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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: How to Avoid the Trap (3)
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The mercenaries pursued them.
Rosalyn was fast, but Ariana was not. Rosalyn, noticing that Ariana couldn't keep up, stopped.
Ariana had even thrown off her shoes and was running barefoot, but hampered by her flowing skirt and frail body, she found it impossible to run quickly through the pathless forest.
The mercenaries following behind were about to overtake Ariana.
Without a moment's hesitation, Rosalyn launched herself towards the mercenaries.
Clang—!
A mercenary's sword, descending towards Ariana's shoulder, was blocked by Rosalyn's blade, deflected to the side.
Sparks flew from the clashing swords.
"You mere girl!"
The man whose sword had been blocked snarled. Rosalyn impassively moved her left hand.
A hidden projectile shot out, piercing the man's stomach.
"Gah!"
The man, struck by the unexpected attack, widened his eyes and clutched his stomach. Rosalyn skillfully dodged a sword attacking from the side, then twisted her upper body to slash the throat of the man attacking from behind.
Swish—
Despite appearing to exert little effort, blood erupted like a fountain from her opponent's neck.
Rosalyn kicked the abdomen of a nearby assailant, pushing him back, then grabbed Ariana's forearm.
"Run."
"Okay!"
Ariana ran.
The damp forest air brushed against her cheeks. Her weak lungs screamed, and her bare feet, pricked by stones and branches, ached as if tearing, but she didn't stop running.
Whoosh—!
An arrow flew from somewhere.
Clang—!
Rosalyn blocked it with her sword.
However, she couldn't block the second arrow, which flew almost simultaneously.
Thwack—!
The arrow lodged in Rosalyn's thigh. Rosalyn's leg buckled.
"Rosalyn!"
"Go, Young Lady. Don't worry about me; go where you need to go."
Rosalyn's violet eyes, fixed on Ariana, were unwavering. Ariana looked at Rosalyn with trembling eyes.
To Ariana, who couldn't bring herself to leave, Rosalyn spoke again.
"You have something you must do, don't you, Young Lady?"
Those words jolted Ariana as if cold water had been thrown over her.
Ariana gritted her teeth and clutched her skirt.
"I'm sorry, Rosalyn."
Rosalyn didn't reply.
She merely gripped her sword tightly and glared at the mercenaries.
Ariana left Rosalyn behind and ran.
Her own frail body felt pathetic. She knew there was nothing she could do, yet she felt it.
'If only I were a little stronger. A little sturdier.'
She continued to run, filled with futile regrets.
Clang— Clang—!
"Ugh!"
"Gasp!"
The sound of clashing weapons and screams reached her, but she didn't look back.
She would arrive there soon.
"Catch that wench!"
Someone shouted.
"She has to die!"
She heard voices following her.
Ariana didn't look back, hurrying forward, her gaze fixed ahead. She kept running, moving her heavy, aching legs.
Her lungs burned as if on fire. A sweet, metallic taste filled her mouth. Scratches appeared all over her body from brushing against branches and tough weeds.
Just as the footsteps behind her grew closer, Ariana stopped.
A precipice stretched out before her eyes.
"Hahahaha. What, I thought you were running away, but you were just heading to your death?"
The men who had been following burst into laughter as they saw Ariana.
Ariana turned to face them.
Only three men had pursued Ariana. The rest were likely still dealing with Rosalyn.
'Rosalyn, will she be alright?'
She worried about Rosalyn, but there was nothing Ariana could do.
This was what it meant to have neither strength nor power. Even when she wanted to help someone, she couldn't.
The precipice behind her was a gamble.
Ariana had been in a similar situation before. At that time, she had faced real bandits.
Ariana, while fleeing, had reached this very precipice, and rather than be captured and defiled by the bandits, she had chosen death.
Though it looked like a thousand-foot drop, there was a narrow ledge directly below. Ariana had fortunately landed there, sustaining many injuries but surviving.
Inside a cave there was a lake, and by following a path within the lake, one could reach the other side of the mountain.
'If I fall correctly, I can trick them and save my life. They'll report to Rachel that I fell from the cliff and died, and I'll buy myself some time.'
The ledge below the cliff was very narrow, so she had to land precisely.
However, if she fell too carefully, they would become suspicious, so she needed to make it look like she was ending her life.
"Hey, Young Lady. If you're going to die, do it quickly. Otherwise, you'll die by our hands."
"Anyway, it's a shame you're so young, Young Lady. What on earth did you do to end up like this?"
"But Young Lady, you're quite pretty, aren't you?"
One man flashed an ominous smile.
He turned to his companions and grinned sinisterly.
"Selling her off might fetch a good price..."
"We were told to kill her for sure."
"We can just say she's dead. Who cares about the body if she fell off a cliff?"
"True. They didn't say we had to bring the body back."
While the men plotted to sell her, Ariana quietly backed away, nearing the edge of the cliff.
Then she subtly glanced back, checking the ledge below the cliff.
'It's really narrow.'
She had been lucky then. She wasn't sure if she'd be so lucky this time.
'It's fine. This life is a bonus anyway, so I won't have any regrets if I die here.'
Just as Ariana checked behind her and was about to quietly leap from the cliff...
Swish—
A sound of something being cut reached her, and Ariana turned back to face forward.
The head of the man standing in the middle was gone. The two men on either side widened their eyes, unaware of what had just happened.
But their faces didn't remain attached to their necks for long either.
Shing—
A flash of silver.
Thump— Thump-thump—
Two heads fell.
Thud—
Bodies collapsed.
And behind them, a dark figure stood, sword hanging loose.
He wore a black hooded cloak. The deeply pulled-down hood made it impossible to discern who he was.
Ariana stood stiffly, glaring at him, ready to leap from the cliff at any moment.
He flicked his sword to shake off the blood, then sheathed it.
Then, he slowly moved his hand and pulled back his hood.
In the sunlight filtering through the branches, his silver hair shone brilliantly.
At his appearance, which seemed otherworldly, her legs lost their strength. But Ariana gritted her teeth and endured. She stood tall and gracefully, facing him.
"Was I too late?"
His voice was languid, unlike someone who had just instantly killed three men. His expression and tone were as casual as someone who had just woken up.
"We never made such a promise, Your Highness."
"If I hadn't come..."
He walked past the blood-stained ground and approached Ariana.
His cloak, flapping in the wind, made him look like a god descended to earth.
"Were you planning to commit suicide?"
Standing beside Ariana, he looked down at the precipice below, then let out a soft laugh.
"You had a next move planned. As always."
"Yes, Your Highness. As always."
"But if you fell wrong, you'd die."
"If I died, then that would be it. It would simply mean my luck ran out."
"You truly have no fear."
Cyrus examined Ariana's face with an air of wonder, then gently touched her cheek with his finger.
The spot where she had been cut by a branch stung as his hand touched it, but Ariana didn't show it, sending him a calm gaze.
"That must hurt."
"It's nothing."
"A scar on a man's face is a badge of honor, but not so for a woman."
"My badges of honor don't need to be recognized by others. It's enough if they are a source of pride for me alone."
Ariana, stepping back to evade Cyrus's touch, forgot about the cliff behind her.
Her foot met empty air, and she stumbled, about to fall, when a strong arm wrapped around Ariana's slender waist and pulled her close.
He practically embraced Ariana, pulling her away from the cliff.
"You're careless."
"Thank you."
"You almost fell, yet you show no surprise. Are you truly human?"
"Your Highness, you don't look human either. Women say you are the Moon God, and indeed, you appear to be."
"Wouldn't it be better to say such things with less intensity in your eyes? I feel as though I might burn from your gaze."
Even as they spoke, he still held Ariana's waist. Their joined bodies made her uneasy. A chill emanating from beyond his clothes made her shiver.
"Please release me, Your Highness."
"Ah, my apologies."
Released from his grasp, Ariana became uneasy at the forest's excessive quiet.
What had happened to Rosalyn? Was she even alive?
Ariana started to move in the direction she had left Rosalyn, but Cyrus blocked her path.
"Going to look for your maid?"
"..."
"For someone with such poison in your heart, you're quite sentimental."
"It's the natural order to repay favors. That maid has been a great help to me."
Though Ariana said Rosalyn had been helpful, for some reason, Cyrus seemed pleased.
Ariana looked up at him with a dubious feeling and said,
"I will certainly repay the favor Your Highness has shown me someday as well. So you can rest assured."
"Does that mean you're telling me to leave now that your business is concluded?"
"..."
"If you worry about the life and death of a mere maid, you won't achieve what you desire."
"Just because I've decided to become a beast doesn't mean I want to sink my fangs into the necks of those unrelated to me."
"Your thoughts are as blunt as your face. You'll never truly become a beast."
Ariana couldn't understand why Cyrus was saying such things in this situation.
Though it might not help Rosalyn directly, if there was anything she could do to help, given the circumstances, she wanted to. At the very least, she could buy her time to escape, couldn't she?
But every time she tried to go that way, Cyrus kept blocking her path. If he weren't the Northern Duke, she would have kicked him in the shins.
"Your Highness, please..."
Just as she was about to ask him to move, the bushes behind Cyrus rustled.
Were the men who were fighting Rosalyn coming?
Unlike Ariana, who was tense, Cyrus leisurely looked down at her.
Ariana rose on her tiptoes and whispered in a worried voice.
"Your Highness, someone is coming this way."
"Oh."
Cyrus merely let out a small exclamation, showing no sign of alarm.
What on earth was he thinking?
As Ariana debated whether to pull out the dagger from her pocket or go back to the precipice and prepare to jump, a familiar figure emerged from the bushes.
"Rosalyn!"
Ariana involuntarily raised her voice and ran towards Rosalyn.
She briefly relaxed at the survival of Rosalyn, whom she had thought dead.
Rosalyn was covered in blood.
"Young Lady. Are you safe?"
"Yes, and you... you seem badly hurt."
"It's not my blood."
Rosalyn bowed slightly to Ariana, then limped forward to Cyrus, kneeling on one knee.
"I greet my Liege."
