Edited

9. The World of the Bloody Prologue (1)

That’s how I was surrounded by maids and wrapped in thick clothes.

It was the first time I really came out.

This is why I can’t run because I’m too slow. I wouldn’t even wear thick clothes like this when I ran away in the first place.

She lifted her soft feet and walked with difficulty. The white snow drew me helplessly.

“I will set up a barracks here.”

When one soldier shouted, everyone, erected a pillar on the ground in perfect order.

They hit the frozen ground twice with a pointed part, and the pillars were stuck.

When I was digging like a fork, there was no scratch on the ground, but that pillar is stuck at once.

It has to have skills, too. Or is there a power difference?

I swept my arm. Leonie’s wrist was so thin and fragile that she could hold it in one hand.

When a fire was lit in the brazier, everyone lifted the candlestick and moved the fire to the wick.

A warm feeling permeated the campsite.

Come to think of it, the evening was already approaching.

Water bubbling in a large pot hanging over a tree.

After eating, I should pay close attention and open the map.

I sat down on a rock and lit a fire. The warmth made my whole body drowsy.

The northern mountains that I saw for the first time were peaceful. If it wasn’t for the blankets that were covered over the pillars, I would have been mistaken for having come to camp.

Snow-capped peaks. Evening glow. A burning bonfire. Winter in the north was quite beautiful.

The sun was setting behind the mountain.

I was staring blankly at the mountain, and in the distance, I saw a black line over the mountain range.

Something was falling densely from the sky.

‘What is that? Is there anything like that in the sky in this world?’

The line moved slowly towards the barracks. Getting closer and closer as time goes on.

A thick, rounded shape.

It wasn’t until I saw a sharp thing that I noticed.

It was raining arrows.

Oh, right. This is the prologue.

Originally, all the main characters go through death before meeting the heroine and do not survive strong.

Perhaps… Maybe because Leonie quietly stayed at the Duke’s house, she survived for two years.

To survive, I should have been more careful, I should have behaved calmly.

I… I think I put the dead flag on myself.

“Attack! Be prepared.”

Edan shouted.

At the same time as his cry, the fire arrow fell at his feet.

“Leonie!”

The Duke approached me, who was staring blankly at the black arrow flying.

He raised his shield and blocked my view. The arrow that flew in front of my eyes hit my shield and knocked it down.

I almost got stabbed.

She held on to her pounding heart and let out a breath she had been holding back.

Normally, she would have sarcastically said that he was protecting her because he was afraid he would not receive a blood transfusion, but the surroundings were so chaotic. That I couldn’t even tell a joke.

I could die like this

Here.

Have there been any episodes like this?

Of course, like the main character who uses a sword, he must have passed the death hurdle several times.

But is today the day?

The problem was that this was a prologue world, so everything was summarized in a few simple lines.

[He overcame death and survived several times.]

In the prologue, which was explained in one sentence, there was no way to know how many of his subordinates were killed, who was sacrificed, and what kind of wounds and scars were left.

And because the original Leonie didn’t participate in the hunt.

‘Is this an incident that can be summarized in one line? So brief?’

The barracks caught fire and even spread to the soldiers. His fellow soldiers picked up snow and scattered it over him.

Howling in pain, the soldiers rolled in the snow.

The soldiers who tried to save their comrades were hit by arrows and fell again. Seeing it, for the first time, it didn’t seem real here. It was such a harsh scenery for me, who had never seen a dying person.

“Leonie, wake up.”

Deon grabbed my shoulder and shook me.

“Go into the barracks. Right now.”

I thought I should get a hold of myself, but my feet didn’t budge. He turned me around and pushed me towards the barracks.

“Don’t come out until I tell you to come out.”

It was then.

Arrows flew at him as he turned around.

“Deon!”

I turned to go to the barracks and ran to him.

My knees buckled before I could grab his back and turn him around.

I felt a sharp pain in my leg.

I got hit by an arrow.

The enduring leg collapsed helplessly.

I thought I would feel a dull pain as I hit the floor, but a warm body temperature wrapped around me.

Deon was holding onto me as I collapsed.

***

“It looks like it was stabbed lightly thanks to the layering.”

Viter rolled up my winter pants and said,

The scouting party was set up with a minimum number of people, so there were no doctors. Viter was the only one who knew about medicine.

“The arrowheads are poisoned, and the poison is slowly spreading.”

“What poison?”

“This is Veseruna poison. It is a disease that causes breathing problems when a lethal dose is absorbed. It damages your lungs. It’s not fatal, so it’s okay if you treat it right away, but if you move it spreads further. You should lie down as much as possible.”

She lowered her clothes.

“Fortunately, I got hit in the leg far from the heart, but I have to move my leg to walk…”

I turned to the soldiers. Everyone was exhausted from the long walk and was breathing heavily.

“Keep your body as low as possible and hold your breath. I need a stretcher. Perhaps…”

She bit her lips and shook her head.

I left all my belongings in a hurry to escape. There was no stretcher.

It was getting dark everywhere.

I’ve been tactless, but at this point, I know.

This is the work of one of the opponents fighting for the throne, and their plan was to assassinate him today.

At night here, they might attack him again, who had lost power.

It’s still a prologue, but I can’t even start the main story and die in droves?

Deon can survive like a male protagonist.

But I am not the main character.

Besides, all the soldiers here are not the main characters.

It was a story that would not be strange if they died here at any time.

This sacrifice might be used as an opportunity to awaken him strongly and firmly.

And it will be recorded

[He vowed not to forget the humiliation that took place in the estate.]

I could see the sentence slowly being engraved into the prologue.

It’s too harsh for these numerous deaths to be used as awakening material for the main character.

As I walked slowly, everyone followed my stride.

We should arrive soon and everyone should be treated. I don’t know if we’ll be able to get to the Duke’s residence today at this pace. There were too many wounded.

One of the soldiers in front fell down.

I could feel the poison slowly spreading. My lower thighs throbbed and tingled.

I carefully rolled up my pants.

It is indeed poisonous.

The skin hit by the arrow became darker than before.

The color that came up through the dark blue blood vessels was noticeable.

I stopped my limping leg.

And she spoke loudly to the group ahead of her.

“Duke.”

He turned around, his stiff face, her complexion whiter than usual. He looked very tired.

“Go ahead, I’ll be fine.”

I stopped walking.

Everyone looked at me in unison with unexpected expressions.

“Can’t we just call people over? Bring the doctor and the stretcher then.”

At my words, everyone was hesitant and couldn’t get out of the way, but the Duke said.

“Help her, I will return to my fiefdom without fail.”

He said that and turned his back.

A soldier approached and held out his hand.

“Let me help you.”

I slapped the soldier’s hand away and shouted louder.

“Duke! Please leave me.”

He turned his head away at the remark. His eyes were sharp.

“The sun is setting. Do you know how cold it is on the northern nights? If we leave it like this, it will freeze to death.”

“I will light a fire.”

“There are animals.”

“I’ll climb a tree.”

“It’s still the same that you don’t listen to me until here.”

His brow wrinkled. And as if she wasn’t even worthy of an answer, he turned away.

I followed him with a big stride, dragging my limping leg.

“Duke, I am not asking you to give up on me. Think rationally. Would it be better to move slowly here, or would it be better to leave me behind and bring the trainees and medical staff?”

“Leonie, I know you want to rest because it’s hard, but the situation is such that you can’t.”

“Deon.”

I approached him and uttered his name once more.

The droopy blue eyes shake. He was agitated

His expression was still the same as usual, but his eyes were filled with embarrassment and faint fear in the face of an extreme situation.

Perhaps he, too, has a vague idea that he could die here.

He, who is called the victor of the war, was just a young man in the face of an urgent situation.

“The contract, remember? Saying that I will decide on my place. I should be here now. Leave me alone.”

“…”

“This is my seat right now. You promised.”

“… I shouldn’t have promised you.”

He replied as if he were being mangled.

He took the lead and rearranged the ranks. He unwrapped the cloak from his shoulders and covered me.

The leather cloak weighed heavily on my body.

He kicked the sheath to the other side and held out his hand to me. He didn’t intend to leave me until the end.

I didn’t hold hands.

As a result of reading the map beforehand in the mansion, I felt it.

The Duke was going back a long way, leaving a shortcut for me.

Because the topography of the mountain is rough, the weak Leonie won’t be able to climb it.

At that time, the soldiers ahead shouted.

“Be careful. Here is a crevasse.”

In front of me, I could see the terrain with holes like cliffs.

The hardened soldiers jumped over the crevasses one by one.

But that was within reach of a long-legged, athletic man.

Each time the soldiers crossed, the snow piled up on the edge and collapsed, widening the hole.

I followed them and stood in front of the cliff. It felt like a long distance.

It was too much for me to jump because I was dulled by injuries and clothes.

My legs were trembling. As I stood at the edge, the snowball fell into the deep cliff.

It was a depth that could have been 5 m.

He also jumped over the cliff following the soldiers. Long legs crossed the cliff with ease.

“Young lady… can’t cross”

The Duke who was watching me from the other side opened his mouth.

“Don’t move, wait a moment, Leonie. I’ll make you a ladder soon.”

The duke drew his sword and cut off a tree branch beside him. And he cut off the twigs from the tree.

You’re going to make a ladder now?

In winter, the days are short.

I looked up at the sky. The day was going fast.