Chapter: 09
The faint smell of smoke lingered in the air, puddles of blood could be seen here and there, and corpses lay scattered throughout the area.
Despite the scene unfolding before them resembling a battlefield, the people looked at one another anxiously as a suffocating silence descended upon them.
They were filled with fear and concern, but they had no choice but to act as though they had seen and heard nothing.
Aine, whom they had believed would be able to keep Vinet in check, had collapsed so futilely.
All of her subordinates who had followed her had been subdued and imprisoned, while Aine herself had disappeared without a trace.
The remaining people had no choice but to bow their heads as deeply as possible.
They assumed that Vinet’s power would become even more firmly established from now on.
“What happened to that woman?”
However, Vinet’s thoughts were different.
“We sent a pursuit team, but we haven’t found her yet.”
“Those people are utterly incompetent. And these are the Royal Palace’s guards who are supposed to represent the kingdom?”
“Grand Duke, please wait a little longer. We will probably capture her soon.”
“How much longer am I supposed to wait?”
Vinet’s expression became grim at Linus’s words.
He had certainly believed that he would be able to completely subdue Aine that day, but contrary to his expectations, she had managed to escape.
If he had had things his way, Vinet would have killed everyone who had stood in his way that day, but Linus had strongly opposed it.
The moment they eliminated those people, their relationship with all of the kingdom’s military forces could have fallen apart.
“All routes leading to where the First Army is stationed have already been closed. So it’s only a matter of time before she is captured.”
They had taken every measure available to them, and they had even succeeded in capturing two of Aine’s subordinates who were heading toward the location of her army.
Now, only Aine and Wilhelm remained.
“She could head somewhere other than the First Army. Perhaps she might go to nobles who support her.”
“We have already taken measures against that as well. We’ve planted people among the faction supporting Aine Kleine.”
“Then perhaps she could go to another country…”
“Grand Duke.”
Yet Vinet still could not hide his impatience. Watching him like this, Linus began to have his doubts.
“Wouldn’t things have been easier if you had captured her when the two of you were alone?”
There had been several opportunities when they could have captured Aine for certain.
The best opportunity had been when Aine and Vinet were alone together. At that time, Aine had crawled right up to the mouth of the tiger all by herself.
If they had taken the defenseless woman hostage, her subordinates would naturally have been unable to resist and would have become prisoners as well.
Perhaps that could be called the easiest method, and Linus had actually suggested it to him.
Everyone had agreed, but Vinet, who had the final say, had vehemently opposed it.
“Are you blaming me now?”
“How could I possibly blame Your Grace? I’m simply curious as to why you hesitated at the time.”
Linus was curious. Vinet was the person who hated Aine more than anyone.
If he had truly wanted to, Aine would have been arrested the moment she entered the Royal Palace and would have been sitting in prison by now.
Then why had he tried to persuade Aine rather than choosing to subdue her?
Whenever Linus asked about it suspiciously, Vinet always answered in the same way.
“A considerable portion of the military is on her side. Rather than fighting that woman, it was better to somehow persuade her and bring her over to my side.”
Persuade her and bring her over.
Ideally, it was a truly perfect answer.
If even Aine joined Vinet’s cause, there would be nothing left to stand in his way.
“You know very well yourself, Your Grace. Persuading her was impossible from the very beginning.”
But there was a reason why it was called an ideal solution.
Linus spoke with a sardonic smile.
“Even if we tried to conceal it until the very end, if the things we have done happened to reach her ears, isn’t it obvious what she would do?”
The wrongs they had committed.
Vinet frowned, but he could not refute him.
“I’ll go strengthen the surveillance of the capital’s nobles. Your Grace should also make your resolve clear. The glass has already been spilled a long time ago.”
Seeing Vinet like that, Linus left after saying only those words.
‘Perhaps she really is trying to go to another country.’
Watching Linus leave, Vinet sighed and stared at his own hands. They were spotless and pure white, but they looked different to Vinet.
“Yes, the water has been spilled for a long time.”
His hands were stained with someone’s bright red blood.
Contrary to the heat from earlier, it was now so cold that his body shivered.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
“I don’t know what you’re so sorry about, but hold on tightly so you don’t fall.”
Wilhelm, who had collapsed unconscious, seemed to need warmth and nestled deeply into Aine’s arms.
Aine also wanted to light a fire and rest, even if only for a moment, but she had to hurry because she thought Vinet’s pursuit team might be chasing her from behind.
‘If I’m caught here, the sacrifice of my subordinates will have been meaningless.’
She did not know how long her subordinates would be able to buy her time.
She had to get as far away from the Royal Palace as possible.
At least until she reached an area beyond their control.
Then she heard the sound of horse hooves near her ears.
Had the pursuit team already found her location?
A sense of crisis swept over her, but it was still too early to despair.
‘I will save this child no matter what.’
Clinging to her sanity through the single determination to save Wilhelm, Aine listened as carefully as she could.
There seemed to be only one horse approaching.
If she took down that one horseman, they would not yet realize that she was there.
With that thought, Aine drew the bowstring while on horseback.
She intended to finish it in a single shot, without even allowing a scream to escape.
“Commander! Where are you?”
“Mane?”
The voice she heard while concentrating as much as possible and waiting to see what would appear was not that of the pursuit team.
At first, she thought she had heard wrong and did not lower her guard, but that voice definitely belonged to Mane.
Aine slowed down.
Mane soon caught up to her, letting out a sigh as though she had only just managed to reach her.
With complicated emotions, Aine looked at Mane and asked,
“Didn’t you return to the main unit?”
“I followed you to treat you, Commander!”
Hearing that she had followed her in order to treat her, Aine shook her head.
“From now on, I’m going to ride all the way to the Empire’s border without stopping. So there won’t be any time for treatment.”
There was not even time to rest, let alone receive treatment.
She intended to head toward the Imperial border while somehow avoiding the pursuit team that would inevitably follow her.
“That doesn’t matter. I will follow you to the very end and treat you. It’s my duty as a doctor.”
“You mean you’re going all the way to the Empire with me?”
“My entire family died during the war. So there’s nothing dangerous for me even if I follow you.”
Aine wanted to send Mane back.
Going to the Empire at a time like this was practically an act of betrayal. If things went wrong, even her family and household could end up in a terrible situation.
However, after hearing her answer, Aine had no choice but to nod.
In fact, for Aine, who knew little about medicine, this was a welcome situation. From the moment they reached the Empire, she would have to entrust Wilhelm entirely to them.
Through Mane, she could at least confirm whether they were properly treating Wilhelm.
‘What will the Commander do from now on?’
Meanwhile, Mane was worried about what lay ahead.
The Empire would certainly be pleased by Wilhelm’s presence and would keep him alive.
After all, they could use him, Matthias’s child, as a hostage.
Aine, on the other hand, was someone the Empire had been eagerly seeking for a long time.
They would have every justification to execute her on the spot the moment she was captured.
They were heading to the Empire out of necessity to save Wilhelm, but if he became a hostage without anyone to protect him, Aine’s plan to secure a future for herself would be ruined from the very beginning.
Aine, who could not possibly be unaware of Mane’s thoughts, looked at Wilhelm with concern and thought only about what lay ahead.
‘To get to the Empire, we have to pass through Brandtfort Fortress.’
There was no way to cross into the Empire without going through Brandtfort.
Even if they somehow managed to make their way there, another problem still remained.
Aine thought of one particular person.
The man who was in charge of Brandtfort.
Cled Hartz, the Crown Prince of the Verona Empire, and the man who had sought the other’s life countless times until now.
The pursuit team continued desperately chasing Aine day and night.
They had no idea where she had gone, but they had to find Aine.
“Argh!”
“Captain! Hanson!”
“Don’t worry about the stragglers and keep moving! Do you want your families to die?!”
Their families remaining in the capital had been taken hostage.
If they returned without finding her, the fate awaiting them, as well as their families, was as clear as day.
Thus, they continued searching desperately, as though their lives depended on it.
‘Please. We have to find her somehow.’
Perhaps their desperation had paid off.
Before long, after riding at full speed, the pursuit team finally managed to find traces of Aine.
“If you don’t want to see your families die, then get moving!”
