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Chapter 60
“Cherry…?”
“Cherry Cherry!”
“Lady Cherry?!”
All eyes in the carriage were instantly on me.
Surprise.
Curiosity.
Confusion.
Leaving these emotions behind, I stepped over Gerard’s knees and headed toward the window frame.
“Cherry, that’s dangerous…!”
“Ugh! My lord, where are you touching?!”
“Damn it…”
König tried to stop me, stretching out his hand hastily, but moving a burly man in the cramped carriage wasn’t easy.
Instead, König and Gerard ended up entangled.
I used that gap to slip through the half-open window.
[Hurry. Now!]
Above me, Bishop’s voice, always following, rang out.
“Do we just need to inform them of the departure date?”
“After that, they handle things on their own. I heard they plan to cut the bridge at the border from the Duchy to Volken.”
“Ah, the Volken territory… it’s famous for its heavy fog.”
This was information gathered by tailing the men at the top of the tower.
Naturally, the tailing was handled by my cute little lizard, Sevi.
[Volken, fog, bridge… hmm, I dropped it somewhere on the way because it’s too long.]
Not Hansel and Gretel, but somehow the memory was scattered along the way.
Still, the essential information was practically obtained.
There weren’t many bridges to cross from the Duchy to the Volken territory by carriage.
‘We’re leaving. Let’s go.’
[Ugh, why am I doing this again?]
Naturally, I rode on Bishop’s back, chasing after König.
Thanks to following the rattling carriage in front of the castle gate, I could easily deduce the bridge that was likely the target of the ambush.
Flying ahead of the old carriage, I finally spotted it.
‘That must be the bridge.’
It was a wooden bridge connecting two cliffs. Except for the signs of age, it looked perfectly ordinary.
[Seems like that dumb lizard was right.]
Bishop’s sharp eyes confirmed my suspicion.
‘Ambush.’
Figures clad in black lurked on both sides of the bridge.
Men wearing black masks spread across the bridge as if they had calculated every possible scenario.
The enemy was clearly thorough.
But what really caught my attention was…
‘Dynamite?’
A box sat in the middle of the bridge.
Usually used for mining operations, it seemed they planned to blow up the bridge and send König over the cliff.
So I had to stop this carriage by any means necessary.
I decided to appear in front of König.
‘He’ll probably get angry and suspicious, asking how I followed them here…’
That didn’t matter right now.
“Cherry…?”
Leaving behind the frantic greetings, I immediately passed through the window.
Clawing at the moving carriage wall, I made my way to the front.
And then—
“Chuaaah!”
I leapt toward the coachman’s face like a flying squirrel.
“Uh, ugh! What is—?!”
The coachman, blinded from sight, yanked the reins, causing the horses to scream loudly.
Hiiing—!
“Wha… what’s wrong with these animals?!”
The excited horses started charging like racing horses, only focused on the path ahead.
Disaster.
‘There’s a cliff ahead. Stop!’
I sent a telepathic message, but it didn’t reach the frenzied animals.
Meanwhile…
[Damn it, less than 100 meters to the bridge!]
Bishop’s sharp voice echoed through the air.
After finally losing the soldiers from Black Dragon Castle, I couldn’t let everyone be in danger.
I had to stop these mad horses somehow.
‘But how…?’
At that moment, a presence behind me indicated someone approaching.
“Cherry, what are you—!”
It was König, his voice tinged with irritation.
Dangling from the tilted carriage door, he stretched out a hand toward me.
A signal to come to his side for safety.
But I thought differently.
‘Yes, König can do it.’
I could amplify my mana with him.
The possibility of turning human existed, but that was a later problem.
Right now, saving everyone was more important.
“Tch.”
I reached out and firmly grasped König’s fingers.
And pressed my lips lightly to his hand.
Absurd, but the most certain method.
The first time I transformed into a human was when I gave medicine to König lying in the Grizzly Mountain.
I was sure the reverse would also work.
‘Stop. Please, stop!’
I repeated this desperately.
[Stopped?]
[Yes, stopped.]
The sound of hooves, wild as if tomorrow didn’t exist, gradually quieted, and the carriage noticeably slowed.
The carriage came to a complete stop with fewer than five steps to the cliff.
“Ugh, Cherry… ugh, my lady… how… ugh, are you here… ugh.”
Gerard stumbled out of the carriage.
Yelloyz frowned and shoved him toward the forest.
Then she glanced around, annoyance in her gaze, seemingly assessing the situation.
Soon after…
“Cherry Cherry, how did you get here?”
Her gaze shifted to me, cradled in König’s arms.
A kind voice, yet her expression was fierce.
The same cold look as when we first met.
“Chuu…”
I couldn’t easily answer, knowing she wouldn’t understand.
It was because of Yelloyz’s golden eyes staring straight at me.
Eyes blazing like the midday sun, demanding the truth.
‘She’s suspicious of me…’
It was a natural reaction.
An ordinary squirrel wouldn’t have been able to follow the knights and reach here.
She must have assumed I was a spy sent by the royal family or another noble house.
Though my mind understood, my heart ached.
I had unknowingly given Yelloyz a place in my heart.
A lifelong affliction of mine, from past hardships.
Children deprived of love are like sunflowers, opening up even to brief warmth.
‘You said I was your sister…’
I muttered the words I couldn’t speak aloud.
When Yelloyz had called herself my sister, I hadn’t shown it much, but I had been very pleased.
Finally, I thought I had a sister-like presence.
But, as expected, it seemed to mean little to Yelloyz.
‘As I thought.’
There was no sisterly figure for me.
I hesitated, lowering my head, and Yelloyz changed her question.
“Why can I sense your mana?”
Her lips, as red as her hair, twisted coldly.
Her question demanded an answer.
“Amid smoky ebony, a faint cherry scent.”
Yelloyz, looking intrigued, swept her hair back.
“The suffocating stench is obviously my brother’s, but the other one… I have no clue. Cherry Cherry, it can’t be yours, right?”
“That’s enough. Cherry’s scared.”
“You foolish one. Not surprised… so you already knew?”
Tension thickened between the Kroitz siblings.
[They’ve lit the fuse. Evade!]
Bishop’s warning rang above.
‘Already?’
I hastily lifted my head.
Yelloyz was standing right in front of the bridge.
No time to hesitate.
“Chuut!”
I lunged at Yelloyz just as—
Boom!
