3. Love Letter (6)
The man and I watched each other, unable to act hastily. What broke the momentary silence was a shout from behind.
"Catch those bitches!"
The person clutching his forehead and scrambling out of the carriage was the man I had struck earlier. Blood was flowing from his forehead. The man in front of me, having confirmed his companion's condition, took another step toward us. The moment his foot snapped a fallen branch on the ground, I quickly grabbed the woman and ran in the opposite direction.
Rustle rustle— the sound of bushes brushing against my body reached my ears. It echoed around like footsteps. And indeed, there were footsteps chasing from behind. Rough shouts continued to ring out as well.
I mustn't get caught. That was my only thought. I ran blindly, not even knowing where I was stepping or how I was going. As I ran, one of my shoes had slipped off and disappeared at some point, and I was clutching my fluttering skirt with one hand as if tearing it. The woman following behind me stumbled as she lost her balance, but I couldn't let her just sit down, so I forcefully dragged her along.
But running with a child on my back was no easy feat. Moreover, the woman's running speed gradually slowed down. Her rough panting scraped at my ears. I changed directions this way and that before breaking through the bushes. Then a wide path appeared. On the opposite side stretched a reed field.
The woman leaned her hand against a tree trunk and caught her breath. I quickly surveyed the surroundings and approached her.
"Are you okay?"
"Hah, hah, y-yes. Hah. Yes."
She didn't look okay at all. Clutching her chest and gasping, she looked like she might stop breathing at any moment. Continuing to run like this was no longer feasible. From somewhere, rustling sounds echoed. Anxious, I continuously scanned my surroundings.
"It would be nice if I knew where this was."
Even a rough idea of the location would help me find a way back, but I had no idea where we were. I frantically looked at the tall reeds towering beside the path. The woman, having briefly recovered some strength, also looked around and widened her eyes.
"I-I know where this is. I've been here before."
With that, the woman pointed at a clock tower visible beyond the reeds. She recalled that the village was there, and that she had seen reeds on the road to the village.
"What welcome words those are."
I smiled brightly and estimated the distance from here to the clock tower. Even at a rough guess, it seemed quite far.
Just then, shouts came from behind. It seemed the men had drawn closer. I quickly turned around, surveyed the area, and led the woman into the reed field. The reeds were tall enough to reach near our faces—not perfect, but not bad for hiding. The problem was that we were close to the men.
At this rate, we might get caught. I hesitated for a moment, then handed the child I was carrying on my back to the woman. The woman, holding the child in her arms, looked at me in bewilderment.
"Wh-why?"
"You said you know where this is, so once those men pass by, go to the village and request help. People might be looking for us by now. You can take this child with you, right?"
I also hung the knife I had borrowed earlier back around the woman's neck. She asked in confusion.
"What about you, Miss Christopher?"
"I'll lure those men away and then head to the village."
When the rustling noise came again, I looked in that direction. The muffled shouts had become a bit clearer. I needed to get out of here quickly.
I threw off my remaining shoe and removed the outer garment that had been cumbersome for a while. Taking off the layered clothes underneath as well, only a white dress remained in the end. The clothes worn right over my underwear were thin—a sight that might horrify the maids if they saw it—but that wasn't what mattered now. To run fast, my body needed to be light.
I stuffed the removed outer garment full of torn reeds and rolled it up round. It was a substitute for the child. Since their original target was the baron family's youngest son, I needed to make it look like I was carrying that child. Otherwise, our current efforts would be in vain.
I tied the outer garment, tightly stuffed with reeds, into a knot matching the child's size. Then I borrowed the woman's outer garment and draped it over the top. At a glance, it looked like I could be mistaken for holding a child. As I firmly grasped it and turned around, there was a hand urgently grabbing my arm. The woman, clutching my arm with both hands as if hanging on, shouted with an anxious face.
"Don't go! It's dangerous!"
"Someone needs to draw their attention so we can escape."
Escaping as three was impossible. To be precise, running as two with an unconscious child on my back was difficult. The child's weight felt increasingly burdensome, and the woman was already exhausted. And I also felt that my stamina would drop before long.
If we continued like this, we would undoubtedly be caught together, rendering our escape meaningless. Still, I had running strength left. Being night, it would be easier to hide than in daylight. If so, I—who could run more—needed to lure them so the remaining two could go request help.
"B-but still, no. You don't know what might happen to you. Also..."
The woman tried to stop me as if letting me go would cause a disaster. Seeing her gripping my arm tightly and pleading earnestly, I felt flustered.
"Then I'll go too. Let's go together."
"What about that child?"
"Ah, this child, this one too!"
Seeing her talk incoherently, she seemed unable to judge which was the right choice. Despite that, she brought up this and that to stop me. I stared at the woman.
She had followed my lead well all this time. Even though there was a possibility I could use her and escape alone, she trusted me. With her still messily tangled hair, her face covered in sand from falling while running, and her heavily wrinkled dress, she looked just as disheveled as I did. But as if none of that mattered, her tearful face showed concern for me.
I removed her hands gripping my arm and held them with both of mine.
"It's okay."
Then I smiled broadly, as if to reassure her.
"I'm confident in my running."
When I was young, I had stolen bread before.
I was so hungry. It was because my father hadn't given me proper food for days. My empty stomach growled constantly, and I couldn't bear the smell of freshly baked bread every morning. Eventually, I impulsively stole a piece of bread. Fearing it might be snatched away, I gripped it tightly and kept moving my feet.
Having succeeded in stealing the bread like that, I crouched in a secluded corner of an alley and frantically stuffed the bread into my mouth. Could honey I'd never tasted before be this sweet? The bread, soft to chew and melting in my mouth, was sweet, and while I wanted to eat it quickly, it was so regrettable to see it disappearing from my hands.
After that, I stole bread a few more times. At first I was scared, but as I repeated it one more time, one more time, I committed the act with increasing ease. I was good at running. To go far for work, to return home without being late, to survive—I ran, and before I knew it, I became able to run fast. After becoming a noble and living a comfortable life, the reason to run disappeared, but old habits don't vanish easily.
I cut through the bushes. While running, I held tightly what I was carrying in my arms so it wouldn't drop. To draw the men's attention, I deliberately made noise this time. Beyond the bushes, I could see the men chasing me. Seeing them point at me and follow, I quickened my sprint.
'If, if you go a little further, there will be a chapel.'
The woman didn't believe me when I said I was fast at running. Rather, she became even more horrified and repeatedly stopped me, saying I shouldn't do that. After barely calming the strangely frantic woman, I asked her to 'come quickly to rescue me.' After persuading her that what we needed right now was someone else's help, she reluctantly accepted. In return, along with words telling me to be careful, she informed me of places where I could hide in the meantime.
I recalled the chapel's location she had told me about and tried to put distance between me and the men. But breathing became increasingly difficult. I absolutely must not stop now. With that thought, I gritted my teeth and ran.
Running like that, the men following behind were no longer visible. Just as I felt relieved that we had put some distance between us, a large hand suddenly popped out. From the strong impact, my body lost balance and fell sideways.
My whole body stung, but assessing the situation came first. As I quickly sat up, I saw the man standing right in front of me. The man, catching his breath, gave a sickening smile when he saw me. I watched the man and backed away.
The bundle I had somehow dropped was rolling on the ground. The man lifted the scattered outer garment and, seeing the round shape dangling inside, let out a hollow laugh.
"What. It's a fake?"
The man swept back the forehead I had struck.
"This crazy bitch."
I backed away, avoiding the man who was approaching threateningly. But the man, taking big strides, grabbed my neck and pushed me against a tree trunk. A gagging sound spilled from my mouth. My body was forcibly lifted by the man's hand to the point where I had to stand on my tiptoes.
I grabbed the man's hand that was gripping my neck with both hands. I tried to peel it off, but overcoming a grown man's strength was not easy. I pushed the man's face away and kicked his calf with one foot, but to no avail. If I had known this would happen, I should have kept one shoe with me.
The man, who had been watching me resist for a while, suddenly let out a sticky smile.
"I like women who resist too. It's quite a sight when they break."
The man's other hand swept down my face. At the creepy feeling, I bit down hard on that hand. The man screamed and backed away from me. Only then could I breathe.
Leaning against the tree trunk, I slid down and caught my breath. Feeling my neck and looking at the man, he saw his hand bitten to the point where flesh was nearly torn off, and soon wore a vicious expression. The man quickly approached and this time grabbed my neck with both hands as if to strangle me.
"Kkeuk—"
My airway was constricted even more strongly than before. It was so painful that my eyes felt like they would roll back any moment. The man muttered something, but it didn't even enter my ears. I gagged and violently scratched the back of the man's hand. I flailed both legs, trying to escape from the man. The man smiled despicably and applied force to his hands as if enjoying my pain.
At this rate, I felt like I would die. I lowered one hand and groped my surroundings. However, all I could grasp were leaves. I tightly closed my eyes, which were rolling back more and more, then opened them. Then, as I groped my surroundings again, something caught my eye attached to the man's waist. I reached my hand toward that direction.
"I told you, if you behaved, you could have lived longer."
The breath reaching my ear felt unpleasant. I fought against my constantly heavy eyelids and tightly grasped the cool object touching my fingertips. Then I raised my eyes and met the man's gaze. He was enjoying the sight of me facing death. A disgusting sight.
I firmly grabbed the back of the man's hand that was strangling my neck. The man briefly glanced down.
"Let go. I'll send you off well."
I blinked once, then raised my hand. At that, the man's face instantly stiffened.
The force strangling my neck disappeared. The man, who had opened his eyes as wide as they could pop out, slowly raised both hands. His face, which had shown composure until recently, was now marked with tension. I let out a small cough, but didn't take my eyes off the man.
With the muzzle of the gun grasped in both hands pointed at the man's forehead.
"You're the one who should let go."
I calmly warned the man. At the same time, I rolled my finger over the trigger so the opponent could hear it.