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I frowned.
'Enemies always meet on a narrow bridge...'
Deon was in front, and the criminals who were probably coming to catch me were behind.
It was truly a dilemma.
"Your Highness!"
Elise, as if she hadn't learned her lesson from being betrayed, showed delight at seeing Deon.
Only then did Deon seem to notice Elise next to me and acknowledged her.
"Oh, Elise. I was just looking for you. I didn't expect you to be with Lady Chloe."
The moment Elise tried to approach Deon, he quickly stepped forward and swung his sword in an instant.
"Cough!"
The knight who had been standing as if to protect me collapsed helplessly, and Elise swallowed a short scream and stepped back.
Deon approached us as we backed away and ordered.
"Elise, catch that woman."
Elise's eyes began to waver.
"We can only escape this empire if we catch that woman."
I frowned.
Deon couldn't possibly have failed to consider what the other criminals were thinking.
"What are you hesitating for? She's the woman who dragged you down to hell. Wasn't it your wish to bring her down?"
All the knights were dead, and now only Elise and I were left.
If Elise wanted to, she could pounce on me.
'Of course, I wouldn't be caught so easily.'
However, Elise's eyes, as she looked back and forth between me and Deon, were violently shaken.
Because I had saved her.
Even as Elise hesitated, loud crashing sounds echoed from various parts of the building.
As if to fuel the anxiety, Deon took another step closer.
"Elise, hurry. We don't have time for this."
But the next moment.
"...!"
It wasn't me who was taken hostage, but Elise.
I quickly pulled out the dagger I had hidden in my dress and held it to Elise's neck.
At that, not only Elise but also Deon and his men who were approaching me stopped in their tracks.
"Y-Your Highness..."
Deon frowned as he looked at me and Elise, who was being held hostage.
It wasn't so much concern for Elise as it was a look of annoyance, as if he found the situation very troublesome.
I put distance between myself and Deon, whispering softly enough for only Elise to hear.
"Watch closely, Elise."
"..."
"See how insignificant your faith was."
Deon's men, no longer able to close the distance, cautiously watched Deon and me.
In the tense atmosphere, it was Deon who broke the silence.
"What are you all doing? Catch her."
"B-But, Lady Fran..."
Elise, not yet understanding my intentions, trembled in fear and looked at Deon with desperate eyes.
But all that returned to her was cold betrayal.
"For the sake of the greater cause, we must abandon personal feelings."
Even as he said that, Deon did not avoid Elise's eyes.
I could feel Elise's body stiffen as it touched mine.
'It worked out as I intended, but...'
The reason I staged the hostage situation wasn't to really take Elise hostage.
I knew that she had been a discarded pawn ever since the prison was blown up.
'Well, I guess Elise herself knew but denied it until the very end.'
So I showed her directly.
To make her taste that terrible sense of betrayal, of sadness, and at the same time.
'I'll be a variable that buys you time.'
A hollow laugh, not a rough breath, escaped from between Elise's teeth, who had been terrified.
Now Elise had become my card.
I whispered in Elise's ear.
"Go out and tell Idris. That I'm facing Deon Zahir."
Then, I pushed Elise, who was no longer of any value as a hostage, towards Deon's men.
While Deon's men hesitated, not knowing what to do.
I took advantage of the fact that Elise had unintentionally blocked the narrow path for a moment and started running back the way I had come.
'There was a staircase leading upstairs about halfway.'
A little further on, as expected, there was a staircase leading upstairs.
I climbed the stairs without hesitation and arrived upstairs.
'If I remember correctly, there was a guardroom on the first floor, which I had checked before coming.'
The guardroom has windows that the prison doesn't have.
I should be able to escape this building through those windows.
'Who knew that running like crazy in self-defense class would be so helpful.'
According to my memory, there were a total of three guardrooms: at both ends and in the center of the prison.
I quickly ran and arrived in front of the nearest central guardroom.
But at that moment.
Boom!
With a loud noise, the ceiling cracked, and then the ceiling collapsed slightly, blocking the door.
'Damn it!'
This is bad.
I hurriedly tried to open the door, but the dented door wouldn't budge.
"Why don't you stop the pointless escape?"
In that short time, Deon had already caught up right behind me.
'What should I do?'
Glancing sideways, I could see a still-intact guardroom in the distance.
'Even if I run at full speed now, I'll be caught before I reach the guardroom.'
I can't become a burden to Idris again...
My palms were wet with cold sweat.
At the same time, Deon's voice came from close by.
"I think the game of tag is over."
Turning around, I saw Deon and his men had come within a few steps of me.
Even at this moment, fragments of the crumbled building were falling on their heads.
I started saying anything to buy time, stepping back while avoiding the ceiling debris that kept tripping my toes.
The sound of the building fragments being crushed underfoot was terrible.
Deon and his party, knowing that I couldn't escape easily, smiled leisurely and slowly approached.
"Of course not. I can't leave a lady alone in such a dangerous place."
Seeing his despicable smile, I felt like cursing him out.
At that moment when I was anxiously biting my lip.
Something glittering suddenly caught my eye.
'A prison...?'
Between the guardrooms.
There was a makeshift prison blocked by iron bars.
And the key inserted in the prison door was sparkling brightly.
"So, let's stop this dangerous game of tag and go outside together..."
Realizing what it meant, I quickly stepped into the prison.
"Damn it! What are you doing? Catch her right now!"
At the same time as Deon, who had realized my intentions, hurriedly shouted, his men quickly ran towards me.
But it was too late.
Clang!
Because the key had already securely locked the iron bars.
'That was close...'
Holding the key tightly in my hand, I slowly stepped back from the iron bars.
Deon and his men, who had arrived a beat late, were glaring at me with red faces as they grabbed the iron bars.
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