Nightmare Came to The Place I Escaped - Chapter 28

Ding Ding Dong

 

It was the sound of a bell that announced the invasion of outsiders.

 

“What’s going on?”
“…Ian?”

 

At that sound, Diana and Ian also stopped talking and frowned.

 

“What? I guess someone broke in! Oh no, I’m scared.”

 

Diana was instantly frightened.

 

“[email protected] it!”

 

A quiet swear word flowed out of Ian’s mouth.

 

“What should we do? Ian, let’s go back.”

 

Diana grabbed Ian’s arm and cried out in a panic. When Ian just looked at her and Rachel without saying a word, Diana burst into tears.

 

“Ian!!! I’m scared!”

 

Diana grabbed Ian by the lapel, and wailed.

 

“I want to go back! Hurry!”

“Yes, alright.”

 

Ian sighed slightly and helped Diana, who was having trouble standing.

 

Who’d broken in? It couldn’t be a foreign country. Was it a rebellion?

 

Of course, to know what was happening inside the Imperial palace and how the situation would unfold in the future, it would be most accurate to see it in person.

 

The Imperial palace had the Imperial knights, so it was safe for the time being.

 

“Ian! What are you doing? Let’s go!”

 

Ian also knew that his main priority was to hurry back, and figure out the situation.

 

However, there were a total of three people here.

 

Only two people could ride on the horse.

 

Which meant that someone would have to wait here.

 

“Ian!”

“Shut your mouth.”

 

Diana, who’d nervously called out to Ian, frowned deeply. She was surprised at Ian’s expression, which she’d never seen before.

 

“Ha…”

 

Ian looked at Rachel for a moment, and she soon called out to him.

 

“Your Highness…”

 

Rachel’s face scrunched up, afraid that Ian and Diana would leave her alone here.

 

Ian glanced at Rachel, and put Diana on the horse.

 

Wild animals rarely came down to this place during the day.

 

If he rode the horse quickly, it would take less than thirty minutes for him to drop Diana off outside the forest and return.

 

Thirty minutes.

 

Nothing should happen in that amount of time.

 

“Your Highness…”

 

Ian hurried to get on the horse, but Rachel caught him by the sleeve. She looked up into his eyes with trembling hands and tear-filled eyes, as if she was about to cry.

 

She seemed afraid that the two of them would leave her here alone.

 

“Um, I…”

 

Rachel bit her lip, and looked as if she was about to burst into tears.

 

“Please.”

 

Rachel begged.

 

“…Please take me too.”

 

Ian frowned at Rachel, who was frightened for some reason.

 

She didn’t do this when they risked their lives to escape the Imperial palace together, Rachel didn’t shed a single tear at that time.

 

Thick tear drops flowed down her cheeks.

 

Rachel took her hand away from the shirt that she’d grabbed.

 

“Ian!”

 

Ian shook his head hastily at Diana, who was calling for him, as he tried to catch Rachel’s hand, which was moving away.

 

“Wait here.”
“…hick.”

“It won’t take long. I’ll be right back, so wait here.”

 

Rachel bit her lip hard, as if to hold back her tears. Rachel’s shoulders shuddered once.

 

“Okay?”

“…Yes.”

 

Ian heard Rachel’s answer, and finally climbed on the horse.

 

Looking back at Rachel, Ian hurried to ride out of the forest.

 

Tears.

 

It was the first time since she was very young.

 

Even the day when they ran away from the Imperial palace together. Even during their many difficult days after that.

 

He didn’t see Rachel cry.

 

Why was she crying like that?

 

Rachel was different from her usual self. Ian’s heart pounded anxiously at her appearance, as if she was extremely frightened.

 

“[email protected] it.”

 

It would only be thirty minutes, not a day. He knew nothing would happen to Rachel.

 

But when the calm Rachel cried, anxious cursing would flow out of him.

 

“Get off.”

 

Ian said this as they exited the hunting ground, and arrived at the entrance to the forest.

 

“What?”

“Get off.”
“Ian, you want me to dismount here?”

 

Diana frowned at Ian’s command to get down from the horse.

 

“Are you going to leave me here alone, and go back to that girl? In a situation where you don’t even know who broke into the Imperial palace? Are you out of your mind?”

 

Diana flushed angrily and shouted at Ian, who was going to abandon her and return to Rachel.

 

“Are you crazy?”

“There’s nothing dangerous here, so get off.”

 

However, even in front of the angry Diana, Ian was significantly different than usual,

 

“Ian!”

 

It was the first time Ian acted like this towards her.

 

He’d never balked or refused whatever she’d asked for before. Hadn’t he done everything she’d demanded of him so far?

 

Diana fumed in disbelief.

 

“It’s your last chance to get off with your own two feet.”

 

But the answer that came back was still cold.

 

There was no consideration for Diana.

 

If she didn’t get off, he’d drag her off. Ian’s purple eyes, that looked down at her, were as cold as the winter night sky.

 

That was why Diana couldn’t continue to be stubborn. Ian’s eyes were looking at her so sharply.

 

“….”

 

It was the first time she’d felt fear in her whole life as a Lady of Avery.

 

Farther. Farther.

 

Diana watched as the horse, and Ian moved away into the forest.

 

“Crazy b!tch.”

 

Insane [email protected]

 

“How could you act like that beggar is more important than me?!”

 

She knew it.

 

In the end, she knew Ian would act like this. She knew that the beggar would eventually not know her place, and would be greedy for what was hers.

 

Diana couldn’t hold in her anger, and ground her teeth.

 

***

 

Faster. Faster.

 

[email protected] it.

 

Ian forced the horse to move faster.

 

He knew in his head that nothing would happen. Rachel, who was in tears, kept shaking and that made him anxious.

 

Silly girl.

 

Why were you crying just because you were scared?

 

The sun was still up, and the only wild animals in that part of the forest were roe deer.

 

Something wouldn’t happen in that short amount of time.

 

Silly girl.

 

He could see the colorful mat from a distance.

 

“Rachel!”

 

For some reason, Rachel was nowhere to be seen.

 

“Rachel!”

 

A flock of birds flew away at his cry.

 

“Where is she!”

 

Ian’s head moved around quickly. He wasn’t sure where Rachel had gone.

 

“I told you to stay put. Where did you go?”

 

At that moment, an unbearable irritation rose up. Ian drove the horse further into the forest.

 

“Rachel!”

 

Didn’t she answer that she would wait? Then she should’ve waited there.

 

Why did she move?

 

“Rachel!”

 

Ian dismounted from the horse, and began to run on foot. Just in case, he checked the bushes off the trail.

 

“Rachel!”

 

He ran around thinking that her voice might be drowned out by the sound of hooves. But Rachel couldn’t be found anywhere.

 

Dadadada

 

She couldn’t have gone far in such a short amount of time.

 

“Rachel!”

 

Ian began to run farther into the forest, but no matter how far he ran, he didn’t see Rachel.

 

“F*ck…”

 

A lot of time passed, and before he knew it, the sky was red. He’d sweated so much that his hair was wet.

 

However, even after he wandered through the whole forest, he couldn’t find where the foolish girl was hiding.

 

If she hadn’t fainted from fear, why wasn’t she answering as if she couldn’t hear his voice.

 

He wouldn’t have missed Rachel’s tracks, but he hadn’t seen any in the forest.

 

If it got any darker…

 

He didn’t know when it started, but Ian’s hands were shaking.

 

“Rachel!”

 

Ian once again called out to her at the top of his lungs, but there was still no answer back.

 

***

 

“Your Highness.”

 

The Entrance to the Imperial Palace

 

A servant, who seemed to have been waiting for Ian, approached in a hurry.

 

“Where have you been this whole time?”

 

The servant frowned when he saw Ian’s ruined clothes.

 

During that long period of time when they’d been subduing all the rebels who’d invaded the Imperial palace, the Crown Prince hadn’t shown his face once. They knew that it probably wasn’t the case, but everyone was worried that Ian might have been killed.

 

Where was he? And why did the Crown Prince only return after the sun had set?

 

“Why are your clothes all wet? Did you fall into the water?”

 

He didn’t show his face once, but just by looking at his behavior, it would’ve been believable if he’d been overpowered by the rebels while alone.

 

What was he doing? Looking at the eyes of the Crown Prince, which were out of focus, the servant glanced at his expression.

 

“Gather people.”

“What?”

“Go find Rachel.”

 

Shaking hands, and a cracked voice.

 

It wasn’t easy to understand his words with his voice so hoarse. The servant couldn’t understand Ian’s command, therefore couldn’t follow it, so Ian had to keep talking.

 

“Go find Rachel!”

“…Your Highness?”

“Right now!”

 

The Imperial Knights, who were exhausted from dealing with the traitors, had to carry lamps and enter the hunting grounds under the Crown Prince’s orders.

 

Rachel.

 

To find her.

 

A hundred people, then two hundred people.

 

As time went by, the number of knights who entered the forest increased.

 

With all the lights from the lamps, it was now bright as day, but Rachel was not seen anywhere in the forest.

 

The knights and Ian searched the forest from dusk until dawn. They searched everywhere in the forest.

 

But oddly enough, they didn’t find anything.

 

He knew it didn’t make sense. Rachel had disappeared like smoke.

 

The next day.

 

Ian ordered all the trees in the hunting ground to be cut down. He wondered if there was a place they’d missed because they were covered by vegetation.

 

He knew it wouldn’t help.

 

But this was all Ian could think of.

 

He vowed that he would lock Rachel up so that the foolish girl wouldn’t get lost again.

 

However, even after they cut down all the trees, they still couldn’t find her. Ian forced the lords that lived around the hunting ground to search for Rachel.

 

He wondered if maybe Rachel, who was a bit of a dunce, had walked there aimlessly.

 

After all the territories around the hunting grounds were searched, and Rachel still wasn’t found, Ian searched the territories around the hunting grounds again.

 

He was going to search the whole empire if Rachel didn’t show up.

 

***

 

A Note from Baset

 

At this time, I’m going to be increasing the cost of extra kofi chapters from $4 to $6. All current kofi chapters will be honored, but any new ones will need to be at the new price.

 

Sorry for the inconvenience this may cause some of you. (*_ _)人