The hunting dogs ran as fast as they could.
Even though he had starved for days and was in terrible condition due to losing a lot of blood, he was running like crazy as if he didn't even feel pain.
Luke's eyes, following behind, coolly examined the surrounding terrain.
'It was that forest back then.'
A place where he barely managed to shake off the persistent pursuit.
It was Marilyn, who had been considered a burden, who found the way through the strange space filled with fog and incomprehensible events that followed one after another.
He was shaking with anxiety when she suddenly got up and followed her through the forest. At some point, the pouring rain of arrows stopped.
Even though they were moving slowly, the hunting dogs that had been chasing them could not catch up with them until just before they left the forest.
How could he forget that strange experience?
Luke, who entered the forest once again in pursuit of the dogs running as if possessed, witnessed the shapes of the dogs running right in front of him disappear like smoke.
“...”
The only sounds in the gloomy forest were the rustling of branches in the wind and the ominous cries of crows circling overhead.
'This.'
They're already too deep in to turn back.
Even though he realized that he was insensitive to danger, he did not stop walking.
Because he has learned through countless experiences that when faced with an inadequate choice, there is no other way than to completely surrender to the feeling, and that it is better to do something than to stand still.
The reason he has been able to overcome countless crises on the battlefield where even one wrong step could lead to death is that he has not forgotten the lessons of the past.
'It was my fault.'
Dorothea's words to remain quiet might have been a warning about the current situation.
'I lost my cool.'
Because of a girl who was a head shorter than him, who he tried to comfort as if she were a child desperate to achieve great things.
He couldn't even laugh at the fact that he had made such an unbelievably stupid choice.
A familiar carriage entered his sharply sharpened field of vision.
He pulled out the arrow stuck in the carriage, which was still in the same place as yesterday, in a mess of pieces, and examined the shape of the feather closely.
“Who is this?”
Suddenly a grumbling voice came flying in.
As he turned around, he saw Dover Spencer approaching with suspicious men on both sides.
Luke looked at the men in black masks without saying a word, then looked at the hunting dogs lying obediently at his feet.
“You could have just stayed in the castle and enjoyed yourself. Why did you come all the way here to see such a miserable sight?”
It was an indescribable amount of rudeness for a mere noble to say that in front of the royal family, but he must have said it because he had some basis in trust.
Luke's hands tightened as he sensed the ominous aura emanating from those on either side.
One of the masked men opened his mouth.
“Duke Spencer clearly told us to avoid any encounter with the Prince.”
“I came into the forest on purpose because of that name, but didn’t I already run into you!”
Dover glared at Luke with annoyance.
“Now that things have come to this, we can’t let the 7th Prince live, and since everyone was having a hard time because of you anyway, it’s a good thing. It’s a chance to earn merit.”
Dover's shoulders rose high, knowing that he had the upper hand.
It was only hours ago that Marilyn's party was reprimanded for failing to deal with it before they reached the castle.
His sparkling eyes had already lost their cool, calculating that if he dealt with the thorn in his eye, the achievement would more than compensate for his previous mistakes.
It was the moment when those who had exchanged glances as if there was no other choice raised their swords.
Luke quickly turned around, taking the sword out of his bosom and throwing it.
Those who had never thought that someone as young as a Prince would run away from a head-on confrontation hesitated and then belatedly began to chase after him.
“Don’t miss him! Catch and kill him!”
At the sound of Dover's new voice, the hunting dogs sitting on the steps began to run with their tongues hanging out.
As Luke was making his way through the dense forest just like yesterday, a squirrel came running in front of him.
Chii. Chi.
“...”
The eyes of the tiny squirrel, which looked like it would crumble if held in the palm of his hand, were utterly arrogant and impudent.
Luke, who felt a bit sad at the gesture of the pathetic squirrel waving its hand as if to ask if he had lost his way after entering the forest, raised his sword and cut down the branch in front of him.
Chii. Chii.
Luke's eyes filled with murder as he looked at the plump buttocks and plump tail wagging as if to tell him to follow it.
“The so-called Prince ran away! The nickname of the hero of the battlefield has become a joke!”
The sanity that he had almost lost to anger and the whining returned.
What does running away mean?
Is there anything more foolish than confronting a situation where you cannot fight it head-on?
Hero of the battlefield.
He knew better than anyone that before he could attain that title, he had to practice something equally important.
You have to survive to enjoy the honor.
He has to survive...
He's going to step on that insolent little rat and kill him.
Luke, who had come to his senses, closed the distance between himself and the squirrel ahead while keeping a close eye on the others.
Close enough that he could immediately strike with his sword as soon as he passed through the forest.
Soon, the dark surroundings began to brighten, and the exit from the seemingly endless forest came into view.
The moment he leaped toward the light, he saw Dorothea Highclere standing on horseback, looking down at him.
The girl smiled as she stroked the squirrel climbing up her body with her eyes down.
“I wish you had just stayed in your room. You really don’t listen.”
“...”
“Thanks to you, I didn’t have to go deep into the forest. Good job.”
It was at that very moment that Luke's eyebrows furrowed strongly at the attitude of praising him as if he were training a puppy.
Luke's eyebrows furrowed as he saw the two hounds sitting quietly at Dorothea's feet.
At the same time, two 'other hunting dogs' who had been chasing him in the forest, barked fiercely and rushed at him.
Luke's sword brought down the dogs that were rushing at him at the speed of light.
Dorothea looked down at the bloodstains on the hem of her dress.
Wood, who had been watching from behind, covered her eyes with a sigh but soon stopped raising his hand when Dorothea refused.
As soon as he got off his horse, his pursuers burst out of the forest.
“This is...“
Dover Spencer frowned as he smelled the pungent scent of blood. His eyes widened when he saw Dorothea.
Dorothea smiled brightly, without a trace of surprise, at the opponent who had just emerged from the forest.
“It’s nice to meet you, Lord Dover. I’ve heard you speak a few times, but this is the first time I’ve met you in person.”
“...Huh, so that really is the woman from the Highclere family.”
“You speak quite rudely.”
“I just came here to do some chores, just like my uncle said. What kind of windfall is this?”
Dover Spencer smiled, one corner of his mouth raised.
The young, tiny girl he saw was blinking her eyes and greeting him calmly, seemingly unaware of the danger she was in.
“Ah. It’s nice to see you, Young Lady. I really missed you too.”
Looking at his face, which was so clearly expressive, she could now understand why Kiel Spencer never called him by his last name, and why he had entrusted him with the chore of organizing things in the forest so far away.
'If you were that worried, you should have kept it by your side.'
There's no way an accident won't happen if he drops it far away.
Dorothea pushed Wood and Luke away from her.
“I heard these kids are Lord Dover’s hounds.”
Only then did Dover Spencer frown as he saw the two black hounds lying quietly and panting at Dorothea's feet.
“Ah, I see. So you’re the ones I trained.”
“You just left them in the forest and went away. You raised them with so much care, you should have taken them with you.”
Dorothea's gaze lingered for a moment on the 'new hounds' whose lives had already been ended by Luke's sword.
“Unfortunately, the Lord has already taken in other children.”
“Is there a need to collect those who can’t even do their job properly? You can always replace the tools used for hunting. Just replace them with more fierce and excellent ones.”
“Then can I take these children? Can I raise them as my own?”
“Young Lady, if I were you, I think it would be better to worry about other things rather than that.”
Dover Spencer's face lit up with color.
He seemed to be convinced that he could bring the girl before him to her knees at any moment.
Rather, the masked people around him seemed even more nervous.
Dorothea was just standing there, petting the hounds that were sitting at her feet and wagging their tails.
“These abandoned ‘dogs’ of Dover, where there are plenty of new ‘dogs’...”
"Hmm?"
“Can I have it?”
When asked again, Dover Spencer nodded absentmindedly. Even in this situation, seeing Dorothea's obsession with dogs, she seems like a useless, sensitive girl.
What is discarded is of no use, so it is discarded.
Isn't it the kind of thought that only a beggar would have to feel sorry for something like that?
He couldn't understand why everyone was so frustrated, so he told him to be careful with such an immature person.
Dover Spencer shouted, his face hardened.
“There are no eyes to see here anyway, so let’s deal with it quickly and return!”
Those optimized for 'hunting' someone quickly surrounded their target.
Dorothea nodded in agreement with Dover Spencer's words.
'Since there are no eyes to see, it doesn't matter how I handle it.'
She took out the fan she had hidden in her pocket and unfolded it.
At the same time the sun, moon, clouds, etc. Gods embroidered on the fan were clearly visible, and the hunting dogs that had been quietly sitting at her feet began to bark.
“Lily, can you help me out?”
A drop of water splashed onto the cheek of the absent-minded Dover Spencer.
'Water spirit!'
A huge fish swept over the group like a tidal wave.
When he finally came to, Dover Spencer was being dragged by hair into the open castle by the Seventh Prince.
There was no one guarding the wide-open gates.
Wood, sensing something suspicious, reached out and stopped Dorothea in her tracks.
“They split the attacking group into several groups.”
"That's right."
Wood frowned as he looked at Dorothea, who gave a light affirmation.
“You put Freed in charge of the young ladies... Where did Dane and Aiden go?”
“They’ll be with Kiel Spencer.”
Luke dragged Dover Spencer by the hair and passed him through the gate, dragging him like a piece of luggage.
As the bloody man rolled helplessly into the corner, Wood quickly went up to the room where the woman he had referred to as the 'bait' was.
“Aren’t you going to go check?”
"Yes, I'm fine."
Dorothea, who looked somewhat tired, looked up to where their room was, then turned her head toward the corridor where the Third Prince was enjoying himself.
“Luke, lock them in the dungeon. You’ve had enough of your anger, so stop messing with them.”
“Should I listen to you?”
Dorothea stopped walking and turned around with a smile at the strangely rebellious question.
“Just now, you disobeyed me and got in trouble, so I had to clean it up. Even if you have no learning ability, wouldn’t it be better to exercise some self-restraint now?”
“...”
“I won't save you twice.”
Fortunately, Luke was not a person who could not understand what was being said, even though he had poor learning ability.
Although he seemed to be full of complaints, he silently grabbed the scruff of the human's neck, which he had thrown down, and began to drag him to the dungeon.
“Okay, then...”
Dorothea walked down the wide corridor leading to the cloister, muttering softly.
Her footsteps echoed clearly and distinctly in the silent hallway as if all the servants who had filled this large castle had disappeared.
Finally, as she opened the tightly shut door, she saw people lying there as if dead, along with a stench that stung her nose.
As she walked across the dirty floor littered with empty liquor bottles and cigarette butts, she heard someone panting.
Dorothea found Benny rolling around under the sofa covered in beautifully patterned leather and crouched down in front of him.
Nothing could be felt from the pitch-black staff anymore.
She looked at the poor creature, his chin clenched, filled with greed, who had eventually strangled his.
"Good job."
You've made a great bait.
Even though he had starved for days and was in terrible condition due to losing a lot of blood, he was running like crazy as if he didn't even feel pain.
Luke's eyes, following behind, coolly examined the surrounding terrain.
'It was that forest back then.'
A place where he barely managed to shake off the persistent pursuit.
It was Marilyn, who had been considered a burden, who found the way through the strange space filled with fog and incomprehensible events that followed one after another.
He was shaking with anxiety when she suddenly got up and followed her through the forest. At some point, the pouring rain of arrows stopped.
Even though they were moving slowly, the hunting dogs that had been chasing them could not catch up with them until just before they left the forest.
How could he forget that strange experience?
Luke, who entered the forest once again in pursuit of the dogs running as if possessed, witnessed the shapes of the dogs running right in front of him disappear like smoke.
“...”
The only sounds in the gloomy forest were the rustling of branches in the wind and the ominous cries of crows circling overhead.
'This.'
They're already too deep in to turn back.
Even though he realized that he was insensitive to danger, he did not stop walking.
Because he has learned through countless experiences that when faced with an inadequate choice, there is no other way than to completely surrender to the feeling, and that it is better to do something than to stand still.
The reason he has been able to overcome countless crises on the battlefield where even one wrong step could lead to death is that he has not forgotten the lessons of the past.
'It was my fault.'
Dorothea's words to remain quiet might have been a warning about the current situation.
'I lost my cool.'
Because of a girl who was a head shorter than him, who he tried to comfort as if she were a child desperate to achieve great things.
He couldn't even laugh at the fact that he had made such an unbelievably stupid choice.
A familiar carriage entered his sharply sharpened field of vision.
He pulled out the arrow stuck in the carriage, which was still in the same place as yesterday, in a mess of pieces, and examined the shape of the feather closely.
“Who is this?”
Suddenly a grumbling voice came flying in.
As he turned around, he saw Dover Spencer approaching with suspicious men on both sides.
Luke looked at the men in black masks without saying a word, then looked at the hunting dogs lying obediently at his feet.
“You could have just stayed in the castle and enjoyed yourself. Why did you come all the way here to see such a miserable sight?”
It was an indescribable amount of rudeness for a mere noble to say that in front of the royal family, but he must have said it because he had some basis in trust.
Luke's hands tightened as he sensed the ominous aura emanating from those on either side.
One of the masked men opened his mouth.
“Duke Spencer clearly told us to avoid any encounter with the Prince.”
“I came into the forest on purpose because of that name, but didn’t I already run into you!”
Dover glared at Luke with annoyance.
“Now that things have come to this, we can’t let the 7th Prince live, and since everyone was having a hard time because of you anyway, it’s a good thing. It’s a chance to earn merit.”
Dover's shoulders rose high, knowing that he had the upper hand.
It was only hours ago that Marilyn's party was reprimanded for failing to deal with it before they reached the castle.
His sparkling eyes had already lost their cool, calculating that if he dealt with the thorn in his eye, the achievement would more than compensate for his previous mistakes.
It was the moment when those who had exchanged glances as if there was no other choice raised their swords.
Luke quickly turned around, taking the sword out of his bosom and throwing it.
Those who had never thought that someone as young as a Prince would run away from a head-on confrontation hesitated and then belatedly began to chase after him.
“Don’t miss him! Catch and kill him!”
At the sound of Dover's new voice, the hunting dogs sitting on the steps began to run with their tongues hanging out.
As Luke was making his way through the dense forest just like yesterday, a squirrel came running in front of him.
Chii. Chi.
“...”
The eyes of the tiny squirrel, which looked like it would crumble if held in the palm of his hand, were utterly arrogant and impudent.
Luke, who felt a bit sad at the gesture of the pathetic squirrel waving its hand as if to ask if he had lost his way after entering the forest, raised his sword and cut down the branch in front of him.
Chii. Chii.
Luke's eyes filled with murder as he looked at the plump buttocks and plump tail wagging as if to tell him to follow it.
“The so-called Prince ran away! The nickname of the hero of the battlefield has become a joke!”
The sanity that he had almost lost to anger and the whining returned.
What does running away mean?
Is there anything more foolish than confronting a situation where you cannot fight it head-on?
Hero of the battlefield.
He knew better than anyone that before he could attain that title, he had to practice something equally important.
You have to survive to enjoy the honor.
He has to survive...
He's going to step on that insolent little rat and kill him.
Luke, who had come to his senses, closed the distance between himself and the squirrel ahead while keeping a close eye on the others.
Close enough that he could immediately strike with his sword as soon as he passed through the forest.
Soon, the dark surroundings began to brighten, and the exit from the seemingly endless forest came into view.
The moment he leaped toward the light, he saw Dorothea Highclere standing on horseback, looking down at him.
The girl smiled as she stroked the squirrel climbing up her body with her eyes down.
“I wish you had just stayed in your room. You really don’t listen.”
“...”
“Thanks to you, I didn’t have to go deep into the forest. Good job.”
It was at that very moment that Luke's eyebrows furrowed strongly at the attitude of praising him as if he were training a puppy.
Luke's eyebrows furrowed as he saw the two hounds sitting quietly at Dorothea's feet.
At the same time, two 'other hunting dogs' who had been chasing him in the forest, barked fiercely and rushed at him.
Luke's sword brought down the dogs that were rushing at him at the speed of light.
***
Dorothea looked down at the bloodstains on the hem of her dress.
Wood, who had been watching from behind, covered her eyes with a sigh but soon stopped raising his hand when Dorothea refused.
As soon as he got off his horse, his pursuers burst out of the forest.
“This is...“
Dover Spencer frowned as he smelled the pungent scent of blood. His eyes widened when he saw Dorothea.
Dorothea smiled brightly, without a trace of surprise, at the opponent who had just emerged from the forest.
“It’s nice to meet you, Lord Dover. I’ve heard you speak a few times, but this is the first time I’ve met you in person.”
“...Huh, so that really is the woman from the Highclere family.”
“You speak quite rudely.”
“I just came here to do some chores, just like my uncle said. What kind of windfall is this?”
Dover Spencer smiled, one corner of his mouth raised.
The young, tiny girl he saw was blinking her eyes and greeting him calmly, seemingly unaware of the danger she was in.
“Ah. It’s nice to see you, Young Lady. I really missed you too.”
Looking at his face, which was so clearly expressive, she could now understand why Kiel Spencer never called him by his last name, and why he had entrusted him with the chore of organizing things in the forest so far away.
'If you were that worried, you should have kept it by your side.'
There's no way an accident won't happen if he drops it far away.
Dorothea pushed Wood and Luke away from her.
“I heard these kids are Lord Dover’s hounds.”
Only then did Dover Spencer frown as he saw the two black hounds lying quietly and panting at Dorothea's feet.
“Ah, I see. So you’re the ones I trained.”
“You just left them in the forest and went away. You raised them with so much care, you should have taken them with you.”
Dorothea's gaze lingered for a moment on the 'new hounds' whose lives had already been ended by Luke's sword.
“Unfortunately, the Lord has already taken in other children.”
“Is there a need to collect those who can’t even do their job properly? You can always replace the tools used for hunting. Just replace them with more fierce and excellent ones.”
“Then can I take these children? Can I raise them as my own?”
“Young Lady, if I were you, I think it would be better to worry about other things rather than that.”
Dover Spencer's face lit up with color.
He seemed to be convinced that he could bring the girl before him to her knees at any moment.
Rather, the masked people around him seemed even more nervous.
Dorothea was just standing there, petting the hounds that were sitting at her feet and wagging their tails.
“These abandoned ‘dogs’ of Dover, where there are plenty of new ‘dogs’...”
"Hmm?"
“Can I have it?”
When asked again, Dover Spencer nodded absentmindedly. Even in this situation, seeing Dorothea's obsession with dogs, she seems like a useless, sensitive girl.
What is discarded is of no use, so it is discarded.
Isn't it the kind of thought that only a beggar would have to feel sorry for something like that?
He couldn't understand why everyone was so frustrated, so he told him to be careful with such an immature person.
Dover Spencer shouted, his face hardened.
“There are no eyes to see here anyway, so let’s deal with it quickly and return!”
Those optimized for 'hunting' someone quickly surrounded their target.
Dorothea nodded in agreement with Dover Spencer's words.
'Since there are no eyes to see, it doesn't matter how I handle it.'
She took out the fan she had hidden in her pocket and unfolded it.
At the same time the sun, moon, clouds, etc. Gods embroidered on the fan were clearly visible, and the hunting dogs that had been quietly sitting at her feet began to bark.
“Lily, can you help me out?”
A drop of water splashed onto the cheek of the absent-minded Dover Spencer.
'Water spirit!'
A huge fish swept over the group like a tidal wave.
When he finally came to, Dover Spencer was being dragged by hair into the open castle by the Seventh Prince.
***
There was no one guarding the wide-open gates.
Wood, sensing something suspicious, reached out and stopped Dorothea in her tracks.
“They split the attacking group into several groups.”
"That's right."
Wood frowned as he looked at Dorothea, who gave a light affirmation.
“You put Freed in charge of the young ladies... Where did Dane and Aiden go?”
“They’ll be with Kiel Spencer.”
Luke dragged Dover Spencer by the hair and passed him through the gate, dragging him like a piece of luggage.
As the bloody man rolled helplessly into the corner, Wood quickly went up to the room where the woman he had referred to as the 'bait' was.
“Aren’t you going to go check?”
"Yes, I'm fine."
Dorothea, who looked somewhat tired, looked up to where their room was, then turned her head toward the corridor where the Third Prince was enjoying himself.
“Luke, lock them in the dungeon. You’ve had enough of your anger, so stop messing with them.”
“Should I listen to you?”
Dorothea stopped walking and turned around with a smile at the strangely rebellious question.
“Just now, you disobeyed me and got in trouble, so I had to clean it up. Even if you have no learning ability, wouldn’t it be better to exercise some self-restraint now?”
“...”
“I won't save you twice.”
Fortunately, Luke was not a person who could not understand what was being said, even though he had poor learning ability.
Although he seemed to be full of complaints, he silently grabbed the scruff of the human's neck, which he had thrown down, and began to drag him to the dungeon.
“Okay, then...”
Dorothea walked down the wide corridor leading to the cloister, muttering softly.
Her footsteps echoed clearly and distinctly in the silent hallway as if all the servants who had filled this large castle had disappeared.
Finally, as she opened the tightly shut door, she saw people lying there as if dead, along with a stench that stung her nose.
As she walked across the dirty floor littered with empty liquor bottles and cigarette butts, she heard someone panting.
Dorothea found Benny rolling around under the sofa covered in beautifully patterned leather and crouched down in front of him.
Nothing could be felt from the pitch-black staff anymore.
She looked at the poor creature, his chin clenched, filled with greed, who had eventually strangled his.
"Good job."
You've made a great bait.
Support Novellate!
Comments
Post a Comment