Blair released the hand she had covered her mouth with.
His whole body was shaking and he was short of breath.
I can't stay here.>Blair lifted her trembling body.
And he fled in the opposite direction to that of the man.
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In the abandoned house, where the two had disappeared, only red blood was left falling.
Herdin found it, walked over and touched the blood with his gloved hand.
It wasn't dry yet.
His eyes sank coldly.
He quickly searched the house.
As expected in a place that had been without human hands for a long time, there was a lot of accumulated dust.
And on it, two pairs of footprints.
One was of a man, and the other was of small high-heeled shoes.
Maids wear flat shoes to work comfortably.
Therefore, high shoes are for ladies or young ladies.
Herdin opened his hand to calculate the size of the shoe prints.
The shoe owner's feet were tiny.
A similar size to the one she had seen when she was grabbing Blair's ankle in bed.
If the attacker was a man, even without such a crude weapon, he could have easily overpowered this petite woman with his bare hands.
That is, the probability that it was the woman who used the piece of wood as a weapon is high.
Herdin's face, as he reconstructed the scene of the incident, hardened by the moment.
—It seemed like voices could be heard, but...
it must have been Friday—
Before he finished speaking, Herdin grabbed him by the neck and slammed him against the wall.
Then, the knights of Marquis Baldwin's family who were behind Wesley drew their swords in unison.
—What does this mean so suddenly?!
In response, the Delmark knights also drew their swords.
The atmosphere, which had been like walking on thin ice, became tense as a hair.
But Herdin, the cause of the situation, seemed not to pay attention.
—Was it you?
His voice had the darkness of the shadowy forest.
In Herdin's eyes, as he asked, there was conviction and clear killing intent.
Wesley, at this attitude, was startled for a moment, but then responded with feigned calm.
—Wh, what are you saying now?!
What have I been?
—When a person overcomes countless death crises on the battlefield, he develops an instinct.
When you have grown up in that place where you couldn't even distinguish who was the enemy and who was the ally, before you think, you instinctively distinguish the enemy from the ally.
Because the battlefield is a place where if you pick up the sword after thinking, you already have a sword on your neck.
—My instinct says that you are the enemy.
—…
—Can you swear your innocence?
Under the cold gaze of Herdin, who seemed convinced of his guilt, Wesley swallowed.
But he had not left any evidence anywhere that linked him as the author of this crime.
The man he had entrusted with the crime had also disappeared.
It would be stupid to confess to the crime in this situation, without any evidence having appeared.
—This treatment is unfair!
I just wanted to help His Excellency and his lady, since I had also caused them problems.
Wesley, who was defending himself, hesitated as he met Herdin's gaze, who was staring at him.
It was a look as if he could see everything.
The instinct of the beast that submits to the strongest wanted to avoid that look, but felt that it should not do so.
Wesley resisted firmly, enduring that look.
As if he were really innocent.
Herdin watched it for a moment, and then, with a cold sigh, released it as if tossing it.
A gentleman from Marquis Baldwin's family quickly restrained the staggering Wesley.
Herdin approached the knights of Marquis Baldwin's family, who were still pointing their swords, and said:
—Stand aside.
With just one look from him, with a single word, the intimidated knights hesitated and backed away.
Leaving the abandoned house, Herdin raised his head and looked at the sky.
The dusk spread slowly between the leafy trees.
Since it was still early spring, the days were not very long.
When it got dark, the temperature of the mountain would drop drastically.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it would be almost like winter.
Suddenly, he thought of his wife.
That foolish woman who, despite having weak bronchi and coughing, feared fire and lived in a cold residence.
-Gentlemen.
The knights of Delmark gathered at a single word from him.
Herdin mounted his horse and ordered:
—Look for her.
As quickly as possible.
There was no need to ask who the omitted object was.
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The night came early to the forest.
Blair straightened her clothes against the cold that seeped through the cracks and looked around.
Since she had been brought in unconscious, she did not remember the way back.
He had simply walked aimlessly in the opposite direction of the man, with the sole idea of fleeing from him, but he did not see the entrance to the forest.
At some point, he had the feeling that he was walking around in the same place.
Meanwhile, the slowly falling darkness of the forest crushed her with fear.
Blair moved her feet diligently to escape the darkness.
She was short of breath and her legs hurt as if they were going to break, but she felt that if she stopped, the darkness of the forest would swallow her.
—Haah… Haah…
The ragged breath he exhaled turned into white mist.
His body began to tremble from the cold.
While rubbing her slowly freezing body, Blair saw something.
It was an abandoned ranger cabin in the forest, like that house where the man had kidnapped her.
But this cabin also seemed to have been untouched by humans for a long time, its roof and walls covered in moss.
At that moment, the howl of a wild animal was heard in the distance.
Blair hesitated for a moment and then entered the cabin.
Inside, as expected, there was no sign of people.
There was only a rusty pot, a broken chair, and things like that scattered randomly.
Blair decided it was better to stay in the cabin than continue wandering through the woods.
Because it was too cold outside and, because of the shoes he had not been able to take off, his heels had become raw and he could no longer walk.
Surely they would already be looking for her.
Blair searched the cabin for a blanket to cover herself.
Since she wasn't wearing a coat when she was kidnapped, the only thing she was wearing was a thin petticoat and a spring dress.
…To be continued