The Camellia Tattoo - Chapter 152
Amber roughly wiped her cheeks and let out a shallow breath.
The second note she left in the carriage also contained requests concerning Nicholas.
She didn’t know what he would do with Nicholas…
‘What happened to Nick? Where did he go?’
She had sacrificed Nicholas with this choice.
In the end, someone might end up dead.
Knowing that, Amber acted selfishly.
In her desire to save her child, her husband… she easily forgot about Nicholas’s situation.
‘How awful. How cruel, Amber.’
She had tried not to cry, but tears kept spilling down her face. Overwhelmed by the incessant outpouring of emotion, she eventually sank to the ground.
“Wah… wah…”
Her heart ached again. It felt like someone was clawing or tearing at it.
Being pregnant with an heir should be a joyous occasion. It was something that typically warranted congratulations.
‘Why must I leave like this, running away?’
Without even saying a word to her husband…
Having created traces of her escape in several places, Amber returned to the middle of the path.
“Come on, horse. I should at least give you a name.”
Dampened by the water, she felt the chill as the sun set.
Rubbing her delicate hands together and blowing warm breath into them, she discovered a suitable cave and stepped inside.
She needed to rest her eyes for a moment before moving on again.
Considering the speed of his pursuit, she could only afford to sleep for about two hours.
“…The moon looks beautiful from here.”
Muttering that, Amber tidied up her traces and concealed herself.
The gap in the cave was quite narrow, but it was enough for her to slip through.
* * *
At the same moment…
Those searching for Amber, unable to find her before the moon rose, appeared pale as if they might die at any moment.
The atmosphere was heavy.
Hundreds of torches lined the path, so it should have felt warm, yet it felt as cold as a biting winter wind.
Everyone knew the reason but refrained from speaking.
No one wanted to be the one to provoke the source of this ominous energy.
“The moon has risen.”
After a long silence, his slow utterance lacked any inflection.
However, those near Igmeyer felt as though sulfur and ash were seeping from his mouth.
Outwardly calm, as if he was sinking somewhere, his eyes were bloodshot and glaring.
With the already red pupils and now the whites also turning red, he resembled a demon.
The knights who had fought alongside him since his mercenary days believed today was the angriest they had ever seen Igmeyer.
“It’s my fault.”
Raphael knelt before Igmeyer, bowing his head.
A few knights and Jean looked at Raphael with sympathy, but what could they do? This was a colossal blunder for which he deserved to be severely punished and expelled from the order.
Not knowing how the Madam had managed to escape the castle was unforgivable.
“My fault as well. Please punish me too.”
With time passing and still being unable to find the Madam, Gallard also knelt beside Raphael.
Given the circumstances, the Madam likely left the castle hidden in Nicholas Eaton’s carriage.
Missing the opportunity to spot the doctor right before his eyes was a mistake on Gallard’s part.
“…”
Behind them was a damaged carriage that looked as if it had been through a robbery.
There were no horses, only the carriage.
After discovering it, Igmeyer and the knights exchanged hollow smiles.
It was an exceedingly shallow ploy.
“Haa…”
Igmeyer let out a long breath and clenched his fists. In truth, he had been doing nothing but clenching them since earlier.
He simply couldn’t unfold them.
The note inside felt as fragile as she did.
Written in such a rush that it appeared messier than usual, this single note was the only thing keeping him breathing right now.
[All of this is my judgment and will. Nicholas is not at fault. He merely followed my orders.
So please, have the generosity to forgive him.
When we meet again, you will understand why I made this decision.
I beg you… please eliminate Nidhogg.]
Why is Amber so fixated on Nidhogg?
She seemed fine until now, so why?
Suddenly.
He would soon find out.
He had no intention of allowing her to leave the North.
After all, isn’t Niflheim now synonymous with Amber?
Where could the Madam possibly have gone?
“Ugh…!”
“Captured him.”
At that moment, a knight dragged someone by their hair, making a pained groan towards him.
Igmeyer quietly looked down at the man thrown at his feet.
At first, he had despised him intensely, then came to consider him somewhat decent, and now… he found him utterly repugnant.
Betrayal.
Yes, this feeling was undoubtedly one of betrayal.
“Nicholas Eaton. You have betrayed my goodwill. You wouldn’t dare deny that fact, would you?”
Nicholas Eaton was bleeding from his nose seemingly from how many blows he had taken on the way here.
