Chapter 243

Chapter 243

Varca gripped the dagger upside down and assumed a stance.

"Lesley, there is someone here."

Lesley looked around with her eyes still half closed from sleep. She couldn’t see anyone.

"A-are you sure there is someone?"

"Look behind you. We need to watch each other's backs, Lesley."

Varca tried to steady his voice. He also felt like his heart was in his throat, but he pretended to be calm.

"I-I can't, I can't do it," Lesley said with a trembling voice.

"You have to."

Varca listened intently. Someone emerged from the darkness.

Two men who appeared were wearing ragged clothes. Their attire was shabby, but their axes and maces were well-maintained.

"What are two ladies doing out here at this hour?"

"Idiot, one of them is a man."

"A man? Why is he dressed like that? Is he a pervert?"

The men were vagrants who made a living from robbery. They had approached quietly upon seeing two women camping. Upon closer inspection, one was a man, but he seemed too frail to be strong.

"H-here, take everything we have. Just please let us go."

Lesley, already frightened, showed the thieves her jewelry. Varca frowned.

'Showing that is only going to excite them more...'

As Varca expected, the sight of the sparkling jewelry made the thieves’ eyes widen.

"Wow! We’ve really hit the jackpot! They’re rich girls! They’re rich!"

"We could sell the girl, too. After we have a go, of course, hehe."

Varca grimaced. Because they showed them their valuables first, there was no room for negotiation.

"Hah."

Varca exhaled.

'These are just petty thieves. But even they probably have more combat experience than me.'

Although Varca had trained in combat skills since becoming king, his real experience was minimal. Moreover, all he had on him now was a dagger.

‘I won’t be able to take on two men with my skills.'

Varca assumed the stance he had been taught. Being a royal who had received well-structured training, his posture was solid.

He spread his legs at a reasonable distance and extended the slightly bent arm with the dagger.

"W-what is that?"

The thieves were taken aback. Sharpness emanated from Varca’s stance.

"H-he looks like he’s been trained, doesn’t he?"

"Y-you think he could really be strong with that size?"

"He might secretly be a veteran or something."

The thieves hesitated and did not attack easily.

'But they won’t give up since they’ve already seen our treasure.'

The standoff was brief. One of the thieves charged at Varca with his mace.

Varca opened his eyes wide and watched the movement of the mace closely. He dodged the attack and swung his dagger in response.

Both attacks missed their targets. The brief exchange was enough for those present to gauge their enemy’s skill.

'I can see it in my head, but my body isn’t moving fast enough.'

Varca's heart pounded. He wanted to scream.

'But that thief isn’t that strong either. In fact, he’s rather sloppy. Maybe...'

Varca's grip on his dagger tightened. He felt he might be able to pull it off.

"Wait!"

The thief holding an axe said as he extended his hand. Both Varca and the thief with a mace took a step back.

"How about we negotiate? I’m talking to you, the pervert dressed like a girl."

The axe thief suggested. He also thought that if they fought Varca directly, one of them might die.

"Negotiate?"

"Just hand over that girl to us, and we’ll let you walk away."

"If it’s money that you want, we’ll give you everything we have."

"No, we need the girl too. It’s been half a month since we’ve seen a woman. We can’t pass that up."

Hearing this, Lesley grabbed Varca's clothes tightly.

"Y-you’re not going to do that, right, Pahell? You won’t j-just hand me over to them."

Varca did not give a clear answer. The chances of defeating the two thieves head-on were extremely low. At best, he might manage to take one down with him.

'I stand here on the sacrifice of many.'

The loyal knight Phillion died for Varca. The attendants he left behind in the capital might also die because he had to escape.

'I don’t need to risk my life for a woman who deceived me.'

If Varca died here, Porcana would plunge into chaos. Many more people would surely die.

"Brother, don’t even bother pretending to think. All you have to do is just back away and leave. It’s a win-win for all of us, right?"

The thief smirked wickedly.

“Pahell!”

Varca shook his head. But in this world, many men thought this way. Especially for the barbarians, rape and plunder were not sins but daily life. Only the devout followers of the teachings of Lou somewhat lived by human principles.

‘This world is a mess.’

Varca sighed and faced the thief.

Thump!

The thief’s blind swing hit Varca’s thigh. Luckily, it didn’t break the bone. Varca limped forward and stabbed under the thief’s armpit.

“Argh!”

The thief screamed but still threw his head at Varca. Varca almost tripped backward. If he gave the thief space, the wildly swinging mace would crush his skull.

‘Advance.’

Varca pulled himself forward. He shoved the thief in the chest with his shoulder. They tangled up. Varca, with the dagger, had the upper hand.

Crunch!

The thief bit into Varca’s right hand. It was the hand holding the dagger.

“Let go!”

Varca elbowed the thief’s cheek several times. However, the thief clung on, knowing letting go meant his death.

Thump! Thump!

It was a quiet night. Only the sound of flesh being squashed was heard. Varca’s face was splattered with the thief’s blood. His elbow turned red, dripping blood.

“Huff, huff.”

The thief looked at Varca with a swollen face.

“P-please, l-let me l-live,” the thief struggled to speak.

Varca shook his head.

“I can’t. Tonight, I win.”

Varca’s eyes were cold as he plunged the dagger into the thief’s heart. The blade pierced through flesh and muscle, stabbing the beating heart.

“Kugh! Kak! Kak!”

The thief shook his limbs, and then finally stopped breathing.

Varca stared straight into the thief’s empty eyes. It felt as if death was tapping on his shoulder. It seemed like the Grim Reaper would be standing there if he turned around.

“Pahell!”

Lesley, her clothes disheveled, clung to Varca. The smell of blood was strong, but she wanted to feel his warmth.

“You’re alright now.”

Varca held Lesley’s shoulders.

‘I struggled against two men. Just two.’

A senseless laugh escaped him. He had fought for his life against merely two men to protect Lesley. It was enough to make his heart feel like it was about to burst, having nearly died several times.

Back in the day, Urich had recklessly faced many enemies for Varca’s sake. Unlike these ragged thieves, the ones Urich had fought off were fully armed soldiers.

“Lesley, I have something to tell you.”

Varca wiped the blood from his face and told Lesley everything, even the fact that his intention was to use her to escape the imperial palace.

Lesley bit her lower lip several times, holding back a scream.

“So, you don’t love me?”

“Yes, I have absolutely no feelings of affection toward you. Everything I said to you was words and actions of pure necessity. But if you come with me to Porcana, I will make you my queen. That is not a lie; I swear to Lou.”

“Do you think I followed you for the queen’s position?”

“Perhaps because of my face too.”

Slap!

Lesley slapped Varca hard on the cheek. The fact that she couldn’t deny his words made her all the more furious. Varca was too perfect of a man, from his face to his status.

“Then why did you save me? You could have just left me to be violated by those filthy men.”

“It was not for you, but for my own peace of mind,” Varca said honestly.

He had hurt Lesley a lot. But on the other hand, he felt relieved.

“You can go back to the imperial palace on horseback. If you request protection from the imperial patrol, you should be able to return safely.”

“You're telling me to go back to that snake pit. Pahell, no, Your Highness Varca, I thought you were different.”

Varca laughed softly.

“I am no different from a snake. If I hadn’t been, I wouldn’t have survived.”

“So the prince in my fantasies never existed.”

Lesley's voice trailed off. She suppressed the scream that was at the tip of her tongue.

“Find an ordinary man and live a happy life, Lesley.”

Varca’s face was expressionless.

“You really are shameless.”

Lesley shrugged her shoulders low and covered her face. She mounted her horse and stared blankly at Varca.

‘Hold me back,’ Lesley muttered inwardly.

But Varca did not lift a finger. He looked at Lesley with cold eyes.

“Goodbye, Lesley.”

Varca turned his back and walked away with a steady stride. Though his thigh was bruised from getting hit by the thief’s mace, it didn’t hinder his ability to walk. By the time Lesley reached Hamel, Varca would have already left the empire.

The news of Varca’s disappearance soon reached the emperor. Count Whelan was restless upon learning that his daughter had also vanished.

The enraged Emperor Yanchinus had the attendants of Porcana tortured relentlessly, but since Varca had left without designating a rendezvous, no one had any useful information. Even the emperor had not anticipated that Varca would act so boldly. The growth of the boy had exceeded the expectations of adults.

Amid the turmoil at the heart of the empire, the plunderers from the west suddenly changed their direction of march and invaded the grain-producing region of Marganu. Although the army of Carnius was taken aback by the plunderers’ actions, they quickly moved to recapture Marganu.