CHAPTER 5: HERE, NOW, AND YOU (VIII)
Part 104
She wanted to open her eyes, but her eyelids were too heavy. Why wasn’t her body moving like this? Her whole body was as heavy as wet cotton, so much so that it was difficult to even lift a finger.
‘Water, yes water. I fell into the trap.’
Was she really dead? She was startled and opened her eyes. The fingers also move. She looked down at her twitching hands and touched her face with those hands. She didn’t die. But where was she? The bed she was lying on, the clothes she was wearing, and what she could see in the room were all unfamiliar.
‘What, where am I? Apparently I fell into the River Lorraine?’
The water was terribly cold and the current was very strong. She thought she lost consciousness while being swept around in the water. Last fall, she almost drowned and barely survived, but no, wait. Surely this time, she didn’t overcome the danger of death and came to another world? She got up and stood in front of the mirror. Fortunately, it was good to see that her face was the same, but her whole body hurt as if someone had stepped on her because she suddenly stood up. She felt so sad sitting down in front of the mirror and groaning.
Where on earth was she? Why was she here? Oh, what happened to Adrian and her Dad?
As she was sobbing with tears in her eyes, the wooden door creaked open, and Homer came in and quickly approached her in surprise.
“Damian. Do not make sudden movements. Why… why are you crying? Where does it hurt?”
He sat next to her with a puzzled look on his face and didn’t know what to do. She remembered it while looking at Homer’s sweaty face, unable to even touch her. It felt like someone caught her in the water, but it was Homer. She wiped her tears and woke up. Homer helped her sit on the sofa.
“What about Adrian?”
Homer looked a little bitter at her first question. There was no answer, so she asked again.
“What happened to Adrian? Where are we? What happened to him?”
“Luckily, you were rescued from a returning Segok Line. This is my safe house in Viscount Gorgen’s territory, just east of Midok. It’s safe here.”
“What about Adrian?”
“The Duke is in Midoc. They’re probably looking for Damien.”
“I need to let him know I’m here. Before they do something strange.”
She quickly raised her voice, but Homer shook his head with a stern expression.
“The outer walls are sealed, so there is no way to get in.”
She couldn’t stand it anymore and jumped up. And involuntarily sat down again, clutching his head. This was not the time to be like this. She had to go to Adrian.
“You were unconscious for two days. You shouldn’t overdo it now, Damian.”
“Two days… So what day is today?”
“It’s Monday, the 73rd day of fall.”
She had no idea what had happened while she was unconscious, so she pulled herself up screaming.
“Is there no way? Couldn’t we at least write a letter?”
“They say they can’t even enter the three curves now. Everyone who comes in and out will be checked and anyone like me or Damian, whose faces are known, will be caught right at the door. The royal palace has been occupied, so I can’t even use a pigeon.”
So what should she do? She escaped these guys unharmed, but she couldn’t even get to Adrian? Nonsense. He must be very worried. He said he was looking for her, but he must have been really worried. He must have been tired from the war, and he couldn’t even rest properly because of her. When she came back, she tried to greet him with a smile and give him a hug for his hard work… She missed Adrian. Homer, who saw her face on the verge of collapsing, also became shocked and his face became cloudy. As a single tear fell, she looked at Homer, who looked even more troubled and didn’t know what to do, and then she wiped away the tear with her hand.
‘Let’s hug and cry when we meet Adrian. Let’s go back, hug each other and cry. Let’s meet and tell him that I missed him so, so much, that I was so upset that I almost died.’
Collecting her mind, taking a deep breath, she asked Homer:
“Do you know what happened with Jenny?”
“Yes, Damian. I heard she is recovering well.”
“Thank god. So what happened to Princess Remina? Is she safe?”
“She is in the Donovan duchy. The army will be disbanded and Lord Ban will be by her side.”
“Is the Crown Prince really dead??
“Yes.”
Homer’s complexion became even darker as he answered. Hegel said that Adrian was involved in the death of the crown prince. I don’t know what’s going on, but if they take over the palace and try to get Adrian to do something, they won’t be able to turn the former nobles of Lorentine into enemies. Especially if Adrian had not yet ascended the throne.
“Now that the war is over, there will be nobles who want to return to Midok. No matter how crazy they try, we won’t be able to stop them.”
“But it won’t be easy to contact nobles who will cooperate. Even if you get help, it would be even bigger if you were stopped at the castle gate.”
“Couldn’t you at least tell Adrian that I’m here?”
“In a situation where we don’t know how things are going inside Midok, wouldn’t it be possible for the news to reach them rather than the duke?”
Now that she had escaped, they would try to rush things. They would have to get what they wanted before Adrian finds out. Hegel said nonsense that he would make Adrian Emperor, but Hennessy, who was in the same group, said he was related to the former Duke.
“What on earth does this guy named Hennessy do???”
“He was the former commander of the Bigor Knights and a former loyalist of the Duke of Bigor.”
“I heard that Adrian’s relationship with the former duke is not good. Does that person have a grudge against Adrian?”
“I guess so. Beyond personal resentment, he seemed determined to devour Laurentine.”
If this happens, she couldn’t even be sure that he wouldn’t at least hurt Adrian. If Adrian found out or suspected that she was gone, they would try to harm him. She had to go back quickly. Before Adrian gave in to all their demands, he had to go back. She couldn’t just wait for the nobles, who didn’t know when they would leave from which territory, and as Homer said, there was no guarantee that they would risk their lives and help her. Should she return to his father? If it were her father, he would have been even more stopped at the gate. Plus, it takes too long. From here he goes to the Etihat estate and back, what if something happens to Midok? What could she do? Who did she ask for help? There’s nothing she could do alone, so why didn’t she make more friends sooner? One friend she could ask for help in times like this…
‘There you are!’
“Homer, did you say today is Monday?”
“Yes, Damian. It’s Monday, the 73rd day of fall.”
“How long does it take to reach Kerdora territory?”
“Do you mean Kerdora County, north of Midok?
“Yes.”
“It will arrive in one day.”
The Cologne delegation is returning. She was told that it would arrive around Wednesday or Thursday this week. Since she took the northern route, she would take the northern route on her way back to avoid the still noisy northwest. If you wait at the corner of the road in the County of Cerdora, just north of Midok, you can meet Laurel.
“Let’s leave immediately.”
“Yes? To Kerdora?”
“Yes. I will join the Cologne delegation.”
Then, after nodding his head with an expression of understanding, Homer looked at her for a long time and stood up. He left the room, saying he would prepare the carriage, but came back a moment later and started taking care of things. He was puzzled because it seemed like he had a lot of luggage to travel for only a day, but when he heard that preparations were complete, he left the room and went downstairs. Did Homer have a family? It was a small, cozy house filled with cute household items. As she headed toward the entrance, she looked around the living room for a moment and there was a sofa covered with a hand-knitted cover and a doll that a child might like.
When she came out of the house, she found herself in a small alley filled with one carriage. When she opened the carriage door and climbed in, she saw that there were layers of blankets, cushions, and pillows already brought there.
“What is all this?”
“The doctor told me to rest for the time being, but I don’t have the confidence to break Damian’s will, so I think we need to make a move that will keep him as stable as possible. Take this when you leave. What’s in this bottle is soup, so drink this first and then eat this. Don’t eat a lot at once, but eat little by little whenever you have time.”
“Now, wait a minute.”
“This is medicine. Be sure to eat it after you finish the soup.”
The basket that Homer pointed to was full of large and small bottles. There was also soft-looking white bread and fruit. Homer, who was explaining this and that without realizing that she was embarrassed, stopped talking, sighed, and muttered to himself.
“Now I understand what the duke meant when he said he wasn’t confident enough to stop it.”
“Yes?”
“Oh, no. Let’s go up. We’re leaving.”
Homer pushed her into the carriage, sat down in the driver’s seat, and soon the carriage started. It was a carriage that rolled stably without shaking, but even if it was shaking, it was definitely comfortable. She drank the soup as she was told in the cushioned carriage. As the soft soup entered her long-empty stomach, she felt both hunger and heartburn. Her whole body still hurts as if she had been stepped on by an elephant, and perhaps because she hadn’t eaten properly for several days, she had no energy and her stomach hurts. Still, her heart felt a little lighter.
‘Wait, Adrian. I’ll be there soon.’
* * *
On a dark night, the blade of a dagger gathered light and sparkled in the pitch-black darkness behind the shadow of a building. George was hanging in the middle of the wall, a little away from the eastern gate of the Midok Outer Fortress. George, who had been quietly climbing the wall with the dagger stuck between the cracks in the bricks, was supporting his weight with his right hand and using his left hand to choose a place to insert the dagger. The arrow tore through the clearing and landed right next to George’s left hand. Cold sweat broke out on my back. He looked down and saw a familiar face appear from the darkness, holding a bow in one hand.
“Come down, George.”
“Hegel…”
George glared at Hegel, gritting his teeth and remembering Hegel’s name. The two exchanged glances for a while, then George turned his head first. Despite Hegel’s warning, he found a place to plunge the dagger again. An arrow flew again and stuck right next to George’s head as he lifted his body up with his weight placed on his firmly fixed left hand. If he had moved even a little more, he would have lost his remaining right eye. No, if I had been hit, it wouldn’t have been just my eyes that would have been lost.
“Come down. I don’t want to shoot you.”
“Shoot? You bastard. I would rather die than watch my master die alive because of you like this.”
As George gritted his teeth and let out his anger, Hegel, who was raising his bow, stopped. Shooting down George, who is hanging like a target on the inescapable castle wall, is easier than a piece of cake. However, the past years of rolling on the battlefield with his back to him were sharply embedded in Hegel’s heart. When Hegel did not move for a while with his eyes on George, George asked the question he had been suppressing.
“Why on earth… why are you like this, you? Are you really doing this to see my master die?”
“No! I just want to prepare a precious place that is most suitable for you, my lord!”
“You idiot. After they get everything they want, it’s obvious that the next thing they’re after is the master’s life! If it were you, would you want to carry a bomb that might explode at any moment??”
“That can’t be possible. When you become king and emperor, you will understand me. Then, like before, we will all ride together and face the enemies…”
Hegel’s eyes also wavered along with the tip of the arrow pointed at George. George was frustrated and hit his chest with his right hand.
“My lord has never forced you to do anything you don’t want, but you, the guy who claims to be doing it for him, doesn’t know what he wants!”
As George’s movements became more intense, the dagger stuck in the castle wall creaked. When George, who was supporting his weight on the dagger in his left hand, tilted, an arrow flew from Hegel’s bow. It went deep into the right side of George’s head. He hurriedly shifted his weight to the firmly embedded arrow shaft. Then, this time, another arrow hit George’s upper left side. George moved his left hand this time and caught the arrow. Then he grabbed the arrow shaft that was stuck above his head again and pulled his body up. Then, using the arrow Hegel had shot as support, George easily reached the top of the castle. When he looked down, all he saw was Hegel’s back with his back turned. Swallowing a boiling moan, George began to climb down the opposite wall.
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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 February, 2.
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