Chapter 68

68. Save Me

In the carriage, Adelaide drew the curtains at the middle window and looked round the carriage. A breeze leaked in from the footboard. She unclasped the necklace she was wearing and dropped the beads one by one through the cracks in the footboard.

“Ahio must be following.”

She had instructed him to trail discreetly and not interfere if any trouble arose, but rather check the envelope. So, there was no need to worry about what might happen next.

Of course, it would be best if nothing happened at all.

“Ugh!”

Adelaide groaned as she hit the carriage door. The bumping had increased in intensity a moment ago, making it difficult to sit up.

The road shouldn’t be this bumpy.

Suspiciously, Adelaide pulled back the curtain covering the window.

‘…What’s this?’

This is not the road to the palace.

Did Elkius summon her to a place other than the palace?

Adelaide gently tugged on the carriage handle, speculating that he might have taken her somewhere out of the way to avoid being seen. With a click, the ring was locked from the outside.

…It’s a trap.

Was it Elkius, or someone else?

There was no time to guess the culprit. Adelaide calmly counted the remaining necklace eggs. There were less than ten. If she got any farther away from here, Ahio wouldn’t be able to catch up.

Adelaide tapped on the middle window and called out.

“Stop the carriage, please!”

A servant in the coachman’s seat opened the middle window and asked.

“What’s the matter?”

“My stomach… isn’t feeling well, so could you please stop the carriage for a bit?”

“It’s not long now, you’ll have to wait.”

The coachman replied gruffly. Unlike at the mansion, his attitude was indifferent. Adelaide covered her mouth and pretended to be about to vomit.

“I can’t stand it…… woof!”

“Tsk, stop.”

The servant said to the coachman, gruffly. The carriage slowed to a crawl. Adelaide, who had been leaning back as if she were suffering from motion sickness, quickly rolled her eyes.

She wondered if she could escape.

She scanned her surroundings carefully, but saw no other people besides the two of them. If she could get past the servants and coachman, she might be able to escape somehow.

It was reckless, but there was no other way. She had only one chance.

The servant dismounted from the coachman’s seat and opened the door. Adelaide got off the carriage while pretending to be nauseous.

“Ugh……!”

Dodging around the man, Adelaide ran back to the back of the carriage, kicking off her shoes and running frantically.

“Get her!”

She heard a chilling shout from behind her, but the uneven path made running difficult. Blood trickled from her foot, which had been stabbed by a branch.

“Please…”

She ran with all her might, but the sound of footsteps was getting closer. Despite vigorously lifting her feet, her tired steps only slowed down. The man approached from behind as if chasing a rabbit.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“Ack!”

The pin that held her hair in place fell and her hair was grabbed. A merciless hand wrapped around her throat.

It was the last thing Adelaide remembered.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜

It was only when they entered a nearby forest that he realised something was wrong. Ahio stopped his horse and surveyed his surroundings. He was unfamiliar with the geography of the capital, but he was certain that the path they were taking was in the opposite direction from the palace.

He wondered if the Emperor had ordered them to bring her to a secret location, but he couldn’t make hasty judgments.

“It’s better to make sure.”

Even if they were discovered trailing, the safety of the Duchess was a priority. Ahio increased the speed of his horse while maintaining a safe distance. At that moment…

“Dodge!”

Arrows rained down from the woods. He swiftly turned his horse’s head to dodge, but his companions were not as agile as he was.

“Ugh!”

There weren’t many arrows that hit the soldiers due to inaccurate aim. The problem was the horses. The horses hit by arrows fell, and the soldiers fell off their horses.

Before they could scramble to their feet, twenty men stood in their way. Too many for seven men. Men with black hoods covering their faces charged, swords drawn.

“Lirkan, go to the Duke’s residence and call for reinforcements. Now!”

“Yes!”

A short soldier quickly mounted Ahio’s horse and galloped back the way he’d come. A few of the men tried to chase after him, but Ahio slashed at their legs.

“You are no match for me.”

He sheathed his sword.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜

They arrived at the Duke’s residence in the afternoon. Ahio, who returned with a brief report, was received by Callion. Ahio was so badly injured that he couldn’t be restrained.

“Please kill me, Your Grace!”

His knight’s robes were stained with less dried blood.

With the exception of Lirkan, the soldiers who had gone out with him to pursue Adelaide had all suffered wounds of varying degrees of severity.

When he was told that reinforcements had been sent to the scene and had failed to find Adelaide, Callion clenched his fists.

“I can’t believe my knights are this incompetent.”

“Your Grace, I have no words,”

Julian said, meeting Callion’s piercing gaze. He was more angry at Julian, who had let Adelaide slip through his fingers, than at Ahio.

“Julian Uclaire. I am stripping you of your rank and placing you on probation. From this moment onward, you are to have no involvement in knightly affairs. I won’t even allow you to wield a sword for the time being.”

“……Yes.”

Callion drew in a ragged breath and struggled to regain his composure.

His mind was racing. It hadn’t been this way when he’d heard his father’s call. He wasn’t sure what to do first.

“Your Grace, Her Grace…… has entrusted me with this.”

Ahío held out the envelope. Taking the bloody envelope, Callion opened it with trembling hands and read the note inside.

The handwritten note advised him that if anything went wrong, he should disregard her safety and quickly lock down the manor, join Callion, and then conduct a formal investigation through a confidential source.

Callion crumpled the letter. He couldn’t understand it. What had she been thinking, answering the call so readily, knowing it could be dangerous.

“Why didn’t you stop her?”

“She said the Emperor might be angry with you if she refused his command…….”

He chuckled bitterly. At the same time, he wanted to cry.

He wouldn’t understand. Each time this happened, he realized anew how incompetent he was.

Callion cooled his rising anger and gave a quick order.

“Gather all the troops. We must find Adelaide safely, no matter what. Lirkan, lead the way to where Adelaide was lost!”

“Yes!”

Mounted, Callion rode out of the mansion, dozens of horses trailing behind him across the capital.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜

“Ugh…….”

My head feels like it’s cracking. Adelaide struggled to lift her eyelids.

‘Where am I……? ‘

It was an unfamiliar place. It was hard to distinguish whether it was dark because there was no light or if the day had grown dark.

Barely adjusting her vision to the darkness, Adelaide realised she was tied up.

‘I must have been caught running away and brought here. ‘

Adelaide looked around, trying to recall what had happened before she lost consciousness. The windowless room was quite large. There was only one door, and no doorknob.

Adelaide tried to move her body without making a sound. The ropes that bound her wrists and ankles didn’t look like they were going to come off easily.

She wasn’t gagged, but the silence around her made it difficult to call for help even if she screamed.

‘I don’t think they’re going to kill me right away, given the way they’ve tied me up…….’

Who could it be? The only person who would kidnap her like this was…

“You’re awake.”

“…… Marquis Flanders.”

There was no one else but him.

Adelaide looked at the Marquis of Flanders, one arm bandaged, and sighed. Confirming her suspicions, she relaxed.

“I knew it would be you.”

“It’s an honor that you remembered me.”

The Marquis of Flanders smirked. The smell of Velido stung her nose. His smirk suggested there was room for compromise.

“Marquis Flanders, I don’t know what you were thinking, but I won’t make a big deal out of this if you let me go now.”

“Hm. You’re a good negotiator.”

Stepping in front of her, the Marquis lifted her chin with a finger. Adelaide was undeterred.

“Do you think His Majesty would forgive you if it were known that you impersonated and kidnapped me?”

The Marquis of Flanders chuckled.

“Impersonate? Forgive? You are still mistaken. I am merely carrying out His Majesty’s orders.”

Elkius’ orders?

“His majesty told you to kill me?”

“Yes. His Majesty chose me over you.”

The Marquis smiled wickedly. Adelaide’s eyes flickered with disbelief.

This is ridiculous. Even if Elkius really wanted to kill her, there was no reason for him to go about it in such a stupid way.

Adelaide stared into the Marquis’s cloudy eyes and opened her mouth.

“Don’t lie to me, His Majesty would never have ordered such a thing.”

“You would like to believe so, but I have proof.”

The Marquis of Flanders waved the paper. It was hard to see in the darkness of the room, but it appeared to be a letter from Elkius.

“Wake up, you’re being played, and if you kill me, you won’t be safe, and you’ll take all the blame.”

“Hmph.”

The Marquis snorted.

“Unwrap this and talk slowly. We need to make sure that the letter is really from His Majesty, because I know His Majesty’s handwriting…… Argh!”

A flash of light erupted. Her cheek stung as if on fire. Blood tinged the air.

“You’ve seduced His Majesty and the Duke of Tiflis with such tales.”

The Marquis glared at her with glittering eyes. Adelaide spoke, undeterred.

“Marquis of Flanders, stop doing things you’ll regret-!”

The same spot burned again. Before she had time to react, she was grabbed by the hair.

“Ow!”

“You’re the one who should be sorry.”

A snake-like voice whispered in her ear. Her head, which had been pushed back as far as possible, suddenly turned violently, his rough hand gripping her thin neck.

“Hmph!”

The air entering her lungs was completely cut off. Despite only using his left hand instead of his broken right arm, his grip was strong.

She writhed in agony, but there was no way to escape. Her struggles gradually slowed down.

Callion…….

BANG!

“Adele!”