The Maid and The Usurper - Chapter 57
‘We’ll head to Orléans first. It’s closer to here, and Baden can’t easily interfere.’
Leopold had detailed his plan to Layla the previous day.The relationship between Orléans and Baden wasn’t good, and most importantly, Orléans was a family even Edehardt couldn’t act recklessly against. Therefore, it was the safest option.
‘From Orléans, we’ll take a ship to Hispania. It’s far enough that tracking us will be difficult.’
Leopold’s calm explanation still echoed in Layla’s ears. The mountain passes were dark, and she had to stall as much as possible to avoid running into Leopold. Layla still wore a somewhat naive expression as she led Bern. The two wandered through the forest for a long time.
This was an expected outcome since the path had no predetermined destination. The capricious summer had brought rain, as usual. Bern cursed at the falling rain. He turned to Layla with a scowl.
“Are you sure you’re leading us in the right direction?”
Bern grabbed Layla by the collar. She choked and coughed harshly as rainwater dripped down her face.
“We’ve been running around in circles!”
Bern bellowed furiously. Sensing something was off, he had secretly marked the trees. The first one or two times could be considered coincidences, but three or four times was most certainly no coincidence.
“I-I have a poor sense of direction…”
Bern shoved Layla hard against a tree. Layla felt her head spinning. Tears welled in her eyes. The veins bulged on the back of his hand as he gripped her collar tightly, choking her.
“Speak sensibly. You expect me to believe your poor sense of direction is making us walk around in circles?”
As he yelled, Layla instinctively shrank back, her face turning pale from the lack of air. She clawed at Bern’s hand with her nails. It felt like she was going to die. Bern loosened his grip slightly. Layla gasped for air.
“Now stop lying, you conniving wench, and tell me the truth. Where did the Count go?”
“I don’t know.”
The words came out raspy. She didn’t know how to respond. She couldn’t think of a way out.
“Someone like you is lighter than a fly’s life.[1] Do you think anyone would look for a girl who was rolling around in La Ellosa? Do you think that bastard Count would come looking for you?”
Layla bit back the urge to argue that Leopold would be the one to look for her, and kept on with her act.
“I’m not trying to deceive you, I really don’t know the way.”
Layla pretended to sob. The rain was falling, making it look just like tears. Her hand slipped on the wet stones beneath her. As the rain began to ease, she glanced up at the sky and then carefully peeked at Bern.
He had a physique similar to Leopold’s. At a glance, it was hard to tell them apart. Moreover, he had black hair and blue eyes. His clothes were soaked and dripping with rain. A thought crossed Layla’s mind. Perhaps there was no need to shake them off. There was a way to turn this situation around.
“I think I know where the Count would likely go.”
There was still time before Leopold would arrive at the cabin, so she had to act quickly.
“If we move in that direction, I think we’ll find him.”
Bern’s eyes were filled with doubt as he glared at her. Layla clasped her hands together, looking up at him with desperate, pleading eyes.
“I swear, please trust me.”
“I’ll give you one more chance. But if you’re lying, you’ll die.”
The threat made Layla’s heart race, but she nodded obediently.
* * *
“The maid said he’d be around here, right?”
“Are we sure we can trust that girl to speak the truth?”
At the sound coming from right in front of the bushes, Leopold flattened himself against the ground. Though their clothing was dull and dark, their robust build and composed demeanor indicated that they were not ordinary men; they had been trained. Their scabbards glinted faintly in the fading moonlight. At that moment, the engraved emblem caught his eye.
“Baden.”
The meaning was clear. They were Baden’s knights. Leopold began to crawl away, gradually increasing the distance between them. Their attention was focused elsewhere.
“What if that maid lied to us? Max.”
——-
Translator notes: [1] ↩
