Chapter 92
***
Sponsored by Virginie. Thank you ❤️ (2/3)
***
Diana managed to mount the horse alone. Though her eyelids felt heavy with fatigue, the transparent spirits flitting around her stroked the horse's head, guiding its direction.
Catherine, who had been waiting in the stables, led the way. The front of the palace was guarded by the Crown Prince's knights, so they used the back door where servants came and went. Knights had not yet been stationed there.
"I am Catherine Luigian, head maid of the palace. We are going to retrieve items needed for His Majesty the late Emperor's funeral rites. Open the gate."
The gatekeepers, recognizing Catherine, let them pass without question.
Catherine did not look back at Diana, who sat alone on the horse, nor did she tell her the way. Diana had no choice but to follow by sound alone, but instead, the spirits became her guides.
This way, Diana.
Chaotic noises erupted simultaneously from a distance. Diana heard countless footsteps moving frantically in all directions. She was cutting through them as if nothing was more important. Her heart pounded as if it were about to burst.
Quickly, quickly, quickly. Even knowing Felix wouldn't return until dawn at the earliest, her unease wouldn't subside.
Soon, Catherine pulled on the reins, stopping the horse. Hearing the horse's whine, Diana pulled her own reins tight.
"Alright, from here on, you go alone. I'll take the horse back, so hand me the reins."
Diana groped the horse's back and barely managed to plant her feet on the ground. Stumbling awkwardly, unable to find her bearings, she stood unsteadily. Catherine turned her around with a half-hearted tug on her shoulder.
"The forest is over there."
She hadn't realized it because she couldn't smell the forest's refreshing scent of nature. Diana licked her parched lips and took a step forward. Walking by relying solely on senses other than sight felt precarious. Her thighs, spread wide all night, protested with throbbing pain.
Diana bent her waist toward where Catherine might be.
"Thank you for your help, Mistress."
Catherine stared intently at Diana, who seemed to struggle even to take a step. Then, without thinking, she blurted out,
"You don't even know what you're giving up, do you? You don't know what you failed to protect either."
"Huh?"
"If it weren't for the Duke's and Lady Emile's orders, I wouldn't have helped someone like you. Even if it's true that poisonous weeds deserve to be uprooted."
Catherine snorted in derision. The words "If I were you, I would have lived out my days in this beautiful place" rose to her throat, but it was pointless scolding since this blind woman couldn't even see this place.
"Come to think of it, calling helping you with this trifling matter 'helping' is laughable. Now, go on. I'll wish you luck."
"What did I fail to protect—"
"Shut up. Just get moving."
Catherine shoved Diana. Diana had no choice but to start moving.
It was the first step toward escape.
***
What did I fail to protect?
Diana couldn’t shake Catherine’s voice from her mind as she ran through the forest path.
What she had given up was surely the chance to live as his wife in the arms of the palace’s master. But what was this ‘failure to protect’? The context suggested it wasn’t referring to herself.
Rough earth scraped against her bare soles. Diana took a deep breath. Instead of the cool forest scent she'd expected, the thick smell of ash stung her throat.
'So there really was a fire after all.'
Her mind knew it, yet her heart had clung to hope it wasn't true. Anger and disappointment surged like a wave. Diana bit her lip hard and stepped onto the dry ground.
As always, she took off her shoes. Diana ran, clutching her leather boots to her chest. Tree trunks and branches brushed past her dangerously close.
It would have been impossible alone. It was possible because there were beings pushing and pulling her from both sides, from front and back. Whenever Diana lost her balance and stumbled, or was in danger of crashing hard into a tree, a mysterious force protected her.
Though she had only ventured out twice, she had already mapped out the forest's structure.
The river is quite deep. Unless it's been dried, you should hear the water.
Water was the element Diana could sense most keenly. After running for a while, gasping for breath, she paused briefly to rest, patting her aching back and thighs before running again for a long stretch. The sound of flowing water captured her ears. Though distinctly fainter than before, it was clear a river lay ahead.
If you go upstream, you’ll find a waterfall. They said if you climb beside the waterfall, you’ll reach a valley.
Below the valley lay the gorge. That meant the top of the valley must inevitably be a cliff.
The moment Diana paused to gauge the slope's direction, an unsettling sensation rising from the ground enveloped her.
"Huh?"
Diana's head dropped downward. Her feet, the ground beneath them, felt strange.
Diana slowly lowered her upper body to the ground, lying prone. Pressing her right ear close to the earth, the acrid smell of damp earth stung her nose. But the smell wasn't what mattered.
Sound, and vibration. The latter, especially, was an element Diana had never before perceived with such acute sensitivity. Elementals wrapped around water particles gathered around Diana, pushing her senses to their absolute limit.
A suspicious vibration was being transmitted from a very distant place. It was the rumble of beasts pounding the ground with all four legs. Not only that, but the heavy thud of two-legged footsteps overlapped and echoed. At least several hundred soldiers were moving in unison toward the same direction.
The destination was…
'The Imperial Palace?'
The Imperial Army? Or someone else's…
Before she could ponder further, the cry of a horse echoed from the entrance of the hunting grounds she had passed through.
"...!"
Diana, who had been holding her breath and feeling the tremors in the ground, sprang to her feet. Gritting her teeth, she began to run faster.
Someone was chasing her.
***
The bell tolled thirteen times. The people of the capital, Riporsa, awoke one by one, listening to the bell's toll.
Some burst into tears, some discussed the imperial family's death with neighbors, and some offered silent prayers. Yet at the same moment, the capital's outskirts were being trampled by unidentified soldiers who had arrived prematurely.
A guerrilla force of twenty elite knights breached the capital's walls. They charged straight toward the imperial palace. The northern gate was the closest entrance to the palace from the northern wall.
Guardsmen spotted the armed force charging at full speed in the darkness and sounded the trumpets. But the black-clad assailants let go of their reins and shot arrows.
The trumpet call abruptly died away.
The assassins swiftly dispatched the guards defending the North Gate, then stripped off their uniforms. It was done with lightning speed. In less than ten minutes, assassins disguised as palace knights entered the imperial palace with confidence.
"The first advance party prioritizes capturing the secondary palace. First target: the blind maid in the secondary palace. Second target: the painting studio on the third floor. The blind maid may have been moved elsewhere, so search every corner of the hunting lodge."
Passing through the north gate, the path split into two. One led to the Crown Prince's palace, the other to the entrance of the hunting grounds. The First Advance Team leader gave swift orders.
"Five of you charge straight into the forest. If you capture the maid, immediately fire a signal flare. The rest abandon your horses and infiltrate the palace."
"Yes, Captain!"
"Cut down anything that blocks your path without hesitation. The main force will arrive soon anyway."
Assassins dressed as guards moved like the wind, exploiting the darkness. The five on horseback spurred their mounts toward the black forest. Just as their figures vanished into the darkness, fifteen guards arrived before the secondary palace.
Contrary to expectations, the security was extremely tight. Elite knights directly under the Crown Prince surrounded the secondary palace. Arnold, the guard captain stationed at the main gate, frowned upon spotting the approaching guards.
"Who goes there?"
"We are reinforcements from the main palace."
"The secondary palace requires no further support. Did you come under the Crown Prince's orders?"
"Yes, we did."
Arnold scrutinized the guards with a suspicious gaze.
It was then. Someone stepped out from beyond the garden fence.
Write a comment