She laughed to herself at those words. As expected, it was right to attack Richard first.
“What do you mean?”
Jade glared straight at Richard. Jade still seemed stubborn, but he wasn’t too worried because he believed Richard would take care of convincing him.
“They say it’s a situation where they absolutely have to get out, so they’re saying let’s just get over it this once.”
“But who will be responsible for what happens after that?”
“I will lose. I promise.”
Jade still had a disapproving look in her eyes. However, the momentum seemed to have eased slightly compared to before. Soon Jade lets out a small sigh and then he speaks.
“It’s just this one time. Got it?”
“Sure.”
“Instead, if we determine that it is dangerous, we will return to the barracks immediately. Understood?”
“Yes, of course.”
So, after hearing a few more warnings from Richard and Jade, she was ready to leave. She thought that if she went forward, all eyes would be on her, so she planned to sneak out through the back door. she gave them both a silent look and went out. At the same time, as if they had been waiting, the birds started to sound again.
As she looked around, she saw a white bird flying inside the forest. It looks like they’re telling her to come inside the forest…? She glanced at Richard and Jade who were standing close to the back. The two looked around but did not pay attention to the white bird. As expected, the white bird did not seem to be visible to their eyes. If so, she could go with peace of mind. She went straight into the forest.
It was fortunate that the duke’s barracks were on the outskirts. She was able to easily enter the forest without being seen. The forest was very dense. For a forest used as a hunting ground, the trees were so dense that visibility was limited, which was frustrating. She didn’t know if this was the only way to properly follow the bird. It would have been difficult to see who was around, and the only sound she could hear was sound. Now that she thought about it, she had been through a similar situation before. Even when she went to the forest near the temple because of Rex, it was always like this…
Wait a moment. That meant she had to find the source of that sound.
When she realized why the white bird had disappeared, she immediately started listening. An unidentifiable sound was coming from inside the forest. she headed there without hesitation. The further she went inside, the more clearly she began to hear sounds. At first she thought it was a noise, but when she listened closely, it sounded like a moan in pain. Moreover, the voice was somehow very familiar.
…Whose voice was it?
Tilting her head, she finally reached the source of the sound. Soon, her eyes widened slightly at the scene unfolding before her eyes. The emperor was seen pacing around with blurred eyes and suffering.
“…don’t do it. No, don’t do it! Don’t say that, ahhh!”
At that moment, she realized. The emperor is currently hallucinating due to the guild leader’s trick disguised as a nobleman.
Around the emperor, his knights lay motionless. That meant the Duke was nearby right now. It was a time when she was hiding in the grass and looking around to see if the Duke was there. Richard and Jade couldn’t stand it anymore and tried to leave, but she quickly stopped them.
“No. When I go out.”
Their eyes immediately fell on her. With an expression that seemed to ask what on earth that meant. In order to thoroughly prepare for the situation, the duke did not tell these two about the plan.
“It’s all like that for a reason, so just be patient.”
“What on earth are you talking about…”
“Shh.”
She put her finger to her mouth to silence them and continued to stare at the scene in front of her. After a while, she started to see the Duke walking with his knights from the opposite direction from where they were. The duke, who saw the fallen emperor, looked slightly surprised and quickly ran over.
“Your Majesty, come to your senses. Your majesty!”
She was secretly surprised by the acting, which felt as natural as flowing water. He was surprisingly good at acting, wasn’t he?
A knight came up next to the duke who was supporting the emperor’s body and said.
“Your Excellency, I think we should move your Majesty to the barracks first.”
“Okay, hurry up.”
It was the moment when the duke was trying to walk while supporting the emperor’s body.
Sigh!
Suddenly, a marble came out of nowhere, rolled on the floor, and suddenly boom! It exploded. In no time, the surrounding area was filled with smoke. She quickly covered her sleeves and tried not to inhale the smoke.
Richard and Jade similarly covered their mouths. Still, they were fortunate that they were a little far away from that place.
Dump.
Soon, even the duke’s guards inhaled the smoke and fell to the ground. The only one who came to his senses there was the Duke. She wasn’t surprised because she knew it was fine due to the magic tool. Now it’s the turn of the Rayon Guild leader disguised as a nobleman…
Rustling.
It was then. A pot-bellied nobleman appeared.
“Wow! Are you and your Majesty the Duke? How on earth did this happen…”
The man approached her with a very surprised face. The duke stared at the man quietly and then opened his mouth.
“So, what is Baron Garnet doing here? Didn’t he return from hunting like he always did at the beginning of the hunting ground?”
“It’s just something I stumbled upon by delving deep into it.”
Baron Garnet, with an awkward smile, continued to narrow the distance between him and the Duke. The duke hid the emperor behind him and continued to watch him.
“The situation looks more serious than that. How about moving His Majesty to the barracks as soon as possible? I will help you.”
“No, I’m enough on my own.”
“No matter how great you are, it will be difficult to support your Majesty alone. Especially since you are hallucinating, this is not a normal state…”
Sreung.
The duke pulled out his sword and aimed it at Baron Garnet.
“Go, Your Excellency? Why are you suddenly like this…”
“I never once told you that His Majesty was not in a normal state, much less that he was hallucinating.”
“Reveal your identity. Who are you?”
This was when the duke narrowed the distance one step towards Baron Garnet with a fierce look. Baron Garnet suddenly grinned and threw a throwing star at the Duke. The duke was not embarrassed and quickly deflected the dagger with his sword. At that moment, Baron Garnet quickly swung his dagger towards the Duke.
Stick!
And the dagger that Baron Garnet swung was blocked by the Duke’s sword very easily.
“I’ll tell you that your reverse swordsmanship skills are really great, huh? Duke Nari.”
Baron Garnet, even his way of speaking has completely changed. No, the Rayon guild leader laughed cruelly.
“As expected, it wasn’t Baron Garnet.”
“Anyway, quick-witted people won’t be able to use it.”
Rayon Guild Leader, who was shaking his head, gently lifted something while holding something. At the same time, the leader of the Rayon Guild sprayed something white towards the Duke’s face. When she realized that it was the powdered medicine that the emperor had taken, she stared at the scene with bated breath.
“Kukkuk, now you’re just like the emperor… What, what?!”
The Rayon guild leader began to be visibly embarrassed upon seeing the Duke, who was fine despite inhaling the powder.
“How on earth did this happen…!?”
“What happens? Your life is over.”
The Duke, who twisted the corner of his mouth, cut down the body of the Rayon Guild Leader with his sword.
Sigh!
She quickly closed her eyes at the blood-splattering scene. It’s not that she didn’t expect this situation, but she didn’t have the confidence to look at it casually.
The duke looked down with cold eyes at the Rayon Guild Leader who soon fell to the floor. Has the situation been sorted out now?
She sighed in relief and tilted her head in response to a question that suddenly occurred to her. But why would the white bird fly here? The work went well as planned.
‘Wow, that’s strange.’
While watching the Duke giving the emperor an antidote, she caught something shining behind her. What was that? She blinked several times and looked, but she couldn’t figure out exactly what it was. But she knew one thing. It’s definitely something sinister. And that it was something that would harm the duke. Without even thinking about it, she just jumped out of the way.
“Avoid now!”
The moment she shouted that, the duke seemed to be slightly startled, and he rolled his body to the side to avoid it.
Piyung!
The arrow landed where the Duke was originally standing. If he had dodged just a little later, he would have been hit by an arrow helplessly. The arrow stuck on the floor was eerily black in color. At that time, the duke, who she didn’t know when woke up, took out his sword and ran through the grass without hesitation. A moment later, the Duke came out of the grass holding the neck of a man wearing a black mask. The blood flowing from the man was dripping onto the floor. That man looked like a criminal who had fired an arrow.
Dump.
The duke threw the man to the ground and struck his shoulder with his sword.
Sigh!
The pain must have been considerable, but no sound came from the man. It was just when she thought something was a little strange. The Duke’s voice was heard in a gravely low tone.
“Who ordered this? Speak, if you don’t want to die”
Despite the Duke’s cold voice, no sound came from the man. The duke quickly removed the sword from his shoulder and was about to plunge it into his other shoulder.
Passyuk.
Suddenly, a strange black lotus began to bloom from the man’s body. Without any time to be surprised, the man’s body burst into flames and an explosion sounded.
Quang!
“Duke!”
Before she knew it, the surrounding area was filled with smoke and it was difficult to see.
“Duke! Can you hear me? Duke!”
She couldn’t think straight. An explosion occurred right in front of him, so he knew he wouldn’t be safe. It was a moment when a terrible scene flashed through her mind.
“Oh, no… Kaiden!”
“…It’s okay.”
She took a deep breath at the familiar voice she heard.
“It’s okay.”
A cold voice tried to calm her. She still couldn’t see, but she stretched out her arms. Soon, she hugged him as she felt the firm feel of his fingertips.
“Are you hurt anywhere? Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
“But right in front of you…”
“You’re safe. There are no injuries.”
The duke hugged her and swept the back of the stream. As if to tell her to calm down. She quietly exhaled while burying her face in the solid upper body. When she finally calmed down, she realized that the black smoke surrounding her had disappeared. In an instant, she quickly pulled away and looked at the duke’s body. Fortunately, there seemed to be no injuries. It was the same on the outside as it was before the explosion. She thought it was strange, but first of all, she felt a great sense of relief that he wasn’t hurt.
“…ha.”
It was at this moment that she let out a quiet sigh of relief. The voice that seemed to be gently soothing turned cold.
“Why did you break your promise to me? I’m asking what you would have done if the arrow… no, you had been caught in the explosion.”
He seemed to be barely able to suppress his anger.
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Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
If you like my work please support me with Ko-fi or Patreon. Next post will be released on March, 31.
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