"Let go."
"Lucas, that's enough."
"I told you to let go of my hand."
"You're going to collapse soon if you keep this up. You need to rest for a while."
"How can I rest when she's still missing beneath the rubble? There's no time for rest now."
"I'm not asking you to rest for your own sake. I'm asking you to do it for your wife."
Lucas suddenly stopped.
"I... I should have been with her. But I scolded her and told her to leave on her own... She's here because of me."
Louie relaxed his tense posture, finally understanding what his friend was feeling.
Then he said:
"This is not the time to blame or punish yourself... Think rationally about your wife. What you're doing right now isn't helping her. As time passes like this, your body will only grow more exhausted and your movements will become slower. That means she'll remain trapped down there for even longer."
Lucas's eyes widened as he realized that his friend was right.
Louie continued:
"Look behind you. Equipment from the mines has arrived. It will speed up the process of removing the larger rocks. When that happens, we'll need your strength to break the rocks deeper below."
Lucas finally looked at his friend with his exhausted eyes.
Louie patted Lucas on the shoulder and said:
"That's why you should get some rest. I'll take care of everything else. You trust me, don't you?"
Lucas replied:
"All right. I'll trust you, Louie."
Louie turned toward the captain and nodded.
The soldiers stepped forward to help Lucas down.
The captain said to Louie:
"You really are something, Louie."
Louie began giving the knights instructions with unwavering composure, while, on the other side, Lucas's exhausted body finally surrendered to fatigue.
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Beneath all that commotion, Irene was lost in her own thoughts.
Some of them urged her to give up, while others reminded her of the goal she still had to achieve.
Until, eventually, she drifted off to sleep once again.
.....
"Irene."
Irene gasped when she heard her name.
Her eyes flew open.
The darkness was still exactly the same, but the sounds of the commotion outside had become much clearer.
"I'm sure I heard someone call my name... Am I hallucinating?"
"Irene."
Irene's body trembled again, and she began feeling around her surroundings.
Nothing.
Only darkness.
Irene sat up to drink some water again, but unfortunately, the first bottle was already empty, leaving only the other small bottle.
She was still terribly thirsty.
With her weak hands, she struggled to open the second bottle.
Then she began taking small sips.
"Ah... I want to drink all the water that's left in one go."
Those thoughts began creeping into her mind again.
"If I hold on a little longer... will I be able to get out and return to the capital...?"
"Is this just another difficult time that will pass, like all the others?"
She closed the bottle and returned to her previous position.
Then, suddenly, she remembered what Lucas had looked like at that moment.
"Will you even care about what happened to me and come to save me...?"
"Or do you think I'm annoying again...?"
Irene's expression changed.
"...Or perhaps you'll be happy that you've finally gotten rid of this thorn in your side..."
.....
She fell silent for a while and bit her lip.
Then she tilted her head, and just as she was about to drift off to sleep again—
"Irene."
She heard her name once more.
This time, the voice was clear and familiar.
A voice she heard only in her nightmares.
It was her mother's voice.
Irene opened her eyes and sighed.
She had lost the last bit of patience she had left and screamed:
"What?! Whaaat?! What do you want from me?!"
She began to cry and covered her ears with her hands.
"Just shut up and let me sleep... You're not my mother... You're not real... Why are you doing this to me?"
Being trapped in that dark place for days had caused Irene to hallucinate voices.
And as time passed, they became clearer and clearer, as though someone were actually speaking to her.
Then the sound of laughter began echoing around her.
Her hoarse voice grew quieter as she said:
"I'm scared... Please, stop... Why are you making fun of me like this?"
That unknown voice rose again.
"No one is coming to save you."
Irene pressed her hands more tightly over her ears, trying not to hear it.
But it was useless.
The voice was inside her head.
"Who would even care about you?"
"Shut up."
"You're worthless."
Irene began screaming.
"I said shut up... Stop iiiit!"
The laughter inside her mind grew louder.
Irene completely lost control of her emotions and began screaming hysterically.
---
One of the soldiers suddenly stopped.
"Hey, man... Did you hear that?"
Another soldier replied:
"Hear what?"
"I think I can hear someone screaming from below."
"Huh? Are you getting sleepy? There's no way that sound is coming from below... Everyone here knows that princess is already dead. Come on, hurry up and give me the bucket."
"I know... but I'm certain I heard something. Maybe she's still alive and trying to call for help."
The soldier lowered his head and pressed his ear against the ground.
"You idiot... Stop with this nonsense and hurry up before we get reprimanded this early in the morning!"
The soldier shouted again:
"Whoa... I swear the sound is coming from below! Come here and listen for yourself if you don't believe me!"
The other soldier approached while grumbling.
He pressed his ear against the ground for a few moments.
"I don't hear anything, you—"
"Shhh... Wait a little."
Both men froze.
The soldier suddenly shouted with excitement:
"Did you hear that?! I told you!"
"Damn it... Let's tell everyone quickly!"
The soldier ran back up and shouted:
"Lord Lucas... My Looord! There's a screaming sound coming from below!"
Everyone turned toward him in astonishment.
Lucas stood up and quickly climbed toward the spot, with Louie following closely behind him.
"Are you certain?"
"Yes, sir. We both confirmed it. It sounds like the carriage is down there."
Lucas placed his ear against the ground to make sure.
Then he heard it.
A faint sound coming from below.
That sound breathed life back into Lucas's exhausted body.
Lucas immediately turned around and began giving orders.
"Hurry! Bring all the equipment over here!"
Everyone began moving quickly, and a renewed sense of energy swept through the entire site.
The princess is alive!
To be continued...
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