[There’s a pretty doctor over there by the river.]
The place Meiran pointed to wasn’t far.
Julion dashed there in a hurry, passing by the agreed meeting spot with Ares.
Arriving at the riverside, where the scent of water lingered, he found two people.
They looked familiar, and when they saw Julion, they gasped in surprise.
“Your Highness, the Crown Prince?”
“How could this be…?”
Julion glanced around anxiously; except for the two people in front of him, there was no one else around.
With lips pressed together in anxiety, Julion asked,
“Isn’t the Crown Princess here? Did you not see her?”
Though he hadn’t seen her himself, his tone was assertive.
It was Dr. Chavel who replied,
“Yes, she was with us…….”
“Where is she?”
“…But she crossed the river just a while ago.”
“She crossed the river? You mean she went to the village across the river?”
Julion’s voice grew sharper with each question.
Marvin, unsure of how the situation was unfolding, continued to sweat profusely.
Only Chavel had to muster the courage to respond to Julion.
“Yes, Your Highness. But in such a dangerous place…”
“Are you out of your mind, letting the princess cross the river alone at this late hour?”
Julion seemed to selectively listen to Chavel’s words, focusing only on those regarding Rohiriel and brushing off the rest.
He even went so far as to blame the physicians, much to the chagrin of Chavel and Marvin.
“Your Highness, we tried to stop her as much as we could. But how could we dare to restrain the Crown Princess? We simply followed her orders.”
“That is true, and she wasn’t alone; her maid accompanied her.”
Though everything they said was true, Julion’s expression remained stern.
At his murderous expression, the two physicians added as much detail as they could.
“She went to the village across the river because there are many urgent patients there. She mentioned that her companion was resting here and would return tomorrow.”
“Her companion? I thought you said her maid went with her.”
“Yes. Someone else remained in this village. We’re not sure about the details.”
There was a woman who had been with Rohiriel at the Duke of Cassian’s manor.
It occurred to him that perhaps she was the reason for Rohiriel’s departure.
Julion furrowed his brows deeply and clicked his tongue low.
“Exactly which way did the Crown Princess go?”
“That way…….”
Julion took off again in the direction Dr. Chavel pointed.
By now, the day had begun to dawn.
‘Going to tend to patients in another village without even sleeping at night… She should take care of her own health in times like this.’
Julion was very nervous and anxious because of Rohiriel’s selflessness.
So, more and more negative thoughts kept popping up.
The idea that Rohiriel chose this place as her final destination seemed absurd.
‘It has to be absurd. It must be.’
Julion tried to push the thoughts away and quickened his pace.
ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚
Meanwhile, Liliana arrived at Nartavan Hot Springs smoothly.
Although there were a few obstacles along the way, most of the people they encountered were mercenaries she had hired, allowing them to pass through unharmed.
“Nothing has changed.”
The bubbling water of the Nartavan Hot Springs rose. Even the opaque, cream-colored water, rather than clear, was excellent for skin care.
It was perfect for hiding things because nothing was visible inside.
“Ratman, come here.”
Liliana sat down on a rock and dipped her feet into the water.
After the strenuous climb, her feet were sore, but the fatigue melted away in an instant.
At Liliana’s command, Ratman took off his outer garment and jumped into the hot spring without hesitation.
The water splashed up, leaving a circular mark on the hem of Liliana’s dress.
“…Careless.”
Although Ratman’s uncharacteristically bold move irritated Lilliana, she decided to let it go for now since she was feeling good.
Part of her was grateful that he had been so faithful to her for so long.
How much time had passed like this?
Ratman, who had completely submerged himself in the hot spring water, surfaced with rough breaths, but he didn’t fully emerge from the water; instead, he looked at Liliana.
Sitting comfortably, waiting for Ratman to come up, Liliana’s expression hardened.
“What’s wrong?”
The task she had given Ratman was very simple and easy.
It shouldn’t have taken this long, and there was no reason for him to be frozen with wavering eyes staring at her.
‘He just needs to bring out the box.’
Inside the hot spring, there were several openings leading to different passages.
Resembling an anthill, some openings were large enough for a person to enter.
Following one of these passages would lead to a space with lower water levels and air pockets where several boxes of ned ores were stored.
Whenever funds were needed, she would take out one of those boxes and put it to good use.
Ratman was in charge of this matter, so even in the challenging underwater environment, he should have known the location of the box and not come out empty-handed.
“Is there a problem?”
“The box is not there.”
“What?”
“I can’t see the box anywhere.”
Liliana doubted her own hearing.
How could there be no boxes of Ned ores when there should be mountains of them? It didn’t make sense.
“What are you talking about? Say it right so I can understand.”
“I don’t know what happened… There’s not even a trace of it.”
“Is the cave still there?”
“Yes. The space is still the same. Just the boxes are missing.”
Ratman also had a bewildered expression.
In the end, Liliana clenched her fists and submerged herself in the hot spring water.
“I need to see for myself.”
It was unbelievable. This couldn’t be happening.
Who could have known about the Ned ores boxes inside and stolen them so easily?
They had gone to great lengths to prevent anyone from entering!
’There must be something wrong.’
Suppressing a foreboding feeling, Liliana submerged herself completely into the hot spring water.
Left behind, Ratman watched for a moment as only bubbling foam remained, then he slowly walked out.
The white hot spring water dripped heavily, leaving a dirty trail.
“Phew….”
Ratman took a deep breath and looked up at the sky, where reddish clouds were drifting as dawn approached.
Dawn was breaking, and reddish clouds drifted across the sky.
Closing his eyelids to block his view, he sensed several movements around him, gradually coming closer.
Ratman opened his eyes again.
“Huh…!”
Liliana emerged from the bubbles of the hot springs; her face flushed red.
Her purple irises shook violently as if there were an earthquake, directed fiercely at Ratman standing outside the hot spring.
Wringing the water out of his clothes, he looked strangely relaxed.
She was so confused, and yet the butler was…
Liliana raised her eyes and cried out harshly.
“Ratman! What have you been doing all this time? Why on earth are the boxes missing?”
“I only did as you instructed, my lady.”
“Hah! You dare leave me alone to search and say such things…! What are you doing, not coming in and looking for it right now?”
Liliana glared fiercely at Ratman.
Her recent desire to reward him for his loyalty vanished completely.
Yet Ratman seemed unmoved by Liliana’s outburst, showing no intention of entering the hot spring.
Instead, he calmly swept his hand through his hair and exhaled slowly.
Sensing something profoundly odd, Liliana stared at Ratman without saying a word.
Normally, Ratman would avoid eye contact, lowering his gaze and obeying her commands without question.
But now he was looking her straight in the eye, even with a gaze that seemed to look down on her from above.
“What the hell…”
Feeling uneasy, Liliana stepped out of the hot spring.
The cold air made her shiver all over after being in the hot water.
In the past, Ratman would have immediately wrapped something around her.
But now he remained motionless.
It was as if he was not feeling any emotion, just staring blankly at her trembling form.
When Liliana realized this unfamiliar sight, she trembled in a different way.
“……!”
The sound of crushed grass echoed around them, and dozens of knights emerged from all directions.
Liliana stumbled back in surprise at the unexpected appearance of the Rivolain knights.
She swallowed hard, narrowly avoiding falling into the hot springs.
“Ratman, explain. What’s going on?”
Liliana’s cold voice urged Ratman to respond, but instead of him, the answer came from the group of knights.
“You’re finished now, Liliana.”
The slightly lower but refined voice was somewhat familiar to Liliana.
As she instinctively searched for the voice, her eyes met those of a woman with crimson hair walking among the knights.
As she stepped forward, her pink eyes scanned Liliana from head to toe.
“Long time, no see, Liliana Cassian.”
“……Erka.”
Liliana spat out Erka’s name as if it left a bitter taste in her mouth.
A person who shouldn’t be here.
A person who could not be here.
Erka Rivolain looked at Liliana with a chilling smile.
