#104. Escape
At Sarah's shout to go into the forest, Daphne turned her horse again and headed into the forest. As soon as they entered the forest, Daphne and Sarah got off. Sarah grabbed Daphne's hand and ran deep into the forest. No matter how much they ran, it was useless. This forest was too small, unlike the forest across the bridge. If they pass through this forest, they will return to the plain where the wires are.
Sarah walked slowly, even though she had to run away quickly. She eventually circled a large tree not far from the bridge. Sarah exclaimed.
“Daphne, get in here!”
The place Sarah pointed to was a cave made by tree roots. Daphne crawled into the hole at Sarah’s words. Daphne was surprised. The inside was cozier than she had thought.
“Sarah, how are you here...”
“When my brother and I were kids, the forest was our playground. We always played hide-and-seek in places like this.”
Sarah made a bitter expression. Daphne couldn't answer that. It was Daphne who had killed Sarah's precious brother.
How should she describe this feeling of loss?
For a moment, Daphne felt that Sarah could kill her. It seemed like it wouldn't matter if she blocked this cave and killed her... Daphne couldn't raise her head because of the guilt.
Sarah looked up at the sky with a blank face, then smiled as if she had made up her mind about something.
"Daphne."
The voice was somehow affectionate. Daphne opened her eyes wide and looked at Sarah. Why? Sarah had the gentlest expression she had ever seen. It was like when she had helped her in the past, when she didn't know anything... Sarah smiled as if she felt relieved for some reason.
“Would you mind taking off that hooded cloak you’re wearing?”
"Huh?"
“It’s because I’m cold.”
Why? Is it cold because it's dawn? Daphne took off the hood without thinking. Sarah put the cloak on right away.
“Sarah, are you cold? Come in here, it’s cozy in here.”
But Sarah looked around and then, with difficulty, brought a large stone from a distance. Then she blocked half of the hole in the tree roots.
"Sarah?"
Sarah laughed at that.
“You’ll have to move quickly. His Majesty’s army will probably arrive here soon and find you.”
Daphne's eyes widened at Sarah's words. She had a bad feeling about something.
“What are you trying to do now?”
“Each of us runs away. I pretend to be you. You run away for real.”
“...”
Why should she do that? Sarah hates herself. Or is she trying to run to Asherad? The thought frightened Sarah, and she lowered her eyes.
“I... Daphne, I’m tired of being bad.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks. Daphne looked at Sarah with a blank expression. Bad. Sarah had said that about her actions.
“I’m not suited to bullying anyone. I can’t sleep because I feel sorry for that person.”
Daphne looked at Sarah's distorted face. It seemed as if she hated Daphne, but at the same time, she felt pity for her. The emotion was so blotchy that it was impossible to gauge its size.
Why would she say such things to herself? Why? Isn't it Sarah who made her life so miserable? Because of Sarah, she kept failing to escape, and she despaired. But Sarah also said with a face that looked like she was going to die.
“I’m sick of tormenting you and seeing you suffer. I want to end it.”
“...Sarah, you.”
“I’ll pretend to be you and lure Emperor Asherad. You’ll cross the bridge in the meantime.”
“Why on earth?”
The Sarah she knew was the one who would go to Asherad and tell him where she was hiding. Or was she telling him to run away and then telling Asherad to catch her? But those doubts melted away like snow when she saw Sarah's face. Sarah was strange.
“Sarah, why are you doing this to me? I killed your brother.”
At those words, tears fell from Sarah's eyes again. At that moment, Asherad's voice was heard. Sarah looked at her with a determined expression.
“You’ve already died once.”
“...”
“That’s enough. That’s enough. So run away.”
“But you...”
“Emperor Asherad cannot kill me.”
Sarah said with a cold smile.
“I’m not lying, I’m serious. I have to bring you back. You chose to commit suicide because the Emperor killed people. If he kills me too, will you spare the Emperor?”
That certainly made sense. Asherad was desperate to be forgiven. There was no way he would kill Sarah. At this moment, Daphne believed in Asherad, who loved her.
“I will lure the Emperor to the opposite side. If Emperor Asherad pursues me, cross the bridge without delay.”
“...”
“If I’m lucky, I can run away right away. I’ve played hide-and-seek with my brother in the forest many times. Then I’ll run away and start anew.”
“...”
“And don’t you think it’s strange that I’m worried? Let’s end it cleanly. I’ve prevented you from running away many times, and that’s why he killed the person who made you run away, and Amanda.”
Sarah was right. But Daphne couldn't blame Sarah. As Asherad's voice drew closer, Sarah said,
"Daphne."
Sarah spoke with a bright face, as if she had been liberated from everything.
“I’m sorry about everything.”
How could someone smile like that when they apologize? Daphne couldn't say anything because of that smile. Without even listening to Daphne's answer, Sarah hid somewhere outside the cave.
"Daphne."
Asherad came to the tree where Daphne was hiding. Daphne hid herself in the darkness of the cave, nervous. Asherad didn’t even look down at the bottom of the tree. Even the entrance was half-covered with stones, and Sarah appeared. Asherad chased after Sarah.
When the sound of their footsteps died away, Daphne got up from her seat. She cleared the stones from the cave and went out. Carefully avoiding making any noise, Daphne hid behind a tree and looked at the bridge outside the forest.
Could it be that Asherad's reinforcements are coming now, or is Asherad chasing after her after hearing from Sarah? Those two are just playing a trick on her...
Daphne shook her head. In any case, she had no choice. Daphne ran to the bridge that seemed so far away. Dawn, the sun was rising and shining brightly. Without hesitation, she ran east, toward where the sun had risen.
Daphne ran along that path of light for a long time.
Soon, she saw the large rock that Count Locania had mentioned. Is this what he was talking about? Daphne realized as she observed the rock.
Ah, Daphne knew why the Count of Locania had told her the exact location. It was because she had a premonition that the knight would be pursued and killed by Asherad.
'Sorry.'
Daphne mourned for another knight who had died because of her. She felt like she had committed another sin. How many had been sacrificed because of her escape?
She thought of the dead knight, Fabian.
It was a face that was too sinful to even dare to think about. However, Daphne felt as if her imaginary Fabian was cheering her on. She took a deep breath and followed the path that opened up in that direction. The trees were so dense that Daphne couldn't help but slow down.
If we continue like this, won't we be captured by Asherad?
Could it be that Askeraad is coming after me right now?
What happened to Sarah? I hope she didn't get hurt by an angry Askeraad.
Could it be that Sarah revealed where she had gone?
Or maybe Asherad won't try to kill her?
Daphne's steps slowed down. For a moment, she was swayed by Sarah's sweet words. Even if she were to be caught and kept alive, would anyone who knew that Daphne had run away forever leave her alone?
She was once again lured by the sweet temptation of running away. It was a sin. Should she go back? Should she go back to Asherad?
The 'punishment' that Asherad had planted in Daphne's mind slowed her steps. The closer she got to actually escaping, the more she trembled. She was even hesitating without even finding the tree with the red ribbon hanging from it.
That was when.
“Why don’t you come here? What are you doing?!”
Daphne raised her head when she heard the man's voice. For a moment, Daphne's eyes opened wide, and she was at a loss for words.
“Fabian?”
A man with red eyes and blue eyes was looking at Daphne. When she thought of him, was it a vision of him?
"No."
But he had a cold expression, not a gentle face like Fabian. When Daphne flinched, he grabbed her hand.
“I’ve been waiting for you for a long time!”
Daphne was dragged away by the man without any reason. It happened without her even being able to say anything. Daphne saw a red ribbon in the man's hand.
He must have hung it on a tree to show it to Daphne. Only then did everything make sense. Oh, this man was the son of the Count of Locania, and he was the Count's supporter.
Daphne was dragged by that hand.
The hesitation that had been building up in her mind suddenly disappeared.
It'll be okay. Sarah'll be okay. She'll never get caught, and if she does, she'll survive. She's always been that way.
Despite her ominous thoughts about Sarah, Daphne decided to be selfish. She really wanted to run away. Really.
Daphne stopped looking back and followed the man. Then she came across a cave. Why the cave? Daphne couldn't understand, but when the man went in there, she couldn't help but go in too.
The dark cave was slippery, and she almost fell down several times. Daphne was trembling in fear of this damp and dark place.
The only thing Daphne could lean on was the hand of the man who was holding her. He was the son of the Count of Locania and Fabian's brother, and he held Daphne's hand tightly, and it felt warm.
The dark and scary cave felt comfortable.
After passing through the slippery cave for a while, a light suddenly appeared. As the man stepped into it, the narrow cave opened up.
What is this place? It must be a dark cave... There was water inside the cave like a large lake. And there was a boat there. It was a small boat.
"Get on."
Daphne hesitantly climbed into the raft. Compared to the vast lake, the raft was very small.
“We’ll join a big ship downstream.”
The man seemed to see Daphne's worries and spoke reassuringly. Soon, the man started rowing. The small boat floating on the water smoothly left the cave.
As soon as she left the cave, Daphne became afraid. She was afraid that Asherad might be standing on land and looking at this small boat.
The man rowed when the boat seemed to be going slowly, or else he just sat there and let the current take over. Even though they were facing each other, he didn't say a single word, and Daphne had the feeling that this man hated her.
But the river quickly carried Daphne downstream. As Daphne was about to leave the area where she had been, a large ship appeared. Just when she thought it was a merchant ship, people lowered a net. As the man put Daphne in the net, someone lifted the net.
The ship that carried her was bigger than she had thought. As Daphne looked at the ship with a surprised face, a man came up behind her. He looked around the large ship and spoke to Daphne.
“Welcome, Miss Daphne.”
The man spoke bluntly, his face not welcoming at all. When Daphne tried to say something, the man continued.
“This is a merchant ship heading to the Kingdom of Thalassa. That mad Emperor won’t catch you.”
At Sarah's shout to go into the forest, Daphne turned her horse again and headed into the forest. As soon as they entered the forest, Daphne and Sarah got off. Sarah grabbed Daphne's hand and ran deep into the forest. No matter how much they ran, it was useless. This forest was too small, unlike the forest across the bridge. If they pass through this forest, they will return to the plain where the wires are.
Sarah walked slowly, even though she had to run away quickly. She eventually circled a large tree not far from the bridge. Sarah exclaimed.
“Daphne, get in here!”
The place Sarah pointed to was a cave made by tree roots. Daphne crawled into the hole at Sarah’s words. Daphne was surprised. The inside was cozier than she had thought.
“Sarah, how are you here...”
“When my brother and I were kids, the forest was our playground. We always played hide-and-seek in places like this.”
Sarah made a bitter expression. Daphne couldn't answer that. It was Daphne who had killed Sarah's precious brother.
How should she describe this feeling of loss?
For a moment, Daphne felt that Sarah could kill her. It seemed like it wouldn't matter if she blocked this cave and killed her... Daphne couldn't raise her head because of the guilt.
Sarah looked up at the sky with a blank face, then smiled as if she had made up her mind about something.
"Daphne."
The voice was somehow affectionate. Daphne opened her eyes wide and looked at Sarah. Why? Sarah had the gentlest expression she had ever seen. It was like when she had helped her in the past, when she didn't know anything... Sarah smiled as if she felt relieved for some reason.
“Would you mind taking off that hooded cloak you’re wearing?”
"Huh?"
“It’s because I’m cold.”
Why? Is it cold because it's dawn? Daphne took off the hood without thinking. Sarah put the cloak on right away.
“Sarah, are you cold? Come in here, it’s cozy in here.”
But Sarah looked around and then, with difficulty, brought a large stone from a distance. Then she blocked half of the hole in the tree roots.
"Sarah?"
Sarah laughed at that.
“You’ll have to move quickly. His Majesty’s army will probably arrive here soon and find you.”
Daphne's eyes widened at Sarah's words. She had a bad feeling about something.
“What are you trying to do now?”
“Each of us runs away. I pretend to be you. You run away for real.”
“...”
Why should she do that? Sarah hates herself. Or is she trying to run to Asherad? The thought frightened Sarah, and she lowered her eyes.
“I... Daphne, I’m tired of being bad.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks. Daphne looked at Sarah with a blank expression. Bad. Sarah had said that about her actions.
“I’m not suited to bullying anyone. I can’t sleep because I feel sorry for that person.”
Daphne looked at Sarah's distorted face. It seemed as if she hated Daphne, but at the same time, she felt pity for her. The emotion was so blotchy that it was impossible to gauge its size.
Why would she say such things to herself? Why? Isn't it Sarah who made her life so miserable? Because of Sarah, she kept failing to escape, and she despaired. But Sarah also said with a face that looked like she was going to die.
“I’m sick of tormenting you and seeing you suffer. I want to end it.”
“...Sarah, you.”
“I’ll pretend to be you and lure Emperor Asherad. You’ll cross the bridge in the meantime.”
“Why on earth?”
The Sarah she knew was the one who would go to Asherad and tell him where she was hiding. Or was she telling him to run away and then telling Asherad to catch her? But those doubts melted away like snow when she saw Sarah's face. Sarah was strange.
“Sarah, why are you doing this to me? I killed your brother.”
At those words, tears fell from Sarah's eyes again. At that moment, Asherad's voice was heard. Sarah looked at her with a determined expression.
“You’ve already died once.”
“...”
“That’s enough. That’s enough. So run away.”
“But you...”
“Emperor Asherad cannot kill me.”
Sarah said with a cold smile.
“I’m not lying, I’m serious. I have to bring you back. You chose to commit suicide because the Emperor killed people. If he kills me too, will you spare the Emperor?”
That certainly made sense. Asherad was desperate to be forgiven. There was no way he would kill Sarah. At this moment, Daphne believed in Asherad, who loved her.
“I will lure the Emperor to the opposite side. If Emperor Asherad pursues me, cross the bridge without delay.”
“...”
“If I’m lucky, I can run away right away. I’ve played hide-and-seek with my brother in the forest many times. Then I’ll run away and start anew.”
“...”
“And don’t you think it’s strange that I’m worried? Let’s end it cleanly. I’ve prevented you from running away many times, and that’s why he killed the person who made you run away, and Amanda.”
Sarah was right. But Daphne couldn't blame Sarah. As Asherad's voice drew closer, Sarah said,
"Daphne."
Sarah spoke with a bright face, as if she had been liberated from everything.
“I’m sorry about everything.”
How could someone smile like that when they apologize? Daphne couldn't say anything because of that smile. Without even listening to Daphne's answer, Sarah hid somewhere outside the cave.
"Daphne."
Asherad came to the tree where Daphne was hiding. Daphne hid herself in the darkness of the cave, nervous. Asherad didn’t even look down at the bottom of the tree. Even the entrance was half-covered with stones, and Sarah appeared. Asherad chased after Sarah.
When the sound of their footsteps died away, Daphne got up from her seat. She cleared the stones from the cave and went out. Carefully avoiding making any noise, Daphne hid behind a tree and looked at the bridge outside the forest.
Could it be that Asherad's reinforcements are coming now, or is Asherad chasing after her after hearing from Sarah? Those two are just playing a trick on her...
Daphne shook her head. In any case, she had no choice. Daphne ran to the bridge that seemed so far away. Dawn, the sun was rising and shining brightly. Without hesitation, she ran east, toward where the sun had risen.
Daphne ran along that path of light for a long time.
Soon, she saw the large rock that Count Locania had mentioned. Is this what he was talking about? Daphne realized as she observed the rock.
Ah, Daphne knew why the Count of Locania had told her the exact location. It was because she had a premonition that the knight would be pursued and killed by Asherad.
'Sorry.'
Daphne mourned for another knight who had died because of her. She felt like she had committed another sin. How many had been sacrificed because of her escape?
She thought of the dead knight, Fabian.
It was a face that was too sinful to even dare to think about. However, Daphne felt as if her imaginary Fabian was cheering her on. She took a deep breath and followed the path that opened up in that direction. The trees were so dense that Daphne couldn't help but slow down.
If we continue like this, won't we be captured by Asherad?
Could it be that Askeraad is coming after me right now?
What happened to Sarah? I hope she didn't get hurt by an angry Askeraad.
Could it be that Sarah revealed where she had gone?
Or maybe Asherad won't try to kill her?
Daphne's steps slowed down. For a moment, she was swayed by Sarah's sweet words. Even if she were to be caught and kept alive, would anyone who knew that Daphne had run away forever leave her alone?
She was once again lured by the sweet temptation of running away. It was a sin. Should she go back? Should she go back to Asherad?
The 'punishment' that Asherad had planted in Daphne's mind slowed her steps. The closer she got to actually escaping, the more she trembled. She was even hesitating without even finding the tree with the red ribbon hanging from it.
That was when.
“Why don’t you come here? What are you doing?!”
Daphne raised her head when she heard the man's voice. For a moment, Daphne's eyes opened wide, and she was at a loss for words.
“Fabian?”
A man with red eyes and blue eyes was looking at Daphne. When she thought of him, was it a vision of him?
"No."
But he had a cold expression, not a gentle face like Fabian. When Daphne flinched, he grabbed her hand.
“I’ve been waiting for you for a long time!”
Daphne was dragged away by the man without any reason. It happened without her even being able to say anything. Daphne saw a red ribbon in the man's hand.
He must have hung it on a tree to show it to Daphne. Only then did everything make sense. Oh, this man was the son of the Count of Locania, and he was the Count's supporter.
Daphne was dragged by that hand.
The hesitation that had been building up in her mind suddenly disappeared.
It'll be okay. Sarah'll be okay. She'll never get caught, and if she does, she'll survive. She's always been that way.
Despite her ominous thoughts about Sarah, Daphne decided to be selfish. She really wanted to run away. Really.
Daphne stopped looking back and followed the man. Then she came across a cave. Why the cave? Daphne couldn't understand, but when the man went in there, she couldn't help but go in too.
The dark cave was slippery, and she almost fell down several times. Daphne was trembling in fear of this damp and dark place.
The only thing Daphne could lean on was the hand of the man who was holding her. He was the son of the Count of Locania and Fabian's brother, and he held Daphne's hand tightly, and it felt warm.
The dark and scary cave felt comfortable.
After passing through the slippery cave for a while, a light suddenly appeared. As the man stepped into it, the narrow cave opened up.
What is this place? It must be a dark cave... There was water inside the cave like a large lake. And there was a boat there. It was a small boat.
"Get on."
Daphne hesitantly climbed into the raft. Compared to the vast lake, the raft was very small.
“We’ll join a big ship downstream.”
The man seemed to see Daphne's worries and spoke reassuringly. Soon, the man started rowing. The small boat floating on the water smoothly left the cave.
As soon as she left the cave, Daphne became afraid. She was afraid that Asherad might be standing on land and looking at this small boat.
The man rowed when the boat seemed to be going slowly, or else he just sat there and let the current take over. Even though they were facing each other, he didn't say a single word, and Daphne had the feeling that this man hated her.
But the river quickly carried Daphne downstream. As Daphne was about to leave the area where she had been, a large ship appeared. Just when she thought it was a merchant ship, people lowered a net. As the man put Daphne in the net, someone lifted the net.
The ship that carried her was bigger than she had thought. As Daphne looked at the ship with a surprised face, a man came up behind her. He looked around the large ship and spoke to Daphne.
“Welcome, Miss Daphne.”
The man spoke bluntly, his face not welcoming at all. When Daphne tried to say something, the man continued.
“This is a merchant ship heading to the Kingdom of Thalassa. That mad Emperor won’t catch you.”
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