Chapter 56: Chapter 56

It was utterly nonsensical. Reason was completely out of line. There was no point of contact with reality.

Could it be that, since he only had one eye, he was seeing something like a hallucination?

Yeah, there's no way this is reality.

That's what Armand thought. He took off his mask.

The voices around him remained muffled, floating in his ears.

A thunderous cry swept away the thick fog. As if he had come up, flailing, after being submerged in water, Armand gasped for breath.

Ran grabbed Armand's shoulders and shook him.

"The pursuit squad is after us. We have to get out."

His pupils were cloudy. His slurred words stayed trapped in his mouth.

Ran ran off to search for an escape route.

A naked woman was trembling, pulling a white bedsheet up to her chest. Her fearful and disgusted gaze at Armand was unmistakable.

"Br-brother. Calm down and listen to me."

The high priest, barely covering his private parts, shambled over. A familiar scent emanated from him.

"The-the reason we couldn't reveal we were lovers—"

Armand punched without taking his eyes off Margherita.

The high priest's head snapped sideways, and he collapsed.

Margherita sprang from the bed in shock, not caring that she was naked. She cupped the nosebleeding high priest's cheeks in her hands, at a loss for what to do.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"What have I ever done to you? Why on earth?!"

"Don't come any closer!"

Armand flinched as he took a step forward.

Margherita hugged the high priest and glared at Armand. Her wet eyes brimmed with resentment.

Her naked form was far more beautiful than what he'd seen in dreams. Perhaps Armand's life goal had been to embrace her like that.

The tip of his sword trembled.

'Not that bastard, but me?'

He gripped the hilt tighter.

Just as he was moving into the room, something brushed past the back of his head.

Armand looked to the side.

A small hand axe was embedded in the wall.

"Oh my, you dodged that?"

The mocking voice was hard to distinguish as male or female.

Armand turned his head the other way.

For a woman, the figure was excessively tall; for a man, his beauty was surreal. The person stood there, slouching.

Behind him were soldiers clad in royal guard armor.

"So that's actually the high priest's bedroom, huh?"

"Y-yes, absolutely! It definitely is!"

The holy knight who'd followed up stammered. One of the royal guards grabbed him by the scruff and dragged him out.

The androgynous 'he' raised his chin haughtily.

"I'm Oscar. What about you? Are you an assassin? Why are you there?"

Armand's eyes widened. A terrifying presence flooded the corridor.

His body wouldn't move. Goosebumps prickled his skin.

When Oscar reached out, a royal guard behind him placed the hand axe in his palm.

"If you don't want to die right now, stay exactly where you are. Move even the slightest and you're dead."

Oscar spun the hand axe idly, then suddenly jerked his shoulders back.

A flash of silver whirled through the air. Normally, Armand would have dodged.

His consciousness lagged a beat behind. Armand squeezed his eyes shut.

He was still alive. When he slowly opened his eyes again, he saw Ran's back. The hand axe lay by Ran's feet.

Ran, appearing behind Armand, had blocked the hand axe with his sword.

"Don't make the same mistake again, Armand."

That brought Armand to his senses. His wildly shaking pupils steadied.

"And what are you? Not bad?"

Oscar's previously jeering face began to stiffen.

'Wait a minute, something feels off.'

He had infiltrated Orvik with a handpicked elite force after losing contact with his vanguard.

'The advance troops said they lost to that guy.'

He'd heard the real story from the lord's daughters last night. The moment he heard the lord was at the church, he'd rushed over. He needed to reorganize quickly for a full-scale search.

'No sane man would still be here.'

Knowing that the pursuit squad was close, the inquisitor would already have escaped to the mountains. A whole day had already passed.

'But he's insane enough to attempt assassinating the emperor.'

Oscar watched the two masked figures subtly backing away.

'He wasn't missing an eye.'

He remembered the inquisitor's golden eyes. They were dazzlingly brilliant.

Oscar squinted. Thanks to the mask's eye holes, he could see even better.

The man in front of him met his gaze directly.

Physical distance became meaningless.

'Not as bright as that day, but—?'

Oscar's long eyelashes quivered.

"?? Mad dog. It's you, isn't it?"

Their shouts crossed.

Ran had crossed swords with Oscar before. The memory was short but vivid. The Empire's Four Swords were renowned for a reason.

'No chance of winning in this tight space.'

He sprinted toward the preplanned escape route. He ran up the stairs to the mezzanine. At the corridor's end, there was a landing connected directly to a window.

Ran kicked out both the glass and the frame.

While Armand made his escape, Ran immediately engaged two royal guards coming up behind.

Ran parried both of their swords simultaneously. Space was tight and movement limited. A single mistake meant death.

Ran drew a dagger with his off hand and stabbed one in the thigh.

He didn't bother finishing him off. He dodged the remaining guard's kick, then struck his chin with his elbow. The guard collapsed, unable to withstand the blow.

Without looking back, Ran jumped out the window.

"Damn! They've surrounded us!"

Already outside, Armand shouted down. The royal guards had encircled the church.

Removing his mask, Ran spoke. Though the situation was urgent, his voice was calm.

"We'll run opposite ways. Steal a horse and escape."

There weren't many guards, so the cordon wasn't tight. Gaps were obvious.

"Hah, reminds me of the old days."

Armand also took off his mask. Back in the Zima family days, he'd learned to tumble by running and rolling for his life.

But even among hunting dogs, few could ambush ground targets while dropping at speed. Simple tricks weren't enough.

Ran and Armand had both skill and courage.

"So, where do we meet up?"

Ran hesitated at Armand's question as he headed the opposite way. He'd wanted to leave no traces.

A flurry of thoughts passed in a short time.

"The foot of the mountains."

Armand nodded. Ran vanished into the darkness.

Oscar looked up at the roof from the front entrance.

"They'll try, they'll try."

Either way, there was no real escape. It was obvious: their only option was to jump and risk breaking something.

A sound came from both sides. Oscar gave the order, as if waiting for this.

"Bring them back alive. Ignore the one-eyed man."

The royal guards closed in where the sounds had come from.

Moments later, a scream and a crash erupted simultaneously. Two horses shot out in opposite directions.

"Ha, these fucking idiots."

He couldn't tell which one was the mad dog. It was too dark to distinguish. Oscar quietly mounted his horse.

"Call in all of Kalondo's main force. The rest, seal off the mountain."

They'd once lost their quarry right in front of them. Twice would not be tolerated.

Ran glanced back over his shoulder. Three were following.

'Some have been diverted to Armand's side.'

Due to the late hour, there were hardly any pedestrians. But the noise echoed loudly. Woken by the midnight commotion, people hurled curses out their windows.

Four cavalry horses thundered up the street.

'From here, I'll take them out one by one.'

Ran twisted his upper body and hurled a dagger.

It struck the nearest royal guard in the forehead. As he fell from his horse, he tangled with another guard. Two down with one ambush.

'Almost at the guest manor.'

Ran pulled his reins. His galloping horse reared up, neighing. The pursuers stopped their horses too, but lost their balance. They couldn't withstand the sudden halt.

His pursuer's head spun through the air.

Ran calmed his whining horse and continued moving. He, too, was breathing heavily. His stamina was starting to wane.

'? Please, watch over your shepherd.'

People rely on faith when desperate. Ran was human, too. He exhaled a ragged prayer.

There was no miracle.

Perhaps that was natural. He had wavered between doubt and faith in God, which was all but heretic behavior.

Or perhaps, as the imperial gatekeeper had said, the power he'd wielded was not from God but from himself, and now he had none left.

Ran didn't bother pondering which answer was right.

What mattered now was getting Iel out of here as fast as possible.

Camus and company were gathered in the lobby. Everyone jumped up as soon as they saw Ran. Everyone was tense.

Toby tried to support him. Ran held out a hand to keep him back.

"We are now strangers."

He'd said similar farewells before.

Now Ran knew. These kinds of words weren't consideration, just irresponsible.

Relationships couldn't be made or cut by one side alone. He'd learned that from people he'd once dismissed as mere passersby.

Because of them, Ran was here now.

It was not simply Asriel's blessing.

Ran lifted Iel onto the horse first and got on behind. He carefully wrapped Iel's body with his cloak.

Viola called out to Ran. Fresh chapters posted on NoveIＦire.net

"The pendant Zima gave you—that's probably the key. Don't forget."

Just as he was about to shake the reins, Ran gave a short, formal bow.

A farewell to everyone, even those who weren't there.

He added no uncertain promises.

They had to go on foot once they reached the outskirts. Not only would the pursuit spot them, but they couldn't ride in the mountains anyway.

Ran and Iel hid themselves on a hill overlooking the entrance to the mountains.

"Ran, there are people."

Parting the bushes, Ran surveyed the area. Torches flickered everywhere. Red dots drifted in the darkness, moving here and there.

'They knew we'd head for the mountains.'

Ran was unfazed. With the emperor's bounty on them, there was nowhere in the empire they could be safe. At best, astana Mountain was the only place to hide.

'But they can't predict anything beyond that.'

The route Ran planned was no ordinary journey. No one would dare pass over the mountains, traverse through Northland, and reach Igraine.

Astana Mountain itself was unlike any other. It was called the roof of the continent, stretching across the entire north. There wasn't even a map of the interior—it was a giant labyrinth in itself.

Northland was unknown territory to imperial citizens. Their language was different, and most Northlanders bore their hostility to imperials openly.

And Igraine had long since closed itself off.

Even success with one of the three would be an immense feat.

Armand's voice rang out. He had arrived first and hidden, sensing the rendezvous point was dangerous, so he'd climbed to higher ground.

"Glad you haven't forgotten the basics."

"I'm not in the mood for jokes, shut it."

Armand glanced at Iel. There was no need for pointless words now.

"I wondered why so few were trailing—of course, they stationed troops everywhere here."

"There still aren't that many. We can shake them off."

"You're insane. Trying to climb these mountains with a kid? Not any mountains, but Astana? Against those guys? You think that's possible?"

Ran winced. He hadn't calculated that far; he was used to acting alone.

Armand clicked his tongue and rummaged in his coat.

"Here. I waited to give you this."

He handed over a rolled-up piece of thin leather. Ran unrolled it idly. It was a map of the mountains.

"This map's been handed down as a secret by the Orvik guard. Drawn with blood and sweat since our ancestors. It doesn't cover much of the whole range, but it'll help. You remember how to navigate, right?"

The map started from Orvik and covered a considerable area, with details about trails, slopes, dangerous zones, and so on, growing patchier at the edges.

"It's impressive. But why give it to me?"

"Why else? That kid. Father entrusted her to you, didn't he?"

Iel's eyes widened. She had no idea what this was about.

Ran answered flatly, deliberately.

"Father always claimed he had no plans, but in reality, he was more meticulous than anyone. There must've been a reason he chose you, of all people."

Saying so, Armand watched the movements of the pursuit party.

"So take responsibility."

"Armand. Don't do anything rash. We can move slowly once morning breaks."

"Hah! Anyone would think I was sacrificing myself for you. And in the morning, you idiot, the pursuit will only get bigger."

Armand sighed heavily and pressed down on his eye patch, speaking in a calm voice.

"? You said earlier. Don't repeat the same mistake."

Even during the Zima family days, Armand, despite his swagger and rough looks, had a naivety about him. He was especially bad at lying, unable to hide his emotions.

"Ran, let me tell you: life is nothing without love. I have to hear Margherita's answer myself."

Armand performed his final act with all his heart. It was fortunate it was dark; taking advantage of the silence, he furtively looked at Iel.

Even so, he couldn't let his greed cause his siblings' and father's deaths to be in vain.

"I'll just distract them a bit on the way."

Armand had always lived every moment honestly.

Ran was his brother, too.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

Fuck, why does everyone have to die?