Chapter 07
Lately, she had been serving Marsha, but Marsha still didn’t know her name.
She hadn’t come looking for Marsha all day, so why was she here now, at this time, in this place?
“Yes, why are you here at this time…?”
“I heard about what happened earlier today. I was worried you might be distracted…”
The maid sighed deeply when she saw Marsha’s condition and said,
“Miss, just stay here. When the master returns, I will tell him everything. If it’s the master, he won’t leave Rosna or the servants who are acting arrogantly just to please her alone.”
Marsha’s face was still pale white as she shook her head.
“I have to leave.”
“Miss.”
“Please don’t tell Lucas that you saw me.”
Marsha asked firmly.
The maid nodded after looking into her eyes.
“…So you made up your mind. Then there’s no choice. I will help you.”
“Help? How?”
“I mean, I will help you leave secretly.”
“Really?”
Surprised, Marsha’s eyes grew wide.
When the maid nodded, Marsha frowned and asked,
“Why?”
Even the servants who had known Marsha for a long time had abandoned her to save themselves.
So why would this maid, whom Marsha didn’t even remember when she arrived, want to help her?
“… Is there a reason why a maid would help you? Besides, I don’t have a reason to impress Rosna. I’m going back to my hometown soon anyway.”
She smiled slightly and said to Marsha,
“Time is precious. Don’t hesitate, just follow me.”
She took Marsha to the back of the mansion, where the storage rooms and carriage sheds were.
“Wait here for a moment. I’ll get ready to go out.”
Left alone, Marsha leaned against the wall and thought.
Was it right to accept the maid’s help? What if the maid got into trouble because of her?
At that moment, Marsha noticed the back door was open.
‘Why is it open?’
It was usually closed and only opened briefly when supplies came in.
‘…Is this lucky for me?’
Thanks to that, she could leave without any problems.
Suddenly, Marsha felt someone behind her.
Just as she turned around, thinking it was the maid,
“Ugh!”
A huge hand covered Marsha’s mouth and nose with a cloth.
A terrible smell hit her nose, and soon her mind grew hazy.
As her consciousness faded, she heard the maid’s voice.
“…You made things troublesome.”
***
Thud!
Marsha’s body fell hard on the wooden floor after a strong impact.
“Ugh…”
Her whole body ached, and she was completely dazed.
‘What just happened?’
Marsha opened her eyes and looked around.
A very small beam of light shone in the dark space.
Hay and old boxes moved and made noise every time the carriage shook.
“How much longer do we have to go?”
Marsha’s ears perked up at the voice coming through a crack.
“Ten hours. At least we have to get through this forest to rest.”
However, the maid’s voice was a bit low.
A strange man groaned.
“Can’t we rest for a bit? My butt feels like it’s going to tear!”
“Bear, don’t act like an amateur. What if we meet the patrol? We don’t have a travel permit.”
“If that happens, we just run away, right?”
“With this woman?”
The man spoke with an annoyed voice.
“Ah, I wish we had stuck to the original plan. It would have been easier to just kill her and get it over with.”
Marsha’s pupils shook.
What is this talk?
“Hah… Suddenly changing your mind, what a hardship this is.”
“What can we do? We have to do what we’re paid to do.”
“What was her name again? Luxna? Lucina?”
“Rosna.”
“Right. That woman must be very good.”
Bear whistled.
Hearing that, Marsha shivered.
‘Could it be Rosna’s doing…?’
From their conversation, it seemed they had already planned to get rid of Marsha a long time ago.
They were not satisfied with just sending her away far; they chose a way to make Marsha’s existence disappear completely.
‘Did she hate me that much…? To do something like this…?!’
Tears welled up in Marsha’s eyes.
She thought she wouldn’t feel betrayed; she didn’t want to cry, but her heart hurt so much, and she was so scared she couldn’t hold back her tears.
What will happen next?
Death might be delayed a little, but they will kill me, right?
Or maybe I’ll have to face something so terrible that dying would be better.
‘Ah, what should I do…!’
Just as Marsha sank into deep despair, the carriage suddenly stopped.
“Ah, damn.”
Bear muttered quietly.
Then, a voice came from afar.
“Hey, this carriage is passing through an area where carriages are not allowed!”
“Ah, sorry! We’re new here and didn’t know anything!”
The man answered with a more innocent voice than before.
The people who stopped the carriage seemed to be talking, but it was too far to hear clearly.
“Ah, sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
The voice was different from the previous man’s.
It was low, soft, and very calm.
“A merchant?”
“Yes, that’s right!”
“There’s a woman, too.”
“Ah, she’s my wife. I don’t have enough help, so I travel with my wife.”
“Is that so? You two work hard.”
The man smiled quietly and continued.
“What are you carrying, and where is it from?”
“Ah, um… we brought wine from Domique.”
“Domique, where?”
“Huh?”
“Even though the Duchy of Domique is smaller than the Duchy of Gloria, it’s still one country. Don’t just say Domique like it’s one place.”
“Well, from the County of Emelide…”
“Ah, the County of Emelide? That area is known for good wine. Since this is an opportunity, should I buy some bottles at a good price?”
“Oh no, sir. We couldn’t get any fancy ones good enough for high-ranking people.”
“Is that so? That’s unfortunate.”
The man covered his mouth.
“Well…”
The man tilted his head and looked at the sky.
His bright blonde hair shone dazzlingly in the sunlight.
Frowning, he sighed almost sadly.
“Hah… It’s a pity. I can’t think of the next line to continue this play.”
“Huh?”
“It’s been a while since I met someone like you who answers so boldly without fear. I wanted to continue a little more. It’s a shame.”
“W-what do you mean all of a sudden?”
The blond man smiled calmly.
“The horses look quite good.”
“……”
“These horses might not be top quality, but they’re not the kind of poor couples usually own. How come you have two of them?”
“…Damn it.”
At that moment, the carriage started to move suddenly.
Clatter! The boxes inside sounded like they would break, and Marsha’s body kept hitting the floor and walls.
‘Ugh!’
Marsha felt like her whole body was breaking.
If only her arms weren’t tied, she would grab something!
“Damn, they already caught up here!”
Bear shouted and pulled out a gun.
“Hey, you can’t! No way! Our mission is—”
“Damn it, mission or not, if we get caught, it’s over, don’t you know?!”
The woman, who had frowned earlier, quickly jumped onto a horse.
Bear also got on a horse and looked back.
Then he fired his gun at the part where the horse and carriage were connected.
Bang! Bang!
With a terrible noise and a burning smell, the wood broke with a crack.
The carriage, losing control, wobbled side to side and ran fast before hitting a rock and tipping over to the side.
“Huh?”
Inside the fallen carriage, Marsha felt time slow down.
The floating boxes and swirling hay all seemed like a dream.
Crash! The carriage fell loudly, blocking the road.
The people chasing the two kidnappers had to stop their horses.
“Duke, what should we do?”
“You check what’s inside here. I’ll chase those two.”
“What? Wait, Duke! It’s dangerous alone!”
The Duke didn’t wait and rode off.
The remaining man looked into the carriage, which was tipped sideways and half-damaged.
He only saw haystacks and boxes.
Even if something was hidden, it was probably just illegal guns.
He thought it wouldn’t be too late to come back later and check.
The man rode off again, not knowing that Marsha, inside, was losing consciousness and bleeding from her head.
“Please save me…”
Please. I don’t want to die like this…
“Ah…”
To think I would die so helplessly…
“Father… Mother…”
Just as Marsha’s tear-filled eyes were about to close,
“Grandma! Didn’t you hear that just now?! That was a gunshot, a gunshot! Let’s go back quickly!”
“Ah, shut up! You go back!”
“Someone’s worried, and you’re just being grumpy… huh?”
Marsha faintly heard the voices of a young woman and an old lady.
“Grandma, there’s a c-carriage here!”
“What?”
The noise got closer.
Marsha lost consciousness before she could even see that the owners of those voices had found her.
