I Became the Substitute for the Runaway Heroine - Chapter 81

Caesar was barely holding on.

He was currently staying in a house that overlooked the main gate of the Marquis’s estate. Because he had purchased it in such a hurry, the place was covered in dust, and no furniture had been moved in yet. Caesar walked across the grimy floor toward the fireplace, his lips trembling slightly.

“I have never been this exhausted in my life.”

“Perhaps you should sleep on a field bed for a while, my Lord.”

“I cannot sleep.”

“Would you like some strong liquor?”

“Forget the alcohol.”

He could no longer bring Odette back by force, not now that she possessed such immense divine power. Strength alone was not enough to subdue her.

“I will stay for just one more day. Tomorrow, we head back to the capital.”

Caesar squeezed his eyes shut. He felt a burning sensation between his eyelids, which felt as gritty as if sand had been rubbed into them.

“I am giving up on Odette.”

At those words, his subordinates lowered their heads with somber expressions. However, in truth, they all felt a sense of relief both for Odette and for Caesar. They believed it was for the best that each went their separate ways.

Of course, Odette was the Great Saintess and a key contributor who had displayed brilliant strategy for Caesar’s revenge. The subordinates all liked her because she was kind and gentle, but that was precisely why they thought Caesar had to let her go.

The Lord knows neither how to give love nor how to receive it.

The young boy who grew up on the battlefield had become a man, but his heart had not yet matured. Would letting Odette go allow his heart to grow even a little bit? With that thought, Aden spoke.

“Understood. I will begin organizing our luggage for tomorrow’s departure.”

“Very well.”

Just then, Golden returned from gathering information through the suppliers of the Marquis’s estate.

“My Lord, Princess Trisha is attending the Water Day event today, and it is reported that Odette is accompanying her. Once the event ends late tonight, Odette is expected to leave the estate.”

“Good. Odette will leave, and I will return to where I belong.”

“Um, however, we have received intel that Viscount Sachsen is currently in the South.”

“What?”

“Ahem. Well, I suppose he just came to see the festival?” Aden glared at Golden, stepping on his foot as if asking why he would even report such a thing.

But Caesar’s expression had already shifted. “Surely Viscount Sachsen did not come alone?”

“It appears he brought a large number of porters and mercenaries, possibly planning to kidnap children during the festival.”

“Damn it all!”

Aden squeezed his eyes shut as he watched Caesar strap his scabbard back onto his waist.

It looks like leaving tomorrow is out of the question.

Caesar had often said on the battlefield that he should have wiped out every single person who stole what was precious to him. Only later did his men realize that the people he spoke of were human traffickers. And they realized that the “precious thing” they had stolen was Odette.

Since those traffickers had appeared in the South, there was no way Caesar would simply look the other way. As expected, his orders were swift.

“Aden, assemble everyone. We will execute those who need executing, then we head to the capital.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

The South’s long-standing tradition, the Water Festival, was a grand event where people prayed for health and good luck by splashing water on others regardless of status, age, or gender.

The fact that everyone wears masks throughout the festival is quite unique.

In the past, people enjoyed the festival with their faces exposed. However, because some people would harbor grudges and splash dirty water or gang up on a single person, masks became a requirement. People in all sorts of masks were enjoying themselves like children, splashing water everywhere.

“Wow! Why are there so many handsome men in the South?”

“Maybe they just look handsome because of the masks?” Odette answered barely as she dodged a splash of water.

“Even with the masks on, you can tell if someone is good-looking or not. And look at how they all walk around with their shirts unbuttoned. My eyes are certainly getting a treat.”

Aside from the masks, there was one settled rule for the festival: wearing white. Men, women, and children were all dressed in white, making the view from the hills look like a splash of white paint across the landscape.

“Ack! That red hair! Jacques!”

Emma, who had just been drenched by a bucket of water, screamed as she saw a flash of red hair running away.

“What if it isn’t Jacques?”

“Jacques is the only person with hair that bright red. Wait here. I am going to get my revenge.”

Emma filled her bucket at a fountain and chased after him.

Everyone is in white and wearing masks; she’ll probably lose him even if she chases him.

Well, when else would they be able to laugh and enjoy a festival like this again? Odette breathed in deeply with a bright smile.

“It feels like everything is finally falling into place.”

Vera was to be enrolled in the boarding school founded by Trisha. Odette had promised her that if she grew up well, she would have the opportunity to take the civil service exams and live a stable life. Furthermore, Saintess Jaina had been given a job caring for children at the same school.

But why did her heart feel so heavy?

It keeps bothering me that the Dowager Marchioness hates and resents Caesar so much.

Until she came to the Belmonte estate, Odette had never felt pity for Caesar. He was strong, arrogant, and sometimes cruel, so she had mostly feared him. But his grandmother seemed to have no intention of reconciling with him.

The Dowager Marchioness is the only family Caesar has left.

Could they not comfort each other’s pain? Before she left tomorrow, she felt she should tell the Marchioness that Caesar had grown up being abused and that his failure to ask his maternal family for help was likely due to Count Anderson’s schemes.

“Odette!”

Just then, Saintess Jaina came running toward her, gasping for breath and stumbling as if she were about to collapse.

“Jaina? Why are you alone? Where is Vera?”

Trisha was attending as a guest of honor and was scheduled to give a congratulatory speech on stage shortly, so she couldn’t keep Vera with her. Jaina had been tasked with looking after the girl.

“Vera… she’s gone.”

“What? What do you mean? You went toward the Lote River with her to watch the paper boats float away.”

“Ugh! She disappeared in the blink of an eye!” Jaina burst into tears, sobbing in terror. She seemed to be imagining the worst-case scenario of losing a child in a massive crowd.

Waaaah!

The crowd cheered as dancers began a performance on stage. As the atmosphere reached its peak, people surged toward the stage, pushing Odette and Jaina along with them. Odette led Jaina into an alleyway to keep her from being trampled.

“Let’s go to the last place you were with her. Vera is smart; she wouldn’t have strayed far from that spot.”

“Sniff, yes!”

Odette followed Jaina toward the Lote River. However, they could barely move forward through the crowds pouring into the narrow streets.

“We have to use the back alleys.”

“Right.”

This time, Odette took the lead with Jaina following behind.

“Is it this way?”

When Odette turned around, Jaina was nowhere to be seen. In the sea of people wearing white, they had lost each other.

“Oh no. Jaina! Vera!”

“Mmph!”

Somewhere nearby, she heard a faint groan.

“Vera! Vera, where are you? Where are you?”

An ordinary person might not have heard it, but Odette was different. As her divine power grew, her senses had become incredibly sharp, allowing her to distinguish Vera’s muffled groan from the surrounding noise.

“Vera! Keep making noise. I am coming. Vera!”

Odette ran into a gloomy back alley where the sunlight was blocked by roofs and awnings. But there, an unexpected scene was unfolding.

Whish! A leather whip cut through the air and struck a horse’s back.

Crack!

The horse neighed and reared up, herding children into a corner. A man was throwing children who had already been captured into a wagon like pieces of luggage.

“Hey! You!”

When Odette shouted, the man stopped and turned his head. He had a long diagonal scar running from his left eye to his cheek and a tattoo on his forearm.

“You,you are…!”

It was the man who had once hunted Odette and the village children, throwing them into a wagon just like this.

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