Can You Save Me Duke? - 34

The raindrops that had been falling one or two at a time gradually became heavier and soon poured down in torrents. Thanks to this, the soil that was barely drying out began to become muddy again.

With every step he took, the dirt road sank, making Belige’s steps slower, like someone carrying a sandbag.

“Damn it.”

He let out a low curse as he stretched out his legs that were getting heavier.

Looking at the condition of the ground, if the raindrops continued to get heavier, it was only a matter of time before the weakened ground collapsed.

When Belige raised his head and looked up, he saw trees growing here and there at the end of the slope.

As he went up along the river flowing to the left, the ground gradually became steeper, and beside it, the strong river water was overflowing.

‘The cliffs that touch the river are the most dangerous.’

Hyperion roots are said to be spread all over the hill, but even so, not everything would collapse in an instant.

Other than the edge of the cliff that touches the Curpit River, other places would probably have other trees that had already taken root and acted as support to some extent. So, if Lina hadn’t gone there, it would be safe.

But what if Lina was on the edge of the cliff?

Belige, whose heart was anxious at the ominous assumption, picked up his pace a little more. he had already climbed halfway up the hill, but he couldn’t see a single hair of the person he was desperately looking for.

“Where on earth is she?”

Could it be that the man had seen her wrong a moment ago? Or maybe they had gone the wrong way?

As time passed without a trace, he felt his whole body being consumed by an unknown sense of anxiety.

“Lina-!”

Out of frustration, he shouted the maid’s name into the air, but there was no answer. Only the sound of the water drops hitting the floor rang in his ears.

‘Please.’

Anxiety made his hands and feet tingle.

If something went wrong with Lina, he would live in a living hell and die a miserable death.

Just like all the people of the Permanence family had done so far.

He felt suffocated as if a heavy stone was weighing down his chest. His body, which had become heavy due to his clothes soaked with water, made his nerves even more tense.

At this, belige threw off the robe he was wearing with an irritated hand. With a thud, the robe he was wearing rolled around in the mud.

And he kept running. Until he saw the person he was looking for.

How much longer did he run like that? belige, who had reached the end of the steep road, looked around.

To the right of the tree, tombstones indicating a graveyard came into view, but Lina was nowhere to be seen.

‘No way.’

He turned his stiff head and looked to the left.

The place where the Curpit River meets. The place where there was a high probability of it collapsing soon.

As if to prove that his prediction was correct, the water that had been piling up on the floor was strangely flowing down to the left.

‘Damn it.’

He chewed his lips and let out a low curse. Belige’s body, which seemed ready to run there at any moment, suddenly stopped.

No more.

The little bit of sanity he had left grabbed his ankle.

Wasn’t he looking for Lina because of the curse? Because he wouldn’t be in pain if she was there.

That’s how he could avoid death.

‘But, why.’

Belige clenched his fist and glared at the air.

And.

Crunch-.

He started running, making a squeaking sound. Towards where Lina was.

Why were his feet moving on their own? Even that was confusing.

‘That maid was just.’

She was just a tool to survive this damn situation.

It was definitely that.

His feet wouldn’t stop. Emotions he couldn’t understand were choking him. But one thing was certain.

He couldn’t bear the prospect of that child not breathing next to him.

So horrible.

He might regret it. His foolish choice.

But despite that, his movements toward the cliff showed no hesitation.

Belige had finally reached the edge of the hill. Lina’s figure began to appear faintly.

But the relief of finding her was fleeting. He realized that she was standing precariously on the edge of the cliff.

“Lina!”

The duke, whose liver was cold, called her name with all his might, but his voice was drowned out by the sound of heavy rain.

The duke felt impatient and his steps quickened.

“Lina-!”

This time, Lina heard his voice, and she looked around to find the owner of the voice.

“Duke… …?”

“It’s dangerous there, so come here quickly!”

However, Lina just stood still, as if she didn’t understand what he was saying. The moment Belige, who bit his lips in impatience, tried to get closer to her,

she realized that the ground she was standing on was making an unusual sound.

“It’s dangerous!!”

As soon as he warned her, the ground Lina was standing on began to collapse.

‘No.’

Without a moment to react, Lina’s body fell into the river. And. At the same time, his heart also collapsed.

“Lina-!”

‘Please.’

He desperately reached out his hand towards her, who was gradually disappearing from his sight, but only the tips of his thin fingers weakly brushed past.

‘I don’t want to lose you.’

“Your Majesty-!! No!!”

He heard urgent voices calling out to him from afar. But he didn’t stop walking forward as if he hadn’t heard anything.

And when there was nothing left to support his feet, he realized.

‘Yes.’

Only after seeing his body gradually crumbling down, did he find the answer to the question that had been unresolved.

‘Maybe I want you.’

Soon, Bellige threw himself down the cliff where Lina had fallen.

* * *

‘What is it…?’

Her mind seemed to go blank as she looked at the ground that was suddenly disappearing.

Her body plummeting downwards. The sharp wind brushing her cheek and her hair fluttering against it.

Ah.

Only then did Lina realize that she was falling down a cliff. But what was worse was this.

‘I can’t use magic… …!’

The water in the cup that was always full felt empty. No matter how much she recited the spell, nothing changed.

‘What should I do? I’m like this… …!’

She vaguely heard the Duke’s urgent cry, but she couldn’t answer. Soon, the ice-cold river engulfed her body.

Splash-.

As soon as she heard the sound of water parting, her body fell helplessly into the water.

Along with the tinnitus that pierced her ears, the ice-cold water stabbed her entire body like an awl.

‘I can’t breathe.’

She struggled to get to the surface with her breathing, but she fell back into the water without even being able to take a proper breath.

The river water, swollen by the rain, was too much for her to handle.

‘Please.’

She had to use magic to get out of the water. Every time she opened her mouth, the water kept rushing in, and she couldn’t even breathe properly.

She struggled to get out of the water, but as if there was a heavy weight attached to her ankles, her body was sinking lower and lower.

‘Someone… … .’

As the last breath she had barely managed to hold onto escaped through her lips. Bubbles of air rose up over her face and disappeared.

Lina thought as she barely managed to hold onto her increasingly dizzy mind.

‘Am I going to die?’

No. I won’t die. It’ll just be painful.

Whenever she was on the verge of death like this, she would forget that she was immortal. If she closed her eyes for a moment and woke up, everything would be over.

Just like it had always been.

Lina seemed to have given up on everything and stopped struggling. And then, feeling her body sinking lower and lower, she closed her eyes.

‘Light… … ?’

A small light that illuminated her dark vision, as if the sun was floating in the water, was gradually approaching her.

I wonder if she was hallucinating. Somehow, the light felt familiar.

‘It’s warm.’

The light that came closer warmly embraced her body. As if it was trying to protect her.

The two firm hands that wrapped around her cheeks grabbed her face and pulled her up.

And.

A hot lump of flesh overlapped Lina’s lips, which were cold and had turned white.

The warm breath coming in through her slightly parted lips opened her blocked airway.

Lina, who had come to her senses at the unfamiliar sensation mixed in her mouth, slowly opened her eyes.

‘… … Duke… … Your Majesty?’

Even in her blurry vision, the man’s brightly shining eyes were clearly imprinted in her mind. They were like the sun that brightens the darkness.

She, who was standing at the crossroads of life and death, had no power to refuse. So Lina closed her eyes as if holding onto a rope that had fallen from the sky and surrendered her body to him.

In a silence that seemed to have stopped time.

The two of them were sharing each other’s breath.

As if they were the only two in this world. So earnestly.

* * *

“Is it time yet?”

Count Harlen asked the knight next to him, but the answer was the same.

“Yes. It seems he drifted farther than I thought.”

“Haa… … .”

The count groaned lowly as if he was miserable.

The duke was missing.

And it was impossible to even confirm whether he was alive or dead. The current was too fast and the Curpit River was very long.

“How could this happen… … .”

“The duke will be okay.”

Lawrence said to Count Harlen, who was sighing and clutching his head.

“he is someone who survived the war at a young age. Surely he is waiting for us somewhere.”

During the years he was away on the battlefield, there were many threats to the Duke’s life.

The enemy’s blades slashed sharply past his neck, and those he had trusted for a long time stabbed him in the back.

And the Duke survived each crisis with dignity, and he cut down those who had tried to take his life without hesitation.

‘It is impossible for someone so strong to go wrong just because he fell into the water.’

Lawrence was sure that the Duke was safe.

He didn’t have a single doubt. Rather, he was worried about something else.

‘Why?’

He clearly said that it was dangerous and prohibited entry.

Lawrence didn’t understand the situation just now. The duke he had been watching for a long time had a stronger desire for life than anyone else.

‘But you jumped into the river to save the maid.’

When he found the duke throwing himself to save the maid from the edge of the collapsing cliff, Lawrence called out to the duke at the top of his lungs, but it was no use.

The two had already plummeted into the river.

He doubted whether the maid was the same person he had brought from the battlefield. He already knew that the maid was special to the duke.

‘But I didn’t expect it to be this bad.’

“Haa-.”

As Lawrence let out a low sigh as if he had a difficult problem, someone came in as if he was going to tear the tent apart. And Lawrence’s eyes widened when he saw him.

“You… … !”