Chapter 6
Through the small hole, Count Ivelle mansion was left behind.
The reason I had sneaked out at this late hour was to head to the secret guild, Anas.
Anas was a place introduced to me by Enni shortly after my half-brother Deon was born.
“If you’re going to live in a place like this, why not just run away? Buy a new identity and disappear! I know a guy, and if you tell him I sent you, he’ll give you a discount.”
“A discount? How much…?”
“Hmm… I think you need at least 150 million rupees to get a new identity. So, roughly…”
“What? 150 million rupees?! How am I supposed to get that?”
“Loelle. No matter how much Lady Briella and the Mistress treat you like half a person, you are still the eldest daughter of the Ivelle family.”
Enni plan was simple.
It was to secretly steal the Count’s wealth without anyone noticing.
I gained confidence from Enni words that she could help me stay undetected, and I decided to make a deal with Anas.
“Normally, I wouldn’t even entertain such a consultation.”
Thanks to Enni, I signed a contract with Anas at a young age, receiving a relatively large discount.
I was grateful that Anas had accepted me so readily, but there was one drawback.
“The location changes too often…”
The places always seemed remote, and it was a problem that I couldn’t stop by other places during the day under the pretense of going out.
“Still, it’s far enough to return before morning.”
Of course, that was only true if I used the shortcut.
Soon, I reached the entrance to the forest behind the Count’s mansion.
This forest, owned by the Count, was so vast that if you got lost, no one would hear your cries, earning it the name “Forest of Silence.”
“Why does it seem darker today?”
Unlike usual, I hesitated at the edge of the forest.
The forest was usually gloomy, but today it seemed even darker, as if it had been swallowed by shadows, almost as if it were a sign of impending danger.
“t’s probably nothing.”
I didn’t realize at the time, but this night’s journey would bring a huge change to my life.
Following the marks Enni had left, I walked briskly for about 30 minutes. Then, I heard the sound of metal clashing.
It wasn’t just an annoying sound—it was like swords clashing…
Clang-!
It wasn’t my imagination; it was the sound of swords striking each other. I quickly stifled a scream and sat down right where I was.
“Please, just pass by quickly…”
I had heard that dangerous things like this often happened in the forest since it was so remote. Here, you could kill a beast or a person, and no one would ever know.
“Don’t even bring a lantern unless you have to. As long as you follow the marks I’ve made, you’ll reach Anas directly. Always carry your robe, too! Got it? If anything happens… just stay quiet. That’s how you survive.”
Enni advice ran through my head as I held my breath, hoping the clashing sound would die down.
But contrary to my wish, the sound of swords grew louder and closer.
Soon, with a loud thud, the bushes that were hiding me rustled, and heavy footsteps approached.
“Huff…”
I covered my mouth tightly with both hands, afraid that any sound I made would give me away.
“Stubborn bastard… Even after being poisoned, he’s still hanging on. A monster is still a monster.”
“Ah, because of this bastard, I can’t even hold a sword for a while. Tch-.”
The voices of two men came from directly above me. Luckily, they didn’t seem to notice my presence, continuing their conversation.
“But is this bastard really dead? Let’s check.”
“Hey. Hey—! Are you dead?”
“Grrr…!”
From the sounds, it seemed like the men were stomping on a man’s body.
The painful groans continued, then gradually faded away until they were completely gone.
“Ah, I don’t care. Whether it’s blood loss or poison, this bastard’s done for. Look, he can’t even move a finger now.”
“Such a pain in the ass… Do you know how much trouble you’ve caused us? We can’t just let you go. Let’s see you die in pain.”
“Ha, I feel so much better now. Spit-!”
Thud, thud- The sound of kicks echoed.
The man who had fallen to the ground didn’t make a sound despite the harsh kicks. The two men, apparently bored, quickly left.
The sounds of their footsteps faded, but I stayed frozen in my position just in case.
I wasn’t sure how much time had passed.
I realized that only the sound of insects chirping had been going on.
“Did they leave?”
When no more sounds were heard, I cautiously peeked my head out from the bushes.
“Phew… Thank goodness, I wasn’t caught…”
But I quickly had to duck back into hiding. A large man was lying right in front of me.
“Wh-what the…!”
I knew something had happened nearby, but I didn’t expect the man to be right next to me.
I cautiously approached the man, careful not to make a sound.
But something felt off. The man wasn’t moving at all.
It was as if he had already become a corpse.
“Is he really dead…?”
It seemed the men weren’t mistaken in thinking the man was dead.
Even though the place was almost pitch dark and I could only barely make out his silhouette, I felt a chill run down my spine as I realized I was looking at a lifeless body.
I quickly backed away, not wanting to stay any longer.
But just as I turned to leave, I heard a faint groan.
“Ugh”
It was definitely the sound of a person suffering.
I quickly turned back toward the man.
“Hey! Can you hear me?”
“Ugh”
“Are you okay? Hey!”
I called out several times, but the man didn’t seem to notice me at all. He was just barely breathing.
“Come on, stay with me! Hey, please, stay with me!”
I tapped the man’s uninjured shoulder, trying to rouse him.
But despite my efforts, the man’s face fell, hitting the ground with a thud.
I carefully checked his breathing by placing my hand under his nose. Fortunately, I could feel a faint breath.
“Phew, thank goodness… he’s still alive.”
It seemed like the man had briefly lost consciousness due to blood loss and the poison spreading through his body.
He was in a state where death seemed imminent. But as the men had said, his vitality was truly remarkable.
“But something’s strange…”
As I continued to examine him, I felt a strange sense of familiarity coming from him, though I couldn’t explain why.
Even though it was too dark to see clearly, I felt like I had seen him somewhere before.
“No, this isn’t the time for these thoughts. What should I do with him?”
Should I run to Anas and bring Haeven with me? But what if the man dies in the meantime? What if those men come back?
No matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t just leave the man behind.
“Right. I’ll take him with me, even if it’s difficult.”
If I couldn’t leave him, I would drag him with me. I immediately took off the black robe I was wearing.
Bang, bang, bang-!
I knocked on the wooden door with all my strength, and I heard a thud from beyond.
Soon, the door swung open, and Haeven appeared.
“Who the hell…!”
“Uncle!”
“Loelle?”
Haeven stern expression softened when he saw me. I weakly grabbed his arm with my trembling hand.
“U-Uncle… please… please help me…”
“Loelle! What the hell happened to you? Did you run into some bad people in the forest?”
“Not bad people…!”
“What the hell happened for you to be covered in wounds like this?”
“Huh? Wounds?”
I lowered my head to look at my body.
I could see that the shocked look in Haeven eyes wasn’t just because of my appearance but also because of the wounds on my body.
My body was in terrible shape. There were scratch marks all over the exposed skin, and my knees and arms were scraped badly, bleeding.
But that wasn’t the most important thing right now.
Exhausted from dragging the man, I had left him near Anas for a moment.
Getting the man to safety was the priority.
“Uncle, that’s not important right now. There’s someone….”
“Where!!! Which bastard…! I’ll deal with them right now…!”
“It’s not about them…! There’s a hurt person! Please help, Uncle…!”
Haeven had been furious, but now he stared at me in confusion, as if he didn’t understand what I was saying.
“Loelle….”
“Uncle!!! Please, quickly!!”
I screamed, and Haeven flinched. Without looking back, he rushed toward where I was pointing.
Moments later, Haeven came back, carrying the man.
I was worried about whether he could carry the large man, but Haeven was big enough that it wasn’t a problem.
I followed him to a room at the far end of the first floor. Haeven carefully laid the man on the bed.
Then, I was finally able to see the man’s face properly.
And as soon as I saw his face, I stumbled backward, falling over a chair in shock.
I did it in such a clumsy way.
“Loelle! Are you okay?”
“Why, why…?”
Why is this person here?!
The person lying on the bed, pale and lifeless, was none other than Reus.
