Before I Lose My Head

Chapter-3

Midnight arrived, and I managed to slip out of the tavern without that old hag catching me.

Behind the stables, the carriage was waiting, and true to their word, the terrified merchants handed me a heavy, magical storage pouch containing fifty thousand gold coins, along with my three personal coins. I hopped into the first-class velvet seat, crossed my legs, and smiled like a queen.

The journey was a breeze. We bypassed the Prince’s vanguard through the secret path, crossed the valley, and after a day of smooth riding, the glorious towers of the capital were finally visible in the distance. I was literally minutes away from my dream life. Rich, safe, and ready to meet my handsome prince.

Until the universe decided to remind me that I was in a dark romance novel.

Suddenly, the carriage violently screeched to a halt. The door was ripped open, and a bunch of terrifying, unwashed bandits burst in. Before the merchants could even offer a bribe, the bandits slashed their throats.

Panic? No, I didn’t panic. I used my survival instinct, kicked one bandit in the shins, and bolted out of the carriage into the bushes like a stray cat. But as I ran, one of those bastards grabbed the magical pouch right off my waist.

I collapsed behind a boulder, coughing up dust, safely hidden but entirely stripped of everything. They took the carriage, the gold, the corpses... everything. I reached into my torn apron pocket and pulled out exactly zero coins. Even my personal three gold coins were gone.

"ARE YOU f*****g KIDDING ME?!"

I hissed into the darkness, pulling at my hair.

"Fifty thousand gold coins! Gone! I was a billionaire for exactly twenty-four hours! What kind of trash luck is this?!"

I punched the dirt, my sharp eyes tearing up from pure rage.

"You stupid, cliché, trashy novel! You couldn’t let me keep three coins? Just three?! I have to enter the capital looking like a homeless beggar! If I die of starvation before I even get to see the Prince’s jawline, I am going to haunt the author of this book forever!"

"I hope the author of this garbage book steps on a Lego piece every day for the rest of his miserable life!"

I screamed under my breath, my voice trembling with pure, burning rage.

"I hope his coffee is always cold, his pillow always hot on both sides, and his internet cuts out every single time he tries to write a happy ending! You talentless, cheap, mediocre excuse for a writer!"

I trudged heavily down the dirt road leading to the capital, every step a painful reminder of my tragic fate.

"Fifty thousand gold pieces,"

I muttered, kicking a poor pebble into the ditch.

"I could've bought a palace. I could've hired a personal stylist to fix this coarse, disgusting hair. But nooo, the stupid plot insists I be some pathetic beggar! Screw the plot, screw the bandits, and screw this dusty, medieval excuse for a road!"

A rhythmic sound caught my attention—a slow, rickety cart. I stopped and looked back.

It wasn't some fancy, elegant carriage. Just a wooden farmer's cart, loaded with piles of golden hay and sacks of fresh wheat, driven by an old farmer with a white beard.

In one second flat, I switched my expression to 'innocent, suffering maiden.'

As the cart got closer, I stepped out onto the road, leaning hard into an innocent look to earn myself a free ride.

"Excuse me, kind sir..."

I called out to him, my voice trembling with a carefully crafted mix of exhaustion and fake innocence.

"My carriage was attacked by wicked men, and I lost everything. Would you—please—find it in your heart to take me with you to the capital?"

The old farmer pulled on the horses' reins, bringing his rickety cart to a stop. He looked at me, his white beard swaying as he shook his head in pity.

"Oh, you poor child,"

the old man said.:

"Bandits on the road? Things really have gotten dangerous these days. Of course I can take you into the capital. Hop in the back, make yourself comfortable on the hay, and try to rest."

"Thank you so much, you saved my life!"

I gasped, wiping away a fake tear as if I were some fragile, innocent girl.

But the moment I turned and climbed into the back of the cart, every trace of innocence vanished from my face. I literally threw myself onto the pile of golden hay, burying my face in it with a heavy, dramatic groan.

Great. Just perfect, I thought, pulling a sharp piece of straw out of my hair and glaring at it. Twenty-four hours ago, I'd been sitting on a first-class velvet cushion, acting like some aristocratic queen. And now? I was hitching a free ride on a pile of horse feed, reeking of stables, riding along with an old man gripping the reins.

I rolled onto my back, staring up at the sky as it began to darken while the cart creaked and slowly rumbled forward. Every bump in the road sent a jolt straight up my spine.

"If this stupid hay ruins my clothes any more than they're already ruined, I am going to completely lose it,"

I muttered to myself, plucking another piece of straw off my ragged linen dress.

"I've gone from fifty thousand gold pieces to literal grass. If my prince saw me like this, he wouldn't think I was some mysterious, alluring woman—he'd think I was a runaway scarecrow."

I sighed deeply, crossing my arms over my chest, letting the slow, rhythmic sway of the cart calm my frustration. Despite the thoroughly rotten luck and the pungent smell of wheat, I was finally on my way. The capital was right there ahead.

The cart finally rolled to a stop, jolting as we passed through the towering stone gates of the capital. The city was exactly as the author had described it: massive, loud, and dazzlingly crowded. The smell of fresh bread and expensive perfume filled the air, as if mocking my empty stomach. I climbed down off the pile of hay, thanked the kind old farmer, and stood on the cobblestone road.

I looked around at the elegantly dressed nobles and the busy citizens, then looked down at my dress, now decorated with bits of dry grass and dirt.

I muttered to myself, rubbing my forehead as the bitter truth finally hit me:

"Oh my god... I have no money. I have nowhere to live. I think I've officially become homeless."

I let out a long sigh and put my hands on my hips.

"Great. Just perfect. I was supposed to be some wealthy society lady, or at least a rich girl. Instead, I'm literally like a street raccoon digging through trash. If my beloved prince saw me now, he wouldn't kidnap me—he'd probably just toss a copper coin at my face out of sheer disgust."

"Damn it, I really am in a mess"

To be continued...