I'll Abandon the Fake Savior (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 7

The carriage stopped at a village slightly removed from the capital. Even within that humble village, it was an unusually quiet spot, nestled close to the mountains. On the way here, Yuricien had felt anxious many times, but each time, she recalled Jorgen’s kindness.

[My daughter, our daughter. The one and only sweetest night of my life.] [My beloved Yuri. Even if daylight never returns to this world, I will always love the color of night you carry.]

Until his marriage to Kendali, Jorgen had been the kindest and most dependable presence in Yuricien’s life.

Though he had grown neglectful of everything after falling—as if brainwashed—into that reckless, fiery love with Kendali, Yuricien knew better.

‘That isn’t Father’s true self.’

She would set everything right. For that, she had steeled herself to do whatever it took.

Yuricien soothed herself this way, wiping away the sweat pooling heavily in her palms again and again.

“My lady, we’ve arrived. However… I’m not quite sure.”

Andersen hesitated as he spoke from outside the carriage.

“It’s deeper and darker than the Coperador Guild described. Perhaps… perhaps the information was mistaken.”

As she listened to Andersen, Yuricien pressed herself against the carriage door and scanned the surroundings. According to the guild’s investigation, Jorgen was being protected in a cabin somewhere in these mountains.

‘But… they never said it would be this remote.’

No matter how thoroughly she looked around, there wasn’t the slightest trace of human presence. Sweat gathered once more in Yuricien’s palms as she gripped the carriage door.

“What shall we do?”

Andersen’s voice trembled faintly, for this was his first time seeking out such a cabin himself. He worried he might have led the lady he served into danger.

Yuricien pondered.

‘What should I do? What if Father isn’t here? What if this is the guild’s trap?’

Every imaginable thought crossed her mind. Meanwhile, time kept passing, and the risen moon began to tilt.

After a brief moment of hesitation, head bowed as she clutched the door, Yuricien lifted her face.

“I’ll get down.”

“My lady…”

“Don’t worry.”

Yuricien had made her decision.

“I will find Father, no matter what.”

She’d considered countless possibilities: that the guild had set a trap for human trafficking, that someone else had been mistaken for Jorgen, or that they’d simply taken the money and run with false information. Because of this, Yuricien had prepared numerous contingencies.

“This isn’t entirely unexpected, either.”

Of course, she didn’t blindly trust her plans, but she refused to retreat out of fear over something that hadn’t even happened yet. In truth, she had nowhere left to retreat.

Yuricien wiped the sweat from her palms onto her hood and composed her expression. A noble Windsor must never lose dignity, even if bandits lay in wait ahead to kidnap her.

‘The compulsion I once found stifling is proving useful today.’

It was perfect for suppressing the sudden surges of fear that kept rising within her.

Yuricien tapped the carriage to signal she was ready. At that, Andersen, who had been hesitating, assumed the demeanor of a dignified butler and opened the door. With perfect posture, he took his lady’s hand and helped her alight from the carriage.

Crunch, crunch.

The sound of stepping on autumn leaves that hadn’t decayed over winter was light. Yuricien stood straight where she was and swept her gaze around. Andersen, his mustache neatly trimmed, stood solemnly beside her, holding a lantern.

Fortunately, no bandits rushed at her the moment she stepped down.

“The guild’s investigation said the sanatorium was nearby. Is that right?”

“Yes, my lady. They said it would be just ahead, where the carriage can go no further.”

“But…”

Yuricien peered into the dimness ahead. Andersen quickly illuminated the path she was looking at with his lantern. Though the light scattered brightly through the mosaic glass, they still couldn’t spot the cabin.

Yuricien swallowed hard as she looked at the mountain’s entrance, which seemed like a beast baring its maw.

“Let’s go and see.”

“Yes, my lady. I shall accompany you.”

Andersen asked permission and stepped ahead. Yuricien, feeling oddly exposed with her back unguarded, glanced behind once before following him up the mountain path.

Not long after, Yuricien spotted a cabin glowing with faint light. Fortunately, the guild hadn’t lured her into a trap.

But there was one problem…

“Heh, what unexpected fortune to find this in such a shabby place!”

“Who wouldn’t say so? And a young woman, no less!”

“Hey, I saw her first—got it?”

Bandits who hadn’t been visible just moments ago had now appeared, slightly late to the scene. In an instant, they surrounded Yuricien. Using the darkness and dense trees to their advantage, they moved freely—truly elusive and unpredictable.

“Guh… my lady… please stay calm…”

“Andersen!”

Yuricien caught Andersen, who had collapsed after being struck by a bandit’s sudden club swing, and glared fiercely at the enemies. Their lazy, leering grins made it clear they were ready to pounce and humiliate her at any moment.

She felt a warm, damp liquid on the palm supporting Andersen’s unconscious head. Yuricien bit down hard on the inside of her cheek.

‘If we stay like this, Andersen will be in danger.’

She needed to give him first aid immediately.

‘I have bandages in my bag…’

The problem was those men, who even in this darkness bared their yellowed teeth and gulped saliva greedily. They’d never allow Yuricien to treat Andersen.

Thud, thud.

The bandits encircling Yuricien began closing in.

For a fleeting moment, their faces overlapped with that of a drunken Heathcliff, but Yuricien quickly steadied her mind.

“Don’t come any closer!”

Today was different. Yuricien swiftly drew a dagger from her robes.

“Don’t move. If you do, this blade will draw blood.”

Though holding Andersen made her movements awkward, it was still far more threatening than being unarmed. The problem was, that threat wouldn’t last long.

“Whew~ So this lady isn’t just some noble girl after all?”

“Right, right. She must’ve brought that dagger for her nighttime escapades.”

The bandits sneered at Yuricien, their meaning clear: how could one tiny dagger possibly handle so many men?

Exchanging glances in the darkness, the men smirked. Overpowering a fallen old man and a lone woman all at once wouldn’t be fun.

Even hooded, the girl’s sharp jawline revealed extraordinary beauty, and they wanted to see her despair on this lonely mountain path with no one to help. They longed to hear her scream as her clothes tore, no matter how desperately she cried for help or mercy.

A lust-thickened voice chuckled hoarsely. Just then, one man boldly stepped toward Yuricien.

“Guhk!”

Something small and sharp pierced the man’s throat. It happened in the blink of an eye. His heavy body thudded to the ground, startling his companions.

“What—what was that!”

“What’s going on!”

“What is it? What just happened…!”

The very darkness they’d used to their advantage now obscured their vision. As the men floundered in confusion, something whistled sharply past their ears with a fierce gust of wind.

“Kwikt!”

“Ugh!”

Simultaneously, the men whose earlobes had been sliced clutched their ears and groaned. Just as the thought of an ambush struck them, a cold voice rang out from the center.

“Did you not hear my warning not to move?”

It was none other than Yuricien’s voice. The woman they’d dismissed was the very one who’d driven a dagger into her comrade’s neck and torn off their earlobes!

“You… you wench…!”

“How dare she!”

The bandits no longer had time to weigh whether this was amusing or not. They all charged at Yuricien at once. Their opponent had shown some tricks, but in the end, she was still just one woman—they couldn’t possibly fail to capture her.

But there was one thing they didn’t know—and that was…

“Ghk!”

“Kuhk!”

“Aaah!”

That Yuricien’s own father, Jorgen, had once been such an exceptional swordsman in his youth that the Emperor himself had bestowed upon him the title “Young Hero.”

Yuricien resembled Jorgen in many ways. Her swordsmanship, bordering on genius, was no exception.

Though she’d never pursued swordsmanship seriously and had only learned enough for self-defense, Yuricien had come alone all the way up this mountain path after what Heathcliff had done to her—precisely because she had confidence in her abilities.

“Hoo… Andersen told me to stay calm…”

Having swiftly dispatched them, Yuricien didn’t linger on the still-warm corpses. She tended to Andersen, then carefully hid him beneath a hill where even the bandits’ comrades wouldn’t notice, before walking toward the cabin, from which a faint light seeped out.

Shortly afterward, a figure appeared among the fallen bandits.

Wearing boots fit for a holy knight, the figure lightly tapped a puddle of blood that hadn’t yet soaked into the ground with long, pale fingers. The blood was still warm.

‘I received the report about bandits appearing here barely ten minutes ago…’

The man rubbed his slick, bloodied hand, and the corner of his mouth lazily curled upward.

‘How amusing.’