Extra S*ave Saves the Crown Prince Chapter 58

At a late hour of the night, Baslo turned over and pulled the blanket over himself. Thanks to the campfire, it wasn’t particularly cold, but he kept waking up after dozing off.

 

It wasn’t dawn yet, so he tried to close his eyes and fall back asleep. That was when he saw a black figure standing beneath the moonlight. He glanced at the watchman by the fire—who, annoyingly, was dozing off.

 

He turned his gaze back to the black silhouette. It was still standing there, unmoving, as if staring at the tightly shut door of the carriage. That was where Sez was sleeping alone.

 

Of course, Sez had said she couldn’t indulge in such luxuries, but their lord had let her inside with just a look.

 

And now, Baslo realized that the black figure was indeed their lord. No matter how dark it was, there was no way he wouldn’t recognize him.

 

‘…I should pretend not to notice.’

 

He tried to breathe as evenly as possible, feigning sleep. He squinted his eyes open, glancing over several times, but the black figure didn’t move for quite a while. The longer Baslo watched the unmoving shadow, the heavier his chest felt.

 

He recalled the conversation he’d had alone with Lekes before leaving Enaphok.

 

“Shihien told me to pass this on to you as well.”

 

“So he’s finally acknowledging me as his closest aide!”

 

“tsk, I wonder if it’s really okay to entrust this to someone like you.”

 

Lekes clicked his tongue and took something out from a drawer.

 

“If Shihien can’t return, you’ll need this.”

 

“…Wasn’t that already decided?”

 

His tone was casual, but it was a “what if” they always had to consider every autumn. They always had to prepare for the possibility that Shihien might not return from his rampage. It would be a huge loss to Enaphok’s forces, so they’d prepared for all possible outcomes in advance. Baslo averted his gaze, thinking there was no point in talking about what was already decided.

 

“Here, take it.”

 

An envelope was placed on the table. About the size of a palm, it was sealed with wax.

 

“He said to give it to Sez.”

 

“…Pardon?”

 

“Don’t open it.”

 

“…What do you take me for!”

 

“If something happens to me, you deliver it.”

 

And so, the envelope was entrusted to both Lekes and Baslo. Outwardly, it was a peaceful return to the palace, but behind the scenes, their lord had prepared in advance.

 

He felt like he already knew what was inside, even without opening it. It was probably to secure her future, just in case.

 

‘I didn’t know it would feel this heavy.’

 

He was too ignorant to know where to hide it well. He could only carry it with him. He’d served his lord every birthday, but this was the first time he’d been asked to look after someone else. That made the envelope feel even heavier.

 

Staring at the shadow standing like a statue under the moonlight, Baslo scrunched up his face as hard as he could. Pretending to sleep was the best he could do to express his feelings.

 

.*. *. *. *. *. *.

 

The narrow road gradually widened, and soon the distant city walls came into view. It was Belvaros, the capital of the Sharkanian Empire.

 

“Well then, safe travels.”

 

Before dawn, the group—now ready—exchanged farewells. The knights who’d departed with them from Enaphok would remain here. Only two would accompany them to the capital. This was to minimize the number of people who knew the Shihien’s “birthday” secret. It wasn’t that they didn’t trust the knights, but rather that they didn’t want to increase the number of people who knew the details.

 

“Will you be alright?”

 

Baslo asked once more, just to be sure.

 

“Yes, of course!”

 

The luggage was loaded onto the carriage, which had been ridden luxuriously alone until now. As the group split up, so did the luggage. But since they’d soon arrive at the capital, it was almost as if there was no luggage at all. Compared to traveling alone, having the luggage loaded like this made her feel a bit more at ease.

 

“I’m really fine. Besides, it’s only a day’s journey.”

 

Shihien looked into the carriage and let out a breath. He seemed dissatisfied, so she reassured him again that she was fine. After all, it didn’t make sense for a slave to ride in a carriage. Having the luggage loaded like this was logical in several ways.

 

“Well then, take care.”

 

Baslo waved to the remaining knights and mounted his horse. If they left before dawn, they wouldn’t have to camp out tonight. They planned to reach the Shihien’s palace between evening and night.

 

Shihien’s eyes were still full of concern until the carriage door closed. She smiled to reassure him. It had been such a comfortable journey, but it seemed he hadn’t gotten the message. This much luggage didn’t even count as an inconvenience.

 

In fact, Shihien was the one who deserved better treatment, so why did no one mention it? It didn’t seem like the right time to show consideration just because a slave was riding in the luggage cart.

 

Normally, if the Shihien was traveling to the palace, shouldn’t he be greeted with more grandeur?

 

Even if there hadn’t been prior notice, there was no way no one knew about his “birthday.” He fought Beasts day after day to protect the empire, yet there was no sign of welcome or consideration.

 

That was what weighed on her heart. She knew from the Original Story that he was an unwelcomed existence, but experiencing it firsthand made her heart ache even more.

 

The fact that Shihien seemed completely unfazed by it made it worse. She suddenly felt resentful toward everyone in the imperial palace.

 

Not long after the carriage started moving in earnest, it began to rain. Tap, tap. The sound of raindrops falling on the roof echoed loudly.

 

She cracked open the wooden window and was relieved to see the rain wasn’t too heavy. She hoped it would wait until they reached the palace, worrying that those on horseback might get cold.

 

The trees outside the window were sparse, perhaps because they were close to the capital. It looked as if they’d been planted at regular intervals. The trees with red leaves would soon be bare after the rain. She was observing the trees—so similar yet so different—taking in the cold air, when—BOOM!

 

Suddenly, the ground shook and her ears rang. The carriage jolted from an impact. It felt like something had exploded. The rattling continued, accompanied by a pungent smell. The fear of being trapped in a confined space made her squeeze her eyes shut.

 

Bang! Bang!

 

The explosions continued in quick succession. Her mind was filled with the thought that she had to escape. She clenched her fists, recalling the trees she’d just seen.

 

“Haa, haa.”

 

Before she even opened her eyes, the cold rain hit her first. The trees all looked the same, so it wasn’t hard to picture them in her mind. But her startled heart made her breath quicken.

 

Half the carriage roof was blown off, smoke rising. In the meantime, someone entered the carriage and looked around. They must have snuck in during the explosion. Were they looking for her?

 

She moved cautiously, hiding among the trees. Instinct told her she must not be caught by the suspicious person. If she hadn’t teleported, she would have been caught for sure. She had to get to Shihien.

 

“Sez!”

 

Shihien had already leapt off his horse and was running toward her. Smoke hung thickly in the air, as if there had been an explosion ahead as well. He changed direction when he spotted her. She was relieved he was safe.

 

“Ugh.”

 

She tripped over something while running and fell. She didn’t feel any pain, but her knee wouldn’t straighten. She saw him rushing over to catch her.

 

“Mm!”

 

That was when it happened.

 

Suddenly, her mouth was covered. Someone from behind restrained her. She felt a chill at her neck, different from the rain. Her face was pressed so hard she couldn’t see what the chill was.

 

“Mm!”

 

The person behind her lifted her by force and dragged her backward. As they moved deeper between the trees, Shihien’s face turned expressionless as usual. He placed his hand on his sword and followed, step by step.

 

Swish, swish, swish.

 

And then she realized why she’d been dragged back. Arrows rained down from the sky like a downpour. In the darkness, it looked like black rain was falling.

 

‘No!’

 

In an instant, Shihien drew his sword and began deflecting the arrows at incredible speed.

 

Clang, clang, clang.

 

Baslo and the knights couldn’t be seen clearly, but the sound of a sword deflecting arrows rang out. A silver arc flashed at a speed too fast to see, and arrows thudded to the ground around Shihien.

 

Arrows struck the carriage as well, thunk, thunk. She couldn’t even guess how many arrows were being fired by how many people.

 

“Hoo.”

 

A white breath escaped Shihien’s lips. He didn’t even flinch when fighting Beasts far larger than this, but now his shoulders were shaking. Maybe rain had gotten in his eye, as one side was scrunched up.

 

“Stop right there!”

 

A voice shouted at Shihien, who was approaching with his sword. There were probably many others besides this attacker. Shihien slowed and stopped.

 

“Drop your sword.”

 

“Mm!”

 

She hated that he was in danger because of her. She knew that if he dropped his sword, they’d attack.

 

“Baslo.”

 

Shihien met her eyes and signaled something with his hand to Baslo. She didn’t know what it meant.

 

“Don’t try anything stupid.”

 

Her neck stung for a moment. The cold thing seemed to dig in deeper. She clenched her teeth to keep from groaning.

 

Clang.

 

The sound of a sword hitting the ground. Baslo and the knight were the first to drop theirs. Soon after, she heard footsteps and saw Baslo’s worried face as he backed away. The knights followed him, retreating further and further, as if trying to escape or distance themselves from the scene.

 

“Hmph.”

 

She could feel the attacker behind her scoff.

 

“Drop your sword.”

 

Not only had they taken a slave like her hostage, but they were also speaking rudely to the imperial Shihien. Rage toward the attacker surged within her. The sting at her neck didn’t matter at all. She kept her eyes wide open, determined not to lose her senses, ready to disappear from this place if she had to.

 

“Mm.”

 

Don’t put it down.

 

Shihien made a motion as if he would drop his sword. Baslo and the knight kept backing away, watching her. She couldn’t bear to see Shihien get hurt because of her. If an attack came at that moment, she wanted to block it with her body. She clenched her fists and braced herself to close her eyes.

 

Clang.

 

The sound of a sword falling to the ground. Shihien’s hands were now completely empty. If anything happened, she was determined to shield him.

 

“Uh.”

 

But unexpectedly, the attacker let her go right away. He released her mouth and shoved her hard in the back.

 

“Cough.”

 

The force of it made her cough as she stumbled forward from between the trees. And then she immediately understood why he’d let her go so easily.

 

Even more arrows than before filled the sky, falling like a torrential rain.