Chapter 9.1 – Hunting Festival (Part 9)

Although disgust surged at the unpleasant gaze, Ria couldn’t do anything. More than that, the behavior the Countess had just shown was even more shocking.

“Really…, really? Me……”

The lips that had barely opened with difficulty closed again immediately. Her endlessly trembling eyes spoke volumes about her current state of mind. The emotion following betrayal was anger directed at herself.

She had trusted too easily. Without any suspicion of a person she had met for the first time today! She was so frustrated and angry at herself for being so pathetic and stupid.

‘……I can’t just let this happen to me.’

Soon, Ria bit hard on the tender flesh inside her lip. As the tangy taste of blood was felt, her confused mind and raging emotions cooled down.

While maintaining a desperate expression as if betrayed by the Countess, she scanned her surroundings as much as possible. The masked person was more than ten steps away, and the man who had been practically attached to her back was approaching him. In other words, the only one near her was the Countess in front, who couldn’t look at her straight.

In her mind, she calculated how far they had run from where she parted with Kahin to this place. It wasn’t a close distance, but it wasn’t too far either. Ria gripped the hem of her dress tighter.

“……Now I understand well.”

“Pardon?”

At Ria’s sudden words, the Countess raised her head. Their eyes met, and Ria ignored the Countess’s somewhat desperate expression as she continued speaking.

“That kindness shouldn’t be bestowed carelessly.”

“My lady……”

“I was wrong to be fooled. But this is the price for deceiving me and Kahin.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she stomped hard on the Countess’s foot with her heel and immediately turned to run.

“Agh!”

“What, that wench!”

She heard the sound of someone immediately chasing after her. Above her head, leaves rustled with an eerie sound, shaking madly.

An indescribable fear persistently pursued her. The terror that she hadn’t had time to feel when the accident happened and she nearly died coughing up blood had actually been accumulating bit by bit. The fact that it was now rushing at her all at once, trying to eat away at her, was proof of that.

But she couldn’t stop. The moment she stopped, the fear would become reality.

Even as her heels were scraped raw and she stumbled when her foot slipped on her shoe heel, Ria kept running and running. She ran like mad even as her cheeks, arms, and legs were scratched here and there by protruding branches that hadn’t been cleared away.

Just as her lungs felt like they would burst, tightening like parched land, finally the faint sound of clashing swords began to be heard. Soon after, voices calling her name mixed in and grew louder.

“Ria!”

Just a little more, just a little more! 

Ria’s face gradually brightened as she saw the edge of the forest ahead. She reached out her hand desperately and shouted.

“Ka…!”

But at that moment, a strong force snatched her waist. Instead of the eerily rustling leaves, a voice so chilling it made her skin crawl flowed into her ears.

“Got you.”

The forest became quiet again.

***

When Ria opened her eyes again, the first thing she saw was a ceiling made of logs. The space was very dark, but thanks to a candle placed in one corner of the room, she could vaguely make out the shapes.

However, that was really all. She couldn’t tell where this was, how much time had passed, or even if it was day or night. For some reason, she didn’t even have the strength to move a finger.

Just then, as if noticing that she had woken up, someone approached from the side. Despite the approaching footsteps, all Ria could do was roll her eyes to check who it was. Finally, what came into her view was Countess Figo.

“I used a drug that temporarily paralyzes your body, so you won’t be able to move right away. It’s not a drug that harms your body, so you’ll be able to move tomorrow.”

“……”

Although anger welled up at her brazen words, she couldn’t say anything. This was because she couldn’t even move her mouth. Seeing this, the Countess spoke with difficulty, her face contorting.

“I’m sorry…. I’m sorry. This wasn’t my intention. At first, I had to survive… but from the moment I received kindness from you, I intended to tell you everything! I swear to God!”

“……”

“I know you won’t believe me. How could you? But, just once. Please believe me just this once. They don’t know yet that I’m thinking differently. So there will be a gap. Even now, they’ve left me alone with you and gone out to patrol.”

She checked the tightly closed door once and then moved closer to Ria to whisper.

“They said they won’t move to another location until you can move your body. I know best about the anesthetic used. So if I tell them tomorrow that you still can’t move your body, they’ll believe it without question. Then they’ll leave just the two of us alone and go out like now.”

“……”

“That’s when you should escape. There’s a village nearby, and fortunately, they sell teleportation magic stones there. Go straight to the village and use that to escape. If you give them any one of the accessories you’re wearing, they’ll gladly hand over the item.”

The quite detailed explanation was enough to give trust, but not to Ria, who had already felt betrayed by her once. When Ria rolled her eyes away from her, the Countess, realizing that she wasn’t believed, closed her lips tightly for a moment before slowly speaking again.

“I know well that it’s something a person shouldn’t do. It might sound like an excuse, but I… I had no choice then. I couldn’t ignore his threats. Because my father is being held hostage by Count Figo.”

At these unexpected words, Ria’s eyes wavered for a moment. 

Why would the Count threaten his own wife?

“I don’t know if you’ve heard rumors about Count Figo, but due to the Count’s bad habits and strange s*xual preferences, his wives always died after only a few years. And most of those wives were commoners unjustly taken by him or slaves sold for money. I belong to the former category.”

“…!”

“I was taken by him because of a false charge against my father, and then I was r*ped and just……”

Recalling the situation that was still painful to think about, the Countess gritted her teeth and clenched her fists so tightly that the backs of her hands turned white.

“Every night was so painful that I thought dying would be better. But I had to keep living for my father who was being held by the Count. To save my father, who was the most precious and infinitely kind to me.”

The Countess, who smiled painfully with a distorted face, soon bowed her head deeply.

“But no matter if it was because of threats, I did commit a crime, so I should pay the proper price for it. That’s fine. But… But Count Figo, that beast of a man! I hope he dies painfully. For the sake of all those who suffered and died at his hands. So you must survive and return. And I will help with that.”

Each word she uttered was clearly infused with deep disgust and hatred towards the Count. Seeing the Countess sincerely wishing for the Count’s death, Ria had no choice but to believe her. It was natural that a clear motive was more trustworthy than mere emotional appeals.

Just then, there was an urgent commotion outside.

The Countess quickly straightened up as if nothing had happened and blocked Ria as if hiding her, while Ria closed her eyes again, pretending to be asleep.

Soon, the tightly closed door burst open and the man and the masked man entered. The man, who had been swearing continuously, immediately gathered the few belongings and stood up as soon as he entered, while the masked man approached where Ria was lying.

The Countess quickly stepped forward as if to block the masked man and spoke to him.

“What’s going on?”

The masked man stopped in front of her, and the other man strode up to her. The Countess, suppressing the fear that arose at the sight of the man’s fierce face with deeply furrowed brows, didn’t back down and stared straight at him.

Seeing this, the man who looked like he was about to burst out speaking closed his mouth for a moment before letting out a hollow laugh. He narrowed his eyes as if measuring something and stared intently at the Countess.

“The encirclement is closing in faster than we thought. If we stay here, we’ll soon be caught.”

“So? The lady still can’t move and hasn’t even woken up. What are you going to do?”

“There’s a small carriage, so we’ll have to tie her hands and feet and put her in there for now. Hey, quickly take the woman!”

At the man’s shout, the masked man who had stopped moving started again and picked up Ria in the blink of an eye. Although goosebumps rose wherever she touched him, Ria tried hard not to show it.

As they went outside, the Countess quickly followed behind them and asked.

“Where are you planning to go?”

But the man, lost in thought, didn’t give any answer and just strode to open the carriage door. The masked man laid Ria down inside the carriage, tied her hands and feet with rope, and then stepped back from the door.

The man, who had been quiet until then, violently kicked the Countess’s leg just as she approached the carriage.

“Agh-!”

“Damn woman. Did you think I wouldn’t know? Did you think I wouldn’t notice you scheming?”

With an expression like an evil spirit, he placed his shoe heel on top of her ankle as she sat down and pressed down hard.

“Aaagh!”

“Two days. Just two days! It’s only been two days since we caught that woman from the hunting festival! We brought her without leaving a single trace, but they’ve already started chasing us, you know!”

The Countess’s mouth kept letting out screams of pain as if her ankle was breaking. Nevertheless, the man continued to press down on her ankle without budging, and only after a long while did he finally lift his foot, sweeping back his hair and kicking her in the stomach.

“From the beginning, the reason we brought you along was to make it look like you were kidnapped together. To avoid any possible suspicion towards the Count. But they started the investigation with Count Figo at the center from the very beginning! So now the Count is in custody!”

“Urgh……”

“Why? Because they saw you trying to constantly tell the woman something at the hunting festival, they faintly heard Count Figo being mentioned, and several people found your behavior suspicious! Damn it!”

At this rate, she would soon die. The man, growing impatient with the encirclement closing in faster than expected, kept kicking the nearby tree while swearing. Then, after letting out a long breath, he told the masked man to tie the Countess’s hands and feet and put her in the carriage as well.

“Hah, f*ck.”

The man narrowed his eyes as he watched the Countess being loaded into the carriage, then gave one more instruction to the masked man.

“It’d be better to go quietly on the way. Use the anesthetic once more on both women.”