Can You Save Me Duke? - 33

Was she shocked again? What does it matter to her whether that man has a fiancée or gets married?

Lina snickered briefly, as if she was dumbfounded.

She was someone she would never meet again once she left the empire.

Lina let out a short breath and left her quarters to get on the carriage. Then, a man’s voice, seemingly very excited, was heard.

“Hey! Come here and look at the tree!”

The people who gathered around Hyperion one by one at the man’s words were saying something.

“This can’t be happening… …!”

“This is a miracle! This is a miracle!”

Everyone was shouting that Hyperion had dried up overnight, calling it a miracle.

The tree trunk that had seemed solid was now broken by the man’s foot, revealing its hollow insides.

“Why did the tree, which was fine until yesterday, suddenly become like this?”

“Is that important now! Now we can remove the tree!”

The magic power of the Hyperion tree was no different from blood in a human body. So if all the magic power disappeared, it would just dry up and die.

“Helios must have helped us! He must have pitied us.”

“Come on, everyone, we don’t have time to do this. Let’s cut down the tree!”

The faces of the people who had been filled with despair until yesterday suddenly had hope. Lina felt proud for some reason as she watched them.

‘It was a good thing we came here.’

I had worried that people might be suspicious of the tree that had died overnight.

It seemed like that wasn’t a big deal to them. Lina was about to return to the carriage with a happy heart.

Suddenly, a bluish leaf caught her eye on the branches of the tree.

‘Huh? Why are there leaves… … .’

Hyperion, who had no magic left, should have dried up like a dead tree, even its leaves. But why.

Feeling something strange, Lina approached the tree and checked if there was any remaining magic.

Since the roots were so far out, it wasn’t surprising if there was any remaining magic.

She quietly raised her hand to the edge of the tree where no one was gathered. However, she could feel a faint magical energy from her fingertips.

‘As expected.’

There must have been some magical energy that she hadn’t been able to remove.

‘What should I do?’

It wasn’t that much energy, and since it was magical energy that hadn’t been removed from the roots that had spread far away, she wondered if it was necessary to force it.

However, you never know what will happen to people. If you let your guard down, it could have a butterfly effect and cause big problems later.

‘If you just ignore it, someone could get hurt.’

If you touched the tree without thinking while the remaining magical energy was still there, someone could get hurt.

Right now, people are only focused on cutting down the large chunks of trees, but later on, they would definitely try to remove the roots, so it would be better to remove them in advance.

“They’re focused on cutting down the trunk anyway. It doesn’t matter.”

Lina gradually ascended to a less-populated area, reading the faintly flowing magical energy.

* * *

“It seems strange.”

Belige muttered as he examined the hollow tree.

“Is there a problem?”

Count Harren, who was standing next to him, asked with a puzzled expression.

“There’s only one reason Hyperion dies. It’s when all the magical power inside it disappears. How long did this tree say it’s been in this village?”

“They say it’s been hundreds of years. It may have even ended its life on its own.”

‘Wait. Hundreds of years?’

The duke, who had been quietly listening to the count, opened his eyes wide as if he had realized something.

Belige looked at the tree roots growing on the ground. Hyperion’s roots spread deeper and wider in a shorter period of time than ordinary trees.

If that’s the case, Hyperion’s roots, which had lived for hundreds of years, must have spread all over the ground beyond anyone’s imagination.

But then that tree suddenly died overnight.

“Do you know how far Hyperion’s roots extend?”

“They probably extend all the way up there. That’s why we couldn’t dare pull it out.”

Belige looked at the place Count Harren pointed to with his finger. A question suddenly came to mind as he looked at the place that seemed higher than where they were standing now.

“Why didn’t they build houses there? Then the flood damage from the river flooding would have been much less.”

“That’s where the villagers’ graveyard is. If you lose a house, you can rebuild it, but if the bodies of your dead family members float away in the river, you won’t be able to find them.”

Helios said that in order for a person to be reborn after death, their body must be well preserved.

That’s why those with some power, like the Greta family, put their heart and soul into building a tomb for themselves. And it wasn’t any different for the poor commoners.

They wanted a place where they could sleep peacefully, even if they couldn’t decorate it as extravagantly as the nobles. So it was natural that there was a graveyard there instead of a house.

‘A cemetery.’

However, an ominous thought occurred to Belige, who was stroking his chin with a strange feeling.

‘No way.’

“Count. From now on, prohibit people from entering up there.”

“Yes? Is there any problem… … .”

The count asked the duke, who was giving an unexpected order with a serious face.

“The fact that there is a cemetery up there means that the ground is soft enough to dig. And if Hyperion’s roots had stretched all the way up there, they would have certainly acted as support for the ground. But now that all those supports have died, what will happen?”

Drip-drip-.

As soon as Belige finished speaking, raindrops began to fall from the sky again. Count Harren sighed softly as he watched the water droplets falling from the sky.

You can’t see it, but Hyperion’s roots must have already spread out here and there.

It probably won’t all collapse, but the parts adjacent to the river will collapse easily. And it’s raining again right now.

The Count must have felt that something was wrong with the situation, so he spoke to the people with a darkened face.

“Everyone is prohibited from going up there starting today. And just in case, stop cutting down trees for now-.”

“Um, Count. There was a girl who went up there earlier… … .”

“What? A girl?”

Bellige, who was talking to Lawrence from behind, turned around at the words of a man.

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, I saw a little girl going up there.”

The man stuttered, frightened by the duke who asked with a scary face.

‘No way.’

An ominous feeling grabbed Bellige’s ankle.

‘No way. Lina definitely rode the carriage to the castle… … .’

“Your Majesty. The coachman just came and said. He said that he waited for a long time but the maid didn’t show up.”

Lawrence’s expression also became serious as he heard the situation from the coachman who came to visit him, tired of waiting.

And as soon as Lawrence finished speaking, the duke started running towards the place where the blockade order was issued without looking back.

“Your Majesty-!”

Urgent voices were heard as if trying to stop him, but Belige didn’t hear them at all.

Because there was only one person in his head right now.

* * *

Meanwhile, Lina, who had climbed up the hill in search of Hyperion’s magic, began to look for the place where the roots were.

“There should be a place where the roots are sticking out, even if it’s just a little.”

Removing the magic remaining in the roots deep underground was no easy task.

That’s why, with the limited time given, he had to directly touch the main body to finish it quickly.

I wonder if he searched around the hill for a long time.

He found Hyperion’s roots slightly sticking out on the cliff that met the river. And as if to prove that the roots still had magic left, he saw leaves that were still green.

“Found it!”

The river flowing rapidly under the cliff was quite threatening, but it didn’t seem to be a big problem because it was within arm’s reach.

“Okay. Then let’s finish it up quickly?”

The weather was already gloomy, and it seemed like it would rain soon. Lina lay flat on the ground without hesitation and stretched out her hands.

However, the distance that seemed close was farther than she thought, and she barely managed to reach it. In addition, raindrops were falling from the sky without a care.

“Just… … Just a little more… … .”

As she stretched out her arms with all her might, she felt the rough texture of roots on her fingertips.

“That’s it… …!”

And the moment she made contact with it, she immediately began to extract her magic power, and the remaining magic power was easily removed.

“Whew-. I’m done.”

Finally removing all her magic power, Lina sighed and pulled back, looking up at the sky.

Before she knew it, the raindrops had grown thicker and were soaking her body. Lina, who had already given up on avoiding the rain because she was already soaked, slowly got up.

“Why is it raining so much again?”

She barely managed to put on her hood, which had become heavy because of the pouring rain.

Her shoulders, already stiff from stretching her arms, felt even stiffer because of the robe soaking wet.

“Let’s go back quickly.”

She wanted to soak in hot water as soon as possible to relieve the fatigue that had built up.

Hot black tea, sweet cookies, and a soft, fluffy bed were all she could think of at that moment.

“Lee… …!”

“What is it?”

Was she hallucinating in the heavy rain? She heard someone calling her name.

‘Did I hear that?’

Lee tilted her head for a moment, then raised her ears again at the sound. Then, as if she hadn’t heard it wrong, she heard her name clearly.

Did the coachman tell the duke that she hadn’t come? The voice calling her name sounded familiar.

“… … Lee!”

“Your Majesty?”

The voice that had become clearer before she knew it was the one she knew so well.

It was a voice.

Lina, who was looking around to find the Duke, looked at Belige, who was running towards her.

He must have also found Lina, so he exhaled heavily and shouted.

“Wihh… … I see. Hurry… … Come here!”

His voice was buried in the sound of water drops hitting the ground, so she couldn’t hear it properly.

“Huh?! I can’t hear you well!!”

“It’s dangerous!!”

‘What? Dangerous? What on earth is… … .’

And just as she understood the Duke’s words, she suddenly felt her body floating in the air.

‘Huh?’

She just blinked her eyes as if she didn’t understand the situation. Only then did she realize that her vision was gradually going down as if someone was pulling her from below.

That she was falling down a cliff.

Ah.

Why didn’t I think about it?

That the roots of Hyperion were supporting the ground she was standing on. And, that she had just destroyed that support.

“Lina-!”

The duke’s voice lingered in his ears like tinnitus. His distorted face was etched into his mind like an afterimage. Lina, who had not been able to respond to his call, fell down endlessly.