Chapter 61

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Janice looked at Herietta with trembling eyes. She nodded after a while, indicating that she understood.

“Good. Then get ready to run.”

Herietta poked her head through the crack in the door again and looked at the situation. Fierce battles were still taking place on all sides. She saw them slowly tumbling over.

“One… Two…”

Counting quietly, she gulped. Her heart was beating so hard that it felt like it was about to explode.

“Three!”

Herietta pushed the door of the carriage open and ran out. The loud noises surrounded her. She didn’t have time to look around and think about whether she was right or not. With all her mortal strength, she sprinted towards the overgrown bushes.

Ragged leaves and inflexible branches caught on to her clothes, but she didn’t care. Red lines were drawn on her bare skin and her skin was torn, but she didn’t even notice. Perhaps because of the atmosphere, the shouts coming from behind her seemed to get louder and louder.

Her nostrils widened and her pupils dilated. Both legs moved freely as if they were not part of her, and she felt as if she was floating in the air.

She has to live. She had to live.

A strong desire completely took over her head. She couldn’t think of anything else.

How far had she gone? A large thicket entered Herrietta’s field of vision as she ran frantically. It was a little shorter than her stature, but it was so dense that it seemed just right to hide her body. She couldn’t even run anymore, her breathing was so fast that it felt like she was drowning.

It was all or nothing. Herietta hastily hid her body behind the thicket. And Janice, who had followed after her, hid her body behind the bushes.

“Did… Did they notice?”

Janice asked, breathing heavily. Instead of answering, Herietta used the crevice between the thickets to look around.

It was a quiet night. Had she come much further than she thought? Or is the battle between the two groups over? The noise that had been so loud was no longer audible.

“We might have won. There’s nothing like the mess again…”

Janice said, shaking her body.

“Let’s wait here for a bit and then go out and check.”

“Shh!”

Herietta hurriedly warned Janice to keep quiet as she heard the sound of footsteps approaching them faintly.

Judging from the sound of footsteps interspersing, it did not belong to only one person. Maybe it was the soldiers who came to find them. But that vain hope soon disappeared altogether. Several masked men emerged from the indigo-blue darkness.

Janice’s body trembled.

Don’t make a sound.

Herietta made a gesture towards Janice to be quiet.

“Where did they go? Fuck. Are you sure they went this way?”

One of the crowd swore and asked. The torch in his hand flashed orange in his eyes.

“Yes. I saw them with my own eyes. The two suddenly got out of the wagon and ran away.”

“That’s why you should have hit that bitch on the neck first! Don’t you know why we are here? Don’t you know that there’s no benefit to us if we deal with it like this!”

The man stomped his foot, not sure if he was very happy with this situation. Then another man standing next to him persuaded his agitated colleague.

“Aren’t we supposed to annihilate them all anyway? It will be very troublesome if you keep a random witness alive and wonder when they’ll show up and talk.”

He looked around with the torch he was holding.

“Don’t worry, Captain. Even if they run away, it is in our palms. They wouldn’t have gone that far. They must be hiding somewhere around here.”

“That damn bitch bothers people for no reason.”

A man called the captain groaned nervously and clicked his tongue.

“Look thoroughly around the area. Sweep through everything so that not even a single ant can escape. Got it? Find the bitch before the sun rises. Do it now.”

“Yes!”

Starting from his words, the masked people scattered in various directions as if they were waiting. Their movements were so agile that they disappeared somewhere in the blink of an eye.

Herietta was desperate. Judging from the conversation between the two men, it was clear that Brimdel’s soldiers had been wiped out. Also, she was now sure that they were not simply trying to kidnap her, but that they were aiming for her life from the beginning.

‘Why the hell? For what reason?’

As she questioned it, she heard the sound of another footstep. The man who had been left alone in the dark looked back as if he felt a presence.

“Did you find them?”

It was a very familiar voice. Janice turned her head to look at Herietta.

‘No way.’

The man held out the torch he was holding and checked the face of the person who was talking to him. Perhaps they knew each other well, so he loosened his guard.

“Not yet. They were a lot faster than they looked.”

“I hired you because I heard your skills were at a high level. You are struggling for not being able to handle the two girls properly. Disappointing.”

“Isn’t this all because they veered off the route without warning? It means that our side had a hard time relocating the place urgently.”

The masked man said, very displeased.

“Don’t worry. It’s just a matter of time anyway. I’ll get you what you want before dawn.”

“You just need to confirm. After that, put the body on the side of the carriage. You have to pretend that they were slaughtered after being attacked by a horde of bandits they stumbled across on the way.”

The man coldly gave his instructions and turned to the side. Unlike the others, he was not wearing a mask, so Herietta could see his face.

“!”

She was astonished because it was the knight who had commanded Brimdel’s escort from the capital to here.

“Do it right. Because the next Duke of Rowani likes certain things.”

“Absolutely. In return, I hope that you will be sure to take care of the promised remuneration.”

“Of course.”

After the conversation, the two men moved and left the place. It wasn’t until the sound of their footsteps, which were getting smaller and smaller, could not be fully heard, that Herietta let out the breath she had been holding back.

What did she just see? What did she just hear?

If it was the next Duke of Rowani, then there would be only one person in this world. Herietta’s face contorted in anger. 

‘Shawn. That jerk …!’

“Princess. How did this happen? Why is Lord Bizen talking to them? Besides, if it’s Rowani’s next duke…”

Said Janice, who was as shocked as Herietta.

“No way… Sir Shawn’s plotting treason… ?”

Janice still thought that Herietta was of the royal bloodline. So naturally, she would have had no choice but to think of treason. But Herietta was different. She could understand why Shawn would want to get rid of her.

He had no intention of sending Herietta to the royal family of Velicia from the beginning. No matter how careful she was, if she made a single mistake, diplomatic relations between the two countries could spin out of control. He couldn’t have been willing to take on such a huge risk.

‘Stupid! Stupid! You knew what kind of person he was, but you never doubted him!’

Herietta blamed herself, ripping her hair off. At the same time, for the first time in her life, she felt a strong will to kill someone.

‘Shawn. I’m not going to let you have your way. Either way, I’m going to survive.’

Herietta ground her teeth angrily and a firm determination reflected in her eyes.

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