TYWML 07

7. Night Escape (2)
May 7, 2024

The carriage sped on and on. The heavy rain had turned the road into a muddy mess, causing the carriage to shake violently, but it was still manageable.

After about ten minutes of travel, the carriage suddenly tilted to one side and came to a complete stop.

“What’s going on?”

Joanna opened the window connected to the coachman’s seat and asked. Ben, who had been whipping the horses, wiped the rain off his soaked face and replied with a troubled voice.

“I think the wheel’s stuck in the mud, Joanna.”

“What? Then…”

“Let’s get out, Joanna.”

Riena quickly assessed the situation and pulled her hood over her head.

“What do you mean?”

“We need to get out and pull the wheel free.”

Ben panicked and tried to stop her.

“No, Miss. I’ll take care of it!”

“Sir, you can’t do it alone—we don’t have time. We have to work together. Joanna, you too, get out quickly.”

Without waiting for an escort, Riena stepped down from the carriage. Her feet sank deep into the mud the moment she landed, causing her to stumble, but she quickly regained her balance.

Then she reached out and helped Joanna descend from the carriage.

Joanna still looked nervous. Riena assumed she was worried they might get caught and tugged on her arm.

“Joanna, there’s no time to worry. If we delay even a little, Mother might notice and come after us. Let’s push the carriage!”

“Ah, yes.”

Joanna followed Riena hesitantly, as if in a trance. Riena rolled up her sleeves and began pushing the carriage. Her shoes and the hem of her skirt were completely soaked with muddy water, but she didn’t care.

But it was a task difficult even for grown men. With only two women, the carriage barely budged and wouldn’t come out of the mud.

Even Ben, who had come down from the coachman’s seat and was trying his best to pull the reins, couldn’t get the horses to move the carriage. The only result was more loud neighing from the horses.

“This isn’t going to work.”

Eventually, Riena stood upright and looked back toward the mansion. They had traveled quite a distance, but if they caused too much commotion here, they might still be discovered.

“If we keep this up, we’ll get caught. It’s better to just ride the horses—”

She was about to suggest riding the horses directly when a thought flashed through her mind, and she shut her mouth.

Rainy weather and horses… it brought back bad memories.

“No. I think it’s better to just walk to the village.”

Ben hurried over to her, alarmed.

“Miss, it’ll take at least an hour on foot to reach the village. With this weather, it could take even longer.”

“An hour’s manageable. Good thing I wore my hunting boots.”

Riena forced a calm tone and checked her luggage in the carriage.

Since she had only brought what was absolutely necessary from the mansion, her bag wasn’t too large—at least, not for travel by carriage. But it would be quite heavy to carry on foot for over an hour.

She opened her bag, shoved the hair ribbon her father had last gifted her into her pocket, and turned away without hesitation.

Leaving the bag behind was painful, but she needed to face reality.

“Clothes and daily necessities—I can get new ones at the Berna estate.”

She could buy food in the village, so nothing was urgently needed at the moment.

“Joanna, let’s go.”

“Oh, Miss! If you leave like this, I won’t be able to face the Count later!”

“Thank you, Mr. Ben! My father will thank you too!”

Riena smiled brightly at the flustered Ben before turning and beginning her walk toward the village.

“Miss, wait for me!”

Joanna, who had been fidgeting in place, hurriedly chased after Riena once she had walked about thirty steps away.

The rain grew heavier and heavier. Riena tried to march forward resolutely, wiping rain from her face, but her feet kept getting stuck in the mud.

She wasn’t moving quickly at all. In fact, she had to exert all her strength just to avoid falling, and it quickly wore her out. Joanna’s breathing beside her also grew heavier.

“Miss, are you sure this is okay?”

“If you want to go back, you can.”

Riena kept walking as she spoke.

“What?”

“I’m doing this for my future, but you don’t have to suffer like this. You don’t need to be my personal maid forever. If you want, go back.”

“Miss…”

Joanna looked back at the mansion with lingering eyes, but that was all. She clutched her skirt and followed after Riena once more.

They had been walking for about twenty minutes when it happened. Amid the sound of rain, the neighing of a horse was heard, followed by a slight tremor on the ground. Riena stopped and looked back toward the mansion.

“It’s too soon for Mother to have noticed… could it be Ben?”

Maybe Ben had managed to get the carriage out and was now chasing after them in a hurry.

But instead of Ben, it was the captain of the Count’s knights who appeared on horseback. Behind him were a couple of knights whose faces she recognized.

“Miss!”

He reined in his horse quickly and jumped off. Riena tried to run, but her foot was stuck in the mud. The knight grabbed her wrist.

“It’s not the best weather for a stroll. You might catch a cold…”

Riena gave a dry laugh at his attempt to pass this off as a “stroll.”

“Does it really look like I’m out for a walk to you?”

“…”

“We both know this isn’t a stroll.”

“It would be best not to cause a scene, Miss.”

“Oh? Is it because Mother can’t tell Lord Rotman that I ran away because I don’t want to marry Gichi? Or is she too ashamed to show Lord Beliar how messed up our family is?”

“Miss! How long do you plan to act like a child? If the late Count saw this…”

“Ah, you said it—good.”

Riena yanked her arm away with all her strength. She nearly fell, but the knight captain caught her—only for her to push his hand away again.

“If my father saw this, I think he would respect my decision. Don’t you?”

The knight couldn’t answer. He was following the Countess’s orders, but he had once been a knight who deeply respected the late Count Dyke.

Even to him, the Countess’s actions were incomprehensible. If the late Count had seen this, he would have risen from his grave in fury.

But he couldn’t just let Riena go. After a moment’s hesitation, he slung her over his shoulder.

“Sir!”

Riena pounded his back with her fists to escape. She was using all her strength—it had to hurt, but the knight didn’t even flinch.

Just as she considered biting his arm to get free—

The ground trembled again, and the sound of a horse’s neighing came from the opposite direction—from the side away from the mansion.

Which meant… someone was riding through the rain toward the mansion.

The unexpected situation made the knight captain hesitate. Riena, still slung upside down, forgot to resist and stared at the figure approaching through the downpour.

“Could it be Raul?”

Raul, who always somehow showed up in her moments of need ever since childhood. A baseless hope sprang up in her chest that maybe, just maybe, he was here to help her again.

But the man who appeared before her was not Raul.

He wore a black hood, his face hidden, but Riena—who had seen Raul countless times—could tell. This man was taller and broader than Raul, who was a knight.

Then perhaps he was here to visit the Countess?

That thought crossed her mind, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away from him. Somehow, she was sure he had come for her—a strange certainty without reason.

Indeed, he stopped his horse right in front of her. One of the knights followed closely behind him.

“Are you here to visit House Dyke?”

The knight captain, having finally placed Riena on the horse, walked over and asked the man politely.

“It’s late. Please return when morning comes.”

The man ignored him completely and jumped off his horse lightly. He strode past the captain directly toward Riena. The knight captain quickly blocked his way.

“I’ll say it again. Please return in the morning. If you continue like this, we’ll have no choice but to subdue you, guest or not.”

“I have business with Lady Dyke.”

As soon as Riena heard his voice, a strange feeling washed over her. It was definitely the first time she had heard it—but it also felt oddly familiar.

And when he removed his hood, Riena gasped in shock.