If You Take the Enemy Prince as Your Knight Chapter 145

“What is this?”

 

A frantic shout reached Emilio’s ears as he stood there in confusion.

 

“Rockslide! It’s a rockslide!”

 

“What? That can’t be!” The denial left his mouth before he could even think.

 

This road had been safe for decades without a single rockslide. And above all, this was not the place where Emilio had arranged his plan. No matter how much he argued it in his head, it did nothing to stop the mass of rocks pouring down like a landslide in reality.

 

“The route is blocked, uaaargh!”

 

“…!”

 

The thick, agonized scream made Emilio jump.

 

The men escorting his carriage were knights who could wield mana. Even if a rockslide occurred, at worst it should only have delayed the carriage. Then why was he hearing a knight scream? Worse still, the ominous sign did not end with just one cry.

 

“Gaaah!”

 

“Keuugh!”

 

Amid the thunderous roar of rolling boulders and collapsing rocks, the screams and groans of the knights rang out before abruptly cutting off.

 

A chill crawled over Emilio’s entire body as he looked back and forth through both carriage windows. What is it? What in the world is happening outside? Of course, no visual information could be obtained through the windows concealed by fog.

 

It was when all surrounding sounds had completely died away.

 

“Lord Emilio.”

 

The princess’s serene voice pierced his ears, utterly unfitting for the situation. It felt almost like an anesthetic.

 

“We should look into what has happened outside.”

 

Sitting primly in her seat, the princess urged Emilio to step outside the carriage. It was the correct judgment. By status and as a gentleman, it was proper that he take the risk.

 

“Please wait here for a moment.” Suppressing the trembling creeping up from his fingertips, Emilio opened the carriage door. “…!”

 

The moment he stepped into the fog, he nearly let out an undignified yelp. He had stepped on someone’s blood-soaked arm. Managing to find bare ground and plant his foot there, he moved forward. Just then, the fog thinned again. Within the restored field of vision, a shocking sight unfolded.

 

This can’t be.

 

Motionless body parts protruded here and there from between piles of stone. The place had become a gigantic stone grave, and the reality it conveyed was unmistakable. His entire party had been annihilated. Cold sweat ran down his back. By sheer luck, only the carriage carrying him and the princess had escaped danger.

 

Consumed by something that was neither quite fear nor excitement, Emilio spun around toward the carriage. “Your High—!”

 

At that moment, Emilio became a witness. A gigantic boulder crashed down upon the carriage. With a deafening boom akin to an explosion, wooden fragments flew in all directions. Hiiiiiing! The horses that barely escaped danger screamed and thrashed wildly. The carriage, shattered beyond recognition, was buried within the largest pile of rocks.

 

Emilio couldn’t even bring himself to dig through it and check on the princess. Her survival seemed far too improbable.

 

“Damn it…!”

 

He tried to analyze the situation with a brain turned to mush from the shock and confusion. This was certainly not a natural accident. If he stayed here, his own life might also be in danger. I must group up with the knights stationed at the meeting point.

 

The carriage was destroyed, but fortunately the horses remained. Emilio chose the one that appeared less injured and mounted it.

 

The back of the fleeing traitor quickly receded into the distance before being swallowed by the fog.

 

✦

“Are you okay?”

 

“Yes, I’m okay. Thanks to a highly skilled coachman.”

 

Not long after Emilio departed, two figures emerged from the pile of rocks. Regen immediately lifted Sasha, whom he had been holding securely in his arms, and carried her to safety. Carefully checking her for injuries, he brushed the dirt from her clothes. Under Regen’s protection, she had avoided the merciless rain of stones, but there was nothing to be done about the clouds of dust.

 

When his hands continued brushing her off long after all reason suggested he should stop, Sasha spoke up. “Am I really that filthy?”

 

“That’s not it, but…”

 

“Then that’s enough.”

 

“Yes.”

 

Regen draped a robe over Sasha’s shoulders, one he had somehow prepared without her noticing. He made sure the cold, moisture-laden air could not reach the princes. Not stopping there, he pulled the hood low over her head, limiting her view.

 

“Please do not look around. There are many unpleasant sights.”

 

Having been born and raised in the imperial palace, Sasha wasn’t easily frightened by mere tragedy, but she quietly nodded.

 

The two of them looked toward the direction in which Emilio had disappeared. The image of the traitor, pale-faced and racing through the fog, was easy to imagine. It was about time for Regen to begin hunting him. As if urging him onward, a sinister killing intent and chill were suddenly felt from behind.

 

“It seems Dominic will be arriving here soon.”

 

“As expected, completely shaking him off was impossible.” After sighing, Sasha spoke resolutely. “I’ll hold him here. Go, Regen.”

 

“…”

 

Regen hesitated, clearly reluctant. But there was no time, and their options were few.

 

“Go on.”

 

Standing on tiptoe, Sasha cupped his cheek and pulled him toward her. The brief kiss made Regen feel as though he had received a blessing.

 

“I’ll be back soon.” With those final words, Regen mounted his horse.

 

Sasha remained where she stood, seeing him off until his figure vanished into the fog. Not long afterward, she was left alone in the desolate place filled with corpses and piles of stone.

 

To say she was not afraid would have been a lie. The air she drew in deeply in an effort to steel herself carried the smell of blood. Abandoning the idea of taking deep breaths, Sasha walked toward the side of the road. There happened to be a blind spot concealed by rocks and bushes. She hid herself there.

 

At last, Sasha could sense what Regen had noticed earlier. The noise and vibrations created by pounding hooves gradually drew closer. Dominic was coming. Sasha held her breath. It was only a matter of time before her presence was discovered, but even this game of hide-and-seek was better than doing nothing. And shortly afterward, she witnessed a scene she never could have anticipated.

 

✦

Attaching a sack of tea leaves mixed with fluorescent pigment beneath the traitor’s carriage and cutting it so the contents would gradually spill out had been a wise precaution. Dominic didn’t have much trouble catching up to the carriage that had carried Rosasia away. Although he had briefly wandered onto a strange road alone, lost his sense of direction, and nearly gone in circles, once he returned to the fork in the road all he had to do was follow the trail left by the pigment.

 

Soon he would reclaim Rosasia. And Emilio Hwibrik, who had dared try to steal what belonged to him, would pay the appropriate price. With two enjoyable events awaiting him, Dominic had been in a fairly good mood throughout the ride. Then, at some point, a tremendous roar shook the earth. As time passed, the scent of blood began to invade his sensitive nose. An unpleasant pounding arose in Dominic’s heart. Before long, the ominous feeling became reality before his eyes.

 

Hiiing! The horse, its reins yanked harshly, came to an abrupt halt and reared up. Jumping down immediately, Dominic stood frozen at the sight of the devastation. “What is this…?”

 

The surroundings looked as though a landslide had struck. Human limbs and fragments of wood were embedded among the rocks, completely covering the road. What the unmoving figures wore were the knight uniforms of Lohengrin, and the shattered debris was part of the carriage that had carried the princess away.

 

Dominic tried to think positively. Surely, this was one of Emilio Hwibrik’s tricks to spirit the princess away. Stage a rockslide accident, declare the princess dead, and secretly hide her in a safe house. How textbook a scheme was that? It made him feel relieved.

 

But then, the corpse at his feet denied his hopes. Using the tip of his boot, he flipped the body over so the victim lay face up. Rather than the face, he checked the sword hanging at the waist. It was identical to the sword carried by Emilio’s captain of the guard. He remembered it because it was a rather famous blade.

 

Why was one of their own dead? That was strange.

 

Dominic tried to remain calm. But the composure he desperately gathered only drove his thoughts in a darker direction.

 

If Emilio Hwibrik had orchestrated the accident, there was no reason for him to wipe out even his closest subordinates. No matter how Dominic looked at it, the rockslide had not been intentional. Something had gone wrong. Very wrong.

 

“…”

 

The expression drained from Dominic’s face. Like a man whose soul had left his body, he staggered forward slowly in a daze.

 

“Rosasia?”