Chapter 14.9

“Miss Bailey, are you there?”

She called out softly, and heard movement nearby. Brienne turned her head.

She saw Melosi hiding behind a large tree.

Brienne quickly lowered herself and moved to the tree.

With every step, the faint scent of the river beyond the woods tickled her nose. Sunlight filtering through the leaves dappled the damp earth.

When Brienne peeked out to check the way back, a strange sense of déjà vu washed over her.

‘But something….’

Why does this feel so familiar?

It couldn’t be, but it didn’t feel like a place she was visiting for the first time.

As Brienne looked around in confusion, Herace, who had followed late, frowned slightly.

“This is strange. The guards are excessively strict.”

He had already checked the gate where the carriage had passed.

And at the gate, knights in full gear were stationed. They weren’t mercenaries that Hamartia could hire from commoners.

Brienne asked cautiously.

“Herace, you know… this might sound crazy, but could this be….”

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

Herace asked quietly, sensing what Brienne was about to say.

Brienne unconsciously glanced at Melosi.

And Melosi Bailey, who had entered the Dukedom as Young Master Bannon’s fiancée, reacted no differently.

Brienne frowned.

As she suspected, this was probably the Duke of Bannon’s forest.

‘But why would the Duke….’

Brienne was confused.

Even if the Duke of Bannon had learned what he’d done to Kaiden, she’d never thought he’d be connected to Hamartia.

He was already a duke of the empire, the leader of the noble faction, with both wealth and fame.

Why would the Duke of Bannon use Hamartia?

No matter how she thought about it, it was more loss than gain.

And according to Diashi’s testimony, the person behind Hamartia was Prince Perian.

He had even tried to harm Diashi on the day of the library explosion.

But….

‘It’s just as much loss as gain for Prince Perian.’

The more she retraced the steps, the stranger the situation seemed.

Brienne turned to Melosi.

“By the way, Miss Bailey, how did you end up here?”

“Oh, I was following Kaiden….”

Melosi replied in a cracked voice.

“Did you meet Kaiden?”

Melosi shook her head at Herace, who didn’t even look her way.

“…No. I just ran into some thugs while tailing him. And after that, I don’t remember anything.”

She didn’t remember.

Brienne and Herace exchanged glances.

Melosi, who had been following Kaiden, had fallen for the same trick as them.

Her instincts told her so.

Which meant Kaiden Bannon must also be here.

‘Then….’

As Brienne continued her train of thought, a loud voice rang in her ears.

“What? What are you talking about?!”

Startled by the shouting so close by, Brienne ducked down.

It seemed those men had figured out that Herace and Melosi had disappeared.

“How did you lock the door? Didn’t you secure it?”

“No, I think it was opened from the inside!”

“Ha, then that bastard Winor…!”

And then, Brienne saw something suspicious. In a small sack one of the men was holding, something squirmed.

“That…”

Brienne swallowed and looked at Herace. He nodded briefly and let out a cold sigh.

“…It seems we’re not the only ones who were brought here in sacks.”

Judging by the size of the sack, it could be a child.

Brienne frowned. Watching the men still bickering, she whispered low.

“Herace, we have to save them.”

It wasn’t just out of a sense of justice.

If everyone who’d suffered at Hamartia was being gathered here, there was a high chance Winor’s siblings were trapped here too.

And Brienne had promised to help him meet his siblings safely.

She couldn’t betray Winor after he’d helped her find Herace.

And Kaiden was here too.

“Hey, Winor!”

As Brienne was thinking what to do, Winor came running frantically from afar.

He barely stopped at the carriage before he started getting hit on the face and arms.

Brienne frowned.

They couldn’t waste any more time after seeing that.

<If you don’t find the man in the carriage, go to the back of the building….>

Remembering Winor’s advice on another way in, Brienne lowered her voice.

“…I have a way to get inside. I’ll rescue the people in the sacks and find Kaiden.”

“I’m fine with that. I’ll follow your lead, Brienne.”

But at that moment—

“Wait, do we really… have to save those people?”

Melosi shook her head urgently.

“I don’t know why you’re risking yourself. We could just leave and call for help.”

“But Miss Bailey, that might be too late. The gate we passed is just as dangerous.”

“No, if this really is the Duke of Bannon’s estate, it’s actually good for me. I’m still known as Kaiden Bannon’s fiancée, so I should be able to pass through the gate safely.”

At her firm voice, Herace looked to Brienne for her decision.

Brienne didn’t hesitate long.

If everyone went in together and Melosi was captured, it would be troublesome. If someone who could become a hostage managed to escape safely, that would be the best outcome.

The only problem was the possibility that Melosi Bailey might fall into some other danger.

Unaware of Brienne’s thoughts, Melosi straightened herself as if urging for a decision.

“Miss Ford, Young Master Belif. I’m sorry, but even if I stay, I can’t do anything like you two. So decide now. If you’re determined to go save those people, I’ll leave on my own.”

After she finished speaking, a heavy silence lingered for a moment.

Brienne let out a faint sigh and drew the dagger she’d packed from the carriage earlier.

Here, even if Melosi tried something reckless, she could use magic.

“All right, if you insist, go ahead first. This time, use it only to protect yourself, Miss Bailey.”

Melosi’s eyes trembled as she looked at the dagger Brienne offered.

“Why, why are you….”

She couldn’t understand why Brienne would give up her own chance to escape safely.

After all, she wasn’t even a friend.

But Brienne smiled.

“My help ends here, Miss Bailey. Make sure you get out safely.”

Brienne pressed the dagger into Melosi’s stunned hand and stood up.

“Then, shall we go, Herace?”

Brienne and Herace crawled through the undergrowth and entered the building through the back door.

She pulled on the latch of the tightly locked padlock and heated it with magic, quickly opening the door.

“From now on, we need to be even more careful. If we light a fire, we might get caught, so let’s go down like this.”

Brienne lowered her voice as she looked down the dark stairs behind the creaking open door.

Memories of being trapped in the Harrington Earldom’s basement prison came to mind, making her breathe faster.

Herace stepped forward first.

“Then I’ll take the lead.”

“What? Herace?”

Brienne instinctively reached out to block his way.

She knew from earlier that worrying about him was a waste of time, but now the situation was different.

They couldn’t risk making unnecessary noise, couldn’t light a fire, and had no idea what was down there.

Brienne didn’t want to lose Herace again.

Once was more than enough for such a terrible experience.

“Herace, it’s all right, come behind me. I promised I’d protect you.”

“A promise? When was that?”

“What?”

‘Could he really not remember?’

Brienne hesitated, looking at Herace’s serious face.

“That time, when we were in bed….”

Herace, gazing at her, let out a soft laugh.

He gently took Brienne’s shoulders and turned her around, resting his chin lightly atop her pale blonde hair.

His broad chest pressed against Brienne’s back, who was tense with anxiety.

“All right. Then let’s go like this, with me holding you.”

“Herace…!”

His strong arms wrapped tightly around her waist, leaving no gap. Flustered, Brienne fumbled at his embrace before turning to glare at him.

She planned to scold Herace for teasing her when she was so tense about losing him.

But then a light kiss landed on the bridge of her nose.

“Brienne.”

At the sound of her name spoken in a breath, Brienne blinked.

“How could I forget the promise you made to protect me? I just wanted to hear about that night from your lips again.”

Just like that night, his breath brushed her ear with a gentle smile.

When Herace buried his lips on her shoulder, Brienne curled her tingling fingers.

The sensation that had filled her so tightly was vivid. Just recalling that night made her lower abdomen ache.

Brienne took a deep breath before finally parting her lips.

“W-What are you talking about right now?”

“I was worried you’d forgotten, or maybe you weren’t satisfied. You haven’t said anything about that night since, Brienne.”

“Herace, that’s….”

How could she forget? How could she not be satisfied?

Brienne, dizzy, wet her lips with her tongue.