“Where am I?”
Arundel had lost the shadows in the middle. Thanks to the darkening sky, the shadows quickly disappeared into the darkness.
Because of that, Arundel was left alone, surrounded by majestic trees.
She looked around to find a way, but it was all the same scenery.
“What if something happens to Zion…”
No matter how strong Zion was, he was alone now. He didn’t know what would happen if four people ambushed him.
Anxiety crept over Arundel.
If Zion died, she might easily complete the mission. But in the meantime, she didn’t want him to die in vain, as if she had developed some kind of affection.
Imagining Zion lying down bleeding, Arundel became desperate.
Should she trust her instincts and run, even though she didn’t know where she had gone?
No. If she did that, she might get more lost here.
Various options swirled in her confused mind.
“First, calm down.”
She had to calm her pounding heart and confused mind. Because time was pressing, hasty judgment could lead to the worst result.
Arundel closed her eyes quietly.
The sound of her heart pounding seemed to echo in her ears.
Fortunately, after a while, the sound of the forest was heard more than the sound of her heart.
The rustling sound of leaves and…the sound of people…!!
A faint noise was heard from far away.
The direction was not accurate, but Arundel ran towards the sound.
“…Your Majesty!!”
“But it was already too late.
Where Arundel had run to, Zion and the shadow were in a standoff.
Fortunately, Zion was fine. On the contrary, all the shadows except one were lying on the ground.
“…!!”
Zion’s eyes widened when he found Arundel.
“How did you get here…”
“Your Majesty!”
“Are you hurt!”
Ignoring the shadow he was confronting, Zion approached Arundel with a scary face.
When Zion grabbed Arundel’s wrist, the sleeve stained with blood from treating the injured earlier fluttered in the wind.
“This… this isn’t my blood.”
“Then whose blood is this…!”
“I got it on me while treating the injured earlier.”
Only then did Zion’s scary face relax a bit.
Arundel, who realized that now was not the time, looked at the shadow.
But was it already too late? The angry shadow raised his knife towards Zion’s back.
“Showing your back, you fool! Die!!”
At that moment, without a moment to think, Arundel reflexively pushed Zion.
“…!!”
The shadow’s knife was aimed at Arundel.
At the sight of the flashing blade, Arundel quickly rolled her body.
But the shadow’s knife was fast, and in the end, it grazed Arundel’s neck and passed by.
A long line of blood flowed down Arundel’s white neck where the knife had passed.
And at that moment,
“Uh… ugh…”
The shadow knelt down and collapsed in an instant.
Thud-!
He spat out blood and fell weakly forward.
‘He… he’s dead.’
The fallen shadow was not breathing.
At the sudden turn of events, fear filled Arundel’s eyes.
Zion looked at the shadow that had become a cold corpse.
“…How dare you touch my things.”
Zion’s pupils were dyed black.
He had killed the shadow in an instant. The reason why the shadow suddenly died made Arundel’s arm goosebump.
Of course, she didn’t think the shadow was pitiful. They were assassins who came to kill Zion, and they deserved to die.
But the sight of Zion, who looked so cruel, instinctively made her afraid.
‘First… let’s calm Zion down.’
She was scared of his appearance right now, but if she left him alone, she didn’t know what he would do.
Arundel plucked up the courage to pull at his clothes.
“Your Majesty…”
Fortunately, Zion’s crazed eyes gradually cleared.
Zion approached Arundel. His gaze was on the wound on Arundel’s neck.
“Why did you do that?”
“That’s because you could have died.”
“Ha, you thought I was going to die.”
“You were showing your back, and the knife was about to stab you. I didn’t have time to think.”
Arundel felt quite wronged at the situation.
‘I got hurt trying to save Zion, why do I have to explain the situation as if I’m making excuses.’
But she couldn’t express her dissatisfaction because the atmosphere of Zion questioning her actions was not good.
Zion’s expression grew darker and darker. He clenched his fists until they turned pale.
“Even if I’m dying, stabbed by a knife, screaming in pain.”
“…”
“Don’t ever do such a stupid thing again.”
Zion’s eyes trembled slightly as he spoke. It seemed like he was doing his best to suppress his anger.
Zion turned around coldly.
As she blankly watched his back, tears streamed down Arundel’s eyes.
At the sound of crying, Zion turned around and looked at Arundel.
“Why are you crying?”
“…That’s… sob… because I’m sad… sniff…”
Arundel wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and barely managed to speak.
She was embarrassed to cry in front of Zion, but cruelly, the tears wouldn’t stop.
“What are you sad about?”
“But… how did… get here…”
“…”
“And…even got stabbed…”
Arundel couldn’t help but cry out loud.
“Instead of being thankful…you tell me not to do stupid things… waaaah!!”
In the end, Arundel, who burst into tears, sat down on the ground and hugged her knees.
Zion, looking at Arundel crying, sighed briefly.
And he approached Arundel and handed him a headband, saying,
“…I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“…”
“The moment I saw blood flowing from your neck, I killed him without thinking. Even after that, I wanted to tear the corpse to pieces.”
“…”
“But I held back. I was afraid you might be scared. You might hate me.”
“…Your Majesty.”
Arundel slowly raised her head buried between her knees and looked at Zion.
Zion’s expression was far from affectionate, but she could feel sincerity in his calm tone and unusual explanation.
“I don’t know why I’m like this either. My head hurts when you’re involved.”
“…”
“There are countless things I want to ask you, but when I see your face, I forget everything.”
Zion’s eyelashes were trembling slightly.
“When I think of you, my brain seems to melt with anger, but then it comes back as if nothing happened.”
He was suffering. From his unusual self.
Arundel hugged the confused-looking Zion. Fortunately, he didn’t push her away.
Zion quietly muttered.
“I’m also confused about myself…”
Arundel looked down at Zion, who was quietly leaning on her.
He was a much bigger man than herself, but at this moment, he felt like a child who was clumsy with emotions.
There were times when Zion felt like a child, Arundel found this situation unfamiliar but pleasant.
“Thank you for being honest.”
Arundel smiled affectionately and stroked his back.
Arundel didn’t think he was like this because he had different feelings for her. It was probably a complex emotion.
It could have been because he had feelings, or it could have been possessiveness or obsession with Empress Irina.
But what’s important now is that Zion honestly talked about his feelings.
“Shall we go now? It’s going to get so dark that we can’t see ahead.”
Arundel released her arms that had been hugging him, and looked at Zion with a bright smile as if she had never cried.
Fortunately, they returned quickly on Zion’s horse. He acted as if nothing had happened.
The award ceremony started not long after Zion arrived. The judges evaluated each person’s game and announced the winners.
The winner was, of course, ‘Zion’. A broken arrow was stuck in the chest of the overwhelmingly large gray bear.
He seemed to have only used a bow in the hunting contest.
The person who caught the second largest game was Royden. Royden had hunted a large wolf. It was a very large game, though it didn’t match the gray bear that Zion caught.
The games that other people brought were some large games, but most of them were mediocre.
“Everyone has worked hard. We will start the after-party soon, so please take a rest for a while.”
At Cain’s announcement, people went back to their families who came with them.
Arundel also approached Zion, the winner of the day.
“Your Majesty, congratulations.”
“It’s an obvious result.”
Arundel, who was clapping with a pleased expression next to him, realized that her wrist felt empty.
She had forgotten to wrap the bandage around her wrist again when it dried.
She was worried that Zion might have seen the mark for a moment, but it seemed that he only saw the blood-stained sleeve in his eyes earlier.
She thought she should quickly wrap a bandage again before the after-party started, and slowly moved away from Zion.
But not long after, Zion grabbed her wrist.
“Where are you going?”
“Well… I’m going to…change clothes…”
Because the mark was right where Zion grabbed her wrist, Arundel felt like cold sweat would come out on her forehead.
But Zion nodded, thinking it was right to change the blood-stained dress.
“Come back quickly.”
“Yes, I’ll be back soon.”
Arundel turned around, sighing secretly. She asked Belle, who came with her, for a change of clothes and a bandage.
“Fortunately, Belle had brought a change of clothes and bandages in the carriage, so she appeared not long after.
“Here you are, Your Majesty!”
“Thank you.”
Arundel changed her dress in a nearby building. Before wrapping the bandage, Arundel looked at the mark.
‘No one must have seen it…?’
So many things had happened today.
The injured person who appeared when she was alone, the shadows she happened to see, and Zion who was in a frenzy.
Arundel shook her head.
All the people listed above, because they were out of their minds, would not have had time to see the mark.
Arundel, who had clearly concluded, wrapped the bandage by herself and came out.
Belle, who had been waiting outside, greeted Arundel with an excited face.
“You saved someone today, Your Majesty!”
“Huh? How did you know?”
Belle was always quick with news.
“You were wearing a blood-stained dress, of course everyone knows.”
“…Really?”
“No. Actually, Aide Cain explained everything. In case anyone misunderstood.”
Arundel admired Cain again. He was a very quick responder.
“Plus, the person you saved was a knight of Count Montreal. The person who was with you was Count Montreal.”
“Count Montreal?”
“Don’t you know? Count Montreal is the best networking king in the Croyden Empire.”
“…Ah, right.”
Arundel nodded awkwardly, pretending to know, even though she didn’t know the person at all.
“Shall we go? The after-party will start soon.”
Arundel changed the subject in case she asked for more details.
Just as the after-party was about to start, a large bear was neatly trimmed and was roasting on a large bonfire.
‘Where did Zion go?’
Arundel, who was looking around, found Zion surrounded by people.
Zion had a smile on his lips.
A now familiar smile. It was a relaxed, arrogant, but beautiful smile that no one else could make.
Zion usually smiled a lot.
These days, he showed various expressions in front of her, such as being expressionless or angry.
The broken appearance in the forest earlier proved how much he had changed, and she felt both sorry and proud of him.
A polite voice was heard by Arundel, who was captivated by Zion.
“Your Majesty, congratulations on His Majesty’s victory.”
In front of her was a dignified old man. She didn’t know who he was, but Arundel, who was in a good mood for the first time in a while, smiled and replied.
“Thank you.”
“I will offer you a drink in celebration.”
The old man offered Arundel a bright red wine glass. A fragrant grape scent wafted from the wine.
Arundel took the glass.
“Then I’ll enjoy it without refusing.”
“Yes, then I’ll be going.”
The old man politely nodded and disappeared among the people.
Arundel poured the wine into her mouth without stopping. The rich aroma and tart taste came over her tongue.
‘It’s a good wine.’
Arundel savored the remaining wine aroma. The aftertaste was stronger because it was the first time she had drunk in a long time.
But,
Not long after, her gaze wavered. It felt as if people were dancing.
‘Uh… huh… that’s strange…’
Clang-!
Arundel couldn’t hold her body and fell to the ground. The wine glass that fell weakly from Arundel’s hand shattered with a loud noise.
