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Kyle, standing like a statue and staring at my hand, slowly raised his head. His eyes twitched in disbelief.
“How could you…”
The heavy voice echoed in my heart. The beast-like man who gave off an unapproachable and daunting energy looked miserable, like a dog abandoned in the rain.
Haa, I took a short breath. My whole body felt numb, and my face turned as white as a blank paper. In Takan’s arms, I couldn’t move as I met Kyle’s gaze.
An impulsive mistake had unexpected consequences.
There was a time when I wanted Kyle to collapse because of me, but it was just a moment of intense emotion.
I aimed an arrow at him and wounded him. Of course, anyone in such a situation would be angry, betrayed, and lash out. But Kyle looked as if he had been shot in the heart.
Kyle whispered something softly, his eyes empty. I couldn’t hear his voice and had to focus on his movements.
His lips moved again.
“Madam.”
Takan looked around and called me impatiently. We had to move or flee before Kyle’s knights attacked.
“We have to go. There’s no time.” Takan’s voice echoed in the distance.
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My eyes widened when I recognized the low whisper.
“Aelle?”
Were you calling my name?
At that moment, a torched flickered in the dark, and I could suddenly hear horses cutting through the bushes and narrowing their distance.
“D*mn it.”
As Takan turned the reins with a curse, thick trees filled the view. Regardless of my will, my whole body shook, and I grabbed Takan’s shoulder.
When I got more accustomed to the horse’s movements, I looked over Takan’s shoulder.
“Your Grace!”
A knight atop a horse leaped out of the darkness. The knight, who calmed down the agitated horse, shouted Kyle’s name, but he didn’t respond.
Kyle’s eyes were glued to us as we left. It was the same gaze as last time when I threw out my hand and ran away.
As Kyle watched Aelle leave, it felt like his brain melted and disappeared.
He had to catch her, but he was caught in an inexplicable pain and could only call her name. If he didn’t do that, he wouldn’t be able to breathe.
His breath felt as cold as ice.
“Your Grace, they’ll definitely be heading to the inn where there’s a guide—”
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The commander who led the knights got off his horse and approached him but stopped in surprise.
It was because Kyle looked entranced.
“Your Grace.”
The commander carefully called for him again, but Kyle didn’t respond.
Kyle tilted his head as he stared at the half-pierced arrow through the rough bark. It was just an arrow that hit his cheek, but he felt an unfamiliar pain piercing his heart.
Kyle put a hand over his chest and rubbed the area around his heart so slowly that the onlookers felt saddened.
The man complained of pain. No, this wasn’t because of the arrow. It was from when she pointed the arrow at him as she stared at her with lukewarm blue eyes.
It was clear that it was an accident and a mistake; she even explained it as she stuttered. Her surprised appearance after causing harm was as clear as an imprint.
Did he even have the room to reflect on the source of his pain? Like a bat waking up from hibernation in a cave, his eyes revealed his emotions.
Kyle sighed and climbed onto the horse with his sword still on the ground.
“Your Grace!”
As soon as Kyle grabbed the reins, a familiar knight who had followed him from the Harden residence dismounted and approached him. The commander grabbed the knight’s shoulder to stop him.
The commander’s eyes widened and let go of the knight’s shoulder when he whispered something to him.
Kyle’s cold eyes turned to the approaching knight and said, “I’ll hear it later.”
The knight hesitated, followed again, and prostrated himself with his clenched hand on the ground.
“Your Grace! There are things we haven’t reported before.”
Kyle’s face was distorted at the sight of the knight’s persistence. He licked his lips with his tongue as if impatiently and turned his head.
“It must be important enough to risk your life.”
The knight, who gulped at the Duke’s vicious energy, said, “I received a strange report from a knight who went out to the forest for an investigation.”
“A strange report?”
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Encouraged by Kyle’s reaction, the knight briefly bowed down and added, “They said that they heard a human voice in the forest.”
“Human?”
“Yes. I’m sure monsters wouldn’t have let people live there.”
Human, huh. Kyle whispered to himself in contemplation. Doubt crept into his face.
Upon investigation, it was said that there was a guide in the forest. Obviously, he would be just a greedy swindler who takes advantage of other people’s naivete.
For Kyle, the forest of Quetray was just an empty forest where monsters lived. Nevertheless, he dispatched an investigation team without abandoning the suspicion that something was lurking in the forest that had devastated Hari. Still, those who returned shook their heads, stating that there were only monsters and not a single hourglass.
But what if the unfamiliar name Hari had mentioned multiple times wasn’t Louis or a scammer who steals property?
The sense of agility he had accumulated on the battlefield chilled his spine. Impatiently, he pulled the reins and looked back at the knight.
“Go now to the Harden residence and find out the name the Countess repeats.”
Then, Kyle clenched his teeth and hurriedly drove the horse.
I sat on the saddle, and leaned back against Takan as we moved.
I gently raised the hood of the robe that obscured my view and looked around. I took in the damp air I could only smell at the crack of dawn before lowering my hood again.
The cool air refreshed my head. Whenever I closed my eyes, Kyle’s figure appeared like a canvas– him desperately calling my name for no reason.
Maybe I was mistaken.
Takan lowered his head after hearing a shallow sigh.
“Are you concerned?”
“About what?” I turned my head slightly and asked, feigning ignorance.
Takan only glanced down and pursed his lips. It was embarrassing that I pretended not to know because I knew how he’d react.
“Don’t worry. He’s a great man who wouldn’t be surprised by a single arrow.”
“Worry?” I looked down at my hands to see the red marks from the bowstrings, and chuckled. “I was worried about my hand.”
Takan laughed and shook his head faintly. He blew a loud breath and glanced behind him.
“He’ll catch up quickly. We don’t have time to rest because we must hurry and follow the guide to the forest.”
I nodded instead of answering. I lowered my hand and glanced at Takan.
I planned to erase my memories and head to the coast. I want to sew again and live my life looking at the lush flower fields in the spring and the horizon in the summer. Suddenly, I wondered what kind of future he had in store.
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I stared at Takan’s large hand holding the reins and tilted my head, accidentally hitting his chin with the top of my head.
“Ah.”
“Ow, what are you doing?” He asked, rubbing the area with his hands.
I stared straight ahead and recalled what I was curious about. “Takan, what will you do after fulfilling my wish?”
“…”
Was he thinking about it? He didn’t speak for a while, and only the sound of the galloping horse filled the silence.
I could feel him inhaling and exhaling vividly on my back.
“I’m not sure. A little bit of atonement.”
“Atonement?”
“Yes, that. I’m going to see my sister right away,” Takan answered vaguely.
A question came up involuntarily. “Where’s your sister?”
His hand suddenly gripped the reins. He didn’t answer, so it felt like talking to a rock.
I asked an unreasonable question. Takan broke the awkward silence and pointed his chin somewhere, changing the topic.
“We’re almost there.”
Before long, we crossed the dawn and arrived at Tigra, an underground area close to the forest.
Even though it was called an underground area, it was simply a village close to the Quetray forest. According to rumors, this village was attacked by rogues during the war.
Was that why it had a dark and gloomy atmosphere, and people called it an underground area?
But did believers of Quetray live here? Looking around, it seemed inhabitable.
The sight of the fallen leaves blown away by the wind and rolling on the ground added to the gloomy atmosphere.