Chapter 16
Chapter 16
What the hell was in there, apart from those awful crocodile-like teeth? Maybe corpses?
“Augh…”
I got goosebumps all over my back. I moved back hurriedly, biting my tongue to avoid screaming. It made a strange sound, flapping its weird arm, which seemed to have claws on the wing-like parts.
“Po, po…”
“S-Stay away…”
“Po, po, po, po…”
….it should have felt threatening, but somehow it sounded funny.
Its flapping arms also didn’t look good on it.
“Over there…”
“Po, po.”
“Come on…”
“Po, po, po.”
Despite my desperate efforts, the mysterious creature waddled up to me, making a mysterious noise.
The view in its wide-open mouth was horrible, so I just closed my eyes, when my body got thrown up into the air again.
There was a strange cry from afar.
It sounded like someone was wailing sadly. Maybe it was just the sound of my heart.
Wasn’t it too futile for a girl to die like this?! I was trying not to get killed by my husband, but I don’t want
to get killed by a Popo monster instead! The Popo monster picked me up with its short arms, and waddled around to look for a place when there was no one. I was dragged behind to a nearby rock. I wanted to scream, but I felt that as soon as I screamed, it was going to bite my head off in one bite.
In addition, a sudden ominous chill made me feel suffocated. The sound of hooves approaching.
I was trying to scream, but I felt uncomfortable somehow.
I had a gut feeling that I shouldn’t show any sign of being here, instinctively.
At a glance, the Popo monster was holding its breath, holding me tightly in its arms.
At last the one approaching us reached a point where it could be seen.
“Wuuu!”
If it wasn’t for the moonlight, I’d just think it was just a knight. Sitting on a pale blue horse, it certainly looked like a knight. Just in a decapitated state.
What looked like a severed head was stuck to its side.
Was this what Durahan was about?
(T/N: Durahan/Dullahan: a headless rider, on horse, who carries his own head held high in his hand. )
It was even more terrifying in reality than I had imagined. Durahan stopped his horse for a moment and stood still, but only when Popo and I were about to die from suffocating, did he slowly turn his head.
A cold sweat ran down my cheek.
“Whoo… “
“Po.”
My feet touched the ground. Popo Monster laid me down gently and waddled. I was watching it from afar, and then I suddenly noticed the debris scattered at the spot where I was lying down. The thick python-like vines were pieces of debris.
My ankle throbbed.
I raised my hand and wiped off the sweat dripping down my chin, but when I looked at my palm, it was blood, not sweat.
“Po, po.”
Popo, who picked up a giant leaf, came back to me. Then, it stuck the leaf to my forehead. There was a moment of silence.
“Hey…”
“Po.”
“By any chance, did you save me?”
“Po.”
It shook its giant body back and forth. Like a nod.
“Can you understand me?”
“Po.”
“Do you understand people?”
This time, it shook its body from side to side.
Do you mean you understand me because I’m not human?
“You know… can you help me one more time? I-I have to go back home. But I don’t know the way out of here.”
I didn’t know how deep I was dragged into the forest. Moreover, seeing the moon rise, it seems that I had been unconscious for quite a while.
I was bleeding, and if I wandered alone like this, I would be eaten by a mountain animal, let alone a monster. Popo Monster seemed to stare at me for a moment, but soon its ears drooped and it shook its body back and forth.
Hey, why do you look so down all of a sudden? What are you doing with all that debris in your mouth?
“Wait…”
Popo picked me up again. This time, it lifted me higher than before and put me up to its head. It seemed like I was meant to get on, so I gently grabbed its long ears while sitting. They were surprisingly soft.
Puuuf!
My body swerved so hard, that I put strength to my hands holding its ears. Popo began to run at an extremely fast speed- who knows whether it was flying or running.
It was incredibly fast even with a huge body. The wind hit my face, making me close my eyes tightly.
I wondered how far it had run.
Finally, Popo stopped running and tapped my foot. As I lowered my legs carefully, its slippery arm supported my feet and helped me lower them.
“Po.”
It was noisy everywhere. Green lights were circling from not too far away. So they were searching for me.
“Well, thank you.”
“Po.”
This time, Popo flapped its arms as if it was greeting, then turned back and disappeared into the dark forest.
I limped through the bushes to see the light.
“……woa!”
“Ahh!”
As soon as I pushed past the bushes, I was also taken aback to see some of them scream.
“M-M-My Lady?!
“Oh, Andymion?”
“W-We found her! She’s safe! We found her! My Lady, are you alright?” An exhausted Andymion asked, he seemed to have been looking for me. Content © NôvelDrama.Org.
As the whole area rejoiced, the paladins ran one by one. It was a situation where I should be relieved, but nervousness overtook me, and my heart began to beat violently with anxiety.
“Oh my god…”
“Lady Rudbeckia is safe!”
“I’m so glad you’re alright. Are you hurt anywhere? It’s… it’s…”
Andymion, who was bending over and looking at me, reached out carefully and took off the giant leaf on my forehead. It’s amazing that it didn’t fall off. The blood-soaked leaf fluttered away.
“Andy, get out of the way. My Lady, come this way.” Sir Ivan, who came through the other paladins, extended an arm to me. He had a scary look I had never seen before.
It was then–
“My wife is too impatient to stay out of trouble for a day.” I flinched as I grabbed Sir Ivan’s arm at the familiar sound.
Andymion, who was looking at him with a blank look, quietly opened his mouth, “Sir, your wife…”
“Shut up.”
Andymion shut his mouth immediately and gave me a pitiful look. It was understandable that Izek’s appearance now was unparalleled. His blood-red eyes burning like the flames of hell seemed to be on
par with the Durahan I saw a while ago.
“I think I’ve already told you that you don’t need to draw attention this way.”
“I’m sorry to bother you. But I couldn’t help it… “
“You can’t help it?” The corners of his mouth pulled up into a smirk. Cold, cold ridicule was apparent.
Then what am I supposed to do in that situation, you b*stard? Don’t tell me you thought I was being dragged to the end of the world on purpose?
Sir Ivan stepped in just as I was trying to explain the situation somehow.
“Calm down for now. You should listen to her side.”
Huh? Listen to me? Why would he?
“There’s nothing to listen to.”
“Just calm down and… “
“I’ll beat you up if you say something else.” The one who threw it like a chewer came straight up with a terrifying stranglehold.
“Get out of the way.”
“Hey, Iz… “
“Get out.”
Sir Ivan, who was half supporting me, fell.
“You f*cking jerk!” rang loudly.
Regardless of that, Izek quickly took me on one shoulder and moved on.
My body trembled.
Husband, what’s wrong with you this time?
I knew I’d made a mistake. I decided to keep my mouth shut because he might really throw me away this time. Izek pushed me up on a horse that had been parked outside the forest and rode on. My injured ankle throbbed as the horse galloped, but I tried to bite my lip and hold it in.
“Brother?”
The mansion was lit up all over. Ellenia, who was sitting on the sofa, immediately rose as we entered the hall. Unlike her usual self, her face looked agitated. Freya, too, was with her.
Tears glistened on her face as she stood up holding a soaked handkerchief, “Oh, my lady, you’re safe! I’m so relieved. I don’t know how much…”
“Ruby, what happened? Why did you get a wound?”
I was hesitating to open my mouth when my husband interrupted me.
“Call Sergei. You come here.”
“But brother…”
“Don’t follow me.”
He snapped in such a vicious tone that Ellenia stayed silent.
The expression on the maid’s face as she pampered the two girls was horrifying. I didn’t know what to do at the sight of her accusing me mentally.
I tried not to limp and followed my husband.
Huu, I don’t want to follow you like this, you’re too scary.
The place he led me to was something that resembled a study.