“Huh?”
Letier, who had been walking ahead, turned back with a puzzled expression.
She met Dante’s red eyes, which were filled with an unusual sense of guilt.
Straightening from his crouched position, he stepped closer to her.
Then, he gently took her wrist and pulled her toward him with a firm grip.
“…I’m sorry for deceiving you.”
“……”
Letier looked up at him in silence.
The sudden revelation had certainly been shocking, but she didn’t feel resentment or betrayal toward him.
He must have had his reasons…
Hadn’t she already given up on fully understanding the people of the imperial family?
Dante carefully ran his fingers over the back of her hand as he continued speaking.
“It’s only natural for you to feel bewildered. Keeping you tied to the palace under the pretense of treating an illness that didn’t even exist… I regret that as well.”
Yet, despite his sincere apology, Letier found herself even more unsettled.
The prince, who was usually shameless and effortlessly composed, was now standing before her with a serious expression, earnestly apologizing.
It felt… strange.
Feeling oddly flustered, she quietly pulled her hand away and hid it behind her back.
“It’s fine. You had your own reasons.”
“…..”
Dante watched her withdraw, a troubled look crossing his face.
Seeing the usually confident prince so hesitant made Letier feel an odd tickling sensation in her chest.
“Let’s just go! Didn’t you say we needed to cover as much ground as possible before sunset?”
She pointed westward, her gaze lingering awkwardly on the prince—who bore the face of her friend, Reuters.
****
Before they knew it, the sun had begun to set.
Dante glanced over his shoulder at Letier, who was silently following him.
She was surely exhausted, yet she didn’t complain—something he found admirable.
“Letier, let’s rest here for the night.”
“…Alright.”
“There should be a path leading upward not too far from here. If we follow it, we should meet the search party by tomorrow.”
Dante pointed toward a distant spot.
From years of expeditions, he had memorized countless routes, always calculating the fastest and most efficient way to regroup.
If the rescue team had any sense, they would take the path he expected.
Letier lifted her gaze toward where he was pointing.
Unconsciously, she ran a hand down the front of her clothes.
Ever since the water mage had drenched them during the battle against the tendrils, her clothes had yet to fully dry.
Now that the sun was setting, the dampness made the cold creep into her bones.
Dante turned, scanning their surroundings for shelter.
“There’s a gap between those rocks over there. Let’s check it out.”
He motioned for her to wait, then stepped into the narrow crevice to inspect the interior.
After confirming it was safe, he extended his hand toward her.
“Come inside.”
Letier trudged forward, moving stiffly with exhaustion.
She ducked slightly to fit through the entrance.
Though the opening was tight and small, the space inside was larger than expected.
Slowly, she walked toward a boulder near the wall and crouched down.
“Wait here. I’ll gather firewood.”
Dante left without resting, disappearing outside once more.
Letier leaned against the rock, stretching her legs out in front of her.
She thought of Walter, who could summon fire effortlessly.
If only Walter were here, starting a fire would be so much easier…
“Ugh… I’m so tired…”
Between the tendril attacks and the sudden fall, both she and Dante had lost all their belongings.
No tent, no blankets, not even a scrap of food.
Feeling the hopelessness of the situation settle in, Letier closed her eyes.
A little while later, Dante returned, his arms full of dry twigs and branches.
He tossed them into a pile at the center of the space, then crouched down and pulled two small magic stones from his pocket.
Rubbing them together, he quickly sparked a flame.
“I packed these just in case. Turns out, my habit of over-preparing from years of expeditions finally paid off.”
Letier, who had been leaning against the wall, slowly sat up and moved closer to the fire.
She spread her hands toward the flames, soaking in the warmth.
Not all of their problems had been solved, but at least they weren’t in immediate danger anymore.
As the tension drained from her body, the dampness of her clothes suddenly became more unbearable.
She curled her back slightly, shivering from the chill.
“…Are you cold?”
“A little.”
“Letier, I need you to not take this the wrong way.”
“…What?”
Letier turned to look at him.
Dante, sitting beside her, met her gaze with an unreadable expression.
As the tension that had left her body moments ago came rushing back, she instinctively braced herself for whatever he was about to say.
“…Take off your clothes.”
…What?
She must have misheard.
Letier stared at him in shock, her mind blanking.
As soon as Dante saw her stunned expression, his face immediately flushed red.
Letting out a frustrated sigh, he ran a hand over his face.
“…That’s not what I meant.”
“……”
Without realizing it, Letier scooted slightly away from him.
Maybe the real danger was closer than she thought.
Dante groaned, rubbing his temple.
“I get why you’d be suspicious, but don’t look at me like that.”
“……”
Letier said nothing, glancing toward the narrow entrance.
In situations like this, securing an escape route was key.
“…I meant you should take off your wet clothes. If you stay in them, you’ll lose body heat even faster.”
“…Ah.”
Letier’s shoulders finally relaxed.
“You could’ve led with that instead of just saying ‘take off your clothes.’”
“That’s on me. I’ve never had to say something like this to a woman before.”
She looked down at her damp clothes, hesitating.
He wasn’t wrong, but… taking them off while he was right there? That was impossible.
Dante, noticing her hesitation, wordlessly shrugged off his coat.
Then, he pulled off the tunic underneath, laying it out near the fire.
Letier yelped in surprise, quickly averting her gaze from his bare torso.
“The tunic wasn’t soaked through. If you don’t want to stay in wet clothes, wear this. I’ll wait outside.”
Without another word, he stood and stepped out of the shelter.
Letier stared at the black tunic beside the fire, listening to the soft crackling of the flames.
****
“Are you… done changing…?”
Dante, who had been checking the area for potential threats, returned to find Letier sitting by the fire.
He trailed off mid-sentence.
“Your Highness.”
Letier looked up at him, now wearing the black tunic he had lent her.
Due to her small frame, the oversized tunic kept slipping off her shoulders, and she had wrapped her cloak around her legs like a blanket.
Her wet clothes were neatly laid out near the fire to dry.
Dante quickly averted his gaze, suddenly feeling flustered by the unexpectedly… distracting sight.
He could feel his ears heating up.
Turning on his heel, he deliberately put more distance between them before sitting on the opposite side of the fire.
“I’ll return your clothes once they’re dry tomorrow morning. Thank you for lending them to me.”
“…Yeah.”
Unable to find a proper place to look, Dante simply lay down and turned his back toward her.
This seemed like the best way to avoid looking at her altogether.
“Where did you go just now?”
Letier’s calm voice drifted from behind him.
Unlike him, who still hadn’t fully regained his composure, she sounded completely at ease.
“Oh, I went to fetch some clean water. If you’re thirsty—”
He sat up to hand her a water bottle, but upon catching sight of her sitting there—her tunic slipping ever so slightly—he immediately turned away again.
For the first time, he felt conflicted about giving up his tunic.
Letier, unaware of his turmoil, took the water bottle and drank deeply.
She had been starving, but after drinking some water, the hunger pangs lessened slightly.
“I searched the area, but there wasn’t anything edible. I saw some fruit, but I wasn’t sure if it was safe to eat.”
“It’s fine! I can manage—”
Growl…
Before she could even finish her sentence, a loud, undeniable sound echoed through the small shelter.
Letier quickly clutched her stomach, blinking in shock.
“…Wow. I haven’t been this hungry in a long time.”
“You have a unique way of reminding people that you grew up in a wealthy household.”
Dante chuckled.
Letier turned to look at him before speaking again.
“By now, the rest of the expedition must have reached the western outpost, right?”
“They should’ve arrived a while ago. They’re probably preparing a rescue team for us.”
“I bet everyone’s panicking since it’s you who went missing.”
A familiar image popped into Dante’s mind—Reuters, completely losing his mind with worry.
He could already hear the lecture that would await him when they returned.
And on top of that, dealing with the Empress would be another headache.
Feeling the beginnings of a migraine, he pressed his fingers against his temple and muttered,
“There were a lot of people worried about you as well.”
“…Oh.”
Letier thought of Lucy and Efron.
Knowing Efron’s personality, he was probably berating himself for failing to protect her, even though he had been part of the expedition.
Is he going to beg me to just kill him again this time…?
She recalled how, the last time she got lost in the capital, he had dramatically drawn his sword and pleaded for her to cut him down.
Now that she thought about it, the person who had helped her find her way back that day…
Letier’s violet eyes flickered as her thoughts led her to a realization.
Lifting her gaze, she looked across the fire at the prince.
“Your Highness, what do you usually do when you go out to the capital?”
