TOPWL 261

“Are you going to the prayer room again?”

Edmond asked with a slightly surprised expression. It made sense since Yudit had been stuck in the prayer room all day since yesterday, except for mealtimes. Yudit nodded awkwardly.

“Yes. I feel more at peace when I pray.”

“You aren’t… overdoing it, are you?”

Edmond asked hesitantly while he glanced at Yudit’s stomach. Yudit shook his head and smiled.

“I’m fine. Perhaps the atmosphere in the prayer room is good, because the baby is very quiet there. It makes things easier for me.”

Edmond called out to Yudit again as he tried to pass by him.

“Uh, excuse me…!”

“…?”

“Of course His Excellency will surely win, and everything will go well… but even if things don’t go well… I’ll give my life to protect Your Highness.”

Edmond spoke as his face turned bright red.

“O-of course, the baby too. So please don’t be too an-anx-anxious.”

His words could’ve seemed a bit arrogant, but Yudit didn’t want to point that out since they were sincere. He’d heard that Edmond’s skills had been improving rapidly lately. Garen, who used to go easy on Edmond, now had to fight for real to even stand a chance. Yudit wondered how much grueling effort it took to reach that point.

“S-so please don’t worry too much… I’ll take responsibility until the end.”

Yudit suddenly realized that Edmond’s features had become sharper. Edmond, who hadn’t been able to shed his boyish look even after he came of age, had become a young man before Yudit knew it. Had the war made him that way, or had he grown on his own? He still was clumsy, but Yudit found Edmond’s growth refreshing.

“Thank you for worrying. But I go to the prayer room because it makes me feel at peace.”

“Yes, well… then you should go.”

Edmond closed his eyes and stepped out of the way. Yudit smiled slightly and passed him to enter the prayer room.

The saint statue from yesterday was still in place in the prayer room. The prayers that had once been so arduous felt effortless when he prayed for Khalid’s good fortune. In fact, the passage of time was so quick that it was almost starting. The lack of windows seemed to have played a part in the loss of time. Yudit set down the candle, sat down, and clasped his hands together.

His first prayer started with gratitude, just like yesterday. He was grateful that he had survived even while he rolled in the mud, that he had met good people, and that he was now surrounded by bright light when he thought it’d always be dark.

“But I dare to ask one more thing. Please let my lover, Khalid… live the life he wants. I hope there’s no more hardship for him after the difficult life he’s lived so far. No, I just hope he gets through this crisis safely.”

Khalid had to live by killing all his relatives who coveted his position after he lost his parents. Yudit had to survive somehow among people who abused him and a maid who fed him poison after he lost his mother. Their lives were different, but they were the same in that they’d survived harsh environments. He wouldn’t say that was why they fell in love, but it was true that it made him feel more affection.

He hoped Khalid wouldn’t face any more crises in the future. He also wanted to keep Khalid in a safe place, feed him delicious food, and give him precious things. Yudit was a bit surprised by his own thoughts. He was praying when a loud noise rang out.

Boom!

He heard the sound of something breaking along with a deafening explosion.

“…?”

The noise sounded too close for him to think they were using new weapons again. Then the prayer room door burst open.

“It’s an attack! You must leave right now!”

Edmond’s shout was followed by another explosion. At the same time, dust and stone powder fell from the ceiling. A terrified Edmond hugged Yudit and wrapped a cloak around him.

“Are you alright?”

Yudit nodded as his face turned pale. He felt his stomach tighten in real-time as if Ru were surprised. The pain didn’t feel normal. Yudit stroked his stomach and whispered.

“It’s okay, baby. It’s okay.”

Bagon ran to Yudit and put a robe on him when they went out to the living room. Fortunately, he was wearing light leather armor underneath in case this happened, so he only needed to put on the robe.

“W-w-what should we do? What happened…?”

Everyone was in the living room, including the guards, the doctors, and the midwife. Yudit actually felt a bit calmer when he saw their pale, panicked faces. Bagon spoke after he confirmed that everyone was there.

“There’s a secret passage in this house. However, if the safe house was discovered, it’s likely the passage was discovered too. Besides, the end of the passage is closer to the imperial palace, [visit our site]so there’s a high chance we’ll run into the Empress’s army. I’ll check the numbers outside and…”

An arrow pierced the window and stuck into the wall before Bagon could finish. Then several more arrows flew through the window. A sound like rain pattering on windows followed, and then a fire arrow entered through the window and landed on the sofa. The sofa where they’d all eaten lunch together just a few hours ago caught fire instantly.

“Oh no…!”

The midwife right in front of it quickly tried to block the fire with a blanket, but the oil-soaked fire arrow wouldn’t go out. Then several more fire arrows began to lodge themselves into the walls and furniture.

“Let’s go to the passage first.”

Bagon nodded at Yudit’s words. The secret passage was in Yudit’s bedroom.

“Press the bedpost at the head of the bed!”

Garen pressed the bedpost at Bagon’s command. Then the floor under the bed sank on one side and rose on the other, which revealed a passage wide enough for one person. It wasn’t a staircase; the floor was down a short drop. Shane jumped inside before anyone could be surprised and spoke to Yudit.

“Wrap your arms around my neck.”

Boom! The sound of something breaking and exploding rang out again. The acrid smell of fire grew stronger. Yudit quickly wrapped his arms around Shane’s neck. He felt his body lift, and then he was visit our site lowered to the floor. Shane stepped aside after he lowered the midwife and the doctor, and the rest of the guards came down. Yudit wondered how the people who pressed the bedpost would get in, but the floor returned to its original state after about ten seconds.

An unpleasant smell filled the dark passage. However, no one complained. Bagon went to the front and raised a torch, no, a fire arrow. He also handed one to Edmond behind Yudit. The stone walls, cobwebs, and the anxious faces of the people reflected in the fire were revealed instantly.

“…?”

“I picked it up because it was rolling around.”

Yudit bit his lip because he felt like he’d laugh despite the serious situation. Bagon moved forward quickly and didn’t mind the darkness. His sword gleamed silver.

They reached a dead end after they’d walked for about ten minutes. Bagon began to feel the ceiling while the others whispered. Then dust fell along a square line.

“Shh…”

Bagon put his index finger to his lips, then he opened the ceiling door and looked outside. Bagon closed the door again, unlike the expectation that he’d open it soon.

“The Empress’ army… is there.”

“Which way?”

“They’re far away, so I don’t know for sure. But I think they’ll spot us if we open the door and go out.”

“Are they monitoring this passage?”

“It doesn’t seem like it. Shall we wait for a bit?”

Yudit looked back. Perhaps because they were far away, the acrid smell of smoke had almost vanished. But the fire would surely spread and the house. The passage wouldn’t be safe if the whole house burned down. Yudit bit his lip.

“Let’s wait a little longer, and if they don’t leave, we’ll go out.”

“Understood.”

An anxious wait followed. Smoke entered inside even then. The doctor couldn’t hold it in any longer and coughed because of the acrid smoke. He’d tried to hold it back, so the cough was loud when it finally burst out, and the startled doctor covered his mouth.