(Risking My Life) Proposing to Miss Hazel - Chapter 75

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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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Chapter 75

One, two, three, four… including Grandmother, a total of five people.

“Urgh…”

Since Kkukku just took down one of them, that makes four in total.

Even if fighting them head-on would be difficult, running away seems manageable with these numbers.

A tense silence settled over the forest as darkness descended heavily.

The ruffians slowly approached me while keeping their eyes on the monster. Kkukku positioned itself in front of my feet as if to protect me and stood up on its hind legs.

“Kiiiiik!”

When the monster puffed up its body and made a threatening sound, the men’s feet stepped back once again.

You’d think they would flee when faced with an unknown creature, but they didn’t give up on capturing me and run away.

‘Do they absolutely have to take me?’

Seeing that even Grandmother was part of their group, it seemed they had deliberately lured me outside the village to capture me.

But who, and why.

There should be hardly anyone in Ruden Village or Cromwell Castle who held a grudge against me.

The idea that they were kidnapping me for money made even less sense. There were plenty of other people they could target before me.

‘If kidnapping itself is the purpose…’

Only two people came to mind.

Axel or his fiancée.

Someone who wanted to have me, or wanted me to disappear.

‘Axel’s fiancée didn’t seem like the type to pull something like this…’

But I couldn’t just meekly let myself be kidnapped to find out who was behind it.

I stopped my complicated thoughts and silently moved my feet backward. Just as a ruffian who noticed this was about to throw a snare at me—

Thwack!

“Ugh!”

“…!”

A heavy impact sound rang out, and the man holding the snare screamed and collapsed to the ground.

Thud, the shockwave from his heavy body hitting the ground reached all the way to my toes.

“Wh-what?”

“Hey, why did you fall… gack.”

Next was the man who had been in front of me.

His body stiffened like a marble sculpture, and he fell forward right in front of Kkukku. Crack, the sound of his face being crushed against the rocks was brutally clear.

The third man’s collapse was also instantaneous. He rolled around next to his companions without even having time to scream or run away.

“I-I’m just a powerless old woman…”

Grandmother also tried pleading toward the darkness while wearing her benevolent mask, but it was useless.

“Urgh…”

The forest fell silent with no signs of human presence. I stared intently into the darkness beyond and carefully parted my lips.

“F-Felix?”

I knew that the person who saved me wasn’t Felix.

If it had been Felix, he would have charged over calling my name energetically and defeated the enemies much more noisily.

If it wasn’t Felix, there was only one other person who would come to rescue me.

Glint—

Red eyes sparkled like jewels in the darkness.

The eyes that met mine curved prettily. As if asking to be adored.

I couldn’t not know who the owner of those eyes was.

‘…Baron.’

How did he know to come rescue me?

The eyes that had been twinkling like stars in front of me suddenly disappeared.

Then again, twinkle, the stars shone close enough to tickle my cheek.

“There are more enemies. Stay here with the monster. I’ll be back soon.”

“Thank you, Baron.”

“If you’re grateful, shall we go on a date?”

His fingertip lightly touched the tip of my nose. As if to say the scary situation was over, so I could relax.

And he didn’t miss the opportunity to slip in a date request. Such typical Baron behavior made me chuckle.

“Come back safely.”

“It won’t take long.”

After Baron disappeared like the wind, the monster turned its head slightly to gauge my reaction.

Unlike how it was stretching its short front paws forward and puffing up its body menacingly, its eyes were incredibly gentle.

I reached out and petted the monster’s smooth head. The monster’s eyes curved pleasantly.

“Kkukku, you worked hard too. Thank you.”

“Kuu, kuuuu.”

“How did you know I was in danger?”

“Ku, kuuuu, kkukku, kyu!”

It seemed to be saying something earnestly, but I couldn’t understand it at all.

But since Kkukku was cute, I nodded enthusiastically and played along appropriately.

“Oh my, is that so? You came because you missed me?”

“Kuuu, ku.”

“No?”

“Kyu, kkukku, kkukkukku, kuuuu.”

“Mm-hmm, yes, you have your own story too. Yes.”

Kkukku seemed satisfied with my bumbling responses and pushed its gentle face into my arms.

The way it clung to me asking to be petted was exactly like a dog. Or maybe a dog’s soul was trapped in a monster’s body.

I was finding peace of mind while petting the silk-soft monster when…

Hissss—

A strange presence was felt in the quiet forest. Kkukku must have heard the same sound because it whipped its head around and took a defensive stance again.

Rustling sounds came from the direction where the ruffians had fallen. It was the sound of stones and branches being scraped and broken by something.

‘What? Didn’t Baron take care of them?’

I groped around on the ground, grabbed the thickest branch I could find, and quietly watched the direction the sound was coming from while keeping my body low.

“Uh, uh…”

Soon, low moans that sounded like someone writhing in agony filled the air. It was Grandmother’s voice.

She twisted her body and rolled around on the ground, then began frantically scratching at her skin.

Scratch scratch scratch—

Scrape scrape scrape scrape scrape scrape—

It was strange. The area where Baron hit her should have been her neck or head, so why was she scratching her skin like crazy?

Just then, moonlight poured through the branches, making Grandmother’s bizarre movements even more clearly visible.

“Gah… gugh.”

Grandmother, who had been gasping as if being strangled, suddenly flipped her body over. Her movement was unbelievably agile for someone who had trouble walking.

‘Wh-what…’

Crack, crack—

Along with the sound of joints breaking, Grandmother’s body convulsed. Her movements of twisting her limbs and arching her chest didn’t seem human at all.

“Gasp…”

My hand holding the branch trembled from instinctive fear. Unlike my terrified body, my mind was spinning rapidly to identify this unknown entity.

I felt like I’d be less afraid if I could find even a clue about what that thing was.

Suddenly, the article I saw today flashed through my mind.

[The truth behind the strange rumors of an undying army, possibly a new mutation of dark magic contamination…]

‘A mutation symptom of dark magic contamination… I think I heard rumors about dead people transforming into monsters and attacking humans…’

Even the speculation I barely managed to dredge up wasn’t certain.

I had dismissed rumors about dark magic mutations as unbelievable due to frequent exaggerations, but now the reality before my eyes was even harder to believe.

With a creaking sound, clothes fell off her body as she stood up.

“…!”

The form revealed under the moonlight could no longer be called human.

A strange being dyed ashen gray from head to toe.

The wrinkled face, hunched back, and dejected eyes—the grandmother’s appearance I had seen in the village had completely disappeared.

Eyes that looked like empty darkness stared directly at me.

I instinctively felt it. This was not a being I could handle.

‘Felix, where did you go. Why aren’t you by my side. Felix….’

As an uncontrollable fear washed over me, I thought of Felix.

No, I could only think of Felix.

My savior who always rescued me from danger, my personal knight, my only protector.

“Kkeuk…, kkeuk. Kkeueuk…, kkeik.”

The moment the Ashen Monster made strange crying sounds and rushed toward me, Kkukku threw his body to protect me.

Crack!

“…!”

He bravely bit the monster’s neck, but it wasn’t enough. The neck didn’t seem to be a vital spot.

The Ashen Monster approached me with the monster still hanging from its neck. I swallowed my scream and stumbled backward on trembling legs.

Swoosh!

The monster’s massive hand stretched high into the sky and fell toward my head like a mace. Unable to escape, I tried to block it with a tree branch when—.

“Hazel!! Get down!!”

A man appeared like he was cutting through the wind, pushed me aside, and leaped between me and the monster.

Reddish-brown hair swayed violently.

‘…Axel?’

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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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