After confirming that the magician and the Grand Duke were having another meeting in the room, I had Ledo guide me to the secret passage.
Even though I had threatened him, it was surprising that he divulged his family’s secrets so easily. This guy really is hopeless.
“You wait here.”
I commanded at the entrance of the passage.
“Keep an eye out for anyone else coming. Got it?”
Perhaps because he had been scolded by the Grand Duke last time, Ledo followed my orders without a word.
I walked through the dark passage relying on a single candle.
Before long, I discovered a spot where faint light was seeping through the cracks in the bricks. I cautiously approached and pressed my ear against the wall.
“The Duke of Acanthus will be here soon…”
I could hear the conversation inside the room.
“All preparations are complete…”
The voices were quiet, so I couldn’t hear everything clearly, but I could grasp the important parts.
In the original story, the Duke of Acanthus is ambushed on his way back to the kingdom after visiting the Ram Empire.
The male and female leads of the original story had a child around the time my mother became pregnant with me. After my mother fled, the two officially married and had twins.
The Duke, who had gone to the Ram Empire, hurried his schedule to attend the birthday party of the twins. He was then attacked by unknown assailants in a forest near the border.
Since they were armed with weapons from the Ram Empire, both the Duke and the readers assumed that the assassins had been sent by the Ram Empire.
However, it was actually a scheme orchestrated by the Grand Duke. He had received intelligence that the Duke was returning from the Ram Empire and saw it as an opportunity.
“When is the execution date?”
“Tonight.”
Gasp!
I was so surprised that a small gasp escaped my lips. Tonight? So soon?
At that moment, the voices inside stopped for a moment.
Could it be that I was caught? I tightly covered my mouth. Fortunately, the conversation continued.
“We will leave the castle as soon as the sun sets and head to the Vieza Forest.”
After that, they discussed their plans for the ambush tonight before finishing their conversation. Soon after, I heard the two of them leave the room.
I quickly exited the secret passage. Upon seeing me, Ledo, who had been sitting at the entrance, jumped up.
“What happened inside?”
Noticing my strange expression, Ledo asked. I weakly shook my head.
I had been thinking about this for a while. I believed that if I could just find out the exact time and date, I could somehow do something.
But it was tonight, not tomorrow. It was already well past afternoon. In just a few hours, the Grand Duke would set out to kill the Duke of Acanthus. There was no time—too little time. What could I possibly do now?
Then, with a glimmer of hope, I asked, “Do you know where the Vieza Forest is?”
“The Vieza Forest? That’s the forest on the other side of the river.”
“Across the river? Is that place called Vieza Forest?”
“Yeah.”
I had just learned that there was an old forest across the river here in Salle, and its name was Vieza Forest.
“…Then, to get to Vieza Forest from here, we definitely need to take a boat?”
At my words, Ledo nodded.
“Right. There’s no bridge.”
Suddenly, a good idea came to me. The only way to get to Vieza Forest was by boat. But what if there was no boat?
I looked out the window at the sky. The Grand Duke had said he would depart as soon as the sun set.
It would take about an hour to walk to the dock from here. Riding a horse would be faster, but since I didn’t know how to ride, walking was my only option.
“Hey.”
As I suddenly called out to Ledo and reached out my hand, he jumped in surprise and flinched again. He kept getting startled. It felt like I was becoming a bully trying to extort him.
“If you have a knife, hand it over.”
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
I ran out of the castle toward the dock. I planned to cut all the ropes tying the boats before the Grand Duke arrived. If there were no boats, they wouldn’t be able to go to Vieza Forest, and then their plan for tonight would fall apart.
As I ran, I took breaks when I got tired, alternating between walking and running, and by the time I reached the dock, I was dripping with sweat. My legs were also trembling.
The sunset was gradually painting the opposite bank red.
Three boats were tied up by the river. I took out the dagger I had snatched from Ledo and began to cut the rope. The ropes were too thick and stiff, making it difficult to cut them.
While I was struggling and focused on my task, a dark shadow suddenly loomed over me.
With a sense of foreboding, I slowly raised my head.
“Gasp!”
And when I locked eyes with my father, Grand Duke Iskas, I screamed and fell backward in shock. He was looking down at me with his arms crossed.
“What are you doing here?”
It wasn’t just him. Magicians and knights were gathered as well. They were definitely gathered to kill the Duke of Acanthus.
How? He had clearly said they would move as soon as the sun set.
As I stood there, unable to say anything, and stammering, he let out a low sigh.
“I was wondering who the little rat eavesdropping on our conversation was, and it turns out it was you.”
My eyes widened in shock at his words. He already knew I was listening?
“Uh, how did you know? I was hiding in a secret passage, so I shouldn’t have been seen!”
“I could hear your breathing.”
He heard that? Is that even possible? I had taken a deep breath, but how could that have penetrated the walls and reached his ears?
In any case, if his words were true, it meant he had come here early knowing someone was eavesdropping—specifically to catch me, the culprit.
The Grand Duke reached out and pulled me to my feet.
“Ar, go back to the castle.”
He looked down at me and said coldly, “Don’t play useless games; go back and stay by your mother’s side.”
Useless games? I was more serious and desperate than ever.
“This isn’t a game. I came here because I have something I must do!”
I clasped my hands tightly together.
“…Do you really have to go? Can’t you stay?”
My voice trembled slightly. I was holding back tears and opened my mouth again.
“I heard everything you talked about earlier. I know what you’re planning. The Duke of Acanthus is a close friend. Can’t you just let him live?”
“…”
His gaze wavered slightly. For the first time, there was a subtle crack in his expression.
“The truth is, you really like him a lot.”
The only person the Grand Duke could call a friend was the Duke of Acanthus. He had never shown his true feelings to anyone because he trusted no one. However, the Duke of Acanthus always treated him sincerely.
He even tried to give up the woman he fell in love with for the first time in his life for the sake of his friend.
And that wasn’t all. He would have willingly given his life for his close friend, the Grand Duke.
The same went for the Grand Duke. He regretted having deliberately approached the Duke of Acanthus to become friends. If they had met as enemies from the start, he wouldn’t have to endure the pain of killing his friend.
“The Duke of Acanthus won’t die so easily. If you fail to assassinate him, what do you think will happen next? Knowing everything, he would have no choice but to attack you. Then our whole family would die. After all the trouble of saving my mom from death, you would let her die by your own hands again!”
“What do you know, you little brat…”
“I know. I may not know what others do, but I know everything. That’s why I ran this far. I… already know what fate awaits us.”
“…What?”
I know. I know what he’s thinking right now. He probably thinks I’m too young to be talking nonsense or that I’m crazy.
But if I can stop him, becoming a madman is nothing. If I don’t do this, I’ll end up dead anyway.
“You might think this is ridiculous, but can’t you just believe me for now? I won’t tell you to give up on revenge. But for this once, please do as I say. You know better than anyone that if we go into full-scale war with the king, you will lose.”
He looked at me with wide eyes. It wasn’t something a six-year-old child would say, so he seemed somewhat surprised.
I clutched his collar with desperation.
“Please don’t go. Can’t you just stay by my side for now?”
I hoped he would stay alive. If he lived, my mother could live, and I could dream of a future.
No, it wasn’t just that; I simply didn’t want this pitiful person to die. He thought that without revenge, nothing would remain in his life, but I hoped he would understand that wasn’t true.
He had countless reasons to live beyond that.
