Chapter 123
The news that a knight had left the castle on his own reached Raylenne as she was in the midst of a troubling dream.
In her dream, a cheerful rabbit hopped across a field, only to be caught in a snare, dangling helplessly in midair.
The knight captain arrived late in the night, and Raylenne immediately realized that her dream was a premonition.
Knock-knock!
At the urgent knock, Raylenne rubbed her sleepy eyes and approached the door. Opening it, she saw the knight captain standing there.
“Madam, I apologize for disturbing you at this hour, but I have urgent news.”
“What’s the matter…?”
The knight captain bowed his head deeply.
“…It appears that Sir Langrin has gone to the bandits’ base alone.”
Raylenne’s drowsiness vanished in an instant. She had known that Langrin did not think highly of her, but she hadn’t expected him to go this far.
“I accept the responsibility for failing to manage my subordinate properly. But before that, please allow me to go after Langrin.”
Instead of answering, Raylenne called a maid to prepare her outdoor clothes. The knight captain, watching her, frowned.
“Surely… you’re not thinking of going with us?”
As Raylenne put on the coat the maid brought, she replied, “Yes, I will permit it, but you must take me to the bandits’ base as well.”
The knight captain couldn’t hide his disapproval.
“…That’s not possible. It’s too dangerous.”
“You won’t be able to bring Sir Langrin back safely without me.”
“What…?”
“There’s no time to argue. If you want to go after Sir Langrin, you’ll have to take me with you.”
At Raylenne’s firm command, the knight captain could no longer argue.
“…Understood.”
Raylenne nodded and looked around before fixing her gaze on her pillow. She turned to the knight captain and said, “Go down and prepare the horses. I’ll be there shortly.”
The knight captain left the room without further protest.
Alone, Raylenne approached her bed and tore open the pillowcase, stuffing the cotton into her pockets.
* * *
Langrin, having left the castle, immediately went to the stables, took a horse, and rode out.
Riding without rest, he reached the eastern hills within two hours. The cold wind stung his face, but Langrin, filled with a sense of duty, ignored the discomfort and pressed on.
He cautiously climbed the dark, damp hills, imagining the praise he would receive from Duke Bedusius upon his return.
With every rustle, Langrin checked his surroundings. His mission was to confirm the presence of the bandits’ base in the hills. If confirmed, he would return to the castle and prepare the knights for battle. He needed to come and go like a shadow.
‘If it’s their base, it must be at the top.’
Despite climbing quite a distance, he heard no signs of life. With so many people, there should be some noise.
Just as he thought something was odd, “Ah!” Langrin suddenly fell. He swung his arms wildly, trying to grab onto something.
Thud! Luckily, he caught hold of a rock embedded in the ground before hitting the bottom. Looking down, he realized he had nearly fallen into a pit filled with sharp stakes.
Shaking off the terrifying thought of what could have happened, he pulled himself up. Around him, he noticed the ground was covered with leaves, disguising multiple traps.
‘There really are traps…’
If the knights had come here recklessly today, they would have fallen into these traps.
As Langrin peered down into the pit, he heard voices from somewhere in the mountains.
“There was a noise near the trap. Could it be the Duke’s knights?”
It seemed the bandits had set traps and were lying in wait. Langrin moved slowly and hid behind a tree.
Soon, a group of bandits appeared near the pit.
“It looks like someone triggered the trap and ran off, boss.”
“Seems like it.”
Langrin peeked out to watch the bandits. A man with a large scar across his eye seemed to be the notorious leader, Elan.
“Hurry and catch them. If word of the traps reaches the castle, all our preparations will be for nothing.”
“Yes!”
The bandits’ loud responses echoed through the quiet forest.
Langrin, hiding behind the tree, felt his mouth go dry.
‘What should I do…’
The bandits began searching for him. They were familiar with the terrain and had been preparing traps here for a long time, but Langrin wasn’t.
If he was caught while descending, it would be the end. And the bandit leader was an Awakener.
But he couldn’t stay there forever, so he decided to descend stealthily in the darkness.
As Langrin took a deep breath and stepped forward, a twig snapped underfoot. The bandits immediately picked up on the sound.
“Over there!”
‘Damn it…!’
Realizing he was discovered, Langrin hurriedly descended. The bandits quickly pursued him.
Just as he felt they would catch him, someone grabbed his wrist.
“Ugh…!”
Startled, Langrin was about to scream, but a hand clamped over his mouth. The grip was strong, ensuring no sound escaped.
“Stay quiet if you want to live.”
The voice was soft yet commanding, and the hand was slender and delicate but firm.
‘This voice…’
Langrin watched as the bandits passed by, unable to see him hidden behind a large rock.
The hand covering his mouth finally released him. Langrin quickly turned to see who had saved him. To his surprise, it was the person he had suspected.
“…Why is the Duchess here?” Langrin asked, wide-eyed.
Raylenne adjusted her robe and responded, “I came to find you, Sir Langrin. Why else would I be in this desolate hill?”
“Did you come alone?”
“No, I came with the captain. We had to come with the minimum number of people to avoid being detected by the bandits.”
“Where is the captain now…?”
“He’s waiting at the base of the hill. I came up alone to find you.”
Langrin looked bewildered. “Why would the Duchess come alone…?”
“Enough questions. We need to get down quickly. We don’t have time to waste.”
The captain was guarding the horses at the base of the hill. Since bandits were lurking around, someone had to stay and watch the horses. The captain had actually insisted that Raylenne stay and guard the horses, but she had refused vehemently.
Raylenne knew the exact locations of the traps on the hill, having read about them in the original story, while the captain did not. She had convinced the captain, albeit stubbornly, to let her go up the hill alone.
“If we go straight down this way, we’ll meet the captain. I’ll ride with him, and you take another horse, Sir Langrin.”
“…Understood.”
Raylenne and Langrin descended the hill quickly. Soon, they saw the captain waiting, his face set in a tense expression.
Hearing footsteps, the captain looked up, his face brightening upon recognizing them.
“Madam, Sir Langrin…!”
“Hurry, we’re being pursued by the bandits,” Raylenne said, glancing back.
The captain nodded and mounted his horse, reaching out to help Raylenne up.
“Stop,” a low voice echoed from the dark forest.
Turning their heads, they saw a man with a large scar near his eye emerge from the undergrowth.
‘…Elan.’
They had finally been caught. Fortunately, Elan seemed to be alone; his men were nowhere in sight.
The captain dismounted, positioning himself in front of Raylenne, and drew his sword.
Despite the fearsome blade, Elan showed no sign of intimidation, even though they outnumbered him.
Raylenne bit her lip. She knew why Elan seemed so relaxed.
“You’re wasting your strength. Your sword will never reach me,” Elan taunted, flicking his fingers.
The captain crouched warily. “What are you talking about?”
“You’ll be fighting my illusion,” Elan said, snapping his fingers.
As he spoke, the captain suddenly swung his sword at empty air. Langrin frowned in confusion.
“What is this…?”
“Let me share my secret with you. It’s not like you’ll be able to escape the hallucination and return to the castle,” Elan said with a chilling smile. “I have the power to induce hallucinations in people.”
Realizing the truth in Elan’s words, Langrin signaled to Raylenne to flee on horseback. He quickly drew his sword and lunged at Elan.
Though Elan dodged, Langrin managed to inflict a long gash on his chest.
“Ugh.”
But the bold attack only seemed to anger Elan. His expression hardened.
“I was going to let you return to the castle in a daze, but now I see I need to teach you a lesson.”
“Don’t make me laugh! Who do you think you are…” Langrin shouted, his voice rough.
Elan calmly snapped his fingers again. “You both will now feel as if you are bound by ropes.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Langrin cried out, “What the…!”
He found himself unable to move, his hands seemingly tied to his sides. Raylenne, too, was frozen in place, watching helplessly as Elan approached with a sharp dagger in hand.
