TMH Ch#41

Suddenly, last night’s dream came to mind.

He usually couldn’t remember his dreams, but last night’s dream was vivid, as if it had been etched into his memory.

“Shh, little angels… close your eyes.”

Calix’s dream began as a peaceful lullaby. It was a familiar song he had heard many times since childhood.

In the dream, he was still just a young boy.

On a leisurely afternoon, he quietly tiptoed toward the balcony where a rocking chair swayed gently in rhythm with the peaceful melody.

“The angels… lay their heads on pillows and drift into dreamland.”

The woman’s voice singing the lullaby from the second-floor balcony was so tranquil it seemed intoxicated with sleep, and to some extent, it even carried a tinge of sadness.

“In dreamland, no one is hurt…”

Even listening from below, the young boy felt tears well up just from the lyrics.

“Mother…”

His mother had always been weak, confined to bed, so he couldn’t remember ever hearing that lullaby in person.

In his memory, she had never sung him a lullaby.

“But there, everyone can be together…”

Still, his mother occasionally came out to the balcony to lie in the rocking chair whenever the sunlight was pleasant.

“Calix. Your mother is unwell and needs rest. You must never trouble her. Understand?”

“But father… can’t I just sit next to her for a moment?”

“No, Calix.”

His father strictly controlled him.

And he never allowed Calix to approach his mother.

“Why, father? I’ll be quiet. I’ll just sit beside her for a little while.”

“I said no!”

His father became angry but never gave a detailed explanation.

Perhaps he thought Calix was too young to understand.

His father was always stern and severe, so Calix didn’t dare ask further.

“Mother…”

Thus, little Calix had very few allowances.

All he could do was listen from below—the creaking of the rocking chair and the lullaby his mother sang.

“That rocking chair looks nice…”

The young boy resented the indifferent chair.

He was jealous of it, for it held the woman he could never approach.

So he begged a carpenter he knew to teach him how to carve wood.

If he could not be near his mother, he at least wanted her to sit in a chair he had made.

Day after day…

Watching the sun set and the moon rise, he carefully shaped the wood and assembled the chair with his small hands.

By the time it was finished, he had grown into a dignified young boy.

“It’s done!”

The chair was rough, but the marks of a child’s hands made it shine.

Proudly, he carried the chair himself to his mother’s bedroom.

“Father. I’ll just give this chair to Mother.”

“No, Calix. Didn’t I say no?”

But by then, his mother’s condition had worsened.

She no longer sang lullabies.

She never called for her son.

“Then at least this chair…”

“Keep it for yourself. Your mother doesn’t need a chair.”

“But…”

“Calix. Must you trouble your father too? Don’t you see how busy I am?”

His father raised his voice.

Startled, Calix had no choice but to step back.

“Watch yourself! Your father is working hard to leave you the Bloodstone Duchy!”

“Yes… Father. I’m sorry. I’ll be careful from now on.”

Calix had no choice but to return with the heavy chair.

Yet after that day, Calix never used the chair even once.

Inside the fleeing carriage, Marie leaned her face out the window.

Whoosh! Her long hair flew backward instantly.

“…Good heavens!”

As she tried to hold back the scattering hair, she saw a dozen masked men in pursuit.

“Milady! It’s dangerous! Don’t look outside!”

“Ah, got it!”

Marie quickly ducked her head back inside.

‘This is impossible! Bandits in broad daylight? We almost died just a few days ago!’

Josh ran alongside Marie’s carriage, keeping pace, and shouted to Dwayne.

“Dwayne! There are too many of them!”

“Yes…!”

“You and I alone can’t hold them off! We need to get into the Bloodstone territory as fast as possible! Just over this hill!”

“Yes…! Move!”

Dwayne gritted his teeth and whipped the horses again.

He was right. Once they reached the Bloodstone territory, help would be available.

“….”

Marie was worried, but not as anxious as she had been in the Ranid slums.

They were outnumbered, yes, but unlike a few days ago, Dwayne and Josh were there.

‘Dwayne and Josh are stronger than those men.’

Marie assumed they were just simple thieves.

Nathan wouldn’t have the means to hire so many people otherwise.

‘Still… what is going on? Assassins, then bandits? There’s nothing to steal.’

Her thoughts went to the chair tied inside the carriage.

Surely they weren’t chasing to steal the reformed chair, were they?

‘I tied it firmly, but what if the carriage shakes too much and it falls?’

But that thought vanished quickly.

The carriage began shaking violently.

Marie lowered her body to avoid hitting the jolting carriage walls.

“Ugh!”

The carriage shook relentlessly in all directions—up, down, and sideways.

As the speed increased to the extreme, the wheel joints began to creak.

“Catch them! We must catch them before they reach Bloodstone territory!”

“Yes!”

The bandits pursued aggressively.

Yet they couldn’t catch up immediately.

The narrow road made overtaking difficult.

No one dared leap from their horses onto the carriage.

Dwayne’s carriage was running at full speed, shaking uncontrollably, making it difficult for anyone to time a jump.

“Dwayne! Just a little more!”

“Yes…!”

The carriage picked up even more speed, and the wind struck their faces fiercely.

The horses’ muscular legs thrashed violently in rhythm.

“Just over this hill, and we’ll see the Bloodstone outpost!”

“Move!”

Both pursuers and the fleeing raised their speed to maximum, climbing the hill.

Clank.

But an unwelcome sound rang out.

A wheel bolt had come loose.

“Gah!”

Then the wheel detached and flew out.

The old carriage couldn’t withstand the speed and vibrations.

“Damn it!”

Sparks flew as the axle scraped the ground.

The grating noise cut sharply into their ears.

“Ahh…!”

At the same time, the carriage tilted, and Marie’s body was thrown sideways.

“Ah!”

In that moment, time seemed to slow for Marie.

Her body rose slightly, then tipped to the left.

“…!”

She realized her head was facing downward, and the carriage floor was above her.

And then—

Crash!

“AAAAHH!”

The carriage flipped.

It rolled down the hill, veering off the road.

Thump, thump, thump—

“Milady!”

Dwayne, who hadn’t let go of the reins even at the last moment, was with her.

“Milady!”

“AAAAHH!”

Marie screamed as she collided violently with the carriage walls.

Thump, thump, thump!

Several loud crashes followed.

Finally, the carriage hit the ground with a bang.

“No!”

Josh shouted and rushed down the hill.

He didn’t even spare a thought for the bandits behind them.

“Milady! Dwayne!”

His face pale, he ran down the slope.

But he didn’t forget to blow the small whistle hanging around his neck.

Peee—

A sharp, high-pitched sound pierced the forest.

Peee—

Shortly after, the same sound echoed from outside the forest—the Bloodstone outpost nearby.

Peee—

Josh continued to blow the whistle to indicate their exact location.

The pursuing bandits stopped their horses to look down.

Through gaps in the trees, they could see the broken carriage.

“The carriage is destroyed!”

“What should we do? Go down and finish them off?”

The leader hesitated briefly.

But then the sounds of galloping horses and trumpets came from nearby.

“Damn… there’s a Bloodstone outpost nearby. The guards will be here soon.”

“Still… the traitor’s bloodline was supposed to be cut off…”

“Let’s wait for the next chance. We can’t risk being recognized.”

“Yes. They must be badly hurt.”

Clatter, clatter, clatter—

The noisy hooves kicked up dust.

The bandits quickly disappeared down the hill, faster than they had approached.

“Milady! Dwayne! Respond!”

Josh approached the overturned carriage.

It lay on its side; both wheels and doors had fallen off.

“Ugh… Milady…”

Dwayne regained consciousness.

Fortunately, the hill’s slope was mild.

But he couldn’t stand, possibly due to a broken leg.

“Stay still! I’ll take care of the lady!”

“Milady…”

Josh checked that Dwayne was conscious and turned his gaze inside the carriage.

Then—

Hiiihiiing!

A black horse appeared at the top of the hill.

Calix’s black cloak fluttered in the wind.

Knights in black uniforms followed him like a legion ready for battle.

It seemed Calix had heard the whistle near the outpost.

“My lord!”

Josh, spotting his master, shouted with all his might.

“My lord! Here we are!”