Page 193 of I Ran Away to Evil
“I don’t know the whole of it, mind.” Henrietta shrugged. “But Gerda got ahead of him to the bridge just outside the city then hit him with a ‘You have three days to find the answer to my riddle or I’ll eat you’ riddle. He laughed at her and kept running.”
“Foolish man.” Gerda shook her head. “It’s like he’d never met a bridge troll before.”
“Many haven’t.” Keith chuckled. “Still, he should have known better than to leave something like that hanging. Those tales always end in tragedy.”
“I don’t think you’d actually eat him,” Henrietta corrected.
“I appreciate your faith in me,” the bridge troll joked. “It’s not a perk I use often. Tracking people for three days and waiting around so I can pop out whenever they next reach a bridge is a lot of work.”
“Sounds fun, actually.” Keith smiled. “Maybe not now—I’m far too busy ruling a Dark Enchanted Forest and wooing the Heroine of Justice to play those kinds of pranks. But it would have been perfect in my younger days.”
“Speaking of ruling the Dark Enchanted Forest.” Henrietta pretended to pout. “You didn’t propose in front of the entirety of Valaria’s well-to-do like you promised. Does that mean I have to wait until the Summer Masquerade?”
“I barely lastedthislong; I won’t make it three more months.” Keith wanted to kiss her so badly, but there was still permadeath blocking his path. That was a thought. “Actually … what if I just died? I would probably leave a piece behind, and you would have plenty of time to get me to Chloe, even if the pocket dimension collapses—”
“Let’s not, just in case.” Ria shot him a serious expression and refused outright. “I’ll run back to get someone else who knows anything about dimension magic.”
Gerda scoffed. “I’m right here, you know. Dimensional-troll-magic user,right here.”
The two stared at her.
Gerda sighed. “Just step back and let me take a look.”
CHAPTER 117
Cheat with Bridges
Henrietta
[Bond Breaker]
[As per Section 7 of the Marriage Agreement between the Kingdom of Drendil and the Marquess Dorset:
Confirmation of Agreement is required before the Terms of Agreement come into effect. Should Princess Henrietta or the King or the Queen of Drendil reject the marriage, she will be found in breach of the Contract and suffer the following:
Special Title: Bond Breaker
Revert Highest Stat to Base 10
-100 Reputation with Servalt
Special Title: Bond Breaker will remain in effect until Henrietta Doryn fulfills the Terms of the Contract or until the Terms are no longer Binding.]
Gerda examined every inch of pink bubble, slowly and carefully, and I was impressed at how comfortable she was doing so in a formfitting dress.
The troll was wearing a stunning mermaid-cut evening gown in a soft violet that complimented her green complexion. And heels.
This was why I wore boots. In case I needed to fight off slave traders and rescue the king of the Dark Enchanted Forest from a dank, cold dungeon.
I smiled at my friend. “Can you free my would-be husband from his eternal pocket dimension?”
“Chadwick outdid himself with this one …” Gerda whistled.
“If there’s anything I can do, Miss Gerda, just let me know. Though I hesitate to withdraw my own wards—they aren’t protecting me from the [Void Damage], but there may still be other traps,” Keith said. He looked exhausted, his hair all rumpled.
All of his buttons were still done up, though. Pity.
“Hmm, that shouldn’t be necessary.” Gerda circled what she could of the bubble. I remained quiet so as not to disturb her work. Finally, she sighed. “It looks like a trap space with added [Void Damage].”
