Chapter 40
Eslyn stepped back and asked, but her arm was gripped so tightly that blood couldn’t circulate.
“I told you, it’s me—Arsus Nocturn.”
Eslyn shook her head.
“You’re not Sir Arsus.”
She swung her arm hard to break free. Thankfully, she managed to pull it out, but now both her shoulders were seized.
Spin. Arsus’s eyes rolled once.
“Maid, maid, maid—!”
He charged at Eslyn with terrifying force. Her body was shoved helplessly until her back slammed against the prison wall.
“Ugh.”
The chill came before the pain.
Arsus’s eyes, seen up close, were hollow. As if he were being controlled by someone.
“I came to rescue you! Can’t you just quietly come with me?”
“Where exactly are you taking me…?”
“To the torture chamber, of course! Because we’re going to torture you now! The Master’s orders!”
Arsus shouted like a madman.
The Master?
Eslyn frowned. The strength in his grip was overwhelming—she felt like her shoulders might dislocate.
“If you really don’t want to come with me…”
Arsus tilted his head.
“Then should we just do it here?”
His hand crept up toward Eslyn’s neck. She squeezed her eyes shut and screamed,
“Sir Arsus, snap out of it!”
Then, as if by magic, Arsus’s hand stopped abruptly.
Blink, blink. His eyes slowly fluttered.
His hand began to tremble. His expression twisted, as if waging war against something inside himself.
“Y-You crazy… bastard…”
A repressed voice escaped him. Huff, huff. Ragged breaths burst out with it.
“What the hell… are you doing to the lady!”
Smack. Arsus raised his trembling fist and punched himself straight in the face.
Blood gushed from his nose.
“M-My lady…”
“Sir Arsus, are you all right?”
Only then did life return to his once-cloudy eyes. Eslyn quickly rushed to support the collapsed knight.
“Hurry, you must run. I think I was… under some sort of spell. The torture order is real. Before others come—quickly—”
He spoke in a daze. Eslyn bit her lip.
“I want to go with you, but I’m… too shaken right now. I’m afraid I might hurt you again…”
Arsus stared at his own trembling hands.
Then, in the distance, came the sound of multiple footsteps.
“Quickly! My lady, hide somewhere!”
He whispered urgently. Eslyn nodded.
“Sir Arsus, I won’t forget this favor.”
“Favor? I tried to kill you.”
“But you also saved me. That was you, Sir Arsus. One day… I will repay this.”
“My lady…”
Arsus could feel the parting approaching. His eyes grew wet.
Step, step.
Footsteps grew louder.
Arsus moved to take off his robe and draped it around Eslyn. He didn’t forget to hand her a small dagger, either.
“Did I ever tell you… that I like you?”
He smiled faintly, his expression oddly drowsy.
“Go. I’ll hold them off here.”
“Thank you… I’ll see you again, I promise.”
Eslyn turned her body. Just before taking off, a thought struck her, and she whispered quickly:
“If anything happens to your body again, go find the magician Dierian Frey.”
“Dierian Frey?”
“Tell him Eslyn sent you. He’ll know.”
With that, Eslyn ran.
Following the same path Arsus had taken, she escaped with little trouble. Whether it was Arsus’s doing or something else, the guards and sentries were all asleep.
‘There must be a horse Sir Arsus came with.’
Eslyn quickly found it.
‘There was a hidden passage near here, too.’
She knew the palace layout like the back of her hand. She swiftly mounted the horse.
Clop, clop. The sound of hooves cut through the darkness.
She was nearly at the entrance of the secret passage when—
“Seize the prisoner!”
Torches flared and the guards’ shouts rang out.
Eslyn swiftly leapt onto the horse.
“Go!”
She whipped the reins hard. The horse neighed loudly and sprang forward.
There she is!
Nearby soldiers chased after her—but they weren’t mounted.
“Catch her! The prisoner is escaping!”
The palace was in chaos. Eslyn pushed through the underbrush, aiming for a weathered wooden gate in the distance.
Neigh!
The horse reared and struck the rotting gate with immense force.
Crash!
It was the secret passage she and Erdan had used hundreds of times. A path out of the imperial palace.
She charged out.
It was a dark night with not even a sliver of moonlight.
‘I won’t lose to Kardan again.’
Eslyn thought to herself.
She had to find Dierian. The dream in the prison had felt so vivid.
‘He must’ve done something to the poison cup.’
She bit her lip.
Behind her, hoofbeats quickly approached. The pursuit party had caught up.
Eslyn veered sharply. Horseback riding was her specialty.
‘I need to find the truth.’
The grand palace faded into the distance behind her.
The place where she had been born a princess, and returned as a maid. To reunite with her family—Erdan.
Would she ever return there again? And if so, for what purpose?
“She’s turning! Toward the forest!”
The thunder of hooves shook the earth.
She couldn’t tell if it was her heart pounding or the horses behind her.
The sky was full of dark clouds. Eslyn raced through the rugged forest path.
To her right, the sound of the Sehaz River flowed far below the cliff.
She could smell water—but it smelled more like rain than the river.
‘Rain would be bad.’
Wet ground meant slower speed. She gripped the reins tighter and sped up.
“Hah, hah…”
Her breathing grew ragged. The pursuers also picked up speed.
Clop, clop!
The ground quaked like an earthquake. But Eslyn pressed forward without hesitation.
They were trained knights.
There was no way she could outrun them in skill. But she knew this road.
The road to Count Frey’s territory.
‘Dierian must’ve gone to the Count’s lands.’
The Count’s estate wasn’t far from the capital.
Shwik! Thunk!
An arrow whizzed by from behind. It struck the moist earth with a chilling sound.
Eslyn flinched.
But the arrow hadn’t hit the horse’s flank—it landed behind it. That meant they hadn’t caught up yet.
‘Faster… faster…’
She whipped the horse once more.
Neigh!
The horse neighed loudly and surged forward. Eslyn crouched low.
The pursuing hoofbeats didn’t slow. Everything around her blurred past in an instant.
“Damn it, we can’t catch her!”
She thought she heard someone shout.
At that moment, a droplet fell on Eslyn’s nose.
‘Rain…’
She frowned.
Rain wasn’t good. Hooves could slip on muddy terrain.
And if she fell—
“Careful not to slip! There’s a cliff next to her!”
The soldiers’ shouts echoed behind her.
The rain began to fall in earnest—not heavy enough to blind her, but enough to soak her clothes.
‘Just a little more…’
Eslyn gritted her teeth.
She knew that up ahead, the path suddenly dropped off.
Like a short cliff—it often caught first-time travelers off guard and sent them plunging into the Sehaz River.
Especially on a moonless night like this.
‘If I just get past that cliff, I can lose them.’
Clop, clop!
Eslyn urged the horse nonstop. The wet smell of mud rose up. Her soaked robe dragged heavily.
But she couldn’t stop.
She scanned the area quickly. Familiar trees and rocks flashed by like lightning.
It was close.
She clenched her jaw. She’d never ridden this fast on this road. In truth, she was half trusting her luck.
‘Now!’
She yanked the reins hard. The horse leaped.
The cliff wasn’t wide—just sudden. As long as she moved carefully, she wouldn’t fall.
Splat. Thud.
Eslyn exhaled a breath she’d been holding.
Neigh!
The horse landed safely and neighed excitedly.
“Aaaagh!”
Screams rang out behind her.
“Huff… haah…”
Eslyn breathed hard once more, then kept riding. She didn’t look back.
The hoofbeats behind her faded. Just when it seemed she had escaped—
Craaaack.
The ground beneath her cracked with a terrible sound.
The horse reared.
“…!”
She nearly slipped off toward the cliff edge.
Eslyn steadied the reins and calmed the horse. She had to cling on with all her strength.
“Ugh.”
Her left wrist ached and she let out a small cry.
“A tracker magician…?”
Eslyn narrowed her eyes.
Even the palace’s tracking mages were chasing her.
Several magicians in royal robes rode up on enchanted horses—glowing blue in the eyes.
“You’re like a rat in a trap now.”
Eslyn clenched her jaw. Worse still, a few knights had managed to jump the cliff and were approaching.
“What should we do?”
One asked the magician.
“He said bring her alive, but…”
The mage said coldly:
“She doesn’t need to be in perfect condition.”
With that, a knight pulled back his bowstring.
Eslyn quickly turned the horse, trying to flee again.
But she had no way to stop the arrows.
Through the weakening rain, the arrows flew.
She felt so wronged.
Was she going to die like this again?
She had only just begun to piece things together.
She was finally getting close to the truth!
Then—
A gust of wind brushed past her side.
“Get down.”
Came a low voice.
