Late at night, after the campsite had been set up and most of the squad had gone to sleep.
If this were a long-term expedition, even someone in the roaming unit like me would have been allowed to take short naps. But this expedition was a short one, planned to last just three days including the return trip.
Based on the absurd logic that “it’s only three days, so it’s fine to push the roaming unit a bit,” I was assigned to stay on watch without sleep.
As I patrolled an area a short distance away from the campsite, I quietly organized my thoughts.
I figured it would come to this sooner or later, but the situation couldn’t be worse.
I had been assigned to Igor’s squad. From the way he said it, he clearly intended to bully me relentlessly, whether during expeditions or training.
It must have really bothered him that he didn’t have many chances to torment me during the three years he was at the academy…
Whenever he came home, Igor would direct his malice at me as if to vent that frustration, but judging by his behavior, even that hadn’t been enough.
I’ve barely managed to endure things as they were… If it gets any worse, he’ll really kill me…
Up until now, aside from when my father or Igor were directly involved, the harassment from the territorial soldiers and servants rarely put my life in real danger.
Whether they had coordinated it or were following some kind of order, I don’t know, but it was probably no coincidence that they kept it within limits, hurting me just short of killing me.
No matter how low they thought of me, killing the second son of a margrave family would’ve been a problem, even for them.
But once I’m assigned to Igor’s squad, the situation will deteriorate all at once.
I’ve been subjected to his “instruction” several times before, and each time he beat me to the same extent if not worse than the time Father nearly killed me the other day.
If I end up in Igor’s unit, I’ll have to deal with him not just on expeditions but during training as well.
The frequency of his “instruction” won’t even compare to before.
Add Boris’s punishments and the harassment from the other territorial soldiers on top of that, and it’ll only be a matter of time before I can’t endure it anymore.
No matter how many lives I had, it wouldn’t be enough.
If I don’t escape tonight, there won’t be another chance. If I want to live… I have no choice but to run.
This expedition is scheduled to last three days in total, including the return.
On the first day, we reached a campsite in the outer area of the Strark Great Forest. On the second day, we’ll advance to the goblin nest that’s our target.
Once the subjugation is complete, we’ll return to the campsite, and on the third day, after breaking camp, we’ll head back to Gradov territory.
Based on my past experience joining expeditions with Igor, I’ll likely be subjected to his so-called “instruction” either after the third day’s cleanup, once my role in the roaming unit is over…or as early as the night of the second day, when we return to camp still riding the high of a successful subjugation.
Judging by how he was acting, he probably won’t even be able to wait. He’ll start something tomorrow night.
I tried to stay calm, but remembering what I’d been through before made my heart race.
I had long since given up on overturning my current evaluation, and I understood that if things continued like this, I would eventually be killed.
Even so, the reason I hadn’t been able to bring myself to run away until now was a pathetic hope.
That if I kept training seriously, my talent as a warrior might one day blossom and the fact that escaping from Gradov territory was nearly impossible.
Even for someone like me, who excels at stealth, I had no confidence I could get past the heavily guarded checkpoint leading from Gradov territory to the Strava Mountains.
And even if I somehow made it past the checkpoint, I’d likely end up lost in the Strava Mountains, die from lack of supplies, or become food for monsters.
Escaping from a margrave’s territory to another region of the Ganadia Kingdom is just too difficult.
That said, escaping through the Strark Great Forest to the Vida Kingdom isn’t realistic either.
Even though a non-aggression pact is in place, resentment still lingers. The Ganadia Kingdom and the Vida Kingdom still see each other as potential enemies.
Even if I somehow made it across the Strark Great Forest and reached Esperanza, the fortress city at the southernmost edge of the Vida Kingdom, the best I could hope for would be to be turned away at the gates.
At worst, I’d be suspected of being a Ganadia spy, subjected to “interrogation”, or in other words torture…and then killed.
To begin with, during the invasion war, the Vida Kingdom marched with a large army, fighting monsters along the way, and only reached Gradov territory after about a month of travel.
For a single person without proper supplies or equipment, crossing that forest would be nothing short of suicide.
Even so, aiming for the Vida Kingdom is my only option.
Knowing Igor, if I don’t escape, the moment we return to Gradov territory, I’ll be moved from the annex to the barracks and put in a situation where escape is impossible.
Turning back now and trying to flee through the Strava Mountains into another territory isn’t realistic either.
Sneaking back into the territory while avoiding the guards is already an extremely difficult task.
Even if I somehow managed it, the moment I’m discovered inside the territory when I’m supposed to be out on an expedition, I’d be captured as a deserter.
More than that, getting past the checkpoint on the Strava Mountain side is already difficult enough; the chances of being caught before even attempting it are far too high.
Once I return to Gradov territory, there’s no future for me. Even if the odds are slim, my only choice is to flee into the Strark Great Forest, where I’m less likely to be found.
Until now, I had fantasized about escaping from Gradov territory countless times only to give up every single time.
The weight of all those accumulated failures pressed down on me, threatening to dull my resolve with the thought that “there’s no way an escape like this could ever succeed.”
Do I believe in a miracle and run… or give up everything and wait for death? It’s one or the other.
As if to convince myself there were no other options, I repeated it over and over in my mind so my resolve wouldn’t waver.
Do I believe in a miracle and run, or give up everything and wait for death?
In the forest, ruled by darkness and silence, I whispered quietly.
“I’ll believe in a miracle.”
Saying it out loud renewed my determination.
There’s no turning back now.
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