The Knight's Mysterious Maid-Chapter 210: Lean on me (2)

Night soon fell on the kingdom and it was time for Annalise to depart with Rafael and the knights joining them. She said goodbye to her friends and went to the front door to wait for Rafael to finish his dinner so she could join him in the carriage.

Knights were already on their horses waiting behind the carriage that was for Rafael and Annalise along with carrying bags.

Annalise looked up at the night sky as she waited for Rafael. She hoped that the further she got out of town, the better the sky would look without all the lights from the homes around messing with the view. It was most likely a straight trip without any stops, but she wouldn’t mind having to stop somewhere in the middle of the night to lay around and get a good look at the sky.

Annalise heard footsteps approaching her so she looked around to see that it was Rafael and Edwin coming behind him.

"You could have placed your bag in the carriage and sat down. There was no need for you to wait for me here. Edwin, I am once again trusting you to look after the manor with Mavis. If there are any problems with the town guards, send a knight to deliver the message to me. No one is to come inside the manor while I am away and you are to keep an eye on the servants," said Rafael.

"I will do my best to keep the manor protected in your absence. Please have a safe journey and enjoy your time with your family," Edwin said, slightly bowing his head as he wished Rafael goodbye. He looked forward to this time since Rafael would step away from his duties and spend time with his family.

It wasn’t every day that Rafael would attend a party so when the time came, Edwin stepped up to make sure there was no trouble in the manor to make Rafael have to return early. His eyes would be inspecting each and every little thing in the manor in Rafael’s absence as he was aware of Travis and the fact Olivia was a spy.

Edwin secretly started to look into all the new maids hired and the men who would soon join the knights. Recently he felt a little bit suspicious about Mavis with the maids she had been hiring so he was going to keep an eye on her.

Annalise waved goodbye to Edwin and then followed Rafael down the steps so they could leave to meet with River and Beatrice’s carriage.

"Thank you," Annalise said, entering the carriage while Rafael held the door for her. She placed her bag by her feet since the back of the carriage was already filled with bags belonging to the knights and Rafael.

As soon as Rafael entered the carriage and closed the door, the carriage moved off to start their journey. Rafael sat opposite Annalise, watching how she peered out the window, excited to be going out of town.

"Will I have to deal with you excitedly looking out the window and not going to sleep? Tomorrow will be a busy day so you should get some rest now while you. The knights and I will keep you safe while you rest," Rafael said, folding his arms to look out the window on the left.

He was prepared for Travis to have someone attack them while they were leaving town. It was well known that they would leave the town around this time so Travis must know it already.

They normally departed in the morning, but this time, Rafael decided it was better to leave at night to easily hide anyone they would have to kill. It would be a bother to kill someone in the daylight and have to report it to the town guards especially when they already assumed he was behind the missing guards.

"I want to see more of the town so I won’t be going to sleep so soon. Don’t worry as I will be ready to do my job tomorrow. I have not travelled much so I can’t miss this chance to see more of the kingdom. You are lucky to travel around, seeing more of the land when the king tasks you to get rid of someone," Annalise said, feeling jealous of how much Rafael must have travelled.

"I do get to see a lot of the kingdom, but it is not as fun as it would be for you since I leave behind death wherever I travel. Enjoy the view as much as you want, but don’t force yourself to stay awake. You can lie on the carriage seat-"

"And you will stay awake to make sure that I do not fall off," Annalise finished for him. "That means you must stay awake and it wouldn’t be fair."

"I don’t fall asleep easily. No, I can’t," Rafael corrected himself. He still struggled with going to sleep when he wanted to. freewebnoveℓ.com

Annalise looked away from the window to Rafael. She was yet to get the tea from Thomas and unfortunately, she would not be getting it for him in the future. Not unless she were to go home to get it and then come back to Rafael with it. That would be impossible to do since her father would not let her out of his sight and even if he did, coming back to Rafael’s manor would just lead to trouble.

Annalise contemplated doing something that would be better for both of them. She bit her lip, wanting to ask first, but she stood up in the moving carriage to switch her seat.

Rafael, startled by her getting up, reached out to grab her hand to help her move so she wouldn’t fall. "You worry me more than the knights who never think before they run into danger. You had that side to yourself so you could rest."

"I did, but I wonder if having the woman you like by your side would help to ease your mind and help you to fall asleep. Who can you protect if you are tired? I’ll be really upset if someone attacks the carriage and you lose the fight because you are tired. It’ll be embarrassing for the people I am with to lose, so if resting your head on my shoulder will help you, you can do it," Annalise said, looking out the window to avoid seeing how Rafael reacted to what she said.

"Don’t think too much into this. I also don’t want to be questioned by your parents about why their son looks tired," Annalise added so he wouldn’t misunderstand her doing this. "My shoulder is my gift to you so enjoy it while I am offering it to you."

"I would be more willing to accept the offer if you wouldn’t be so embarrassed that you cannot look my way."

"Who is embarrassed?" Annalise exclaimed, turning around to face him to show that she wasn’t. "I was looking at the view. I told you that I don’t get to travel like you do. I am not doing this because I want to be close to you. I just want to help you rest. My grandmother also said that I have a good spirit so maybe I can chase away what is haunting you."

"Then, I will see how good your spirit is," Rafael replied, leaning over to Annalise to rest his head on her shoulder. It was a bit uncomfortable because of their difference in height at first, but he was able to get used to it. "Tell me if I am breaking you."

"You," Annalise said, her right fist trembling to hit him. If she could hit him over the head, it would do the trick to help him sleep.