The boatman, who had tied the boat to the temporary pier, approached with a sly smile.

We can’t be taken away like this.

Instinctively feeling a sense of crisis, Karsatuna pushed him unexpectedly.

The plan was to let him fall into the lake, but the boatman seemed to have expected it. He effortlessly grabbed both of her wrists, brought his face close to hers, and growled.

“Stay quiet, miss. Unless you want to show me the white and pure flesh of a kingdom’s lady.”

Behind the pale Karsatuna, Princess Larratu quickly stood up.
“If you harm her, you won’t get anything you want.”

The boatman stared at her in disbelief. In Princess Larratu’s cold gaze, he bit his lips.

“Those who are high up there. They don’t know how to discern time and situation, only sticking their noses high.”

He grumbled, pushing Karsatuna toward Princess Larratu.

Princess Larratu, who was pushed away without resistance, looked at the boatman as he approached.

He gave his distinctive twitching glance and commanded, “Reach your hands forward.”

As the two reached out their hands, the boatman tightly bound their wrists with a rope.

The rough texture quickly turned their delicate skin red.

“Sorry about this. Even when a lion hunts a rabbit, it must exert its full strength. If something goes wrong, the neck is on the line, you know!”

Chuckling to himself, the boatman urged them on.

“Walk forward. Don’t expect someone to come and rescue you. I know very well how to use hostages in such situations. Today is exceptionally clear, and you’ll be visible from very far away.”

Gulp.

The two swallowed their saliva and started to move their feet slowly.

“Can the soldiers rescue me?”

Princess Larratu’s eyes shook with anxiety.

The sky was excessively clear, just as he said. If it were night or if there was some fog, the soldiers might have a chance to plan a rescue.

“Fog?”

An idea flashed in her mind.

What if it started raining?

But it wouldn’t rain hard enough to create fog unless there was considerable force.

“It could turn into a futile effort.”

At that moment of hesitation, a cold object fell on her cheek. Princess Larratu, widening her eyes, looked up.

Thud.

Swoooosh!

As if waiting, rain began to pour suddenly.

“Darn, why is it suddenly raining? This darn country has rain pouring down at any given time.”

Karsatuna perked her ears.

“This darn country?”

Could it be true that she’s a spy for the empire?

With a mixture of fear and unease, their stiff bodies soaked in rain began to relax.

“Darn it, we need to hurry.”

Grumbling, the boatman grabbed them. Ignoring Princess Larratu’s whimper when her wrist was pulled, he dragged them ruthlessly.

The two followed the boatman in the rain-soaked environment.

The raindrops grew thicker. Soon, with so much rain pouring down that they couldn’t see even a step ahead, the boatman stopped.

Swoooosh…

“Why is it raining so much?”

His voice was full of irritation.

On the other hand, the two harbored hope.

“Could a deity have appeared?”

But the thickness and quantity of the falling raindrops were suspicious.

Princess Larratu, in terms of the abilities of a deity, might belong to a higher level, but she couldn’t cause such rain.

While she could unleash a downpour once, it would last only a few seconds or minutes.

It was difficult with mere human strength.

“It’s natural rain.”
As we reached that conclusion, a heavy feeling sank in my heart.

“It seems suspicious. Could it be your doing?”

The boatman sighed.

“Impossible. Seriously. Come this way quickly. If the rain continues and the ground collapses, you know what will happen, right? If you don’t want to end up as a corpse, walk quickly!”

Already struggling with limited movement, Karsatuna screamed and fell over.

“Sigh, troublesome.”

Just as he expressed annoyance, he tried to lift Karsatuna.

But as Karsatuna, with her head lowered, sharply raised her eyes, she exerted force on her knees and struck the boatman’s chest with her head.

“Ugh!”

Surprised, the boatman stumbled backward.

“Princess, now’s the time!”

Karsatuna tightly held Princess Larratu’s hand and ran.

The boatman, who quickly stood up after falling, saw vitality drain from Shi-nu’s face.

“I spared you because you looked pretty.”

Muttering ominously, he chased after the two fleeing figures.

For Shi-nu, this was an unusual environment with heavy rain.

In the desert, it rarely rained enough to soak the ground entirely.

Especially such a heavy rain was something he had never experienced before.

However, he had been through rigorous training since he took his first steps.

Capturing two people with bound wrists was easier than biting a child’s wrist.

In the blink of an eye, Shi-nu caught up with them, and the despair on Karsatuna’s face as she realized he was following closely was evident.

“I must save the princess, even while restraining him.”