Chapter 62
A razor-sharp glint in those golden eyes looked as though it could pierce straight through her body at any moment.
“Stay still.”
The low whisper struck her ears.
In the instant Sharie’s body froze as though time itself had stopped—
—the hiss of an arrow cutting the air resounded.
Yet no pain followed.
With ears drooping over her eyes, trembling violently, Sharie cautiously lowered a paw.
Blinking in confusion, she looked down at her feet. Two arrows lay scattered at her toes. One was snapped in half, the other intact.
“To strike a flying arrow mid-air… as expected, Your Grace’s skill is extraordinary!”
From the thicket emerged one of the tournament participants—the same man who had spotted her earlier and tried to hunt her. He seemed to be the owner of the broken arrow.
Only then did she understand the situation. Kaisa had fired to save her.
“And yet, my lord, if I may… I had marked that rabbit long before—”
“Silence.”
The would-be hunter flinched at the naked killing intent in Kaisa’s voice.
With a growl, Kaisa tossed his bow aside and strode swiftly toward the battered rabbit.
“Sharie.”
“Piiiii….”
A broad palm enveloped her fragile body in warmth. Pressing her head against that hand, Sharie rubbed her damp eyes with her forepaws.
As she suspected, Kaisa had recognized her from the beginning.
“Why are you here in such a form?”
He lifted his hand, bringing her close to his face. She could see his features clearly now—his neck tense, sweat beading with shock.
Her trembling had yet to subside. His golden eyes hardened as he examined the rabbit quivering in his palm.
“You’re injured.”
Of course she was. After the fall from her horse, the frantic chase through the forest—no one could expect her to be unharmed.
But there was something more urgent than her wounds.
“Pii—piik, piik, piik!”
Sharie flailed her little paws, desperately mimicking the figure of a werewolf, trying to convey what she had seen.
In this rabbit’s body, words were useless—but perhaps Kaisa could understand.
“Lord, you must move on now. The remaining prey belongs to the other contestants—”
Edwin, returning from scouting, halted mid-sentence at the sight before him.
“What… what are you doing?”
Though Kaisa and Sharie were both deadly serious, to an observer it looked only like a rabbit waving its paws while Kaisa studied the gesture intently.
Edwin blinked several times, doubting his eyes. Then his face hardened at Kaisa’s next words.
“It seems Annette is in danger.”
Cradling the rabbit carefully, Kaisa rose to his feet.
Edwin’s ability to track far surpassed his own.
“I’ll suspend the tournament and send soldiers. You—”
“I’ll go.”
Edwin cut him off sharply before the order was finished.
Without waiting for approval, he turned his back and vanished between the trees.
Horses would only hinder such a search; on foot, he could move faster.
Watching Edwin’s figure dart away, Sharie’s mouth fell open.
“Leave his words to you,” Kaisa instructed the lingering participant, then mounted Lampos.
Even with one arm holding Sharie close, he moved with practiced ease.
“We go. Your treatment comes first, Sharie.”
The sleek black stallion snorted and surged forward. Faster than the horse Sharie had ridden earlier, yet Kaisa’s steady palm held her securely, making the ride strangely comfortable.
‘Did it work…?’
Her body, which had been running on sheer desperation, now flooded with pain she had forgotten in the struggle to survive.
There were still mysteries she could not unravel—but for the moment, there was no need to worry.
‘I’ve done all I could.’
Her heavy eyelids slid shut. Exhaustion washed over her body, and she lost consciousness in Kaisa’s hand.
***
The throbbing ache in her skull dragged Annette back to awareness.
She grimaced, recalling the last memory before darkness claimed her.
—Go on ahead.
She had placed Sharie on the horse and sent her away. Then, detonating the small bombs she carried, she had filled the air with smoke to obscure the werewolf’s sight.
Annette had never intended to face the monster alone. She only needed to buy Sharie enough time to flee. Sooner or later, reinforcements would come. All she had to do was endure until then.
—Grrrroar!
But even blinded, the beast was relentless. Enraged, it had torn a massive tree from the ground and swung it wildly.
Unpredictable, feral strikes—no rhythm, no pattern. To Annette, whose strength lay in observation and analysis, such chaos was the worst opponent.
The trunk slammed against her head. Darkness swallowed her whole.
“Ugh….”
The pain meant she was still alive. Groggily, she reached toward the throbbing on her skull—only for a large hand to catch her wrist.
“I’ve already applied medicine. Don’t touch it.”
The familiar voice stilled her. Forcing her eyelids open, she saw him.
“I’m relieved you woke safely.”
Dim light hid his features, but the voice was unmistakable—Edwin.
“Where… are we?”
She glanced around. As her eyes adjusted, she made out a strange setting. Before losing consciousness, she’d been in the forest. Now she lay on cold stone. Jagged stalactites and stalagmites surrounded her.
“A cave nearby,” he answered. “I carried you here from where you collapsed.”
True to his past as an assassin, Edwin excelled at concealment. When he chose to vanish, even Kaissa would struggle to find him. Knowing this, Annette’s tense shoulders eased.
“A werewolf is more than even I can handle alone. Reinforcements will come—until then, we’ll hide.”
“All right.”
Relief softened her expression—until panic jolted her.
“What about Lady Sharie?”
Edwin, who had been keeping watch at the cave mouth, twitched his brow.
“What happened to her? Did she escape safely?”
He hesitated, face taut with an unreadable expression. At her repeated questioning, he finally spoke.
“She’s safe. She reached the lord and called for aid. That’s why I’m here.”
So that was it. Annette had feared Sharie might be lost, crying helplessly in the woods. Instead, she had surpassed expectation.
“I’ll have to praise her when we return.”
A faint smile curved Annette’s lips. Yet Edwin, watching her, only darkened.
She noticed at last—the shadowed pain in his green eyes.
“Annette.”
Only the drip of water from the cave roof echoed in the silence. His voice was lower than usual.
“You are always strong and responsible. I admire that… but at times, I hate it.”
He exhaled, running a hand through his brown hair with uncharacteristic agitation. The easy smile he usually wore was gone.
“Do you know what I felt, racing here in a frenzy after hearing the news? Do you know the terror I felt when I saw you lying before that monster?”
Edwin’s voice trembled, then steadied.
“I don’t expect you to understand it all. But the truth is….”
His eyes twisted with anguish.
“I worry for you more than for Lady Sharie. I wish—just once—that you’d put yourself first.”
“……”
“Am I asking too much?”
Annette let out a breathless laugh.
“Yeah. I can’t do that.”
“….!”
He hadn’t expected such a firm rejection. He was used to her turning him down—but this time, it cut deeper.
Before he could speak, her small yet steady hand closed over his.
“And you’re the same, aren’t you?”
If their roles were reversed, would Edwin have chosen differently? Would he have clung to safety while she risked everything?
Impossible. He would have made the same choice she had.
That was why she had acted as she did today.
“I don’t ever want to become someone you would see as shameful, Edwin.”
