Chapter 107
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I possessed the body of a villainess locked away in a desolate tower.
Chapter 107
"...Yes, I do."
Romantic experience?
At his answer finally breaking the heavy silence that had filled the carriage, I lifted my head sharply and stared at him.
But the moment I was about to ask a follow-up question, what entered my vision was his well-formed index finger pressed against Ian's lips.
'That's clearly a gesture telling me to be quiet.'
What was that about?
Was the Coachman eavesdropping on our conversation?
Inside this moving carriage?
...Of course that couldn't be the case, so I swallowed my embarrassment and asked in a small voice.
"Pardon?"
"There's something."
The moment an even more confusing answer came back.
Crash!
Something flew in from outside the window with a tremendous sound.
"Ahhh!"
My body jolted violently and I felt myself falling out of the carriage, an involuntary scream tearing from my throat.
The terrifying sensation of the scenery changing with each blink of my eyes lasted only briefly.
When I came to my senses, I was already cradled in Ian's arms, rolling across the ground.
"Ugh...."
A groan escaped me as my entire body throbbed with pain. And then, belatedly, I felt searing heat.
Struggling to turn my head, I saw the carriage engulfed in flames, completely shattered.
Only then could I comprehend what had just happened to us.
"We... we just..."
"An attack."
Ian was right.
What I had seen before being thrown from the carriage was a perfect sphere of fire.
So this wasn't a mere accident—someone had deliberately targeted us.
If so, it was likely a continuation of the Teleportation Magic Circle incident that had occurred in the Imperial Capital.
"Are you unharmed?"
"Yes? Yes, I'm... I'm fine."
If there were those targeting us, Ian, the one with the greatest combat prowess among our group, had no choice but to take the lead.
Remembering this fact, I hastily extricated myself from his embrace and rose to my feet.
"Are you safe, Young Lady? Are you injured, Knight?"
Soon after, the Coachman rushed to our aid with an urgent voice.
Since the fireball had targeted the carriage, he who had been sitting in the driver's seat appeared uninjured, but he looked absolutely disheveled from rolling about.
"What on earth is happening...."
As the Coachman was rambling incoherently, Ian gave a firm command.
"Go immediately to the Miel Barony and request military reinforcements."
"Yes, understood!"
At Ian's command, the Coachman moved with swift efficiency, cut one horse free from the carriage, and galloped across the forest.
The situation unfolded so urgently that I remained silent, but once the sound of hoofbeats faded into the distance, I carefully asked Ian a question.
"What about us?"
My confusion was entirely justified.
We still had four horses remaining—wouldn't it have made sense for all of us to escape together?
Why was the Coachman the only one fleeing?
"It's us they're after."
Ian answered in a low, measured voice, his grip tightening on his sword.
"Even if we'd tried to flee, they wouldn't have let us go. It's better to send one person ahead to bring reinforcements than to risk all of us being caught."
"But... we don't know if we can hold out. We don't even know how many attackers there are."
"Five."
"What?"
"One Mage and four swordsmen. Five in total."
At Ian's answer, my eyes widened.
Winter in the Northern Region meant short days, and this location—between the Imperial Capital and Blaire, closer to the north near Cletan—reflected that darkness. The dense undergrowth compounded the gloom, and with evening nearly upon us, visibility was poor at best. The smoke rising from the burning carriage made it even harder to discern our surroundings.
The smoke billowed thicker, obscuring everything further.
'But how did Ian know that?'
There was too much certainty in his voice for this to be mere speculation.
"What happens now?"
"I'll draw their attention."
His voice grew quieter as the assassins drew closer, yet I could still hear him clearly.
"In the meantime, Young Lady, retreat toward the horses and lead them northeast."
"What about you?"
"I'll follow."
In this desolate forest, surrounded by thick brush, there was no telling what else might come flying at us.
My legs felt ready to give out at any moment, but showing weakness now would only be a burden to him.
If I'd known this would happen, I should have exercised instead of staying cooped up in my chamber during rest days.
"Ian!"
Waiting for his signal, I spotted a fireball hurtling toward us from across the clearing and instinctively called out his name.
But the fireball streaking toward us was cleaved in half by a blade that shimmered with a bluish light, sending sparks scattering in all directions.
'Sword energy?'
I stood there, mouth agape at the sight I could scarcely believe, when he gave a terse command.
"Back."
Understanding that he meant for me to retreat, I hurried to move my legs.
The smoke rising from the scattered flames helped conceal my clumsy movements somewhat, but almost immediately, I heard the sharp clash of blades colliding behind me.
'What do I do?'
If there really were five of them as Ian said, he was facing them all alone.
Yet I was terrified that turning back to help would only make things worse.
I possessed no combat ability whatsoever.
Lost in a tangle of complicated thoughts, I finally reached the spot where three horses were entangled together.
Bound by sturdy ropes connected to pull the carriage, the horses couldn't escape the chaos and stood in a state of confusion.
As I hurried to cut the rope connecting the nearest horse and tried to grab its reins, a sudden thought made me look up at the remaining two horses.
"Ugh!"
In that instant, a sound of something shattering rang out, followed by a scream of agony.
My heart sank thinking it might be Ian, but immediately after came the certainty that it wasn't his voice.
And at the same time, I felt I had to do something, anything, to help him fighting alone.
"One horse is enough, so..."
After cutting the ropes binding the horses together with my dagger, I pulled the reins to change one horse's direction, then jabbed its hindquarters hard with a branch.
Neigh!
The startled horse reared up on its front legs and fluttered, then began galloping frantically in the direction I'd turned its head.
And the direction I'd chosen was toward where the fireballs had come flying at us moments before.
"Argh!"
It seemed my effort wasn't entirely without effect—I could hear the confused groans of a couple of people.
Next, I jabbed the hindquarters of the other horse the same way, sending it galloping as well.
But the second horse ran toward the southwest, the exact opposite direction from where the fireballs had come—the opposite direction from where Ian and I needed to go.
'I've done all I can.'
Because I couldn't ride, Ian and I would have to share one horse anyway.
So I was trying to help Ian with the remaining horses.
With the first horse, I aimed to disrupt the Mage supporting from a distance; with the second, I sent it in a completely different direction from our escape route to confuse the enemies.
Either way, their visibility was just as limited as ours, and so to confirm whether I was riding the second horse, at least one of them would have to chase after it.
Having done what I could, I moved forward, leading the horse while feeling my heart pound heavily in my chest.
But each step felt heavy.
Even as I told myself I'd done everything possible, my heart felt no lighter.
No, truthfully... I wanted nothing more than to turn around and run back to Ian right then. If not for the obvious certainty that doing so would only burden him, I would have gone back to him immediately.
'Was there really nothing else I could have done?'
When I was first brought to Blaire Grand Duke, there was fear that I might die, but it wasn't anything like this.
Just as tears were about to spill out in that moment.
"Hold on tight."
With those quiet words, firm hands wrapped around my waist.
"I...Ian?"
In the blink of an eye, Ian mounted the horse and lifted my body lightly, settling me in front of him.
His body heat felt unusually scorching. There was even a smell like something burning.
The moment I lowered my gaze, I saw blood smeared all over his hands holding the reins.
And as my eyes traveled lower, I saw that his right leg, pressing against the stirrup, had no fabric left on it whatsoever.
"Ah..."
His flesh was charred black.
...My heart seemed to plummet into an abyss.
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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