The Grand Duchess Escape

Bang!

As the beast collided with its body again, the carriage jolted as if it was about to break. Even with the protective magic in place, it was only a matter of time before the magic would break at this rate.

Asella hurriedly scanned the inside of her carriage. A shelf that had fallen to the floor due to the attack of the demonic beast stood out, so, without hesitation, she took the shelf in her hand and opened her mouth.

“Mariel, listen to me carefully.”

Asella took a deep breath and steadied her voice. Mariel must not sense how scared she was. If she did, she might be so terrified that she might miss her chance to escape.

“If I tell you to run, take off the blanket and run away immediately without any questions!”

“Then what about you, Sister?”

“I’ll follow you from behind, so don’t look back; just look ahead and run. Can you do that?”

Mariel noticed that Asella’s voice sounded different than usual. This time, instead of her usual warm, gentle voice, it was as sharp as a thunderbolt.

She was scared.

From the sound of the impact and slamming on the carriage, to the roar of something she couldn’t identify, to the screams of the people, to the horrifying sound of blades colliding with something hard.

The whole thing was a frightening and terrifying experience for a child.

“Yes, I can do it!”

But Mariel shouted louder. She knew that only then would she be able to give her sister some reassurance.

“Yes, I believe in you. My Mariel will pull it off.”

Asella grabbed the edge of the shelf tightly. Her legs had lost strength, and it was hard even to stand properly, but she pulled herself together, thinking about her sister.

She had to buy time so that, in case of an emergency, Mariel could escape.

Eventually, after a series of attacks by the beast’s clutches, the window that had withstood the danger began to crack.

“Your Highness!”

Having barely disposed of the clutches that had blocked his view, Ryzen realized the situation of the carriage and hastily exclaimed, “I’ve got to get out of here!”

But it was already too late.

With an ear-splitting sound from the window shattering, the head of the beast barged into the carriage. Asella struck the beast’s head hard with the wooden shelf.

“Kraaaa! Kraaaa!”

A stream of saliva dripped from the open mouth of the ferocious beast. Its pupils dilated like reptilian eyes, scanned the inside of the carriage quickly, and located its target in the blankets.

The beast’s pupils became extremely dilated, and it flashed bizarrely.

After a while, the beast began to tear off the wall under the broken window with its sharp claws. The cold outside air came in through the cracks and spread all the way through the inside of the carriage.

It wouldn’t be long before the carriage was utterly destroyed at this rate.

“No!”

Asella let out a scream.

‘Mother, please help me. Please.’

‘Please don’t make me regret my decision to travel to the Duchy with Mariel.’

Asella swung her arms around madly.

She was so terrified to the point she couldn’t think of anything else to do. Every time she slammed the shelf against the hard skin of the beast, her arm shook violently as if it were crushed, but she couldn’t even feel the pain, as if her sense of pain had simply vanished.

Her mind went blank, and even the ear-splitting sound disappeared at that moment.

“Sister!”

Mariel’s sharp cry pierced Asella’s ear.

She came back to her senses as if cold water had been poured on her. She turned her head and saw her sister trembling under the blanket.

Asella bit her lip tightly.

If she collapsed, it would be the end of everything.

From the gap between the broken pieces, she noticed that the number of beasts seemed to be less than earlier. The knights were fighting one by one against the beasts, and she could see Ryzen running toward her, cutting off the beasts that blocked the way.

‘A little more… if I can just hold on a little longer…’

However, her hopes were not satisfied.

The side of the carriage collapsed entirely with the sound of crashing. The carriage shook violently as the beast roared loudly, lifting its large torso and slamming it to the floor.

“Kyaaaaaaaa!”

“Mariel!”

The beast’s gaze grew dim with the target within sight, and its pupils flickered as they adjusted to the target.

Finally, at the moment when the beast’s large body leaped forward, with its mouth wide open.

Suddenly, the body of the beast fell backward.

“Mariel…!”

Before she had time to think about what was happening, Asella hugged Mariel from behind. She felt her sister’s small body tremble with fear and horror; she tightened her grip around Mariel and squeezed her eyes shut.

The terrible scream of non-human beings shook the surroundings.

The other sounds heard were the sound of something heavy and stiff being sliced, the dull vibrating sound of it falling to the ground, a sound no one could ever imagine.

Instantly, the area fell silent.

As if the earlier commotion had been merely a dream.

Asella’s mind was a complete mess. She had terrible dizziness.

Her trembling body could not move properly, she felt nauseous, and her chest was heaving. She was not sure if the trembling was coming from Mariel or if she was creating it herself.

She felt like she was going to pass out if she didn’t do something, so she drew in a deep gulp of clear air.

At that moment, a sweet aroma swooped into her nose.

It was a scent too strong to not be remembered.

A seductive scent that could not be erased from her mind even after just experiencing it once.

Asella slowly lifted her slumped head and opened her eyes.

At first, she could see nothing. But after blinking several times, Asella soon realized that what was in front of her eyes was a black uniform.

Her gaze slowly turned upward.

A person with a large and sturdy upper body was completely shielding her, while the cloak fixed on the broad and sturdy shoulders fluttered around them.

His dark, messy hair was flowing down over his tightly bitten lips and his face was so expressionless that she couldn’t even grasp the meaning behind it.

His vivid red eyes looked somehow dangerous.

The man’s low voice flowed into her ears, breaking the deep silence.

“Asella Benvito.”

It was her husband.