Chapter 10: CH 10

I didn’t know the geography of this world. I looked out the window and looked at the scenery, but I didn’t realize that something was wrong.

I noticed something strange after seeing broken bottles and a drunken scene at a bar outside the window.

“Sir Peter, where am I?”

“…”

I peeked out of the window and saw the knight riding behind me, but he refused to speak even after making eye contact with me.

“Stop the carriage right now. I thought I told you to go to the bookstore. Where are we going?”

“You talk too much. we’re almost there, so just wait.”

The alley was dirty and pungent enough to smell even in the carriage. Instinctively, I could tell. I couldn’t let Peter take me wherever he’s planning to take me like this.

I stared at my shoes. Fortunately, I didn’t choose high heels because I wasn’t used to them. The carriage wasn’t as fast as the cars in my world.

My skirt was long, but it was definitely lighter than the wedding dress. I gathered my skirt, swallowed hard, and opened the carriage door, and jumped.

I fell as soon as I touched the ground, and I heard the knight shout. Without a moment’s delay, I stood up and started running.

The carriage stopped late, and the knight chased after me.

“You’re so annoying! Stop!”

I ran with every fiber of my being, but I knew I couldn’t outrun a knight. I felt like I was about to be grabbed by my hair, but suddenly a group of people in black appeared before me.

The moment I stopped, Peter grabbed me by the nape. However, one of the men in black hit his wrist hard with a sword.

“Uck!”

It didn’t seem like the stranger hit him hard, but Peter rolled to the ground, clenching his wrist. The man who struck Peter’s hand moved me to stand behind him. I couldn’t recognize their faces because they were wearing masks.

“Peter! I heard a scream. What’s going on?”

At the same time, another crowd rushed out of both old buildings. They had axes and club-like tools in their hands.

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“I don’t know, d*mn it! Who are those bastards? It’s so hard to kidnap a woman.”

“There are about five of them. We can handle it.”

What do I do? Should I continue running away?

Apologies to the man who saved me, but I was in desperate need to survive. But looking around, we were surrounded. It’s too late to run away.

Then, the masked man in front of me pulled out his sword and whispered to me, “Count, close your eyes and cover your ears.”

“Who–”

I couldn’t finish my sentence, dumbstruck at the flash in front of me.

There was a bolt of lightning in the dry sky. I crouched down, and even when I covered my ears, I could still hear the tremendous rumble.

I was frightened but frustrated at myself for being so helpless. What’s the point of knowing what’s in the novel? The story didn’t discuss Erin’s days in detail, so I knew very little about my own future except the ending.

Being possessed didn’t mean that Erin’s slender limbs suddenly gained muscled or that she suddenly had magical abilities, so she couldn’t defeat them.

So, while I was quivering on the floor with my eyes closed, the rumbling stopped. I only looked up when I felt a tap on my shoulder.

“You can open your eyes. It’s alright now.”

One of the masked men from earlier was holding out his hand. Emerald eyes looked down at me.

“Your…Highness?”

He lowered his mask, briefly showed his face, and covered it again. No one would imagine that the Crown Prince would come to this place dressed like this.

As I stood up, holding his hand, I saw Peter and others lying down. How did five of them subdue so many people at once? What’s with that loud sound from a while ago?

“I wanted to take the Count to a safe place, but I didn’t have a chance. Are you hurt anywhere?”

I approached him and lowered my voice, “I’m fine, but what brings you here?”

“……I came by accident because I had something to check for myself, but then I saw the Count in trouble. Ah, please step back. It’s dangerous.”

I stepped back in surprise when I saw a blue beam of light crackling from the end of the blade he hadn’t drawn back yet.

The other four masked men’s swords were just plain, and only his sword had such a phenomenon.

It was then I remembered something in the novel.

The Calix Empire was founded by the Great Wizard, so descendants of the First Emperor inherited the blood of a sorcerer.

Usually, only one person could express their ability as a wizard, which initially led to no battle for imperial power in this country. The descendants of the emperor, who knew how to use magic, were naturally appointed as crown prince, and he typically became emperor.

However, there was a fight for the throne now because two descendants manifested magical powers.

One was Prince Enoch, who was recognized from birth, and the other was the second prince, Enoch’s half-brother Breiman, whose abilities manifested later in his life.

It seemed that Prince Enoch had knocked everyone out by magic. The sparks were… What, lightning magic?

Was it okay to strike a lightning bolt in a rundown alley in broad daylight?

Looking closely, this was the back alley of the downtown area, the slums. People’s clothes were worn and torn, and there were dead rats in every corner of the dirty alleyway.

Also, drunk people looked out of the window and cursed.

Enoch mumbled as if he knew the meaning of my gaze, “…I used it in a hurry, so I’m in trouble.”

And as soon as he finished speaking, the knights and guards on patrol rushed in. I was startled because I didn’t know what to do, but the masked people around me had already disappeared, and only Enoch, who had taken off his mask, was standing with me.

The knights and guards on patrol found Enoch and slowed down.

Then I noticed something crawling on the ground. Perhaps he hadn’t fainted because Peter, who had disguised himself as my escort, was crawling away.

“…There.”

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I pointed my finger at him, and Enoch stepped on the back of his neck with his feet. Oh, my God, that’s going to hurt.

Enoch did not give Peter much attention and asked the approaching knight, “What is your position?”

“Your Highness, the Crown Prince of the Empire, I’m in charge of security on 30th Street.”

Fortunately, the knight recognized the crown prince, and he bowed to one knee. The soldiers also followed suit as their superior knelt.

“There have been cases of kidnapping of noblewomen in four districts. It wasn’t just once or twice, was it?

…Woah. I had no idea what was happening, so I just listened in like an idiot.

I asked a question, “Why would anyone try to kidnap me?”

Enoch pulled his foot off Peter at my question, and as the guards picked him up, he knelt down.

“Tell me the truth, why did you attempt to kidnap the Count?”

“T-that’s… I’m just trying to blackmail the future Duke for money…”

Dumbfounded by Peter’s answer, I laughed. If that was your intention, you should have taken Chloe, not me.

But it would hurt my dignity to say it out loud, so I kept my mouth shut.

Enoch didn’t seem to believe him at all. As he lifted a finger, the knight came a little closer and bowed his head.

“Take this man to the authorities. Be extra careful not to kill him.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

As I watched them drag Peter away, I spoke to Enoch cautiously, “……You don’t believe it’s because of money.”

I could see his face, which had a relatively calm expression, harden for a moment.

“Why do you think so?”

“I’m sorry for jumping to conclusions, Your Highness.”

He shook his head and reached out his hand as if to hold me. “No, there must be a reason why the Count thought so. By the way, I apologize…”

He trailed off as he stared at something behind me. When he looked at me again, he looked embarrassed. I followed his line of sight and found my carriage split into two.

“T-the carriage…” I gasped in surprise and pointed to the carriage before turning to look back at Enoch.

“I couldn’t control my strength because I was in a hurry. I’ll reimburse you for the carriage…”

“Your Highness… is very strong.”

It was pure admiration. It was amazing to see what I had read in the novel with my own eyes. As I smiled, Enoch looked at me blankly for a moment.

Soon, Enoch withdrew the hand that had been extended to me, and with two small coughs, he averted his gaze.

“Your Highness?”

Then, without answering, he walked to the carriage alone. I could see his ears turning a little red.

“The horse is safe. We can ride this instead,” he said as he took the horse off the carriage.

The coachmen were down on the street. Thankfully, they were moving and didn’t seem to be mortally wounded.

“Can we just go like this?”

“The captain of the guard has seen the scene, so they’ll take care of it. But where are you going?”

“I was on my way to the bookstore after stopping by the Imperial Library earlier. Oh, I met Prince Breiman there…”

He paused and looked at me. In an urgent voice, he asked, “Did Prince Breiman do anything to the Count?”