The moment he understood the words that came out of Walter's mouth, Kishian's mind was in a mess.
He didn't want to believe it.
The Grand Duchess took such an active step to escape from him.
However, it was clear that the Grand Duchess' behavior had been strange from before.
His wife had always shown signs of wanting to leave.
In the first place, his wife would have planned all of this herself.
As Walter said, it would not be surprising if the Grand Duchess took the initiative to actively protect the mercenaries.
'Really?'
He wanted to hear from the soldiers who had been with him, but they seemed to have fallen early.
There was no way that the fallen guys knew the situation.
'Did you do it because you wanted to run away from me?'
If she had intervened in the scuffle, she could have died.
Nevertheless, his wife directly intervened in the fight.
Because she was willing to run away with her life.
"..."
The momentum of the Kishian, which had been ferocious before meeting Walter, gradually subsided.
What was in his heart now was not his enthusiasm to chase after his wife and his anger toward Walter.
He was falling into the bottomless pit of endless disappointment and betrayal.
Even if he was deceived and deceived, he did not let go of the Grand Duchess until the end.
The Grand Duchess let him go too easily.
"...I'm tired."
The words suddenly came out of his mouth like a sigh.
A heavy feeling of fatigue weighed on his shoulders so much that he wanted to throw everything away
The time, effort, and emotions that went into obtaining the Grand Duchess...
He wanted to throw it all away.
What do you do when you catch a woman who is desperate to run away?
No matter how much effort he put into it, she only returns the betrayal.
It didn't make sense.
"Shall we continue to chase? Sir Walter said he didn't see which direction they went, but it was late at night, so they couldn't go very far. If we unleash the soldiers now and chase them, we might be able to capture them."
The Templar's lieutenant, who was watching the situation from the sidelines, asked.
Kishian was silent, covering his eyes with one hand as if he were tired.
All the soldiers he led listened attentively, waiting for his order to fall.
After waiting, Kishian's mouth finally opened, and he spat out orders.
"We will keep chasing. Me too. If you find them before me, kill all the mercenaries and bring my wife to me at all costs."
"Yes, Your Highness!"
He wanted to give up everything, but in the end, he couldn't.
***
Even though he knew it was foolish, he couldn't let go of the Grand Duchess in the end.
Even if Walter decided to let me go, it didn't mean we were completely safe. By now, the news of my escape should have reached the ears of Kishian.
He's not generous enough to forgive someone who insulted him, so he'll definitely pursue us.
So we moved nonstop.
I did not say a word until the sun was completely down and it was dark everywhere, but I continued to move my legs.
As a result of my efforts, I was able to escape quite a distance.
However, due to the dim moonlight, we had to prepare for camping instead of going any further, but it was a stroke of luck that an abandoned hut was found.
"There's a hut in a place like this."
As I muttered, the suspicious mercenary standing by me replied.
"It was probably built by a man who sinned and hid in the mountains. Criminals who can't afford to live in the village usually hide in places like this. There should be no landlord."
As he muttered a joke, three other mercenaries explored the cabin.
Fortunately, the landlord seemed to have disappeared early.
The interior of the cabin was cloudy with dust.
As soon as we were confirmed to be safe, we went inside and rested our tired bodies.
While I was resting due to my weak physical strength, the other mercenaries immediately went back outside, saying that they would check their surroundings.
Now the suspicious mercenary and I were alone in the hut.
Taking advantage of the silence, I said bluntly.
"Rodrick. Take off your mask. I'm going to catch my breath."
"Oh, I've already been caught."
Rodrick, a mercenary who was covering his face with a mask, revealed his face.
He asked me with the mischievous smile he always wore.
"When did you know it's me?"
"From the beginning."
"Even though I covered my face? I also changed my voice."
"If you cover your face and voice, you can do something. The way you speak, your physique, and your behavior are the same."
Actually, I didn't recognize him from the beginning.
As he said, his face was covered and his voice was modulated.
Still, after exchanging a few words, I understood it right away.
The way he spoke was so familiar.
Moreover, even if he covered himself with a cloak, it didn't hide his large physique.
"You must be busy. Why did you come in person? I said it was as if only people would be sent."
"You are too precious to be left in the hands of others. I wanted to surprise you more than anything else. Voila! I'm here myself! That's why I hid my identity, but it's easier to recognize than I thought, so it's not funny."
"Is this the time to look for fun? If you were unlucky enough to be captured by the Grand Duke, you would be killed immediately."
Even if I was caught, I didn't think the Kishian would kill me right away.
But it wasn't Rodrick.
Whether it's a mercenary king or whatever, he's a commoner, so he won't have any qualms about killing him.
I didn't understand why Rodrick came to pick me up himself.
"I don't think they will kill me. Even if I think of the love we had at the punitive site."
"..."
"And if you want to bring someone precious, you have to risk your life."
"...What is a precious person?"
Now that I had escaped like this, I would no longer be able to live as a Princess or as a Grand Duchess.
I will have to find a fake identity and live in hiding for the rest of my life.
Of course, I had brought a lot of precious jewels with me, so I had enough money to pay Rodrick, but that was it.
I was no longer the precious person he was talking about, and I had nothing else to give him but money.
Perhaps because of the bitterness, the blunt words kept flowing.
"If you had staked your life on another noble person, you would have been knighted. It's a shame."
"It's a pity. I just feel like I've come to the right place."
"..."
"It's not a lie."
Well, if that's the case, that's probably the case.
I didn't mean to think it was a lie.
There was silence for a while, and then I heard the sound of raindrops falling outside.
A thin stream of rain was pouring down through the small window.
"That's great. If it's dark at night and it's raining, the pursuers won't be able to do much. Are you lucky today?"
"I see. This is not enough for the Grand Duke."
Even the Kishian would not have the talent to find us in the rain in such darkness.
The mountain road will become slippery, and there will be nothing in front of you.
I desperately hoped that he would stop his pointless pursuit and go to bed peacefully in the mansion.
***
Contrary to Elona's wishes, Kishian did not return to the mansion.
In the pouring rain, he focused only on chasing after Elona.
The blind pursuit was stopped when the adjutant reminded Kishian of the sad reality.
"Your Highness, I don't think there's any point in chasing it any further."
"..."
"The rain made the road dangerously slippery. It's still dark, but the rain obstructs the view, making it difficult to see even an inch ahead."
"..."
"I think it's better to go back and make a decision. After crossing this mountain, they will probably arrive at the Barony of Leiden. It's not a very big estate, so ask Baron Leiden to help you investigate, and he'll catch Her Highness in no time."
It wasn't that Kishian didn't think about it either.
In his head, he knew it was better to do that. But.
'She must be shivering in the rain by now.'
The image of Elona shivering without even having a bonfire kept growing in his mind.
She had never even been homeless.
Thinking that such a woman would be suffering from cold and hunger on such a difficult mountainside, it was difficult for him to turn back easily.
Even though he knew how pathetic it was to worry about such a thing when he had already been betrayed...
"It's even harder for the soldiers to move."
After hearing the adjutant's report, Kishian sighed.
"...I'll look for another thirty minutes. If I still can't find a trace, I'll go back then."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Bathed in the cold pouring rain, they made their way through the darkness.
However, in the end, no trace of Elona was found.
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