Slowly and Painfully ー ✓

Chapter 44: The Defeated and the Victorious

There they were.

I narrowed my eyes at the scene that was a few feet ahead of me. A little bit to the left was Prince Jacque Darryl, darting past from tree to tree, his golden blade, Frère, flickering in the dark. Prince Vante Osburne was faster and thus farther from the seventh-born, considering the weight of his sword and the earlier experience with these kind of scenarios.

But the Black Hood was out of reach from any of them. We gave him a running start. Damn it, I should've killed him when I had the chance.

I remained my focus on him, heavily panting. We were within the deepest parts of the forest. The branches were getting in my way, stabbing the edges of my dress. This was a trap. Soon, we won't be able to follow him. We'll lose him!

“I won't let you.” I sharply inhaled through my teeth.

I positioned at a nearby hill where the trees were underneath me. Lifting Aculeus, I prepared to fire.

But a bunch of vines were obscuring my target. I clicked my tongue in frustration. Should I shoot three arrows to hopefully get rid of them? No, that won't work. At this range, my arrows would only be stuck as a result. Thick vines like those won't be so easy to eliminate with my weapon. And there was no time to waste for a change of tactics.

Exhaustion was progressively beating my body.

I was about to give up when Prince Jacque unknowingly chopped the vines with his sword as he was trying to delve deeper into the woods. The corner of my lips went up. I steadied my breaths, readying my arrow.

Ready...

“Jacque, get down!” I yelled.

Aim...

He heard me. Despite not aware of where my voice came from, he instinctively followed and crouched to the forest floor.

Fire.

My arrow zipped through the air. Instead of attacking the Black Hood, it traveled towards another direction, much to Prince Jacque's confusion. It pierced a gaping crack of a stone wall.

“Rosette, you missed!” said the seventh-born worriedly.

I shook my head, smiling at him.

“I did not.”

A loud rumble ricocheted all over the area. Birds flew away in fright. Prince Vante noticed the ground shake beneath his boots. He looked up and saw a huge mass of rock crumbling down like a human-sized boulder. Hurriedly, he drew back.

Seeing the royal retreat, the Black Hood cackled while halting in his tracks. “That's right, Your Highness. You can't get me—”

He ceased his laughter. His attention landed on the shadow below him, growing bigger and bigger and...

Prince Vante smirked. “You were saying?”

The man glanced up to where the source of the shadow was. The boulder was tumbling down straight towards him. He shrieked.

I closed my eyes and heard bones crushing.

The forest was silent for a couple of minutes. I pat my chest, attempting to be calm. I must have a strong mentality.

Then, I heard approaching footsteps on fallen leaves.

“He's not dead.” Prince Jacque told me, his hand clasping over my shoulder. “Good job, Rosie.”

I could only nod at him.

We went over to the man on the ground. The branches of the trees filtered the rays of the moon, becoming a spotlight for our dear captive.