Episode 51

“Over here! Here!”

I shouted desperately and threw mud, but my voice kept getting further away.

‘No. No.’

Despair fell over me like a heavy blanket.

‘This can’t be happening. This really can’t be happening.’

Then, I heard the sound of raindrops hitting the leaves that covered the entrance. It must be raining.

Raindrops started to fall through the gaps, one by one.

‘This is the worst.’

The rain grew heavier, and my already faint voice was drowned out by the sound of the downpour.

‘Am I really going to die here?’

‘No, maybe not. If the rainwater fills the pit and the water level rises, I might be able to get out. But what if I die from hypothermia before that happens?’

Just as the fear of death was about to overwhelm me, a light shone above my head.

“Evelyn!”

I gasped.

My vision blurred, either from the rain or my tears.

“Here! Here! That’s right!”

The thing blocking the entrance disappeared, and I saw a face looking down at me. Or I would have, if the rain wasn’t pouring into my eyes, making it impossible to see clearly.

“Reach out your hand.”

I couldn’t see the face, but I recognized the voice.

“Kenneth…”

The name came out as a muffled sound.

‘I’m saved.’

Relief filled my chest to the brim.

Kenneth grabbed the arm I stretched out with all my might. Whether it was the weight of my soaked dress or the depth of the pit, even he seemed to struggle to pull me out.

“Wrap your arms around my neck.”

I followed his instructions without hesitation.

With trembling arms, I wrapped myself around his neck.

The body that seemed impossible to lift from the pit was hoisted up.

Kenneth’s arm encircled my waist, and he effortlessly pulled me out of the hole.

My drenched dress made a sloshing sound as it clung to me.

I collapsed onto the ground, letting out a groan mixed with a sigh.

“Ha…”

The hard ground felt like a blessing, a relief.

As I lay there crying, Kenneth picked me up again with ease.

“We have to go. We’re separated from the others.”

Exhausted from my struggle to get out of the pit, I lay limp in his arms.

I didn’t have the energy to argue or question anything.

I was so tired that I couldn’t even move a finger.

I felt like a frail old person.

Kenneth covered me with his cloak as he held me.

The cloak wrapped around me like a tent.

It was a bit suffocating, but at least I wasn’t getting wet anymore.

Amid the stench of water and mud, the scent of wood from his cloak was strong.

The same scent of cedarwood I remembered from him before.

It was a comforting smell.

We moved for a while, but I couldn’t hear any shouts or cries from anyone finding us.

No, I couldn’t even hear any signs of people.

The rain grew heavier, and Kenneth’s cloak, which covered me, became soaked, dripping rainwater onto my face.

“This won’t do. We need to find shelter instead of looking for the others.”

And at that moment,

‘Hiiing!’

I heard the sound of a horse neighing.

“Your Highness.”

Igon.

It was Igon’s voice.

My eyes snapped open.

“Eve.”

I could hear the relief in his voice.

“Hand her over to me.”

“No, it’s fine. If I open the cloak, she’ll get wet. First, we need to find shelter from the rain.”

Gritting teeth.

“I’ve already found a place to take shelter from the rain. This way.”

Three people and a horse trudged through the rain.

The place Igon found was a cave.

As soon as we stepped inside, the raindrops stopped hitting the cloak.

I heard the hum of the cave’s echo and the sound of dripping water.

Struggling to breathe, I pushed Kenneth’s cloak away.

Igon neatly folded the wet cloak and sat me down on it.

He placed a hand on my completely limp cheek.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

Too tired to respond, I shook my head slightly.

I heard a deep sigh above me.

I wanted to apologize for worrying them, but I couldn’t speak.

I felt like I was going to die from exhaustion.

My wet body shivered, and my legs ached from the struggle to get out of the pit.

When I was in the pit, I had begged to get out, but now that I was out, I longed for a warm, cozy blanket.

And a hot bath to wash off the mud.

Kenneth’s voice echoed again as if he had been wandering around the cave.

“It looks like a hunters’ shelter. There’s a brazier inside, and though they’re thin, there are blankets and some spare clothes. Let’s head in.”

Both Igon and Kenneth extended their hands to me.

‘So which one am I supposed to grab?’

“I’ll carry her,” Igon said.

“Your clothes will get dirty too. I’ll just carry her again.”

“She’s my sister.”

“As if I didn’t know?”

I wanted to yell at them to stop arguing and just move me already.

I reached out and grabbed whichever hand I could touch.

But as he pulled me up, a sharp pain shot through my shoulder.

“Ahh!”

I pulled my arm back and hunched over.

“Eve!”

“Are you okay?”

I wasn’t okay. The pain was enough to bring tears to my eyes.

“It seems her arm got dislocated when we pulled her out of the pit. Let’s get inside and set it back.”

‘Set it back? Can you just do that casually?’

Before I could ask, Igon’s low voice rumbled.

“What did you do to dislocate her arm?”

“Are you blaming me?”

Kenneth’s icy tone was unyielding.

I wished they would both stop.

When I reached out again, Igon slid his hands under my legs and carried me into the cave.

Inside, we found a well-constructed fireplace and two makeshift wooden beds. Each bed had a not-so-dry blanket on it.

Igon placed me on one of the beds and rummaged through a chest in the corner of the cave. He pulled out dry wood and twigs and threw them into the brazier.

Kenneth struck a flint, trying to start a fire. He was clumsy, as if he had never done this before.

Unable to watch him fail any longer, Igon reached out.

“Let me do it.”

“….”

This time, Kenneth didn’t insist.

The fire, which had refused to start for Kenneth, ignited after just a few strikes from Igon.

While Igon skillfully tended the fire, Kenneth rummaged through the chest again, pulling out a relatively clean tunic, cloak, and pants. He inspected them briefly and tossed them to me.

“Change into these.”

As Kenneth spoke, the fire in the brazier flared up like magic.

Igon, having perfectly started the fire, turned slowly towards Kenneth with a murderous glare.

“I meant for her to change clothes.”

Realizing his choice of words, Kenneth coughed awkwardly and corrected himself.

I struggled to sit up. Reaching behind me, I remembered my dislocated arm and realized I couldn’t undress myself.

Glancing up, I saw that both men had turned their backs to me.

‘This is crazy.’

I preferred to stay in my mud-soaked dress than to ask them for help.

“Are you done?”

“…No.”

“Remember, women’s clothing is more numerous and complicated to remove, Your Highness.”

Watching them bicker made me sigh.

Though I was anxious, I had no choice.

“I need help.”

At my words, both men turned almost simultaneously.

“I can’t undress myself. My arm is dislocated.”

I murmured weakly, lying face down on the bed.

I was exhausted to the point of near death.

“I’ll help.”

“We need to work together. She said her arm is dislocated.”

“Put your dirty schemes aside.”

Their conversation, though serious, sounded almost comical. But both men were deadly serious.

As they growled at each other, I sighed deeply.

The princess’s words from the ball came to mind.

‘Command them.’

“Stop fighting! Please!”

I raised my voice, which came out huskier than expected, making my throat ache.

Coughing dryly, the two men, who had been glaring at each other, rushed to me.

“Kenneth, lift her arm. Igon, untie the ribbons at the back.”

Following my instructions, one lifted my arm while the other untied the ribbons.

“Just help me with this arm,” I said.

They helped me remove the dislocated arm from the dress, and I managed the rest myself.

I stripped off the mud-soaked dress and the corset underneath.

I pulled on the tunic Kenneth had given me and slipped into the pants.

“Help me with this arm again.”

Igon carefully guided my arm through the sleeve.

Dressed and with a cloak wrapped around me, I said, “I’m done.”

“Now turn around,” Kenneth gestured for me to turn away.

Facing the wall, I heard the squelching sound of wet clothes hitting the ground.

Igon, now fully changed, approached me with a wet handkerchief.

“Eve, can I wipe your face?”

I nodded.

Igon sat down near the fire, cradling me in his arms. He gently wiped my face with the handkerchief.

I absorbed the warmth from both the fire and Igon’s body.

I slowly blinked, my eyelids growing heavier.

Unable to stay awake any longer, I fell asleep in his embrace.