing.
They also knew exactly what had happened to their companions.
At that moment, they tightened their grip on their weapons, hesitating even about whether to launch an immediate attack, their tension palpable.
Noah, however, showed no particular reaction and made no move to draw his sword. Remaining seated, he smiled and addressed them.
"Relax, take a seat and let's talk—tell me why cautious thieves like you would take such a risk to kidnap a princess like Guinevere. Oh, and don't bother claiming you were just grabbing someone at random. You'll also need to explain the origin of that detailed list in your possession."
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