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Chapter 9 : Escaped From The Villain (3)
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Entanto, at the eastern end of the Empire, was quite developed for being adjacent to the Misbrunn alliance, with which the relationship was not so good.
Not only did the two countries not block trade, but it was also a place that even other countries had to pass to go to other countries. Of course, it was possible to avoid going through it if it was a long way back, but most people liked the short and fast route.
Entanto was a place where there were as many people as it was developed, so it was good to hide. There were a lot of different people, so she couldn't stand out too much.
Arriving in the city, Regina first headed to the weapon shop. She brought a dagger, but she needed a more solid weapon than that.
'If anything happens, I have to protect myself.'
While she was at Greroy Mansion, she left it with Arsene.
It would be too bright to think that there would have been no intrusion into the mansion even though there were only two attacks from outside. But she never felt threatened. It was because he handled it before she realized it.
Now that she was out of his sphere of influence, it was her sole responsibility to ensure her safety.
Arriving at the weapon shop, she quickly glanced at the swords on display. There were so many types, such as the Maine Gosch, the Bastard Sword, and Saber, but she didn't have time to choose and sit leisurely.
When she picked up a long sword that stood out roughly, the shop owner looked at her with a puzzled face. She raised her hand and pressed her hood further as he seemed to check her face.
As she approached the checkout counter to pay, he looked at her suspiciously as he stated the amount.
"Can you wield it?"
It seemed like he was saying something because of her small stature. Regina, who was about to answer the disrespectful comment, thought it would be bad to raise her voice and just nodded.
'I'd better be careful, because I'm not out of Yurdenian yet.'
The shop owner's gaze followed her until she paid and turned right back. She wore her new sword around her waist, drew it once, then put it back in.
In the past, it would have been difficult to handle a sword like this. However, while at the Duke of Greroy's mansion, she received swordsmanship training, so she was able to use it to some extent, even if not at the level of a knight. It was a short training, but it helped a lot.
'Thank you, Iz.'
She thanked Iz in her heart for helping her without knowing anything.
After leaving the weapons shop, Regina stopped by the clothing store this time.
No matter how plain the dress was, it was still an uncomfortable skirt. She was amazed that she still ran in this outfit.
"Welcome ~"
After looking around the store for a while, she walked to the place where the pants were hanging. An employee who noticed her move approached and gave various explanations.
She soon followed the staff's recommendation and bought some neat trousers and a shirt. She did feel it a little expensive, but it was better to move a little more when it was time to think about the price.
Regina threw off her dress, which was covered in sweat and dirt, and bought some simple pants, so she couldn't be more comfortable. After she changed her clothes, she felt like she wanted to rest her body, but not yet.
After getting ready, she rode her horse to the gate separating Misbrunn and Yurdenian. If she goes over here, then she intends to get some lodging and get some sleep.
But for some reason, the closer she got to the border, the more noisy the surroundings seemed.
"Why are they doing this all of a sudden?"
"Has the vicious criminal escaped?"
She felt her heart sink as she listened to the story that came through the muttering voice.
Regina doesn't know if it's always like this, but the front of the gate was crowded with people. She expected that it would be subject to a tricky screening by both sides because it was crossing the border, but today it seemed like there was something else. The faces of those waiting in line were filled with complaints.
"Is something going on?"
Regina couldn't help but lower her voice and grab one of the people in line to ask a question. She turned her head to the words of the woman who was talking to the person next to her with a bored expression on her face.
"Oh, the departure inspection suddenly takes a long time today. Originally, it's over once they check your ID. They weren't this picky, but it seemed like they were looking for someone. It is Criminals? That's what's causing everyone else trouble."
The woman who laid out her lament sighed deeply and fanned. She muttered something as if she was annoyed.
When she looked toward the gate, she could see that the soldiers were checking everyone's faces one by one even after checking their ID cards.
'What should I do?'
Are they looking for her? But if not...
Not knowing what to do with this situation, she hesitated on the spot.
However, the brief worries were resolved by the words that followed.
"I heard something about black hair, so can't they just let others go?"
Doubting her ears, Regina asked the woman who had said it again.
"Black hair?"
"Yes. I think they said it was a black-haired woman. But I don't know what the hell she did wrong. Did she steal the treasure of a high-ranking person?"
She slowly left the grumbling woman behind. Try not to look suspicious as much as possible, as if she was just a curious person.
It seemed that the person they were looking for over there was her.
*****
For now, Regina, who opened the distance at the gate, was in trouble.
'How do I get through that way?'
They must have heard of her appearance. It was obvious from the fact that they said they were looking for a black-haired woman.
'Black hair...'
She looked up at the sudden thought of her hair, making sure it didn't stick out of her cloak without realizing it.
'Let's dye my hair!'
She didn't have time to sit like this, but she had to camouflage to pass through there. She can't change the color of her eyes, so she'd better try what she can do right now.
Regina, who was about to move right away to buy a hair dye, stopped walking at the shadow that was cast in front of her eyes. An ominous aura passed through the back of her neck.
"Where are you going in such a hurry?"
For a moment, her heart sank, wondering if they were the people Arsene had sent.
However, when she suddenly raised her head, what was in front of her were men who never seemed to be his people. She let out a sigh of relief at the sight of her being touched in a really funny way.
"It seems that the daughter of a rich family ran away from home–"
They approached her with a very bad attitude, as if they were taking her for granted because she looked small. From their standing posture to their tone of voice and expression, they were unpleasant people.
Regina pondered as she scanned the crowds blocking her path.
'Dagger? Long sword?'
Which one would be better for the current situation?
Fidgeting with the dagger inside the cloak, she grasped the distance and situation from them.
Two men. But she didn't think that's all. The width of the alley was not very wide, so it could have been difficult to fight if the long sword was taken out. However, she may be able to deal with those two with a dagger.
Maybe it was because of the experience of being kidnapped and threatened. In this situation, she can think calmly like this.
The changes that happened to her in that short period were too powerful. She was about to laugh.
"Are you laughing now?"
A man's voice filled with anger was heard. Oops, it looks like she really laughed.
With her quick grasp of the situation, she struck his head before the man attacked her.
Sreung–!
The sound of pulling the sword rang sharply. Choosing a long sword, she swung the sword at them as soon as she examined it. The tip of the sword passed in front of them, leaving a sharp trail.
"–!"
While they flinched, she moved quickly again. The two men dodged reflexively, knocking over a wooden box piled next to them before approaching them again. They backed away, distracted by the objects pouring down one after another.
"You bastard!"
The man who spotted her running away in the gap shouted in a high-pitched voice. However, the tip of her cloak had already moved away from them.
In other words, it was said that the 36th strategy in the 36th system of military law was the surrounding commercial strategy.
'That's why it's called the Thirty-six Lines.'
Although she learned swordsmanship, she still needed more practice. What would she do if she faced them confidently and then failed? She had no time to waste on such people as her immediate escape was more urgent to her.
Regina ran frantically through the streets trying to escape the two men pursuing her. Since it was her first visit, she avoided places that looked like dead ends and ran mainly on crowded streets and wide areas.
'I shouldn't have sold the horse earlier!'
Regina sold the horse she rode right after arriving in the city, and she didn't know that she would regret it this much.
She looked back as she ran until her feet were on fire, but the distance was wider than at the beginning. But the problem is she's starting to get tired, too.
'I trained quite hard–'
In order to solve her stamina problem that Iz and Arsene pointed out as her problem, she exercised little by little until she ran away. But it seemed like that wasn't enough.
As she tried to move her legs, which were getting heavier, and turned one more corner, something unexpected happened.
"Here!"
Someone waved right near, as if to come this way.
It was an urgent voice, as if to give her a direction to escape.
Seeing her desperate look, she unconsciously turned her steps toward it. As she swerved and approached her, the hand caught her and pulled her.
"Who...!"
"Shh, be quiet."
The other party was also wearing a cloak, so it was impossible to identify it. However, the low whispering voice was somehow familiar.
'Familiar?'
There's no way you'll hear a familiar voice here.
When she looked around in surprise, she finally saw the surrounding knights. They wore simple protective gear, not armor, but they could be recognized as knights.
Fortunately, it was not the familiar faces, the knights of the Duke of Greroy. But it was too early to just like it. It might not have been Arsene, but his collaborator or servant's.
Regina, who was led into the building by a suspicious person, stopped walking at the entrance.
As she stood, the opponent who turned her head faced a face full of distrust.
"Who are you to suddenly appear and help me?"
A woman with a familiar voice with a physique of this size. She seemed to remember who she was, but she couldn't remember clearly as if she was stirring the white fog.
The other person seemed to realize that she had been wearing her hood until now when she saw her wary pink eyes. "Ah." The woman let out an exclamation and quickly pulled back the hood.
"It's me, young lady."
The identity of the opponent was revealed in the falling light.
It was Duchess Iria Haynes, the gray hair she had seen a lot under the hood.
"Duchess Haynes?"
The startled Regina looked with her eyes wide open, and the Duchess, with her hair lightly arranged, led her again.
"Let's go in and talk first,"
But Regina still hesitated and looked down at the fine fingers wrapped around her wrist.
'But Duke Haynes is on Arsene's side.'
It was not known whether his wife, Iria Haynes, was trying to help her or hold her.
If it's the latter, can she escape alone again in this situation with the knights right next to them? She was troubled Her eyes quickly scanned her surroundings.
Then the Duchess whispered lowly, as if she had noticed what she was thinking.
"Don't worry. I'm really trying to help you."
Is she talking about the situation in which she ran away a moment ago, or is she talking about running away from Arsene. She wasn't clear about whether she could be trusted.
Regina, who was hesitant, collapsed at the clear eyes that seemed to ask her to believe.
'Let's hear the story first!'
She needed time to think about how to cross the border anyway. In the meantime, wouldn't it be okay to listen to what she was trying to help? If the duchess was to get in her way, she just had to figure out a way to get out of here.
She took a step in the hope that she would not. May the favor the Duchess has shown her not to Arsene's fiancee, but to Regina Blois.
After entering the building, they did not walk very long. If she wanted to take her to a deeper place, she was going to refuse it, but it was a relief.
When she opened the door close to the entrance, a space that looked like a drawing room was revealed.
"Come in. Would you like some tea?"
The Duchess took off her cloak and sat down on the sofa, glancing at the seat across from her.
This space seemed familiar. Regina followed her glance, sat down and shook her head. Although she was thirsty, it was more important to listen to the story than to relax.
"No, I'm fine. So can you explain what you mean by helping?"
After tidying up her dressing and getting into a comfortable position, Iria looked at Regina, who didn't even take off her hood. It was ironic that even though she had come this far, she was still wary.
After clearing her throat for a moment, she opened her mouth.
"Literally. Aren't you trying to cross the border and go to Misbrunn? I'll help you with that."
Now that she've come all the way here, it was fully predictable that she was trying to cross the border. So it wasn't unusual for the Duchess to know, but there was room for doubt that she would help.
"You're saying you'll help me knowing what's going on, right?"
She was definitely the person she had been facing as the prospective Duchess of Greroy not too long ago. Seeing such a person trying to cross the border, immediately offering to help? Besides, it was only now that she remembered her, but she doubted how she had recognized her with her hood pressed down on her cloak.
Iria gestured to the others in the room as she behaved like a furry animal. After a while, the servant and the knights in the room left, and she talked seriously.
"When I came to this city, I stopped by a clothing store."
".....!"
Regina pink eyes widened like rabbit at the remark as if she had been watching her.
"That store is mine. It's our top one, to be exact."
Iria Haynes, who shrugged her shoulders, finished her brief explanation. She happened to be in the store, and she saw Regina's face.
At first, she thought she was mistaken, saying she couldn't be here, but she changed her mind when she saw border controls being put in place. It was the story that her heart had pursued her and that she had witnessed the situation earlier.
"But you don't know why I'm trying to cross the border. What if I've committed a crime?"
At this time, she was also an accomplice who helped her escape. Isota and Kai were close friends, so they wanted to help even if they sacrificed themselves, but Iria and Regina were not in such a relationship.
Does it make sense that she recklessly helps without knowing what kind of damage there will be and what she is doing?
Iria looked straight at her, who still couldn't erase her suspicious eyes. Her black eyes were dark but clear.
"Did you commit a crime?"
".....No."
"That's fine."
She believed, despite the simple yet unreliable confirmation process.
Having finished neatly, she looked into Regina under the hood with her usual gentle smile.
A tightly closed mouth or an occasional biting of the lower lip as if nervous. Looking at it, Iria put out what she had been thinking about.
"I expect it to be the Duke of Greroy."
Regina was suffocated for a moment at the exact words. She tried not to show it as much as she could, but it was already revealed that she was agitated once.
Iria Haynes became convinced of her thoughts. For some reason, she was running away from her fiance.
The Duke of Greroy was not someone to be touched lightly. Even her husband, the Duke of Haynes, was helping him.
But Iria did not hesitate.
"I'll help you."
Contrary to her firm gaze, it was this side that was taken aback. Regina's pupils trembled mercilessly.
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