Chapter 48

Returning to her room with her frustration still boiling, Christie vented her stress by thrashing about on the bed.

She repeatedly punched the bed, pressed her face into the pillow, and screamed out her emotions until the burning anger finally subsided.

"...Damn it. Damn it, damn it."

Lately, Christie had been in this state constantly. Whenever she had a moment to spare, she would curse her current situation and the people around her.

Collapsing onto the bed, which was now a mess from her thrashing, she casually looked around the room.

"...What a lousy room."

The individual room for the live-in servant was small. It had the bare minimum of furniture and was well-maintained, but for Christie, who had lived in a spacious room surrounded by luxurious furniture and decorations at her family home, it was nothing but a source of dissatisfaction.

The room was cleaned by a maid to ensure Christie, who performed intellectual work, could get as much rest as possible. Being a slave and not having to clean her own room was a luxurious treatment, but Christie didn't care about such things.

As she looked around the room, her gaze suddenly fell on the window.

"...!"

The window was unlocked.

Christie's individual room, being that of a slave who was not particularly obedient, had an additional lock on the outside of the window to prevent escape.

The maids of the manor would remove this lock during cleaning to ventilate the room, but today they had forgotten to lock it again. It was a mistake typical of the country maids.

The main windows and entrances of the manor were equipped with magical security devices that would sound an alarm if someone tried to open or break them at night. However, there were no such devices in the personal rooms.

In other words, she could escape through this window.

"..."

Christie was torn about what to do.

This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If she missed this chance, she might never get another one.

She was also concerned about Noein's somewhat ominous attitude earlier. Perhaps he would try to force her compliance with violence in the future. She didn't want to be hurt by someone like him.

After escaping, she could head south, slip through the conflict zone, and make her way to the Lancer Kingdom. The slave status and the slave mark were only recognized in the Loburg Kingdom. In a neighboring country, they wouldn't matter, and she could easily find work with her high education.

There was a possibility of dying on the way, but it was better than being kept like a pet in this rural village.

She couldn't take it anymore. She decided to escape.

...

In this world, to save on the oil and candles used for lighting, many people went to bed early and didn't stay up late. This was no different in the Arquvist barony.

Lord Noein sometimes stayed up late for work, but even so, by midnight, almost no one was awake in the capital, Noeina.

Christie took action in the middle of the night.

She carefully opened the window to avoid making any noise and checked the outside. There was no night watch in the peaceful capital, Noeina, so, as expected, no one was outside the window.

She slung a cloth bag over her shoulder, containing the bread from her dinner and valuables she had stolen from the manor, and climbed down into the garden from the window.

Christie, vigilantly guarding against any danger, quickly left the manor grounds and ran along the wooden fence that surrounded the capital, Noeina.

There were guards at the gate of the wooden fence, but as long as she didn't go through the gate, she wouldn't be noticed. Besides, the fence was not very high and could be easily climbed.

Using a wooden box and a barrel she found, Christie climbed over the fence at a spot away from the gate and finally made it outside the capital, Noeina.

She ran through the farmland and hid in the forest, then proceeded a bit further into the forest until she was out of sight of the gate, and then started running down the road.

(I did it! I did it! I did it!)

Christie thought she had made it. She was free.

She could run as far as possible during the night and disappear.

The manor was full of opportunities, and she had managed to steal several decorative items that could be sold. She could probably get a ride on a merchant or traveler's carriage heading south by offering these items, or sell them for food and lodging.

She could hide the slave mark on her neck, and with the worsening situation, there were not a few runaway slaves. Even if she was suspected, she could easily silence them with money.

Everything would work out. It would all be fine.

Feeling the freedom and liberation she hadn't felt in a long time, Christie ran down the road in high spirits—until she couldn't.

With a dull "thud," her vision went dark, and she fell awkwardly to the ground. Looking at her feet, it seemed she had tripped in a depression in the ground.

Trying to stand up quickly,

"Ouch!?"

A sharp pain shot through her ankle. In the moonlight, she couldn't see her feet clearly, but touching them caused a throbbing pain. She had twisted her ankle badly.

"No, no... This can't be happening."

This was no joke. She couldn't give up her freedom here, like this.

Managing to stand on one foot, she dragged her injured leg and continued down the road.

She had to keep moving. She had to get as far as possible during the night.

Her pace, which had been brisk earlier, was now excruciatingly slow, but she didn't stop walking.

Just then, the rustling of branches and leaves came from the bushes by the side of the road.

She had been spotted. The pursuers had arrived.

Someone must have seen her escape. Christie was immediately overwhelmed by a sense of despair.

She was now a runaway slave. She didn't know what would happen if she was brought back.

But she would never beg for forgiveness from that brat of a lord, even if it meant death.

"Hmph! Even if you bring me back now, I'll never be obedient!"

As she defiantly turned around,

there was no pursuer from the manor, but a single goblin.

"Gogaa!"

"Ah, no!"

Seeing the goblin emerge from the bushes, Christie screamed and tried to run away.

However, with one foot injured, she couldn't run and instead fell awkwardly.

The goblin, seeing Christie as an injured prey, approached her with a delighted "Gogyaa Gogyaa."

"Don't come near me! No! Don't come near me!"

Christie kicked the goblin, which was trying to grab her foot. The small goblin, caught off guard by the unexpected counterattack, fell on its butt but, undeterred, got up with a "Gugogoo!" and approached her again.

The goblin swung a wooden club it was holding.

With no weapons, Christie blocked the club with her arms. A dull "thud" echoed, and the pain was so intense she thought her arm might break, but it was the only way to protect herself.

The goblin, using its other hand, tried to claw at Christie's leg. She had no way to defend herself, and her skirt was torn, leaving a sharp wound on her leg.

"It hurts! It hurts! Stop! Please stop!"

The goblin, of course, didn't understand her words and continued to beat her with the club and claw at her leg.

The small goblin couldn't inflict fatal wounds on Christie, who was resisting, but her body was covered in more and more bruises. The pain only increased.

She was hit. She was scratched.

She was hit again. She was scratched again.

Sometimes, she couldn't block the club with her arms, and it hit her face.

Christie was already a mess.

If this continued, she would be exhausted and killed. Yet, she had no means to fight back.

No. She was scared.

Someone, anyone, please help me.

Just as she wished from the bottom of her heart,

"Hey, Christie, you look pretty bad."

It was Noein's voice, mocking her.