CH 34

Gulp. Baikal gulped when Renato’s face came closer. The eyes of the Prince who said that he would take him in were so clear and pure without a single hint of deceit that he almost got mesmerized.

Baikal desperately grabbed onto his rationality. Even though Renato looked like a fairy, he was still a human being, who could even be dirtier than monsters. He had to keep his mind clear so that he wouldn’t be deceived. Out of tension, he hit his head on the floor.

“……I will offer my a, allegiance to you, Your Imperial Highness.”

Since Renato already revealed his identity, Baikal had two options. Either he swore allegiance here or died to keep silent.

Naturally, Baikal chose the former. For his sister’s sake, he couldn’t die yet. He couldn’t know if this would be a new hell gate or a rope for him and his sister to grab onto, but he didn’t have a choice in the first place.

“Good. Then I’ll give you a place to hide. I’ll be sending Dame Luna here tonight, so you can move with your sister.”

“Thank, you.”

“Your debt will be gone by tomorrow. And……”

Just as Renato was about to explain his future plans, suddenly, there was a commotion outside. Sensing the disturbance outside, Luna quickly stood in front of Renato to protect him. Immediately after that, the door swung open with a loud noise.

“Hey! Something has happened! It doesn’t seem to be the capital security force, but some strange bastards have appeared! An attack is going on! The leader told you to get some medicine and get out through the secret passage…… What?”

The man who opened the door and came in was a tough-looking man. He alternately looked at Baikal who was lying on the floor, and Luna who was standing there to protect Renato. Then, he quickly pulled out his sword.

“Who are you guys?!”

“Your Imperial Highness, please step back.”

After finishing her words, Luna drew out the sword from her waist and kicked the floor. But Renato did not answer. The moment he saw the sword pointed at him, he could not do anything as his head had gone blank. A sudden fear that the sword would rip through his skin and pierce his intestines at any moment overwhelmed him.

“There are some suspicious guys here! Quickly call for support…… Agh!”

While Renato froze, Luna struck the man’s sword when he planned to call comrades, then struck his Adam’s apple with the sword handle. As she stunned the opponent with neat movements, a hand axe flew towards her.

Clang!

The axe that cut through the air brushed Luna’s side and hit the wall. Then, a black shadow rushed to Luna. Perhaps it was a member of the gang who ran here after hearing the man’s request for support.

“Die!”

Luna raised the sword to block an attack from the gang member who rushed at her with a scream. Clang, the two weapons clashed, creating a loud noise. With that, Luna struck off the man’s sword, turned her body around, and slashed from below.

“Ugh!”

Splash, red blood was splashing all over the place. In the blink of an eye, the large man got a cut on his chest and burst out screaming. Not missing the opportunity, Luna powerfully hit his chin with her palm. With a dull sound, the gang member lost consciousness, stumbled, and fell to the floor.

“Hu……”

Having cleared the situation right in an instant, Luna wiped away the blood from her sword. She didn’t want to shed as much blood as possible because Renato was here, but she had no choice.

“It seems that something has happened outside. We need to get out before the commotion gets bigger. Let’s take that person with us…… Your Imperial Highness?”

Luna, who approached Renato with her sword, sensed something strange and stopped talking. He looked terribly pale.

“Your Imperial Highness? Are you okay?”

“Hmm? Ah. Uh, uh…… I’m okay.”

Renato, who was standing absent-mindedly, barely came to his senses thanks to Luna’s voice. He stuttered back an answer to Luna.

What’s wrong with me?

Feeling out of breath, Renato pressed his hand against his chest. His entire body turned into stone and couldn’t lift a single finger just earlier, but now he was shaking like an aspen tree. Giving strength to his trembling feet, he shook his head from side to side, trying to come to his senses.

Now is not the time for this. Come to your senses.

Reprimanding himself, Renato tightly closed his eyes and opened them back. Then, he became stiff when seeing the blood oozing out from the fallen man. His eyes looking at the red liquid that soaked the floor violently trembled.

“Is he, dead?”

Before he could think, the words came out of his mouth first. A brief sense of failure appeared on Luna’s face when she realized where Renato’s gaze was headed.

“No. I just knocked him out.”

Luna turned her body around and blocked Renato’s view so that he wouldn’t see the fallen enemy. Then, she looked at Renato with anxious eyes. He must be surprised because today was the first time he had encountered an enemy with murderous intent and then seen the blood of that person.

“I’m sorry for making you see something unsightly.”

“No. I’m not used to this, so…… I must have been a little surprised.”

Renato hurriedly shook his head at Luna’s apology. She was only faithful to her duty as his guard knight. She did nothing wrong at all. However, he found it hard to control his facial expression.

When Luna ran out to subdue the enemies a little while ago, he remembered her last appearance in his previous life. Her appearance from behind as she ran towards Maximo’s knights, ready for her death.

“I should be thankful instead. Sorry for behaving weirdly…… And thank you for protecting me.”

Back then, and now. Renato grabbed Luna’s hand with his trembling hand. A sigh of relief unconsciously flowed out when he felt the warmth on his palm.

Yes, this is reality. It was the reality that both he and Luna were alive. Renato suppressed the blood-red memories that had filled his mind.

Meanwhile, the noise outside became louder. The sounds of something crashing and breaking, someone’s screams and shouts came through the open door. Realizing that the situation was unusual, Luna grabbed Renato’s arm.

“We should get out of here for now. Hey, don’t just stupidly kneel there, get up.”

“Pardon? Yes!”

Baikal, who was stunned by the horrors occurring in front of him, quickly stood up. Luna threw a plaque engraved with the imperial insignia at him.

“If you get caught by the security force or someone, show them this.”

“W, what is this?”

“It is a plaque that symbolizes the imperial family’s protection. I don’t think I can afford to protect you, so make sure to keep it safe. It will be your lifeline.”

“Huff.”

“What’s the secret passage that guy talked about earlier?”

“Uh…… There is a passageway made to escape the security force’s crackdown. It’s this way.”

Baikal, holding the plaque Luna gave him in his hand, hurriedly led them into the secret passage. Renato suppressed his nausea and moved his feet. When he came out through the dark, damp passageway, he heard loud noises from all directions.

“Aaah! Spare me!”

“Don’t let them run away!”

“Fuck, what the hell is going on here?! They don’t seem to be the security force?”

“If you don’t want to die, drop your weapons and surrender!”

The street was a mess. Baikal carefully examined the chaos unfolding before his eyes. The members of the organization, confronting the knights in black robes, looked perplexed. Their difference in skill was too huge even when the organization had more members. As a result, some people gave up the fight to run away.

“I think it would be better to go to the back instead of this way. Please follow me.”

Having made his decision, Baikal turned around and headed the other way. However, before the three of them could exit the alley, they ran into around fifteen members of the organization.

“Who are these bastards? Are they on the same side as the attackers?”

“That punk is Baikal, right? You betrayed us!”

The gang members, who were running away from the attacks, found Baikal with Renato and glared at them. They rushed in before Baikal could answer anything.

“Kill them!”

“Stay behind me.”

When some gang members rushed in, Luna pulled Baikal back and dashed forward. With a cutting sound, blood gushed out from the man in front like a fountain.

“Get away with Renato-nim!”

Luna cut down the gang members who were attacking her one after another and gave an order to Baikal. It was easy to block enemies coming in from the front because it was a narrow alley, but it was difficult for her to protect Renato if a new enemy appeared from behind.

“Please get out of here first. I will clean up this place and follow you right away.”

Luna turned her head, met Renato’s eyes, and softly smiled. She intended to reassure him, but on the contrary, it had the opposite effect on Renato.

No.

Renato exclaimed silently. His heart sank when Luna tried to let him go first. The memories that he had barely suppressed filled his mind again.

The sound of swords clashing, the smell of blood that irritated the tip of his nose, and the drops of red blood splashing all over the place…… Renato’s mind was instantly dragged back to his previous life. For a moment, his insides, which just barely calmed down, shook violently, and he felt something surge up to his throat.