100. The Hunter

There was no reason to return. And now, there was no place to return to.

By tomorrow, Deon might hold the child in his arms.

And he would feel it too. The next generation of blood had been born.

Just like in the North, delayed agony surged like a tidal wave. As I clutched my chest, the child asked me again.

“Why can’t you enjoy the festival?”

Despite my pallid face, the child was full of questions. He was so curious about everything.

The pain vanished as soon as the child finished speaking. Even my fingers, which had been trembling, stilled.

Had Elisabeth survived? With the pain gone, I worried about her well-being. All the other blood mothers had died around this time.

I hoped she would live. And that her child would have a different life from mine. But could fate never be changed?

I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead. Leaning back against the bench, I answered the child’s question.

“Because there’s nowhere for me to go after the festival.”

“Do you not have a home?”

The child’s innocent question pierced my heart even deeper.

I forced a bright smile and answered.

“Yes. I don’t have one anymore.”

There was no place to return to.

I had become a complete outsider. And now, I truly needed to escape from him.

I clenched my fists. There was nowhere to lean on, nowhere to depend on. Everything had to be resolved by myself now.

The way to escape from him was clear.

My sharp nails dug into my palm. The pain jolted me awake.

Looking down at the necklace, I made up my mind and spoke to the child. He was still hovering around me.

“Hey, could you find me a pair of scissors or a knife?”

The child wiped his mouth and nodded before running off somewhere. It seemed his home was nearby.

I let out a small sigh. My chest had been aching for a while.

The child quickly returned from the shadows of the alley, holding a pair of scissors.

“Thank you.”

I took the scissors from his hand and stood up.

I walked back to the warehouse where I had been held.

The night wasn’t long. I needed to move quickly.

* * *

The warehouse loomed larger and more ominous in the thick darkness than it had before. Yet, I felt no fear. The prospect of returning to the prince’s domain was far more terrifying than the warehouse that had once imprisoned me.

The dress I had thrown into the fire was still burning. The soot-covered fabric, now mingled with mud from rolling on the warehouse floor, looked even darker against the night sky.

I carefully picked up the charred remains of the dress. Stomping out the remaining embers, I tore the fabric into small pieces.

After finishing the task, I let my long hair down. The red strands blew in the wind.

Grabbing my hair with one hand, I raised the scissors. Without a moment’s hesitation, I cut off my red hair.

The hair that now fell just below my collarbones felt foreign. The short strands fluttering in the cold wind made the temperature seem even more chilling.

I placed the cut hair on the half-burnt dress. The rest I scattered around the brazier, making sure it would be easily found.

Finally, I left a trail of hair and dress pieces leading to the riverbank, creating the illusion that I had fled from the kidnappers and jumped into the water.

For the final step…

I held the necklace. The chain was broken, leaving only the pendant. It could no longer be called a necklace.

I read the direction of the water flow, aiming for the path that would take it farthest from the capital.

A burst of light from the fireworks illuminated the dark waves. I could clearly see the direction of the turbulent water.

I dropped the necklace into the river. The black water swallowed the pendant without a sound.

The swirling surface quickly became calm, as if it had consumed nothing at all.

I hoped that the now-silent river would keep its secrets, remaining tight-lipped against Deon’s threats and tracking attempts.

My supposed death.

It was not a bad way to buy myself some time to escape.

A sense of emptiness mixed with relief washed over me. Memories of my past efforts to protect him flooded back.

The court, the ball, the necklace I had hesitated to drop into the lake.

I had told myself repeatedly that I was nothing to him. At least I could leave without a trace of regret in his mind.

I felt a twinge of amusement at how thoroughly I had deceived myself.

A smile, nearly a smirk, crossed my lips. To a passerby, I might have looked like a young woman enjoying the festival.

It was time to leave. Having no place to return meant I could go anywhere.

First, I needed to cross the river.

There were abandoned boats tied up near the churning water. Though they couldn’t take me to the border, they could get me to the far end of the river.

Carefully, I climbed down under the bridge. Without the cumbersome dress, moving was much easier.

Most of the boats had holes in their bottoms or broken anchors. I chose the sturdiest-looking small boat.

Untying the rope from the tree, the boat rocked in the strong wind as soon as the knot was undone.

I caught the boat with my foot to stop it from drifting away, then pulled myself into it.

The boat swayed violently. I sat in the center to steady it and started to row.

Though I struggled to row, the boat quickly drifted with the current. The river, swollen from recent rains, moved swiftly. Even without rowing, the boat was swept along by the flow.

The boat began to spin. I dropped the oars in fear and gripped the sides tightly. All I could see was the dark, swirling water. My mouth went dry.

My legs were wet. Water had begun to fill the boat.

Whether it was from the churning waves splashing in or a small unnoticed crack in the bottom, I couldn’t tell. I only realized too late that the boat was slowly sinking.

I needed to escape before it went under. I plunged into the cold water.

Far away, the boat drifted alone. In the engulfing darkness, it was hard to tell where the shore was. I floated on my back, letting the current carry me.

The world was silent. I must have drifted far, for I could no longer hear the sound of fireworks.

* * *

My closed eyes felt at ease.

The smell of wood filled my nostrils. It wasn’t the damp, musty smell of waterlogged wood. It was the dry, rich scent of seasoned timber.

I was certain I had fallen into the water. As soon as that thought hit, my mind jolted awake, and my eyes flew open.

I saw a ceiling made of loosely interwoven wood. Sunlight streamed through the gaps, blindingly bright.

I squinted against the harsh light.

“Are you awake?”

I turned toward the voice. An older man sat perched on the edge of a chair, his boots pulled up to his thighs.

I pulled the thin blanket covering my lower body closer.

“…Where am I?”

“Don’t worry. This is a hunting lodge I built for resting when I’m out on a hunt.”

The man, who appeared to be a hunter, was wearing a sleeveless shirt.

His muscular arms were sun-tanned and veined, flexing with each movement.

Despite it being daytime, the inside of the cabin was dim, save for the sunlight piercing through the ceiling.

A swarm of mayflies buzzed around a lantern, blackening the glass with their bodies.

“I was planning to leave, but it’s a good thing I didn’t. The area has been quite chaotic. I found you just in time; you would have frozen to death otherwise.”

He muttered to himself, pulling out a knife.

A long scar ran across his face, cutting sharply like a knife wound, but his warm tone made it less intimidating.

“I saw a long red streak among the rocks in the river and thought it might be a clump of coral. But it was a woman’s hair. If I hadn’t checked closely, I would have missed you.”

He sat on a stool made from a tree stump, carving a piece of wood.

He was making a spear, his hands moving deftly and quickly, clearly experienced.

“Thank you.”

My voice was hoarse, perhaps from being submerged in the water for so long.

I cleared my throat and sat up halfway, looking at the man.

“Even if you don’t want to live, try to survive.”

He said suddenly.

“Pardon?”

“Even if you want to die, endure.”

He seemed to think I had jumped into the river intentionally. He was severely mistaken.

I quickly shook my head.

“I fell in by accident.”

The man continued to work silently, the sharp tip of the spear pointed toward the door. After a moment, he spoke again while demonstrating his skill with the spear.

“Then how did you end up in the water?”

“I was on a boat, but the current was too strong and swept me away. I was trying to get somewhere else.”

“Then you’re lucky to be awake now. Things have calmed down outside, so you can move on soon. But a few days ago, it was so chaotic that even the villagers had a hard time getting around. You should be fine to leave now.”

He resumed his seat, carving the wooden spear with quick, expert movements, the thin bark peeling away.

But his mention of the surrounding chaos caught my attention. I had thought he might have ended his hunt early due to bad weather or a problem with his equipment. It seemed there was another reason that had kept him from his hunt.

“Why did you end your hunt early? Was the weather not good for crossing the river?”

“A lot happened while you were unconscious.”

He spoke nonchalantly.

“A group of knights from a noble house stormed the village. They searched the area, looking for someone, turning the entire village upside down. If they came down to our isolated village, I can’t imagine the trouble the nearby ones faced…”

His words made my heart sink. He continued, oblivious to my distress.

“This place is secluded and not a regular living area, so they didn’t come to the cabin. I don’t know why they’re looking for someone from the royal palace, but it doesn’t seem to be good. That’s why I didn’t mention a strange woman was here.”

“I see.”

My voice came out low and steady.

“Could it be… they were looking for you?”

He turned to look at me, his eyes gleaming white. It was the look of a hunter spotting his prey.