Please Trust Me, All Right?

Karl froze instantly as information suddenly surfaced in his mind, his gaze going blank.

Seeing this, Charlotte curiously extended a finger and lightly poked his shoulder. "Hey, Karl? What's wrong? You suddenly zoned out. Don't tell me I really hit you stupid?"

Karl abruptly came to his senses. Forcing down the shock and urgency in his heart, he shook his head. "N-no... It's nothing."

He took a deep breath, then asked in an apparently casual tone, "Charlotte, you're carrying out an escort mission tomorrow. How many people are you planning to take?"

Charlotte found his sudden question rather inexplicable and gave him a suspicious look. "Why are you suddenly asking about that? But... it's only a simple escort mission. I just need to get those young masters out of the city and make sure they don't start fighting among themselves or get lost on the way. Thirty cavalrymen will be enough."

"I'm not their nursemaid. Once they're some distance from Fran City and I've made sure there's no major danger, I'll lead the team back. There's no way I'm escorting them all the way to their territories one by one."

Karl's heart sank.

Thirty cavalrymen would be utterly inadequate against a prepared Sauron Battle Group.

His expression became unusually serious. "Charlotte, could you take more people? Preferably all elite cavalrymen. The more, the better."

Charlotte grew even more puzzled, her brows drawing together slightly. "Why? Karl, what's wrong with you? Don't tell me you really intend to fulfill your promise to my father and deliver every single one of them safely to their territories. Do you think that bunch of good-for-nothings will be grateful? They'll only think it's what you're supposed to do!"

"It's not for them!" Karl interrupted her urgently. "I just... have a very bad feeling."

He couldn't explain where the information had come from, so he could only desperately emphasize that feeling. "Although, strictly speaking, the period when the Sauron people make their mass return through the passes ended long ago, I can't shake the feeling that... we might run into some Sauron troops that returned late—or never intended to return on time in the first place."

Seeing how tense he was, Charlotte couldn't help laughing. She reached out to touch his forehead. "Your premonition? Karl, did I really knock you on the head just now? Or did the Northern Territory scare you into hallucinating? The Sauron people aren't goblins. What are the odds of running into them so easily..."

Before she could finish, Karl suddenly seized her outstretched hand.

His palm was slightly damp with sweat from the training and tension, but his grip was strong and firm.

Charlotte was startled by his sudden action. She instinctively tried to pull her hand back, only to discover that Karl was holding it tightly.

Karl stared straight into Charlotte's blue eyes, which held both surprise and a hint of amusement. His gaze was utterly serious, even carrying a trace of pleading. "Charlotte, I know this sounds absurd. You may think I've gone crazy, but I swear on my honor that my instincts have never been this strong!"

"I can't explain it, but I'm begging you—trust me this time! At the very least, take more people and make every possible preparation! If... if my premonition is wrong and this turns out to be nothing more than a false alarm, I'll personally apologize to you afterward and let you deal with me however you want! But if my premonition is real..."

He didn't continue, but the gravity and worry in his eyes said everything.

Charlotte was left at a loss by his sudden solemnity and the hot palm clutching her hand.

She had never seen Karl so flustered yet so serious. The urgency and worry in his eyes clearly weren't feigned.

The atmosphere beside the training grounds suddenly became rather subtle.

Charlotte felt that her cheeks were growing slightly warm, and her heartbeat inexplicably quickened.

She instinctively avoided Karl's overly direct gaze, but she no longer tried to pull her hand away.

She remained silent for several seconds, seemingly weighing something.

At last, she drew a light breath and met Karl's eyes again. Her tone still carried a hint of helplessness, but had softened considerably. "All right, all right... There's really no arguing with you. Since you're so... so worried, I'll tell Father when I get back. In the name of 'ensuring the pioneering plan proceeds smoothly and displaying the kingdom's majesty,' I'll have another unit dispatched... No, two units of elite cavalry accompany us. Will that do? Ninety cavalrymen in total. Even if we really encounter a small band of Sauron people, that should be enough to handle them."

Hearing that Charlotte had finally agreed, the huge weight in Karl's heart finally lifted, and the tension left his expression. Only then did he realize that he was still gripping her hand tightly.

He hurriedly let go and gave an awkward smile. "Thank you, Charlotte. Really... thank you for being willing to trust me."

Charlotte withdrew her hand and awkwardly flexed her wrist, pretending to be carefree as she snorted. "Hmph. Don't celebrate too soon. If everything is calm tomorrow and nothing happens, just see what I do to you! And then it won't be as simple as a sparring match on the training grounds!"

Although she spoke threateningly, her faintly flushed cheeks and flickering eyes betrayed the turmoil in her heart.

Karl's desperate urgency and worry, and the hand that had gripped hers so tightly... This feeling was unfamiliar to her, but she didn't dislike it.

This guy... He really is strange sometimes.

She thought this silently to herself.