Translator: Nox

42 - Chapter 42

“……”

Eloise stopped breathing for a moment at the rustling sound and listened carefully.

Such sounds were common in the forest at night, where animals roamed. A rabbit cautiously leaving its burrow, a fox hunting that rabbit. Or a busy mouse, or a snake hunting that mouse.

Despite knowing this, Eloise remained concerned about the sound she had heard a moment ago.

She loosened the reins and lightly tapped the horse's side.

It was a signal to the horse to run faster.

The horse, understanding its owner's intention, tried to pick up speed, but it wasn't easy.

The path was narrow and rough, especially at the edge of the forest, and the trees, now lush with summer foliage, blocked even the moonlight that had been illuminating the way.

Perhaps because of this, the path, which she usually passed without a second thought, seemed strangely eerie. Just yesterday, she had been chatting with Sergeant Thornton, not even noticing how quickly they had passed through this area...

“I need to hurry.”

Eloise spoke as if someone were beside her, urging the horse on even more.

‘I need to pick up speed after I get through the forest.’

If she recklessly increased her speed now, she might not see a pit or a rock properly, and the horse could stumble, potentially causing her to fall or injuring the horse.

The forest was located roughly between Feltham and Blissbury.

If she got stuck here, she would be stranded, unable to go either way, and that would be troublesome.

Eloise calmed her strangely growing impatience and carefully made her way out of the forest.

Rustle.

Then, the rustling sound came again. It was closer and much clearer than before.

‘What is it?’

She deliberately made some noise to signal her presence. The animals in the forest would usually be wary of that and run away. But whatever was making the sound was not moving away; instead, it was getting closer.

Eloise looked ahead. The forest path ended, and she could see the road ahead bathed in moonlight.

If she could just get there...

Just as she was about to spur the horse on a little more.

“……!”

Suddenly, a dark figure jumped out of the forest and pounced on Eloise and the horse.

Heeheeing!

The horse, startled, reared up on its hind legs, and she desperately clung to the reins to avoid falling from the sudden movement.

Eloise desperately suppressed a scream and quickly looked to the side. There was a large figure moving in the darkness. It was definitely a person.

The horse, wary of the attacker, continued to raise its front legs.

Knowing that being kicked by a hoof would send him flying, the dark figure dodged to the side. Then, something gleamed in the darkness.

‘A sword!’

The attacker swung the sword at the horse's thigh. Fortunately, she moved quickly and narrowly avoided it.

But the horse was a smart animal. Realizing that the attacker was trying to kill it, it became terrified and reared up even higher, threatening the attacker.

The problem was that Eloise, who was on the horse, couldn't hold on any longer and fell to the ground.

“Ugh!”

The moment she hit the ground, stars flashed before her eyes, and she felt a sharp pain.

But there was no time to lie down and groan. Eloise endured the pain and got to her feet.

Everything ached and throbbed, but she could still move. Fortunately, nothing seemed to be broken.

But she couldn't rejoice in such luck.

Startled by the flashing light in the darkness, the horse neighed loudly several times and began to run back the way it had come.

Since the attacker was in that direction, Eloise ran towards Feltham. She didn't even notice that her shoe, which had come loose while running, had flown off somewhere.

“Damn it! Stop right there!”

The fear became even more vivid when she heard a strange, rough male voice behind her.

It was an unfamiliar voice. Perhaps that was fortunate. If it had been a familiar voice, the fear would have been even greater.

She could hear the sound of someone running behind her. The sound was like the sound of hell approaching.

Who is it?

Even as she ran, she wondered who it was. Surely, they had said that the deserters had been caught. Could one have escaped again?

Eloise's thoughts didn't last long.

“Ah!”

A hand reached out from behind and grabbed her hair roughly. Eloise fell backward with a scream.

A pain similar to when she fell from the horse struck her body.

“You bitch!”

The man shook her head even more violently, grabbing her hair. Her body shook, and she couldn't regain her senses.

The man soon released her hair. Eloise curled up in fear.

“If you scream, I'll kill you. Understand?”

A light flashed back and forth before her eyes. Up close, she could see that the attacker had a badly rusted and dull dagger.

At the same time, a disgusting smell wafted from him. The smell of filth, as if he hadn't washed in a long time.

The vagrants sometimes seen in Cambon gave off this kind of smell.

Eloise bit her lip and looked up. As the shock and fear passed, her eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness.

Then, she saw the clothes the attacker was wearing. It was an old military uniform.

‘A deserter.’

If so, the attacker was someone who had received some military training. He might not be in good condition, but it would be difficult for her to subdue him.

So, Eloise kept her mouth shut as he ordered, trying not to provoke him as much as possible, and remained sitting on the ground without moving.

She remembered the harm that people had suffered from deserters in the past.

At first, they only stole food, but gradually the deserters' looting became more serious. Eventually, they killed a person on the road and looted everything the person had, even stripping them of their clothes!

A cold sweat broke out as she recalled the last incident. Then the deserter asked.

“Do you have any food?”

Eloise shook her head. She really didn't have any food.

“Then give me anything that's worth money, everything.”

At that, Eloise fumbled around her waist and grabbed her bag. Then she took it off and placed it beside her.

The deserter immediately grabbed her bag and turned it upside down, shaking everything out.

‘What was in my bag?’

She didn't usually carry much in her bag. The only things between Feltham and Blissbury were vast fields, hills, and a river.

At most, a handkerchief, a small notebook, a fountain pen, a book of proverbs, and other miscellaneous items.

Fortunately, there were coins, and she heard the sound of coins falling to the ground. The deserter hurriedly picked them up.

Meanwhile, Eloise looked around.

She had only met a handful of people on her way back to Feltham in the past few weeks. Even though it was much earlier than this.

In the end, it would be difficult to get help from others.

‘Should I run?’

No matter which way she went, the nearest house was far away. Judging by how she had been caught a moment ago, she would be caught again soon even if she ran.

Then all she could do was hope that the deserter would just take her bag and leave quickly.

But the moment she saw the deserter's eyes, she knew. This person wouldn't back down so easily.

After pushing all the coins that had fallen on the ground into his pocket, he also took Eloise's bag. Even the notebook and fountain pen.

Then he raised his dagger again and glared at her.

“……”

His eyes darted around as he looked at her. It seemed like he was wondering what to do with Eloise now.

Should she beg? Or should she scold him?

Neither seemed like the answer. But the situation, where she had to rely solely on that man's mercy, enraged Eloise.

‘If only I had a weapon.’

Last year, when her father went to the capital, he had asked if she needed anything.

He had said that recently, as the security in the capital had become unstable, young ladies were buying Protective Charms and carrying them around.

Her mother had seen the article and lamented that such strange things were happening, but Eloise's eyes had lit up.

She should have asked him to buy one then; she had hesitated because he had said that they were quite expensive, and she had never regretted not speaking up as much as she did at this moment.

Eloise bit her lip.

The deserter's eyes gleamed ominously as he looked at her. He had no intention of letting her go easily. If so, she was going to put up as much resistance as she could.

She couldn't just stand there regretting not having a weapon.

She stepped on a large stone. She instinctively realized that this was the only thing she could use as a weapon now.

At that moment, the deserter lunged at her. Eloise quickly ducked to avoid his hand and picked up the stone on the ground.

“You!”

The moment the deserter tried to grab her again, knowing that Eloise had chosen to resist.

“Eloise!”

A voice calling her name was heard.

It was Ryan.