The Road Ahead

1A bad start leads to an early downfall… just like the saying goes.

They were supposed to escape smoothly toward the Imperial Capital, yet something like this happened.

Perhaps it was fate.

Luna sighed helplessly.

After all, luck was always a strange thing.

“Hiss…”

The fallen brown horse struggled on the ground.

Its reins tangled, preventing it from getting up no matter how hard it tried.

It thrashed wildly, flattening the golden wheat field around it.

If the owner from the nearby village saw this, they would probably detain them on the spot.

Fortunately, no one had noticed.

“Pfft! Pfft!”

Luna spat out the mixture of dirt and wheat stalks in her mouth.

She looked speechlessly at the overturned carriage.

Inside the carriage, Ailian wasn’t any better.

In fact, she had fallen face-first into the mud.

“Pfft—hahahaha!”

Seeing Ailian’s messy face covered in black mud, Luna burst into laughter.

She pointed at her face.

The mud around her mouth looked like chocolate paste.

Like something chewed and processed multiple times.

“Pfft! Pfft!”

Ailian shook her head, wiping mud from her eyes while spitting out the bitter dirt.

The taste triggered a strong urge to gag.

Thankfully, she spat it out quickly.

Compared to Ailian, Luna wasn’t much better.

From Karazat, across three duchies to Bordeaux—

She hadn’t bathed once.

Her hair was greasy and matted.

Only her face had some semblance of cleanliness.

“Pfft—hahahaha!”

This time, Ailian laughed.

Luna hadn’t noticed—

Her entire face was covered in mud too.

Like a night assassin wearing a black mask.

Except it wasn’t ink—

It was sticky mud.

Some parts had even hardened.

Only her bright crimson eyes remained visible.

Half the same, really.

“Hahahahaha!”

The two pointed at each other and laughed uncontrollably.

The earlier awkwardness vanished instantly.

They exchanged a glance—

And burst into laughter again.

“Ughhh! Ughhh!”

Suddenly—

A struggling voice interrupted them.

They had forgotten someone.

Yes.

Someone.

“Eugene?!”

Luna finally remembered.

They had completely forgotten him.

He struggled violently—

Half his face buried in mud.

He had been stuck in the field this whole time.

When the carriage flipped, he had jumped off cleverly.

Drawing a perfect arc through the air.

He even admired his own trajectory midair.

“Haha! Bet you didn’t expect this! I’m an agile mage!”

Then—

Thud.

He crashed into the ground beautifully.

And passed out.

After all—

He was a mage.

A goofy one at that.

His head stuck into the mud.

Breathing became difficult.

About a minute later—

His brain kicked him awake.

Like the saying goes—

“A dying man sits up in shock.”

He sprang up like a carrot being pulled out.

Barely alive.

“Cough! Cough! Haaah!”

He gasped for air.

His nose was clogged.

So he pinched one nostril—

Snorted out the mud.

Then the other.

“Ladies… although I don’t know what made you so happy… I almost died… I even saw a goddess…”

He panted weakly.

He really had seen one.

Beautiful beyond words.

Calling to him.

But then—

He was jolted back.

“… ”

“… ”

Silence.

Awkward silence.

He looked miserable.

Mud covered his eyes.

Like a man wearing a clay mask.

“Hey… ladies… don’t ignore me… I’m scared… I might be in trouble…”

He sat down weakly.

“I think I’m blind…”

He said sadly.

“Don’t comfort me… real men don’t cry!”

“… ”

“… ”

Still silence.

“Hiss—”

The horse neighed.

“…Pff—HAHAHAHAHA!”

Luna couldn’t hold it anymore.

Ailian tried to endure—

But failed.

“Hahahahaha!”

They both burst out laughing.

To Eugene, it sounded like cruel mockery.

“Don’t your consciences hurt?!”

He said bitterly.

If not for the mud, he might have cried.

Luna laughed so hard her stomach hurt.

She walked over and wiped the mud from his eyes.

Suddenly—

Light.

Like divine illumination.

He couldn’t open his eyes.

Not because he was blind—

But because he hadn’t seen sunlight in so long.

Awkward silence again.

“So… I’m not blind…”

He thought awkwardly.

“What an idiot…”

Luna looked at him like a fool.

“Hahaha!”

Ailian kept laughing, pointing between them.

Both looked equally ridiculous.

“Uh… ladies… I think my perception was slightly off…”

He scratched his head nervously.

Feeling embarrassed under their gazes.

Then—

He felt something wet.

His hair was full of mud.

“Our carriage… flipped…”

He suddenly said.

Reality hit.

They fell silent.

“…Are we walking to the capital?”

Trying to take charge, he spoke first.

Silence again.

He understood.

They didn’t know either.

“…Sigh.”

He stood up and walked toward the horse.

“Hiiisss—!”

The horse neighed as if complaining.

“Finally noticed me, idiots!”

He untied the reins.

The horse stood up.

“Wait—don’t—”

Before Luna finished—

The horse bolted.

Like a wild beast.

Gone.

Luna knew.

That horse was extremely stubborn.

Once it ran—

It wouldn’t come back.

Dusk approached.

Night would fall soon.

All their food—

Scattered in the mud.

Ruined.

Eugene stared blankly.

They would go hungry.

Ailian also felt uneasy.

A strange fear.

As if she had once starved for a long time.

Cold sweat formed.

Strange…

“HAHAHAHA…”

Eugene suddenly laughed.

A bad feeling.

“It’s fine, my fault. If needed, I’ll hunt. I’m a mage—I can handle small animals.”

He said confidently.

“No need.”

Luna replied calmly.

“I’m a Saint. I’ll handle it.”

That hurt his pride.

He was a proper mage.

Yet—

She had defeated a bishop in seconds.

“Saint…”

Ailian murmured.

Once—

She had been one too.

“What are you doing?!”

A sudden shout came from nearby.

A middle-aged man was approaching them.