I Became the Substitute for the Runaway Heroine - Chapter 61

Caesar returned to the hotel and called a meeting to receive reports from his aides.

Count Lowell had taken charge of the Anderson investigation, with Golden, the strategist, assisting him and sending regular updates.

Princess Trisha had also promised to uncover more of the Count’s additional crimes.

“With the information Lady Odette provided, we’ve managed to bring down the Count. I believe she deserves to be granted a noble title.”

“A title…”

“Yes! She rendered the greatest service of all.”

“That’s true… We’ll consider it—once she’s caught. What news of Odette’s whereabouts?”

A Euroian man, who had even sketched a portrait of Odette, stepped forward. He had been stationed at the hotel in Raon Town, where she had escaped.

“We’ve had no contact from the knights stationed at the checkpoints around Hoan District. It seems she fled through the forest.”

“She escaped through the forest?”

“But it’s certain that the forest she used isn’t connected to the western woods of the Count’s estate. There are rumors that some barriers set by dark mages occasionally lead to other spaces.”

“My lord!”

Kirill, the frost mage who had been urgently summoned from the capital, burst through the door.

“Strong divine energy has been detected near the capital. I saw the high priests rushing toward it with my own eyes.”

“…We must find Odette first.”

Caesar immediately issued orders and rode toward the capital.

But two days later—

“My lord! The Imperial Knights have moved west. We intercepted a message via carrier pigeon—it reports a surge of divine power!”

“She went west?”

“Wait! Now there’s divine energy detected in the north!”

Reports flooded in from all across the Empire—massive surges of divine power.

Yet each time Caesar chased one of these reports, Odette was nowhere to be found.

Instead, Holy Knights and Imperial Knights were finding orbs imbued with divine power, not Odette herself.

‘They’ve all been fooled by her.’

Caesar realized he might be the only one not deceived by Odette’s tricks.

Only he could sense Odette’s divine energy directly—not just from the orbs.

But now, he couldn’t sense her anywhere.

‘She’s been extracting her divine power, forming orbs, and scattering them across the land.’

“Wow, more than ten this time!”

Imperial Knights, having discovered divine orbs hidden in luggage, laughed in delight, nearly dancing from joy.

These divine orbs, appearing across the Empire, had an incredible effect—when touched, they boosted physical strength.

The effect didn’t last long, but it granted explosive power for a brief time.

Once proven effective, people began hoarding orbs to sell them.

After all, there were many situations where even short bursts of strength were invaluable, and demand for the orbs soared.

Prices skyrocketed. People even fought over them.

“This one’s mine! It was found in my cart!”

“You were moving my cargo when the orb slipped in—so it’s mine!”

“Listen! I was the first to see that orb roll out of the red-haired knight’s cargo. That makes it mine!”

As the cart owner and two men wrestled over ownership, Caesar muttered,

“…Jacques’ doing.”

“I believe so, my lord.”

“Bring him.”

Caesar gestured with his chin toward the man who’d mentioned the red-haired knight.

If he could find where Jacques was last seen, it might lead him to Odette.

Shortly after, Aden dragged in a brown-haired farmer and forced him to his knees.

“I-I don’t know why I’ve been brought here, but I swear I’ve committed no crime. I’ve never harmed a woman or a child!”

“I’m not accusing you of anything. Just tell me where you met the red-haired knight.”

“R-Red-haired knight? Ah… that young man?”

The farmer pulled a slip of paper from his pocket and handed it over.

“He paid me to deliver this cargo here.”

“…Ha.”

The address written on the note was House Maës—Caesar’s own estate.

“Open the bag.”

Aden and the knights opened the large bag the farmer had brought.

Inside, glass jars filled with divine orbs were carefully wrapped in cloth.

One jar had broken, causing some orbs to roll outside the bag.

“My lord, there’s a letter.”

“Give it here.”

Caesar took the letter, unfolded it, and read it.

Then, raising his chin, he lifted his gaze to the sky.

Caesar was so dumbfounded, he didn’t even know what to say.

“My lord, what did Lady Odette write?”

“She told me to purify.”

“…Purify?”

“She told me to stay strong.”

Caesar handed the letter to Aden and approached the farmer.

“A woman with blonde hair and violet eyes—did you see her?”

“…Well, there were two women wearing hoods with the red-haired knight.”

“Where did you see them? Where were they?”

“In Lake Town Kirke.”

Aden pressed a sword to the farmer’s neck—a silent warning that if he lied, he would die on the spot.

“P-Please! Ask the wagon master—we all departed from Kirke.”

At Caesar’s signal, the wagon driver was brought in, and he gave the same testimony.

“We’re going to Kirke.”

Just then, two carriages came to a stop from the opposite direction, and women jumped out, fighting with each other.

“This orb is mine!”

“Did you write your name on it? I grabbed it first—so it’s mine!”

“Ahh! Let go!”

The women were blocking the road, fighting over a glass jar filled with divine orbs.

Aden rushed over, broke up the fight, and brought the jar to Caesar.

“My lord, these are divine power orbs as well.”

The two carriages had raced like competitors, and their occupants ended up in a brawl. Both women appeared to be maids serving noble ladies.

“I don’t care what happened—just find out where they got that jar.”

Aden and the knights questioned both sides, then returned with a report.

“A brown-haired woman in Starpol asked them to deliver items to her family home. As they were shifting luggage, they discovered the jar and began fighting over it.”

“A brown-haired woman?”

“It’s likely Emma, Lady Odette’s maid.”

“Starpol is on the opposite side of the capital from Kirke.”

Starpol and Kirke were not only unrelated to Odette but also geographically distant from each other.

There was no way Odette could have traveled between both places in such a short time.

‘She’s sending divine orbs everywhere and making sure people see them.’

That way, those chasing her would be thrown into confusion, running in circles.

“Catch me first before you talk big.”

Odette’s words from beyond the barrier crossed Caesar’s mind.

“…Ha, hahaha.”

At last, Caesar realized why Odette had been so confident she wouldn’t be caught—and he laughed aloud.

He reached out and touched the glowing orb, simply out of frustration.

But then—Odette’s voice echoed in his head.

He could even see through her eyes.

“Jacques, let’s send this jar to the north this time…”

Caesar’s eyes sharpened as he stared at the vision of Odette.

‘What? Where are you? Where is this place?’

“I think just three will be enough.”

Odette handed three bags to Jacques, each containing her old clothes and divine power orbs.

‘It’s a hassle, but I have to do this if I don’t want to be tracked.’

Not long ago, she had left a carriage with a batch of divine orbs, when Holy Knights suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

They ignored her completely, opened the carriage, found the orbs, and asked the saintess who accompanied them,

“Can you feel divine power here?”

The saintess replied that she did, glancing briefly at Odette—but then tilted her head and looked away.

‘That’s when I was sure.’

If she extracted her divine power into orbs, even standing right next to someone, they wouldn’t realize she was the High Saintess.

Instead, the orb itself became the focus of detection.

It was likely because her divine power had grown so strong.

“Send these to the east, west, north, and south—anywhere.”

Since then, Odette had been randomly extracting divine power and sending it everywhere.

By the time her pursuers found the orbs inside a wagon, she would be long gone—impossible to catch.

At least, that’s what she believed.

But she shouldn’t have.

She had overlooked the fact that Caesar was unlike others.

That he had abilities beyond the norm.

And that he was a master of pursuit and tracking something she should never have forgotten.

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