The Sand Bride - Chapter 76

“…….”

Esther didn’t answer. However, her averted gaze indicated affirmation. It was understandable. She herself had followed because she had no other path, but Bianca was different.

She could live luxuriously under the King’s favor, yet no matter how much she racked her brain, she couldn’t figure out why Bianca was helping her like this.

But regardless, Bianca was risking her life to help her, and Esther felt ashamed of herself for being suspicious first. However, before she could apologize, the carriage suddenly stopped. Esther and Bianca held their breaths.

At the sight of a massive spear blocking the path, the man gestured to the coachman to stop the carriage. Those holding spears were the guards protecting the entrance to the central palace. The man walked over with a calm face and presented his pass to the guards.

The guards, after checking the pass stamped with the King’s seal, lowered their spears, but the captain of the guard did not let the carriage depart. It was disrespectful to exit the central palace, Sayar’s palace, by carriage. Such a thing was only permitted for Sayar, the palace owner himself.

The captain of the guard examined the carriage with suspicious eyes. All the windows were closed, which looked suspicious to anyone.

“May I inspect the inside of the carriage for a moment?”

At the captain’s words, the man frowned and retorted.

“Are you saying I cannot pass even after showing the King’s pass?”

“Who is in the carriage?”

Despite the man’s words, the captain of the guard changed the subject. The rigid man seemed filled with the resolve not to let them out until he inspected the carriage. The man swallowed a curse inwardly. It was obvious that orders would soon be given to the guards from the inner palace.

“I have my sick sisters. My younger sisters, who were attending Sayar in the central palace, have contracted a suspected infectious disease and are on their way to our family home. It is rude to take a carriage, but I cannot make them walk either. I will personally apologize to Sayar later.”

“But I must see your sisters in person.”

“It is a suspected infectious disease. That is why the carriage is closed. Have I not shown you the King’s pass instead?”

“Even so…….”

The captain of the guard wavered when the man emphasized that he had presented a highly reliable pass, stamped with the King’s seal. The man did not miss the opportunity and pressed on strongly again.

“I must join the vanguard today.”

The man glared at the captain of the guard with a face full of anger.

“If you make me late for the deployment and tarnish my honor, I will not let you off lightly.”

“Understood.”

When the captain of the guard realized that the man was a member of the vanguard set to depart today, he finally dropped his suspicion and moved aside from in front of the carriage.

The man and the carriage thus proudly left the central palace. After exiting the most heavily guarded area, they passed without incident thanks to the King’s pass, and soon the carriage was able to leave the royal palace.

As they exited the relatively quiet royal palace, the bustling sounds of the common folk could be heard, and Esther and Bianca could breathe a sigh of relief.

When they entered a secluded alley even within the common quarters, the man opened the carriage window. And through it, he threw clothes and armor, saying:

“Change into these clothes and armor. And after you come out, you must act as if you are very frightened and stick together, looking only at the ground.”

The clothes he handed them were the same as those worn by the vanguard, but the armor with the family crest on the back covered them from head to toe, leaving nothing exposed but their eyes.

Wearing these clothes and armor, Bianca and Esther planned to disguise themselves as timid young nobles and join the vanguard, then leave the capital directly.

Moreover, their official status was that of children from a lower noble family serving the man’s house, so the man could manage the times for meals or removing their armor as he saw fit.

After putting on their clothes and armor, the two walked, following the man. They truly looked like frightened individuals, covered in armor, following the man on their first deployment. So, the vanguard paid little attention to them, aside from a bit of derision.

Furthermore, the man had initially said he brought the cowards along to teach them a lesson about life, but planned to leave them in a city near the border, which made the vanguard even less concerned.

The vanguard departed secretly, and Bianca and Esther followed behind. They had to walk, but the armor only looked heavy; in reality, it was made of light material, not iron, so walking was not difficult.

As she passed through the capital gates, Esther truly realized she had escaped. Walking along the road, she heard the voices of the capital’s people grow fainter, until just before they completely vanished, she briefly turned back.

The time she had arrived here with the merchant group, and when she had been sold as a slave there, already felt like a distant past.

Moving her steps again, Esther couldn’t help but think of Karzhen. He must know by now, right? Will he be angry? He will be angry. Will he try to recapture me, or will he get angry and find another woman?

Thinking that far, Esther wished that Karzhen would indeed meet another woman and like her more than he liked her. She hoped he wouldn’t even think of capturing her.

While she still resented him, thinking he was the cause of her father’s and mother’s deaths, fear was still fear.

It would be a lie to say that no malicious desire for him to be miserable sprouted up, but more than that, her desire to completely escape from Karzhen was greater. So Esther sincerely hoped that he would find a woman with whom he was perfectly matched, and completely forget about Esther.

Because she believed that if she could believe that, she too could forget all about Karzhen.

It’s enough now. Let’s not think about it.

Thinking about it made her feel like crying again, so Esther quickly blinked her eyelids. There was a long way to go. She held Bianca’s hand tightly and walked with a rather spirited stride. Bianca also squeezed her hand in return, as if answering her.

The two thus completely escaped the capital.