The Sand Bride - Chapter 81

“…….”

“If you weaken, you’ll break. You, or that woman. All of you…….”

Karzhen glared silently at Hakan, then walked past him. His steps were ruthless, as if he hadn’t heard anything, but Hakan believed.

The moment he saw Esther, Karzhen would eventually be forced to remember his words.

* * *

The escape wasn’t as difficult as they had expected. Of course, even if it was light, the full-body armor made them sweat profusely and their legs trembled, but compared to their journey as prisoners in the past, it was almost embarrassing to compare.

With timely supplies of food and water, and the rugged but perfectly functional stone paths connecting cities, there was much less physical exertion. Furthermore, since the man who helped their escape was the leader of this camp, various conveniences were provided, knowingly or unknowingly.

However, once they passed through the cities and reached the assembly point near the border, such conveniences would become difficult. But Esther and Bianca planned to leave the group upon reaching a nearby city and find a path to the Kingdom of Donova, so it didn’t matter.

When Esther heard from Bianca that the opposing warring nation was her homeland, she was deeply shocked, but after much thought, she decided not to go to another country but to return home.

It wasn’t that she wasn’t afraid of war. However, even without her parents, she had friends, relatives, and neighbors in her homeland, and she didn’t want to run away elsewhere without seeing them.

That was one of the reasons she began to learn archery from Bianca. At night, or during short breaks while traveling, Bianca taught Esther how to shoot a bow.

In the vast desert, there were no real targets, so the two used dried branches or cacti as targets. But Bianca’s arrows always hit the targets precisely, and Esther clapped her hands in admiration at her unfailing archery skills.

“Esther, if you want.”

Bianca, with a shy expression, handed the bow and arrows to Esther, who was clapping.

“I can teach you how to shoot a bow.”

“Really?”

Esther carefully took the bow and arrows from Bianca. She had never handled a bow before. Seeing her unsure face, Bianca smiled gently and said it wasn’t that difficult, but Esther still felt no confidence.

“But I’ve never even held a bow before……. Can I do well?”

“Everyone learns it, you know. It won’t be that hard once you try.”

“Okay…….”

“Of course, if you don’t want to, you don’t have to learn, Esther.”

At Bianca’s words, Esther hesitated for a moment, then shook her head.

“No. I want to learn.”

If war broke out, learning how to shoot a bow would be helpful in the future. Although Esther’s hometown was a rural village, far from the border and even the capital, she couldn’t guarantee that the impact of the war would never reach it.

Under Bianca’s guidance, Esther diligently learned. Knowing that Karzhen might be pursuing them, despite their rapid movement, she consistently practiced her archery stance and aiming during every spare moment.

So, by the time they reached the city, when Esther had progressed enough to hit a cactus at a moderate distance, Bianca rejoiced as if it were her own achievement.

The soldiers nearby snickered and burst into laughter the first time an arrow, which had been repeatedly missing, hit the cactus. Those who saw Esther in armor as just an immature, timid child even clapped for her, but Esther turned away with an uncomfortable expression.

Knowing that these were the soldiers marching towards her homeland, she couldn’t feel at ease.

She even felt ashamed of having received help from their leader, the man. But what she was most curious about was why that man had helped them. The man seemed to be a noble from Gharyam, belonging to the upper class, which meant he had much to lose and little to gain.

“By the way, Bianca.”

Esther, who had thought anything was fine as long as they escaped, finally couldn’t suppress her curiosity and asked Bianca during their rest.

“Why is that man helping us?”

“He’s not helping us of his own accord.”

Bianca replied softly.

“Then… who helped us……?”

“My…….”

Bianca’s words trailed off. In the quiet desert night, even the slight clink, clink of teeth sounded loud. Esther considered telling Bianca that she didn’t have to say anything if she didn’t want to. However, Bianca rendered that thought meaningless before Esther could open her mouth.

“My elder sister helped us.”

* * *

“I am very busy.”

Greta, upon seeing Bianca in the audience chamber that day, openly displayed an annoyed expression. As her words suggested, she had been incredibly busy recently.

Before declaring war, she had to crack down on merchant groups from the Kingdom of Donova and personally write letters to the lords of each city. Since she was leading the war, she had the most to do.

“So, get straight to the point.”

Greta, who had been glaring at Bianca, who remained silent despite having requested the meeting, with growing irritation, then spoke with a hint of suspicion.