Chapter 46

“Mia’s Forest?”

“Yes, what’s so difficult about that? You’re the hero chosen by prophecy, aren’t you? Surely you’re not afraid of a forest like this?”

“……”

“Or perhaps the story about you defeating the Demon King all by yourself is a lie…”

The noble approached the hero, who was attending the hunting competition for the first time, under the guise of explaining the rules to him in detail.

It was meant to provoke him, but Adam responded with a blank expression, pretending not to care.

Ignoring every word the noble was muttering in front of him, Adam mounted the horse assigned to him without hesitation.

“Hey! Hero! Where do you think you’re going?”

“Didn’t you tell me to enter the forest?”

“Well, yes, but…”

The noble, who hadn’t expected Adam to stride into the forest so willingly, stammered in confusion.

Of course, it had been a provocation, but to think he’d be foolish enough to take it seriously!

‘Well, this works out even better.’

A mere commoner shouldn’t have been trying to gain His Majesty’s favor anyway.

He’s so uneducated he probably doesn’t even know the stories about Mia’s Forest.

‘What an idiot.’

Grinning slyly, the noble hastily mounted his horse and followed Adam.

All he needed to do now was subtly steer him into the forbidden zone, as instructed.

‘Don’t feel wronged, foolish hero. Blame your lowly commoner background instead!’

The noble chuckled to himself as he trailed Adam.

Though he was slightly impressed by Adam’s skilled horseback riding, it didn’t change the fact that the hero was just an uneducated commoner.

All he had to do was lure him a little further into the forest and convince him there might be a large beast deeper inside. Adam would walk right into Mia’s Forest on his own.

“……”

But even the noble had never ventured into Mia’s Forest before.

The deeper they went, the more unsettling the atmosphere became.

He couldn’t tell if this feeling came from the relief of soon not having to deal with the hero, or simply from the oppressive aura of the dense forest.

Still, the noble kept his demeanor lively, deliberately striking up conversation with Adam.

He slowed his horse to ride side by side with Adam, carefully adjusting their angle to guide him further inside.

The plan was proceeding smoothly.

Yet the noble’s brow furrowed more with every step.

“This is your first time in Mia’s Forest, isn’t it, Hero?”

“Who knows?”

The hero ignored him again!

The noble barely contained his seething anger.

A commoner so lowly that he wouldn’t even dare address a noble like him under normal circumstances was now blatantly disregarding him?

Even though he was nothing but a discarded hero, he had no idea how to act within his station.

Did he think killing the Demon King had changed anything?

Pretending to be so noble, are we?

Couldn’t he see it? Even the temple was keeping quiet, mindful of the imperial family’s gaze.

The noble, though telling himself he’d never see Adam again, couldn’t suppress the boiling jealousy inside him.

‘So what if he’s good with a sword? So what if some god gave him a prophecy? He acts like he’s a god himself.’

He was the younger son of a duke’s household.

Adam was the seventh hero.

Until then, his family had never been chosen, not even once, to produce a hero.

Especially since the last hero was chosen from the Evant family. That made it even worse.

The Evant family and his own were both duke households, once equal in power, but the support the Evant family gained from nobles and commoners alike due to Lawrence’s accomplishments as a hero was immense.

In an instant, the gap between their families widened.

His grandfather could never forget the moment the last hero was chosen by divine prophecy. He took it out on his father.

And his father, in turn, always yelled at him.

“The Evants had their hero! This time, it’ll be our family!”

Because of that, he was forced to practice swordsmanship, something he never wanted to do, only to be beaten when his skills didn’t improve.

How dare they hit me, the only son of a duke’s family!

But their hopes were crushed.

One day, the temple announced that a hero had appeared.

And with no warning, that hero killed the Demon King.

Effortlessly.

While he had spent his entire life in misery, the hero, who had stolen what should have been his, continued living as if nothing had happened.

A man far beneath him was breathing the same air as him.

That’s why he thought the hero should die.

If the hero died, a new hero would have to be chosen, and maybe the glory would come to his family this time.

‘Not that I’m jealous or anything.’

He simply didn’t want to see someone strut around arrogantly over something they hadn’t even earned.

Ah.

The corner of the noble’s mouth twisted upward.

‘There it is.’

The spot the emperor’s imperial guard had told him about.

A golden thread, severed by a sharp blade, lay sprawled on the ground.

* * *

It was predictable from the moment he brought up Mia’s Forest.

Adam glanced down at the chattering fool beside him with a look of disdain.

When their eyes met, the noble’s mouth twisted uncomfortably.

Sensing the noble’s displeasure, Adam deliberately locked gazes with him, offering a slight smile.

The way the noble’s mouth twitched up and down made it clear that his irritation was boiling over.

He pretended to be friendly, but the disdain embedded in his demeanor was impossible to hide.

If only Eveline were this talkative, it wouldn’t be as unbearable.

Since that day, when Eveline had been firmly offended, she barely spoke to him unless it was necessary.

Though, when the nobles started whispering about her, she seemed to change her mind and tried to act friendly again…

Adam sighed, mounting his horse.

He thought it would be better to avoid standing next to the noble any longer, lest his real feelings accidentally slip out.

Even so, Adam intended to go along with the noble’s transparent plan for now.

“This must be your first time in Mia’s Forest, Hero?” the noble asked.

Adam gave a vague answer.

The sight of the noble’s twisted expression in response was quite satisfying.

Suppressing a smirk, Adam urged his horse forward.

As he followed the path the noble led him on, Adam casually fiddled with his sword.

Surely, he didn’t intend to push him into Mia’s Forest, did he?

Mia’s Forest was vast, but there was no rule that one couldn’t leave it.

The only thing said about it was that everyone who entered the forest ended up “lost.”

Recalling the emperor’s tendency to eliminate even the smallest risks, Adam remained alert, searching for any signs of movement around him.

The noble, still relentless, kept chattering beside him.

“Are you even listening to me?”

At that moment, the noble suddenly kicked the leg of Adam’s horse with all his might.

Startled, the noble quickly drove his own horse away, disappearing into the distance.

Adam’s horse neighed loudly, rearing up on its hind legs.

Gripping the reins tightly with the hand that had been resting on his sword, Adam steadied himself to avoid falling.

In that brief moment of imbalance—

Thwack!

“…!”

Adam gasped sharply as an arrow pierced his abdomen.

The instant he sensed the presence, the sharp arrowhead had already struck him.

Yet, clenching his jaw, he bit down hard on his lip to suppress a scream.

He had expected a sword, not a bow.

Assuming the noble would summon a knight, Adam had prepared for a blade, not an arrow.

Quickly, Adam dismounted and slapped the horse’s flank, sending it running in the opposite direction.

There was no need for an innocent animal to suffer.

‘Have I entered the domain of the divine power?’

Adam scanned the ground beneath him.

The rope marking the boundary of the forest was nowhere to be seen.

Instead, droplets of red blood splattered across the ground.

Pressing his hand firmly against his abdomen, Adam tried to staunch the bleeding.

‘Damn it, I walked right into their trap.’

He had suspected an ambush.

But catching every attempt to drag his life into the abyss, especially when the methods constantly changed, was no easy task.

The noble’s idiocy had been obvious.

Leading him willingly to the edge of Mia’s Forest was transparent enough.

But what Adam hadn’t anticipated—

That an imperial guard would be lying in wait with a bow among the bushes.

Nor that the noble would kick his horse and send it into a frenzy near the edge of the forest.

 

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