[CHAPTER 59]
Click
Meyna noticed the sound of the closing door was unusual, and Adonis thought the same.
He tried turning the doorknob with trembling hands, but it wouldn’t open.
“Once the train starts accelerating, the doors lock and cannot be opened.”
One of the passengers, who had been equally shocked by the situation, explained with a dark expression.
“Meyna!”
Adonis ran toward the very last car of the train, looking utterly distraught as if he had just woken from a terrible nightmare.
What on earth had happened?
Why�
Meanwhile, Meyna, lying on the tracks, groaned and struggled to get up.
“Haa⌔
She held the revolver she had taken from Adonis in her hands.
Was it a few years ago now?
During a break in shooting practice, she had a conversation with Kaliph.
“Hey, young lady.”
“Yes, shall I bring you some drink?”
“Wanna try shooting?”
“Pardon?”
“I said, do you want to try?”
“No, why would I?”
“You’re overestimating yourself. The revolvers handled by Guild 928 are so precious that not just anyone can touch them.”
On that day, forced by circumstances, she had held a gun for the first time.
“Here, this is the cylinder. Rotate it to see how many bullets are left.”
“I see.”
“But usually, in combat situations, thereâs no time to open the cylinder, so you mentally keep track of remaining bullets.”
“Understood.”
“Now, try acting interested.”
“I feel a bit disgusted?”
“Seven bullets remain.”
“Youâre good at changing the topic, arenât you?”
Guided from behind like a back hug, Meyna took aim and pulled the trigger for the first time in her life.
“Not bad.”
“You controlled it, I just stayed still.”
“Exactly. Talent. Most beginners freeze and cannot be guided by their instructor.”
“⌔
“Since youâre top-tier, want me to tell you a secret?”
With his usual playful smile, he continued.
“If a beginner must hold a gun in a critical combat situation, I tell them two bullets less than they actually have.”
“HmmâŚ?”
“If there are seven bullets, you say five.”
“Why?”
“Beginners never correctly count bullets under combat pressure. Miscalculations happen if they think they have more or fewer bullets.”
“So you deliberately say fewer so they underestimate the count?”
“Not bad. Want to join our guild?”
“But shooting is kind of fun.”
“Donât play along.”
“Why?”
“You wonât need a gun or sword. Cut meat with a knife.”
“Why?”
“Iâm here, why do you need a gun or sword?”
“WhatâŚ?”
“Ah, whatever. Hand it over.”
Facing the overwhelming swarming insect monsters and the accelerating train, Meyna opened the cylinder and checked.
‘As expected.’
A smile, oddly out of place, appeared on her face.
Two bullets remained.
Her goal was clear.
To buy just a little time until the train could safely escape the station.
She aimed at the centipede monster trying to lift the moving train and calmly pulled the trigger.
Bang!
The creature collapsed from a direct hit.
This time, she targeted a winged insect tearing at the tracks and fired the last bullet.
Bang!
Again, a perfect hit.
Since her first shooting experience, Kaliph had refused to let her touch guns or swords, so this was her only practice.
Given her skill now, it was clear she was a top-tier student.
“Haha⌔
A strange laugh escaped her lips as she dropped the revolver and watched the quickly receding train.
At the last car, she saw Adonisâ face pressed against the window, shouting and crying.
Once he disappeared from view, the train was gone from her sight entirely.
ClangâŚ
Kwaguang!
As the train fully departed, the Drain station was completely destroyed.
‘Why?’
Watching the dozens of monsters swarming, Meyna wondered.
Not a paladin, just a paladinâs aide.
Why had she done this?
Even if she risked her life to save people, her name would never be honored like the paladins’.
Who would remember the name of a mere aide saved from being sold after losing her home?
‘Even knowing that⌠why?’
Just as a winged insect monster’s blade-like stinger pierced her chest, a bright light, like the sun, surrounded her.
Along with the blinding smell of gunpowder, dozens of monsters vanished without a trace.
Black ashes fell like eyes.
‘Why am I shaking so much?’
It felt like an earthquake.
Or like someone violently shaking her body.
Meyna felt severe nausea.
She wanted to open her eyes but could not lift her eyelids.
‘Ugh⌠ughhh⌒
Even her groans were swallowed by her throat, leaving no sound.
Click, click.
Clang!
‘This⌒
The sound of the steam train running along the tracks.
‘Iâm on my way to Lenox Castle, right?’
No.
‘I jumped off the train⌒
Confusion continued as if black ink had been poured into her mind.
“Ah⌠hng⌔
Someone groaned.
Even just hearing it, the pain transferred vividly.
“Meyna.”
Then, a familiar voice echoed in her ear.
‘WhoâŚ?’
It was a voice she had heard multiple times, but she could not identify the speaker.
She wanted to open her eyes and see the face, but she couldnât even move a finger.
“Ah⌠ugh.”
Another painful groan came.
“Please endure a little longer, Princess Winslet.”
Endure?
âŚWhat?
“Awh, hh!”
This time, a scream burst forth like crying.
A terrible abdominal pain followed, and Meyna realized:
‘That was my voice.’
Twisting in agony, she opened her eyes sharply.
She was inside a moving train, lying on a makeshift bed made from three seats pushed together.
There were no other passengers, suggesting it was a private cabin.
“Aide.”
Adonis held Meynaâs hand tightly.
Tears fell from her swollen eyes like a goldfish.
Meyna weakly looked around the cabin.
Because the train walls had been destroyed during the monster attack, the outside scene was fully visible.
Fallen trees and streetlights.
Monster remains.
Cracks in the ground everywhere, buildings unstable or collapsed.
“Why⌠why did you⌔
Adonis buried his head in her waist like a whining child.
Turning her gaze, she saw a familiar figure sitting on the floor leaning against the wall.
A man with platinum blonde hair in a black robe.
The one whose familiar voice had called her while she was unconscious.
“âŚ!”
Viterion.
“Your HighnessâŚ?”
For a moment, Meyna forgot about Adonis and called to him. Viterion faintly smiled.
“Youâre in pain, arenât you?”
Meyna nodded.
She had long stopped saying she was fine, but somehow, she felt she could tell him the truth.
Yes, Iâm in pain.
So much pain, Your Highness.
Does the prince know why my stomach hurts?
Covered in cold sweat, Meyna slightly moved her lips. Viterionâs white hand hovered briefly in the air, unable to touch her, then sadly dropped.
“Endure a little longer, Princess.”
âŚ
“For now, youâll have to suffer like this, but everything will be okay.”
“Why⌠Your Highness, why do I keep hurting like thisâŚ?”
The ambiguous comfort he gave was explained in the vaguest of terms:
“Itâs awakening pain.”
