Chapter 64
In Do-yul’s silence, the investigator tilted his head curiously.
Finally, Do-yul nodded heavily.
“Yeah, let’s do that.”
Finding a campsite.
It was the most rational choice in the current situation.
Most of the group were elderly.
There weren’t even enough horses to transport people and luggage.
It might be wiser to descend slowly, considering the risk of someone getting left behind or injured if we push too hard…
“I’m worried.”
Do-yul pursed his lips tightly.
He hadn’t noticed it when they were rushing to Seogachon, but now he was sure.
“When we came down the mountain, we didn’t encounter a single wild animal.”
Even in a barren mountain, animals find a way to survive.
But the surroundings were just silent.
Even when he heightened his senses, he couldn’t feel any trace of animals.
Only the movement of dry grass leaves swaying in the chilly wind disturbed his senses.
“Did all the animals really leave?”
What on earth is happening here?
Do-yul struggled to hide his confusion.
But then.
Kurung…!
A faint sound caught Do-yul’s ear.
He doubted his own ears.
“What was that sound just now?”
It was like the sound of ice cracking…
At the same time, Yerin looked up sharply.
“Sir?”
Yerin quickly turned to look at Do-yul.
“Just now, did you hear it?”
Kurung…!
Following Yerin’s question, the sound became clearer.
It was as if they both couldn’t deny that they had heard it.
The investigators looked shocked as if they were about to faint.
“Lord, Lady!”
“It’s dangerous!”
The ground was shaking violently.
Kurung, Kurung!
The noise grew louder and louder.
Now everyone knew.
“The ground is splitting!”
Hee-hee-hing!
The frightened horses thrashed about wildly.
In the midst of the violent movement, the village headman couldn’t contain himself and lost control of the reins.
“Ah!”
The village headman’s body was thrown into the air.
In an instant, Yerin’s eyes widened.
“No way!”
Yerin sprang up from her seat and reached out, grabbing the village headman by the neck.
She held onto the heavy weight in her grasp.
“It’s okay, I got you!”
Perhaps because he was an elderly man, the village headman was much lighter compared to an average adult man, which was fortunate.
Yerin pushed the village headman with all her might onto the ground that had not split.
“Ugh! Oof!”
The village headman let out a strange scream as he flew into the air.
“Here, grab him!”
“Hold on to this!”
The investigators who had hurriedly approached lifted the village headman.
By then, Yerin had discovered two problems.
The first problem was that no matter how you looked at it, the village headman was much heavier than Yerin.
As a result, the second problem arose…
“Huh? What’s this?”
Because she was bearing the weight of the village headman, Yerin, who was relatively lighter, was bounced off into the gap of the cliff.
“This isn’t right?”
Yerin looked at the cliff in rare confusion.
“No, even if it’s a principle in martial arts novels to fall off a cliff, there’s no need to be so faithful to that principle!”
With that thought, Yerin’s body began to plummet below the cliff.
“Lady!”
“Good heavens, Lady!”
The investigators reached out desperately to save Yerin, but they couldn’t hold onto her as she fell.
In the midst of it all, Yerin desperately scanned the cliff.
“Where’s Do-yul?!”
As long as Do-yul was safe, everything would be fine.
She could survive on her own.
So…!
“Wait a minute!”
Yerin’s eyes widened.
There was someone in front of her who absolutely should not be there.
“Madam!!”
Yerin jumped off the cliff without hesitation, and the person currently falling with her is none other than Doyul.
“Madam, Lord!”
“Someone, call for help!”
Amidst the chaos, the voices of the bewildered investigators faintly reached them.
Even as Yerin was plummeting, she couldn’t help but express her disbelief.
“Why on earth did the Lord jump after me?!”
He’s a guy who’s practically the lord of the North Ice Palace!
He should have been quietly tucked away in a safe place, what on earth is he doing?!
But whether Yerin was angry or not, Doyul caught her and pulled her into his arms.
It was clearly a protective gesture towards Yerin.
“Lord!”
That was the last thing.
And that’s how the two of them disappeared into the gap of the cliff.
* * *
“…Ugh.”
A faint groan echoed from inside the empty space.
At the same time, the girl crouching on the ground flinched slightly.
“Ouch….”
With a short whimper, the girl slowly raised her eyelids.
It was Yerin.
“Where am I?”
Her vacant gaze swept over the surroundings.
Although it was pitch dark, it wasn’t so dark that she couldn’t make out anything.
The faint light streaming from above her head helped with that.
“It’s a cave.”
More precisely, it was a crevice in the mountain.
When she lifted her head, the sheer cliff was toweringly high.
And then.
“Huh?”
Yerin’s ears caught a faint sound.
The gurgling noise was…
“It’s water.”
About twenty paces away from where Yerin had collapsed, underground water was flowing like a stream.
It seemed that the empty space below the mountain was formed due to this underground water.
‘So that’s it.’
Yerin briefly recollected what had happened earlier in her mind.
She was leading the villagers down to the lower village when the ground split.
In the chaos, the village chief almost fell into the crevice.
Yerin saved the chief, but in turn, she was sucked into the crevice.
And Doyul reached out to her…
“Gasp!”
Yerin took a deep breath in shock.
“Our Doyul!!”
She exclaimed as she sprang to her feet.
At the same time, a short whimper escaped her lips.
“Ouch.”
Her whole body ached and she particularly felt a strong pain in her left arm, indicating that she might have broken a bone.
‘But oh well.’
This was okay.
It’s not like it’s completely broken and I can’t move, so whatever.
“But Doyul is in a hurry.”
Yerin anxiously looked around.
From her last memory, Doyul wrapped his arms around her as they fell together.
So he must be around here somewhere.
He had to be, but…
“Ah.”
Yerin gasped in that moment.
Thankfully, her expectations weren’t entirely off.
Doyul was lying not too far from where she was, not too far from where she fell.
“Your Highness!”
Yerin rushed to Doyul in a panic.
As she knelt down beside him, calling out to him with a trembling voice, “Please, wake up, Your Highness!”
But Doyul didn’t even flinch.
Yerin urgently laid Doyul down properly with her trembling hands.
His head weakly turned towards Yerin, and his pale face was devoid of color under the light.
“This is…”
Yerin widened her eyes.
“His condition is really bad!”
It seemed that Yerin was able to survive to this extent because Doyul protected her.
As a result, Doyul was in a terrible state.
Irregular and feeble breathing, and even a low body temperature.
Yerin bit her lip until it bled.
“You’re the male lead, aren’t you?”
This is too serious of an injury.
In the original work, he was perfectly fine until he met the perennial ice before they met!
Who told him to protect me?
He’s the male lead, and he doesn’t even care about his own body…!
“Where’s the medicine, where is it?”
Yerin’s hands trembled as she rummaged through her belongings.
Thankfully, the thousand-year snow flower was safe in her possession.
Yerin forcefully put it into Doyul’s mouth.
“Please, please….”
Yerin held onto Doyul’s wrist.
She pushed her energy and started to concentrate intensely to help Doyul’s vital energy.
The goal was to help the medicine’s energy be properly absorbed into Doyul’s body.
“The thousand-year snow flower was said to be the best medicine in the original work.”
If it’s absorbed well, it should be able to recover from most injuries and internal injuries.
Throughout her past and present lives, she had never felt so desperate.
Yerin was completely absorbed in her actions.
* * *
How much time had passed?
“…Phew.”
Yerin opened her eyes and let out a long breath.
“Doyul?”
Yerin reflexively looked down and felt relieved.
“Thank goodness.”
Doyul’s breathing was much more comfortable than before.
Some color returned to his pale face.
Thanks to Yerin’s desperate efforts, the energy of the thousand-year snow flower had completely settled in his body.
“That was quite a scare.”
I really thought the male lead was going to leave this world.
Yerin shakily took out the gold healing ointment.
Most of the injuries had healed, but because of the fall from the cliff, his whole body was bruised.
Yerin carefully applied the gold ointment to Doyul’s wounds several times.
“Ah.”
Yerin’s busy hand froze.
Doyul’s eyelashes trembled slightly, and then his eyelids slowly opened.
“…Madam?”
A rough voice flowed out like scraping iron.
The elders will never let them leave the palace again.