Evade The Hero and Flee! 376

Chapter 376

Side Story – Memories of an Imperial Princess (92)

#119 Their Circumstances: The Circumstances of a Villain

On a dark night, I, in my usual attire, began walking without making footsteps.

Because I learned it from the organization, ordinary people wouldn’t be able to hear it.

Even those professionally trained would find it difficult.

In these matters, detecting magical power itself is more common than sound.

“Ah, General Ast?”

The soldiers who discovered me immediately bowed their heads in greeting.

“Lord Ast will do.”

Of course, being in casual clothes, I’m not perfectly blended with the darkness.

It’s impossible to avoid the patrolling soldiers.

No, it would be possible with effort, but it’s risky and time-consuming.

“Good work.”

“Not at all.”

I pat their shoulders, tell them to work hard, and naturally pass by.

They can’t meet my eyes and keep their heads bowed.

That’s right.

What I chose was the most straightforward approach of all straightforward approaches.

It was to go out openly.

“Good work.”

“We’ll do our best until the end.”

“There might still be remnants of the Merdea Kingdom.”

“You’re doing well.”

I moved step by step towards the outskirts of the unit, giving encouragement and warnings to the soldiers I met.

“Well, now is where it begins.”

Since I was about to leave this place, it wasn’t strange for a commander-level figure to be walking around.

While I tried to avoid it as much as possible, I wasn’t the only commander walking around.

“Hah……”

Now it begins.

From now on is important.

This is the Merdea Kingdom, not the Karan Empire.

If I escape now, even if I’m a princess, it will be difficult for them to find me.

I removed all hidden weapons to make my body as light as possible.

The only thing I’m carrying is one secret weapon that’s light but can definitely subdue enemies.

“Bat, I’m counting on you.”

I grab the bat hidden at my waist slightly, take a deep breath, and then stand up.

“Here I go.”

I whisper quietly enough that only I can hear and walk straight ahead.

I can see a fairly well-made stockade.

But to an organization member who’s an expert at this kind of thing, it’s nothing!

I can easily jump over it with just two kicks!

“General Ast?”

However… I was caught by a guard who appeared from somewhere.

Damn! Should I cover their mouth and strike them with the bat first?

“Is something wrong?”

When I turned my head, I could see four soldiers.

It’s impossible.

The bat is good and all, but the problem is that I can’t quietly deal with enemies.

The moment they’re hit, they’ll yell loudly, so the only way to prevent that is to cover their mouths and deal with them quietly.

One or two might be manageable, but it would be difficult to quietly handle four soldiers.

I release my hand from the bat and bring it to my mouth.

“Shh!”

So I quickly used my prepared response.

“I’m on a secret mission.”

“Ah, there was still another mission?”

There shouldn’t be any soldier who doesn’t know about how I secretly contacted Duke Raisha and made him betray the Merdea Kingdom.

The suddenly born Raisha Kingdom.

And to explain why we suddenly signed a non-aggression treaty with that kingdom, they had to know that I had conducted secret negotiations.

“Yes. You know we’re heading to the Raiko Kingdom, right?”

“Y-yes.”

The soldiers also responded in a quiet voice to my very quiet voice.

One even checked if anyone else was listening nearby.

“So don’t tell anyone that you saw me. Understood?”

“Understood.”

“This is such an important operation that even Sir Ria doesn’t know about it.”

“We won’t tell anyone except Her Highness.”

“Excellent.”

I smiled with satisfaction and jumped over the stockade again with light movements.

After that, there were small stockades, traps, and guard posts, but I was able to escape without being detected.

And after some time had passed…

“This should be far enough.”

I take off my outer clothes and throw them away.

What’s underneath is a black outfit like the criminal look from a comic featuring some glasses-wearing assassin!

It was the evil organization’s exclusive outfit that fits tightly to the body and can blend into darkness.

“It’s a bit cold but……”

A little cold is better than being caught by the Empire.

“Don’t let your guard down until the end. The opponent is the Empire. The opponent is the Empire.”

Mages can fly in the sky, and the imperial soldiers could be hiding in the darkness.

The goal is to escape safely without being detected by them!

Biting my lips, I stayed sharp and began my great escape, using all my abilities to avoid the Princess’s reach.

#120 Their Circumstances: ???’s Circumstances

Looking at the man disappearing into the darkness, the handsome man nodded with a satisfied expression.

“Good, good! Since there’s no magical power, they won’t be able to find him!”

Though he was a very beautifully featured man, everyone would hold their breath the moment they saw his eyes.

This was because his pupils were narrowly and lengthily split, gleaming with an ominous light.

“It’s really an amazing ability. Looking from afar, it’s impossible to find.”

Contrary to his words, the man showed no signs of pursuing the escapee.

No, rather, he seemed to want the other party to escape.

“Ah ah, can’t see him. Can’t even detect magical power. How could this be! To think even I, Maref Caesar’s abilities can’t track him!”

He clutched his heart as if it was too painful.

But his lips contained obvious joy that anyone could see.

And soon, after completely losing sight of the escaping target, he raised both arms and blurted out his honest feelings.

“Finally, I don’t have to be with that crazy bastard anymore!”

Khahahahaha!

Though he laughed so loudly that the forest shook, since he had already perfectly cast magic to block sound, there was no one there who could hear his laughter.

***

Princess POV

“Your Highness, are you awake?”

The voice I heard right after waking up in the morning was always the same.

“You’re here?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

I wash my face briefly with the prepared water and gather my thoughts.

Shortly after, the maids who followed me here help me dress and apply simple makeup.

“I always think this, but it’s bothersome.”

Though I know it’s a formal procedure, it’s quietly annoying.

To think we have to do this even on the battlefield.

“It can’t be helped, can it?”

At my words, Ria also gave a bitter smile as she sent back the maids who had completed their duties.

“But Your Highness…”

Ria, who had been glancing at me, looked at me with determined eyes.

“What is it?”

“That… About what you said to Lord Ast yesterday…”

“Which part?”

“That… Marriage…”

“So it’s bothering you after all?”

“While it does concern me, it’s absolutely not what Your Highness thinks. I absolutely do not have feelings for Lord Ast, nor were any of the past rumors true.”

She spoke in a voice so cold that I felt it was chilling, seemingly wanting to prove that it was absolutely not true.

“I understand what you want to say.”

“It’s true!”

She spoke as if she was about to burst into tears, apparently really not wanting to be misunderstood.

“It was purely innocent curiosity, Your Highness. Why did you suddenly say such things? Could it be that Lord Ast…”

Unable to finish her sentence, her face turned red, apparently thinking that I liked Ast.

“Ah, it’s because of this.”

I got up from my seat and approached where several papers were stacked.

Then I picked out a few pieces of unnecessarily high-quality paper from the stack and handed them to Ria.

“This couldn’t be…”

When I handed over the letters, Ria opened them with an expression as if it were a sign of the world’s end.

And…

“Kyaaaaaah!”

She screamed with an extremely pained expression and collapsed onto the floor.

“Ah, Lord Ast… Lord Ast!”

“Be careful not to tear those, Ria.”

Her hands were trembling so dangerously that they might tear the papers at any moment.

“To receive so many love letters!”

“Well, they’re all probably aimed at political marriages.”

The contents of the letters were similar.

They asked if he would meet their daughters when the war ends and time permits.

Some were sent by heads of noble houses, some directly by their daughters, but the conclusion was just one thing.

“Since he hasn’t established his house yet, they think they can devour it.”

Rumors spread quickly within the imperial court.

Even before Ast knew he would become a Count.

The numerous houses in the imperial court already knew that Ast would receive the rank of Count, and they began to covet it.

Nobles below the rank of Count would send their daughters to gradually devour the power of the new Count’s house, and nobles of Count rank and above would send their relatively less capable daughters to have him live in their house as a son-in-law.

“They’re all thinking foolishly.”

“Yes, it’s foolish.”

But this is Ast we’re talking about.

That one statement was enough to resolve everything.

There’s no guarantee that even if they marry off their daughters to Ast, it won’t end up like the Kingdom of Merdea.

“So I decided to sacrifice myself to save the empire’s nobles.”

It was something I realized the moment I saw the letters.

Ah, if we’re not careful, this could cause a huge incident within the empire.

Though it’s troublesome, engagement to me would be the best solution to prevent that.

“If marriage to a member of the imperial family is planned… They won’t be able to interfere carelessly.”

Although noble houses of even higher rank might step forward, it wouldn’t be easy.

“So that’s what it was…”

“Yes, that’s what it was.”

“I thought Your Highness truly liked Lord Ast…”

“No way, that’s impossible.”

To have such feelings for Ast.

I admit I’m eccentric, but that would be beyond eccentric.

“I don’t want to be on the same level as that flower garden elf.”

I blurted out, but suddenly realized something strange.

“Where’s Ast?”

Ast is late.

While Ria meets me first as my personal guard living closest to me, Ast is also my personal guard.

He should have arrived by now…

“Could he have run away?”

“Ah, that could be possible.”

“Then we’d really have to arrest him under military law.”

I kept blurting out such things.

Of course, I could say these things because I didn’t really mean them.

“…”

“…”

But as time passed, Ria and I had to keep quiet.

Could it be… Really…?

“Ria, let’s go.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

I immediately got up and went to Ast’s tent.

He must be oversleeping.

No one in their right mind would oversleep, but Ast is crazy enough to do it.

He might become the first person in the Karan Empire’s history to be late as an Imperial Princess’s personal attendant because of oversleeping.

“Ah…”

But when I entered Ast’s tent without knocking, it was completely empty.

Thinking we might have missed each other, I returned to my tent, but Ast was nowhere to be seen.

“Surely not… It can’t be?”

An unpleasant feeling began to squeeze my heart.

“Ria.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Find him, even if you have to mobilize all the soldiers.”

“Ah, understood.”

A cold statement came out without me realizing it.

But it couldn’t be helped.

If he really ran away…!

“Am I that detestable?”

A promised position, something others want but cannot obtain.

That was the position of an Imperial Count and marriage to a member of the imperial family.

To kick away these two things that everyone in the empire desires means that something is extremely displeasing.

And that something could very likely be me.

“Your Highness! He’s nowhere to be found!”

“Ugh!”

I bit my lip hard.

My imagination had become reality. My pride was hurt, and I even felt miserable.

“Who saw it?”

“Well……”

Ria avoided my gaze slightly and began hesitantly explaining that several soldiers had seen Ast last night.

“When checking the time, there’s some discrepancy, but it’s confirmed he gradually moved from the inside to the outside.”

“That means……”

“Yes. It seems he really ran away.”

“Hah……”

“Your, Your Highness!”

For a moment, my body staggered from the mental shock.

To think it’s true… To think it’s really true……

“Ria.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Deploy the mages to search everywhere thoroughly. Request support from the imperial family and get help from those in charge of intelligence. And… Make sure to capture Ast.”

“Y-yes, understood.”

My head went cold.

It got so cold that snow began to fall.

White.

But there was one thing I could understand in that white space.

Anger.

I was in a very angry state right now.

I wanted to catch Ast right now and ask him why he ran away.

“……”

But as time passed, I only began hearing that it would be difficult to find Ast.

The moment I heard those words, my heart began to ache.

I’m angry. So angry that even my heart hurts.

“Is that not it?”

After Ast disappeared, even though the date to depart for the Kingdom of Raiko had come, I kept staying put.

Just in case. Because if I wait like this, Ast might return or be caught.

I kept waiting and waiting in my tent.

“Is that it?”

Then suddenly, one hypothesis began to occur to me.

It’s really nonsensical… But since it’s related to Ast.

“Is it quite possible?”

Without realizing it, I was tilting my head and pondering.

Really, really.

“Was it just that I liked Ast?”

The moment I uttered those words, my aching heart felt at ease.

“Am I crazy?”

And I could feel my heart starting to beat rapidly.

“Am I really crazy?”

Laughter bursts out involuntarily.

To like him! For me to like Ast!

“Pft… Puhahahahaha!”

I laughed so heartily that tears flowed.

Ria came running at the sound, asking what was wrong, but I couldn’t stop laughing.

“Have you found Ast?”

“Ah, not yet, Your Highness.”

“Is that so?”

As the laughter slowly began to stop, I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand and smiled brightly at Ria.

“Ria.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“I’m taking back what I said before. About when I told Ast to marry me before.”

“Ah, are you canceling the marriage talk with Lord Ast?”

“No… About me not liking Ast. I think that was a lie.”

“Your High…ness?”

“I think I was uncharacteristically jealous about others touching what’s mine. Yes, it was jealousy. And of all people, me!”

The laughter that had stopped was about to burst out again.

But there was something I had to do before that.

“Ria.”

“Yes, yes.”

Although Ria seemed very confused, it couldn’t be helped.

If it had been me a few days ago, I would have made such an expression hearing someone say they liked Ast.

“I really want to catch Ast.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“But… There are various troublesome matters, right?”

The war and all sorts of problems still remain.

“That’s right, Your Highness.”

“So let’s quickly end the war first.”

Imagining Ast’s very mischievously smiling face in my mind, I showed the best smile I could make.

“So we can catch Ast.”

The End

[Author’s Note]

Hello? I’m Phantom Of The Moonlit Night, the author of ‘Evade the Hero and Flee.’

Finally, the serialization that lasted about 1 year and 4 months has ended.

Although I feel regretful, I thought it was just right to end it here, so I reached this conclusion.

Honestly, I thought it would be about 300 episodes including side stories, but I didn’t expect it to exceed by almost 100 episodes.

By the time you read this, I’ll probably be rolling around in mobilization training or making active-duty soldiers suffer.

Though I want to check until the end, I feel very regretful that I can only check the last comments around Friday afternoon due to the nation’s call (not military service. Reserve forces!).

It was truly a work with many words and troubles, and personally, it was a work where I could feel many inadequacies, but I was able to run until the end thanks to the readers who stayed with me.

Also, expressing gratitude to Director Kwon, Chief Kim from the publishing company who helped a lot, and the editing department people who suffered from my poor sentence skills and typos.

And expressing gratitude to Sipsam nim, who split at volumes 1 and 2 and will continue to split, in charge of illustrations for the printed volumes.

Ah, of course, a moment of silence along with gratitude to the proofreading team who will suffer with Sipsam nim every time a printed volume comes out.

For now, I plan to rest a bit and study various things until my next work comes out.

You can check what I’m doing with my life on my blog if you’re curious.

For now, my goal is to upload several individual side stories for characters whenever the printed volumes come out (probably from volume 3).

Character backstories that were omitted from the story progression + stories after the conclusion.

I’ll be able to tell you exactly after consulting with the publishing company, but I’ll at least post them on my blog.

The purpose of posting this is… that’s right.

To prevent the printed volumes from not selling because you forget about us after the conclusion!

It’s the author, a slave to capitalism, trying to work!

So please look forward to the upcoming printed volumes!

Volume 2 is also expected to come out before this year ends! (Expected!)

Those who participated in the Volume 1 acrylic event will know, but for Volume 2, I prepared events by squeezing out my blood, sweat, tears, and pocket money, so please buy Volume 2 a lot too.

Finally, showing the ultimate weapon of the Part 2 event that I mentioned at the main story’s conclusion, I’ll see you with my next work.