Became the Escort Knight That the Princesses Were Obsessed With - Chapter 340



340. Queen’s Guard (2)

The next day.

I waited at the entrance of the Plaza Hotel.

Miya had briefly left to pick up the provided security vehicle.

Thanks to that, I was left standing silently, alone at the majestic hotel entrance.

‘The Plaza Hotel, huh…’

As expected of a five-star hotel in Korea, the atmosphere was incredibly grand.

Those passing through the doors were politicians accompanied by bodyguards.

They were probably attendees of the large event Rosanna was participating in today.

However, politicians and corporate raiders can’t really get along.

Yet they still interact with Rosanna, it’s basically a silent power play.

It’s essentially a meeting to gently warn her not to snatch up domestic companies for cheap.

――――――.

A voice came through the in-ear headphones I had on.

It was Allen, the head of security from headquarters.

“She’s about to come down. Get ready.”

“Understood.”

About three minutes later, a lot of rustling and footsteps echoed from the grand entrance.

Bodyguards in navy suits appeared first.

They checked the gate and the surrounding area, then stepped to the entrance and waited.

Finally, politicians, somewhere between middle-aged and old, started walking out alongside a few foreigners.

Of course, the most striking among them was a woman with radiant platinum blonde hair.

A taut red blouse and a black skirt that hugged her full hips.

Each step she took in her clear-sounding shoes seized everyone’s attention.

“It was a pleasure today, Representative.”

“Likewise, Councilman Choi. Well then, I’ll be heading in.”

Her words, slow and deliberate, matched the politicians’ stiff English pronunciation.

Afterward, with a light wave, she made her way to the sedan waiting at the gate.

Outside, a blonde man named Allen, who had been waiting, quickly stepped forward to open the rear door.

She then gracefully got into the car and crossed her legs at the thigh.

“Representative, as you instructed, we’ve minimized support personnel as much as possible, but it could be dangerous.”

In truth, Rozanna had also heard information that a Russian mercenary group could be targeting her.

However, even so, she didn’t greatly increase her security detail.

She only added two security vehicles and six personnel.

She also only had AR Korea’s support personnel on standby at the Pyeongtaek factory.

“You’re being silly.”

Rozanna coldly rebuked the security chief’s concerns.

Following that, with her pale fingers, she gazed at the politicians waiting near the entrance until she left.

“Can’t you see those old men over there?”

Allen glanced back without letting them notice.

They were all staring intently, only at Rosanna.

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“They see it.”

“They recognize me as an enemy, here to steal their company. Even though they’re smiling like that outwardly, they’re watching my every move inwardly.”

Rosanna gently brushed a strand of hair that had fallen onto her blouse button to the side.

“What would they think if I brought an entire army to Korea in this situation?”

“……”

The Head of Security couldn’t offer any rebuttal after hearing her words.

The current relationship between AR Plaza and the Korean National Assembly.

“Ever since I divorced Leonhardt, they’ve been looking for any justification to tear me down.”

The CEO seemed to think they had understood, and turned her head away indifferently.

Afterward, she looked straight ahead and spoke coldly.

“Are you lacking confidence? Those damn Russian mercenaries?”

“No, Ma’am…!!”

Allen took a deep breath inwardly.

Rosanna, a woman who had been called a queen from ancient times.

A person of unyielding principles who didn’t care about possibilities of having her life threatened.

“How did we take the Pyeongtaek industrial complex, don’t ruin it by being a killjoy anymore, and let’s get going.”

“…Understood.”

Allen bowed respectfully.

He was secretly worried inside, but he couldn’t argue any further.

Just returning to the driver’s seat before getting in the car…

“Prepare.”

That was all—giving the departure signal to the other escort vehicles waiting nearby.

*Thump—.*

As he got in, a black sedan carrying Miya appeared in the distance.

We were supposed to lead the way, so it seemed a sedan was chosen over an SUV to avoid obstructing the view.

“Rookie, get in—”

Miya, wearing sunglasses, seemed in good spirits.

With her lips pursed like a cat’s, she commanded imperiously through our private channel in her earpiece.

“……”

I chuckled at the reaction of the self-assured 21-year-old.

And, as I was quietly approaching the car.

After Rosanna got in, my eyes were drawn to the politicians walking toward us, chattering.

“It’s surprising. There are few security vehicles.”

“Director Rosanna is known for being frugal, isn’t she?”

They were talking about the overseas company representative we’d just met.

“Honestly, what does she even plan to do with all that she’s hoarding.”

“Still, isn’t she admirable? And she’s so good looking.”

The chubby politician roared with laughter, blurting out nonsense.

“I heard westerners age quickly, but how could that appearance possibly be 40 years old?”

“Quiet down. Your loose tongue has always been a problem.”

Surprisingly, they were all three-term congressmen.

The media always portrays them as dependable leaders representing their cities, but…

the reality was this.

“It’s said the reason for your divorce from the chairman was because it was hard to meet even once a month.”

“I told you not to say things like that outside.”

Men in suits brushed past me.

Afterwards, I also got into the passenger seat of Miya’s car.

“Wasn’t that Congressman Kim Joong-shik and Congressman Choi Sang-won…?”

Miya slid her sunglasses down slightly.

Then, she glanced at the retreating congressmen and some of their guards in the rearview mirror, and said,

“That’s right.”

“Unexpected. The people who were most vocally against foreign companies are now meeting with CEO Rosanna.”

Miya gripped the steering wheel.

And, she drove the car forward, passing Rosanna’s black sedan and taking the lead.

“Maybe it’s related to the mercenaries we met before.”

Actually, in my previous life…

The relatively thin Congressman Kim Joong-shik was also deeply connected to Russia.

There was no concrete proof, but when Rosanna withdrew from Korea after the threat from the Tyr mercenaries today…

she sold the failing companies to Russia’s major corporation, Victor Military Industries, instead.

Thanks to that, a misfortune occurred where a Korean shipyard, 5th largest in the country, fell into Russian hands.

Of course, a domestic conglomerate reclaimed it later, but the damages incurred at that time were significant.

Perhaps, he might be involved with this Tyr Mercenary group incident too.

“Really?”

“Yes, so on the way to the factory today, we need to be especially careful.”

Upon hearing my words, the excitement Miya had about this big assignment completely vanished.

Instead, she began to tense up, realizing she might be facing a life-threatening situation.

“Don’t be too nervous. They probably don’t intend to kill the CEO.”

“Who said I’m nervous?”

My senior scoffed, retorting.

But, even just from the subtle vibrations in the car, it’s obvious he’s on edge.

“Well, unless it’s something as simple as a little threat.”

I stared intently out the window.

Luckily, no suspicious vehicles were visible while leaving Seoul.

――――――.

However.

An unsettling atmosphere began to slowly surface the moment we approached the highway.

The instant we reached the interchange.

A black SUV, which had been parked in front of a restaurant by the roadside, started following us after we passed by.

“Senior, they’re on us.”

“Uh.”

Civilians might think it’s just a car that happened to pull out behind us after a meal.

But, bodyguards would immediately recognize it as a suspicious vehicle.

Most guests leave the restaurant and get into their cars to go straight away,

but this one started up just as we were passing.

Besides, it’s 4 PM right now.

Rush hour is starting soon, traffic’s about to get jammed.

If you’re gonna rest, you’d go home, there’s no reason to wait here right before the traffic hits.

「Vehicle spotted, following A vehicle. We’ll proceed straight to the junction for now.」

「Copy.」

Miya answered calmly to Allen’s practiced radio call.

Here, “A vehicle” refers to the sedan we’re riding in, Alpha.

――――――.

A sign indicating a junction 1km ahead comes into view.

Until we get there, the vehicle that’s been following us from the restaurant is calmly moving ahead.

「Cancel Security Route A. Switching to B.」

As soon as the suspicious vehicle appeared, Allen changed the security route immediately.

Then, we all glanced at each other and nodded in unison.

“Any other suspicious vehicles, do you think?”

“One in the lead for now. The rest might’ve latched on naturally in the back. The headquarters team might not have noticed yet.”

“Pretending to ignore the junction, can we cut through the lavacon?”

Miya reported, her voice solid.

A chorus of “Roger” crackled back from several vehicles at HQ.

“Permission granted. Don’t use your turn signals.”

“Copy.”

My senior took off his sunglasses.

I naturally took them and slipped them into their case for him.

“300 meters to the junction.”

We didn’t slow down.

The moment we did, they’d realize we were planning to break away.

We had to cut hard and fast.

“100 meters to the junction.”

“Senior, don’t slow down.”

“Got it.”

I stared intensely at the black SUV ahead.

It was gradually, subtly decelerating.

‘They’re trying to make us slow down, so that when we change direction, they can follow,’ I thought.

But they had another thing coming.

We stubbornly maintained 100 km/h, close enough to break safe distance regulations.

The intercept vehicle was almost right on us.

That instant.

“Now!!”

「Executing.」

Miya wrenched the steering wheel, the car lunging into the fork in the road.

Immediately, the rear vehicles, having already received the radio transmission, cut sharply after us into the branch.

Vrooom――――――!!

The heavy vehicle, previously closing the distance, couldn’t make the turn, pulled straight onto the highway.

The cars chasing behind also couldn’t follow us as we vanished into the fork.

Screeeeech!!

Drifting in a desperate attempt to change direction, but it was the guardrail they found.

In the end, they failed to chase and were left on the highway.

「We shook them off.」

「Good job. But, don’t relax now that we know Týr is after us.」

“Haa…”

Miya finally allowed herself to breathe.

Then, she floored it towards the open national road.

Luckily, there were no major issues during the 30 minutes to Pyeongtaek.

However, we soon realized Týr was not an opponent to be trifled with.

「This is the main unit. We’ve detected anomalies with our vehicle.」

‘The main unit…that’s Rozanna and Allen’s vehicle?’

“What’s going on?”

“It seems there’s a defect in the tires. It could cause a major problem in the event of a sudden situation.”

That’s right.

If the tires gave out when we had to take a sharp turn like before…

The very thing the mercenary b*stards want could happen.

‘An accident disguised as an accident.’

A situation where they avoid responsibility while also threatening their target.

That’s what they were aiming for when they approached Rozanna.

‘But, that’s strange. The headquarter’s guards should have checked the tires beforehand.’

Could it be that there’s a traitor or a spy among the headquarter’s guards…?

“It looks like we’ll need to switch vehicles. Everyone, pull over to the shoulder for a moment.”

Following the chief’s orders, we parked our vehicles on the shoulder.

Allen and the guards got out first, cautiously surveying their surroundings as they checked their respective vehicles.

“It seems that someone messed with them when we left headquarters.”

The guy who was checking the tires reported.

“That means there could be something wrong with all the security vehicles from headquarters.”

“We’ll double-check our vehicles again just in case.”

If there’s a traitor at headquarters, other vehicles could also be compromised.

And, as expected…

“There are very faint traces of punctures.”

“Us too. The air pressure is dropping, little by little.”

Allen looked at his subordinates, his face grim.

“Didn’t you even check something this basic before we left?”

“We definitely checked this morning and there were no problems.”

“That’s right, definitely…”

The rising voices made Rosanna, who was in the back seat, get out of the car.

Arms crossed, she quietly stared at Allen.

The intensity of her gaze made the head of headquarters swallow hard.

“Han, was there no problem with your vehicle?”

“Yes, we came from AR Korea from the start, so it’s fine.”

Miya and I answered at the same time.

Then, the representative of AR Plaza let out a small sigh.

“We don’t have time, I’ll get in your vehicle.”

Rosanna brushed past me without a word and headed for the black sedan.

And, grabbing the door handle herself, she said to Allen,

“We’ve secured evidence of their involvement, quickly request backup from nearby personnel. I’ll leave first in this.”

“Understood…!!”

Allen skillfully directed the backup request.

Meanwhile, Rosanna glanced over at Miya and me.

“You’ll be okay, Deputy Seo, Han?”

“Y-yes, of course! We’ll take care of you!”

My senior shouted, heading straight for the driver’s seat.

Then, I gently took Miya’s hand for a moment, and spoke.

“Senior, I’ll drive from now on.”

“You…? Are you sure?”

Knowing that the mercenary band is chasing us.

There’s no time to hesitate.

“Yes, I’ll take full responsibility.”

Rosanna, in the back seat, glanced at me in the driver’s seat.

Then, seemingly not caring, she gracefully averted her gaze again.