With her eyes covered, Elaina’s face as she sat in the carriage was calmer than expected.
After being forcibly led by someone’s hand and forced into the carriage, with her hands and feet bound and eyes covered against her will, she remained still.
She simply closed her eyes tightly and thought about what had happened earlier.
[Guard the carriage! By any means necessary!]Schuler’s voice rang in her ears. And Hister’s soldiers, who unexpectedly rushed towards the carriage in countless numbers.
The reason Elaina chose to be dragged away was simple.
Because she could no longer bear to witness the scene unfolding before her eyes.
They were already completely outnumbered. Even to her ignorant eyes, there seemed to be no way to defeat the soldiers Hister had stationed.
From the beginning, he must have anticipated that Sinclair could easily be framed as the Emperor’s assassin, and thus stationed many soldiers in this direction.
In such a situation, it was unexpectedly too difficult and painful to simply watch as people threw their lives away without hesitation to protect only her, and died in such a way.
Especially after seeing even Schuler, covered in blood, screaming at her to protect Elaina.
[I will go, so let them go.] [You’ll go on your own feet?]To the man who mocked her, Elaina replied in a resolute voice.
[Yes. So send back Schuler and Sinclair’s soldiers. After all, from the beginning, the target was only me, wasn’t it?]It was all too clear what reaction Schuler would have had to Elaina’s words.
[No. Absolutely not, Lady Elaina…… Please……!] [Schuler, you know too. No matter how much time I buy here, these soldiers will eventually chase after you.] [Step aside. I said step aside!] [Still, you must survive and return. It’s my last request. I believe you know what I mean.] [No…… This is not right. E-Elaina!]Elaina sighed heavily, mulling over the last words she had heard from Schuler.
Schuler could not even bring himself to tell Elaina to run away.
Because of her ruined legs.
She was disgusted with herself for always being dragged around by someone like this, being kidnapped, and not even being able to attempt to run away a few steps.
‘No…… No. There’s no time for such thoughts.’
But Elaina’s thoughts did not last long. Rather, as if to come to her senses, she bit her lips with all her might and began to try her hardest to quickly assess the situation.
‘If Sinclair has safely cleared his name and revealed that Hister is the true culprit behind the Emperor’s assassination…… From now on, it will be a hostage fight.’
The matter at the palace would have already been settled one way or another. Since it had been a few hours since she left, that much was certain.
‘Yes, a hostage fight…….’
At that moment, Elaina flinched slightly as if realizing something.
‘If Hister had overpowered Sinclair, he wouldn’t have dragged me to another place like this. Rather, he would have taken me back to the palace to mock Sinclair. Or had us executed together.’
So Sinclair……
Had he managed to resolve everything well?
Elaina let out a very brief sigh of relief.
‘Then I…… will probably become Hister’s last card.’
If Hister was driven to the edge of a cliff, it was all too clear how he would act from now on.
‘He will try to bargain or negotiate with my life. While threatening Sinclair.’
And Sinclair……
Elaina’s hand, which had been quietly resting on her dress, clenched the hem of her skirt.
‘If he abandons me like this……’
So, if he doesn’t fall for Hister’s threats like someone who doesn’t care about my life at all and maintains his position.
If he does that, my heart might be a little more at ease.
But Elaina knew all too well.
The fact that the foolish and utterly foolish Sinclair would never act as Elaina wished.
[Lord Sinclair asked me to tell you. That he still loves you, Lady Elaina.]“……”
[That there is nothing Lord Sinclair can do better than that, and that fact will not change no matter what situation arises……]In the end, Sinclair would fall for Hister’s trickery without being able to give up on her until the very end, and she would once again hold Sinclair back.
…… It was as if she was angry.
However, Elaina could not tell if this anger was directed at herself for being unable to do anything, or at Sinclair for not being able to abandon her even after going through all those events.
Why can’t you abandon me even after all that?
Why can’t you be so heartless……
To me, over and over again……
“Slow down.”
At the sudden voice of someone, Elaina lifted her head.
Sitting still and listening quietly, a heavy sound was heard ahead. It was like the heavy noise made when opening a castle gate.
‘It must be either a villa owned by the Duke of Lundberg or Rockford…… or a place related to Yuria. Because if Sinclair gains all the power, there is no other place where Hister can stay.’
…… Where is it?
A place suitable for buying time and with large defensive walls or gates that can be built to block the incoming soldiers.
‘It’s not the south. The Grand Duchy of Anelli Haworth is there. It’s no exaggeration to say that the collateral branches have taken over that area.’
Then the farthest north?
‘But the place Sinclair took me to that time was a forest north of the palace. Moreover, he said the forest was owned by the imperial family…… and there’s a high possibility that all the passable roads are guarded by soldiers.’
In the end, it’s one of two.
Either west or east, based on the capital of Edenbell.
‘If it’s near the west……’
That river.
It’s the place overlooked by the Empress’s villa and connected to the Hilden River where the Empress died.
And if you keep going down along that river, you’ll reach the valley where Elaina first met Sinclair. Met Ren.
‘I may wander, but at least if it’s geography I know, still……’
It was at that very moment when Elaina was having such fleeting thoughts.
The carriage suddenly stopped.
“Drag her out.”
Along with the voice of an unfamiliar someone, the carriage door opened.
In an instant, someone grabbed Elaina’s wrist with all their might and dragged her out, and Elaina let out a short groan and staggered greatly.
Thrown onto the dirty ground in an instant, Elaina shook her head quickly as if trying to remove the blindfold, but it was of no use.
“She’s a cripple who can’t even walk, and she’s going to do something just by knowing where she is?”
Because someone grabbed Elaina’s collar tightly so that she could no longer move.
“Are you planning to run away with that body? How absurd.”
Biting her lip tightly, Elaina struggled with all her might, but there was no way to overcome the man’s strength.
“Take her.”
With the man’s order, Elaina was eventually dragged like a dog. Towards a place she didn’t even know.
But even at that moment, Elaina desperately listened and tried hard to smell the scent emanating from the castle.
And she heard it clearly.
‘The sound of flowing water……’
Also, a damp and musty smell.
‘It was the west after all.’
Just a little more. If only she could see her surroundings……
“Lock him up where that guy is.”
“Wouldn’t it be a bit dangerous to keep the two of them together?”
Two?
What do you mean by two?
“There are no holes to escape anyway. Not only in the basement but also around the castle, there are many who stand guard, so even if they try anything, they will be caught immediately.”
Basement?
“Understood.”
As soon as the answer was given, Elaina was dragged away again by someone grabbing her wrist.
Before long, the fishy smell unique to the basement stabbed her nose, and an unpleasant clanging sound was heard.
Only then did Elaina realize that the “basement” the man mentioned was a dungeon.
Soon, a clanging sound was heard……
“Ahhh!”
Elaina was thrown just like that.
“Ugh……”
As she tumbled greatly on the floor, the blindfold that had been covering her eyes finally fluttered weakly and settled on the bloodstained floor.
“Watch closely. You know what I mean.”
“Yes.”
As she lifted her head, she saw a soldier locking the cell door with a padlock.
The soldier looked down at Elaina with a very cold face and began to sneer at her as if mocking her.
“Your Respected Highness the Crown Princess, it would be best for you to stay put when told.”
“……”
“Of course, the fact that you will die by Lord Hister’s hand will not change, but that’s not right now.”
That was the end. Having finished what he had to say, the soldier turned his back without hesitation and slowly walked away. Then he stood not too far away and began to stand guard boredly.
‘I need to get out of here……’
Elaina looked around urgently, but unfortunately, it seemed that what the men had said earlier was true.
Because in this cramped underground dungeon, there was not a single corner to escape from.
It was at that very moment when Elaina was grimacing like that.
“Excuse……”
Sudden.
And also somehow familiar voice, came from behind.
“Lady…… Elaina……?”
Flinching at the voice calling her name, Elaina turned her head and soon made a startled expression.
Male lead is a Destined Young Husband (Female-dominant)
One-sentence summary: Wife-master, listen to my explanation!
Li Ruantang, a young lady from a prestigious family, stumbled and fell. When she woke up, she saw a noble and beautiful young man sitting by her bedside, wiping away tears.
The young master had slightly reddened eyes, and his every move exuded charm.
The sight made Li Ruantang’s eyes hot and her heart flutter. After all, she had made a bet with the young master Meng from the neighboring family. If she couldn’t marry a husband before the end of the year, she would have to admit defeat and give up the jade she had worked so hard to obtain.
Outside the window, the flowers were in full bloom.
Rather than losing the bet, the jade, and her face, Li Ruantang calculated that it would be better to seek marriage with the young master in front of her, killing three birds with one stone.
…
Meng Jun never thought that an accident during a spring outing would lead to them rolling down a cliff and into a river, yet still survive.
Now they were trapped in an unknown village, and Meng Jun had overheard that the family who had rescued them had their own intentions.
After all, it was Li Ruantang who had lost her mind and sought marriage first. He was only trying to protect himself!
Glancing at Li Ruantang, who was listing her own merits, the young husband’s voice softened, and he blushed as he lied, “W-wife-master, Wife-master, don’t you remember me?”
The young husband’s voice was clear and handsome, coaxing Li Ruantang’s heart to be soft and sweet, and she spared no effort to protect him.
It wasn’t until they returned to the capital that Li Ruantang suddenly remembered.
When they had fallen off the cliff, in order not to implicate Wei Yunruo, whom he secretly admired, the young husband had instead pulled her, who was slightly farther away, down the cliff with him…
Short summary by Yuushi L: Initially, the male lead (ML) liked another girl, while the female lead (FL) liked the ML. Both fell off a cliff. The FL temporarily lost her memory, and the ML, fearing others might take advantage of him, claimed FL was his wife while they were staying in a village. Later, when they returned home, the FL regained her memories and remembered that the ML liked someone else, so she kept her distance from him. However, during their time living together in the countryside, the ML’s view of the FL had completely changed. From this point, his pursuit of the FL begins.
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