Chapter 82
Did he feel this way too?
I always thought I couldn’t understand his choice. No matter how much he loved her, he shouldn’t have done it, not with his position as chief. There were other ways to save my mother, so why did he make such a reckless choice?
But now I understand why he did it.
It wasn’t the kind of thing that you can cut with your head about what’s better. His heart had moved before his head, his body before his mind, and he’d been on the horse the moment he’d heard she was in the forest. Instinct screamed at him. If you don’t rescue her now, you’ll be the first to die.
So go, even if all that’s left at the end of it is ruin.
Rashid soon realized that the forest was eerily quiet. He should have encountered at least a few monsters this deep into the forest, but he hadn’t seen any yet. Strange. When it rains, they’re supposed to be more energized and out and about.
The downpour was quickly erasing the hoof prints. Rashid stepped to the side of the path to check the hard-to-see hoof prints. At that moment, a black creature rushed toward him with great speed.
Kang!
Rashid quickly raised his sword to parry, but the attacks came in quick succession. Stumbling backwards to avoid the sharp claws, he raised his sword high and slashed horizontally. The monster’s head came off and it immediately stopped moving.
Rashid turned away from the falling monster and checked the hoof prints again. He knelt down to get a closer look, but the ground was already caked with mud. It was unclear from the hoof prints which of the two paths it had taken.
‘Which path should I take?’
Just as he was getting impatient, he saw a small shoe fall to one of the paths.
‘That way!’
The moment he uttered the words in his mind, the monsters began to swarm around him. With no time to dodge, they surrounded him.
Rashid threatened them with his sword to create distance, then quickly counted them. Twenty or so. Considering they seemed more energized than usual, he figured he was up against over forty.
With one person’s strength, he could only handle about ten of them. It would be impossible to kill all the monsters here and go to her. He’d exhaust himself in the fight and end up getting eaten.
There’s only one option left, then.
Rashid tightened his grip on the sword in his right hand. Then he raised his left arm, the one that wasn’t holding the sword. The blade was pointed at his left arm, not at the monsters in front of him.
This is a last-ditch effort to escape the monster: cut off a piece of yourself and throw it at the monster, then run away while it’s distracted. Monsters are always eager to devour the prey in front of them. They will fight each other for food when thrown, which is a great way to buy time.
Rashid initially planned to cut down to the elbow and throw it, but if the monsters chased him and he had no choice, he would cut down to the shoulder. Rashid prayed that he could find her while the monsters were pouncing on the two hunks of meat. With his right arm to hold his sword and both legs to run, he had nothing more to give, even if he wanted to.
Rashid laughed bitterly.
If she had been eaten by the monster, then they would have ended up dying together here, and that would not be a bad thing.
Rashid exhaled harshly. He steeled his resolve and raised his hand on his sword in one swift motion.
Grrrrrrr.
He heard a growl from behind him. A shadow leapt out of the bushes and lunged at him, mouth open for his head.
Rashid realized in hindsight that this was a coordinated effort by the monsters. He’d always been wary of monsters’ tendency to attack from behind, but today he’d let his guard down. Normally, he wouldn’t have left his back unguarded like this.
No, it doesn’t matter now.
Rashid shielded his head and held out his left arm instead. He was going to throw it out as bait anyway. If it bit him, he would cut it off. Nothing would change, just the order.
He gritted his teeth in anticipation of the excruciating pain. He hadn’t had a monster tear into him yet, but he knew it would be unbearable.
The lunging monster suddenly stopped moving. Its teeth had even touched his forearm, but it didn’t move at all, as if it had been frozen in place.
Instead of biting down on the soft flesh, it tilted its head a little, and Rashid almost laughed out loud, realizing that it looked like a cute pet.
Grrrrrrr.
It wasn’t just one of the monsters exhibiting such odd behavior. The monsters surrounding him all began to tilt their heads in a similar way, as if sensing something strange.
What the hell is this….
I don’t understand. Why would monsters who are so eager to eat humans hesitate at the sight of food right in front of them?
Kiiiiii.
And then a sound much different than the one from a moment ago came out of the monsters’ mouths, a shriek that sounded like the scream of a frightened monster. The monsters immediately began to back away from Rashid. Despite being a being of no words, Rashid knew exactly what the monsters were feeling right now.
It was extreme fear, and submission and reverence for an absolute being.
As he stared at the scene in disbelief, Rashid realized that his forehead was hot. Despite the rain pouring down hard, the heat was rising from the center of his forehead. Soon after, his left chest, where his heart was, became hot as well.
“I bless thee….”
Suddenly, he remembered the words she had spoken the night of the banquet, her fingertips brushing across his forehead and chest.
“When tribulation comes, he will cover you with his feathers….”
An unknown shiver ran down his spine. Rashid already knew which part of his body would be next to heat up. His trembling hand went to his lips.
“Under his wings, Maiastra, you will be completely safe.”
Heat rose to his lips at the memory of those words.
***
It was the extreme cold that woke Rosetta. Her whole body was soaked and cold. When she came to, a cold rain was pouring down on her.
She realized that she was lying in the forest. It was dark around her, and she couldn’t see very well. For a moment, Rosetta wondered why she was in this place.
Then it all came back to her. She remembered frantically riding her horse to escape monsters. The strange visions she’d had while dodging a flying arrow, and the darkness in front of her.
She scrambled to her feet and found herself surrounded by countless eyes. The eyes of monsters, or something like them, glowed in the darkness.
Rosetta couldn’t even scream. Her mouth opened, then closed. Her jaw trembled as it closed. She didn’t even know how many of them were around. There were too many to even count.
“Why….”
Rosetta couldn’t understand why they hadn’t eaten her while she was passed out.
Had they waited until she woke up and now wanted to eat her?
Her eyes widened at the thought. If they’d eaten her when she passed out, at least she wouldn’t have felt the pain.
Looking around her, Rosetta’s despair soon grew. In the dark, rainy forest, she couldn’t even see which way to run. No, how could she escape when there were monsters everywhere, and even though they kept their distance, their gazes continued to follow her every move.
Eventually, Rosetta sank back down to the ground. Hesitantly, she pushed off the ground with her legs and backed away. Soon, a large tree touched her back.
I’m scared. Help! Please, anyone….
Rashid.
His name came to her before the name of God she had always called, and the moment she realized it, hot tears welled up in her eyes.
Why am I thinking of him now? He would never come here. He said he would never risk his life for a woman, even if she was his wife.
His father had set the precedent, and he would keep his word. The way he quickly dismissed the whole thing at the end was a foregone conclusion.
No. That was a good thing. At least it means he won’t come here and die in vain. Yes, it was a good thing. This is what happens after a relationship goes sour.
Rosetta dropped her head. I wonder what happens now, now that they know I’m awake, will they come and eat me? If I’m going to die anyway, I’d rather be swallowed in one bite, which would hurt less than being eaten limb by limb.
But what happens after I’m dead?
Rosetta was very worried about the people she would leave behind. She felt sorry for Allen and her nanny, who would be accused of the felony of failing to properly escort the princess, and Rashid would be caught in the middle. If they were blamed for this, if a war with Lysa broke out, the people in the castle would suffer as well.
The tears kept rolling down her cheeks. She hadn’t done anything great since she’d come here, but she’d thought she’d been of some use, and now she’d ended up being a source of trouble, even in death.
Rosetta curled up, burying her face in her knees. It was so cold that her teeth chattered. She wondered if she would die of cold before being eaten by a monster.