CBDBS l CH 60

Chapter 60

“Cherry…?”

“Cherry, Cherry!”

“Lady Cherry?!”

All eyes inside the carriage turned toward me at once.

Shock.
Curiosity.
Disbelief.

Ignoring their stares, I sprang off Gerard’s knee and scrambled toward the window.

“Cherry, that’s dangerous—!”

“Lord, w-where do you think you’re grabbing?!”

“Damn it…”

Konig reached for me, but in the cramped carriage, even a strong man like him could barely move. He tangled awkwardly with Gerard instead.

I seized the chance and wriggled through the half-open window.

[ Hurry. It’s coming up. ]

Bishop’s voice echoed above as he soared overhead.

“We only have to tell them the departure date, right?”

“Yeah. After that, they’ll handle it. I heard they’re planning to destroy the bridge on the way to Volken, right at the border.”

“Ah, Volken territory… famous for its heavy fog.”

That was the information I’d extracted from tailing the men atop the tower.

Of course, the tailing had been entrusted to my adorable little lizard, Sebi.

***

[ Volken, fog, bridge… mm, too long. I dropped half on the way back. ]

How he managed to drop memories on the ground like Hansel and Gretel’s bread crumbs, I had no idea.

But it was enough. There weren’t many bridges connecting the duchy to Volken lands.

‘They’ve set out. We move too.’

[Tch. Why is a glorious being like me stuck doing this again?]

Naturally, I rode on Bishop’s back, following Konig’s carriage.

By tailing the rattling coach from the castle gates, it wasn’t hard to guess which bridge was the target.

Flying ahead—

‘That bridge?’

A long wooden bridge stretched across a sheer ravine.

At first glance, it looked ordinary—aside from the weathered wood.

[Looks like your idiot lizard was right.]

Bishop’s sharp eyes gleamed.

An ambush.

Dark figures slithered along both sides of the bridge—masked men, positioned to cover every possibility.

They’d prepared thoroughly for their target.

But what truly caught my eye—

‘Dynamite?!’

Crates stacked right in the middle of the bridge.

The kind used in mining.

Their plan was clear: blow the bridge and send Konig tumbling into the abyss.

I had to stop the carriage—no matter what.

‘Konig will yell, ask how I got here, maybe even suspect me… but that doesn’t matter now.’

I pushed aside the thought.

“Cherry…?”

I darted straight through the window.

Claws digging into the wood, I scuttled up to the coachman’s perch.

“Chuaaah!”

Launching myself like a flying squirrel—straight into the coachman’s face.

“Wh-what the hell?!”

Blinded, the man yanked the reins.

The horses shrieked.

Hiiiiiinnnng!

“W-what’s gotten into them?!”

The panicked horses bolted like racers, eyes wild.

Not good.

A cliff lies ahead—we have to stop!

I screamed with my mind, but reason no longer reached them.

[Damn it! Less than a hundred meters to the bridge!]

Bishop’s warning cut through the air.

I’d shaken the Black Dragon Castle guards to follow this far, but if I failed now, I’d doom everyone.

I had to stop these mad beasts.

But how?

***

“Cherry, what are you—?!”

Konig’s voice rang from behind.

He clung precariously to the tilting carriage door, hand stretched toward me.

A signal: It’s too dangerous—come to me.

But I thought the opposite.

Yes… Konig.

With him, my mana could be amplified.

Maybe even trigger humanization—but that was a problem for later.

For now, saving everyone mattered more.

“Chut.”

I clasped his fingers tight.

And pressed my lips to his.

Ridiculous, maybe. But the surest way.

The first time I’d transformed into human form had been when I fed him medicine in Bear Mountain.

The reverse should work too.

Stop. Please, STOP!

I prayed with all my being—

[ Stop? ]
[ Stop, we shall. ]

The crazed thunder of hooves slowed.

The coach lurched, momentum bleeding away—

Until, at barely five steps from the cliff’s edge, it halted.

“Huff… Lady Cherry… huff… how are you h-here…”

Gerard stumbled out, pale and heaving.

Eloise shoved him toward the trees with a scowl, then swept her sharp gaze across the surroundings.

Her eyes landed on me, nestled in Konig’s arms.

Her voice was soft, kind even.

“Cherry, Cherry… how did you get here?”

But her expression was ice-cold.

The same chilling face from the first time we’d met.

“Chuuu…”

I couldn’t answer.
Even knowing she couldn’t understand me, the words stuck.

Her golden eyes, blazing like the midday sun, demanded truth.

She suspects me…

Of course she would.

A “mere squirrel” outsmarting knights and tailing them this far? Impossible.

Naturally, she’d think I was a spy from the crown or another noble house.

I understood… but it hurt.

Because somewhere along the way, I’d given her a piece of my heart.

When she’d called herself my “sister”… I’d secretly rejoiced.

Maybe—finally—I’d gained something like family.

But clearly, it had meant nothing to her.

Of course. Someone like me could never have a sister.

I lowered my head.

Eloise’s lips curled, crimson like her hair.

“Then why… Why do I sense mana from you?”

Her tone said plainly: You will answer this.

“The smoky ebony stench is obviously my brother. But that faint cherry-sweetness? Surely not you. Right?”

“Enough. You’re frightening her.”

Konig’s voice cut in.

“You fool. If she isn’t startled, that means you already knew, didn’t you?”

The tension between the Kreuz siblings crackled, suffocating—

[ They lit the fuse. Get clear—NOW! ]

Bishop’s cry sliced through the moment.

Already?!

My eyes shot to the bridge.

Eloise stood right in front of it.

No time to hesitate.

“Chuuut!”

I hurled myself at her—

And then—

KUWOOOOOM!