CH 50.1

“Who’s there?”

Collen’s shout came from the other side, but there was no answer. Instead, the sound of someone hitting someone else could be heard.

‘They must be fighting!’

Thud! Thud!

The sound of something rolling could be heard.

In the darkness, it was the sound of two people rolling around.

“What’s going on?”

Lavigne asked in dismay.

‘For now, we need to run. We can’t hold onto Collen’s ankle.’

The one thing I’m sure of right now is that we’ll just be a burden to Collen if we stay here.

I quickly whispered to Lavigne.

“Look straight ahead and walk, Lavigne. It’s okay even if you can’t see. You can bump into things.”

I spoke quietly and started walking again.

‘It’s okay, Dad is strong.’

Collen is the strongest person in this world.

Thud, thud!

There was the sound of a long fight and the groans of two men. Then suddenly, suffocating silence followed.

‘Who fell?’

That was the moment.

Someone suddenly pushed me against the wall. My body felt like a piece of paper in the grip of a thug.

“Who are you?”

I held my breath.

A big man. The person in front of me was an adult.

‘An adult man’s hands. It’s scary.’

I needed to scream, but my voice wouldn’t come out.

“Leticia! Leticia!”

Lavigne, who had let go of my hand, screamed.

‘You touched me!’

The man’s large hand slowly touched my cheek, then traveled down from my nose to my chin. It felt like a snake slithering across my face.

“Dad!”

I struggled.

“Shut up!”

The man grabbed my chin and stared into my eyes. I felt like prey trapped in a dark den of beasts.

‘My forehead is burning.’

The man’s finger burned across my forehead.

“Back off!”

My entire body was covered in goosebumps.

Suddenly, his touch disappeared.

Thud!

A person hit the wall. I held my breath. The figure that had been in front of me had been slammed into the wall.

Then I heard Collen’s voice.

“Don’t touch my daughter. Unless you want your joints to be twisted.”

‘Collen is safe!’

Thud, thud!

The sound of fighting resumed.

I searched for Lavigne, who was crawling on the ground, and grabbed her shoulders tightly.

‘What happened?’

Silence again, as if someone were strangled.

Then, a sudden sound.

Thump!

The candle was lit again in the next moment.

Light entered my eyes, which had become accustomed to the darkness.

I squinted once.

“Leticia.”

“Dad!”

Collene was standing there holding a candle in front of me. Thankfully, his face was unharmed.

I felt like crying.

“Come here, Leticia.”

I ran towards Collen and buried my face in his arms, shaking all over.

“Did he run away?”

“Yes.”

“Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine. However…”

Collen bit his lips.

“The opponent seemed to be a wizard.”

“What?”

A wizard?

Collen didn’t answer and seemed lost in thought before shaking his head.

“No, I couldn’t use magic properly because I was afraid you and the princess would get hurt in this dark place. That’s why I couldn’t kill him. But he must have been hurt too.”

It was only then that I noticed Collen’s blood-stained shirt. My chest shook with fear.

“What is this…?”

“It’s his blood, not mine.”

I let out a sigh of relief.

“Let’s get out of here now,” Lavigne shivered as she spoke.

“Are you sure the opponent has fled?”

“Yes. We can prepare better if they come closer.”

Black snakes rose around Collen and began to escort us.

In fact, I also wanted to leave this place desperately.

‘But if we do that, the incident won’t end.’

Although Lavigne has returned alive, I still have to clear my name completely.

“Lavigne, the investigation isn’t over yet.”

“Huh?”

Lavigne’s expression became like that of someone watching a horror movie. Of course, Lavigne probably doesn’t know what a horror movie is.

“The key evidence in this case isn’t just you.”

“Key evidence?”

Ah, another difficult word. It’s a word I know from a past life’s book. I urged Lavigne while holding a candle.

Collene silently followed me as I walked. Eventually, when Lavigne arrived under the fallen stage, I breathed a sigh of relief.

‘I found it, the last piece of evidence.’