139 - I Got Engaged to a Blind Duke
I got engaged to the blind duke Chapter 139
Having not eaten or drunk for two days, walking under the scorching sun made my vision blur.
Marin gasped for breath, supporting her weakening legs with her hands.
The white body of BaniBani, running far away, multiplied into two, then three.
Was this how I was going to die? What should I call this? Dying in a strange land, a death away from home? Dying of hunger, starvation?
Still, I took care of the kidnapper before dying, so that's a relief...
Marin shook her head, trying to shake off the pessimistic thoughts that kept creeping into her mind.
Why would I die?
I have to see Mom again, and after the Duke can see, I have to confess my love. I absolutely won't die, no matter what.
Then, in the distance, she saw a shimmering blue wave.
"...Water?"
Finally, I'm starting to see things.
Seeing the blue water made her throat even drier.
Marin smiled weakly, reaching out towards the distant wave.
At least I get to see water before I di...
"No! I'm not going to die!"
Marin slapped her thigh hard to try and regain her senses.
"Ah- it hurts. Good thing. It hurts."
It was a real relief. Still feeling pain meant it wasn't time to die yet.
Marin tried hard to clear her head and looked ahead again.
The blue wave she thought was a hallucination was still there.
The blue shimmering wave was calm. Like a wide lake.
A lake? Could it be the War Oasis in the middle of the Sairan Desert?
Marin looked around in surprise.
She saw BaniBani hopping away from her in another direction.
Marin watched BaniBani's retreating figure with a confused look.
Did you just bring me to the lake and leave?
I'm your emergency food? Your lunchbox? Why?
She saw BaniBani turn around.
At that moment, a strong sandstorm blew.
As the yellow sand scattered, the pink heart-shaped spot between the white fur on BaniBani's forehead was revealed.
But Marin didn't see it because sand got in her eyes.
BaniBani stared at Marin for a moment, then hopped away again into the distance.
\ \ \
Marin asked the unanswerable question in her mind and walked towards the War Oasis.
Whether BaniBani brought her here or not, she could now drink water. She could live.
However, the War Oasis, which seemed close, was very far away.
Her exhausted knees buckled momentarily.
She hadn't eaten or drunk anything, and she hadn't slept a wink because she was confronting BaniBani.
Her strength had run out in front of the lake.
Let's rest for a bit.
Marin thought so and crawled to a waist-high rock and leaned against it.
Ah, I want to rest. I don't want to do anything.
Her eyes kept closing. She shook her head to try and clear her mind, but it was no use.
I can't fall asleep like this. It's dangerous.
Knowing this, her body gradually tilted to the side, and her head touched the sandy ground.
I can't fall asleep. I have to wake up.
Her vision blurred and became hazy.
Another sandstorm blew, and yellow sand piled up on her body.
It's warm.
Marin thought as she closed her eyes.
"...Who is this? Sweetie?"
Buzzing. She heard the sound of bees buzzing in the distance. If there are many bees, the Duke will appear and save me.
"Sweetie! Wake up."
Bees kept buzzing in her ears.
It's noisy. I want to sleep.
Marin lost consciousness.
\ \ \
Gerald found traces of a fight with a baggage cart at the entrance of the Sairan Desert. And even the Shadow M's body, which had grown cold.
Saving Marin was the most important thing, but he couldn't just leave his man like this.
If left here, he would become food for the Monster.
Kay hadn't been able to catch up with him because he had taken the medicine Jerome had given him and ran in the shortest amount of time.
Gerald began to dig into the ground with the scabbard on his waist.
After a while, a deep pit was created.
"Emros. Thank you for your hard work."
He buried M, brought a large rock, and placed it on top. He also marked it with an X with his Sword.
Kay, who was following hard, would see this mark and recover M.
The fact that Shadow M had been attacked meant that the kidnapper's skills were considerable.
Gerald gritted his teeth so hard that the muscles in his jaw bulged, and he shot out into the desert like a ray of light.
His eyes flashed fiercely.
He would make any bastard pay the price.
\ \ *
Gerald ran wildly through the desert for a day.
He met and killed countless Monsters along the way, moving forward.
Every time he encountered Monsters, his heart boiled, and his actions became increasingly cruel.
Could Marin have survived this far in such a harsh place?
The blue blood dripping from the Sword was buried in the sand without a trace.
No matter how wide he opened his senses, he couldn't find any trace of Marin. The Sairan Desert was too vast, and she was too small.
With each rough breath, his chest swelled up as if it would burst and then subsided repeatedly.
He was on the verge of going crazy.
No, maybe he was already crazy.
He wondered why the kidnappers had chosen the Sairan Desert as the scene of the crime, but if the purpose was to drive him crazy like this, they had succeeded.
He kept picturing Monsters attacking her in his head, making it hard for him to breathe.
Small and delicate Marin would be nothing more than a bite for a Desert monster.
"Marin..."
The pain of the past when he couldn't see was nothing.
The moment she disappeared, the world collapsed.
Gerald lay down on the rough sandy ground. The wide blue sky spread out before his eyes.
He couldn't honestly tell her that he could see so well now.
Marin wanted him to be able to see so badly, but he couldn't bring himself to say that he could see because of his greed for her.
Late regrets piled up in his heart.
He couldn't say he loved her. He had never done it before, so he didn't even know how to say such words.
He couldn't even think about it. How pathetic.
He was going to tell her he loved her as soon as he met her this time.
"I love you."
All he had to do was say one word like this.
He couldn't give up like this.
Gerald stood up again.
He hadn't even confessed to Marin once, and he was giving up on her.
Even if she had been attacked by a Monster, he would find her. Even if he had to search the entire desert.
What had he missed?
Calculating her walking speed, he should have already encountered her.
In the end, there was only one answer.
The paths had diverged from the beginning.
Yes. From the beginning.
Gerald turned around and ran back to the entrance of the Sairan Desert.
You stupid bastard. He was so caught up in the thought that she might be in danger that he lost his mind.
He shouldn't have been aimlessly wandering the desert.
Marin, who had told him to come and save her right away, would have definitely left some kind of trace.
He ran for another day and arrived at the place where the baggage cart was parked, looking out at the Sairan Desert.
In the distance, he saw a rock and red flowers. That was where Santis often appeared.
Even when reducing the number of Monsters each season for desert trade, he consciously avoided that place.
It took ten knights to kill one large Santi. Knights who didn't know how to handle Aura couldn't even step forward because the epidermis was so hard.
That's why he didn't go in that direction when he was searching for Marin.
It wasn't that he was afraid of Santi.
He just hoped that she wouldn't go there.
She wouldn't have gone that way, would she?
Gerald looked away, then turned his head back towards the Santi.
M was dead. That meant there was a pursuer chasing her.
Could Marin have avoided the pursuer's hand? What would Marin have done to shake off the pursuer? Did Marin already know about the existence of Santi?
Numerous questions arose and disappeared in his head.
His steps unknowingly headed towards the Santi's habitat. For some reason, he felt like he could find the answer if he went there.
Once he decided on the direction, his feet picked up speed again. Gerald ran as if he were flying and arrived at the Santi's habitat.
And he found traces drawn with fire on a large rock.
"Ha, Marin."
For the first time since entering the desert, a smile appeared on his lips.
It was clearly Marin's trace. She was waiting for him!
