"Lord Reynard, we've got a problem!"
Pulling the horses' reins, old Henry stopped the carriage abruptly. The horses reared their muscular bodies backward while whinnying, startled by the sudden change.
"Whoa! Whoa!" Old Henry yelled, patting the reins. His hands pulled the reins, guiding the horses back to the ground with effort, his breathing heavy. He looked a few times at the body in the middle of the road, then glanced at the carriage interior over his shoulder, unsure of what to do.
At that moment.
Reynard, who had been relaxing inside the carriage after keeping Eleanor company, frowned as he sensed the commotion outside.
He clearly heard the sounds of the horses and old Henry's shouts.
'What happened?'
Reynard didn't believe old Henry would bother him or stop for a small reason. And that was precisely why he was frowning. If the old man stopped the carriage without warning, it meant something had truly happened.
Could they be ambushed by bandits?
The lands were dangerous, and even if they were under the kingdom's control, they still couldn't be considered safe for travel, especially when they were so far from the capital. It wasn't uncommon to hear news that some noble had been attacked in the middle of a trip between territories.
'And just when I thought no problems would arise...' His gaze fell again, finding the figure that was resting moments ago. Eleanor was sprawled against his chest, her expression, previously lazy, now replaced by a confused and anxious look.
Noticing her body tense against his, Reynard gently patted her back.
"I need to go out and see what happened," he whispered.
Eleanor felt her body soften with the pat and extended a finger, tracing it along his jawline. "Mmhm... alright." Having no choice, she reluctantly stood up. Adjusting her dress and ensuring everything was in its proper place, she looked at him, hesitating, yet still asked: "Is it really safe to go out?"
The carriage had stopped abruptly, and the shout she had heard outside sparked her imagination. She feared the worst might happen to them if they left now.
Looking at her reaction, Reynard chuckled. "If something happens, we won't be safe inside this carriage. Just follow me, and we'll figure out what happened."
Eleanor hesitated upon hearing this, but his logic seemed to make sense. In the end, she nodded her head. Reynard's demeanor had made her a little calmer and more confident, so the two didn't take long and stepped down from the carriage.
When their feet touched the ground outside, the cool breeze blew against their faces. The lingering caution, which existed before the door was opened, vanished when their eyes caught the scene outside.
There was only old Henry.
'He's unharmed... Good.'
Reynard nodded internally upon seeing this. "What is the problem?" Despite asking, his eyes were still scanning the surroundings, searching for any sign of trouble, only to find nothing abnormal.
Or almost nothing.
'What is that...'
Reynard narrowed his eyes, trying to focus on the scene ahead.
That's when he realized.
There was a body in the road.
'What the hell.' Reynard cursed internally, feeling a headache coming on.
"Lord Reynard, look..." Old Henry didn't wait for Reynard, pointing a few meters ahead of the carriage as if fearing Reynard wasn't seeing what he was seeing.
"Can the horses only go in a straight line?" Reynard shook his head, showing he understood, his eyes still fixed on the figure.
Hearing his question, old Henry was confused and didn't know exactly how to answer that question.
After a few seconds, he still spoke.
"N-no...?" Despite this, his tone was uncertain.
"Then go around it."
Saying this, Reynard turned his back on the scene. "Let's go back inside." With those words, he walked back to the carriage, leaving the old man with a stunned look behind him.
"..."
He was just leaving like that?
Old Henry had expected some resolution. Instead, Reynard was gone as quickly as he came, departing with half a dozen words. This left him dismayed and unsure exactly what to do.
Should he really go around the body?
Was it really okay to do that?
Eleanor, who had been silent all this time, cast a look at the figure on the road, thinking about something. She felt relief that they weren't bandits and weren't in real danger. However, she also felt something else.
The female silhouette was impossible to mistake, and that made her hesitate. A woman in the middle of the road could be dangerous, so a part of her was worried.
They couldn't just leave, could they? What if she needed help? What if she was still alive?
But seeing Reynard's back walking away, she gently clenched her fists, nodding to old Henry in farewell and quickly following him back inside the carriage.
***
Inside.
Reynard sat next to the window, waiting for the carriage to start moving again.
He didn't seem worried at all about whatever was happening outside, much less the figure on the road. His fingers were on the edge of the window, tapping with a gentle rhythm.
He seemed distracted.
Eleanor sat beside him, her hands on her lap. Her fingers were pressed together, and she seemed to be thinking about something as she toyed with them.
Occasionally, she glanced at Reynard, finding him with an inscrutable expression. She didn't know what was going through his head, and that made her uncomfortable.
There were things she wanted to say now, yet she didn't know if it would be appropriate. She wanted to at least try. If they left and abandoned the woman on the road, Eleanor would blame herself for not having tried to help her.
"Just speak."
A low, familiar voice echoed, making Eleanor hold her breath.
This caught her slightly off guard.
Reynard didn't even look sideways when he spoke.
Eleanor stared at his face for a few seconds, still in silence. Pressing her palms together, her fingertips turned white, and as if that small action gave her courage, she whispered: "Aren't we going to help?"
A simple question.
Hearing this, Reynard turned his face to look at her, but didn't answer immediately.
When their eyes met, Eleanor swallowed hard. The air inside the carriage seemed to grow heavier for a moment, making breathing difficult. Silence took over the environment, and she had the impression she could hear her own heart beating.
Her heart felt like it was going to leap out of her chest.
The urge to lower her head and avoid those dark eyes arose. Yet, surprisingly, Eleanor kept her head held high, waiting for his answer. Her fidgeting fingers betrayed her true emotional state.
'Help?'
Internally, Reynard was intrigued.
He remembered everything she went through until she reached his castle.
A widow, living on the street with her daughter and depending on other people until no one else was willing to help her. Deep down, he expected that she would have learned the lesson of caring only for herself and looking after her own safety after those experiences.
It wasn't that he believed suffering should teach selfishness. It was just a matter of survival and priorities. Now that she had finally achieved some stability, Reynard thought she would fear breaking it.
But still, Eleanor insisted on helping at that moment.
And the culprit for this could, ironically, be Reynard. After all, he was responsible for the chain of good deeds that saved Eleanor and brought her off the streets.
Could this have made her think he would be kind once more?
Maybe he was overthinking things.
Perhaps this was just her gentle personality manifesting.
Still, it surprised him a little.
Unfortunately for her...
"We are not helping." He couldn't afford to.
Eleanor might have a naturally kind nature, but that wouldn't work for him.
Not in his current situation.
Finding a body in the middle of the road was like stepping into a puddle of water and discovering it was as deep as a well. And it could always get deeper. The problem was that he, Reynard, didn't know how to swim.
The simple fact that a body existed in this situation meant that the person themselves was powerless against the event that put them in this state.
And he was powerless against many things now, so he didn't want to casually arrange new troubles he couldn't handle or escape. The most logical action he could think of was to bypass the road and pretend he hadn't seen anything.
Besides, it wasn't as if the kingdom had rigid laws that obligated him to help people fallen in the middle of forest roads.
At least, he didn't recall any so specific.
And of course, he wasn't oblivious to the fact that the figure was a woman, but that meant nothing to him.
If it wasn't him helping, someone else would pass by this road sometime and find the body. At that moment, it wouldn't be too late to rescue her. And, if no one appeared, the figure could only blame her own luck.
"But..."
Eleanor seemed to disagree with this.
Her expression was clearly conflicted. It was as if something was caught in her throat. Her lips grew redder as she bit them in an attempt to suppress her feelings, her fidgeting hands pausing their movements.
She was admitting defeat.
Eleanor knew her place.
Watching her reaction, Reynard sighed, nodding internally.
He didn't want to seem like the villain here, but he couldn't do anything, or he would bring more trouble upon them.
This was also a way to protect her and Lydia.
***
Meanwhile, in the middle of the road.
The figure, who was like a soft ragdoll, had her eyes narrowed. The sun was mercilessly punishing her eyes.
Sylvia wanted to move.
She wanted to stand up and leave as quickly as possible, but she couldn't.
Her body didn't respond to any command from her brain.
The ability she had used to escape Seraphina had destroyed her magic receptors, leaving her completely vulnerable at that moment. A burning sensation had taken over her entire body, running from the tips of her toes to the strands of hair on her head.
It was unbearable.
The heat was like lava, expanding her receptors and constantly burning them.
This was clearly the sign that a large amount of mana had been forcibly used by her body. Her body had demanded so much that now the price was being collected with interest.
If she had maintained that state for longer, her receptors would have been torn like sheets of paper, unable to withstand the amount of mana passing through them.
If that really happened, that would be her end.
Sylvia would never be able to use magic again.
This was one of the reasons why mana burning was considered a dangerous ability for other magic users. They avoided doing it at all costs because it might not be reversible.
Unless they were in a grave situation or near death, it wouldn't be worth boosting their abilities and strength in that manner.
Despite this, Sylvia had no regrets. It was a necessary action to escape Seraphina. She only feared it wouldn't be enough, dying in vain or being caught by her.
Fortunately, it seemed Seraphina wasn't around, which meant it had worked out.
'So I managed to escape with my life...' She managed a smile of relief amidst the pain. Even though she had lost her precious sword and damaged her magic receptors, she managed to keep the most important thing.
She didn't want to die.
Her bold facade moments ago was, in the end, just a facade. As long as someone was breathing, they wouldn't consciously wish for death.
Unless the person was insane.
But cases like that were rare, even within the cult.
Now, she would need a few days to recover from the damage. Burning her mana and using the ability to flee Seraphina had taken a very high toll on her body, which had traveled underground using her ability [Earth, Devour].
This ability had that name for a reason. It was an advanced ability that allowed the user to move underground from one point to another.
The trip caused a bad sensation that left her nauseous. But the main problem with this ability wasn't that; it was that she couldn't control the point, the direction, much less the distance.
If she was lucky, a little of her mana would be sucked out, and she would reappear a few meters away. If she was unlucky, however, her body would be drained of all mana, and she would reappear days away from the original location, in a wretched state.
Sylvia wasn't worried about any of that at the moment. Her only goal was to escape Seraphina, and for that, she didn't hesitate to burn her mana and use the ability to its maximum potential.
And it had worked, but now she was in this state.
'Ah... How long will I be here?'
Sylvia sighed internally, looking at the sky with an exasperated expression.
The sun was really strong today.
Suddenly, her ears trembled softly, picking up a distant sound.
That familiar noise...
'That...' She couldn't be mistaken.
It was the sound of horses! Sylvia was sure of it!
'Is someone passing by this road?'
Unable to turn her head to look in the direction of the noise, Sylvia could only lie there, motionless on the ground. She felt vulnerable, but a small feeling of hope was stirring in her chest.
If she could get help to get out of this situation, then her mission would be considered perfect.
So Sylvia waited patiently with her eyes closed to avoid the sun. Sweat was already dripping down her forehead, making strands of her hair stick to her brow.
But that was nothing compared to what she had already faced, so she continued waiting patiently.
'Eh?'
The strange thing was that, even after a few minutes, the sound she had heard wasn't getting louder, as if it had stopped approaching.
What happened?
Sylvia frowned.