I was almost halfway down the mountain when I realized that someone was following me.
There were so many different sounds in the mountains that I didn’t realize it, but I kept hearing light footsteps behind me.
For a moment, I thought Julion had already woken up and was chasing me, but the footsteps sounded a bit lighter.
Step, step.
I stopped walking and slowly turned around as the sound grew closer.
The figure, revealing itself and seemingly having no intention of hiding, was someone I hadn’t expected.
“Zenid……!”
In response to my call, Zenid bit her lower lip, then looked at me with pleading eyes.
“Your Highness… No, miss.”
Zenid, indeed quick-witted, changed the way she addressed me even without knowing the exact situation.
I opened my mouth awkwardly, feeling perplexed.
“How did you come here?”
I had thought she would be asleep.
I figured that if I told Zenid, she would follow me, so I kept it a secret from her and went out alone.
Zenid took out a small vial from her pocket.
“I used this.”
Only then did I recall that Zenid had an emergency awakening potion.
It was meant to be used in case she became immobilized, disoriented, or was about to fall into sleep poison.
However, no matter how much awakening potion she used, it must have been difficult to completely shake off sleep.
Moreover, having inhaled a colorless and odorless sleep scent, there was no opportunity to use the awakening potion unless she knew about it in advance.
At my questioning look, Zenid smiled coyly and continued.
“I have been serving you for a long time. Sometimes I can tell what you’re thinking just by looking at your expression.”
“Ah…….”
“It was clear to me that you were planning to leave. However, since you didn’t tell me… I dared to observe everything about you closely. Feeling something particularly strange today, I took the awakening potion in advance.”
Listening to Zenid’s response, I was secretly surprised.
Of course, I knew she always watched over me from behind.
But I didn’t expect her to be this observant.
“I apologize for acting on my own, Miss.”
Saying that, Zenid lowered her head.
Her brown hair, disheveled from her haste to follow me, fell down by her ears.
As she raised her head again, Zenid’s face showed a firm determination.
“You don’t have to explain anything to me; just let me follow you, Miss.”
I could see the worry and restlessness in her eyes as she stared at me.
Despite having many questions, Zenid didn’t ask.
Since the time my mother was alive, Zenid has always diligently watched over me.
But now, wanting to be free, I had tried to cut ties with Zenid as well.
‘But if she comes back to me like this…’
I can’t push her away.
I sighed and pulled a small vial from my pocket.
“You won’t last long with that awakening potion. I’ve used a slightly stronger sleeping potion in case it won’t take effect on the knights. So if you want to keep following me, drink this.”
It was a potion that would completely wash away the sleeping potion.
Zenid received the potion from me, smiling brightly.
“Thank you, miss!”
Oddly, I felt more grateful.
It seemed like Zenid was always the one giving.
The wind blew down the mountain ridge.
The breeze, which had felt chilly until now, somehow seemed warm.
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
When Julion opened his eyes, the moon was hanging in the middle of the sky.
A silent silver glow filled his vision. He blinks his eyes and assesses the situation.
Once, twice.
With the third blink, he abruptly sat up.
Was it because the cold night wind was blowing fiercely?
Or was it because his heart suddenly dropped?
Feeling his fingertips tremble, Julion clenched his fist and regulated his breathing.
“Rohiriel……!”
Whispering low, he hurriedly leaped into the mansion.
The inside of the mansion was eerily quiet.
It was no wonder, as everyone who had been here was lying on the floor, sleeping soundly.
“Ha…….”
He had somewhat expected it.
The fact that no one had woken him up until nightfall meant there was no one to wake him up.
However, once he personally confirmed the situation, the absurdity was beyond words.
“How strong of a potion did she use?”
He tried to wake up a few people, but it was futile as the effects of the potion were still lingering.
It seemed like a deliberate and calculated move.
Overwhelmed by the despair closing in on him, Julion bit his lip in frustration.
The freshly healed wound from earlier reopened, causing blood to flow out.
But as if he felt no pain at all, Julion turned away, his expression unchanged.
Leaving again, Julion looked at the tilted moon and gauged the time.
It had been roughly half a day since the incident with Rohiriel in the garden.
‘I need to find traces of her first.’
Searching for someone in earnest would be possible only after the knights woke up.
However, the sooner one finds traces, the more detailed and accurate the information will be.
Unable to wait for the knights, who might not wake up for a while, Julion left the garden and began descending the mountain.
Observing the surrounding trees, the shape of the dirt path, and traces of leaves, Julion leaped towards the path he thought Rohiriel might have taken.
Since this was a deep mountain, the available paths for someone to pass were limited.
While quickly descending, Julion left marks along the way for the knights who might wake up to follow.
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
Around dawn.
Ares furrowed his brow as he felt a heavy sensation all over his body.
Then, in a flash, he realized that he had been asleep.
“Ugh……!”
Startled, Ares quickly got up, sensing something unusual.
The presence he was supposed to guard was nowhere to be found.
Not only that, she couldn’t be seen, but even the slightest presence of hers couldn’t be felt.
“Your Highness?”
Ares, carrying an uneasy feeling, searched for where Rohiriel might be.
But he soon realized that things were not so simple.
People are lying in corridors and corners of rooms.
And similarly, the Crown Prince was nowhere to be found.
“What happened?”
Had they been poisoned?
Without anyone noticing, did everyone fall victim to this?
Ares’ crimson eyes shook in confusion.
First, Ares woke up his fellow nights.
Fortunately, it seemed they hadn’t been hurt but had just fallen into a deep sleep.
They all took in the situation in a similar order to Ares, and their faces turned grim.
“I think a few of us should stay here and thoroughly search the place, and the rest of us should search the entire mountain.”
Under Ares’ command, the remaining knights began to move in unison in search of their master.
Fortunately, Julion had left traces.
He had drawn the secret markings of the knight order on the terrain.
Following the mark, Ares continued to suppress his anxiety.
‘If he left a mark like that, I’m sure he’s not in trouble. I hope they’re both safe……!’
In truth, Ares wasn’t too worried about Julion.
If something had happened to Julion, he wouldn’t have been able to leave such a mark.
What worried him was Rohiriel.
Perhaps Julion had hastily left, leaving only these marks because…
“Pick up the pace! Do you want to never catch up?”
Ares shouted angrily to the other knights, feeling unnecessarily anxious.
How far had they descended?
The village outskirts came into view.
“Your Highness Julion!”
And there, in front of him, was Julion, his head bowed deeply.
Ares quickened his pace and reached Julion.
Even though Julion must have known Ares had arrived, there was no reaction.
“…Your Highness?”
Ares approached closer and called Julion again.
Only then did Julion slowly lift his head, meeting Ares’ gaze.
As he saw his eyes, Ares shuddered.
‘They’re out of focus…’
Julion lowered and raised his eyelids repeatedly without answering. The golden eyes that disappeared and reappeared were darker than ever.
As his wandering eyes seemed to tremble without focus, they soon locked onto Ares.
Ares swallowed hard at the negative emotion in them and opened his mouth.
“Where is her highness?”
Once again, Julion remained silent.
Ares barely held onto his trembling heart and carefully examined Julion’s expression.
Upon closer inspection, Julion looked more devastated than Ares had initially thought.
Dirt and leaves clung to his clothes from traversing the mountain.
His black hair was damp with sweat, and his lips were cracked and bleeding.
At that moment, Julion’s lips, filled with wounds, twitched before a hoarse voice emerged.
“Nowhere… to be found.”
It seemed to be an answer to the question: Where is Rohiriel?
The sun, which had just begun to rise, now scattered its light completely.
A deep shadow was cast on Julion’s face, who was facing away from the sun.
“There’s no trace.”
Julion lowered his gaze, looking down at his trembling hands.
Instead of calming down, the trembling intensified even more than before.
Ares swallowed hard as he observed Julion in such a state.
The exact situation and what had happened were still unclear, but one thing was certain.
There was a significant issue with Rohiriel’s safety.
Moreover, it seemed to be a very serious problem, judging by how much it shook Julion.
