Chapter 141

Chapter 141 

Translator: yun

They ran while I held my breath. Being nosy would not help me in either world. I could definitely feel it. 

“… Damn!”

I knew. I was born under a star of misfortune which was why I was eating up all kinds of misfortune in this world to the point where my stomach was about to explode. But I didn’t need to eat any today! Yet again, I cursed the god who dropped me into this damned world and teased my every move. 

“There she is! Yikes, that damned wench!”

Thump thump thump.

The footsteps were getting closer. There was not only one. Numerous passers-by either just ignored them or walked past as they paid no mind to the small, attractive woman who was being pursued by a group of people. 

To be exact, they were averting their eyes. I imagined a situation where numerous eyes were chasing me. 

I had been on my way back to the palace at first. As I expected, the way back was not difficult to find. 

“Kyack! Please save me!”

Although it was midday, the road I was on was neither too big nor too small and there were some people around. But  it was inevitable for them to be hesitant considering the force that they were going to be up against. Despite the fact that they were trying to kidnap a woman. 

Five strong men were chasing a woman and trying to surround her. 

“Save me. Save me, please!”

Perhaps there were some people who thought it was suspicious because most of the passers-by stopped and turned to look at them. 

“Do you know how hard it is to catch a runaway wench?”

“Your father is waiting for you!”

“I-I don’t know! Please save me! I don’t know these people!”

A horrifying shudder travelled down my spine. Goosebumps trickled down my skin. Were they the kidnappers? Or just thugs? They were too large to be considered thugs that were picking a fight with some passing girl.

Also, perhaps it was because I had been around the troops for too long but they were strangely similar to the kidnappers I met. I was not really sure if my diary’s entries had changed. However, I could not shake off the feeling that they were the kidnappers I knew. 

Anyway, I wanted to get rid of all of them but right now, I was merely a powerless person who had nothing in her hands. 

Just then, Lord Ray’s face came to mind. The knight, who must have been holding back his anger because of his mistress who left without telling him. He must be waiting for me as his throat thirsted for water now. 

“Tsk. Damn it. Do you not know how to chase people?”

“Aack!”

Right. I was not a great swordsman like Lord Ray and neither was I a templar like Amor. Just as I was about to walk past, my eyes met with a gaze filled with tears. 

“S-save me please!”

I got goosebumps for a moment.

“You there, what are you looking at? Go your merry way!”

Those eyes were not lying. 

I closed my eyes. Who said that? In modern times, people were taught to endure injustices and to lay low. I might have been like that as well. 

I held the back of the book as I slowly lowered my head. I was obviously submissive but I could not turn away from people who reminded me of the way I stood in front of Castor that day. If that woman was me and if I turned a blind eye here, I would be like the ones who just stood by and watched that day.

Damn it. I threw the item in my hand.

“Run away!”

Luckily, someone got hit by the stone and let out a scream. I was spotted by the rest of the men. I could see the woman taking advantage of the gap and wriggling out to escape. 

“Hey, is that girl crazy? Would you rather get caught instead?”

“Nevermind. Get that girl! She’s heading towards the square!”

I was shocked by the woman who looked like she was pushing past her limits. Three out of the five men decided to run away in a pursuit for their survival which left only two left. Then, I quickly regretted it.

I had to listen to the red warning light that was signalling me to leave and not interfere.

“Hey, you look like someone from the central continent. You’ll have to pay for interrupting our work.”

The gaze of the ragged man standing in front of me pricked me and creeped me out. I could tell from his gaze that he killed people before.

He giggled before saying, “This wench. You won’t be able to return in one piece.”

I had lost my mind for a moment and saved a poor woman who was about to be exploited without getting anything in return only for my life to turn miserable. I shifted my gaze calmly to find a way to live. 

“Should we bring this girl back?”

“Arthur. Wenches from the central continent are rare. Is she mixed? Then she’s useless. Let’s go.”

“Still…”

Instead of paying more attention to me, it seemed like they only stopped their work out of annoyance. I loosened my grip on my handbag. The man tilted his head before squinting his eyes. 

“Wait.”

His mean face looked familiar. Damn it. He was one of the kidnappers that appeared after I encountered that templar of Chaos. I could never forget his strong impression. 

“Have you seen this woman before?”

“I’m not sure…?”

As his persistent gaze continued to creep me out, I thought that the best way to escape would be to throw something at him and make a run for it. But the man said, 

“You moron. That’s the woman our captain is looking for.”

Even before he could finish his sentence, my feet already moved. Damn it! I could not get caught. Should I quickly turn around and run away? But the problem was my injured feet. 

It was not like I could not run with my messed up feet since I managed to run up and down the stairs. At some moments, they managed to narrow our distance. I almost got caught too quickly. Even if things were to go wrong, they shouldn’t go wrong like this. Nosiness was just not for anyone.

“Fuck, get her! We have to catch her!”

I could not help but to resent myself even though I would act the same way if I had to do it again. For just a moment, I ran into an alley to catch my breath for a short moment. 

“There! She went into an alley!”

Standing, I leaned against the wall, panting breathlessly. 

‘If I was a little less injured and a little less tired, I would’ve been able to run all the way back to the palace…’

The Empire’s security was not bad. Near the outer wall, there would always be soldiers on duty. That was the reason those men were so urgent to try to catch me. But my body was too tired now. 

I tried to catch my breath. 

I should use my head. Should I hide in that oak barrel there? So, I hid my body. Whilst catching my breath, I focused on listening to the footsteps of the men who were chasing me. If I got caught here, I did not know what the future would hold for me. I covered my mouth and even held my breath. I disliked resetting unexpectedly so I must get out of here alive. 

Thud thud.

“Damn it. Where’d she scurry off to like a rat?”

“Hey, let’s look over there!”

“Alright!”

After calmly waiting for the sounds of the footsteps to recede, I let out a long breath. 

‘Are they done?’

Just when relief washed over me, a huge shadow casted over me and I spotted the corner of the figure’s lips rise grotesquely. Moans escaped through my teeth from being unable to scream. There were two people. But I only heard one pair of footsteps. 

“Huhu. So you were hiding.”

My chaser had been hiding. 

“Young miss, you’d have to come with me.”

The man approached me whilst waving a dagger around. There was a liquid dripping at the end of the dagger and it looked ominous. 

“Someone’s looking for you, you see.”

My mood sank to the floor. Should I have left with Lord Ray? Why did I have to help that woman? No. 

It would not matter when and where I saw her. if I ever see eyes like hers, I would help. I would be acting like myself if I did not. I smiled sadly.

I chose to smile. As if I was obsessed, I refused to be someone like Castor. 

“Come here, there’s no place to run.”

Should I reset this day? As soon as I tried to reach towards my pockets, I was slammed against the wall. I was dizzy. 

‘Damn it. I didn’t know my stamina was this bad!’

Exhaustion consumed my entire body. I was annoyed to find out that dying also required stamina. 

Damn it. The diary should be doing something! Did I have to use stamina to use that strange power too? 

“It’s not going to hurt. You’re just going to fall asleep for a moment.”

As soon as I felt a tingling sensation on my forearm, I shook my head. Ah, it was already too late. 

“It’d be nice if you could follow me in one piece. Well. You could still be of use.”

He spoke before spitting at the ground. 

“Damn… it…”

The world gradually tilted towards the end of the greedy man’s smile. A calm darkness coloured the grey alley. 

“Sleep tight.”

I could not faint here. I could not. 

“I caught her! She’s here!”

Even in this situation, I worried that I would lose the diary.

***

I rarely had lucid dreams in my previous life. After reincarnating, excluding the nightmares, I never had one. But I could clearly tell now. I was dreaming. 

“Urgh, it’s blinding…”

It was a really white space that had nothing. As I walked a little further, I spotted a girl wailing. 

Her small and skinny body could not stop trembling. After hesitating for a while, I knelt in front of the girl before lowering my hand and bringing her hands to mine. But the moment I touched her, the girl scattered into the light. 

The scattered orbs of light merged into one before flying by me slowly. It looked just like a butterfly. A purple butterfly. I turned my head slowly to see what was behind me. There was no one just now but someone else standing there now. 

—Hello.

I met the girl’s face. Just as I was wondering where that crying girl went, the girl appeared before me again, smiling brightly with a pale face, thin neck, frail arms and a clear skin without any scars. 

“… Me?”

No.

“You look similar… but no.”

It was my face and yet it was not. She looked like me but there was no scar on her cheek. The woman who looked like me muttered something before slowly handing something over. After receiving it, I realised that it was the diary.

—Take care of it well.

She whispered gently and softly. 

I heard from someone that a person would not be able to hear their own voice for the rest of their life. Because the voice one hears is different from what others hear. That woman’s voice reminded me of that. The purple eyes that filled my sight were impressive. And her eyes were sparkling strangely. 

Had my eyes always been this vivid? I raised my gaze faintly. 

“You, diary?”

—Well.

The woman smirked. Her thin arms that stretched out energetically were the same as mine but her face and her body shape seemed to be curving more maturely than mine. Her smiling face looked unfamiliar. 

I wondered why the longer I looked at her, the older she seemed to be. Rather than being an older version of me, the woman who looked like my sister smiled before holding my cheeks.

—Long to live and that will guide you.

“Where?”

—To the path you wanted.

“What’s the path I want?”

As if responding to the hand resting on the diary, the diary shone dimly. 

—You want to be happy, don’t you?

Surprised, I instinctively touched my throat. I knew it was a dream but I was still wearing Lord Ray’s necklace. 

—The fact that you can see me, means that it’s not too far away.