Chapter 77
The sound of the magic barrier from the bracelet hitting the ground echoed loudly.
“Whew.”
I stood up and wiped my forehead. I couldn’t even do hanging jumping before, and now I’d basically jumped off a cliff without a rope.
It was half faith in the bracelet, and half relying on divine power—that’s how I managed to pull it off.
“My lady!”
The coachman shot up, shouting like a scream. His eyes scanned my body quickly, filled with worry.
But in a flash, his expression hardened. He looked around and picked up the sword that had fallen with us.
“How did you survive the fall?!”
“Magic barrier. See this blue shield? That’s what saved both of us.”
I smiled and pointed to the magical shield created by the bracelet.
“Magic barrier…? But how did I survive too…?”
Magic tools like this were usually reserved for nobles. And especially for someone like him, it would’ve been unfamiliar.
“There’s a condition to be inside the shield, other than just wearing the bracelet. One is that I have to believe the person is on my side.”
“How am I on your side, my lady?”
He cut me off, yelling. I calmly continued with the second condition.
“The other is that you must not have any intention to harm me.”
“…”
“Now, tell me the real reason you kidnapped me.”
Instead of replying, he gripped the sword tighter.
“The assassins will come down soon to check your body. Even if we run, we’ll be dead soon.”
“Not that. I’m asking why you tried to kidnap and kill me.”
I grabbed the wrist holding his sword and pulled him toward me. He flinched and dropped the sword.
“If you really wanted to kill me, you wouldn’t have let go of the sword just now.”
I looked him in the eye and spoke clearly.
“Who ordered you? Is there a reason you had to obey?”
He kept his mouth shut, lips tight. I tried to recall details about him.
What would make him so obedient…? Of course…
“Something happened to your family, didn’t it?”
His eyes trembled violently the moment I mentioned his family. That confirmed it.
Just as I saw the answer in his eyes, he realized I knew the truth and finally spoke.
“…Yes. My wife and child were kidnapped.”
As he revealed the truth, the magic barrier suddenly rejected him.
He hit a tree and coughed before struggling back up.
“You must die here, my lady. I’ll follow and apologize in the next life.”
This time, for the first time, real killing intent settled in his eyes.
He stepped toward me, reaching out. But the barrier rejected his hand again.
Even knowing he’d made up his mind to kill me, I couldn’t blame him. He was doing it to save his family.
‘The barrier lasts for ten minutes…’
But I didn’t know how long had already passed.
I looked at the bracelet. I had heard the gem would blink once when the barrier was about to disappear.
“I’ll save your wife and daughter. So come back to the mansion with me.”
“…What if something goes wrong?”
He slammed his fist against the barrier.
Boom! Boom! Each hit made it tremble.
But the barrier, strong enough to survive a cliff fall, didn’t break.
“Even if you kill me, do you really think they’ll let your wife and daughter live?”
“That…”
“See? You’re not even sure.”
I called him out as he hesitated and held out my hand.
“Then trust the Baisen family you’ve served faithfully for 30 years.”
“…”
“I’ll do whatever it takes to save them.”
I said it again, firmly.
“Let’s live and go back together. Tomorrow is your daughter’s birthday, right?”
Just then, the gem on the bracelet blinked—it was time.
“You’ll really… save them?”
“Yes.”
His hand slowly passed through the still-fading barrier.
Then it disappeared completely. The coachman fell to his knees and lowered his head. His voice trembled as he tried not to cry.
“Please save them… Please save my wife and daughter… You can kill me after, just please…”
“I said we’re going back alive together. Stop trying to die already.”
I patted his shoulder and looked down at the ground.
The impact of the barrier left a big hole in the ground.
That meant it’d be easy for someone to figure out where we fell.
“You said they’re coming to check the body, right? We have to get out of here quickly.”
“Yes, my lady.”
If we moved carelessly through the forest at night, we might get lost and disappear for real.
I thought back to the cave I’d seen while falling and looked toward the direction with red flowers.
‘Let’s head to the cave first.’
We just needed to head out in the direction where the sun rises, and eventually we’d reach a village. If we were lucky, a rescue team might come find us.
Maybe someone was already searching for us in the forest. It was only wishful thinking, but I decided to take that gamble.
“…Hold on a second.”
I picked up the dagger and started carving something into the ground.
“That’s not Imperial language. What language is that?”
“It’s the language of the Prolang Kingdom. Even among nobles, very few Imperial citizens learn a second language.”
“…But what if someone does recognize it?”
“They probably won’t.”
Unless it’s Harold.
I didn’t say that last part out loud. Instead, I cut my hand slightly with the dagger and smeared the blood on a nearby branch.
“My lady!”
“Don’t worry. It’s just a small cut.”
The wound healed quickly. I wrapped my hand with a handkerchief so it wouldn’t show, then positioned the branch so that its ends pointed in the wrong direction.
“If something like this happens again, please let me do it instead.”
“Got it. Let’s go.”
The coachman and I set off. When we reached the cave, we checked to see if it might be home to wild animals—but luckily, it was empty.
By then, the sun had completely set. With our eyes adjusted to the darkness, we could barely make out the cave’s interior.
We curled up in the cold night air. Listening to an owl’s hoot, I quietly asked a few questions.
“Do you know who the real culprit is?”
“…We only communicated through notes, so I don’t know. The note just said that if I wanted my family back, I had to get rid of the guards and bring you here alone.”
“Did you kill the knight?”
“No. I couldn’t bring myself to do that, so I used sleeping drugs I bought separately.”
“What about the signals with the assassins?”
“They were written in the note.”
“What happened to the note?”
“I burned everything, just like the note said. I was scared that if I kept it, something bad would happen to my family.”
I quietly memorized all his answers, one by one.
It seemed like the coachman had never even met the real culprit. He only learned about his family’s kidnapping when he got home and found they were gone—with only the note left behind.
If only we could capture just one of the assassins alive… That would make identifying the culprit and finding his family so much easier.
I looked down at the dagger in my hand.
“…I’m sorry I couldn’t be more helpful.”
“It’s okay. For now, let’s just focus on getting back.”
I whispered and waited for time to pass.
Then, we sensed something outside the cave.
The coachman and I locked eyes and held our breath.
If someone comes in here…
My heart pounded fast. I crouched behind a rock in the cave and gripped the dagger tightly.
The coachman gave me a look, silently asking for the dagger, but I shook my head.
I still had two more uses of the magic barrier. It made more sense for me to handle it.
Then, we felt the presence creeping into the cave.
Only one person, judging by the footsteps echoing inside.
The footsteps stopped—and instead, a familiar deep voice called out.
“Diana, are you in here?”
“…!”
I immediately jumped to my feet.
It better be harold~