Chapter 70
Riv recalled the stories of Ezul that Lionel had told her. And the figure of Lionel standing there in her dreams.
“What’s the situation?”
Lionel asked the servant who brought the letter.
“A messenger from Ezul has gone to the palace, and there seems to be no movement from the palace yet.”
The two men sighed. Sophia intervened.
“His Majesty will take care of the Ezul Plains, so there’s no need for the two of you to worry, right? How long has it been since you left the Royal Guard? Are they ordering the two of you to join the war?”
André shook his head.
“Did you forget that Lionel had a great victory over Malta five years ago? After that, there were no raids for five years. The King has been afraid of sending Lionel to Ezul ever since.”
The military was incompetent. However, the King did not want to lose Ezul, the land of abundance.
Lionel was hated by the king for breaking up with Princess Marianne.
Meanwhile, the King went around saying that he had given some of the funds from the northern armaments to his lovers.
Lionel stared intently at Riv. His expression turned colder than before.
“Riv, come to your senses.”
“Where are you going?”
Lionel answered Sophia’s question.
“We have to get out of here at once.”
Sophia and André looked at each other in apprehension.
“Oh, Lionel, aren’t you fearing the worst? That the Royal Family will catch Riv and threaten her, something like that?”
André knew that Marianne was obsessed with Riv, but did not know that the Queen and Marianne had tried to kill Riv several times.
“Why the Royal Family? Riv?”
The Royal Family could make threats. It was easy for them to take someone hostage and use them as a threat.
Lionel pulled Riv to her feet.
“There is no time for hesitation.”
Just as Lionel was about to lead Riv to their room, Riv grabbed the pendant necklace that was in her pocket.
In response to the power of the ring, her eyes turned red.
In an instant, she saw a glimpse of the future.
From late autumn to the beginning of winter, Lionel was on the Ezul Plains.
After that, everything was dark.
“Riv?”
Lionel thought Riv’s behavior was strange and called her name.
Riv whispered.
“Lionel, I think you’re right. The Royal Family is coming to get me.”
“What?”
“The Royal Family is moving.”
Riv was confident. Lionel felt dubious.
“Lionel, there is something I was hiding from you. I have strange powers.”
“Riv?”
“It’s okay if you don’t believe me. But it’s dangerous! Please! Listen to me!”
Riv was desperate.
Lionel nodded his head, hardening his expression.
“Then you must go back at once.”
Lionel led Riv back to their room.
He immediately called his escorts Michelle and Aiden.
“We should leave this place right now.”
“What?”
“I’ll tell you why later.”
“Is it because of the Royal Family?”
After Lionel’s brief affirmation, Michelle disappeared to prepare.
Riv couldn’t figure out what Lionel was thinking, but she could tell that this wasn’t surprising to him.
“Lionel…”
“When the King has an opponent, he takes the wife first and holds her hostage. If his opponent doesn’t have a wife, he takes the children.”
“You mean I might be targeted?”
“It will be difficult if you are taken to the palace because I don’t know what Marianne or the Queen will do to you. They would want to keep you.”
“Does that mean I’m the only one going somewhere?”
Riv remembered Lionel standing alone on the plains in the coming autumn.
She wasn’t with him.
And maybe she won’t be in her near future.
“I’ll stay with you, Lionel.”
She thought everything was peaceful until recently, but what was this situation?
In the past, as far as Riv knew, there were no conflicts on the Ezul Plains.
She had no idea how much fate had been twisted by her return to the past.
If she was a witch, she should have been able to foresee the ominous events so that she could change fate.
‘What is this lousy ability?’
She couldn’t even use magic, but she had the ability to peek into the future bit by bit.
‘What the hell!’
Riv blamed herself internally and cried.
Lionel turned to her.
“I don’t want the King to kidnap my wife and threaten her.”
Lionel whispered.
“If you are caught, there is no guarantee you will be safe. Because the Queen and the Princess are not ordinary people.”
Riv could be caught and Lionel would be driven into a corner. If caught, Riv’s life would not be guaranteed.
‘If I have to die, I don’t want to be the shackles that would hold down the rest of Lionel’s life.’
Lionel was a kind person, even though it was difficult to understand his true feelings.
Riv wanted to stay with him.
“Lionel, what can I do?”
“Keep your luggage to a minimum.”
“Then?”
“I will give Aiden detailed instructions. First, we will go South.”
South, Mont Del. The place where Lionel’s estate was located.
It was outside the sphere of power of the Royal Family, and it was land which the Royal Family could never touch.
It was a much safer place than the Royal Capital.
“I will follow you, Lionel.” Riv was certain of one thing.
“Lionel, I won’t let you die. I’ll stop anything dangerous from happening.”
Lionel sighed as he tried to understand her cryptic words.
“It would be nice if it works out as you said.”
Lionel’s feelings seemed complicated, but he was silent.
“Pack your things.”
Riv quickly packed her belongings and a couple of summer dresses in a hand-held bag.
The only belongings she took were pearl earrings, her wedding ring, and her mother’s pendant necklace.
“But André and Sophia…”
“It’s better not to give them our destination.”
Lionel left as soon as Riv was done packing her things. He grabbed his sword on the way out.
An old, unmarked carriage was waiting for them.
André jumped out of the passenger seat. He handed over the whip and reins to Lionel’s men.
“Go. If you take this carriage to the northern mountain pass, they won’t be able to track you easily.”
“Thank you, André.”
“You’re welcome. You were never here.”
Lionel hugged André.
Lionel’s subordinates, Michelle and Aiden, climbed into the carriage.
Riv and Lionel got into the carriage after them, which quickly departed.
***
The carriage departed in the afternoon, and ran until late in the night.
They stayed in a shabby inn near a carriage station and left at dawn.
By the time the sun had risen and lunch was served, Lionel looked outside.
“They caught up with us.”
Riv’s face turned pale.
“Would things have been different if we had departed a little earlier yesterday?”
Lionel’s expression did not change much.
“Riv, as you said, the Royal Family is ruthless. Once they’ve set a goal, they don’t give up easily.”
When their pursuers knew their identities had been revealed, they followed more confidently.
There were knights on two horses and a carriage without the mark of the royal family. It was obvious that other soldiers were following behind them.
“Lionel, what now?”
“I think… Riv should go first.”
Lionel laughed bitterly.
“Then what about Lionel?”
“I’ll lose them and then move. If you go to a hiding place that Aiden knows, they won’t be able to find you easily.”
“If it doesn’t work out, I’ll dress up as a man.” Riv joked, trying to raise the mood.
“I’ll call for you when I think it’s safe, Riv.”
“Okay.”
What the Royal Family wanted was not Riv, but Lionel.
He accompanied Riv here to escape and to outrun them.
Lionel placed a small kiss on Riv’s cheek.
“Lionel…”
Just as Riv’s tears were about to leak out, Lionel comforted her.
“Never get caught. Remember that.”
“Yes. Lionel, take care. Please come home soon.”
Lionel chuckled.
“You know, the king can’t kill me because he wants to keep the Ezul Plains.”
Riv was relieved Lionel was confident. It made her feel better.
“Riv, don’t go back to the Royal Capital until I come and get you. You must promise.”
“Yes.”
Lionel looked desperate.
“We do not have time.”
Lionel took out a silk handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to Riv.
“Kiss it, Riv. Leave your mark and your scent.”
Riv left her mark by kissing the handkerchief on which she had embroidered Lionel’s name.
He didn’t seem to have the time to say good-bye right now.
He was impatient, and Riv almost cried again.
The carriage accelerated for a while and then slowed down as it entered the back alley of a nearby village.
Lionel and Michelle got off the carriage. They briefly greeted Aiden, who would serve as Riv’s escort and guide.
The carriage carrying Riv and Aiden drove through the narrow alley.
“Are you really okay leaving her like this, sir?”
Michelle watched the departing carriage.
“…..”
Lionel’s face was dark.
He had information he didn’t tell Riv.
“It’s funny that the Royal Family wants to arrest the Duke of Sentoren for treason.”
“After I broke my engagement under the promise of exposing Marianne’s lovers, we stayed away from the eyes of the Royal Family. “
If the Royal Family moved to accuse the Duke of Sentoren of treason while they were in the Royal Capital, Riv would already be in their hands.
He could not return with Riv to the Royal Capital. Michelle continued to worry about their situation.
“Even if the Duchess runs away, the King will keep looking for her, to threaten the Duke. If the Queen’s henchmen go south…”
“It won’t be easy for them to get there.”
Queen Selina and Marianne were cruel.
They didn’t respect other people’s autonomy and wanted to destroy their toys even if they were worn out.
But if they couldn’t see you, their interest would fade.
They wouldn’t go through the trouble of sending people to the far south.
“As you said, it might have been better to stay in the estate from the start.”
Lionel regretted it, but it was already too late.