"Aaah!"
A desperate cry echoed through the forest thicket.
Death came for Jeremy at the moment he least expected it. The saber-toothed tigers, who clearly hadn't tasted meat in a long time, regarded the pale youth as a delicacy. The deadly growling intensified.
Jeremy shuddered, realizing there was nowhere to run.
Even if they were in an open field with no snow or other obstacles, could a human's speed compare to that of a wild predator? It would be like opposing nature itself. In other words, the guy was doomed from the start.
"Oh, why... Why does it always have to be me?!"
In the end, his death would be even more pathetic than it was originally supposed to be. Wild beasts would tear him apart outside the castle, and no one would even be able to find his corpse. Of the baron's seventh son and the "famous" disgrace of the Seybel family, not a shred of memory would remain.
Well, now the guy had only confirmed his mark as a loser, incapable of anything. After all, even his escape had turned out to be a complete failure.
This miserable life began pathetically and would end just as pathetically... Wasn't that ironic?
Purely for symbolism, Jeremy decided to fight to the end. At least, instead of immediately giving up and resigning himself to death, he would do something... Then his end wouldn't be so shameful.
Jeremy pulled out a knife and started waving it, knowing in advance it was useless.
"Get away! Go away from here!" Jeremy shouted at the top of his lungs as tears welled up in his eyes.
The tigers, as expected, paid no attention to the piece of metal in his hand. Moreover, it seemed the predators were more interested in each other. When they began to move forward, they suddenly realized there wouldn't be enough "food" for everyone.
There were six tigers, and only one Jeremy. And he wasn't very plump.
Growling broke out in the pack. The hungry beasts snarled and bared their teeth at each other. Then, lightning-fast, a "flash" occurred. One struck another with its paw, and the next moment, they all attacked each other and became one continuous blur. "R-r-r-r-r!"
Jeremy, who at first didn't understand what was happening, was stunned.
The white tigers were waging a bloody battle for the "right" to take the first bite of Jeremy. No one wanted to yield to the other. In the end, the animals' own blood was already spilling onto the white snow.
The guy was speechless; he had never thought he would ever be in such "demand"... But the extreme situation sobered him, and he soon came to his senses.
Not coming up with anything better, the baron's son climbed the tree he was standing under. The tree was old but still sturdy. Jeremy, who had almost never climbed trees before, managed to get up using his hands and feet.
"With abilities like these, I'd better have been reincarnated as a squirrel..."
Soon, reaching the top of the tree, Jeremy securely grabbed onto one of the large branches and waited. Though, he didn't know what exactly he was waiting for.
For the predators to simply forget about him and leave...?
At least, continuing to hang in the tree was a hundred times better than being torn apart...
Jeremy sat in the tree for so long that it began to get dark. All his limbs were numb from the cold, and he was severely exhausted. Feeling like he was about to fall from the tree from fatigue, Jeremy cautiously looked down.
The sounds of fighting hadn't ceased for several hours. Jeremy thought it would never end. When wild animals engage in a fight, they keep fighting until the very end. Oh, and what if the "winner" also decided to wait for him under this tree...
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
But, to his enormous surprise, there was no one below.
There was blood on the snow and several torn animal bodies. That was all. But where had the others gone? Had they really left? Or perhaps they had hidden and were waiting for him in the bushes?
Jeremy was stunned, unable to believe that such an incredible situation had actually happened to him. The beasts had really disappeared!
Just to be sure, the guy decided to verify this. He threw down a few branches, but no noise or movement followed. It seemed the gods really didn't want him to die today!
With an incredible sense of relief, Jeremy carefully climbed down. Despite the fact that night would soon fall, he still intended to continue his journey. The baron's heir wasn't going to linger in this cursed forest for a single moment!
Why hadn't Oscar warned him that such dangerous predators lived in this place?!
Sighing heavily, the guy intended to continue his path through the forest. "Why the hell are you still alive?"
"....."
Suddenly hearing human speech in the middle of the forest, Jeremy nearly gave up the ghost. He immediately turned around and found standing behind him...
"I came to collect your remains to show them to Her Highness. So why are you still standing here?!"
Oscar Carter, the Northern Duchess's secretary, looked extremely irritated.
Jeremy was shocked.
"M-Mr. Carter...? What are you doing here?" Jeremy could barely move his tongue after spending so long in the cold, but he managed to squeeze out a phrase.
"Well, well..." Oscar smirked darkly, "And why are scum like you always so tenacious?"
Jeremy paused, unable to believe what he was hearing. This contemptuous tone was radically different from his previous one. Now the friendly expression on the secretary's face resembled more an evil sneer.
"Well, nothing to be done. Then I'll kill you myself."
Oscar took a step towards him. Jeremy, in contrast, stepped back.
The youth's heart began to race as soon as he saw that the secretary was holding a knife. Did he really want to kill him?!
"Why are you doing this?! I thought... I thought you wanted to help me!"
"You idiot," the man said irritably, "Who in the world would need me to help you?"
"Oh...?" Jeremy's tongue faltered with emotion.
"I would never allow Her Highness to tie her life to such an insignificant worm as you."
Jeremy shuddered.
"So you..."
"Finally figured it out?" Oscar chuckled, "Yes. Such a dimwit doesn't deserve the honor of holding a high position. Your place is in the gutter."
"..."
"Fortunately for you, I intend to send you there almost painlessly."
Jeremy was paralyzed with terror when he realized the utter hopelessness of the situation. Before him were only forest, snow, and an unhinged man with a knife. The situation was clearly unenviable.
However... He had already managed to avoid death in the tigers' jaws. So he could also escape from this maniac. Besides, right now the guy was very angry.
Of course, he was to blame for being so naive as to trust the first person he met. But this bastard was no better!
He had practically provoked Jeremy into escaping, only to then so cruelly finish him off in the forest. Oscar wanted this guy to appear as a "traitor" in Selina's eyes. And himself as a hero who tried to stop the treacherous groom from running away, but only found his remains...
Realizing the whole situation, Jeremy was dismayed that Oscar had actually treated him so treacherously. And at the same time — with no remorse whatsoever!
Jeremy had tolerated injustice for too long. Everyone in this world wiped their feet on him! And even now... Some servant had easily deceived him, openly mocking him. And this time, he couldn't take it.
Anger and resentment so overwhelmed the baron's son that they clouded his mind. Without hesitating for a second, the guy gripped his own knife tighter and shouted desperately:
"Come on, attack, you bastard!"
He lunged at the secretary with the intention of avenging his grievances. "I've tolerated this lawlessness for too long!"
Oscar was somewhat surprised by this turn of events but didn't lose his composure. With a reciprocal challenge, he attacked his mistress's fiancé. Like the saber-toothed tigers several hours earlier, in the same place, but now they were fighting for their lives.
By nature, Jeremy was quite a kind-hearted person. He would never have thought he would ever fight so desperately. But now, he suddenly didn't care about all those rules of morality accepted in society.
Oscar knocked him to the ground and tried to plunge his dagger into his neck. Jeremy intercepted his hand, which proved to be no easy task. Surprisingly, this glasses-wearing man turned out to be quite strong. Jeremy gritted his teeth.
"Her Highness has always been by my side! Since childhood! I won't let you destroy this!
I was supposed to be her husband, not you!"
The baron's son exhaled angrily.
"As if I asked for this!"
"That's your business, sort it out yourselves! Why did you have to drag me into this...?!"
"Don't pretend this doesn't concern you! If your disgusting face hadn't appeared at the selection, none of this would have happened!"
"Khak I was forced!" Jeremy choked as he was being strangled.
"I don't care how it happened!" he shouted, "You must die!"
It seemed this guy's motivation was stronger than he had anticipated. Jeremy felt he couldn't handle him and was about to depart to the next world.
But suddenly... A bright flash of light flickered right before him. The next moment, Oscar's weakened body collapsed on top of him.
Due to lack of oxygen, Jeremy was on the verge of losing consciousness. Freeing himself from his grip, he coughed violently.
At that moment, he wasn't even disturbed that Selina de Lun was standing next to him. Even at such a moment, her expression remained impenetrable. But for some reason, this actually calmed Jeremy down.
"Th-thank you..." that was the only word he managed to utter before losing consciousness.