Laila followed the servant with a heavy heart.
‘At this rate, I’ll be the subject of ridicule.’
To think that he was venting his anger on a helpless child, even though he had brought shame upon himself for his own mistake…
The angry servant didn’t hold back and continued to shout loudly without regard for his surroundings.
“Why do I have to deal with this nonsense? And Miss Laila has clearly gone mad all of a sudden. What the heck is all this about…”
Laila listened to the servant’s complaining with one ear as she followed.
The grumbling was mixed with curses at Laila, but she didn’t really care.
‘In any case, that guy’s life is already as good as dead in ten years.’
Unless he quits his job before that,
But Laila knows the future. The servant was going to be around for a long time.
In the future, he would be rewarded with a grave in the lord’s estate in various ways.
‘Well, I’m used to hearing gossip anyway…’
Thinking so, Laila walked along with the servant for a while.
Soon, the servant stopped walking deep in the forest and warned the child, looking down at him.
“Listen carefully.”
The servant seemed to be emotionally charged and didn’t seem to be in a particularly observant state.
Laila was bolder this time and hid herself in a tree that was close enough to the servant.
“Don’t even think about leaving this forest. If you dare to come out from here…”
Thanks to that, she could hear his words clearly.
“Dozens of arrows will target you at once.”
The warning left by the servant.
‘What?’
Laila almost stepped outside the tree.
When she barely restrained herself from moving, the servant’s taunting continued.
“If you’re curious about how many arrows you can withstand at once, why don’t you come out and find out?”
“…….”
“…You were chatty earlier, but your mouth seems shut now. Tsk.”
The servant frowned at the silent child and soon turned away.
Laila stayed glued to the tree without moving.
It wasn’t just so the departing servant wouldn’t see her.
‘Dozens of arrows…’
A chuckle escaped her lips.
‘Did he really give such a warning?’
To a child who was at most ten years old?
Of course, the warning was surely not something that originated from the servant’s own mind.
It must have been a warning from Marquis Hildegarde, Laila’s biological and legal father.
Laila bit her lip; her stomach was churning even though she wasn’t even in the carriage.
Why?
She thought she had long grown accustomed to being the child of such a wicked villain.
So she assumed she could now treat it with indifference. Apparently not.
Why now, her mood sank so deeply, almost to a gloomy despair?
Even after the servant disappeared, Laila remained hidden behind the tree for a while.
After some time, she belatedly pulled herself together and stumbled away from the tree.
Whether by chance or something else, the child was looking at Laila.
Once again, Laila had no chance to observe and judge the child’s gaze.
Almost as soon as she stepped out from behind the tree, the bracelet on her arm vibrated.
Hurriedly, Laila ran towards the child and embraced him.
Hopefully, this time, the arrow will hit her in the arm or shoulder.
‘If possible, the left arm!’
At the moment when Laila specifically made that wish.
“……?”
Laila’s body leaned forward.
Backwards.
Thunk!
Thud!
As Laila and the child fell together, an arrow whizzed past them, embedding itself in the ground.
Laila blinks slowly.
The ground touched her back.
The child’s face in front of her.
Beyond that, there are swaying leaves and the vast sky.
Nothing seemed realistic.
‘What is this…’
Before Laila could even try to comprehend the situation, the child’s body, lying on top of her, trembled.
“Ughh.”
The child let out a short groan and slumped to the side.
Laila sat up reflexively and looked at the child.
An arrow shaft protruded from the child’s left shoulder.
For a moment, Laila’s thoughts came to a halt.
It felt like even the flow of air had stopped along with it.
An arrow?
Why?
She distinctly avoided the arrow just a moment ago…
Soon, Laila turned pale and covered her mouth.
Oh.
Oh, God.
How foolish.
Why did she think the child wouldn’t die in this hunting ground as long as it wasn’t the ‘arrow with the blue feather’?
The Marquis had decided to kill the child here today.
If that were the case, it was too easy to predict that the second and third arrows would keep flying…….
Laila stared blankly at the motionless child who had fallen.
What happens now?
If this child dies,
Then…….
‘I’ll die too. In ten years.’
The future that she had experienced repeatedly would come crashing down again.
Laila had never sought the child’s favor or affection. There was absolutely no reason for the future to change at the moment.
‘No, I can’t. I can’t stand it anymore…’
She had to save the child.
It was absolutely unacceptable for the child to die here like this.
Coincidentally, there was a way to save the child.
Laila approached the fallen child and lifted him up forcefully.
She gritted her teeth and managed to stand up, despite the unconscious child’s weight.
Although she hadn’t experienced it firsthand, it might be similar to carrying a heavily soaked blanket.
It was a lot of weight to carry, but Laila forced herself to take steps.
One step, another step.
With trembling legs, she forcibly walked in the direction the arrow came from.
She walked and walked and walked until her sweat poured down like rain and her mouth was filled with a metallic taste.
“Fa… Father.”
At last, she came face-to-face with Marquis Hildegarde, mounted on a large black horse.
As soon as they spotted Laila, the people with Hildegarde were in turmoil.
It didn’t matter whether they were panicking or not. Laila just needed her voice to reach Marquis Hildegarde through the commotion.
With her head held low and no strength to lift it, Laila could only see the hooves in her field of vision.
In that state, Laila gathered the last bit of strength in her body and opened her mouth.
“I… will tell you my wish now…”
Just a little more.
She must endure a little more.
Just a little longer…
“Please… save this child…”
As soon as she finished speaking, her knees gave way. The grassy ground came close.
Laila closed her eyes without trying to hold on to her fading consciousness.
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
When she opened her eyes, it was pitch dark.
Laila blinks a few times in the darkness, then pushes herself up.
“…Ouch.”
Then she gasped inwardly at the pain she felt throughout her body.
What is this?
She felt like she had been beaten all over, with no part of her body spared from the pain.
‘Is this muscle pain?’
Although she had received a slap or two and kicked a few times, she had never experienced physical labor, making this an unfamiliar pain.
Groaning, Laila reached out her heavy arm and pulled the string attached to the bed.
After a while,
The sound of the bedroom door opening reached her, and the room was lit.
“Miss, are you awake?”
“Marie…….”
“Here, have some water.”
“Thank you…”
As Laila took a sip of water, she belatedly realized how thirsty she was.
After draining a cup of water, Laila held the empty cup and asked,
“What about the child?”
“The child?”
“Well, he’s my age, and he has blonde hair…….”
As Laila pondered how to describe the ‘child,’ Marie responded,
“Oh, the boy! He’s in the bedroom on the first floor right now.”
He’s alive.
At least, they were both still breathing.
Laila sighed in relief, but she didn’t completely let go of the tension and asked again.
“How’s his condition?”
“Well… he’s been hurt quite a bit, but it seems his life is not in danger. Dr. Elvin said so.”
Elvin was the name of the doctor currently residing in the marquisate.
Laila finally felt completely relieved.
They survived.
Both the child and herself.
……for now.
“Miss!”
As Laila relaxed and staggered, Marie quickly supported her.
A look of determination flashed across Marie’s face.
“I guess it can’t be helped.”
“……?”
“Starting tomorrow, I’ll give you two cups of tea a day.”
“What?”
“One cup after breakfast and one after dinner.”
Laila’s mouth hung open without resistance.
What is she talking about?
Just when she thought she had survived, what’s with this death sentence?
