81. An Unexpected Scenario

I couldn’t counter Azanti’s mockery of my situation.

I watched his retreating figure in a daze. I should have shot back with sharp words, but my mind went completely blank.

I couldn’t speak.

Everything was proceeding step by step according to the plan Philip had laid out.

The coachman and mercenaries, the fake passes, the guard who would unlock his door—all of it was arranged with Philip’s help.

But running into Azanti was not part of the plan.

My legs gave out.

A replacement. His words echoed in my ears. His mocking laughter still lingered, refusing to leave.

I walked through the streets.

With trembling legs, I stumbled along the road, drawing curious glances from passersby.

My robe hid my hair, but my bangs were disheveled and sticking out. I needed to tuck them back to avoid attention, but my body wouldn’t obey. My legs nearly gave out several times.

“Would you like something to eat?”

The innkeeper asked as I finally managed to open the door to the run-down inn and sit at a table.

I looked up at her blankly.

The middle-aged woman was wearing clothes similar to mine. Her cheap woolen dress was patched and stained with food. And I looked no better.

Meeting Philip in the back alleys had left me splattered with puddle water. Black stains climbed my skirt, reaching my calves.

“Yes, please.”

I barely managed to move my lips to speak. I didn’t even have the strength to nod.

She returned to the kitchen and lifted the lid of a large boiling pot.

True to the inn’s cheapness, there was no menu.

There was only one dish: a stew made from whatever cheap ingredients the owner could grab that day.

The innkeeper ladled the bubbling stew into a bowl with a large spoon.

Soon, steaming food was placed in front of me. A spoon lay on the plate beside it. The utensils were dirty with old stains, befitting an old inn.

The stew was just mushy carrots and potatoes, ground so fine they were almost unrecognizable, but I picked up the spoon. Suppressing the nausea, I scooped some stew and pushed it into my mouth.

Despite encountering Azanti, it wasn’t over yet. He didn’t seem to know about the plan to rescue Deon. To see the plan through, I needed to eat, even if it was just this slop, and gather my strength.

I peeled a potato. Steam rose from its fluffy surface.

My fingertips turned red from the heat. I kept peeling, ignoring the burning in my palms. My anxiety was so intense that I didn’t feel the pain.

The plan was to be executed in two days.

* * *

The dawn air was biting cold. I wrapped my robe tightly around myself and slipped the last of my lodging fee under the pillow before leaving the inn.

The streets at dawn were deserted.

Maybe it was the anticipation of the upcoming mission, or maybe it was the frosty weather, but my body trembled uncontrollably.

The thin fabric of my robe did little to shield me from the wind. I clutched the front of the robe tightly, but the biting cold still managed to seep through, stinging my skin.

I stomped my feet, trying to ward off the cold, when I noticed a group of men approaching from a distance.

It was the mercenary group. The fog made it hard to see their faces clearly. I squinted my eyes.

As they drew closer, I could make out a pair of thick eyebrows. It was the man from the paper Philip had given me. His beard was shorter and his chin looked stubbly compared to the drawing.

“D?”

The man spoke abruptly. It was the signal Philip and I had agreed upon. I nodded, and he gestured to the men behind him. Soon, a cart covered with blankets emerged from the bushes.

“We were told that you’re planning to cross the border at dawn. Is that correct?”

I nodded again.

I couldn’t stop fidgeting with nervousness.

It seemed I wasn’t the only one feeling anxious.

“Ugh… looks like the sun’s going to rise quickly today.”

Even his lips were trembling as he spoke.

These were back-alley mercenaries who had probably done countless jobs like this, yet their faces showed signs of unease.

This job was that difficult and dangerous. They were used to handling all sorts of dirty and grimy tasks. This was more dangerous than being hired for a murder or dealing with monsters. My mouth felt dry.

The cart wheels had been treated somehow, making no sound as it moved.

As they rolled the cart over the dirt road, the wheels left tracks. One person pulled the cart while another followed, skillfully erasing the tracks with their foot.

Philip had chosen trustworthy people. These were people gathered under his guidance, and their actions were proficient. They were the perfect team to help us escape.

But it was too soon to relax. We were supposed to meet them after the guard had already brought Deon out. The scenario, which I thought was going smoothly, had a crack in it. The mercenaries had arrived a bit later than the scheduled time.

By now, the guard should have brought Deon out, and we were supposed to meet the mercenaries ten minutes later.

Could something have gone wrong?

When I arrived in front of the tower on time, I found the empty grounds unsettling, but seeing the mercenary group made me anxious.

I hid behind a door, holding my breath and watching the clock tower. The short hand of the clock was pointing downward. It was past 5 a.m., but the heavy iron door remained firmly closed.

It was supposed to be 4 o’clock. It couldn’t be wrong. I had repeated it to myself countless times.

I clasped my hands together and pressed them to my forehead in a prayer-like gesture, my eyes still fixed on the solid iron door. I kept thinking it would open any moment, but the door remained stubbornly shut.

The agreed time had long passed. Despite the waiting, there was no sound from behind the door.

We couldn’t wait indefinitely. The unease wasn’t just mine; the murmurs of dissatisfaction from the mercenaries standing behind me started to grow louder.

“Shouldn’t they have come out by now? How long are we supposed to wait?”

As soon as he spoke, complaints erupted from the others.

“The sun’s about to rise. It’s almost morning.”

“Did something go wrong?”

Their whispers, quieter than the hooting of an owl in the night sky, sounded like loud protests to my ears.

“Just a little longer, please. Just a bit more.”

I was anxious. I bit my lip.

Could it be that the guard couldn’t be reached? No, the guard had been bribed. Were they caught inside? Or was there a delay due to a struggle during the escape attempt?

Numerous questions swirled in my mind. But if there had been a fight, the prison would not be so eerily quiet.

Moreover, as the mercenaries had pointed out, the sun was beginning to rise over the hills.

“If we keep waiting, we’ll be discovered. To move discreetly, we should be crossing the walls right now.”

“I know. Just a moment longer.”

“Are you kidding? Hey, girl, are you trying to get us all killed? Escorting a prisoner is already a death sentence, but moving at dawn like this will surely get us noticed!”

His voice rose slightly. Though still quieter than the shuffling of feet, it was enough to make my shoulders flinch. The man, with his bushy beard and burly arms, was intimidating even without raising his voice.

My body shook, causing me to lose balance and stumble to the side. Luckily, the area beside the prison was covered in bushes, so I wasn’t hurt. The bushes rustled, clinging to my clothes.

I turned my gaze away from the mercenaries who looked at me with disdain.

My legs felt weak, and I kept falling from the slightest movement. My knees stung from hitting the ground.

I dusted off my hands and stood up again. I walked through the bushes, pulling off the leaves that clung to me. As I focused on the stubbornly closed door, I noticed a figure standing on the tower.

If I hadn’t fallen, if I hadn’t lowered my gaze, I might not have seen him.

A man, with one foot on the tower wall, was scanning the surroundings. Each time the royal emblem on his cloak fluttered, I caught glimpses of his face.

I instinctively held my breath and stiffened. Could it be another guard on patrol?

According to Philip, this was supposed to be the guard’s shift change time.

But he wasn’t looking down at this place. And upon closer inspection, his attire didn’t match that of a patrol guard.

He had powerful arms, large boots, and… a familiar face.

I gasped.

Could it be Edan? It couldn’t be. The butler had said he went to handle matters at the border. Why was he here? It might just be someone who looked like him, but if it really was Edan…

I was confused.

Could it really be him? I rubbed my eyes. As the rising sunlight illuminated him, his features became clearer. He looked more and more like the Edan I knew.

“It’s over now.”

One of the mercenaries spoke. He was trying to light a long pipe, apparently ready to smoke. It seemed he had given up on hiding.

For one last bit of comfort, he looked for a match. His lips, which held the pipe, trembled slightly, betraying his nerves.

“It’s not over yet.”

I didn’t want to believe that the carefully prepared plan could end so meaninglessly.

“Waiting any longer is pointless. They’re not coming out.”

“How can you be so sure?”

The sharpness in my voice surprised even me.

He stared at me with his intense eyes before clicking his tongue.

“Look.”

I followed his gaze.

In the distance, the red flag of the courthouse opposite the prison was slowly being raised.

As the flag rose, my face turned pale. I tried to stay calm, but my rigid back trembled visibly.

“The trial has started. Whatever happened, it’s one of two things: either the guard messed up, or he didn’t come out on his own. The trial has begun unusually early. I’ve never heard of a trial starting this early in the morning. This is now beyond our control. We can’t stop it now.”