Taming The Villainesses novel Chapter 422

Unlawful intruders had descended upon the village of Pallen.

They were all clad in heavy armor and armed to the teeth. But if one had to point out a particularly striking feature, it would be the cross-shaped insignia affixed to the crest on their chests.

‘Pursuers from the Church.’

Anyone with even a shred of awareness about the current state of the world would think the same.

Still, it was puzzling—none of us had expected them to catch up to us this quickly.

Stella said:

“We were erasing all traces as we moved. How the hell did they find out we were here? Even if they were on horseback, they came way too fast.”

According to Stella’s instructions, we had scattered our footprints, muddled every trace of our presence, and made our way here.

This village itself was hidden between rocky mountains—there was no reason for the Church’s pursuers to discover it. And yet they had burst in like this. Surely, they must’ve used some strange trick.

“This Leadernoy shall assist...!”

Leadernoy, the president of Pallen Village, quickly and shrewdly realized that those pursuers from the Church were after us.

“Quickly now, this way—into the warehouse...!”

And so he led us into a storage warehouse. If we had encountered the Church’s pursuers directly, we would’ve been forced to either scuffle with them or return to the kingdom under their watch.

But I had no intention of returning yet, so I chose instead to hide myself in a nearby hay storage to evade their gaze. The place reeked slightly, filled with dry straw and leather.

— Grrr...

— Rurgh, ruff ruff...!

It was the perfect place to evade the scent of the dogs the pursuers held by their leashes. We crouched inside, peering through the narrow slits between the wooden walls to watch the outside.

Men were shouting, locked in a tense standoff that looked like it might erupt at any moment.

Elga spoke:

“What do we do? If something breaks out, should we fight? I mean, those Church pursuers look strong, but I don’t think they could actually beat us.”

To that, Mirna responded with a chiding tone:

“If we did that, we’d be going to war with the Church. The kingdom, which is full of believers, might splinter too.”

Mirna’s assessment was spot-on.

It wasn’t that we feared the Church’s pursuers—we simply didn’t want to deal with the troublesome aftermath of a conflict that could spiral out of control.

Creak—

At that moment, someone opened the door to the warehouse we were hiding in. Then they stepped inside and whispered in a voice so low only my half-fairy ears could barely catch it:

“His Excellency has opened the back route. Even if you stay hidden here, the pursuers from the south will find and capture you. Please, come with me quickly...!”

It was a voice filled with urgency and sincerity. So I slipped out from the hay and followed him.

A man wearing a padded coat.

He nimbly slipped out the back of the warehouse and stealthily moved into a seemingly ordinary cabin nearby.

“There’s an entrance here.”

Lifting the rug on the floor, he revealed a square door—essentially a basement hatch. He opened it and beckoned us inside.

“Go on, quickly now.”

A secret passage, huh.

As we peered into the narrow path, Ayra spoke:

“Everyone seems pretty skilled.”

To which the man replied:

“We’re used to being chased and having to run.”

That made sense. According to Leadernoy, the history of Pallen Village was one of outcasts—people who’d fled the world for various reasons.

So it wasn’t strange that they’d built escape routes all throughout the village. Thanks to that, we managed to elude the Church’s pursuers.

“Follow this tunnel all the way through. His Excellency said the nymph you met last time headed even farther north!”

Even farther north, huh. I gave a nod.

“Understood. Thank you for your help.”

We continued walking through the underground passage for a good while. Eventually, a boulder blocked our path. When we pushed it aside with effort, we found ourselves in the forest once again.

Shff—shff. Stella scanned the surroundings.

“Looks like there are no pursuers nearby. Still, those guys figured out we were in the village really fast. They might be right behind us again.”

At her words, we tightened our guard and scrambled farther north.

It was a shame we didn’t even get to properly say goodbye to the villagers of Pallen, who had shown us such kindness and hospitality in our brief time there.

“Hey, let’s stop by the village again on our way back, okay? There were so many neat things there! What do you guys think?”

Just like Narmee’s suggestion, I too thought we should return to the village later and properly express our gratitude.

***

“Honestly, I guess I’m not the kind of person who could ever commit a real crime. Even just running like this makes my heart pound and tremble—it’s so uncomfortable.”

We’d been running hard for roughly an hour.

To catch our breath, we stopped near a stream and started wiping away the scent that clung to our bodies. That’s when Mirna said that.

And indeed, just like she said, being chased was enough to make your heart want to burst and your legs go numb. I knew that feeling all too well—I’d been chased before, back during the Koronoi incident, by Angmar soldiers.

But Mirna, who had lived her whole life without ever being involved in disgrace or scandal, was now being hunted like a criminal. The pressure she must be feeling in her chest must’ve been enormous.

Of course, her twin Narmee seemed to think quite differently.

“I kind of think it’s fun. No one’s ever tried this hard to come after me before! I mean, I’m not planning on getting caught or anything, though.”

She let out a mischievous little /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ laugh. Thanks to Narmee’s innocent and cheerful personality, we were all able to shake off at least a little of the weight that had been pressing down on our shoulders.

As we exchanged idle chatter, Stella, who had filled her canteen from the stream, straightened up and said:

“Still, I think they’ll catch up soon. There aren’t any monsters in this forest right now. Just like how we were able to get here so easily, the Church inquisitors will probably manage just the same.”

They even had horses.

We were on foot.

It was only a matter of time before they caught up.

Elga asked:

“So what are we gonna do? If things really go south, are we fighting them? Or are we just gonna go back home with the inquisitors?”

Maybe that’s why, as a half-fairy, I felt refreshed just by resting near the stream for a little while. The fatigue in my body melted away, and my mood lifted. _{freewebnøvel.coɱ}