Chapter 22
Had they encountered a beast? There were tracks all around them.
It must have fled somewhere to escape, and with Alicia nowhere to be seen, Thierry’s face grew pale.
Hmph.
For a man who had never felt the limits of his body, Thierry was strangely short of breath.
Asking her to bring back prey was just a grumpy Princess being mean to a Princess who was making him squirm… I was going to give her what she wanted even if she couldn’t bring me anything…
I was afraid she was in danger and I would never see her smile again.
Yes, I was scared. Thierry was afraid of this time, of wandering alone.
‘I should have brought Rudd.’
No matter how clever he was, he couldn’t expose his wolf to the hunting humans, and he’d made sure to keep them away from the hunting grounds.
But now that he was in this situation, the unexpected was beginning to hit him one by one.
The bush swayed in the wind.
Thierry whirled around, following the beast’s footsteps. Thrrrr, the sword followed his touch and bared its blade with a chilling sound.
Then, as if responding to an intangible threat, the Silver Wolf emerged from the bushes and roared to life.
“Kwah-!”
In an instant, the Silver Wolf leaped high, its eyes flashing. It was a rare beast that could withstand Thierry’s overwhelming presence and make the first move, but it seemed to be a predator of the highest order.
Thierry cut down the wolf with ease. The cold, silvery-white blade sliced through the wolf’s hide, splattering it with blood.
It was a split second. A heavy thud echoed through the forest as the wolf’s carcass fell to the ground like a stone falling.
He wasted no time in turning around. His mind was still on Alicia, as if this was not the slightest threat.
His steps slowed as he frantically pushed his way through the bushes.
It was a familiar sight, a secret place so hard to find that only two people in the world knew it.
His breath caught in his throat. Thierry’s pupils dilated in simmering excitement.
‘I wonder if…’
The vines twisted through the dense trees like a dead end. And a narrow opening to one side.
‘Just in case, if you’re there…’
I pushed my way through the dizzying blades of grass and into the hole, where a quiet path opened up. The path was dotted with scarlet petals, as if in another world.
Along the path stood a large peach tree, with a small den hidden beneath it.
“Your Majesty, there is fruit here!”
“What kind of fruit is that?”
“Peaches! To find a place like this, I feel like I’ve discovered a secret hideout. Will we come here often in the future?”
Thierry’s steps stopped, moving like a man possessed by an illusion, and he looked in the den with an indescribable expression.
Instead of Lari, smiling happily with a peach in her arms, he saw Alicia curled up inside.
The tip of Thierry’s chin twitched.
‘I was destined to see you again.’
***
I stared at the man who shouldn’t be here, shuddering inwardly.
‘Hick-what’s wrong with you?’
Thierry had suddenly appeared in front of me, his sword stained with blood, his form hideous.
“… Your Majesty?”
I was thrown from my rampaging horse before it could fall, and thankfully I was unharmed. However, the beast had smelled my blood, and in trying to escape it, I had inevitably ended up here, where I thought I was safest.
I thought I’d get some breathing room and escape, but I never expected him to follow me here.
‘Why are you so nervous and not saying anything? You might as well be bruised like usual…’
From the moment our eyes met, I felt uneasy about the way he stood still and said nothing.
‘I’m already suspected of being Rudd’s… Isn’t it worse that you were here?’
It’s not surprising, since the Labyrinth Forest is uninhabited, but as far as I know, Thierry and I were the only ones who knew about this peach tree at that time.
For over five years, I’d been hanging out in this peach tree, but I’d never run into anyone but the two of us.
I sneak a glance at him.
‘No, but what’s with the look on your face? Like you’ve just come back from the dead…’
His pale face, his ragged breathing, his chest heaving with every breath. Thierry didn’t look well.
I gripped the wall to one side to slowly get up from my seat.
“Ugh…!”
I thought I’d get better if I rested, but I must have sprained my ankle. As I staggered back to my feet, Thierry, who was pinned to the ground like a statue, quickly approached me.
“Are you hurt?”
He grabbed my arm and steadied me, saving me from a hip-splitting fall. But here’s what happened next.
Without hesitation, he dropped to one knee in front of me and reached for my left ankle with a worried look on his face.
‘Ugh. You’ve been bothering me, so I’m going to rub your ankle in return, or something…’
I had taken off my long boots as soon as I got here, so he could recognize my injury immediately.
“It’s swollen, does it hurt much?”
His face was close to mine because of the distance, so I could clearly see his reddened cheeks and his eyes, which looked unusually moist.
As if he was trying to swallow his tears.
‘… Haha, it wasn’t that cruel, thank God.’
I shrugged.
‘Wait a minute. Thierry’s crying? What a ridiculous illusion. Unless he’s pissed off.’
Now the criticism was unrelenting. He’d cried when he was younger, but that was a long time ago, and there were limits to selling memories.
I swallowed back a laugh and looked away. I felt his hand gingerly groping around my ankle.
“It’s okay, it’s just a sprain.”
I carefully pulled my foot back, as if to avoid his hand. His big hand lingered in midair for a moment, and then I saw it shake.
‘… Scary, why are you making a fist.’
I stared at him, wondering if I should put my foot back in place. I realized that he was looking at me with his eyes sunken into a somber expression.
What? Is that Thierry?
His eyes are sunken because he’s been through a lot today. I keep seeing things in his eyes that I couldn’t have seen earlier.
The person who used to argue with me suddenly pretended to be there for me…
Pretend?
Heh… Are you trying to manipulate me into falling in love with you so you can easily take what you want?
You’ve been showing off your humanity too much to be a beautiful woman, so this time you’ll have to be a little more reserved…
No, but why go to all that trouble for a human who could just as easily push Ashtad away, or is he really in desperate need of information about the elves?
I gulped at the confusion that washed over me. I stared at him warily, and his lips twitched a few times before he whispered in a voice that seemed to die away.
“… Lari.”
Why is he saying Lari here? What is he really up to?
My eyes widened as I sucked in a breath I couldn’t hide. At my reaction, Thierry’s eyes lit up and he leaned in closer.
“Lari, remember?”
“Yeah.”
I spoke cautiously, watching his face visibly brighten, wondering what to expect.
“You’re the one who told me the other day that the wolf followed you well…”
“Ah…”
Am I really so tired that I’m seeing things, and why does Thierry look like a wolf with dead grass and floppy ears?
“… Is that all?”
“Yeah, and I remember I not supposed to mention it!”
“No, you can mention it.”
“… Why?”
He said dryly.
“You’re Lari.”
“Oh, yeah- what? Huh-?”
“You’re Lari.”
Why are you calling me Lari? You’re so desperate to get me to eat that…
Are you trying to get rid of it because it’s bothering you, so you’re trying to make it float?
“Wait, what are you talking about, Your Majesty, I’m Alicia, the Lrincess you dragged, nay, followed, from the Kingdom of Ashtad!”
He glared at me as I desperately denied it, then covered my face with one hand and gently rubbed my forehead.
“You’re not self-aware.”
I think he said self-awareness, and all I could do was tilt my head slightly and stare at him uneasily, wondering what was wrong with him.
Soon a long sigh escaped him. He wiped his face dry and looked at me with an unreadable expression before he spoke.
“You should go back to… and get healed.”
He seemed to take a step back. But I didn’t think he was going to give me another one.
“Oh, I can walk!”
I exclaimed as he quickly picked me up and stood up. “You’re hurt,” he childed as I fidgeted, feeling his strong, thick arms around my back.
“You’re hurt, stay still.”
“It’s not like I can’t walk!”
“Forget it. I put you in danger through my own negligence, and I’ll make sure to compensate you for it. Say whatever you want.”
You’ll be compensated with words, but who knows if they’ll give you a bottle or a pill. You won’t take it.
“His Majesty’s negligence? It was just an accident. You don’t have to do that!”
I threw up my hands in disbelief.
His forward gaze fell on me, and his right arm pulled me toward him. I blinked rapidly at the side of his face, which was almost nose to nose.
“This is unbecoming of my guest of honor, and the Princess must be rewarded.”
… Are you crazy?
