Please Answer Me - Chapter 148

“What, what is this?!”

Suddenly, everything went pitch black, and a murmur of confusion spread from all directions. But the ones most startled were the horses, whose innate sensitivity made them particularly aware of the change. As soon as they lost their sight, the horses began to buck violently in place, and some even bolted from the stables.

“Aaargh! Back, everyone, get back!”

No one could calm the frantic horses in the dark. Amidst the chaos, Rosetta seized the moment and jumped onto the golden horse. Unlike the others, which were rearing and panicking, this horse bent its legs and lowered its body, making it easy for her to mount.

Once she was securely seated, Rosetta leaned close to the horse’s ear and whispered, “Can you follow the light for me? Please.”

In the distance, she could see a faint light—the sunlight shining through an exit. The horse, as if understanding her words, immediately bolted towards the light, leading a stampede of other horses in the same direction.

Inside the Colosseum, chaos reigned as it too was plunged into darkness. There was nothing anyone could do but wait until their eyes adjusted and hope for the best from the safety of their seats.

“P-Please wait a moment! We’ll have the lights back on shortly!”

As the announcer promised, torches were lit throughout the arena. However, it took time to illuminate such a vast space completely, and in the meantime, Rosetta had already reached the exit. The guards stationed there, seeing the flood of frenzied horses, stepped back instead of trying to block them. Any attempt to stop them would have resulted in being trampled to death by the panicked animals.

They easily passed through the gates, leaving only one final exit that led outside.

A smile of relief finally appeared on Rosetta’s face. Her plan to escape under the cover of darkness, taking advantage of the confusion, had nearly succeeded.

She intended to ride to Rashid and warn him of the danger, even if they couldn’t leave together immediately.

But then, someone appeared, blocking the exit. At first, Rosetta couldn’t make out who it was due to the backlight, which cast the figure as a mere shadow. But as she drew closer, she realized who it was.

…Iselle?

To her shock, Iselle stood there, calm and composed, as if he had been expecting her. His silver hair fluttered in the wind, and his red eyes gleamed.

How…

Rosetta’s eyes widened in alarm. His presence here meant that he had moved before the magic stones went out, well before the others realized what was happening. There was no way someone on foot could have arrived faster than someone on horseback.

It dawned on Rosetta that Iselle had suspected her plan all along. He had known she would try to escape and had been playing along, pretending not to notice.

How did he find out?

Rosetta bit her lip lightly, but she had no time to ponder the question.

“Hah!”

Kicking the horse’s sides, she urged it to go faster. Rather than stopping, she decided to charge through. With the other horses galloping alongside her, there was no way a few soldiers could stop them. Iselle would have no choice but to let them pass.

As she expected, Iselle did not try to stop her. Instead, he stepped aside, even opening the gate wide to let the horses through.

However, his compliance only filled Rosetta with a sense of foreboding. As soon as she passed through the gate, she turned back to look.

What she saw was a large bow aimed directly at her.

Thwack!

The arrow flew swiftly, striking the horse’s right hind leg with precision. Iselle, with practiced efficiency, nocked another arrow and released it, hitting the horse’s left thigh.

The horse, with both legs hit, immediately collapsed, throwing Rosetta to the ground. However, she managed to hold on to the reins, cushioning her fall and preventing a more severe impact.

“Ah…”

As she hit the ground, the first thing Rosetta did was instinctively protect her belly with her hands, shielding the life inside her. The impact was significant, but her grip on the reins had minimized the damage.

Dust rose around her and the fallen horse. Moments later, Iselle approached her. Just as Rosetta was trying to push herself up with her hands, Iselle stepped on the hem of her skirt.

“You…”

Rosetta looked up at Iselle with a mixture of shock and anger. She had never expected him to ask if she was alright or offer a hand to help her up, not after he had just shot the horse she was riding. It was clear now that his goals mattered more to him than her safety.

But she couldn’t understand why he was acting this way. If he wanted to stop her from escaping, he could have simply restrained her. Stepping on her skirt to keep her from moving seemed like a deliberate act of humiliation, a way to vent his anger directly.

“Get off, Iselle.”

Grinding her teeth, Rosetta commanded him. To her surprise, he obeyed. But no sooner had he moved than he seized her wrist with a grip that was anything but gentle.

“Rosetta, do you know what I regret most right now?” He chuckled, his voice laced with bitterness, “It’s that I didn’t leave you in that basement. If I had, you would never have dared to escape.”

Even hearing such cruel words directly from him, Rosetta could hardly believe it. Her eyes trembled, and Iselle’s lips curled into a mocking smile.

“You’re surprised to hear me talk like this, aren’t you? But Rosetta, did you know? This is who I’ve always been. I’ve never cared about anyone else. I was born this way.”

He spoke with a calmness that made his words all the more horrifying.

“Ever since I was a child, I didn’t care whether others laughed or cried. I never felt the need to connect with anyone emotionally. So when the late king took me hunting humans and ordered me to shoot them with arrows, I didn’t hesitate. Why would I? It didn’t bother me at all.”

“H-Human hunting?”

“You’ve heard about the cruel games the late king enjoyed at the Colosseum, right? But what he loved even more was releasing people into the forest, letting them run, and then shooting them down with arrows.”

“……”

Iselle watched Rosetta turn pale with a cold smile. “Where do you think those people came from? It would have been easier to use foreigners rather than citizens of Lysa, don’t you think? People from other countries, like Ardenese, for example…”

“What are you saying…”

Rosetta’s breath grew labored. The things he was saying were too cruel to comprehend.

“Still, I tried my best to fit in. I helped those in need and smiled kindly, thinking it would make me seem like a good person. Do you know why I went through all that trouble?”

His grip on her wrist tightened, and Rosetta let out a faint gasp of pain.

“It was because of you. I knew you would despise the real me. I knew you would never look at me.”

“That’s only natural!” Rosetta snapped back at him, “It’s not just me. Anyone would feel the same way.”

Until now, she had harbored various emotions toward him—gratitude for rescuing her from the basement, guilt for the scars he bore, and shame for loving another man despite being betrothed to him.

“Iselle Scallion, I don’t love you.”

But now she realized all those emotions were in vain.

“As you said, I despise and hate you. So give up and leave me.”

Contrary to her expectations, Iselle responded with a faint smile. “I know, Rosetta. I know you don’t love me and never will. You love that man, not me. That’s why I’m no longer pretending. That’s why I’m stepping on your dress and twisting your wrist.”

“What are you planning to do? What now?”

“I’m going to keep my promise.”

“Promise?”

“I promised you I would cut off his head and give it to you as a gift.”

Rosetta’s breath caught in her throat.

“Are you wondering how I figured out your plan? It wasn’t difficult. You, who never leave the palace, suddenly wanted to attend a jousting tournament. You’ve always disliked noisy, crowded places like this, only attending when you had to. But I considered the possibility that you might have taken an interest in racing after learning to ride recently. However, you showed no interest in the races. That’s when I knew you had made some sort of plan with him. The only question was whether you planned to meet him here or somewhere else.”

He looked at Rosetta with a calm but assured expression.

“Seeing you try to escape alone tells me it’s not here. So he must be waiting for you somewhere on the road to the palace, right?”