136 - I Got Engaged to a Blind Duke
Eyed Duke and Fiancee 136
Marin was wearing a navy dress for today. She put a dagger and various supplies in her skirt pocket. The bracelet Jeromian gave her was deliberately worn loosely on her wrist so she could take it off at any time.
"We have arrived, Miss."
"Okay."
Elmis got off first and moved further and further away from the carriage as if looking around.
"Wow! Miss. It's my first time in the Sairan Desert. It's amazing!"
Elmis said, faking her voice like an innocent maid.
Marin took a deep breath and followed her down.
"It's my first time too. John Doe, thank you for your hard work."
"Yes, Miss."
John Doe smiled kindly and bowed his head.
As if he had finished his job, he stroked the Diamond Carriage with affection and climbed back into the driver's seat.
Several masked people got out of the black baggage cart.
And finally, Loanna appeared.
Already sickly, she looked like she was about to collapse. Her mouth was gagged, and her tangled hair covered her face messily.
"Mom!"
At Marin's voice, Loanna's eyes, which had been weakly lowering her eyelids, flashed open.
"Ugh, ugh!"
Loanna screamed like a scream and shook her head as if telling her to run away.
With her hands tied behind her back, unable to move, her eyes were solely on Marin.
"Brave, aren't you? As expected of the Duke of the West's fiancée?"
The masked man grabbed the long rope that tightly bound Loanna and walked slowly.
"I'm here, so let my mom go."
"We have to make a deal, right? Come slowly."
Marin stared intently at the masked man's crimson eyes.
Yuria said that a maid with crimson eyes had delivered the letter.
Is it the same person? The voice is deep, but is it a woman?
Marin walked forward slowly.
Loanna shed thick tears and shook her head wildly as if telling her not to come.
Marin looked down at Loanna's bare feet, closed her eyes tightly, and then opened them.
"Mom, it's okay. Where did your 'shoes' go?"
The moment she finished speaking.
Elmis, who had been hiding, suddenly appeared, cut the long rope in an instant, hugged Loanna, and ran to the carriage.
The masked man threw the rope he was holding on the ground and rushed straight at Marin.
"You used your head?"
The masked man stretched out his hand, not a weapon, as if he had no intention of harming her right now.
At that moment, Shadow M appeared in front of Marin.
"Please, avoid him, Miss."
Marin quickly nodded and looked back at Elmis.
Elmis was heading to the Diamond Carriage with her mother in her arms.
Marin headed in the opposite direction, towards the desert.
If the two of them split up, the number of kidnappers would also be reduced in both directions.
Marin ran straight towards the desert.
"Miss!"
M didn't know that Marin would run away to the desert, so he called her from behind while dealing with the kidnappers.
Marin ignored the voice and continued to run into the desert.
Glancing back, she saw Elmis putting Loanna in the carriage. The coachman was already lying on the ground, killed at some point.
As she watched Elmis quickly drive away in the carriage, she ran with all her might.
Elmis saved her mom. Now, she just had to survive.
Marin continued to run through the desert in her skirt.
Fortunately, Desert monsters didn't roam around much during the day.
It was a good choice to run around the training ground in a skirt. Her speed didn't decrease.
Marin continued to run, looking for the Desert Flower with her eyes.
She took out powder from the prepared pouch and sprinkled it little by little.
After running for a while, she heard someone chasing her from behind.
"Stop there!"
"Would you stop if you were me!"
Marin ran even harder.
The Desert Flower was visible in the distance. It's there!
Marin ran towards it and climbed onto a large rock.
"Looks like you're tired now?"
"Do I look tired?!"
Marin climbed onto the rock and shouted.
"The Duke of the West is crazy, and his fiancée is crazy too?"
The opponent took off her black mask.
Crimson eyes. She was a woman.
"Do you think I can't catch you if you go up there?"
She took off her earrings and threw them on the ground, and her voice changed to a woman's voice.
"No. I think you can catch me."
The woman laughed absurdly and took out a red jewel from her pants. It was a Video Stone.
"I'm Zelmia. Have you heard my name?"
"No."
"Oh, well. It would be nice to know who's killing you, right? Do you know what this is?"
"It's a Video Stone."
Marin played along with her to buy time.
"You know it. From now on, I'm going to take you to a place swarming with Monsters. And I'm going to throw you to those guys and record them tearing you apart. The fiancée of the Duke of the West, who protects the West from Monsters, is thrown as food for Monsters. Doesn't it sound thrilling just thinking about it?"
Zelmia's crimson eyes were filled with madness.
"Was that the purpose? I was wondering why you called me all the way here."
Marin said mockingly to provoke Zelmia.
"The Diamond Carriage will be a valuable source of funds for us."
"The carriage is already far away."
"You don't know the skills of my subordinates very well. The guy who challenged me was also quite skilled, but he's already dead."
M died?
Shadow died trying to protect her. Marin bit her lip and glared at Zelmia resentfully.
"Why are you going this far?"
"The Duke killed my lover, so shouldn't I kill his lover to be fair?"
Zelmia laughed like a madwoman.
A sand cloud was getting closer and closer in the distance. It seemed like she had bought enough time.
"Judging by the fact that Lord Gerald killed him, your lover must have been a bad person, right?"
"Revenge begets revenge. But the one who laughs last is me."
Zelmia's red lips were torn savagely.
Marin took out a dagger from her skirt hem.
"Are you going to stab me with that?"
Zelmia sneered mockingly.
"No. I'm going to call."
"What?"
Fortunately, the direction of the wind was helping her. She tore the powder pouch in her hand with the dagger.
The white powder from the torn pouch scattered into the air, drawing a long line on the wind.
She threw the pouch at Zelmia.
The white powder in the pouch poured down exactly from Zelmia's head and covered her entire body.
"What are you-"
"Kuaaaaak!"
The Monster Santi, which had approached unnoticed, revealed its face from the sand.
Its appearance was similar to a centipede, and its hard black skin shone in the sunlight. The long teeth protruding from its mouth were like sharp Swords.
The white powder was chicken bone powder, which Santi liked. The item she had prepared after seeing it in a book succeeded in summoning Santi.
Dozens of feet stood up sharply and pounced on Zelmia in front of it.
Zelmia knocked away the feet with her Sword and quickly retreated, but she couldn't block all the feet.
"Kyaaak!"
Santi, with its mouth wide open, swallowed Zelmia in one bite.
Marin, who watched the brutal scene, swallowed a scream and calmly hid behind the rock.
The Monster Santi slowly circled around the rock once and then hid back into the sand.
Marin held her breath between the rocks.
Fortunately, Santi was said to hide in the sand and sleep all day once it had eaten.
A long time after Santi disappeared, Marin came out from between the rocks.
Looking around, she saw the blue sky and the endless yellow sand.
It was really a desert.
She never thought she would come to a place like this.
She should have borrowed a compass from Uvis.
She heard that the desert nights were very cold.
Marin got down from the rock as quietly as possible and then took out the bracelet.
She straightened the bracelet and pressed the black jewel. When fire came out of the stick, she held it against the rock.
She drew a circle, intending to save as much fire as possible because she didn't know when she would escape from this desert.
It was an artificial trace that anyone could see.
The Duke can't see, but he won't come alone. Hopefully, the Duke's subordinates will discover this and notice it.
\ \ *
Gerald didn't sleep and continued to run towards the Sairan Desert.
Not being able to sleep for a few days was no problem for him.
He heard the sound of a carriage running in the distance.
Gerald quickly approached it.
The Diamond Carriage was sparkling even from a distance.
