I Can’t Run Away From the Girl Who Saved Me

34 – Corpse Pickup (1)

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Sylvia did not open the door until after changing into pajamas in the room.

She didn’t show off her nakedness playfully, she didn’t unbutton her buttons to tease me, but the way she quietly looked at me with deep red eyes was far more beautiful than any daring exposure.

As I slowly entered her room, she gently took my hand and led me to bed.

There was no mood of tickling, seductive playfulness, or s*xual tension.

The comfort of sitting in a soft armchair watching the fire flicker like a fantasy, walking in front of the fireplace trembling wet from the cold rain of early winter.

There was only a warm coziness wrapped around him as if it would melt his whole body.

As she lay down on the bed, being led by her hand, the warmth permeated my body and I was enveloped in the sensation of relaxing all of my bones and muscles.

Sylvia slowly blew out the candle on the desk.

In an instant, the room, which was dyed with orange light that curved beautifully like a haze, was enveloped in darkness.

Today’s darkness had more warmth than fear.

Perhaps it’s because of her presence that slowly but without hesitation moves into the seat next to me.

“Can you step aside?”

“no it’s okay.”

The bed was wide enough, but when the lights went out, it was not easy to figure out how much space Mr. Sylvia had.

Since it was her bed anyway, I thought it would be appropriate for me to sleep narrowly, so I tried to step back a little, but suddenly, her long arms came between my arms and hugged my back tightly.

“Aww,”

“Because this is what it is.”

Sylvia’s bed was as warm and cozy as always, but she thought that no other bed or blanket would be as cozy as hers.

It’s not the first time I’ve fallen asleep in her arms, but unlike the last time I was tightly gripped like a snake,

Her embrace, gently wrapping my body like a mother bird hatching eggs, made me want more.

Sylvia’s lips were about the same as my forehead.

He could feel her breath tickling his hair.

Her voice, whispering quietly into my head, seemed to pass through my ears and tingle all over my body.

“ash.”

“yes.”

“Tell me a story.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Anything is fine. Instead, with a bright story,”

“A bright story?”

“Yeah, it doesn’t have to be a funny story, so I want to hear a happy story.”

“Um… I didn’t live a particularly unhappy life, but since I decided to talk about being happy like that, I can’t really think of it.”

“I’m begging you, for some reason today… I think I’ll have a nightmare.”

Saying that, Sylvia-san lightly tightened the arms holding me.

Having already seen what happens when she has nightmares, I was in a mixed mood.

Maybe if she’s having nightmares today, it’s my fault for ignoring my colleagues.

I paused as I recalled the Count’s mansion where I lived with my family in my mind.

“That… I’ll do it for now, but other than the normal everyday things I’ve always said…”

“I like that.”

I nodded slightly, but I was still undecided on what to say.

Before Sylvia-san fell asleep, I thought I should start talking, so I started to say anything.

Anyway, that was the only background in my memories.

“The count’s manor, where my family lived, was famous for its wheat fields that turn golden every fall.”

Like a fairy tale that starts with ‘Once upon a time’, I started the story like that.

The tongue, which had been stumbling at first, soon began to move smoothly.

It was thanks to the memories that gradually bloomed in my head one by one just by thinking of the beautiful Goldfield estate.

A funny memory of running away from a bee sting in the garden.

The memory of my father trying to wake up after hearing the news that Layla had taken her first step late at night, begging her to walk for the first time.

Memories of the new maid who was shaking after breaking a plate, but the new maid was embarrassed because neither the count nor the countess paid any attention to the broken plate.

As we started talking, memories from the mansion began to flow.

While listening to my story, Mr. Sylvia laughed quietly, conveyed his impressions with short words, and quietly stroked my hair after each story.

I was so happy to see her happily listening to the story, and I also didn’t feel bad about getting wet with memories while talking about the old days.

Ah, the Earldom of Goldfield.

my hometown. my house.

Naturally, my story turned into an anecdote between the Count and the Countess.

As I lived in a small servant’s quarters inside the count’s mansion, most of my memories were based on that mansion, and of course I had many memories with the two of them.

Even though he was a hired servant, he was not pressured for his position, but rather treated indecently.

Even though it was a baron without a domain, it was only after becoming a noble that I realized how precious their attitude was.

In particular, the Countess was very fond of me, Maria sister, and Leila.

When we became aristocrats thanks to Maria noona, she was happy as if it were her first wife.

“The Count had a daughter who was the same age as my sister.”

“…”

Sylvia didn’t answer.

His breathing became slow and regular, suggesting that he was falling asleep.

I softened my voice a bit.

So as not to disturb her if she falls asleep.

“On the day we became barons, the Count said, ‘We originally thought of it as a family, but now we can really become a family!’ He was delighted.”

In fact, until now, I had hardly talked about the Count and the Countess.

He was kind to the end, but since it was a bit difficult to say that they were completely family, the order had been pushed back until now.

However, the anecdotes with my family no longer come to mind, and the relationship between me and them could be considered family.

because

“Thankfully, I got engaged to my daughter, the young lady…”

“what?”

Sylvia-san, who thought she was asleep, spoke out at that moment.

There was no hint of sleepiness in her voice.

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Five or six people, covered in large robes, were camping in the woods.

Men who sleep without a tent, with only a campfire lit, covered in robes as blankets, and two men who stay awake to keep an eye on the surroundings, but rather than keep an eye on their surroundings.

Their robes were soaked with muddy water and were torn and tattered here and there, and their expressions and eyes were full of tiredness.

Suddenly, a man threw a branch he was using as a poker and growled.

“Oh sh*t, come, come come.”

“Hmm… Please be careful with your words, but I understand how you feel…”

The man sitting across from him sighed and quietly put down the branch.

However, the growling man seemed to be still angry.

“The Holy Maiden is Niimi…”

“Look, Hans.”

“No, Mr. Melbourne. isn’t it? We’ve been sent to this dangerous forest to pick up the body of my groom! Aren’t you angry?”

“Keep your voice down, as you say, this forest is dangerous. Especially at night.”

As soon as Melbourne’s words were finished, the dreary cry of the loon reverberated through the night sky.

Hans stroked my arms and shut his mouth.

Although he stopped Hans from cursing Alice, Melbourne fully sympathized with Hans’ dissatisfaction.

This forest is dangerous.

As if they felt something just by approaching the forest, the horses struggled to run away without obeying orders, and the horses that were forced into the forest shuddered all over and collapsed or ran away without looking back.

There is no such thing as a plague that only selects and kills horses in the forest, so it is probably that horses with more sensitive senses than humans feel something with their animal senses and are reluctant to enter this forest.

Most of the loaded horses ran away, making it impossible to camp with a proper tent.

After walking through this rugged forest with no roads on both legs, the party was exhausted within a day of entering the forest.

Looking at the twists and turns of the road, even if you brought a horse, you probably wouldn’t have been able to ride it.

In addition, as if a boundary had been drawn, the frequent attacks of monsters and wild animals as soon as they stepped into the forest also contributed to their fatigue.

“The normal mission is already impossible. Two days is the limit with the food we have right now.”

“… Yes. You should be able to advance while hunting, but unless you build a proper settlement, you can’t search and hunt at the same time.”

“I won’t leave my prey unattended, but just think of it as being in this forest for two days. We will have to withdraw in two days.”

“It’s impossible to find a human body in this forest in two days. I’m sure the priest in Melbourne knows it well.”

“know…”

Melbourne ran a hand through the flowing hair and grabbed his throbbing head.

Hans said as if he was full of spirits.

“Why wait two days? This mission is already impossible. We must withdraw now. You know, none of the nearby villages I saw on the way here had a cathedral, and we have no money and no horses. If you don’t hurry, you’ll end up in a guest house on the way, let alone return.”

Hans’s words were answered in every detail.

Their mistake of losing both the horse and the luggage was pitiful, but it had already happened.

And there was no solution.

If there was no church nearby, even the travel expenses on the way back could not be supported.

As Hans said, it was right that these two days’ worth of food should be consumed while on the way back.

However, Melbourne shook his head and said.

“…because I have to try.”

“yes?”

“Shouldn’t there be an excuse that you tried hard? I have to report the failure of the search to the Holy Maiden.”

“What the f*ck.”

“Hans.”

Melbourne stopped Hans from swearing.

Hans spat on the floor with a disgruntled expression on his face.

“Look, think of the way we have come. Isn’t it so rough that even if a horse comes in, you can’t pass properly?”

“So.”

“Investigation has shown that they entered this forest in a wagon.”

“Ha, it’s like suicide. Are you sure it’s already dead? How could you ask me to pick up these damn corpses!”

“That’s it.”

“yes?”

Melbourne nodded, waited for Hans to calm down, then opened his mouth slowly.

“If you came in by carriage, that is. The horses would not have been properly controlled, and since the road was very rough, it would have been impossible for a large wagon to move properly.”

“…What do you mean?”

“The carriage must have overturned shortly after entering the forest.”

“…”

“And they started from Goldfields.”

Melbourne continued his explanation by showing the map briefly drawn in his notebook.

“We entered this forest from the west, and the wagon must have entered the forest from somewhere in the northwest direction…”

“Near the entrance to that part… Ha, the range to be searched is dramatically reduced.”

“If you search here diligently for two days and still can’t find it, it must be the will of the goddess.”

Melbourne put the notebook back into his arms and patted Hans on the shoulder.

Hans nodded as he looked at Melbourne.

In fact, Hans was also a bit quick-tempered, but he was not a short-sighted person.

At least he knew very well that Melbourne was not one of those stubborn people who would endanger their subordinates and colleagues for the sake of their own advancement or career.

Alice Goldfield.

The crazy b*tch who built that crazy pig farm.

Hans could fully understand Melbourne’s situation where he had to obey the girl’s nonsensical orders.

Melbourne looked down at the blazing bonfire and apologized politely to Hans.

“But I’m sorry… Think of it as your goal to return alive rather than search.”

“… Even after going this far, if the Holy Virgin says something when I go back, I can’t guarantee it then. I’m really open.”

Melbourne laughed helplessly at Hans’ pouting tone with a shaggy beard.

“Even though she is ferocious and merciless to the wicked, she is also the daughter of the Goddess Cult and proud of it. You may be disappointed, but she is not someone who will punish you for that alone.”

“ha…”

Hans looked up at the sky with a deep sigh.

Melbourne also raised its head following Hans.

The bonfire’s embers struggled to climb up to the sky, where not even the moon, not even a single star fragment could be seen, in complete darkness.

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