Chapter 95
Because Renoa complained of dizziness, they had no choice but to leave the alley.
But the situation hadn't changed.
They still needed money, and right now neither of them had a proper way to earn any.
They would have to sell the jewelry to get cash.
It was hard to take Renoa into the back alleys, but it was also impossible to leave her alone.
With nowhere else to go, Bibi chose to keep Renoa near the guards.
If she was in front of the guards, they wouldn't be able to lay a hand on Renoa even if Bibi stepped away.
“Young lady. Please wait here for a moment. I'll be right back.”
“Mm...”
As if leaving a child at a shelter, Bibi left Renoa behind and headed back into the alley to make the trade.
Renoa stood there blankly, looking around from side to side.
She looked out at the sea in the distance, then at the passersby, then up at the sky, then down at the ground.
She couldn't keep her head still for even a moment, showing signs of anxiety.
Then, all of a sudden, she made eye contact with one of the guards beside her.
Feeling guilty, Renoa reflexively grew wary of him.
“Why are you staring like that?”
“Are you... a noble?”
The guard's suspicion was reasonable.
Her clothes were plainly those of a commoner, but by her looks and by Bibi's attitude toward her, she was unmistakably a young lady from a wealthy house.
If it had been before, Renoa would have been pleased to be treated like a noble.
“None of your business.”
But now, there was absolutely nothing good about being found out as a noble.
She cut him off coldly.
“Ah, y-yes...”
Stung by Renoa's icy attitude, the guard no longer dared ask any more.
Neither of them paid the other any mind.
As that awkward silence dragged on, another guard swaggered over like a thug.
“Max.”
“Oh, Harry.”
“I'm here to take over. Any trouble?”
“What trouble? Every day is the same. I'm bored to death.”
“That's a good thing, idiot. You don't appreciate the value of daily life, do you?”
The guards laughed idly as they chatted about this and that.
Renoa didn't care what they talked about.
All she could think about was when Bibi would come back and when Leon would arrive.
“But the city gate seems kind of noisy. Something going on?”
“Ah. Now that you mention it, there was some strange rumor.”
“What rumor?”
“I asked while they were inspecting the baggage earlier, and they said something big had happened at the House of Edelhyde.”
At that very moment.
Renoa, who had been quietly looking down at the ground, suddenly stiffened.
All her nerves turned toward the guards' conversation.
“Something big? What kind of thing?”
“They were saying all sorts of ominous things, like the ducal manor was engulfed in flames, or the Imperial Knights had stormed in.”
“The Imperial Knights? Is this some kind of political struggle?”
“I don't know the details. Anyway, sounds like they're evacuating or something.”
The guards' ordinary conversation buzzed in Renoa's ears like tinnitus.
Her breath caught and her vision went distant.
The scene from yesterday flashed before her eyes.
“But who's this pretty young lady? Someone you know?”
Harry, who had been chatting with Max, suddenly turned his gaze toward Renoa.
His eyes slid over her, from head to toe.
“Hey. She might be a noble, so tone it down.”
“What noble would be standing alone on the street like this without a single guard? Unless she's the daughter of a fallen house.”
Max tried to warn him, but Harry snorted.
He strode right up to Renoa.
“Miss, what are you doing here? Are you waiting for someone? Are you alone?”
“......”
“You look bored all by yourself. Want big brother to keep you company?”
Harry flirted with her, his gaze languid and seductive.
Renoa did not answer.
Seeing no value in dealing with him, she turned to leave the spot altogether.
-Snatch.
Harry seized Renoa's wrist.
“Hey, where are you rushing off to? If someone asks you something, answer.”
Renoa looked at the hand gripping her wrist for a moment, then shot Harry a murderous glare.
“Let go.”
“I'm telling you, don't ignore a guy when he's standing right in front of you. How about a drink with me after work?”
“This is your final warning. If you don't want to die, get your filthy hand off me right now.”
At that, Harry burst out laughing.
“Die? Who's going to kill me? You? Are you going to kill me in bed? Hahaha!”
To him, Renoa's warning looked no more than a frightened cat's hiss.
“......”
Humiliation and surging shame drove blood into Renoa's eyes.
Of course, there was nothing she could do.
With her frail body, she couldn't break free of a full-grown man's grip, and she couldn't use magic either.
But Renoa's mental state right now was extremely unstable.
She wasn't rational enough to weigh the details, and as a result.
-Swoosh.
A gust from somewhere sent Harry's hair whipping about.
That was the last sensation Harry ever consciously registered in this world.
“......?”
Just as he opened his mouth to finish spitting out some flippant mockery.
Harry's field of vision slid diagonally, drifted through the air, and then collapsed helplessly.
-Thud. Plop, patter.
The sturdy body standing in front of Renoa came apart as if it had been hacked to pieces by dozens of invisible blades, spilling down in chunks.
Cubes of meat piled on the floor.
Blood instantly dyed the surrounding area.
“H-heeek...!”
Max, who had been watching from point-blank range, went white as paper.
His legs gave out at the horrific sight, and he collapsed backward in terror.
“Kyaaaah!”
“So-someone's dead!”
Screams erupted from all around.
The city fell into chaos in an instant.
But Renoa didn't even have the time to care about any of it.
“Ugh...”
Renoa's vision flashed white for an instant. She swayed as sudden dizziness crashed over her.
Her eyes throbbed.
Blood trickled down.
Because of Seokrinhwa, her mana circuits had hardened, and this was the backlash from forcibly squeezing out mana.
“A mage! She killed a guard!”
“Subdue her at once!”
The soldiers guarding the gate surrounded Renoa. Spears and swords were aimed at her.
Just as the spearpoint was about to pierce Renoa's nape.
-Fwoosh!
“Ghk!”
“Urk!”
A dagger flew out of nowhere and struck the guards.
“W-what was that!”
A nimble shadow burst into the chaos. It was Bibi, who had gone into the back alleys to make the trade.
“Young lady. Please excuse me for a moment.”
Bibi quickly came to Renoa's side, scooped her up, and leapt away in one bound.
“The killer's getting away! After them!”
The guards gave chase.
Carrying Renoa, Bibi fled across the rooftops.
She stole a glance down at Renoa in her arms.
Her face was deathly pale, and her tightly clasped hands trembled like aspen leaves.
No matter how you looked at it, she was in no normal state.
Bibi easily shook off the pursuit, leaping across rooftops and darting through the alleys.
Then she spotted the dock, packed tight with countless cargo ships and merchant vessels.
Bibi secretly boarded a merchant ship that was about to depart. She hid in a corner of the cargo hold, out of sight.
“Young lady. Are you all right?”
“......”
“Did something happen?”
“...He threatened me.”
“I see. Then he committed a crime deserving death. You did very well.”
Daring to lay a hand on a noble's body. It wouldn't have been strange to execute him on the spot.
Bibi agreed with Renoa and showed unwavering loyalty.
“I'm hardly in a position to say this, but you should avoid using magic unless absolutely necessary.”
“Mm...”
With Bibi's comfort, Renoa gradually regained her composure.
“...The money? How did it go?”
“It went well.”
Bibi lifted a heavy money pouch to show her. Inside were plenty of coins—gold, silver, and copper alike.
Since it was an under-the-table deal, it couldn't fetch the item's true worth, but this much should let them live safely for several months.
“That's a relief.”
Renoa had once managed the estate herself, so she knew the value of money very well.
An amount like this would cover living expenses and even leave room to spare.
Now if only Leon would come...
“......”
All at once, Renoa lifted her head. She looked around in a fluster.
“Where are we?”
“We're on a merchant ship bound for Porto.”
“What?”
Porto was a kingdom across the sea.
They were already being pursued, and on top of that she had killed a guard. If they stayed in the city like this, they'd be mice trapped in a jar.
Bibi intended to spirit Renoa away to a foreign country.
“We have to get off.”
Renoa sprang to her feet.
“Young lady.”
“Then what about Leon?”
“A guard was killed. And right in the middle of the city. They'll be frantic to find you.”
Soon the gate would be sealed off, and the security forces would search the city from end to end.
Staying in Velmarine under these circumstances was no different from suicide.
“Lord Leon would also put your survival above all else.”
“But... what if Leon can't find us...?”
“Please trust Lord Leon. He would cross the sea to follow your trail.”
“Really...?”
“Do you not trust Lord Leon?”
Renoa slowly shook her head.
Right. If it was Leon, he'd find her soon enough.
If she stubbornly stayed here and got caught by the security forces, she'd only make him suffer again.
“...All right.”
Renoa reluctantly agreed.
She bit down on her bloodless lower lip.
Though she understood it in her head, the fact that she had to leave Leon across the sea felt as if it were carving out her heart.
-Hooooonk!
The ship's horn sounded, announcing departure.
Soon after, the ship began to move slowly.
***
It had been quite some time since the merchant ship bound for Porto left Velmarine.
At the very bottom of the vessel, in a musty cargo hold where not a single ray of light seeped in.
Renoa crouched in a dusty corner of a crate, breathing as if dead.
She had thought she'd never have reason to ride a ship in her life. Even if she did, she never imagined it would be like this.
Leaving aside luxurious VIP cabins, this was a space where it wouldn't be strange if a pack of rats came scurrying out at any moment.
Each time the waves violently struck the hull, the irregular motion made nausea rise up inside her.
Since this was her first time on a ship, Renoa was terribly seasick.
“Please bear with it a little longer, young lady. If we keep going a bit more, we'll arrive.”
“......”
Too weak to answer, Renoa slumped against the box.
Then a little more time passed. It was exactly twenty-four hours since she had parted with Leon.
-Zing!
“Ugh.”
A sharp pain pricked one corner of Renoa's woozy mind.
As if a dam had burst, fragments of memory that had turned white and blown away came surging back like a tidal wave.
Her vanished awareness returned.
“Ah...?”
Only then did Renoa remember clearly.
What it was she had forgotten right before parting with Leon.
‘Let's run away together.’
It was the obvious thing.
Of course, that was the order she should have given.
And yet why had she gone silent like a mute who'd swallowed honey?
Why had she blurted out that dreadful command for him to stay behind, instead of telling him to run away with her?
As the inexplicable lapse of memory cleared, the reality she'd been deliberately pretending not to see seized her by the nape.
Leon couldn't come back.
No matter how exceptional Leon was, he could never single-handedly take on the Imperial Knights, the empire's elite, and survive.
That blind certainty that he would definitely return alive was nothing more than shallow self-deception, born from her fear of facing reality.
“Ah, aah...”
A groan, as if mixed with blood, leaked from deep in her throat.
Belated remorse began mercilessly tearing through Renoa's heart.
If only she had listened to Leon's advice sooner and left the house without hesitation.
If only she hadn't nurtured those filthy ambitions to seize power.
‘Why...’
Why had she never been kind to him even once?
Why had she always driven him with a haughty attitude, hurt him, and treated him so carelessly?
Her own weakness and stubbornness had driven the one person who had always stood on her side in the entire world into a trap.
The one who had pushed Leon to the edge of the cliff was none other than Renoa herself.
-Clunk.
The prow of the ship rose and fell heavily against the rough waves.
The sealed space swayed, and at the same time Renoa's stomach twisted beyond endurance.
Self-loathing.
A searing surge of self-reproach.
Regret over having caused an irreversible tragedy.
And even the anger she felt at herself for ultimately abandoning Leon and running away.
All those negative emotions tangled together and surged violently back up through her esophagus.
“Hurk, blegh.”
Renoa braced herself on the floor and vomited.
There was hardly anything she'd properly put into her stomach lately.
All that came up with the heaving was yellow bile and sour fluid.
“Young lady!”
Bibi hurried over in alarm.
But Renoa harshly slapped away even the hand Bibi stretched out to her.
She kept gagging and retching over and over.
She had clearly thought she cherished him.
She had firmly believed, beyond any doubt, that he was the most precious person in the world, irreplaceable by anything else.
But were all those feelings really true?
If she truly cared for and loved Leon, then no matter how frightened and desperate she was, she couldn't have driven him into a deathtrap.
During that brief instant when her reason had been paralyzed and her life hung by a thread.
What she had so ruthlessly sacrificed to survive was, in truth, her own nature buried deep within her subconscious.
In the end, she had never once truly cared for Leon.
Her affection for him, or even her guilt, had been nothing more than nauseating hypocrisy, a desire to secure her own safety by leaning on blind loyalty.
Renoa thought.
In the end, she had been a witch.
A witch who had driven someone precious to their death.