SLDS 36

Cecil took a step, then halted. He glanced once at the arrow embedded in the ground, then lifted his head again.

The dumbfounded face of Claude, the astonished and flustered face of Yuria, and the expressionless face of Alexis entered his vision in succession.

Even in the shaded forest, Alexis’s platinum blond hair shone brilliantly, as if it held all the light in the world. Perhaps because he had finally confirmed with his own eyes the person he had been so desperately searching for. For a moment, the tension left Cecil and his knees trembled. He barely managed to force strength into them and take another step.

“What is it?”

Alexis asked in a cold voice. At a glance, it also sounded like a warning not to come any closer. His expression, which had been gentle until just a moment ago, had instantly turned as chilly as if it held the cold of midwinter.

Cecil swallowed dryly. The unwavering wall he put up was a little cruel, but right now, there was something more important than that.

Wasn’t shamelessness his specialty? He ignored Alexis’s cold treatment and poured out the purpose for which he had come without any hesitation.

“You must get Ms. Beatrice out of the hunting grounds right now. It is dangerous for her to be here.”

“Why is that?”

“The empress’s people will make their move. They will probably be targeting Ms. Beatrice. You must get her to a safe place as soon as possible.”

“Are you not one of the empress’s people yourself? In fact, if we’re getting technical, you, Cecil, are the closest to the empress. On what grounds should I believe and follow your words?”

“…Are you suggesting that I am plotting some sort of scheme right now?”

Cecil slowly wiped his sweat-drenched face. He had come running without a second thought, but all he got in return was icy contempt.

He forced down the sorrow that was welling up in his throat. Cecil clenched his trembling fists and stared straight at Alexis.

“I don’t care what you think, but for now, please do as I say. There is no time to waste.”

“……”

An intense exchange of gazes, akin to a battle of wills, took place.

Alexis’s eyes scanned Cecil’s disheveled appearance and wet hair. He didn’t have a shred of trust in Cecil, but for some reason, his eyes right now did not seem to be telling a lie. He had no choice but to believe him.

“Claude, we will wrap up here and head back.”

“Your Highness!”

Claude immediately voiced his opposition to Alexis’s decision. He ground his molars and shook his head, but the crown prince had already made up his mind. It was not easy to sway his will, which rarely wavered.

“Yuria and I will head back first, so you shoot the flare. Then gather the remaining attendants and—”

Alexis was in the middle of giving his orders. An arrowhead, cutting through the wind, flew between Alexis and Yuria and lodged itself in a thick tree trunk.

“Who goes there!”

Claude immediately drew his sword. His sharp gaze examined the arrow stuck in the tree. Seeing as there was no mark on the fletching, it was not an arrow used by the participants.

As if to prove it was no coincidence, figures wearing black masks revealed themselves from between the dense bushes. They drew their bowstrings from a distance, and then arrows were loosed simultaneously.

The rain of arrows all headed for one place. The target, who they were aiming for, was clear.

“Yuria!”

Alexis reflexively shielded Yuria with his own body. As he lowered his posture, arrows flew over his head and embedded themselves with a thud thud thud.

“Get to safety! I will handle the assassins, so Your Highness, take Yuria and quickly—!”

Before he could even finish his sentence, another arrow flew, and Claude swiftly brought up a shield to block the front. Despite the sudden attack, the knight commander handled it with practiced skill.

“Yuria, are you okay? Can you stand?”

Fortunately, Yuria had lived in the Black Forest for a long time and was more courageous than ordinary women. Though her complexion had turned a little pale, she quickly regained her composure and nodded her head.

“Yes, I’m perfectly fine.”

“Let’s go, we have to run to where the horses are….”

“Aaaaaargh!”

Alexis, who had been attending to her, turned his head at the sound of a death scream.

The moment he saw the ravaged base camp, he unknowingly ground his teeth. The assassins had, at some point, closed in and were brutally slaughtering the attendants and the horses they had ridden.

In an instant, they were stranded. They had already come deep into the forest, and to get back out of the hunting grounds, they would have to ride for a good while even on horseback.

“Cecil.”

“The horse I rode is still fine.”

Without needing a long explanation, Cecil understood Alexis’s meaning and replied. A wordless exchange of glances passed between them. This was not the time to weigh their options.

He then lightly pushed Yuria’s back, sending her to Cecil. Alexis immediately drew his longsword and assumed a battle stance.

“I will follow shortly. For now, get out of here safely.”

“What about you, Your Highness?”

“Go!”

With those words, Alexis swung his sword. He deeply stabbed and sliced the side of an assassin who had approached without a sound. With an elegant and swift swordsmanship that was like a dance, blood splattered in all directions. The forest, which had been lush with green, was now filled with the foul smell of blood.

Cecil, who couldn’t bear to leave Alexis behind, also hardened his resolve and turned away. He gripped Yuria’s wrist tightly and ran to where he had left his horse.

“Hold on tight.”

Cecil put Yuria on the horse first, then immediately mounted behind her. When their target tried to flee, the assassins charged at them, but they were repeatedly blocked by the crown prince and the knight commander.

A bloody battle ensued. There were roughly twenty assassins. It seemed they were all well-trained somewhere, as their swordsmanship looked proficient. Even so, they would be no match for Alexis and Claude.

Cecil put his worries aside and gripped the horse’s reins firmly. As someone who couldn’t fight, the only thing he could do here was to get Yuria to a safe place.

“Giddy-up!”

With the powerful command, the horse galloped. Leaving the fierce scene of slaughter behind, it began to run swiftly along the forest path.

After they had been running for about five minutes, Cecil, who had been relentlessly increasing their speed, hurriedly pulled on the reins. At the sudden stop, the horse reared up on its hind legs, and Yuria swayed before falling flat against the horse’s back.

“Damn it!”

Cecil glared at the beast that had appeared before his eyes. The Basilisk, of which only one was said to have been released into the hunting grounds, had to show itself at a time like this.

The beast’s size was enormous, comparable to a stallion at a glance. No matter how much of a beast it was that had been released into a hunting ground, its aura was nothing short of ferocious.

It was only natural. Because the one who caught this would be declared the winner. It had to be a beast that one could not dare to challenge easily.

The Basilisk approached slowly, its four thick paws plodding along. As if it was just looking for a chance to pounce.

The beast, covered in pitch-black fur, flashed its yellow eyes and drooled, revealing its sharp teeth at Cecil and Yuria.

“Wh-what do we do about that?”

“We have no choice but to run.”

Though he answered calmly, it wasn’t as if Cecil wasn’t scared.

His hand gripping the reins was slick, and cold sweat ran down his back. Could the horse really run faster than that thing? He tried to erase the thought. There was no other way.

During a moment of fierce observation, Cecil was the first to kick the horse’s side hard. The horse, which had been oppressed by the savage beast’s aura, snapped to its senses and changed direction to gallop away. At the same time, the Basilisk’s roar was heard.

The beast leaped in a single bound, caught up to the horse in just a few steps, and raked its gleaming torso with its claws. The fine steed could not withstand the surprise attack and tumbled over. It went without saying that Yuria and Cecil, who had been riding it, were also thrown to the ground.

“Ugh!”

Cecil rolled several times on the ground before crashing into a tree trunk. His lower back and shoulders throbbed unbearably, but he immediately pushed off the ground and propped up his upper body.

Yuria had been thrown to the opposite side from him, and the Basilisk was busy tearing into the fallen horse.

As if further excited by the smell of blood, the Basilisk chewed on the horse’s flesh with an even more savage demeanor. The horse, after struggling in agony for a long time, finally stopped breathing and went limp. In the quiet forest, only the sound of the beast smacking its lips and the two humans’ ragged breaths lingered.

Cecil met Yuria’s eyes from afar. When he sent a wordless look asking if she was okay, she nodded her head, her face ashen. She had red scrapes on her cheek and cheekbone, but it seemed she wasn’t seriously injured.

Cecil also endured the pain and surveyed his surroundings. There was no one to help, and he couldn’t shout loudly for help either. Now, while the beast was distracted with filling its hungry stomach, was their only chance to escape.

Cecil suppressed his presence as much as possible and picked up the bow, a few arrows, and the dagger that had fallen to the ground. He was in the middle of getting to his knees, very slowly and carefully.