Episode 77

It happened without a word of warning nor explanation.

What, what is it?

Ilada was secretly curious about the contents of the letter. Thanks to it, he could catch a glimpse of the Dukes face as he turned his horse.

The look on his face

He gulped down his saliva.

What the hell is going on?

His heart throbbed. He was just looking at other peoples facial expressions for a while, but he felt like his complexion was completely upset and down.

I dont know what it is, but it must be incredibly serious.

It must be really urgent for the other person going back. He thought so and took a deep breath, suddenly Ilada accidentally thought of something else.

Hold on, what about us if the Duke disappears like this?

Then a man with his whole body wrapped in black clothes stepped forward.

He spoke calmly as if he had foreseen the situation, even though he had a look of embarrassment at first sight.

Hello there. His Excellency has been away for a while due to unavoidable circumstances, so I, His Excellency person, will guide you on behalf of him. Please understand.

What do you mean?

You have to go down south.

Uh, just between us?

Of course. Even at this moment, the people who suffer from the monster raid are anxiously waiting for you.

Ilada, and a few others, faces turned muddy.

But there was no reason to hold out. There were people in the South waiting for them, literally exposed to the threat of monsters.

Lada forcefully grabbed the reins.

His shoulders, which were excited by excitement, now trembled in a different sense.

***

Out of the capital, the village appeared at a leisurely pace.

I stayed there for a day because I arrived only after the sun had crossed over between the mountains.

The day passed without knowing how it was going.

Where is Ash now?

He suddenly came to my mind when I was chewing breakfast, which I couldnt easily get over at the restaurant on the first floor of the inn.

Im sure he hasnt arrived in the South yet because the course was quite far.

Is he riding his horse? It would be nice if he didnt push himself too hard and took a good rest then moved.

I laughed at the thought.

It was a false laugh.

Who cares about whom?

Im running away from someone. It wasnt funny at all.

I roughly arranged the table and stood up.

I need a guide from here to the west. Lets get someone.

It wasnt that difficult to get out of the capital.

I could say that it was quite easy. All I had to do was ride a carriage and run westward.

But from now on, the story was a little different.

In the west, private houses continued all the way to the border, but thats also the story of when people didnt take the wrong path.

I didnt know that I would not be able to avoid being homeless in the mountains or in the woods if I got confused.

To get to the border safely and at the shortest distance, I need help from a person with good geographical sense.

Ive never moved alone like this before, so there was a limit to looking at the map on my own. Ive decided not to take a blind faith in me.

Welcome. What kind of manpower do you need?

Road guide, who will guide me to the border, if the person knows the basic faith and is competent, age and gender are irrelevant.

Okay, this way.

My throat hurt a little because I purposely had a thick voice.

The mercenary guilds staff, who asked the innkeeper, guided me inside without much doubt.

Oh, one more thing.

Yes?

Id rather be a quiet person. I dont like noisy things.

I dont know if Im talking to myself, but I couldnt just talk. It hurt my throat.

If so, Ill attach you a mute guide.

What? Thats extreme.

You have to pay a little more for it. Because you required special conditions.

Maybe what he meant was extreme conditions well, money didnt matter much anyway, so I said yes.

Anyway, I got the guide I needed safely and came out of the mercenary guild.

I briefly explained my destination again to the guide and then got into the carriage together.

At first glance, I felt a little queasy when the carriage started.

How many times do I have to repeat this?

Ride a carriage to the next town, spend a day there.

The next day, riding the carriage again and then moving to the next village.

Its more peaceful than I thought to the extent its become boring.

I dont know if its a good thing or a bad thing to have no carriage motion sickness.

It sounds like the worst thing to wet my own body from motion sickness while running away, but I wont be bothered by other miscellaneous thoughts since I was tired.

Oh, its a foolish comparison even if I see it.

It was then when I thought so.

The carriage stopped.

..?

Uh, sir. Im in a bit of trouble.

A troubled voice was heard from the horsemans side.

It hasnt been long since the carriage started. I was wondering if there was something wrong with the horse or if the carriage wheel was missing.

Then another voice followed.

Just a moment.

Mans voice?

Were looking for someone.

I hesitated to open the window and check the outside situation.

My fingertips naturally cooled down when I heard they were looking for someone.

No, no. It cant be true.

My heart pounding soon regained stability.

It was too early to say that those people were mobilized to find me.

I told Alex yesterday not to let anyone in my room for a day, so it would not have been until this morning that I was not in the mansion.

Even if they release people right away, they would naturally fall behind the capital.

Even if not, it took a half-day just to move from the capital to here.

It didnt make sense that they came out to catch me in time.

Ash must havent heard the news yet.

Ash was far away. It will take some time for him to get the news, even if they put up a letter right away.

Once he got it, he might be able to use the magic tools I had seen before to move the members of the underworld from afar, it was not the time when the news that I had disappeared itself had arrived.

I took a deep breath and opened the carriage window.

I was going to open it wide, but somehow my hands only made a very small crack that could be heard timidly.

Wellwell, anyway. I straightened my neck and opened my mouth to make a low voice.

I dont know who youre looking for, but it wouldnt have much to do with me.

Excuse me. I know youre puzzled, but please cooperate for a moment. Im checking every carriage that leaves town.

What?

Theyre looking for someone that hard?

Do they looking for a debtor?

I dont think thats a penny or two. A new voice chimed in when I thought so.

What are you explaining so much? Just tear the door open.

However.

Why are you becoming so hard? We need to check every little thing. Do you know that if we miss that person, you and I will pay the price together?

That person?

I listened to the word mentioned between harsh accents.

He is using an honorific address with that person to the debtor.

Even if I think about it, there is no reason to speak honorific to the debtor.

Ah, maybe the concubine of this village ran away and they came out to catch her. Is it something like that?

My forehead was automatically wrinkled. Yuck.

No, or maybe a master or a lady of the house ran away from home so they came out looking for it. Anyway, Im going to have to make sure its not this case.

I couldnt stay here like this forever.

I tried to open the window to the point where my face was completely exposed, but suddenly I stopped moving.

..

It was my guts.

I didnt have a good feeling about it. I was like that for a moment. I cant understand by reason, but a certain intuition close to instinct prevented my action. Then there was a ruckus outside that seemed to unilaterally open the carriage door.

I looked back at the guide who was sitting next to me, unable to think deeply.

Im sorry. Ill go to the guild later and pay for it.

.?

The carriage door opened. As soon as it did, I pushed the guide hard towards it and immediately opened the opposite door and jumped off.

No, Ugh! Hey!

Behind my back, there seemed to be a bewildered voice of the guide.

Hmm? Ah no, thats not important.

I ran with all my might. I didnt even look back because I was only focused on running.

I was short of breath, but I didnt slow down. My guts were making me do it.

But despite these efforts, I didnt get away very long.

Why run like a rat?

..!

I got you.

The course was blocked in the midst of a hectic run. Not only did they block the carriage in front of me, but they also blocked my retreat course.

I tried to turn around and run away, but before I did, one of them caught my arm. The effort to pull out was futile. It was not enough for me.

You bastard! Watch your hands and watch your words! Always be polite, gently, just in case, okay?

Someone at the back shouted and got close.

I looked up at the person who caught me.

The proud man, all dressed in black, was a man I had never seen before.

But the opponent seemed to know me.

As soon as he confirmed my face, the man immediately loosened his grip.

He did not let go of his arm at all, but his grip became weaker and softer.

The man hung his head.

Please forgive my rudeness.

I was chilled to the core, but for now, Ive taken the hint.

Who are you? Im sorry, but Im afraid youve made a mistake.

Princess.