Chapter 24: A Chance To Escape

The crowd had gotten even denser as more customers arrived at the stall. And seeing more people, the stall owner quickly forgot about Hazel who had not made up her mind on what she was getting.

Hazel quickly turned around, standing on her toes to look for Matilda’s figure, but found it difficult.

“Matilda! Matilda!” Hazel called out, walking back to her initial position.

People moved in every direction, their voices overlapping with each other, making it so that Hazel’s voice could not even get far.

Hazel spun around, slightly anxious. She knew no place in the pack, getting lost was definitely not a good thing.

A hint of unease and anxiety crept into her heart. As she searched around, she was bumped into several times and her figure staggered back. She almost lost her footing at one point.

While searching around, Hazel did not even know when she arrived at a fairly secluded section of the market that seemed like an alleyway. Right ahead, all Hazel could see was a forest whose depth could not be seen at all.

Hazel froze, standing in the same spot for a few seconds.

It wasn’t completely quiet in the alley, a few people would pass around once in a while and even some hawkers would walk around. Hazel could even see a few beggars running past, and soon disappearing into another corner of the alley.

Then, a thought suddenly occurred to her.

Losing Matilda might not necessarily be a bad thing.

She has always been looking for a means to escape this place, wasn’t the opportunity right in front of her now?

There was no one with her, no Matilda or the royal guards around. Wasn’t this the perfect chance?

And to make things even better, she could escape into the forest in front of her, making it difficult for Damien and his people to find her.

Moreover, she was also in the market, she could always get a map to navigate her way out of the dark.

Sure enough, the moon goddess had never abandoned her.

Gradually, Hazel's eyes brightened.

Just as she turned around, a sharp, fearful voice caught her attention.

“Let go of me!”

Right ahead was a young girl surrounded by three rough-looking men. The girl was wearing a dress that seemed to be made from silk and her hair was braided carefully, showing that her identity was definitely not so simple.

But at that moment, her eyes were wide with fear as she struggled to escape from the estrangement of the men. She seemed to be around eighteen years of age.

“Missus, did you get lost or what?” One of them asked, extending his hand to hold the girl, but she flinched, taking a step back.

“Why don’t we, three brothers, take you home?”

“We will give you good food and candies, what do you think?”

“All you need to do is satisfy us.”

The men had a lascivious grin on their faces and the way their lustful eyes swept over the girl’s body showed a lot of what their intention was.

The girl wrapped her arm around herself as though to shield them from their eyes.

“Please, let me go. I…I…”

“Why does it look like you are scared of us? We are good brothers.”

The three of them closed in on her, and one of them quickly grabbed her arm, pulling her towards himself. The girl’s eyes quickly welled with desperate tears.

At that moment, the alleyway was completely silent and desolate, no one was around.

Hazel watched all this with her teeth gritted.

She only had this one chance to leave the pack. If she were to miss this chance, then it was over.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

But seeing the pale-faced girl, she could not make up her mind. And at the same time, she could not just watch on as a woman like her was assaulted when she could have done something to help.

“No, Hazel. This is your chance, Matilda is gone. You can leave now, freedom is close at hand.” She murmured to herself, clenching her fist.

Then the girl’s scream snapped Hazel back to her senses.

“Why are you shouting?” One of the men became incensed, he raised his hand and slapped the girl’s cheeks hard. Even from Hazel's location, she could hear the crisp sound of the slap.

Hazel's jaw tightened.

Then under her eyes, one of the men struck the girl at the nape and the girl’s body slumped, her consciousness fading.

The men exchanged glances and one took the initiative to carry the girl over his arms, his familiar manner showing that this was not their first time.

They left through another corner, their figures quickly disappearing.

“Damn it.” Hazel cursed under breath and quickly followed without hesitation.

Her chance to leave was not here yet. She still had to wait.

Hazel followed them silently, keeping an eye out cautiously. Hazel knew she could not afford to call for help yet, the girl would be assaulted before she even brought help.

So, she had to take matters into her own hands.

She had no weapon, but she could not turn away.

Soon, the men rounded another corner and with light steps, Hazel followed. But then she noticed that they had disappeared at one point.

Shocked, Hazel increased her pace, anxious.

She could not allow the men to take the girl away.

That was when she felt a presence behind her.

Her heart skipped a bit, and a bad premonition made the corner of her eyes twitch.

But as she turned around, a pain struck the back of her head.

The world tilted under her eyes instantly, her vision blurring into whiteness.

Her body fell to the ground with a thud. The last thing she saw was a pair of dirty boots stopping in front of her.

“Such luck. Two beauties in one day, we are going to have the best nights of our lives, brothers.”

Then darkness swallowed her.