Chapter 06
Several days had passed since the prince departed from the northern empire of Iliad, yet there had been no news from the royal palace.
This was a very serious matter.
If the prince of another country were to encounter any trouble within Rensha, it could escalate into a diplomatic issue—a highly sensitive concern.
The emperor was anxious.
He had no idea where Prince Canin Rodram had disappeared.
Knights had already been dispatched for several days, but no trace of him could be found.
“I’m afraid he may have encountered monsters in the Visen Forest…”
“Of course, I understand that the prince possesses exceptional swordsmanship, but I’ve heard he traveled secretly without many knights accompanying him. If he ran into a large group of monsters…”
Every report that reached the emperor did nothing but worsen his anxiety. The captains of the knights only repeated negative possibilities like parrots: he is missing, there is no trace of him.
Finally, the emperor slammed the table in anger.
“Find him, even if it costs your lives!”
“….”
“….”
The knight captains lowered their heads at his words.
The emperor added irritably,
“Tell anyone who finds Prince Canin Rodram—or is protecting him—that I will grant them any wish they desire.”
“Understood!”
At the emperor’s words, the captains shouted loudly in unison before leaving his presence in perfect order.
The emperor grew even more impatient.
The hunting tournament was coming soon.
His plan to introduce the prince during the tournament and show a strong relationship between the northern empire and his own country was about to fall apart.
Being unwell as he was, he felt restless about everything unless this went smoothly.
He looked irritably at the chamberlain beside him.
“When will the saint arrive?”
“There is no news yet. But it is expected she will arrive soon.”
“This time, she’s late. Tell her to come to me immediately when she arrives.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Recently, the emperor’s health had seemed increasingly unstable, and he was anxiously awaiting the saint’s arrival.
At around the same time, in Visen Forest.
Ariadne was momentarily at a loss for words.
First of all, she could not understand how she had been left alone in the forest by this group of monsters.
She still vividly remembered the knight who ignored her as if she were invisible on the carriage, carrying only Ashley out.
No, even so, taking only Ashley made no sense. Perhaps they truly wished her to die here.
She sat alone, scanning her surroundings.
Sigh.
A sigh escaped her lips.
Moreover, a man who was nearly dying was with her. This was… essentially an order to die here.
“Hey! Hello!”
Ariadne shook the man vigorously to wake him, but he remained unmoving.
Her voice echoed through the forest in vain.
“What to do….”
Still, she could not bring herself to leave him behind.
She did not want to become the same as those who abandoned her. Leaving that aside,
after all, he had saved her life—she could not just leave her benefactor behind.
“I’ll just take him to the nearest village… and then go my own way.”
Judging by his clothing and appearance, he did not look like an ordinary person.
It was night, so she could not see clearly, but his attire had a unique style. Any noble could easily tell he was from a foreign land.
As she studied him, she quickly refocused. She had to get out of the forest first.
She could not leave him to die, so she resolved to carry him through Visen Forest, where monsters roamed, to the nearest village, and then leave.
She had no desire to remain at the count’s estate, and leaving would be equally challenging for either party.
Still, the thought of going with him… was daunting.
But he had saved her life, so…
With that thought, Ariadne steeled herself.
“Alright, then.”
She sprang to her feet, took a few deep breaths, and hoisted the collapsed man onto her back.
“Wow, why are you so heavy?”
The tall man was heavier than she had anticipated.
He had been trained extensively, so he was bound to be heavier than he looked.
Carrying only his upper body and dragging him along looked terrible.
After three steps, she gave up, dropped him, and plopped onto the grass.
“Ah… this is beyond what I can do. I’m going crazy.”
The black sky and the monster-like darkness of the forest were merciless.
Moreover, she could not tell when or where a monster might appear, so she grew increasingly anxious.
“What to do…”
A deep sigh escaped her lips.
She remembered something she had heard before: that if you make a fire, monsters won’t approach it.
Compared to carrying the man through Visen Forest, it seemed more feasible to make a fire to keep them away.
Though she had grown up in the count’s estate and had never done such a thing, she had often seen the servants strike flint or rub sticks to make sparks.
“If they can do it, can’t I?”
She looked down at the man lying beside her, picked up two sturdy-looking sticks from the surroundings, and tried clumsily to strike them together.
Her posture was wrong. Even the skilled servants had to exert effort to do this.
Even if she had received less respect than Saint Ashley at the count’s estate, she had never done laborious work. So it was unlikely she could start a fire.
She threw the sticks in frustration, then picked them up again.
Sigh… this is really…
It was as if she were trapped in a mountain of obstacles, with nothing she could do.
She tried once to make a fire, alternated between lifting the man and taking three steps before collapsing, and endured the long night. During this, she also planned how to leave the count’s estate, thinking perhaps this was a golden opportunity.
‘Take him to the village and run away immediately!’
That thought oddly gave her strength. She even made concrete plans—where to go, how to get money, and so on.
Fortunately, no monsters appeared during this, but by dawn, she was completely exhausted.
“….”
Her mind was hazy.
She felt her energy drained from her entire body.
She believed she could not give up, yet she had no strength left. She had barely moved while carrying the man, but her entire body trembled.
“Ah… this really is impossible.”
Everything was dark before her eyes.
Ariadne simply wanted to give up.
Whether she saved a person or not, she might end up dead here alone.
She collapsed fully onto the ground, breathing heavily.
Then she abruptly got up and checked the man who lay as if dead.
“Uh…?”
The man’s appearance had somehow changed, and she squinted her eyes.
“What? I feel like I’m dying, yet his face seems to be getting healthier?”
His pale, near-death face now looked lively. His cheeks had a reddish tint, almost resembling a baby’s.
“….”
Curious, she examined him more closely.
Indeed, he seemed to be in better condition than before. It was not merely a hallucination.
“Good heavens, even the bruise here is gone.”
She brushed off the wound on his elbow.
“Hmm…”
When she touched him, he let out a faint groan, as if regaining consciousness.
Startled, Ariadne quickly withdrew her hand.
“Ugh…”
“…!”
Seeing him twitch as if waking, Ariadne stared at him intently.
Soon enough, he fully awoke.
He was silent for a while.
It seemed he was assessing the situation.
He remained wary of Ariadne but, as she remained in his memory from before, he did not attack.
He looked at her for quite a while.
Ariadne, however, had no energy to sit properly or explain anything to him. She was completely drained and simply thought that lying down here to rest would be perfect.
Still, she felt she needed to introduce herself. She barely spoke.
“I’m Ariadne Bliers. You can call me Aria.”
“Canin Rodram.”
He simply said his name and scanned the surroundings again. His voice was stiff and awkward, with a faint foreign accent.
From his tone, Ariadne realized once more that Canin was not from her country.
Although his speech was awkward, he spoke her language reasonably well, and Ariadne quickly deduced he was a high-ranking foreign noble.
“Where is this place?”
His speech, mixing formal and casual tones, was striking. Ariadne opened her mouth to answer.
“Oh, this is—”
“You healed me. Are you the saint?”
Before she could even respond,
KRRAAA!
A monster suddenly leapt out from the bushes.
It came from behind Ariadne.
“Move!”
She instinctively realized the man was warning her.
He seemed mostly recovered and quickly pulled Ariadne toward him.
Still, being injured, he was not as agile as before.
“Ugh.”
Ariadne swallowed a short scream.
Thud!
Without a weapon, Canin pushed the monster away with his body. The sudden unfolding of events immediately snapped Ariadne awake.
Canin freed Ariadne from the monster and began to strangle it with his bare hands.
Its skin, tough like that of a reptile, seemed barely affected by his attack.
At that moment, something moved in the bushes behind Canin, catching Ariadne’s eye.
Another monster leapt out from the shadows in an instant.
“No!”
Suddenly, her father’s voice—the count’s advice—came to mind.
[If Ashley is in danger, you must throw yourself in to protect her. That’s your duty.]
His nagging words, always repeated, seemed engraved into her mind, constricting her chest.
[What should you do, sister?]
[Protect your younger sibling.]
She had always heard these words daily, yet now, though it was not Ashley in danger, her body acted instinctively.
She dashed in front of Canin, who was strangling the monster.
The newly appearing monster swung its clawed arm toward Ariadne.
She was hit squarely and rolled into the air, her body curling.
“Aaah!”
Pain completely blackened her vision.
She felt Canin’s alarmed gaze as she lost consciousness on the spot.
