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“Hey…”
As Cahill was about to wrap Holly’s leg that was pressing down on his back, he stopped moving when she called him. The hand on his shoulder was trembling.
“Why? Are you still cold? Shall we do it now?”
Cahill asked with excitement and anticipation.
“No. You…”
When he heard her gulp, Cahill pulled away from her and turned his head. Her face was pale and tired as if she had seen something terrifying. Cahill turned his gaze to where she was pointing with a trembling hand.
“The meat came to me on its own.”
There, a wild boar was stomping its feet as if it were going to bulldoze its way forward right then and there. Seeing this, Cahill smacked his lips. On the other hand, Holly was terrified by how massive the wild boar was as it was almost twice her size. She lost all her strength from her stiff body.
“What can I do for you?”
Cahill snapped his fingers and asked leisurely. Recognizing the hidden meaning of his words, Holly trembled. Even thinking about the pure white snow covered in blood gave her goosebumps.
“Just cut its throat cleanly.”
Nodding, Cahill stood facing the boar. Holly was thinking in her head of dishes that could be cooked with wild boar meat. The wild boar could not easily attack the human with an unusual atmosphere.
“Not yet?”
After a while, the wild boar’s neck was still intact. Cahill looked back at Holly who had a tired voice and smiled shyly.
“I must have used too much force. I can’t do it.”
Cahill wiggled his fingers into the air. Unlike before, when he had handled snow casually, nothing happened now. Blood drained from Holly’s face as she saw the boar over his shoulder.
“Cahill. Turn around slowly.”
Holly didn’t take her eyes off the boar and clung on Cahill’s neck with her back showing. The wild boar, not knowing what the humans were going to do, grunted and tilted its head. Cahill wondered what Holly was thinking as well. Holly, hanging from Cahill’s back, wrapped her legs tightly around his waist.
“Now run!”
At Holly’s cry, Cahill stopped and immediately left the spot. Belatedly, the wild boar realized that the humans were trying to run away and hurried to pursue them. The boar’s snout clung to Holly’s hem, making her fear that her clothes might be ripped off.
* * *
The dwarf and the Torimas, who claimed to be guides, appeared on the scene after half a day had passed since Cahill and Holly had left.
“Uuugh, what the hell is this… uuhh.”
As Holly had expected, the temperature around was lowered, and the slippery snow tied the feet of the Torimas crew when they stepped on it. They struggled several times to climb the mountain, and their fever was rising.
“Is it true that Holly’s here? If you dare to tell a lie to pick the Torimas, we will roast you and your family as well.”
Henri watched the dwarf dangling from his hand and clenched his teeth threateningly.
“It, it’s true… Over there, the cave.”
The dwarf trembled as he pointed to the top of the invisible mountain. Henri, who sniffled with his runny nose, took a deep breath and hastened his steps.
“It’s so cold, will she be okay? She might already be dead…”
“What kind of person is she? For her to not die so easily.”
Henri grinned, revealing his yellow teeth at the subordinate’s worried words. He’s been watching Holly since she was small, when she couldn’t even reach his knees.
“But what does this smell like?”
With the destination in front of their noses, they all squeezed their noses at the stench that stung at their noses.
“Smell— What smell!”
Henri’s choked up shout made his men’s feet faster. They slipped a few times and barely climbed the hill. Henri immediately threw the dwarf who had become useless. The thrown dwarf was buried in the snow and became invisible.
The Torimas and crew, who had seen all the rough conditions, saw the blood splattered on the snow and immediately understood the situation.
“Brother! Isn’t this the skirt Holly was wearing?”
Henry intercepted what was in his subordinate’s hand. It was that shard of cloth that he had been wanting to see the whole time he was chasing her, now glimmered in the snow. A groan filled with anger resounded through the mountain.
“Everyone retreat.”
One of his subordinates, startled by the suppressed voice, opened his mouth.
“Yes? Then the chase…”
The subordinate’s voice was full of regret. After chasing Holly, they were even beaten up by a strange man, so they were going to get a lot from Holly. The man was absurdly strong, but they got a bag of money from him, so they gave up quickly.
“What can you get from a dead b*tch! Go back now and get more of the others!”
Because the subordinates did not want to be crushed by Henri’s hands while his anger was nearly reaching the top of his head, they all sprinted down the mountain. Henri remained there until the end, staring at the forest where Holly disappeared. Then, he walked away while spewing out curses.
Everything was as she had hoped.
* * *
The wild boar was tenacious. Holly clung to Cahill’s back and couldn’t open her eyes as Cahill flew over trees and jumped over rocks to avoid being chased. The air passing by her scratched her face like sharp thorns.
“It doesn’t seem to be chasing me anymore.”
Holly’s ears opened at the calm voice. She slowly lifted her head, which had been buried in his back. Cahill turned his body and looked at the path that they had passed. No matter how much time had passed, darkness was already falling on the mountain. However, the surroundings had hardly changed from the beginning.
“Thank god.”
Holly, who had her ears open while holding her breath, finally breathed a sigh of relief. Then Cahill started to laugh.
“Are you having fun with this?”
Holly stared at the side of his face with a bewildered expression. Even now, her heart was beating so fast that she felt like throwing up.
“It’s the first time I’ve run so hard.”
Although he was not out of breath, his hair was drenched with sweat, as if he had used all his strength. It must have been difficult to run in the rugged mountains, and he was carrying Holly and her luggage on his back as well.
‘But. When will your precious body experience something like this again?’
Holly looked at him with a mixture of gratitude and regret, then started wiping away his sweat with the hem of her clothes. His alabaster skin looked as if he had never basked beneath sunlight properly, let alone suffer under it.
“But if you have a precious body then…”
“A prince.”
‘Cahil is a bit like that.’
Holly nodded unknowingly, but she soon flinched after realizing that’s not what he meant. Forgetting that she was on Cahill’s back, she raised her torso and looked into his face.
“…Prince? Like the King’s son?”
Holly looked at him with a new look of wonder. Centria, the center of trade, had no king. Instead, elders who were elected from each village managed the area in cooperation with the youth association.
“My mother is the king.”
Cahill said calmly, as if it was nothing special, unlike when he showed off his abilities.
“Then are you going to be king too?”
Holly asked as her eyes twinkled. But this time, the answer did not come immediately. Holly narrowed her brows in the silence that continued.
‘Is this a difficult question?’
“If it works, I do, if it doesn’t work, I don’t.”
Just as she was about to say that it’s okay not to say it if he was struggling, Cahill opened his lips to speak. He seemed to drag the silence, but his tone was still casual.
“What is it?”
‘I thought I would get to know a king.’
Holly buried her face in Cahill’s back with a dull expression.
“Do you want me to be king?”
Hearing Holly’s voice with a hint of disappointment, Cahill asked as if puzzled. Holly leaned back against his back and rolled her eyes.
“If I go to your country later, I can be treated as the king’s friend. Even if it’s not, in the distant future, I can gather my grandchildren and brag, saying, ‘There was a man Grandma knew, but you know, he was the king of a certain country.’”
Cahill let out a low chuckle as she mimicked an old person. Then, he gave a magnanimous expression as he spoke.
“I can still do that.”
Cahill licked his dry lips then continued speaking.
“I thought it was annoying and I didn’t want to do it, but… I’ll think about doing it.”
Cahill, who spoke bitterly, lifted Holly’s behind, which had slipped down.
“Uh… Thank you.”
Holly’s face was strangely distorted as she responded with a bewildered answer.
‘Is a king supposed to be so fickle, for him to say he doesn’t want to do it, but now wants to?’
Knowing her confusion, Cahill spoke up with excitement.
“Do you want to go to Aisen like this? I will let you stay in the second best room in the palace.”
“The first will be the king’s room, the second…”
“My room.”