The Villain’s Aide Has Run Away - Chapter 2.1
The moment his past life returned to him, Leslun realized that he had possessed the body of a background extra in a novel.
It was a sudden awareness. Along with it came the realization of who the man he had served all this time truly was.
If he had remained ignorant, would his heart have been more at ease than this?
No. Not at all. The Count’s orders had always carried something uneasy about them. Even before his memories of his previous life had surfaced, Leslun often found himself hesitating whenever he received his commands.
The man he had served until now was the villain of the story. That revelation struck him like a bolt of lightning from above.
All of his lingering suspicions fit together perfectly. The orders that had left him so unsettled had all stemmed from the Count’s malice, and Leslun had been helping to further his cruel schemes.
Even what had happened today was the same.
“Bring Miroi.”
Miroi was the most precious young woman in the empire.
The king of the neighboring kingdom across the imperial border was her maternal grandfather, and she was the only daughter of the current duke. Lady Miroi was also the woman whom Crown Prince Kailos most strongly considered as his potential fiancée.
Yet the Count desired that exalted young lady. He dared to covet a flower he could never reach. And now the price of that greed was to fall entirely upon Leslun’s shoulders.
‘Kailos.’
The instant he thought of that name, gooseflesh ran across his body. By the fate set before him, Leslun was destined to die at his hands.
Even for the crime of abducting her, Leslun’s fate was already sealed.
I have to escape.
He had to reach the Count’s territory immediately and save his family first. The Count had taken Leslun’s family hostage to ensure his loyalty.
He needed to flee somewhere the Count’s hand could not reach. In the original story, the Count was classified as an especially tenacious villain. The only way to survive was to avoid becoming entangled with him.
As Leslun hastily threw on his cloak to flee, his steps faltered—as though someone had caught hold of his feet.
“But then, what about Lady Miroi?”
It was he who had brought her here.
As a lady of such high birth, her body would be unharmed. He hadn’t used violence, but even so, she must now be shackled and locked in a narrow chamber.
If he left her behind like this, he might be able to move his family before the Count noticed… but…
Leslun turned back.
Before straying from the original story, he had to first make amends for what he himself had done.
***
Lady Miroi sat in silence, making no sound. In the narrow room, with not even a chair, she must have had no choice but to sit on the bare floor.
And yet, she appeared almost serene. Anyone might have thought so, were it not for the heavy shackles on her slender ankles.
Even when the sound of the door opening reached her, Miroi did not turn. Her eyes, fixed on the wall, were empty.
As though she already knew the tragedy that was soon to follow.
But now, because of Leslun, that future might change. Leslun knelt before her.
Red marks had risen where the iron had dug into her skin. Carefully, he slid the key into the lock and turned it, freeing her shackles. Even in that moment, he moved cautiously, unwilling to risk leaving even the slightest impropriety on her bare skin.
“There’s… a secret passage,” he said.
Still, Miroi gave no reaction, her eyes unfocused on empty air. Then, at last, she lowered her gaze slowly toward him.
“I cannot understand. Why are you freeing me?”
Leslun draped his cloak over her shoulders and personally opened the hidden passage.
“Because I’ve realized what’s happening.”
Whether his sincerity would reach her, he could not know. If she refused to move, he could do nothing more.
All he could do was show her the truth of his intentions.
At length, Miroi rose to her feet.
And together, they slipped through the secret passage. Before long, however, they had to part at the exit as he could not accompany her further.
Once he was alone, Leslun fled straight toward the mountains.
***
Bare branches swayed in the wind, letting out eerie cries. Whether it was the season itself weeping in sorrow, or whether the trees were mourning the sight of a man running barefoot through the snow, he could not tell.
“Hah… hah…”
Leslun dragged his body forward, as if he might collapse at any moment, forcing breath into his lungs. The freezing air tore at his throat, but he had no strength to care.
“If I can just cross this mountain… just a little farther.”
It was the shortest path to his family—and also the most treacherous.
When he wiped his frozen lips with the back of his hand, a sharp sting spread across them. The cold air made the pain all the more acute; the button of his sleeve had scraped his mouth.
Still, Leslun climbed. He kept climbing the mountain, higher and higher. Snow fell so thickly that he could hardly open his eyes.
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