Nightmare Came to The Place I Escaped - Chapter 106

Clip Clop

 

Knight Commander Heineff had received an order from the Emperor two hours ago, and had gathered members of the Imperial Knight Order. It has been an hour and a half since they’d left the Imperial palace.

 

They were to join Master Oates, and come up to the capital together. That was the order of His Majesty the Emperor.

 

Join the young master, and come up to the capital. The Knight Commander didn’t know exactly why the Knights of the Imperial palace should move out of the capital for an Oates.

 

It was only through Harmond, the Emperor’s aide, that he had obtained confidential information. Information that someone was aiming for the Duke of Oates carriage.

 

The usual Oates family wasn’t a family deserving of anyone holding a grudge against them. Who and why were they aiming for Oates at this point? Was it someone trustworthy who told this to His Majesty?

 

Heineff didn’t know exactly how the current situation was going. There were too many questions, but it was the Emperor’s order, so he could only follow it.

 

Clip Clop

 

The Knights of the Imperial palace pushed the horses they rode. The leading knights lifted torches to light up the streets.

 

He didn’t even know where the Duke of Oates carriage was.

 

The edict was delivered by Harmond, an aide to the Emperor.

 

Heineff, who had been riding for a while, frowned at a reluctant thought. If it was the previous Emperor, he would always show his face briefly before he sent them on a mission.

 

Harmond said the Emperor couldn’t show his face because he was busy, but what if that was a lie.

 

“There’s no way.”

 

Heineff shook his head vigorously.

 

Harmond was the man who His Majesty had chosen himself for the position. That meant he was His Majesty’s man.

 

Moreover, the Imperial edict clearly had His Majesty’s seal on it. Who would dare enter the Emperor’s office, where knights were watching with their vigilant eyes?

 

Nevertheless, a part of his heart thumped uneasily at the fact that he’d left the Imperial palace without seeing the Emperor’s face.

 

Clip Clop

 

“Get out of the way!!!”

 

The Knight Commander, who was riding his horse forcefully, gave a loud shout to the man riding his horse towards them from the opposite side. Because of the small uneasiness in the corner of his heart, the Knight Commander reacted more aggressively than normal.

 

Originally, it would have been Heineff who would have slowed down a little bit, but he sped up.

 

However, despite Heineff’s threat, the one approaching from the other side seemed unwilling to step aside.

 

There wasn’t enough time to turn the horse’s head to the edge of the road if he wanted to move safely.

 

However, the man on the other side slowed down incrementally, then raised his hand.

 

At the act of trying to stop them, the Knight Commander clicked his tongue as if he was dumbfounded.

 

“Tsk, that crazy [email protected] Don’t stop, just pass by!”

“Yes!!!”

 

Even though it was clear that the knights who were leading the way had heard Heineff’s order, they stopped their horses.

 

Heineff hurriedly raised his hand high at the sudden action.

 

“Slow down!”

 

Neigh!!!

 

The sudden stop caused the horses to cry out for a while. Heineff yelled at what almost led to a large accident.

 

This was clear disobedience.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

The knights’ shoulders shuddered at their commander’s anger that fell like a thunderbolt.

 

Heineff turned his head furiously toward the person who’d interfered with their course. It was tantamount to a provocation against the Emperor to not get out of the way when there was a flag symbolizing the Imperial family.

 

“…Huh?”

 

Heineff, who had been glaring at him as if he would run at him at any second and clear the man off the road, suddenly narrowed his eyes. He rode slowly across from him and frowned as if to check the man’s face.

 

He couldn’t make out who he was in the thick darkness and from this distance, but one thing was clear; the man had silver hair.

 

It was the same color as the Dakendov’s.

 

But the Emperor should be in the capital right now.

 

The Knight Commander slowly rode his horse forward.

 

“……?”

“Heineff.”

“…Your Highness?”

 

However, the Commander of the Knights hurriedly stopped his words when he heard his name, which came out of the silver-haired man’s mouth. The Knight Commander got off his horse, hurriedly bowed his head, and treated Ian with courtesy.

 

“I see His Majesty, the Sun of the Empire.”

“…Where are you heading with the Knights of the Imperial palace right now?”

 

Ian looked around at the knights Heineff was leading away from the Imperial palace.

 

“I was on my way to the young master of Oates at your command.”

 

For a moment, Ian tilted his head slightly.

 

“The Emperor’s command…”

 

It was not an order that he’d given, so it seemed to be the work of Roosevelt Dante. If it wasn’t, it was probably Harmond’s plan after Rachel told him the situation.

 

Anyway, Ian breathed a sigh of relief at the unexpected help.

 

“Yes, Heineff. Did you see any wounded on the way here?”

“I saw some people on the way here, but the road was so dark that I couldn’t check if they were injured. Wasn’t our priority to meet Master Mike Oates and help him?”

“Mike was treated by a doctor. The mercenaries fled.”

 

Ian looked at the long line of knights.

 

Soon enough, the Oates family knights would arrive where Mike and his party were, so he’d only need to send around five of them to Mike’s location.

 

“The number of people who will go to Master Oates will be limited to five. We’re now going to investigate the nearby doctors. If you find anyone injured by an arrow, arrest them.”

 

Judging from Heineff’s fine shaking pupils, he seemed surprised at finding the Emperor in such an unexpected place.

 

He must be wondering what the heck was going on, and how it happened.

 

“Yes! I understand, Your Majesty!”

 

When he remembered that he was the Knight Commander, and the person in front of him was the Emperor, he received Ian’s order without question.

 

***

 

“A person?”

 

Under the order of the Duke of Oates, the knight was searching nearby along the direction in which the Oates’ carriage was traveling when he found a person in the dark and frowned.

 

“Hey.”

 

The person was too small to be called a mercenary, but it was suspicious that they were walking on a forest path without a lamp at this late hour.

 

“There was an attack around here. They ran away….”

 

As the knight approached, the person began to falter as if exhausted.

 

“Wait!”

 

Flick

 

In response to that suspicious gesture, the knight at once pulled off the robe that the person was wearing deeply.

 

“Ugh!”

 

A thin, high-pitched voice. The knight was taken aback by unexpectedly hearing a woman’s voice and removed his hand.

 

The robed woman shook her head vigorously as if she didn’t want to show her face. The old shoes and pants were definitely something that a man would’ve worn. That’s why he’d thought it was a short guy.

 

Contrary to his expectations, it was a woman under the robe. Her blonde hair, which had been cut haphazardly, was disheveled and covered her face.

 

Blonde hair

 

“Wait a minute.”

 

It wasn’t a mercenary they were looking for, but her behavior was all the more eye-catching.

 

The knight had caught the woman running away with her head down.

 

It was suspicious to walk through this dark forest path without a lamp, and it was none other than a blonde woman who wore the robe.

 

“Let me just check your face.”

 

Of course, she had the same blonde hair as Diana, but he never thought that she would look like Diana. So he would’ve just sent her on her way after he just casually checked her face.

 

A woman ran away in a hurry. It was obvious that she was suspicious.

 

Slash

 

“Ah!!!”

 

The moment the knight brought the woman closer to check her face, Diana took out the dagger she’d hidden behind her back and swung it.

 

“Ouch!”

 

The knight groaned in pain and held his face. He’d escaped a fatal wound by barely avoiding the dagger that was swung at his face, but the knight’s hand that was covering his face was already covered in blood.

 

Drip Drip

 

While the knight was holding his face as the blood overflowed through his hands and fell to the floor, Diana began to run once again.

 

Tap Tap Tap

 

“I found her! Diana Avery!”

 

The knight shouted, as he wiped hot blood from his face.

 

“Hurry up, chase her!”

“Don’t miss her!”

 

A dark forest

 

The knight’s voices shook the once quiet forest. Three scattered knights started running to catch Diane Avery when they heard the shout of having found her.

 

Tat

 

“Ah!!!”

 

Diana, who was running as hard as she could, stumbled and fell.

 

She’d never run properly while living as the only lady of the Avery family. Diana was short of breath and she’d twisted her leg.

 

“Ugh.”

 

Diana groaned at her hands that were scrapped from the rough ground. Despite the sharp pain she felt for the first time in her life, Diana did not hesitate and tried to get up.

 

“Stay still!”

 

However, Diana was captured by a knight who’d continued to pursue her.

 

“Got her!”

 

The knight, as if not interested in her pain, bound Diana and forcibly lifted her up.

 

“No!”

“Come on, take her to the Duke.”

“How dare you! Don’t touch me!”

 

The knight held his tongue while Diana was vigorously shaking her body in a last-ditch effort to escape.

 

“What should I do with this?”

“She’s giving me a headache. Just knock her out for a while.”

“Tsk, stay still.”

 

When one of the knights lightly struck Diana’s neck, Diana’s body, which had been moving vigorously while screaming with all her might, drooped in an instant.

 

“Hurry up and take Diana Avery to the Duke. I think we can find out where the mercenaries have been hiding through her.”

 

The knight, with Diana on his shoulder, nodded and started running towards Duke Oates.

 

According to what he’d heard, Diana Avery had gathered mercenaries and attacked the Oates family’s carriage.

 

However, now that they’d caught the mercenaries’ client, finding out where they were hiding and catching them would become much easier. Above all, it was the news that his lord was waiting for the most.

 

The knight moved his feet in a hurry, as he thought of the Duke’s face that was clouded with anxiety.

 

***