Chapter 26

Returning to the temple, Dane was irritated because he couldn’t see well in front of him due to the acrid smoke. He wanted to settle it quickly and roll around in bed listening to Liv’s sweet whispers of love.

He remembered the voice and face that said ‘I love you’. There was something suspicious that filled her every word.

‘I didn’t expect to hear that so soon.’

It was okay if he could never hear it forever. A favorable impression, or even sympathy, was enough.

‘Enough? No, you’re never satisfied with that, aren’t you?’

Dane laughed at himself for blatantly lying.

‘Right, I’ll never be satisfied. I will make Liv love me at all costs.’

Fortunately, thanks to the appearance he inherited from his father, it was not difficult to deal with women. He had long noticed that Liv liked his appearance.

She would often stare blankly at his face, but when he noticed, she would turn her head away to hide her face. Her nervous face reflected in the window was lovely.

He wanted to go back quickly, embrace Liv in his arms, and beg her to tell him that she loved him again. She must have arrived at Lesbourne by now. Dane’s mind was filled with thoughts about Liv.

“Did you catch the culprit?”

“We have found a suspicious person and are chasing him. It was a man who covered his whole body with a robe.”

It was uncertain if he was involved in the explosion at Ragnell Mansion.

“Master!”

Someone came out through the smoke. It was a familiar face.

“The carriage! The carriage is gone! Everyone ran out of the temple, and thinking that something big had happened, I ran to the carriage, but the carriage was nowhere to be seen! For now, I hurriedly called for a carriage for your wife to ride……”

It was the coachman. The coachman who was driving his carriage.

But the carriage was gone. It was definitely his carriage that was in front of him. It was unmistakably Dane’s carriage.

“What do you mean by that? I’m sure the carriage,”

Dane didn’t finish what he was saying and kept his mouth shut. Dane, who was reviewing the situation carefully, shouted with a pale face.

“Horse! Bring the horse!”

Shit, shit, shit, shit!

He climbed on top of the horse dragged by a soldier and hurriedly rode it. As he left the temple, the smoke disappeared and he could see clearly ahead.

Stupid bastard! Damn it! Damn it!

He wanted to bite his tongue off at the stupid mistake. The carriage certainly belonged to him, but the coachman was different. He didn’t remember his face because he was wearing a robe, but he wasn’t that small.

His fingertips trembled with anxiety. Dane kicked the horse on the side to make it run faster.

He saw his carriage stopped on the side of the road. But the horse that pulled the carriage was already gone. Dane let out an anxious breath and looked around.

There are only two ends to this road. Lesbourne and Hale.

‘I just came from Hale, so it’s not Hale.’

He rode his horse towards Lesbourne. On the open road, only the sound of the horse’s hooves could be heard.

Dane, who had been riding furiously, noticed something and suddenly stopped. There was a sense of difference that could be seen through the bushes. Looking at the broken branches and the shape of the horse’s hooves on the ground, it was clear that someone had entered.

Dane’s eyes flashed.

‘There must already be soldiers blocking the road in Lesbourne…… That guy must have discovered it…… Then the only place to escape to is Hale!’

The direction of the broken branch proved it.

Dane went through the bushes without hesitation. Someone had already passed through there, so a path was made of its own, making it easy to pass.

Tang!

As he exited the bushes, he could see the temple and hear gunshots cutting through the air. The smoke that had filled the area around the temple disappeared and he could see quite a bit ahead. The gunfire came from a sniper stationed above the temple.

He turned his head in the direction where the bullet had flown and saw someone running away on horseback. He instinctively knew it. It was that guy.

It was too late to follow the man. Following him would only hinder the sniper.

‘If I had not ridden the horse too late and ridden to Lesbourne, he would not have gotten this far!’

Dane became enraged when things went awry consecutively. It seemed as if someone was deliberately playing a prank so that he couldn’t reach Liv.

First of all, he had to keep that man off the horse. But he didn’t have a gun. The only thing he could trust was the sniper at the temple.

Dane dismounted from the horse and ran towards the temple. As he climbed the stairs, he couldn’t hear the constant gunshots. If just a little bit of time was delayed, he would be out of range.

‘Stupid bastards. How can you only do things this way when you’ve been paid so much!’

“Damn it! What are you doing!”

Dane shouted at the sniper right in front of him. His maddened eyes were like a frantic beast impatient to catch the prey in front of him. Gritting his teeth, Dane snatched the gun and put it over his shoulder.

‘You bastards, I will kill you.’

Finding his target immediately with his eyes on the scope, Dane was about to pull the trigger when a completely unexpected presence forced him to halt.

Thump― Thump―

The heat that had risen to the top of his head cooled down, and all the sounds around him were cut off, leaving only the sound of his heart ringing in his ears.

Only then did he realize why the skillful sniper couldn’t pull the trigger. The reason why he was just staring in vain even though the man was only riding away on horseback in the open field.

A beautiful white dress, finely raised brown hair, and an elegant neckline that was troublesome due to the constant attention it received from below. On top of the horse was the bride who had married him.

‘It was clearly a man on horseback…….’

Dane just stared blankly at Liv, who was moving away. She was not a ghost.

The hair and hem of the clothes slowly fluttered in the wind. Her brown hair, brightly colored by the sun, shone dazzlingly.

Visible veins were seen on his arm clutching the gun. Was it anger or a sense of betrayal? Dane let out a small curse through his clenched teeth and fixed the gun.

A small body was seen swaying gracefully along with the movement of the horse.

His palm remembered the touch of those slender ribs. Thinking of the bullet that would be lodged there, the muzzle dropped on its own and touched his leg.

‘Should I hit her leg and make it difficult for her to move?’

However, it was difficult to aim because her legs were covered by a pure white dress. If the horse’s body was hit by mistake, Liv who was riding on it would be thrown out into the stone field. If she runs at such a high speed and falls on the stone floor, there is no way she will live.

‘Then, should I hit the guy who is riding the horse with her…….’

Even that was impossible because of Liv who was behind him. If he does something wrong, Liv may get hit. Even in this damn situation, he was still thinking about Liv.

Dane had already lost his fighting spirit. His eyes kept getting hot. Dane did not even move to the point where the gun over his shoulder became useless, and he just looked at Liv who was moving away.

Bang!

At that moment, a gunshot was heard. Dane’s body trembled. He hurriedly checked Liv’s appearance. Fortunately, the bullet just hit the floor and no one was hit.

Dane’s eyes were bloodshot.

“Who told you to shoot!”

The sniper, who was holding his position and aiming again, was hit by a sudden kick and he looked up at him with a bewildered expression.

“Put the gun down.”

His hair, which had been neatly tucked in, became messy and gave off a dangerous atmosphere with his bloodshot eyes. The frightened sniper put down his gun and raised his hands.

Dane looked at the two people who were now so far away that they had turned into s. The hand holding the gun trembled slightly, and he tightly clenched his teeth, causing his jaw muscles to bulge.

He could only constantly hear ‘Why?’ in his head.

‘Why…… the hell…… are you driving the horse away?’

‘I love you. I’ve been thinking, thinking, and thinking of you for so long.’

‘I love you, I love you. My Dane…… I love you.’

His lips and ears still remember her warmth and voice. It is not an illusion. He clearly remembered the face that looked at him with moist eyes and said I love you.

His eyes that had been staring at the place where Liv had disappeared melted from the heat and fell limp.

‘That can’t be a lie… She loves me.’

Perhaps Liv was threatened into riding the horse. The man sitting in front of her may have shoved a gun into Liv’s stomach and forced her to do so. Maybe he knew in advance that he wouldn’t be able to shoot Liv, so he let her ride in front.

He made a mistake. They weren’t heading to the temple. He had to chase after them on horseback, not with a gun. He had to somehow appease the bastard and save Liv.

He doesn’t have time for this. He had to quickly release the man and scour Hale.

When Dane came down to the bottom of the temple, he saw three men sprawled in a corner.

“Who are those stupid bastards?”

“Those are the soldiers who were chasing the suspicious person…… We brought them back after they were hit by sleep poison and collapsed to the floor.”

Dane kicked the man lying in front of him. Fortunately, the man opened his eyes right away.

“Ugh… Where is this…….”

Dane grabbed the man by the collar. The half-asleep man opened his eyes wide after seeing Dane’s face.

“You must have at least seen one. Otherwise, I’ll kill all of you.”

“Yes? Yes?”

In the aftermath of the sleep poison, the man had a splitting headache. On top of that, Dane was glaring at him with ferocious eyes, so he was afraid to speak.

Dane pulled the dagger out of the man’s right thigh and brought it to his neck.

“S-Save me!”

“If you want to live, think of anything right now!”

“Uh…… Uh…….”

However, only a moan came out of the man’s mouth.

“Pathetic bastard!”

Blood flowed from the neck where the blade touched. The terrified man finally remembered something and shouted.

“I-I saw something! I saw a scar!”

“Scar?”

“Yes! There was a big scar on the face!”

Once he was enlightened, memories flowed out one after another.

“A scar ran through the middle of the face….. A woman! It was a woman! It was a young woman with brown hair!”

It was uncommon for a woman to have brown hair and a large scar on her face. He needed to call a painter right away and have him paint. As Dane stood up to give instructions, a person suddenly flashed through his mind.

A woman who wore a robe that was drawn over her eyes pointed a gun at him. The brown hair that he had seen at first glance and the scar that ran across her face were clearly embedded in his mind.

“Deborah Lofen.”

A noble woman who cut her face with a knife and was driven out of the family.

Rebels.

Dane’s face chilled.