156 - I Got Engaged to a Blind Duke
“……Ah, I’m a little tired.”
‘Suddenly?’ I thought, but I didn’t know what excuse to make, so I just blurted it out.
Marin tried to get out of his arms naturally, as if feigning disinterest, but she lost her footing and ended up falling back into his arms.
At that moment, the two locked eyes.
“Th, no, that’s…….”
Marin tried to change the subject somehow, but her mind was a mess, and the words came out wrong.
“……I’m sorry.”
“It’s not, it’s not something you need to apologize for…….”
Marin felt like crying.
The moment silence fell between them, the bushes rustled.
Marin was rather grateful for the presence that broke the awkward atmosphere.
But an unexpected being popped out. It was none other than BaniBani, the white fur ball.
“BaniBani!”
Without realizing it, she was so happy that she jumped up, but Gerald hid her behind him.
“Stay back.”
As he took out his Sword and pointed it at BaniBani, BaniBani’s large eyes turned sharp.
“Krrr!”
“Wa, wait a minute!”
Marin quickly grabbed the Duke’s hand holding the Sword.
No matter how high-ranking a predator BaniBani was, it was no match for him wielding Aura.
Gerald frowned and removed her hand from the Sword.
“Marin, it’s dangerous.”
He was so engrossed in the kiss that he missed the Monster getting close. It was his mistake.
“Yes, I know. But that BaniBani helped me.”
“What?”
His brow furrowed involuntarily at the absurd words.
“Marin, are you perhaps dreaming?”
“No. BaniBani took me to the War Oasis.”
Marin shook her head and said quickly.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
He had eliminated thousands of Monsters with his own hands. He was confident that no one knew Monsters as well as he did.
But a Monster rabbit helped her? Why?
“Marin, Monsters target the weakest first. Even now, you’re weaker than both of us, so it came close to you. That’s how Monsters work. It’s definitely going to grab you-”
“No.”
Marin said, as if frustrated, then turned her head to look at BaniBani.
BaniBani stared at her with wide eyes. As if it had something to say.
“BaniBani, why did you come here?”
BaniBani’s ears twitched as if reacting to her words.
Gerald’s eyes widened at the sight.
Clearly, that Monster was reacting to her voice.
BaniBani stared at her, then hopped quickly to one side. Then it came back and hopped quickly in that direction again.
Marin and Gerald watched BaniBani’s actions intently.
“What does that mean?”
“Doesn’t it seem like it’s telling us to run?”
“In that direction?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Well, I don’t know.”
Marin shrugged and turned her gaze to BaniBani.
BaniBani tapped one foot on the ground with a dissatisfied look, as if asking why they weren’t coming yet. It was a familiar sight from crossing the desert together. Then it suddenly stopped.
BaniBani stared intently in the opposite direction with a tense look.
At that moment, Gerald grabbed a green vine flying towards him with one hand.
“……!”
He heard the sound of grass rustling, but he didn’t pay attention to it, thinking it was a natural sound.
The green vine wrapped around his wrist and pulled him sharply. Gerald put strength in his feet and resisted.
“Lord Gerald!”
Then, another green vine moved like a whip and snatched Marin’s waist.
“Marin!”
Marin floated into the sky.
“Kyaaaa!”
Marin was pulled back quickly while floating in the sky, not even knowing what had snatched her.
In an instant, he lost his beloved woman before his eyes.
Gerald tried to cut the green vine wrapped around his wrist with his Sword, but it was impossible.
He needed Aura.
Could it be the same kind as the Demon Flower?
“Marin, breathe through your mouth!”
Gerald shouted as loud as he could, hoping that Marin, who had already disappeared from sight, would hear him.
His pupils trembled incessantly.
If the weak her was seduced by the scent of the flower, she would lose her reason and die.
“Damn it.”
He knew that this was the forest where he had encountered the Demon Flower, but all the Demon Flowers had died on the day his eyes went blind.
So he was relieved, but the Demon Flower reappeared.
Moreover, instead of being planted in the ground, it now used vines to tie people up and take them away.
He was about to cut the vine with Aura and chase after Marin, but there was a being that ran forward quickly before that.
It was the Monster rabbit.
Come to think of it, that Monster had first pointed them in the direction to escape. He shouldn’t have hesitated because he didn’t trust the Monster.
If Marin trusted that Monster, he should have followed it as well.
The Monster rabbit chased after Marin with a determined look.
Gerald also ran after the Monster rabbit.
Because the medicine Jerome had given him had run out, he was slower than the Monster rabbit.
The Monster rabbit looked at him with a pathetic look, then sped up, hopping and disappearing quickly.
Gerald put strength in his feet and ran with all his might.
He would never forgive himself if Marin was hurt even a little.
“Marin, breathe through your mouth!”
Gerald’s voice was heard from afar.
Marin breathed through her mouth as he said, trying to grasp the situation as much as possible.
She was currently being kidnapped by a plant vine.
Where on earth were they trying to take her?
Marin clasped her hands tightly and prayed with trembling eyes.
‘Lord Gerald, please come quickly.’
She breathed heavily through her mouth and looked around. Below, she could only see a lush forest.
Then, the shortened vine threw her to the ground.
“Ugh.”
She let out a small scream and grabbed her waist. Fortunately, the ground was covered with grass, so she wasn’t seriously injured.
Marin immediately covered her nose with her hands. It was to prevent herself from breathing through her nose, even unconsciously.
She looked around with a frightened face. It was a flower field full of flowers. Flowers that were taller than her and beautiful were gathered together.
Could it be a Demon Flower? Were these the flowers that attacked the Duke?
She could see a hazy smoke spreading in the air above the flowers.
Was that the scent that attracted people?
The flowers were all bowing their heads as if looking down at her. With their roots planted in the ground, the flower heads followed the direction she moved.
The sight was grotesque and felt even scarier.
She had to get out of here quickly.
At that moment, a flower vine with flower buds crawling like a snake tied her legs.
“What is this?”
Marin was surprised and quickly untied her bracelet. She swung down with all her might to cut the vine with the Triple Staff blade.
Clang.
The sound of steel hitting steel was heard as the blade bounced off.
Oh my god.
The flower vines that had been crawling slowly tied her arms one by one.
“Let go!”
Gerald stopped abruptly at the place he arrived at after chasing the Monster rabbit.
“Ha.”
It was the very place where he had been attacked by the Demon Flower.
As before, a beautiful flower field unfolded before his eyes.
The Demon Flower had led him here again.
He thought he had eliminated them all at the time, but the Demon Flowers had reappeared with tenacious vitality, even larger than before.
He gnashed his teeth at the Demon Flower’s vitality.
“Krrr!”
He turned his head at the unfamiliar sound, and the Monster rabbit and the Demon Flower were fighting fiercely.
The Monster rabbit struck the Demon Flower’s log-like flower stalk with its elongated teeth up to its torso.
The flower stalk, which was not easily damaged even by Aura, was dented deeply.
Then, a vine that flew from somewhere wrapped around the Monster rabbit like a whip and lifted it up.
“Krrr!”
The Monster rabbit gnawed at the vine wrapped around its body with its teeth.
Gerald covered his Sword with Aura and cut the vine hanging the Monster rabbit.
The vine shuddered and shrank as if it was in pain.
The Monster rabbit that fell to the ground glanced at him and ran forward again.
Gerald also ran after the Monster rabbit.
The Demon Flower was more ferocious than before.
It constantly attacked Gerald and the Monster rabbit as if to block the way to Marin.
Sharp, knife-like thorns poured from the flower stalk.
Gerald quickly deflected them with his Sword, but the Monster rabbit couldn’t avoid some of them.
“Krrr…….”
Blue blood trickled down the Monster rabbit’s white fur.
