What Became of the Tyrant After the Pregnant Empress Left - Chapter 43
“Ugh…!”
Ysaris noticed that his condition was more serious than she had thought.
She didn’t know how far he had drifted down the river, but he had been in the cold water and continuously soaked by rain. It would be normal for his body temperature to drop and for him to shiver like she did, but Kazhan’s body was not cold; it was burning hot.
“Your Majesty, you must stay awake. Your Majesty!”
Ysaris called out several times to wake Kazhan, gritting her teeth. Enduring the burning pain in her shoulder, she pushed him away with all her might while rolling to the side.
Thud.
His waterlogged, heavier body fell to the ground. The arm that had been holding Ysaris went limp and dropped to the ground.
Only then did Kazhan’s injuries become fully visible.
“This is…”
Ysaris was choked up by the horrific sight. She hesitated, unable to touch the gruesome injuries.
His left arm and right leg were twisted grotesquely and completely shattered. His right arm had a chunk missing, exposing the bone, and there were many other minor cuts and bruises. Like her shoulder, he also had arrows with broken shafts embedded in him.
How is he still alive?
Ysaris dismissed the question that flashed through her mind. First, she needed to move Kazhan to a safer place and administer minimal treatment before his condition worsened or any pursuers caught up to them.
“A hiding place…”
She staggered around, searching for a suitable place to hide. Luckily, she found a small cave with an entrance covered by vines not far away, but moving Kazhan and treating him was another matter entirely.
Her whole body was already screaming with fatigue and pain. The thought of moving a man twice her weight made her feel hopeless. She had no good options.
“Maybe…”
Wouldn’t it be better to let him go peacefully now?
Ysaris stood motionless, looking down at Kazhan. The sight of her husband dying from a high fever filled her blue eyes.
He was a man with many grudges. From the moment he appeared until now, countless lives had been extinguished by Kazhan’s hand. Ysaris wouldn’t have been surprised if every country except Uzephia had united to carry out this attack just to kill Kazhan.
Her fiancé, Bariteon, was also killed by Kazhan. The image of her childhood friend being murdered right in front of her eyes still haunted her at times.
Above all, he was the man who would later kill her and her child.
“Your Majesty.”
Ysaris called Kazhan harshly.
It would be easy to kill him while he couldn’t even open his eyes. She wouldn’t even have to dirty her own hands. Leaving him here, he would surely die within a day either from his injuries or from pursuers.
In any case, she had been planning to escape, so this worked out well. She could live without the lifelong fear of being hunted by the emperor.
She might even return to the empire and live a better life than before. Once Kazhan was dead, the child in her womb would be the only heir of Tennilath, and power would inevitably follow.
But…
<Ysaa!!>
Ysaris closed her eyes.
The desperate red eyes and the body that desperately held her to protect her stirred familiar emotions.
* * *
Kazhan dreamed.
He was standing on a cliff. On the opposite cliff, Ysaris stood with her back turned, and an old, rickety bridge precariously connected the two sides.
Ysaa.
Kazhan called out to her, but his voice scattered into the air. Empress. Ysaris. No word formed into sound; they all evaporated like steam.
He frowned at the phenomenon, as if the air itself were cut off. He wished Ysaris would turn and look at him, but the environment was uncooperative.
If his voice couldn’t reach her, he would go to her himself.
Kazhan moved without hesitation. With each step, the old bridge creaked, but the option of abandoning Ysaris out of fear of falling didn’t exist for him.
At first, it was fine. The bridge, sturdier than it looked, allowed him to move toward Ysaris with confidence.
But halfway across, things took a turn for the worse.
Stepping in one place triggered a spear to spring out. Passing through another area released a volley of arrows, and grabbing hold of something sent a fireball his way. He was also struck by the tail or whip of a giant monster.
Kazhan continued to walk, becoming a mess as he navigated the traps in the limited space. His teeth ground together and his vision blurred from the excruciating pain, but he was okay.
Ysaa.
Instead of his voice, his reward was Ysaris turning to look at him as he finally reached her.
…But he couldn’t see her face. Her features were blurred, making it impossible to discern her expression.
Was she frowning? Expressionless? Or crying?
Kazhan had no time to figure out the answer.
Ysaris, who was looking at him…
Cut the bridge’s rope.
