Chapter 47
Chapter 47
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: Get Lost
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“Lady Erika!”
Erika set down her papers at her subordinate’s shout. Ever since arriving here, good news had almost never come with such fuss...
“Countess Mary and her son Chel have been spotted!”
“What?”
But this time was different. What incredibly unexpected good news! Erika’s eyes sparkled with joy.
“Where?!”
“The north gate. They shoved aside the guards checking them and fled on two horses. There were four in total, and right after passing the gate, they split into two groups.”
“Four, you say? It was definitely Mary and Chel?”
“They had hoods up, so we couldn’t see clearly, but one was a boy not yet of age with reddish hair. The woman was middle-aged, resembling Lady Mary. We suspect the ones on horseback were surviving knights.”
Erika strode to the table and unrolled the map. If they’d split into two paths after the north gate, that meant completely opposite directions—east and west. Mary and Chel wouldn’t have separated from each other.
“Pursuit?”
“The gate guards are chasing for now, but we need to send reinforcements quickly.”
“Reported position.”
“They’re estimated to have reached about here.”
“Wait, wait...”
Erika slowly traced the paths of Mary and Chel with both hands. The two had split left and right but were both heading steadily north. North? North...
Erika’s eyes sharpened.
“Merelrof—rule that out. They walked right to the gate to avoid tangling with them...”
After Merelrof came Sheiron, famous as a trading city. Calling it “next,” though, was misleading—it was over ten days by land.
Considering it took a fortnight from Bratz to the capital, it was absurdly optimistic. They had to cross the Denba Mountains, the border marker.
“They’re probably aiming for Sheiron as a base.”
“Sheiron connects to just about every other territory. Fontrol, the countess’s family home, is reachable by horse in a day.”
“Fontrol—perfect. Send a messenger bird.”
“How many in the pursuit team?”
“For now...”
Erika hesitated. The appearance of allies bothered her. With Derga locked in the underground prison, surviving knights were suspicious. She had little prior knowledge of remote borderlands—what if they had hidden forces? That could be trouble.
Mary and Chel might be luring them into the mountains.
“Send twenty for now.”
Erika glanced out the window as she issued the order. Strange baby beasts—kusille or something—were frolicking in the garden. If she stripped her forces bare, the Cheonryeo Tribe might seize the mansion. For now, that was the max.
“Even knights would struggle against twenty with a woman and child in tow. If problems arise, keep pursuing and send another bird.”
“Yes, understood.”
“Bring them back alive if possible. If not, the bodies—at least the heads. You know that, right?”
“I’ll make it crystal clear.”
The subordinate rushed out on Erika’s command. Even if they’d escaped, they wouldn’t last long.
Erika gazed at the map with a satisfied smile. Capturing Mary and Chel would let her crush Ian and the Cheonryeo Tribe in one blow.
She had no idea then.
That her smile would last just three days.
* * *
“This way!”
“Over here!”
“Split and pursue both ways!”
Clop clop!
Two horses bolted between colossal trees like pillars holding up the world. The Central Army pursuit squad chased fiercely behind. Cheonryeo Tribe warriors leisurely wove through the trees, even turning back with leisure.
“Damn it!”
The Central Army grew even more convinced they were Derga’s knights. Unlike the pursuers on unfamiliar terrain, they seemed to know the paths well.
Swoosh.
But the Cheonryeo Tribe navigated so well thanks to constant signals from a hawk overhead. Unlike the messy land path choked with rocks, moss, and tough weeds, the sky was utterly free.
“Call it here?”
“Looks like twenty in total.”
Whistle.
One warrior whistled to signal a change in plans. They sent the horses into the brush, then leaped down with inhuman grace.
“Targets stopped!”
“Halt! Surround them!”
Neigh!
The only sounds in the dense forest were unknown beast cries. The full pursuit squad nocked arrows and shouted.
“Drop your weapons and surrender!”
“Reveal yourselves!”
But the two men’s reply was to draw swords. At the sign of fight, the pursuers gulped and drew bowstrings tighter.
“Who’s the leader here?”
“W-what?”
“I asked who the leader is.”
The pursuers faltered. Their speech felt a bit clumsy.
But as the pursuit captain stepped forward and drew his sword, the two men charged without hesitation, cutting thought short.
“Kill any who flee!”
“Shoot—fire! Arrows!”
“We’ll spare just one of those who fight back!”
“You bastards!”
Clang! Sching!
The two warriors leaped airborne, signaling battle’s start. Arrows rained down; they batted them aside with swords and charged. Two arrows lodged in one warrior’s forearm.
Thuk!
Splash!
“Argh!”
Simultaneously, the pursuit captain’s head flew. Blood sprayed like a fountain, but no one could process it. Human? Beast? The vice captain’s mind formed the question.
“Thos...”
Slash!
The words “Cheonryeo Tribe?” never escaped. The warriors were wolves loose in a chicken coop. They wiped blood dripping from their blades with sleeves and declared:
“We are Derga’s knights. You won’t win easily—bring at least a hundred.”
“Eek!”
Slash!
Twenty men. The force they’d deemed sufficient scattered pointlessly. Soon, dying human cries drowned out beast howls.
The warriors stared down at a trembling prone pursuer. They exchanged glances.
‘Said we need to let one go, right?’
‘Yeah. To draw a second wave.’
Whistle.
“Eek! Mercy—spare me! Please!”
The warriors called the hawk to check the horses, then left without lingering. The panicked soldier begged blindly, sensing nothing. When he finally looked up, the men were long gone like wind.
“Huh...”
Monsters among monsters. It felt like a dream. Without his comrades’ strewn corpses, he’d surely think so.
* * *
“What did you just say?”
Erika’s face screamed disbelief as she asked again. The mud-and-blood-caked soldier stammered through the battle’s tale.
“The pursuit squad was wiped out.”
“How in the world...”
“They were Derga’s knights, alright. Inhuman movements—like sword-mages. Couldn’t confirm faces or recover bodies.”
She let out dry laughs, wetting her lips with tea. Twenty men. Even against knights, they should’ve gotten some clue. Total annihilation was unbelievable.
“Location?”
“I remember it.”
“Mary and Chel for sure?”
“Positive. Hoods slipped a couple times during chase. It was Chel. And Mary.”
“Damn it. Form a second pursuit team.”
“Lady Erika, if I may—numbers won’t cut it. Might need full force just to match them...”
Erika’s eyes flashed at the soldier’s words. Who didn’t know that? Of course crushing them at once was ideal! But superiors couldn’t empty the mansion.
“S-sorry.”
“Get out.”
Erika swept the table clear the moment he left. Spotting Mary and Chel was lucky, but prolonged mess was trouble.
“Fuck, seriously! Why’s the capital so slow to reply?”
“Land route delays...”
Reports, orders, simple letters went by messenger bird. But emperor-stamped ones required couriers by carriage.
Especially the title appointment—inefficient gold carriage, no doubt.
“Ian’s group?”
“No suspicious moves. Busy rebuilding the village.”
“Fucking dogs. Stick to your land.”
Unlike the Central Army frantic after Mary and Chel, they erased battle traces: rebuilding walls, roofs, moving wounded. Cheonryeo strength proved more helpful than expected, and locals’ response too.
Ridiculous.
Erika inwardly cursed Ian, then paused. Something felt off, instincts prickling.
“Mary and Chel broke through the wall on horseback?”
“Yes.”
“Then where were they before?”
They’d scoured the territory like rats, found nothing. Suddenly allies and horses? Horses were limited in Bratz now—nothing but Central Army stock.
‘...No way.’
Ian involved?
“Call the stable master now.”
“Yes, understood.”
Besides Central Army horses, Bratz had its own. Why hadn’t she checked sooner? Erika ruffled her hair in frustration at her oversight.
Knock knock.
“Lady Erika.”
But entering first wasn’t the stable master—it was Ian. He’d seen the subordinate sprint to the stables and come up.
“What is it?”
Papers strewn in Countess Mary’s room. Utterly mismatched props. Ian smiled brightly as he entered.
“Any progress on Mary and Chel?”
“Why ask?”
Look at this guy. Erika draped an arm over her chairback, tilting her head. Not even her foot stung, yet this timing?
“Naturally curious. If Mary and Chel survive and plot, I’m not safe either.”
Erika nodded for him to continue. Both smiled, probing—then Erika’s face hardened first.