“Oh!”
They said desperate people would do anything to keep their life. I intended to hit it over and over until it cracked, and fortunately, the wall cracked just on the third hit.
“The wall…!”
Heidi, who was behind me, cried out in amazement.
I was right! I touched the center of the crack with excitement. This was not a good wall. As if it had been temporarily erected, it was easily wrecked.
“I will join too!”
Witnessing that, Heidi picked up another stone, and we focused on hitting the cracked area.
Thud-! Thud, thud!
It was the first time I had hit something so hard. To see that I could exert this kind of strength, it was quite a foreign feeling.
After a few more smashes, the hole in the wall was finally large enough for a person to get through. Beyond the hole was the room right next door.
We will live! The escape was around the corner. Excitedly, I pushed Heidi through first.
It was around the same time that the fire engulfed the closet right next to us.
“Lady Nelson!”
Heidi reached out from over the wall. I grabbed her hand and hurriedly rushed over.
As soon as I set foot in the next room, I felt relieved. I was oblivious to the passage of time when I got stuck in the fire and absorbed in drilling the hole. I did not know how much time had passed by the time I got out of that hurdle.
A sense of relief washed over me, but I could not relax here just yet. I watched the fire spread through the hole to where we were.
“We have to get out of this room!”
Giving Heidi a light push on the back, we ran to the exit together. I could not be happier to open the door to the hallway. There was still no one passing by in the corridor.
The door of the room where Heidi was resting minutes ago was now firmly shut, and thicker smoke was leaking from there than before.
But I definitely opened the door and went in though? My eyes squinted in suspicion as I pondered for a while. Then I realised that this was not what's important right now.
Without delay, I and Heidi ran down the stairs with our shaky legs. It was as if all of our strength had been drained and we could collapse any moment soon. Nevertheless, we forced out all our last remaining stamina, we must not stop until our safety was guaranteed.
Upon arriving at the entrance to the ballroom, I saw a knight of the County on patrol. I shouted out to him.
“Help me! There is a fire on the second floor!”
***
After a while, I was sitting on the floor of the ballroom when the fire was entirely extinguished. Next to me was Heidi. Seeing the Count's servants running upstairs in a rush, I could finally rest assured. My legs were at it limit and I slumped to the floor.
I looked at the clock and it was past 8 o'clock. In the past, they evacuated at 8 o'clock, but it was suppressed quite early. A sigh of relief came out from deep inside.
“Waah, Lady Nelson...”
Heidi was holding me and crying out loud, perhaps because she was feeling the same way.
But it was a little embarrassing as all the nobles who attended the ball flocked around us.
“What happened?!”
Chloe made her way through the crowd and shouted.
It must have been strange because I came back in this disheveled shape with Heidi when I said I was going to the bathroom. My dress was torn, and the overall condition looked ridiculous.
I smiled bitterly and pointed to Heidi.
“There was a fire in the room where Miss Coventry was.”
Everyone's eyes shifted to Heidi. She began explaining the situation with a tearful face.
“I was not feeling very well, so I went to the lounge at first. But other people came in....”
She seemed to be referring to the two I saw in the lounge earlier.
“So I moved to a place where I can rest quietly.…”
That was why she went into the guest room. I unwittingly let out a light sigh.
Heidi continued with a baffled face.
“I don't know how and when the fire started. When I woke up, it was already there, all over the place…”
“It’s fortunate that you have escaped.”
Count Parker, who was standing among the crowd, said. He rushed upstairs with the servants as soon as he heard the news then came down subsequently. He was now wiping his forehead with a handkerchief.
Next to him was the Countess, who had called a doctor for us earlier. She sighed relievedly while looking at us with concerned eyes.
“That’s right, I'm so glad you did not get hurt."
The entire room was devoured by the fire, including the cabinet where the precious stones were stored.
But in my previous life, the fire was bigger than this. It was fortunate that it ended with just one room.
At that time, Heidi turned to me with a trembling emotional voice.
“It is all thanks to Lady Nelson. There was a fire but she still came to pull me out of there. Otherwise, I would have been dead. I fell asleep without knowing anything.”
“What?”
“Lady Nelson?”
That woman never called for help then
ReplyDeleteMore like that woman wanted them both dead...
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