Episode 52

Splash!

The impact on my skin was sharp, almost as if it were tearing, and the cold was biting.

Even in the height of summer, the water in the gorge was freezing, like ice. Strangely enough, it felt familiar.

‘Thank goodness I’ve been bathing in cold water.’

Even as I plunged into the water, an absurd thought passed through my mind.

Soon, the water invaded my lungs. Bubbling streams of air swirled around me, enveloping me as the surface light flickered like a shimmering mirage.

‘Cough!’

The dress I wore felt unbearably cumbersome. I flailed my arms, trying to reach the light above, but my body sank further.

I fought against the urge to tear off the soaked dress that was dragging me toward the riverbed. My breath became increasingly shallow.

‘I didn’t jump to my death.’

The water was deeper than I had anticipated. I racked my brain. What could I do? How?

‘Why is nothing ever going my way?’

If there were a god in this world, they must truly despise me.

And then, it happened.

 

‘Bless those who are touched by His grace.’

 

A whisper echoed through my mind—the same whisper I had heard at the temple when I first met Chris.

Suddenly, I was swept forward, carried by a strong current in a fast-flowing section of the river.

Everything was dark around me, my eyes squeezed shut, but I could feel the sharp, cold water against my skin.

“Puhah!”

I gasped as I broke the surface, gulping air desperately. Opening my eyes, I realized I had been lucky enough to be washed ashore on the riverbank.

“… It would’ve been tiresome if I had died again.”

I muttered weakly as I lay on the bank, exhausted.

It wasn’t as though I hadn’t considered the possibility of starting over by dying, but I wasn’t ready to take that step just yet.

‘I pray such things never happen again.’

 

That voice echoed once more.

It was always like that. He had told me not to give up. In the underground prison where we first met, he had told me I could endure because I was there…

I let out a long sigh.

‘Even if I die here and start over, he won’t remember.’

I glanced back at the cliff I had jumped from. The height was impressive. I hadn’t realized it in the heat of the moment, probably due to the adrenaline coursing through me.

Ouch.

The pain from my side and ankle, injured when I fell off the horse earlier, flared up again.

“……”

Through the thicket where I had jumped, I could see figures in deep blue garments, their faces covered, looking down at me.

They were likely the ones sent to threaten or harm me.

‘Doesn’t seem like they’re from an assassination guild.’

I thought about the characteristics of the assassin guilds in the capital and sighed.

If they were assassins, they would have moved far more discreetly, not threatening me so openly. They would have approached swiftly with a dagger instead of shooting arrows.

‘Judging by their clothes, they’re probably hired mercenaries.’

Whoever had brought mercenaries into the hunting festival had some nerve.

‘Or they’re just incredibly stupid.’

The arrows they used were provided by the hunting festival, but they bore no identifying mark of any noble house. As idiotic as their actions were, they were careful enough not to leave obvious traces.

I deliberately remained motionless, pretending to be unconscious, hoping they would assume I was either dead or gravely injured and simply leave. Whether or not it would work was another matter.

The figures stared at me for a while before disappearing back into the thicket.

‘Will they come after me?’

If I had seen their faces, I might have been able to gauge their intentions from their expressions.

Once I confirmed they had left, I slowly got to my feet. The pain in my side grew worse with every passing moment.

“What a hassle.”

I clicked my tongue lightly and began walking, clutching my injured side. My dress, still soaked with water, weighed heavily, making escape even more difficult.

“…I should hide.”

As the thought crossed my mind, I felt grateful that my dress was at least green. If I had been wearing a more noticeable color, it would have been a much bigger problem.

The trees swayed in the wind, the leaves rustling with a soft shushing sound. Every time I stepped, the fallen leaves crunched underfoot, making me acutely aware of the noise.

As I limped along for what felt like a long time, I spotted another cliff face through the dense trees.

“……”

There was a small cave there, barely noticeable, hidden amidst thick underbrush.

The entrance was so narrow that a larger person would have trouble squeezing through.

‘Could it be an animal’s den?’

Since this wasn’t a forest managed by the imperial family, there was a chance that larger animals, not just small ones, could be nesting here. I hesitated for a moment.

“Wasn’t it around here?”

There was the sound of rustling. It must have been those mercenaries again.

Without hesitating any longer, I squeezed myself into the cave. Fortunately, the entrance was just wide enough for someone my size to pass through.

Once inside, it was more spacious than I had expected. The ground was littered with traces of small animals.

I lay low near the entrance, straining to hear the sounds outside.

“Damn it, who would’ve thought she’d actually jump.”

“No one expected that lady to go that far.”

“She’s really crazy, just like they said. Can’t predict a thing she’ll do.”

I heard the sound of someone clicking their tongue.

“How did we get caught up in some noble family’s mess? I’d rather be swinging my sword on the battlefield than chasing after some little girl here.”

“What are you talking about? It’s noble family issues that bring in the big bucks.”

“Well, better not say that in front of the guild master.”

“Who cares what that woman thinks? She probably doesn’t even know what we’re up to anyway.”

Their grumbling continued.

“It was our decision to take this job, wasn’t it? Once it’s over, we can take our share and leave the guild for good.”

‘Family issue.’

That confirmed it—this was orchestrated by someone from a noble house.

‘They warned them I was crazy.’

A face came to mind.

A foolish face, terrified when he looked at me. He had stammered after I smiled, his bravado quickly deflating.

‘…Sethril Reinhardt.’

This was definitely more Seth’s style than Servi’s.

Servi would have poisoned me quietly rather than involving mercenaries in such a public event. Especially now, when I had so much attention from the social circles, he wouldn’t dare risk harming me.

What a fool Seth was to rely so heavily on the power of the Reinhardt family.

‘Idiot.’

I stayed still, holding my breath, waiting for the mercenaries to pass. Their muttering grew more distant.

“Phew.”

A sigh of relief escaped me. My side still throbbed, and my body, now soaked and cold, was beginning to succumb to exhaustion.

“I can’t fall asleep.”

I pinched my arm to keep myself awake, but the creeping cold and pounding headache eventually forced my eyes shut.

* * *

Crunch.

The landscape blurred as it sped past.

Even as he urged his horse forward, Chris scanned his surroundings. At some point, the Crown Prince, who had initially turned his horse along with Chris, was nowhere to be seen, likely having taken a different route to search.

“Hah.”

Cold air lashed against Chris’s face. Galloping at full speed on the uneven forest paths sent jolts through his body, but he couldn’t afford to stop.

‘It was definitely her horse.’

Chris remembered seeing Mindia riding alone earlier. The white horse that had burst into view had undoubtedly been the one she was on. And then there was…

Chris clenched his jaw, recalling the broken arrow still lodged in the horse’s flank.

Knowing Mindia, she might have tried to stop the horse immediately.

She might have prioritized finding proof of the plot—something to use as evidence—over her own safety. To her, that might have been more important than the immediate danger she faced.

But his body had moved before his mind.

While holding on to the horse and presenting it as evidence to the imperial family, Mindia might be in danger somewhere out there.

Yes, his current actions—racing after her—were driven more by instinct than rationality.

‘…I should have foreseen this.’

It was difficult to predict something like this happening in the midst of a hunting festival in the capital. Even Mindia wouldn’t have expected it.

Yet, for some reason, Chris felt an overwhelming sense of guilt creeping into his chest. How had he not foreseen this? How had he failed to anticipate that she would find herself in such danger so easily?

She had been pulled into that cold place so easily.

As that thought crossed his mind, the faint sound of clinking chains echoed in his ears. It was an eerie sound, one whose origin he couldn’t even remember. He could almost feel the damp, musty air around him.

It was the kind of air one would expect to find in an underground prison, thick with the smell of mildew.

Chris instinctively took a deep breath.

The air that filled his lungs was crisp and cold, the fresh air of the forest.

The musty odor had long since faded, replaced by the scent of trees and the occasional hint of dust floating in the air.

“Hyah!”

There was no time to be caught up in visions or hallucinations. Chris gripped the reins so tightly that his knuckles turned white as he pushed his horse forward.

The next moment, his horse suddenly halted with a long, distressed whinny. It reared slightly, and Chris steadied it.

“Neighhh! Neighhhh!”

In front of him was a gorge. He could hear the sound of rushing water. This meant they had reached the outer edge of the forest, beyond the area managed by the imperial family.

With a stern expression, Chris examined the branches at the edge of the gorge.

There were clear signs that someone had stepped on and broken the branches, and hanging from one of them was a small, torn piece of green fabric.