Chapter 13

***

“Princess, shall we return to the estate now?”

“Let’s go.”

I climbed into the carriage and gazed outside.

The scenery flew past the window.

Kaiel was quite an impressive man. Not just his looks, but his attitude was very much to my liking.

He was highly suspicious and a quick calculator.

Just as I’d expected, he was a man moved by profit, not sentiment.

As long as I was beneficial to him, he was unlikely to betray me.

Of course, the moment that benefit disappeared, he would discard me without a second thought.

‘The same goes for me.’

He was the perfect partner for a transaction.

‘A successful first outing.’

[Mission: Dine with Kaiel. (50,000 Points)]

[Accept] / [Decline]

[Mission: Have tea with Kaiel. (30,000 Points)]

[Accept] / [Decline]

[Mission: Chat with Kaiel. (20,000 Points)]

[Accept] / [Decline]

‘What? 100,000 points?’

It was a far larger sum than the average sponsorship.

‘How did this happen? It’s rare to get this much even for beating a monster to a pulp…’

It seemed they’d gone mad for something sweet after watching nothing but endless beatings and killings.

I accepted all the missions and turned my gaze back out the window.

When I came to my senses, the carriage was moving as slowly as a turtle. It seemed to be getting worse the closer we got to the square.

Zenia peeked her head out the window and looked ahead.

“Oh? The entrance to the square is blocked. What’s going on? Should I go and find out?”

“No.”

“Will it be alright? It’s not another gate opening, is it?”

“I doubt it.”

It was too early in the story for gates to open back-to-back.

He’d likely contacted someone.

Kaiel, that is. Telling them there might be more living monsters.

‘Or he might have gone himself.’

Zenia, watching my expression, cautiously asked.

“Princess, if a monster appeared and started hurting people, would you help them?”

“If it’s like that last one, no.”

“May I ask why?”

“It doesn’t pay.”

“I-I see… Then what if that monster threatened me?”

“Do you think you’ve proven yourself valuable enough for me to go through the trouble of saving you?”

“…I’ll work harder.”

Zenia lowered her head, looking dejected.

I turned my head back to the window.

No matter how long we waited, the blockade wasn’t lifted. It seemed they had sealed off the entire square for a massive search.

With no other choice, we had the carriage turn around.

Fortunately, the detour, which went around the square instead of through it, was sparsely populated.

Just as the carriage began to pick up speed, relieving my frustration, it happened.

*Thud!*

Something slammed hard into the side of the carriage.

The massive impact caused the carriage to tilt as if it would topple over.

*Screeeech!* The carriage wheels groaned, making an ominous sound.

A scream tore from Zenia’s lips.

“Aah!”

I quickly grabbed the window frame and yanked Zenia toward me.

Zenia, who had been flung toward the opposite side, was pulled back by an unyielding force, just moments before her head would have smashed into the window.

*Heeeigh!*

The four startled horses neighed wildly, bucking and rearing.

Something was wrong with one of the wheels, and the carriage swayed precariously.

“Whoa! Whoa!”

Outside, the driver was desperately trying to calm the horses, but it was no use.

The carriage sped up.

At this rate, we could be dragged along with the carriage overturned.

‘The only way out of this is to jump.’

I gripped the carriage door handle and hesitated for a moment.

‘What about Zenia?’

I was confident I could jump from a moving carriage and be perfectly fine.

But if we jumped together, the risk of Zenia getting hurt was too high.

No matter how careful I was, she was bound to get injured somewhere.

But I couldn’t just leave her inside the carriage either.

‘Zenia can’t get hurt.’

She was the sole provider for herself and her sick younger sibling.

To survive, she had to work constantly to earn money.

“Saan, are you really not going to college? If you just win a medal at this year’s Olympics, you could get into almost any physical education department.”

“I know, right? Other people can’t get in even if they want to, but you can just walk in. Why are you giving that up? Don’t you regret it?”

“Guys, stop. Saan decided to join a professional team. I heard she even has a verbal agreement.”

“Why?”

“Saan’s an orphan. How could she be the same as us, with our parents? She doesn’t have time for college. She has to earn money.”

“True. I heard that if all you have is your body, the moment you stop working, you start starving. Poor Saan, what’s she going to do?”

My hand on the door handle wouldn’t move.

I knew hesitating in a situation like this was foolish.

And yet, I couldn’t move.

‘I can afford to rest until I heal, but if Zenia misses even a day of work, it’ll be a huge blow.’

Unable to withstand that brief moment of hesitation, the carriage tilted helplessly.

*Crack!* Finally, the sound of wheel spokes shattering reached my ears.

‘Fuck!’

I let go of the door handle and pulled Zenia into an embrace.

“P-Princess! Princess!”

“Don’t struggle! You’ll get hurt if you move!”

One of the wobbly carriage wheels broke off completely.

*CRASH!* A loud roar followed as the carriage shook violently.

My body was thrown to one side. I held onto Zenia and braced myself, trying to keep our weight from shifting.

Thanks to that, the carriage didn’t immediately crash, but it was only a matter of time.

The teetering carriage finally tipped over.

I tensed my entire body, preparing for a massive impact.

Just then.

A brilliant light enveloped the carriage. Simultaneously, the carriage floated into the air.

At the same time, a feeling of weightlessness, as if my insides were rising, washed over me, and my bottom lifted off the seat.

“Uh…?”

For a moment, my grip on Zenia loosened.

It was a fleeting instant, yet it felt like an eternity.

The carriage descended softly to the ground without a sound.

My hair, which had floated up, fell back down.

Only then did gravity return, and my body felt heavy again.

I instinctively checked on Zenia before I realized it. The carriage, which had been racing like mad, was now surprisingly still.

“P-Princess, I think the carriage just floated? W-what happened? Are we alive? I have to live! My-my sibling is at home!”

“We’re alive, so calm down.”

I soothed the rambling Zenia and stepped out of the carriage.

The driver, who must have been clinging on for dear life, had a face the color of sallow wax.

He scrambled down from the carriage and immediately threw up.

“Uweeegh!”

I walked past the driver and surveyed the road.

The narrow dirt path was littered with evidence of a fierce struggle.

Debris from the carriage was scattered about, and the ground was deeply gouged with wheel tracks.

I followed the drag marks with my eyes before examining the carriage’s exterior.

‘Bloodstains?’

It looked like something alive had collided with the carriage. That’s why the horses had panicked.

‘What hit us? An animal?’

As I pondered this, I suddenly sensed a presence.

I turned my head, and my eyes widened.

‘…A mask? Seriously?’

A large man was standing in the middle of the road.

I thought I was seeing things, but I wasn’t. The man was really wearing a black mask over his head.

‘A Hunter!’

Whether he was insane or just strange, the man was undoubtedly a Hunter.

A monster’s corpse lay sprawled at his feet.

It seemed the monster, fleeing from the man, hadn’t seen the speeding carriage and had crashed into it.

I glared at the man.

“Was that you?”

The man fidgeted before bowing so deeply his back was nearly bent in half.

It was less a greeting and more an apology.

‘Where did this lunatic come from… Ah, my neck.’

I rubbed my throbbing neck.

It wasn’t just my neck; my whole body ached and was scraped from being thrown around while holding Zenia.

I irritably threw back my hood and ran a hand roughly through my hair. Then I crooked a finger at him.

“What kind of etiquette is it to just nod from a distance? Get over here.”

The man shook his head frantically.

“It won’t end well if I have to come to you. Still not coming?”

The man shuffled backward, looking ready to bolt at any moment.

Without warning, I kicked off the ground and shot forward.