I Became the Wife of the Hero Who Killed Me - Chapter 66

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#Episode 66

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I had no idea how much time had passed.

My companions and I walked and walked through the cave without a single ray of light, relying on just one small lamp.

Fortunately there were no forks in the road, but the uneven floor kept twisting my ankles, and occasionally when the corridor narrowed, we had to crouch down and crawl forward on all fours.

Thanks to that, my whole body was battered.

‘This is supposed to take only half a day, right?’

It felt like at least a full day had passed, making me dizzy.

It was the moment when a very reasonable suspicion crossed my mind that Gareth’s “half a day” might not have been based on ordinary people like me.

“Argh!”

The Village Chief walking at the front fell with a splash.

He had stepped thinking it was a shallow puddle, but it was deeper than expected.

The startled people hurriedly pulled the Village Chief out, but our only lamp had already been submerged and extinguished.

“How could this happen, I’m sorry…”

“It’s not your fault, Village Chief. We’re all too exhausted.”

“We should rest for a bit. Let’s assess the situation and think about what to do next.”

Our group was slow because we had elderly people and children.

But the fact that the people guarding the entrance still hadn’t caught up meant something had happened on their end.

Could we really survive by continuing to run like this?

Weren’t the Governor’s soldiers pursuing us?

With both physical strength and mental state pushed to the limit, increasingly desperate voices began to emerge.

“What should we do now? We barely managed to settle in that hideout…”

“We’re all going to die. The Governor won’t let us live.”

I covered the ears of a child crouched beside me with both hands.

The innocent child looked up at me with bright, clear eyes.

“Sister? Why are you doing that?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Mm.”

Only then did the people realize there were children with us and quickly shut their mouths.

But even in the pitch-black darkness, I could clearly feel the despair written on their faces.

‘If only we could get out of here safely…’

My condition was also at its worst.

Without properly recovering from the exhaustion of the long journey, I had been unwittingly caught up in this incident and driven to this point.

The air was humid, the ground was cold, and food was woefully insufficient.

Having walked for so long while caring for the children, I had no feeling left in my arms and legs.

I wanted to give up everything and collapse right then and there, but I still struggled to focus my increasingly blurry vision.

I had to admit it now. I couldn’t abandon these people.

“If you have nowhere to go, how about following me?”

“What do you mean all of a sudden…”

I thought of the small villages below the Outer Wall Monastery.

Norbelrn, Berry’s hometown, had residents who were all combative but kind-hearted.

Going a bit further west was my hometown Caldric, which was quite large among western villages and had a decent environment for outsiders to settle in.

I smiled confidently.

“Didn’t you hear from Gibson? I have a lot of money. My trading company happens to need workers, so this works out well. If you follow me, you can at least be guaranteed safety.”

“My goodness, if that could happen…”

“We can live. We can all live!”

Relief and joy spread across the faces of those who heard my proposal.

At the edge of despair, an unexpected new path had opened.

The gazes of those who had been comforting each other with fear of leaving their ancestral home yet joy at being able to start anew finally turned to me.

“We’ve received such great kindness, but we haven’t even asked your name yet.”

“Ah.”

I hesitated for a moment.

Since the name Elisia was famous throughout the continent, I quietly murmured a name that came to mind instead.

“…Elze.”

“Oh my, surprisingly modest. You seem like someone who would be buried in a library.”

“With such a beautiful face, what does the name matter? The children follow Elze so well precisely because of that face, don’t you think?”

“That’s right, children are more honest.”

The women who had been laughing heartily returned to reality once again.

New opportunities could only be grasped if we survived.

“Everyone get up. Standing still makes us more tired, so let’s move quickly and get out of here.”

“Right, right, let’s walk again!”

Though their stamina had already reached its limit, people got up from their spots with deliberately bright expressions.

I also whipped my heavily sinking body and moved to the front of the group.

‘Ah, my footing is unsteady.’

We walked for a long time.

It really seemed like we had walked for more than a day, no exaggeration.

Just when everyone was starting to get anxious again because the exit we’d been waiting for was nowhere to be seen, we could see a small beam of light seeping in from far away.

“Light!”

“Mom, I can see light over there!”

The children were the first to react.

The little ones who had been fidgeting from boredom ran forward excitedly. Without exception, they poured out cheering and rushing together.

“Ah, such good stamina.”

“Age really can’t be fooled.”

The adults who had lost track of the children in the confusion finally seemed relieved and exchanged light jokes.

Just as we were hurrying our steps toward the light, we heard the children’s piercing screams.

“…?!”

What had been seeping in wasn’t sunlight but torchlight.

Without time to grasp the situation, the pitch-black cave was suddenly illuminated. Soldiers’ gleaming spear points were ruthlessly swung toward the children.

‘Damn it.’

I reflexively ran forward.

Whether I stepped on something wrong, my ankle twisted with a sickening crack, but I had no time to worry about such things.

I snatched up the frightened, frozen children into my arms.

It was the moment I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for the terrible pain to come.

“Who dares.”

An ear-splitting explosive sound burst forth.

Someone’s wrist that had been gripping a spear rolled helplessly on the ground.

“Point a spear at my rain.”

“D-Duke?!”

“You must not value your life.”

A low, chilling voice grinding with anger. Completely different from what I usually knew…

The Duke, gripping his sword properly, commanded his subordinates.

“Capture them all. As long as they’re breathing.”

“Yes, sir!”

A brief skirmish broke out between the soldiers and knights who realized they were dead either way.

But the conclusion was no different from what was already decided.

In the midst of the unfolding situation, the Territory Residents who belatedly grasped my true identity trembled and prostrated themselves flat on the ground.

They seemed to think their heads would surely roll for having treated the duchess like an ordinary woman.

“My lady.”

“….”

Through the suffocating silence, steady footsteps drew closer.

Now I was saved. It should have been a moment to feel relieved, but I couldn’t bring myself to turn around.

‘What am I afraid of?’

Uncontrollable thoughts tangled in my head.

The moment my eyes met Duke Lombard’s, all the emotions I had suppressed might burst out.

‘What day is it today? Just how long did it take him to arrive…’

It was because I realized how desperately he must have rushed to save me, while on the other hand, I feared I might pour out miserable cries to him who knew nothing, asking why he had acted that way before.

“My lady, are you alright?”

“Thank you for saving us, Your Grace.”

I raised my head, leaving the trembling children behind me.

I tried to straighten my appearance, but it must have looked wretched regardless.

My face and hair were matted with dirt and blood, and wounds were clearly visible through the torn fabric ripped by the sharp cave walls.

I looked more like a beggar than a duchess, so just as I was about to smile awkwardly—

He pulled me into his arms, his eyes filled with pain for some reason.

“Your Grace?”

“If something had happened to you, I would have…”

The moment I was enveloped in Duke Lombard’s warm, solid embrace, relief that I was truly alive washed over me, and at the same time, my vision swayed dizzily.

Fatigue and tension hit me all at once, belatedly.

“My lady, my lady?!”

Like a doll with severed strings, I collapsed in his arms.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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