Irene opened her eyes to the sound of something shaking, accompanied by the sound of falling dirt.
"How much time has passed?"
Irene had completely lost her sense of time. She had no idea whether it was day or night.
Rumble... rumble...
Irene listened to the sound for a few moments before...
She let out a tired laugh.
"Of course they won't abandon me, right...? In this kingdom, I'm not just some forgotten ghost."
Her laughter slowly turned into tears.
"Even if they aren't trying to save me, it would at least be embarrassing for them not to find my body..."
Her exhausted laughter began to mingle with silent, bitter sobs.
After a few moments, Irene forced herself to get up again and searched for the water.
She shook the bottle to check how much remained, then opened it and took a few more sips.
Her limbs had gone numb from remaining in the same position for so long.
"Hah..."
Irene began trying to change her position, and she could hear every bone in her body creaking.
Rumble... rumble...
She raised her head, searching for any source of light, but to no avail.
"It's a good thing the royal carriages are sturdier than ordinary ones. Otherwise, I would have been crushed by now. But I don't know how much longer it can hold... especially with all this pressure from above."
Her thoughts were interrupted by the growling of her stomach.
"Ah... I need to eat."
"Considering how hungry I feel, it seems at least two days must have passed."
Irene began eating a small amount, forcing herself to swallow it.
But when she started to feel nauseous, she stopped and put the remaining food back in its place.
Then she lay down again.
More dirt continued to fall with every tremor.
She raised her head once more.
"It's a good thing some air is getting in through those gaps, but... why do I feel like I'm suffocating?"
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Her heartbeat quickened, and her breathing began to accelerate.
Even though there was air around her, Irene's thoughts about it caused her to suffer a panic attack.
She began calming herself down.
"It's okay... I'm fine... I don't have... anything left to lose... I just have to... endure a little longer... for... for Mother..."
She tried to regulate her breathing little by little until, after several minutes, she finally calmed down.
---
Outside
One of the knights spoke:
"There's no point... Don't people usually die immediately when caught in a landslide...? It has already been three days... Even a man couldn't endure being buried under this much rubble, let alone a woman."
Another replied:
"Shut up, you idiot... Your voice is too loud."
"What...? I'm just telling the truth..."
The other knight struck him.
"You idiot! I know it's the truth... But even if the princess didn't survive, we cannot leave her body buried beneath the rubble. She is a member of both royal families. Have you forgotten?"
"Oh, right... But look at him. He doesn't seem to realize that his wife is already dead..."
The knight turned toward the person he was referring to.
Lucas was at the site, striking a large rock with all his strength.
The knight continued:
"Isn't he like a beast...? He hasn't stopped since he arrived here... He even managed to break some of the larger rocks by himself. I was honestly amazed. Normally, several men would have to work together to do that, but he did it all by himself."
The other knight replied:
"The royal soldiers undergo different training from the rest of the soldiers, so their endurance is higher than normal. And Prince Lucas is an exceptional case. He underwent harsher training than anyone else in the kingdom..."
The knight replied:
"Wow... I really envy him, man. He must love his wife a lot... But she's still only human in the end."
He turned toward his friend and jokingly struck him on the shoulder.
"How about we bet on how long he'll last? The winner gets a gold coin. Hahaha! I say he'll last another two hours."
The other knight replied mockingly:
"Impossible. I'm sure he'll last longer than that. Maybe even another three hou—"
.....
"Hmm... It seems the two of you are foolish enough to enjoy yourselves in the middle of a serious situation, while also disrespecting King Richard's son with your filthy mouths."
The two men suddenly froze.
Then they turned around.
It was Louis, Lucas's closest friend.
"Lord Louie !"
Louie replied angrily:
"Then decide which one of you will have his tongue cut out first."
The two men dropped to their knees.
"Please forgive our mistake! We swear on our lives that we will apologize to the Queen and that this will never happen again."
Another rough voice approached from behind.
"Louie !"
Louie turned toward the voice.
It was the captain of the Royal Guard approaching him.
Louie bowed.
"Ah, Captain. It's good to see you."
"Yes, yes. Have you just arrived?"
Louie replied:
"Yes. I was ordered to come here by royal command."
Louie turned toward the two men again.
"But I was surprised to find that these two bastards don't understand the seriousness of the situation and are making light of the life of a member of the royal family."
The captain of the Royal Guard spoke while patting Louis on the shoulder, who was still fuming with anger.
"Ah, those two idiots are merely rookies. They must be ignorant of many things."
The captain's tone then changed, becoming harsher as he directed his gaze toward them.
"I'll personally make sure to give you two some private lessons."
The two men trembled as they looked up at the captain's massive frame.
Then, in an instant, he grabbed both of them by the fronts of their clothes with one hand each and lifted them effortlessly off the ground.
"Get back to work before I crush your skulls right now."
One of the men shouted in fear:
"Yes, sir!"
The captain released them, letting them fall to the ground.
They immediately scrambled to their feet and ran away.
The captain sighed.
"Don't waste your thoughts on them, Louis."
Louis kept his eyes fixed on his friend, Lucas.
The captain spoke:
"He's been like this ever since he arrived here... We've all tried to make him stop, but you know how stubborn he is. He doesn't listen to anyone... Fortunately, you're here. He might actually listen to you."
The captain slapped Louis's palm.
"Go and talk to your friend before he collapses."
Louis replied:
"Understood."
Louis moved toward him until he reached his side.
"Lucas."
Lucas stopped for a moment upon hearing his closest friend's voice.
But only for a second.
He didn't turn around.
Instead, he continued striking the rock.
Louis clenched his fist.
Then he grabbed Lucas's hand and shouted:
"Lucas!"
to be continued.....
(Please guys leave a comment it's really helpful for the novel and for me personally qnd thank you sm <3)