Raising the Princess to Overcome Death Chapter 52

Leo, who was running frantically, suddenly stopped, startled by a message that popped into his mind.

At the entrance of the leather street far away, blood was gushing like a fountain, and Irene, even in death, was trying to shake off the headless woman's body clinging to her.

“Cassia?”

For a moment, his mind went blank.

The woman who had turned his sister into a prostitute. Leo found it hard to accept that she had sacrificed her life for him.

He had clearly pushed Cassia away. He had completely forgotten about her. But why?

Leo, feeling like he had been struck on the head, paused in his steps, but he had no time to mourn or pay his respects to her.

Irene kicked Cassia's body aside and was rushing towards him again.

Leo ran away once more.

Why? Was it just because of her accomplishments?

Leo had never seen anyone react so strongly to the "faint affection" of an achievement. Only Cassia had always been different.

He couldn't understand why Cassia did what she did.

Logically, shouldn't she resent, hate, and revile the man who had cruelly kicked her out?

Why on earth did Cassia...?

At that moment, he saw the soldiers.

The mansion of the Rauno family was surrounded by hundreds of soldiers, and corpses of thugs were strewn about in the alleys.

Only then did Leo forget about Cassia, whose memory had been clouding his mind, and think of another woman.

Lena!

The marquis must have called him to his mansion while simultaneously attacking the Rauno family.

Leo hid behind a pile of garbage in an alley and felt hopeless.

He wanted to rush at those soldiers, kill them all, and rescue Lena.

But that was impossible. He had no weapon in his hand, and Irene was hot on his trail.

If he stepped out and was spotted by the soldiers, he was as good as dead.

Leo trembled, grinding his teeth so hard they cracked. A molar broke in his mouth.

Lena! My sister!

He remembered his sister waving goodbye that morning, but there was no more time to hesitate. He tore his bloodshot eyes away from the mansion and ran again.

“There’s an escape route in the mansion's basement. Lena must have escaped somehow. Please.”

As a member of the Rauno family, he knew about the emergency passage. He had never used it, but he remembered hearing that it was well-prepared, and he turned his body.

Lena would be fine. She had to be fine.

In fact, Leo was in more danger than Lena. He had no safety measures like an emergency passage and had to escape with nothing but his bare body.

Praying for his sister’s safety, Leo ran west. First, he had to shake off the pursuing knight.

However, everything he had built up in this scenario had been blown away by a simple gesture from the marquis. Now, he had almost nothing left.

Only one person who could help him remained. The reason Leo ran west was to use his last card.

Katrina.

She was a knight of the Bellita Kingdom. If he could explain his situation to Katrina, he might be able to avoid immediate decapitation.

After catching his breath, he could search for Lena.

Leo ran towards Roseline Boulevard. She said she lived in the house with the blue roof in the second alley of Roseline Boulevard.

“What if Katrina isn’t there?”

It was broad daylight. If she had gone to the knight order and wasn't at home, his plan would be ruined.

Clinging to a sliver of hope, he headed there.

Fortunately, when Leo arrived in front of her house, Katrina was walking towards it. She was carrying a shopping bag filled with various fruits and meats, likely having just returned from the market.

Katrina waved cheerfully when she saw Leo.

“Oh? Noel! It’s been a while. What’s up? Why are you running like that?”

Leo had lied and said his name was Noel.

He urgently spoke.

“Katrina! Uh, I’m...”

“Ah, I told you to call me sis.”

“No, that’s not the problem... Yes, sis. But I’m being chased.”

Pressed by her stern gaze, Leo changed his address and pointed at Irene, who was chasing him.

Katrina looked up at the knight running towards them from afar, clicked her tongue, and started scolding him.

“Hey. Didn’t I tell you not to live like that? Why did it have to be a knight? Ugh, this is such a hassle. Step back.”

She hid Leo behind her and stood in front of the fast-approaching Irene.

“Hold on. It seems this guy did something wrong, but...”

However, Katrina couldn’t finish her sentence because the knight attacked her immediately.

Swinging her sword at the red-haired woman blocking her path, Irene thought,

“What a piece of trash!”

What had that flashy guy done to make all the people helping him women?

The woman in front of her was probably the same as the woman before.

Irene, even more furious, showed no mercy, and Katrina, shocked, dodged the sword and shouted,

“What the hell are you doing! Do you want to die?”

She tried to persuade Irene, but as her words were ignored and the attacks continued, her temper began to rise.

“You wretched bitch! You’re dead today!”

Katrina couldn’t hold back her anger anymore and drew her sword.

But after exchanging a few blows, she realized that this woman was no ordinary opponent.

Even if she were in perfect condition, her skills would be just about evenly matched.

“Damn it. I’ve really gotten myself into trouble. What did this guy do to be chased by a knight of this caliber?”

Despite her bold front, Katrina was getting anxious.

The truth was, Katrina was no longer a knight.

Just yesterday, she had quit the order.

Her lover, Ellen, had strongly urged her to retire, but more importantly, the swordsmanship she used was extremely taxing on her body, and with her shoulder injured by Noel’s brother, she couldn’t use it effectively anymore.

She couldn’t subdue this crazy knight with her skills, nor could she intimidate her by mentioning the royal knight order.

Judging by the look in her eyes, even if she mentioned her affiliation with the royal knight order, it wouldn’t matter...

- Clang! Clang!

Katrina concealed her uneasy feelings and continued to engage Irene, but the situation was growing more dire.

As the pain in her shoulder intensified, Katrina was gradually pushed back.

But she was the type of person who followed her temper rather than rational thought.

“Damn it! Fine, let’s die together! Hey! Noel! Catch this!”

Katrina threw her retired knight’s insignia to Leo and shouted.

“Take that and run! You miserable bastard! If it weren’t for your brother... What are you standing there for? Get lost!”

[ Achievement: Saved Katrina - Katrina remembers your kindness. ]

She still owed a debt to “that soldier.” But the soldier who had saved her was far away in the Kingdom of Astin, and she would never see him again.

She felt she could only repay her debt by helping this brother she had met by fate.

Leo hesitated with the insignia in hand.

Katrina screamed at him with veins bulging in her neck.

“Get lost already! Do you want to die? Your brother is in the Kingdom of Astin, so go find him and tell him you’ve repaid the debt!”

[ Achievement ‘Saved Katrina’ is now void. ]

Then she fully engaged her swordsmanship.

The pain in her shoulder felt like it was tearing, but all she could think about was teaching this crazy woman a lesson.

Leo, feeling guilty, hesitated for a moment before running off again. He had to survive and find Lena, no matter what.

He headed straight for the western gate of Orville.

The guards were stricter than usual, probably due to the marquis’ orders, but they bowed their heads and let him pass upon seeing the insignia he held.

At that moment, another message appeared.

[ Achievement: Man Protected by Katrina’s Sacrifice - Gained great favor with Katrina. ]

[ Quest: Katrina’s Life - Free Katrina from her bonds. ]

Katrina was dead.

Katrina hadn’t intended to sacrifice her life for Leo. She only planned to buy him enough time to escape.

But Irene had no intention of sparing the woman who let Leo escape, and Katrina, furious at the insane woman who wouldn’t listen, fought fiercely.

And she was killed by Irene’s sword.

Leo learned of Katrina’s death through the message and struck his chest in self-loathing. He felt like he couldn’t breathe, as if something was stuck.

First Cassia, now Katrina... how pathetic.

Taking short, shallow breaths, he berated himself but then thought of Lena and regained his composure.

I have to find my sister.

Before that, Leo headed to the Rauno family’s hideout on the outskirts of the city. He planned to arm himself and order the thugs to gather information.

However, the hideout outside Orville was burning.

Leo could barely gather his wits at the sight. He had nowhere to go. He could only stand stupidly in front of the burning hideout, unable to decide his direction.

Just last night, no, even this morning, everything was peaceful as usual. He had breakfast with his sister and exchanged friendly greetings with a few close thugs.

But that normalcy shattered into pieces when the monstrous Marquis Tatian moved his shoulder.

The sense of security he felt from his {Swordsmanship.2v} and the Rauno family tattoo on his neck was as thin as ice.

Only now did Leo truly grasp the full extent of the marquis’ power. He was a monster in human guise. Leo and Minseo had never imagined a human could wield such overwhelming power.

Leo realized he had underestimated the marquis.

No, he never underestimated him. He thought the marquis was a remarkable person, but his estimation was far too low.

He believed that a mutually beneficial transaction would be enough to satisfy the marquis.

Of course, that was a huge mistake. He had walked into the marquis’ jaws with his insignificant abilities, and the marquis had savored him before swallowing him whole.

Or rather, in this case, spitting him out.

Leo, standing before the burning hideout for a long time, finally started to move his trembling body.

He had to run. The crisis wasn’t over yet.

If the marquis was this terrifying, there would surely be pursuers. The fact that he managed to escape Irene was purely coincidental.

His escape was far from over.

“But where is Lena...”

Even this damned game was mocking him.

There was no convenient way to find the heroine, Lena. Just as he had no handy interface with an end button.

The only thing he could infer from the fact that the ending hadn’t arrived yet was that Lena was still alive.

“At least Lena wouldn’t still be in Orville...”

There’s no way the marquis would forget about Lena. She would also be pursued in some manner, and she, too, would be desperately running away.

There’s no way to find someone while being chased. He had to hide first, wait for things to calm down, and then find Lena, praying she was safe.

He headed north to shake off his pursuers. Alone on the vast continent, the task of finding his sister lay before him.

Leo became a small dot disappearing into the expansive plains north of Orville.

Unfortunately, winter was approaching.