Chapter 89
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Sponsored by Virginie. Thank you ❤️ (3/3)
***
"No, wait..................."
-click.
There was the sound of a gun being loaded.
Everything was suddenly as quiet as a mouse.
Louise feared that she had been hearing things, or that a bullet was about to fly out of nowhere and pierce her body.
But whether she died here or was taken to Domus, the outcome would be the same. She gritted her teeth and called out again.
"Help, help me, please...! Here, there's someone in the wagon!"
Then the silence ended, followed by the voices of the protesters.
"Hey, brothers. Were you a bad man? You look like you've got a pretty good face...."
The protesters were relaxed, even though there was a gun pointed at their eyes.
They were not soldiers, they were not police, but they were brave. Louise was both grateful and impressed.
"You think you can shoot us all with those two guns? You'll never have enough bullets. Besides, our captain here has an appointment with the emperor, so if he suddenly disappears, you'll be in trouble."
-Bang!
The men in the coach seemed to be firing threatening shots to intimidate, but the protesters only laughed.
"Haha, look at this. We're the ones who broke through the police with our bare hands. If you want to change the world, you have to risk your life."
Another voice said.
"Come on, let's open the luggage carriage. It would be nice to do something nice for the Emperor before we meet him."
"Ooh, don't move, I'll shoot you next!"
But the protesters didn't even pretend to hear the men. Several footsteps surrounded the carriage.
-Bang, bang!
The men in the pinned-down carriage fired here and there, shouting frantically.
{Shoot them all! Kill them all!}
"Hey, won't you stop?!"
The next moment, however, there was a bang, and the top of the wagon shattered with a crack.
Louise let out a short scream and crouched on the ground, but the protesters' voices were no different than before.
"Who the hell said you guys were the only ones with guns?"
Soon there was the sound of hurried footsteps and the rattling of the carriage.
"Hey, are you okay in there? We're Zagreb protesters, we'll open the door, don't freak out!"
"Yes! Yes, thank you!"
Louise waited what seemed like an eternity for the carriage door to open.
Finally, bright morning sunlight poured in. To Louise's eyes, the scruffy laborer standing below looked like an angel descended from heaven.
"Oh, thank you................."
She forgot her shame and stretched out her tied arms to embrace him. Tears of relief rolled down her cheeks.
"Thank you, thank you so much................"
Just like that, her life was saved.
***
The protesters wrapped the kidnappers in rope and asked Louise.
"Are you sure you don't want to take them to the police station? Without you, they might not be punished properly. Besides, they seem to be foreigners."
"I'm sorry, you have to understand. My parents would be embarrassed if it became known that a young girl almost got into trouble out there......"
Louise apologized inwardly to her late parents and made up a bunch of false excuses.
The police wouldn’t believe her.
Louise had accompanied Caius and Melk to the police station, and she had learned that they were more interested in the feelings of high nobility than in the criminal.
If she went to the police station and Ferdinand found out about her escape, it would be all over.
The problem was that she didn’t know where Ferdinand was. If she was not lucky, he might stay in the Imperial City and she would never be able to meet Caius.
The man who appeared to be the leader of the protesters nodded in understanding.
"Yeah, sure. If any of us are headed in the same direction, I'll give you a ride."
He graciously offered Louise his robe. He didn't hesitate at all, despite the obvious lack of money.
She knew how she would repay him and reward him handsomely, but first she had to say something else.
"Thank you….and I don't think you're going to be able to travel that far, but if you're willing to lend me the stagecoach fare, I'll be sure to bring it to you with the clothes."
"Didn't you hear, it's me, Siegfried Dietz, who's been invited to have a private audience with emperor Caius I. I'm sure he'll be very surprised, but you don't need to worry about the cost of a stagecoach for a set of clothes."
Siegfried gave a loud thump, then leapt to his horse and held out his hand to Louise.
"My mother is in Gotha. I'll give you a ride there to see her as well."
The protesters whistled and shouted, as if they had already forgotten the dire situation they were in.
Perhaps she should ask to borrow a horse.....................
Louise thought about it for a moment, but decided against it.
Horses were too expensive. Besides, there were no commoner women in this empire who knew how to ride.
Maybe a farm hand........................
Siegfried looked at the protesters with a certain dignity.
"Turn them over to the police station with an explanation. And hand over the carriage as evidence."
When the protesters nodded their understanding, Siegfried turned to Louise and extended his hand again.
"Don’t worry. I don’t look like a thug, do I?”
Louis gripped the man's gloved hand firmly.
"Not at all."
Still, she omitted to say that he looked like a descended angel, because that would have given the simple man the wrong impression.
***
"Are you sure you're getting a private audience with the Emperor?"
Louise asked, and Siegfried burst out laughing.
"Yes, I am. I'm very nervous indeed, for it's a private audience, and I'm not sure I'll be able to get a word in with all those fearsome nobles surrounding me."
Louise wondered if she could speak to Caius through him, but quickly gave up.
To her, he was her husband of half a year, but to Siegfried, he was the Emperor of the sky. She knew she had a lot to say to the protesters, but she couldn't ask for a personal favor.
She was dressed so plainly that if she told them she was the emperor's wife, they'd think she was crazy.
Louise insisted that Siegfried take her to Trier, so they parted ways at Krefeld.
It had been hours since they had passed Gotha, where his mother lived.
"There's no urgent business at the moment, and you don't mind if I take you rather than letting you go alone. You've had a rough ride, and you're not scared, are you?"
She must have looked a little young.
But Louise was not actually on her way to Trier, and she could not continue to accompany him.
"I owe you so much already, thank you so much. I will not forget this favor."
Siegfried paid for the carriage, not entirely reassured.
As soon as they parted ways, her thoughts immediately turned to Caius.
What was Caius doing right now?
Did he know what danger she was in? And if he did, did he care?
She still didn’t think he could be behind this kidnapping.
She knew him, at least that much. He was her husband for half a year.
But if Caius didn’t know about this, Ferdinand would never reveal what he did to her.
Conversely, if Ferdinand were to falsely report that she had left of her own accord, Caius would believe him wholeheartedly.
"You can either stay in Burg and be an Ermoli, leaving your name with me, or you can take your name and run as far as you can."
The man never believed her for a moment anyway.
Maybe he would simply say, "So she's gone," and forget about her.
But whether he believed her or not, Louise had to clear her parents' name.
As a child who had doubted her parents from the beginning, believing only Ferdinand's word, this was something she wanted to do.
Was there any nobleman who would not take Caius' side and, if necessary, grant her an interview without Ferdinand's knowledge?
Even the kind Countess Nas would be more in Caius's favor than hers, now that he was Emperor.
So where would she go from here?
Louise had nothing and nowhere to go.
She thought of Melk's house, the one Caius had repaired, but her feet didn't move easily.
If Ferdinand realized she had run away, he would search Melk first.
She hesitated, then finally made up her mind.
The kidnappers would be held at the police station for a while, and it would be some time before word reached Ferdinand.
She’d better get back to Melk and get some clothes before then.
Louise changed carriages twice as she headed for Melk. Her body and mind were exhausted, and she felt as if she just wanted to fall into Mrs. Smith's arms and cry.
But Melk was too far from Krefeld. It was too far to travel by carriage without a hired coachman.
Eventually, the carriage broke down in the neighboring city of Noche.
The sky was dark and there was not a drop of energy in her limbs. It was understandable, as she had only a few biscuits and jerky for breakfast and dinner.
She wished he could catch a ride on one of the pack wagons, but unfortunately, they were all headed east.
Louise stood at the stop and sighed.
Luckily, it was almost summer, so she wouldn't freeze to death on the street. She wanted to stretch out her legs and lie down on the street, at least until late at night, when even the passersby would be gone.
While she was thinking about such a stupid idea, she suddenly heard a voice.
“Teacher Louise?"
She turned to see a plain luggage carriage pulling up.
***
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Virginie (Tuesday, 17 December 2024 21:15)
Is this the young lord that was admiring Louise before she went working for Caius and Myriam ?