'What, hey?'
Odette, surprised by the identity of the person who had embraced her, tried to slip away from John's arms.
But instead of letting her go, John hugged her more strongly with his arms.
Odette twisted and struggled to push John away.
"Wait a minute, Odette. Please wait a minute."
But John pleaded with her in a trembling voice. Odette's arms stopped at the desperate voice.
"...Just be patient."
The voice raised a question in Odette's mind.
The chase of this life has made Odette wonder for the whole time. There was a question that hung on her mind the whole time.
***
Odette, who managed to hide in the street, laughed.
"In the end, this damn chase is repeated."
What was it all for?
It seems like a beggar to be repeated. Even the chase in this life was much more difficult than the last.
She was often cornered more than she was, so she couldn't take a breather.
The good news is that Victor is the only one who is chasing her furiously.
"Why is he chasing me like this?"
Odette felt resentment at the overly fierce pursuit. She rolled and rolled so much that everyone's hatred was reduced to zero. She couldn't find it even after washing her eyes.
'Victor. How could that damn guy do it so every time?'
No matter where she fled, she was surrounded by a tight encirclement, as if she were tied to a noose. Every day was a turning point.
When humans are pushed to the limit, they instinctively choose a familiar path. Odette was one of them.
The more tired she became, the more she instinctively chose the same escape route that she had succeeded in in her previous life.
As a result, the people who were taken care of had to do the same.
The people who gave Odette a helping hand in her past life. She asked them for help again.
They were willing to reach out to Odette even when she was hated by everyone, so they were kind to Odette even in this lifetime.
At first, she was grateful for their existence, but eventually she couldn't. It was because she felt uncomfortable.
The first thing that made Odette feel uncomfortable was an innkeeper in the suburbs.
The landlady who ran the inn had brought Odette, who had been seriously injured in her previous life and had fallen on the road, to the inn, where she hid and nursed him in an empty room for several weeks.
In this lifetime, too. The innkeeper welcomed Odette.
"I don't know what's going on, but you can take a break. After all, there are plenty of vacant rooms in our inn."
Mistress with an exotic complexion.
In her past life, he introduced himself not as from Barceha, but as from a small island across the sea.
In fact, he is secretly staying in Barceha without permission. Therefore, it was illegal to operate this inn.
So he reassured Odette that even if she was a wanted criminal, he couldn't report it unless she wanted to.
"There aren't many customers, but that's good."
Small, cozy wooden inn. The suburban town where the inn was located was sparsely populated and not a tourist destination. So he said it was a place where not many customers came.
The room that was offered to her while explaining in the clumsy pronunciation of Barceha was exactly the same as the one she had used in her last life.
'He's still a compassionate person. I'm sorry to have to take care of you twice, but I'm glad I have this innkeeper.'
But this life was different from the last. It was a dark morning. Odette, who was thirsty, woke up briefly.
'It's time for the owner to sleep, so watch out for your footsteps.'
Odette quietly opened the door and headed for the wooden staircase. As soon as she grabbed the railing of the stairs, she heard a conversation downstairs.
"Yes, please tell His Highness. She came safely to our base."
The innkeeper's Barceha was perfect. The pronunciation and the accent.
And what does that mean?
'His Highness? Base?'
Odette stopped and held her breath even more.
"I see. I'll tell him. Phew. But that's a good thing. Lady Odette has come here."
The man's voice was familiar. She had heard about it on the island of Athens.
It was the voice of the Prince's aide who had fulfilled Odette's request to find Charlotte. He was a B-class transcendent...
The implications of the conversation were quickly inferred. At the same time, Odette's whole body gave her goosebumps.
Odette, who managed to return to her room without being detected by the aide and the innkeeper, left the inn as soon as the morning broke.
She left a letter for the Innkeeper. As if she hadn't overheard the conversation, she only acted out a lot of gratitude.
'That inn was a trap. If I had stayed there, I would have been taken away by John.'
Until then, she had thought that both her past life and this life had been lucky to avoid the trap that John had set for her.
If it had been a little later, John would have come to visit. She was glad he left the inn before that.
***
However, every time Odette, who became sensitive after the incident at the inn, woke up to a suspicious sign, it happened again and again.
Even in the private home of a tutor, or in a small convent.
Only when she was helped by the same person as in her previous life did John's assistant come to visit or contact her.
'What the hell is this?'
In retrospect, it was strange.
Odette had been on the run for two years in her previous life, but Victor was always the only one who found her.
Oddly enough. In John's case, Odette would always find John before he could find Odette.
For example, when she tried to cross a swinging bridge without realizing that the rope was corroded, when she walked late at night in the direction of a deeper back alley, or when she walked on a mountain road full of bandits. Looking at something other than her.
How could Odette find John first every time? Why, and each time John didn't find Odette?
Finally... Why did John always wear a pure white uniform that stood out everywhere?
'Shouldn't the pursuing person have to hide himself as much as the person being pursued?'
If he wanted to catch her, wouldn't it be advantageous for him not to get caught by her? Why is it like that every time anyone can recognize him?
He's too flashy to chase. As if to show it. As if the purpose was to attract her attention:
As if he were warning her with his whole body.
'Are you worried about me?'
This is a convincing explanation in this lifetime. She had already placed a debt of her heart on him.
With compassion and gratitude.
The position of the Crown Princess was also seen as an extension of her actions due to such a debt of heart. The edict said that they did not have to get married.
She's sorry that she's buried, even though she's a real purifier, and she's sorry that she hated and loathed him. He thought that Odette had committed suicide, and that it was an impulsive edict because he could not bear the debt of his heart.
"But if that's the case, how do you explain your past life?"
In her previous life, John had to feel pain beyond death for more than six months.
The Count pretended to purify him, but he refused until the end, so he had to gouge out one of his own eyes.
'That's why it's strange. Our relationship was so terrible. I remember what you said to me in prison.'
What on earth was John thinking when he helped her?
Perhaps because of such questions, Odette's fingertips could not be buried as she pushed John away.
"Your Highness. I can't breathe."
He could only say.
"Sorry. Odette. Please, please, just a little more..."
John's voice sounded like that of someone who had been floundering in the water and barely breathed.
Support Novellate!
Comments
Post a Comment