I Became the Substitute for the Runaway Heroine - Chapter 82

Crack!

A man lunged toward Odette, striking the ground with a whip.

“What’s this? Did you come here on your own two feet because you wanted to be sold to a brothel?”

“D-don’t come any closer.”

“Are you scared?”

The man grinned, revealing yellowed teeth. At that moment, a commotion broke out behind him.

“The children are escaping!”

“Catch them!”

Children were fleeing from the freight wagons, and horses began to shriek. In that instant, Odette’s body froze; she was once again a little girl who had lost her mother. A piercing scream echoed inside her head, making it feel as if it would split open.

“Aaaagh!”

Even covering her ears was useless. Hot tears streamed from her tightly shut eyes.

Bang! Bang! Clubs slammed against the iron cages.

“Kill the old ones! Only take the women and children!”

A fleeing child was trampled by horse hooves. An old man running right in front of her collapsed, coughing up blood.

“Ugh… huff…”

Trembling violently, Odette raised the parasol she was holding. Since Emma had disguised the Saint’s Staff as a parasol, Odette ripped away the fabric. Just as she was about to release her suppressed divine power to attack the human traffickers—

A sudden wind brushed past her, and a familiar scent caught her nose. A firm arm wrapped around her waist.

“Shh. The High Priest is here.”

Thump. Odette’s heart sank to her toes.

It was Caesar’s whisper against her ear. It was his broad chest enveloping her entire body.

‘Caesar found me!’

Before she could even scream in surprise, Caesar’s hand pressed firmly against the back of her neck. Her strength drained instantly, and her vision blurred. Just before she lost consciousness, she saw Caesar’s sword moving like a dancer, emitting flashes of light.

“I’ll keep… my promise.”

The metallic scent of blood filled the air.

“I will kill every last one of those bastards who stole you away.”

“My Lord, all the traffickers have been neutralized, and the children have been safely returned to their guardians.”

Caesar had secured a carriage and laid the unconscious Odette inside.

“Hang the heads of the traffickers at the city gates.”

“Yes, My Lord. Also… Her Highness Trisha wishes to see you.”

There was no way Trisha wouldn’t have sensed the aura in Caesar’s sword while he was cutting down the traffickers. They had fought side-by-side throughout the war.

“Tell her I’m coming.”

Caesar brushed a stray hair from Odette’s face, a bitter expression crossing his features.

“You still need me. Do you understand?”

He couldn’t let her go like this—not while she possessed immense divine power yet remained trapped in the memories of a traumatized child.

“Odette, I will end your trials for you,” he whispered.

Even after he finished speaking, he couldn’t take his eyes off her. While he had been tailing her, he could have approached her many times, but he hadn’t. He could have touched her while she slept. But he feared doing so would only fuel his obsession and inner conflict.

And perhaps… just perhaps…

He had hoped she would return to him on her own. He had almost given up, thinking she never would. But seeing her vulnerability, Caesar made a vow.

‘You live your life. I will be the one who protects it.’

He kissed her cheek, then stood up and gave an order.

“Aden, take her to the finest hotel in Belmonte. I will follow as soon as I’ve seen the Princess.”

“Caesar.”

Even though he wore a silver mask, Trisha recognized him instantly. Today, Caesar was dressed in a white shirt and white trousers, looking like any other person out to enjoy the festival. Seeing how his waist seemed even more slender under his belt, she wondered if he had lost weight.

Trisha licked her dry lips and spoke. “I heard human traffickers tried to kidnap children.”

“The House of Belmonte is not what it used to be. It seems there are gaps in their security.”

“It appears so. To think they would try to kidnap children on the Day of the Water Festival, the most sacred day in Belmonte.”

Trisha hadn’t called him here for small talk. She smoothed her wind-ruffled hair and hesitated.

“I heard you took Odette.”

“I am going to marry her.”

“Odette won’t agree to that. She told me…”

She said she doesn’t love you. Trisha couldn’t bring herself to say it. She didn’t want to hurt him.

“This is a private matter between a man and a woman. Do not interfere.”

Caesar’s voice was bone-chillingly cold. It was a warning: it would be beneath a Princess to meddle in someone else’s love life.

‘If I hadn’t shared such a deep conversation with her, I might have ignored it. But how can I now?’

Trisha bit her lip. Knowing Odette’s firm resolve, she couldn’t let Caesar take her away like this. It would only make Odette hate him more, and Trisha didn’t want him to be hated.

She couldn’t bring herself to like anyone who hated him, yet she didn’t dislike Odette. In fact, she didn’t want to dislike her. Odette’s gaze toward her had been warm, filled with genuine concern. From the moment they met, Odette had been kind.

So, woman-to-woman, human-to-human, she wanted to protect Odette.

“Let her go. I’ll talk to her and arrange a meeting for the two of you later.”

“I’ll be taking my leave now.”

Caesar turned his back, signaling the end of the conversation.

“There will be a scandal if it’s discovered that you used force in the Southern Belmonte territory.”

Caesar was half-Belmonte, half-Imperial. If he killed Imperials in Belmonte, people would claim he had sided with the South and drawn his sword against the Empire. But Caesar didn’t seem to care about such rumors.

“Viscount Sachsen has been trafficking humans for twenty years. I dealt with him according to Imperial law. And as for anyone who claims I’ve turned against the Empire…”

He pointed toward the city gates where the traffickers’ heads were being displayed.

“That will be their fate.”

“Caesar… people respect you, but they also fear you.”

“Your Highness, I have lost my entire family. I will never let one of my people be hurt or killed again. Even if it costs me my life.”

My people.

So that was what Odette was to him. Trisha’s heart ached, and her vision began to blur. Having heard how close Odette came to being seriously injured, she couldn’t find the words to stop him.

“I’ll see you in the capital,” Caesar said.

As he walked away, Trisha turned to her guard. “Find out where he’s taking her.”

She decided she would have to bring Odette back once Caesar had calmed down.

“Oh my god! Where am I?”

Odette snapped her eyes open, feeling a dull ache in her neck. It seemed Caesar had knocked her out by hitting a pressure point before bringing her here.

“I thought he said he wasn’t coming to his maternal home!”

No wonder she had felt an urge to flee at dawn. She groaned, burying her face in her hands, then suddenly bolted upright.

“This is no time for this.”

She climbed out of the bed draped in a luxurious canopy and surveyed the high-end hotel suite, which was adorned with plush carpets and lit by candles. It looked like the sun had already set.

“My staff!”

She breathed a sigh of relief when she found the Saint’s Staff—still disguised as a parasol—under the bed. It would have been a disaster if she’d left it behind.

Creeping to the door, she pressed her ear against it and heard the presence of knights standing guard.

‘I can’t get out this way.’

Gripping the staff tightly, Odette headed for the terrace. Looking down, she saw the hotel’s rear garden, where a banquet was in full swing. Based on the flowers, lights, champagne, and the orchestra, it was clearly an elite party.

‘It’s not like this is my first time escaping.’

Taking a deep breath, Odette released a glow of divine power from the tip of her staff to create a slender rope. She looped it around a tree on the opposite side and vaulted over the terrace railing.

Suspended by the rope of divine power, Odette glided through the air and landed lightly on the ground.

“Success!”

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