~Chapter 126~
“Where are we?”
Did we make it out of the theater? I carefully tried to recall what had happened. We’d rounded up all the Cambiata Club members, rescued the hostages, and then…
“What happened to the boy who was taken as a sacrifice? Is he safe?”
“One thing at a time,” Nocturne replied, pulling a chair over to the bedside and handing me a glass of water.
“First, we’re at a hotel not far from the theater. And as for the boy you saved—”
A sudden wave of anxiety swept over me. What if something went wrong?
“He’s doing much better than expected. The healers were amazed.”
“That’s a relief…”
Seeing me slump with relief onto the bed, Nocturne smiled.
“They say the Eshafe boy’s name is Pion. He’s grateful to be alive, and his mind is surprisingly clear. It’s thanks to you risking your life to save him.”
“…”
It sounded like praise, but there was a sharp edge to it. Using sensitivity on a brainwashed Eshafe had been reckless. If things had gone badly, I could have been completely destroyed myself—
“Oh.”
As I retraced my memories, I realized something strange. I couldn’t recall anything from the moment I used sensitivity on Pion. That entire section was just… gone.
But Nocturne seemed to realize what I was wondering.
“The search party handled your treatment. They said they erased some memories, fearing psychological trauma.”
“…The search party?”
“The imperial search party had been tracking us for days. They found us while you were unconscious. That’s when I made a deal with them. I’d agree to return to the Empire if they treated you and cleaned up the aftermath.”
His words flustered me. The search party had been on our trail?
“Don’t tell me—was all the nightly madness not because of demonic beasts, but because you were fighting the knights?”
It never made sense that we’d go into a frenzy just from hunting low-level beasts, but if Nocturne had been fighting the imperial knights, it made sense now. Nocturne shook his head.
“We fought beasts, too. They brought the monsters with them to set off the alarms.”
That was shocking. So all those nights of alarms had been part of the search party’s plan to flush out Nocturne.
‘To think the imperial army would stoop so low…’
I looked up at Nocturne.
“You never said a word about any of this… You must have struggled so much, handling all the beasts alone.”
At this, Nocturne gave a soft laugh.
“I wasn’t alone. My partner was there to help me.”
“…Mm.”
“And thanks to that, it wasn’t even hard.”
I awkwardly looked away. Nocturne was talking about how I soothed his frenzy. Come to think of it, I’d helped him so earnestly without really knowing anything…
Flashes of our nights together popped into my head, and I hurriedly changed the subject.
“So, what should we do now? We promised to return to the Empire…”
“Do you not want to go back?”
“It’s not that…”
It wasn’t that I hated the idea of returning, but it was complicated.
After all, I’d run away from the palace and left the country… and once this was all over, I’d planned to end everything.
I trailed off, and Nocturne nodded as if he understood.
“Then let’s run away.”
“What?”
“Most of the search party is out cleaning up the theater right now. And because you’ve been asleep for days, security has gotten a bit lax.”
“…Is it really okay to betray the knights who are cleaning up after our mess?”
I hesitated, but Nocturne answered gently,
“The imperial knights are following Padva’s orders, and Padva is a traitor who sided with Cambiata. We’ve been cleaning up the mess their master made, so in a way, we’ve been doing their job for them.”
“…That’s true.”
When I looked convinced, Nocturne smiled in satisfaction and stood up.
“I’ll call Tita, so get ready to go out.”
As if it were just a light stroll, Nocturne left the room. Soon, Tita came in.
“Your Highness!”
Tita’s eyes welled up with emotion when she saw me awake, but her hands moved efficiently, getting me ready to leave.
She’d originally become my maid to sneak into the palace, but she was showing such perfect professionalism. Maybe this is what it means to be the kind of person who succeeds at anything.
Once Tita finished helping me get ready, Nocturne returned to the room.
“The car’s waiting. Are you all set?”
“Yes.”
“Tita, go down the stairs with Jason. I’ll meet you at the car.”
“Yes, sir!”
Listening to their conversation, I felt a little confused.
‘Aren’t we supposed to use the stairs too when escaping from the hospital?’
Just then, Nocturne scooped me up in his arms.
“Nocturne?”
Reflexively, I wrapped my arms around his neck, looking up at him in shock. But as he had since I woke up, he just smiled softly at me.
Then, he pushed open the window and jumped.
‘I can’t believe he’s actually jumping out the window!’
I squeezed my eyes shut. A strange feeling of weightlessness came over me, cold wind whipped through my hair. How many stories did we just fall from?!
After what felt like forever, Nocturne landed lightly with a soft thud—perfectly, without a flaw.
“Ari, look over here.”
In a daze, I lifted my head when Nocturne called. He placed a pair of glasses on my face—a disguise artifact.
Nocturne put on his own glasses, took my hand, and led me away. Not far ahead, a carriage was waiting for us. Lance was sitting inside, waving.
“Thank goodness you’re awake, Your Highness!”
“Lance, you look well too.”
As I chatted with Lance, Nocturne spoke up.
“They’re coming.”
I turned to look where he was gazing, and saw Tita and Jason coming toward us.
But oddly, Tita was being carried in Jason’s arms.
Were those two always this close?
“Huh?”
I soon noticed the search party chasing after them.
“They must have figured out something’s wrong.”
“Lance, go.”
“Yes!”
At Nocturne’s command, Lance set the carriage in motion. I anxiously turned to Nocturne.
“What about Tita and Jason?”
“If fate allows, we’ll meet again.”
Flustered, I looked back, but Nocturne was right.
Jason, still carrying Tita, sprinted up and flung open the carriage door, leaping inside with her.
Once they were safely in, Nocturne grabbed the carriage door and glared at the pursuers.
A wall of fire suddenly erupted in the street.
“Aaaah!”
“Fire! There’s a fire!”
Shouts of panic rose all around as the flames blocked the search party’s view. Our carriage sped around the corner in the chaos.
Then Nocturne pulled me out of the carriage, and we stepped into a side alley, where a familiar military vehicle was waiting.
“Let’s decide our destination after we leave Greymoss.”
“All right.”
I followed Nocturne without hesitation.
Just then, a young boy selling newspapers passed by.
It was an everyday scene, something you could see anywhere in the Empire. But the newspaper in the boy’s hand instantly caught my eye.
What did I just see?
“Hey, can I have a paper?”
“One shilling.”
As I tried to buy a newspaper in the middle of our escape, everyone in our group stopped and turned to look at me.
Only Nocturne remained calm, paying the price for me without a word.
I took the paper and got into the car.
“Your Highness, what’s with the newspaper?” Tita asked as soon as the door shut.
As I opened it and read the headlines with a serious face, Nocturne asked quietly,
“Did something happen in the Empire?”
I paused for a moment and looked up.
“How did you know?”
“I just figured, if you’re reacting like this, it must have something to do with the Empire.”
“….”
I looked at Nocturne suspiciously, then finally spoke.
“That’s right, it’s news from the Empire.”
I turned the paper around so everyone could see the headline.
The front-page article that had caught my eye was this:
A Bloodstained Engagement! Lady Minette Arrested on Suspicion of Attempting to Assassinate the Prince!
