Chapter 9
As the situation continued to get worse, more and more people began complaining or simply sitting down.
Among them, Vanessa’s reaction was actually quite normal.
I barely managed to get Vanessa to her feet and brought her outside the tent.
The cold dawn air hit my face.
The other tents also began opening one by one.
From a little distance away, I could hear people shouting as they trained.
There are people working that hard! If you don’t have muscles, you should at least make an effort!
My goal was simple.
I wanted to make sure Vanessa could at least run away on her own two legs.
“Run, Vanessa. You ran for ten minutes yesterday, so today we’re doing fifteen!”
“Waaaaah, Rosana.”
I patted Vanessa’s back.
Vanessa began moving her arms and legs awkwardly.
It had only been two days since she had managed to even pretend to run.
Ugh.
It wasn’t easy to make someone who could barely walk run.
It was like making a baby who had barely learned the ABCs write an English sentence.
But what can we do?
If you want to live, you have to run.
“Move your arms harder, Vanessa! Lift your legs higher!”
“I’ve never walked this much in my entire life, let alone run. At home, we traveled by carriage…”
“There are no carriages here. We have to walk with our own feet.”
Even if they were poor, fallen nobles, they still insisted on carriages.
Because they believed carriages were a symbol of nobility.
After hearing my words reminding her of reality once again, Vanessa began whining.
Even so, she obediently lifted her legs higher and moved her arms harder, just as I told her.
She really looks like a baby taking its first steps.
“Vanessa, control your breathing. If you breathe too quickly, you’ll get tired soon.”
“Haa, haa… yes…”
After about five minutes, Vanessa was already struggling.
“Huff, huff.”
Actually, she looked like she was dying.
No, her stamina is just too terrible.
What am I supposed to do with this?
She’s really going to get torn apart by monster teeth.
I let out a deep sigh.
“Rosana… how can you… run so well? Even after walking… all day…”
“I practiced hard. For a month before we left. I exercised a lot too.”
“A whole month?”
Vanessa looked at me with surprised eyes.
“If you want to live, you have to do whatever you can.”
People who were beginning to wake up were watching us curiously.
I was used to those looks by now.
Everyone had looked at me like that when I trained alone too.
They had also stared at me strangely when Vanessa first started running after me.
“Everyone… is looking at me…”
“Imagine that monsters are watching you. Then you’ll be able to run faster.”
Vanessa made a disgusted face.
At least she has enough energy for this now.
After ten minutes, Vanessa began staggering.
“Lady Rosana… just for a moment… can I rest…?”
“Rest for one minute. Then we’ll run lightly for another ten minutes.”
“Waaaaah!”
Vanessa collapsed on the spot.
“I think I’m going to die…”
“You’re not dead yet. Cheer up, Vanessa.”
“Five minutes is too long… And we’re going to have to walk all day again later…”
“Then think of it this way. Imagine you need to buy a limited-edition dress, but the store is closing in five minutes.”
“Ah!”
Vanessa’s eyes suddenly lit up.
“What would you do?”
“I’d make my maid run for me. Luckily, the maid at my house is good at running!”
This girl is hopeless.
I stared at her with completely dead eyes.
Vanessa burst into laughter.
It was better than seeing her cry every day, but she really was hopeless.
Good grief. How am I supposed to turn this noble lady into a proper human being?
After laughing for a while, Vanessa carefully asked,
“Rosana, will something really scary… happen in Greystone?”
“Even if it doesn’t happen in Greystone, it will definitely happen somewhere. Monsters are real, and we’re currently sticking our heads straight into their mouths.”
Vanessa immediately became gloomy.
I patted her shoulder.
“Vanessa, a week ago, you couldn’t even walk for an hour. Now you can walk all day, and you can run for fifteen minutes in the morning. Do you know how amazing that progress is? If you keep going like this, you’ll be able to run like a strong deer even when you’re standing in front of a monster.”
Vanessa looked at me with teary eyes.
She cries even while laughing.
“Starting tomorrow, we shouldn’t just practice running. We should practice jumping too.”
I thought it would be better to keep her too shocked to cry.
Vanessa looked horrified.
“Jump like a grasshopper? Without any dignity?”
“You’ll be able to escape better if you can get over obstacles. Who said you’ll only be running on flat ground?”
Vanessa muttered with a sigh,
“I suppose I should research how to jump with dignity…”
Her serious expression as she thought about it was funny.
She still cares about things like that.
I patted Vanessa’s shoulder and encouraged her.
“Now, get up. One minute is over.”
“Waaaaah…”
I pulled up the sluggish Vanessa.
For the sake of Vanessa’s dignified sprint.
The noble ladies who had been watching us from nearby finally came to me hesitantly after Vanessa became able to run much longer than before following several days of forced marching.
“Lady Rosana.”
One young lady was still wearing her worn-out dress and had not given up on her uncomfortable shoes.
She hesitated before speaking.
“Do you remember me? I’m Herot.”
I gave her a short nod.
“…I heard what you were saying to Lady Vanessa. Are we really going to fight monsters?”
“We’re going to Greystone, aren’t we?”
Herot nervously bit her lip.
The noble ladies behind her looked just as anxious.
“T-The Saintess is traveling with us. Won’t she protect us?”
The Saintess in this world is only ten years old.
“…I think you’re a little too grown-up to hide behind a child.”
I said it with a deep sigh.
Herot’s face turned red.
Then, with teary eyes, she asked,
“T-Then what are we supposed to do?”
Everyone was looking at me with faces that seemed ready to cry.
They did not even know what they were supposed to do.
I looked at them one by one before speaking.
“You can change starting now. Take off your dresses and wear comfortable clothes. Instead of shoes, wear something that is easy to run in.”
“B-But how can a noble… I’m actually here to meet His Highness the Crown Prince.”
“Me too.”
Voices of agreement came from all around.
There was a reason they had refused to give up, even though their makeup was melting under the sunlight and sweat.
Well, even Duke Ardena had sent me here for the same reason.
There was no reason the others couldn’t have the same thought.
“You might die before you even get the chance to have one conversation with His Highness the Crown Prince.”
Herot blinked at my words.
“Are you really going to risk your life for such an uncertain hope? Isn’t that a terrible trade?”
A lot of people had already died during the first attack by the Spider Tribe.
If things continued like this, these women would certainly die in that attack too.
One of the young ladies standing in the back whispered softly,
“P-Please help us. Please, Lady Rosana.”
“Y-Yes. Please help us. Help us like you helped Lady Vanessa…”
Every one of them had bright-red faces.
There was a reason for that.
Originally, they had not been on good terms with Rosana.
And for good reason.
Rosana had always acted as though she were better than everyone else and deliberately ignored them.
If she had not done that, the mask she was wearing would have been exposed.
And they had also been jealous of Rosana.
They believed Rosana was the closest person to the Crown Prince because she had once even been engaged to him.
For these women to put aside their pride and approach her was already a huge change.
Yeah, is pride going to feed you?
“You made the right choice.”
I dusted off my hands.
“First, let’s figure out what to do about your shoes! If you managed to walk all the way here wearing those shoes, that means you have patience and endurance. There’s hope for you!”
