him a punch.
He lowered his gaze, seemingly impervious.
I still urgently sought to stop Saint-Clemont, for I had never yearned so deeply for someone to live on, never felt that his death would only amplify my anguish.
I wanted to earnestly soothe him, to plead with him, almost desperate enough to grab hold of his hands, but all that escaped my lips were deliberate provocation: "Coward! You are just so timid, you don''t even dare to do it yourself!"
He remained expressionless, silent. So I let out an exasperated sneer. "Fine. Do as you please."
I let go of the hopeless man''s collar and returned to my seat, turning my back to him.
I heard the sound of Saint-Clemont''s footsteps rustling on the straw, slowly and resolutely approaching from behind me.
"I didn''t come for you," he murmured, his voice deep and powerful, "I came for her, and for myself."
"What are you talking about..." Before I could turn my head, I felt a hand pressing a cloth tightly against my nose and mouth, a strange scent invading my nostrils. Suddenly, my body grew weak, and I collapsed, limp in the arms of the man who held me from behind.
He laid me down on the ground and began removing my clothes. I heard the sound of a prison guard''s boots entering the cell.
Instinctual resistance kept a glimmer of consciousness within me. I heard Raphael calmly and swiftly giving instructions to the man who had entered, and then that man lifted my upper body from under my armpits and hastily dragged me out of the prison cell.
Raphael didn''t follow out. I heard the rusty prison door being firmly shut between us. With the last ounce of my stubborn will, I attempted to struggle, but my head felt too heavy, and I had no control over my body.
I felt the fresh, cool air from outside filling my lungs, and then I was tossed onto a carriage. The patter of raindrops echoed against the carriage walls as I swayed along with t