Taming The Villainesses

Chapter 417: A Slightly Strange Honeymoon (1)

We ran through the forest. We sprinted for quite a while through dense underbrush and thickets.

The towering walls of Monarch City shrank behind us, becoming no larger than candy—and even smaller than that—before Elga finally came to a halt.

“At this point, even the pursuers won’t be able to follow us.”

At those words, Mirna, who had been gripping a tree with her robe lifted, gasped for air.

“This is the first time I’ve done something so wicked. I feel like my heart’s going to explode. Oh my God, I ran away so irresponsibly. I... I’m committing a terrible crime right now...!”

As expected of Mirna, who always holds herself to such strict standards, she seemed to feel a deep emotional weight over this escape.

To that, Elga replied:

“There’s no time for sentiment. By now, people must’ve realized we’re gone. I’m sure my dad is buying us time somehow.”

At the mention of Elga’s father, Mirna looked even more horrified.

“I even received words of blessing in place of my father from Duke Reinhardt...! If he finds out we fled like this, he’ll be terribly disappointed, won’t he? We’ll be running into him often at court—how am I ever going to face him...?”

“Think about that later. If my dad started playing his saxophone to grab everyone’s attention, we probably have about two hours of breathing room—”

“Wait. Your father plays the saxophone?”

Stella cut in with a question from a strange angle. I wondered if that was really important right now—but honestly, I was curious too. That stiff old man, playing an instrument?

Elga said, “I’ve seen him playing by himself from time to time. He doesn’t seem to want people to find out, so I never said anything. He plays piano too. Pretty much everything.”

Reinhardt playing an instrument... I would’ve liked to see that. A shame that we had to run away like this.

“Anyway, we should try to cross the border within the next two to three hours. If our identities get exposed along the way, it’ll be a huge problem. Let’s change into different clothes. You all brought your spares like I told you, right?”

Before we escaped the royal palace using the dimensional portal drawn into the carpet, the noblewomen had each separated for about ten minutes to grab some supplies. It seemed they’d brought simple, practical clothes to change into.

Rustle, rustle.

I helped them out of their dresses and into more comfortable gear. Now, the five brides and their groom had vanished, replaced by five adventurers and their guide.

“I’ll hold onto the dresses.”

I stored the noblewomen’s changed outfits carefully in my inventory, 《Squirrel Storage》. As each one disappeared into my storage, Narmee spoke up, sounding wistful.

“They were so pretty. Do you think we’ll ever get to wear them again...? Or maybe this is it—maybe we’ll never wear something like that again. Thinking this is the end... it’s kinda sad after all.”

“...”

No one else said anything, but I figured they were probably feeling the same way Narmee was. So I tried to comfort them with genuine sincerity.

“We’ll finish the rest of it when we get back. The wedding isn’t over—it’s just temporarily on hold. When we come back from the trip, we’ll do it all again.”

Bigger and louder than before.

We’ll make it last a full week, no—a whole month, a grand festival. Then maybe everyone will forget their regrets and just enjoy it to the fullest.

That seemed to lift the heavy mood a little. As we glanced over one another’s outfits, Stella said,

“Why does everyone look like adventurers? You look more like you’re about to climb a mountain than go on a honeymoon. I mean, I know we’re heading beyond the barrier, but still.”

She seemed pretty hung up on the daggers and ropes the noblewomen were carrying. Truthfully, they looked more like a gang of robbers about to hit a bank than newlyweds on a trip.

Elga said,

“There’s bound to be trouble where we’re going. Teo, your hometown... I’ve just got this bad feeling it won’t be easy.”

Mirna nodded too.

“I don’t know why, but I felt like I had to dress like this too.”

Were they telepathic or something? No, maybe they just felt the tension in the very idea of my hometown beyond the barrier.

It wouldn’t be easy to go there lightheartedly, like it was just a casual trip. It really was a ridiculous request on my part. I suddenly felt sorry and grateful to these women for following along with my absurd plan.

“Thank you all for indulging my selfish request.”

Just as I was expressing my gratitude, Elga, who had been meticulously inspecting the seams of her leather gloves, turned her head awkwardly.

“You’ve listened to all our nonsense too, haven’t you?”

Narmee nodded.

“Teo did everything I asked for too! Then it’s only fair I grant one of his requests, at least once. Hehe...”

Even Ayra spoke.

“You’ve always told me you wanted to go on a vacation. Maybe this will be that vacation. Though it’ll be a bit busier than usual.”

They were clearly trying not to make me feel burdened. I had so much I wanted to say to them—but that could wait until we came back.

***

The Clarice Grand Barrier, standing strong and tall to protect northern Angmar. Only kingdom-authorized searchers were allowed to pass through it freely.

Of course, the world is full of people who do things not permitted—or outright forbidden—by law.

No matter how many forts you build, it’s impossible to cover every gap. Human affairs just can’t be perfect.

The place we were headed to, known as the “Squirrel Hole,” was one of those imperfect gaps.

Back in the days when I lived in Sandora, a city near the northern wall, I had kept an eye on several illegal searchers. One of them was now guiding us.

Tory the Blabbermouth.

He looked like a flippant man in his thirties, but I remembered him because of a large mole beside his left nostril.

“So, you folks are crossing the wall, huh? Today of all days? There's some kinda wedding or festival happening somewhere in Angmar right now—place is in an uproar.”

He seemed curious why we’d try to cross the dangerous barrier on such a festive day. As he inspected our robe-covered figures closely...

“Come «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» to think of it, you all look kinda familiar...”

If our identities got exposed, things would go south real fast. Everyone pulled their hoods deeper over their faces. Tory burst into loud laughter.

“Well, everyone’s got their reasons for jumping fences. My job ends once you’re across. Besides, days like this—these festive ones—they only work because people like me are doing the jobs no one sees.”

When someone’s resting, someone else is working. Even on holidays, someone’s still working behind the scenes. That’s how the world keeps turning.

It’s a noble sentiment—but hearing it from a criminal smuggler gives it a weird taste.

Still, his skills weren’t just empty talk. Following him, we soon reached a hole dug deep into the western base of the wall near Sandora.

A burrow dug right under the barrier—a literal tunnel through the earth.

“You want me to crawl through that...? Like a thief sneaking through a dog hole...?”

Mirna looked clearly displeased at the thought of crawling through a hole like some common criminal. Tory snorted.

“We all came out of holes like that when we were born. What’s the fuss? If you didn’t want to crawl through one again, you shouldn’t have committed a crime.”

Mirna trembled.

“Crime...?”

“I’ve been doing this for twenty years. I can tell when someone’s running from the law. And you people...”

Tory’s brown eyes fixed on us.

“You’re something else. Of all the fugitives I’ve seen, you lot have committed the biggest crime. Never seen a group escape like this before.”

The biggest crime. That hit a little too close. We were literally abandoning the kingdom and fleeing. What bigger crime could there be?

Of course, this man had no idea the people in front of him were the queen and the daughters of the great noble houses—the very stars of today’s celebration somewhere in Angmar.

Thinking about that made me laugh.

“Pfft.”

Narmee laughed too, “Puhuhu—” and soon, we all started giggling one by one. Only Ayra, holding fast to her dignity, and the still-grumbling Mirna couldn’t laugh.

“Then I’ll go first! This time, I’m gonna be the first one born!”

Shuk.

Narmee dove into the hole. Her wiggling hips as she crawled were cute—she looked like a raccoon. And just like that, she disappeared.

“I’ll go next. This kinda thing? Done it plenty of times.”

Stella followed, crawling with the ease of a trained instructor. Her crawl looked so precise I felt like it had an official name and form.

Elga said,

“Hey, eldest twin. You’re next.”

“......”

Mirna shot her a glare but finally sighed and squeezed into the narrow hole... and stopped.

“What’s the holdup?”

“I’m stuck.”

She answered Elga’s question flatly.

“I said I’m stuck.”

Mirna, stuck in a hole. The sight triggered a sharp pang of déjà vu. Then Elga raised her palm and smack—slapped the leather-clad butt that was blocking the way.

“Stop messing around and get going!”

“Eek! S-Stop that! I said stop! I’ll kill you—!”

Her flailing legs were pretty funny. I wanted to give her a slap too, but who knows what she’d do to me afterward, so I held back.

Still, all her struggling helped; the tunnel’s entrance crumbled a little wider, and Mirna was finally able to crawl forward.

“Whew... If I get stuck in the middle, that’d be a disaster.”

Right—Mirna had claustrophobia. So I quietly cast a fairy crawling spell on her. With a boost of speed, she vanished into the tunnel.

Now, only Elga, Ayra, and I remained.

As a faint tension hung in the air, Ayra spoke first.

“To think I’d end up crossing this wall I’ve guarded so fiercely... like some traitor, crawling through the dirt. I never imagined such a day would come.”

She gently brushed the hood resting on my head with her palm.

“Do you remember? You once said we should leave everything behind and go together.”

“Before we headed to Ark, you mean?”

I had once told Ayra that we should abandon everything and run far away. In the end, she had accepted my offer and left the kingdom for Ark.

“I remember it now. Looking back... it was your courage back then that changed everything. A tiny half-fairy's courage changed the world.”

“It was also the courage of the women who accepted it.”

“Yes... Now, we go to yet another land. I look forward to it.”

With that, Ayra crawled into the earth. Only Elga and I remained. I started to wonder if crawling was even safe for her in her condition.

I asked,

“Your belly... crawling might not be a good idea, right?”

“I’m good at crawling on my back too. You know how many times I slid under barbed wire set up by those southern savages?”

Elga answered confidently.

Though her face looked far from calm. Shhhk, she looked up toward the southern sky. Everything she held dear was there.

Her bustling family. Her father. Her siblings. All of it.

She was leaving everything she had behind.

Even so, Elga had decided to follow me beyond the wall. But for someone as deeply attached to her family as she is, that parting must weigh heavy on her heart.

Elga said,

“Promise me. After the wedding—let’s finish it all together. Promise you’ll be there to throw a real celebration with me.”

If that could ease her unease...

“I swear. I’ll come back and finish everything with you.”

At my words, her expression softened a little. Then she suddenly asked, as if remembering something:

“Wait a sec. If the first person through the hole had just taken your magic carpet, couldn’t the rest of us have just used a dimensional gate?”

“......”

Didn’t think of that.

Elga, it turns out, has quite a practical knack for magic. Ahem—she cleared her throat and crawled into the hole with practiced ease.

Once I, too, passed through the tunnel where they had vanished—

The world on the other side was blanketed in pure white snow.