Not Knowing The Betrayal Of That Day

The whole time she followed the maid, Tessa kept glancing back secretly. She couldn’t help but want to see the Marchioness, who was left behind in the castle.

The Marchioness had only taken Tessa, Mani and Kennis to the front of the secret passage and left them, because she said she still had work to do and she volunteered to remain in the castle. The Marchioness’ maid was leading them out on her behalf.

“Wait…”

At some point, Tessa felt the wall tremble slightly and called for the maid who had gone ahead of her. She had no idea what was going on in this castle.

“Even if we really leave it like this… Will it work?”

“Don’t worry. Because the Marchioness wanted it.”

“But…”

“We must move quickly, Madam. We don’t have much time.”

The maid cut Tessa off and moved forward faster. Tessa had to keep her mouth shut and follow the maid. The maid was the only one who could guide the way outside.

“Yes, Madam. Do not worry too much. The Marchioness must have stayed because she has everything in mind too.”

Mani, noticing Tessa’s shoulders hunched, said in a low voice, soothing her.

“You have to be more careful than that. I’m worried that you might fall because you can’t see well, Madam.”

The secret passage in the castle they were walking through was as old as the castle and collapsed here and there. In addition, it was complicated like a maze, so they had to be alert lest they get lost.

If Tessa were to lag behind the maid, she would lose her way along with Kennis and Mani, who were following her, so Tessa nodded at Mani’s words and gulped.

After a while. Before long, they began to see a faint light streaming in through the end of the passage. It was close to the exit.

“There is an exit!”

Mani, who saw the light, exclaimed in delight. It wasn’t long before they came out of the dark passageway into the wind. There, connected to the forest behind the castle, familiar faces awaited them.

“Tessa!”

As soon as Janet spotted Tessa, she jumped with great relief. Tessa widened her eyes at Janet’s unexpected appearance. But, Janet…? Standing right in front of Tessa, Janet held her hands tightly and lifted them up, expressing her delight.

“I’m so glad! Let’s get out of here before it’s too late.”

“Janet, you’re… safe too. I’m so glad.”

Tessa was touched as she felt Janet’s warmth in the hand that was holding hers. She hadn’t heard much about Janet, except that she was out of prison and was locked up in the annex. So, it was so nice to meet her like this.

“Thanks to someone who came to pick me up on time.”

Janet shrugged her shoulders at the person standing behind her and smiled.

“It’s been a while, Mada— No, Tessa.”

Lange came forward and greeted Tessa politely. Tessa was dumbfounded when she saw the long-lost Lange following Janet. Then she unconsciously turned to the maid who had guided her to the place. The maid was quietly backing away, showing no surprise seeing the others’ appearance.

So, did the Marchioness, who had sent Tessa here through the maid, already knew everything? If so, since when? And what on earth does the Marchioness have to do while remaining in the castle? In addition, the fact that Hert’s aide was here, did he also know about this situation?

A jumble of thoughts and questions cluttered Tessa’s mind. Tessa was just about to pluck up the courage to ask about the situation. Lange opened his mouth to urge everyone.

“For now, we all have to move. We must hurry and get out of here.”

A carriage was prepared at the place Lange pointed to. The moment everyone’s gaze reached the carriage, there was a roar in the castle. A sound unlike anything Tessa had heard before… If the previous sound had sounded like something breaking, now it was more like a huge cliff collapsing.

“W-What was that?”

“The castle… It’s collapsing!”

With Mani’s bewildered question, Kennis looked at the castle and shouted in horror. Little by little, the huge castle was leaning sideways as if it was being crushed from above. Seeing that, Lange hurriedly led the women toward the carriage.

“Let’s get moving! It’s dangerous to stay here!”

“Tessa, hold my hand tight.”

“Wait, Janet… The Marchioness inside…!”

“The Marchioness will be fine.”

Tessa, half dragged by Janet towards the carriage, suddenly realized that the Marchioness’ maid was not moving with them. She was walking back into the passage before anyone could catch her.

As if her only role was to bring them to the end of the passage.

“Janet, what… what is going on inside? And Hert…”

Tessa had a lot to ask. There were many things she wanted to know. She felt anxious because it was not unusual that things kept getting bigger. More than anything, she was worried about Hert, who was not here. Is Her still fighting? Does he know that the castle is collapsing? By any chance, if Hert is in that castle…

At that moment, Janet’s voice awakened Tessa’s thoughts.

“Sir Shine will be fine. So, Tessa, trust us now and follow us. Okay?”

Tessa nodded at Janet’s determined voice, calming her beating heart.

“…Yes.”

As soon as they boarded the carriage, it started to pull away quickly.

* * *

After closing the gates of the castle walls by a short distance, Hert ran straight into the castle. And as soon as he arrived at the castle, he intuitively realized that something was wrong. Boo-boo-boom, the castle was shaking dangerously.

Sensing that something bad was about to happen, Hert cursed and shouted at the soldiers.

“Evacuate those in the castle outside immediately! You guys follow me!”

Without time to think, Hert jumped off his horse and rode quickly into the castle. The inside of the castle was already cluttered and everyone was confused. The screams and struggles of people trying to get out of the castle that had begun to shake were blatantly approaching. Among them, there were some enemies who seemed to have secretly invaded the castle.

‘What?’

Hert thought it was strange to see an enemy, but he drew a sword from his waist and cut down the enemies without hesitation. Blood scattered on the floor and the enemy collapsed to the floor without being able to resist.

Like that, the enemies fell easily one by one without even swinging their swords a few times as Hert and his soldiers suddenly appeared.

Hert frowned as he wiped the blood from his sword when he could no longer see the enemy. It was strange even if he thought about the enemy that seemed close to panic.

‘Was the castle collapsing unexpectedly for these bastards? Then who…’

Hert lightly kicked off the corpse of the enemy and hurriedly said to the soldiers following him as he walked forward.

“Scatter and find the Madam! If you find her, report to me immediately!”

Hearing the superior’s command, the soldiers moved and dispersed in perfect order. Hert also ran towards Tessa’s room before anyone else. His mouth dried up and his fingertips trembled each time the castle shook with a loud noise.

‘Please, Tessa…’

In case something went wrong, he asked a few people to take care of Tessa—Janet Vellodem and the other knights under his command who he had left behind in the castle. However, exceptional circumstances could always arise. The possibility that Tessa could not escape the castle could not be ruled out at all.

Especially in a situation where everyone is in chaos due to the castle’s sudden collapse at the same time as the enemy’s invasion.

‘I can’t leave this castle until I check myself.’

It was only after Hert confirmed that Tessa was not in this castle that he intended to leave. Until then, even if the castle would completely collapse, he wouldn’t get out.

He swore he would never let go or lose Tessa again. Even a pointless death of being crushed by a stone was not a bad end, only if Tessa was with him.