(93) Please save me (2)
Piersin, the son of Duke Obelius, Averaster, and Wiona, went to the stables together to look at the horses, while the two dukes and their wives remained in the drawing room, enjoying a conversation.
Duke Obelius swallowed a laugh as he watched Langster talk about the incident that had occurred in a certain territory.
'You probably have no idea that your nephew is dying right now.'
Duke Obelius had no intention of sending Ariana to the North without a fight.
He was already concerned about the close relationship between Ariana and the Northern Lord. The Northern Lord, who even the Emperor couldn't easily provoke, might one day become a great help to Ariana.
If Ariana goes to the North and strengthens her relationship with the Northern Lord, then whenever the East is in danger, she can bring the Northern Lord in and overcome the crisis.
'Ariana's popularity will soar.'
Geor's position was still not solid.
People knew that Geor wasn't the biological son of the Eastern Lord. Rumors were already circulating that the Eastern little Lord position might change, but Geor seemed completely unconcerned.
'So I have no choice but to move.'
The farther they travel from the capital, the less loyal they are to the king. Preoccupied with making a living rather than the affairs of the palace, they know nothing of the lord reclaiming his own daughter, nor that her hair is sky blue, nor that she is heading for the North.
The Duke of Obelius was hosting the family of the Duke of Langster White and enjoying a pleasant time.
Duke Obelius swallowed a laugh as he watched Langster talk about the incident that had occurred in a certain territory.
'You probably have no idea that your nephew is dying right now.'
Duke Obelius had no intention of sending Ariana to the North without a fight.
He was already concerned about the close relationship between Ariana and the Northern Lord. The Northern Lord, who even the Emperor couldn't easily provoke, might one day become a great help to Ariana.
If Ariana goes to the North and strengthens her relationship with the Northern Lord, then whenever the East is in danger, she can bring the Northern Lord in and overcome the crisis.
'Ariana's popularity will soar.'
Geor's position was still not solid.
People knew that Geor wasn't the biological son of the Eastern Lord. Rumors were already circulating that the Eastern little Lord position might change, but Geor seemed completely unconcerned.
'So I have no choice but to move.'
The farther they travel from the capital, the less loyal they are to the king. Preoccupied with making a living rather than the affairs of the palace, they know nothing of the lord reclaiming his own daughter, nor that her hair is sky blue, nor that she is heading for the North.
'Only 10 gold.'
The Duke of Obelius could move them for a pittance.
The reason the farmers were moved was to prepare for the eventuality of something going wrong.
A skilled assassin is a thorough investigator, and he keeps various documents ready in case things go wrong. Before carrying out a task, he thoroughly investigates the person who commissioned it. Even if he dispatched an errand boy, he would eventually discover that the Duke of Obelius was behind it.
But it was different for commoners who moved for a few pennies.
They didn't even bother to find out who the messenger was who had come to commission work from them, nor did they wonder who was behind him. All they saw was the glittering gold coins right before their eyes.
Duke Obelius smiled faintly and spoke to Ariana's uncle, Langster.
“By the way, I’m sure you’re very worried since the Princess is going on a long journey.”
***
The men carried Ariana over their shoulders and led her to a secret passage behind the fireplace. The boy and his mother were with them.
Ariana could tell from the conversations they shared as they ran away that they were just ordinary peasants.
Someone had promised them a large sum of money and asked them to kill the girl with the "sky blue hair." That someone knew that Ariana would arrive in the city today, accompanied by several knights, and accompanied by the girl with golden eyes.
The underground passage was long.
It was probably a passage built to avoid enemy eyes when war broke out.
'What should I do?'
Surrounded by men intent on killing her, unable to move, she never dreamed they would use even a common child to set a trap.
'What should I do in this situation?!'
It seemed like they were definitely going to kill Ariana.
The other party had promised an additional eight gold if they succeeded in killing Ariana. They walked down the hallway, excitedly chatting about what they would do with the ten gold coins they'd earned for this mission.
'I was foolish.'
She had to be on guard, thinking that there were enemies everywhere.
'But... how is that?!'
Laughter broke out.
'How can you live knowing that there will be enemies everywhere, at every moment?'
Cyrus came to mind.
'Is this how the Northern Feudal Lords live? Has this been how they have lived?'
Isaac said that there were still many people in the North who were after Cyrus's place.
'What would the Northern Lord do in this situation? No, he wouldn't have found himself in this situation in the first place. He wouldn't have foolishly helped a child like me, and he wouldn't have drunk the tea they offered without question.'
It was a painful mistake.
It was wrong to drink tea offered by someone she barely knew. She let her guard down, assuming they weren't harboring a knife just because they were weak.
'In the end, it all happened because I was foolish.'
They hurried their pace and walked for a long time until they emerged from the underground passage. Once they exited the passage, they found themselves in a forest. Aside from the cries of birds, no other voices could be heard.
However, they walked for a long time carrying Ariana before finally putting her down on the ground.
The child's father spoke to the child's mother and the child.
“You guys are over there.”
The child's mother, seemingly terrified, clutched her child's hand and left the scene. The men surrounded Ariana.
“That... is much younger than I thought? Didn’t they say she was 16?”
“What does age matter? Since you said she had blue hair, it must be her.”
“So... I just have to kill this kid now?”
"They said if we told them where we buried the body after killing it, someone would come and check. We'd wait in the western village, take the money they gave us, and then head out."
“Yes, then... uh, who’s going to kill her?”
The men looked at each other.
“I, I can’t do it. I’m a father.”
The child's father took a step back.
“What does that matter? You made the kid do this to you.”
"So I have to get out. I mobilized my family for this. You guys are the ones who kill."
“I have never killed anyone.”
“You think I have one? I don't either! I can't even kill a bug.”
'But... how is that?!'
Laughter broke out.
'How can you live knowing that there will be enemies everywhere, at every moment?'
Cyrus came to mind.
'Is this how the Northern Feudal Lords live? Has this been how they have lived?'
Isaac said that there were still many people in the North who were after Cyrus's place.
'What would the Northern Lord do in this situation? No, he wouldn't have found himself in this situation in the first place. He wouldn't have foolishly helped a child like me, and he wouldn't have drunk the tea they offered without question.'
It was a painful mistake.
It was wrong to drink tea offered by someone she barely knew. She let her guard down, assuming they weren't harboring a knife just because they were weak.
'In the end, it all happened because I was foolish.'
They hurried their pace and walked for a long time until they emerged from the underground passage. Once they exited the passage, they found themselves in a forest. Aside from the cries of birds, no other voices could be heard.
However, they walked for a long time carrying Ariana before finally putting her down on the ground.
The child's father spoke to the child's mother and the child.
“You guys are over there.”
The child's mother, seemingly terrified, clutched her child's hand and left the scene. The men surrounded Ariana.
“That... is much younger than I thought? Didn’t they say she was 16?”
“What does age matter? Since you said she had blue hair, it must be her.”
“So... I just have to kill this kid now?”
"They said if we told them where we buried the body after killing it, someone would come and check. We'd wait in the western village, take the money they gave us, and then head out."
“Yes, then... uh, who’s going to kill her?”
The men looked at each other.
“I, I can’t do it. I’m a father.”
The child's father took a step back.
“What does that matter? You made the kid do this to you.”
"So I have to get out. I mobilized my family for this. You guys are the ones who kill."
“I have never killed anyone.”
“You think I have one? I don't either! I can't even kill a bug.”
Ariana felt a little relieved at the sight of them pushing each other away.
For the first time, a glimmer of hope appeared.
They were blinded by money and kidnapped Ariana, but when the situation arose where they had to actually kill her, they were bewildered. While they were driven by money, they were normally just good farmers.
'No, the moment he kidnapped me and threatened to kill me for helping his child, he stopped being a good person.'
They'll soon be on their guard. Someone will close their eyes tightly and suffocate Ariana. For ordinary peasants, ten gold pieces would be a sweet treat.
'But I bought some time.'
Time for Sini to wake up. Time for the knights, suspicious of the two people's absence, to storm into the house. Time to find the secret passage.
Ariana prayed fervently that they would not make up their minds for too long and would not put off each other.
***
At the appearance of Geor, the knights guarding the house opened their eyes wide.
“Your Excellency, how did you get here?”
Geor smiled at Langster's question.
“I guess I came along because I was worried about sending the Princess away.”
“I heard you were badly injured while hunting...”
"It's nothing. Isaac gave me some good medicine, so I got better quickly. Is the Princess in there?"
Langster added, explaining the situation that had just occurred.
“Our house is too small, so we were waiting here.”
"Yes, good job. I'll go in and take a look. Wait."
The smile disappeared from Geor's lips as he tapped Langster on the shoulder and headed home.
When he heard that Ariana had rushed to the North without telling Geor, Geor felt both relieved and deeply uneasy.
Would Duke Obelius not know about this? Should he send Ariana to the Northern Territory? Perhaps she could go there and become closer to the Northern lord, but should he wait and see?
The answer was no.
He rode his horse in a hurry to get here, almost fainting several times, his body still not fully recovered.
An old house in a remote place.
If Ariana is receiving thanks from the owner of this house, as the knights say, then nothing could be more fortunate.
'But if something goes wrong, the knights must never know.'
Geor opened the door just enough so that the knights could not see inside the house and went inside.
Even before the door closed, the smell of blood filled his nose.
Sini was lying on the floor, bleeding from her head. There was no one else there.
'I guess there's a secret passage.'
What was suspicious was the fireplace, which seemed out of place in this shabby house.
At that moment, Sini, who had come to her senses, grabbed Geor's ankle.
As Geor looked down, Sini spoke with difficulty.
“Please...save...my...master...please...save...my...master...”
Whether it was the wrong spot or not, Sini looked like she was going to die at any moment. If left alone, she would die within hours.
Geor stared at Sini, who was holding onto the last thread of life and begging for her master's safety, with dark eyes.
'If I spare her life?'
What will happen?
Duke Obelius has been actively working to kill Ariana. Twice in the past few days.
This is something that even the most generous person cannot tolerate.
Ariana had turned a blind eye once, but he wasn't sure she'd turn a blind eye a second time.
'If the Princess were still alive, she would have realized that Duke Obelius was behind this.'
Ariana's beloved Sini was dying, and Ariana herself was on the brink of death. Will Ariana ever consider forgiving the Duke of Obelius and giving him another chance?
'No, she won't do that. She can't do that either.'
Geor was at a crossroads.
'If the Princess dies like this.'
All problems are solved.
Duke Obelius would have used a method that would never reach him.
Sini dies, and Ariana dies.
If he says that it was already too late when Geor found out, then there is absolutely no way to find out the truth about this incident.
It's a shame for the Eastern Lord who had to work so hard to get her daughter back, but it's inevitable. It was clear that the Eastern Lord and the White family would make cruel choices to protect their own blood relatives.
'So I too...'
Wouldn't that work?
Can't I just pretend not to see, pretend not to know, and close my eyes?
That's the only way to save my mother, and once this is over, there's no more threat, so wouldn't it be okay to take the easy way out?
After all, Ariana wasn't even Geor's biological sister. Until just a few months ago, she hadn't even been in Geor's life.
After Ariana's appearance, and after learning of Duke Obelius's ill will toward her, Geor never felt a moment of peace. He had to constantly be on guard against any danger that might befall her.
Geor moved his leg and pulled Sini's hand away. Sini's hand fell to the floor with a thud.
Ariana wanted to regain the peace she had enjoyed before coming to the East.
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