CH 51

“I’m definitely going to kill that damn bitch.”

Alberto grinded his teeth.

The damn dress he was wearing was too cumbersome.

And this carriage, which rattled with every move, aroused his anger even more.

‘A fox-like woman.’

She should never be left alive. She will probably become a stumbling block and repercussions for the rest of his life.

‘By the way, when did she see that I hit a child and even treat him?’

Alberto was swearing, but the carriage rattled, making him bite his tongue.

“Aaaargh! Aagh!”

He didn’t bite it hard enough for his tongue to be cut off, but it tingled and bled as if it was paralyzed. Today was a day when nothing really worked out.

“Daaammm!!” (Daaamn!)

He shouted, as blood dripped across his lips.

“Staph! Staph it!” (Stop! Stop it!)

But the coachman continued to drive as he couldn’t hear his screams.

At some point, the carriage he was riding in was slowly entering the forest. He was filled with anger and just went wild without thinking. Until the carriage stopped.

“Ugh! Aaagh!”

It wasn’t until the time when the coachman hurriedly got off the driver’s seat and ran through the window to escape alone, Alberto remembered a plan he had planned.

At that moment, the flying arrow shattered the glass of the carriage and narrowly pierced the other wall.

“…!”

Alberto’s eyes were wide open.

The reason for having the Saintess participate in the Hunting Festival was to harm her.

They draw Kyle’s attention by saying that a high-grade monster has appeared in a hurry and separates him from the Saintess, and then has the driver that has been bought in advance to drag and bring her in the other direction. After that, it will only be a matter of seconds.

“Kekeke! You’re here!”

The sound of the carriage’s door slamming was heard along with harsh laughter.

Alberto opened his eyes and looked around. It was a deserted place, and he could only sense the presence of unfamiliar people.

“…!”

He jumped up from his seat and was thrown out of the carriage by the hand of the man who came in at that moment.

“Aaaaakh!”

He felt a dull pain in his buttocks hitting the floor. His head also hit something and tingled.

A harsh, hoarse voice was heard from above.

“You’re unlucky to meet bandits.”

With his head raised, Alberto looked at them with wide open eyes.

About five ugly men in commoners’ clothes were covering their mouths. However, they weren’t bandits. They’re all assassins hired by Alberto.

“Yew!” (You!)

“Nice to meet you. Saintess.”

He got into the carriage of the Saintess, wearing her clothes, and was mistaken for her.

The sound of a sword being pulled out made his spine tremble.

“Don’t be too resentful. Still, you’re the Saintess, so even if you die, God will send you to a better place.”

“Ai’m nawt da Saintesh! Da Saintesh went thewe!” (I’m not the Saintess! The Saintess went there!)

Alberto was bewildered by this situation and protested while staring intently at them.

However, he bit his tongue so hard that blood was oozing from his mouth, and his pronunciation wasn’t right.

“What?”

The man who looked like the boss furrowed his eyebrows.

“I saidh ai’m nawt da Saintesh, yew bashtardsh! (I said I’m not the Saintess, you bastards!)”

The man holding the knife stopped and furrowed his eyebrows, and the voices of men talking were heard.

“There are rumors that the Saintess is an idiot, it seems to be true.”

“I heard she was pretty, yet in reality she has a terrible face.”

“I’ve never seen a face so messed up.”

“Doesn’t it look like a man dressed as a woman? Disgusting.”

Alberto was just going crazy.

“Cwazy bashtardsh, whath’sh wong wihth my fesh!” (Crazy bastards, what’s wrong with my face!)

He screamed loudly, but blood was dripping from his mouth.

Soon, the boss raised the sword toward him again.

Alberto realized. No matter how hard he tried, there would be no chance that those bastards would recognize him.

He quickly spread the dirt in his hands on their faces. Then he started running, holding the hem of the dress in both hands.

“What?! Catch her!”

After a while, he heard angry men’s voices behind him.

*** 

“Ah… My back.”

Unlike the main characters in the movie, who can’t stop running all night long, Ariel’s body was far from exercising, that’s why my lower back quickly began to ache.

Kyle, who was running alongside me, stopped his horse, and so did I.

He got off his horse and reached out to me.

I grabbed his hand and hugged him for a little while, then came down. A cool scent lingered on the tip of my nose.

“Did the Paladins return nicely?”

“I should advise Reihausd to clean the temple.”

The reason we were alone was that the Paladins who had been following us to some extent suddenly started vomiting or grabbing their stomachs.

Someone must’ve mixed a drug that caused an upset stomach in their meals today.

I didn’t expect this up to now, but Alberto seems to have prepared quite meticulously.

Now this place was in the forest, and it was quiet without anyone’s presence. Of those who participated in the Hunting Festival, we probably came the farthest.

“If I had known this would happen, I would have taken a carriage.”

Kyle licked his lips at my words.

“If you did, you would be playing with troublesome things.”

Kyle also seemed to have guessed that Alberto or Empress had something in their minds.

He quickly removed his cloak and covered the stump of the cut tree.

“Sit down.”

I hesitated for a moment and then sat down on it. I felt like I was going to live when I rested for a while after sitting on top of the shaky horse.

“This is a hunting festival but can you just protect me like this?”

He looked into the distant forest and answered.

“Do you want to go alone?”

“No.”

Hearing my stern answer, I heard him laugh.

I didn’t want to be left alone in the forest teeming with monsters. Besides, I’m the Saintess. The oracle is helpful, but it was still safer to go with Kyle.

“I’ll purify the rocks, then bring me back. After that, it’s not too late to enjoy hunting alone, right?”

Hunting festivals usually last until midnight. A search party is dispatched around midnight for those who can’t come back even at midnight.

“No. I’m not going to participate in this hunt.”

I asked him with a puzzled expression.

“Wouldn’t it be helpful to show off your bravery by hunting big monsters?”

“Sometimes you have to take care of yourself.”

“Pardon?”

He didn’t answer my questions. And instead he turned to me and asked.

“Are you getting enough rest now?”

I’m sure my back hurts less than before. Yet I shook my head.

“No. It hasn’t even been five minutes yet.”

I have a quick temper, so please get up already.

But unexpected words came out of his mouth.

“Don’t be surprised, sit and wait.”

The blade was pulled from his scabbard with a sharp sound. Immediately, a thump was heard in the forest, and the two horses standing there made a sound.

‘What’s going on?’

Thump, thump, thump.

At that moment, the earth began to vibrate.

I couldn’t figure out what was going on, so I just looked in the direction of the sound.

After a while, a faint shadow came rushing in and gradually revealed its shape.

Something fat, with green skin and about three meters tall, was rushing here.

It had a large stone ax in its hand, it was probably a troll.

‘I feel like if I get hit with that stone ax even once, my whole body is going to break.’

I jumped up with a pale face.

Neiigghhㅡ

Contrary to Kyle’s calm words at that moment, my horse… No, Alberto’s horse raised its front paws and made a noise, then suddenly started running away in the other direction.

“No! Don’t go!”

I hurriedly got up and tried to catch the horse. But the horse had already run away.

“I forgot to tell you to hang it up.”

Kyle, who was looking at the monster with his sword drawn, frowned and said.

‘I can’t even run away!’

Even at this moment, the troll continued to run at great speed.

I stood behind him with clenched fists, resisting my instinct to run away at any moment.

‘Help me!’