Chapter 3.5

A chill wind brushed past her. Livie froze in place, unable to move.  

“You… you…”  

Her voice trembled uncontrollably as she stammered.  

“How are you… there?”  

Boris was perched on a massive tree branch. His entirely black armor blended into the darkness, making him hard to see.  

Yet, his presence was undeniable as he looked down at her.  

With a bright, carefree smile.  

“You told me to count, Livie.”  

Boris tilted his head slightly. It was the same expression he often wore—the one that said he was utterly smitten with her.  

And Livie felt like she was going crazy.  

“Right? So I counted.”  

Boris leapt effortlessly from the high branch and walked toward her.  

“You wanted to play with me, didn’t you?”  

“Uh… ah…”  

Boris stood right in front of the horse, looking up at her. The positions were now reversed from earlier.  

“So I counted patiently. And then I found you, Livie.”  

His gaze, like that of a puppy returning with a ball its owner had thrown, pleaded for praise and affection.  

Meanwhile, Livie felt as though her mouth had gone dry, as if she had swallowed a handful of sand.  

“But where are you going, Livie?”  

“……”  

His luminous purple eyes stared up at her intently. Livie searched desperately for something to say.  

After much thought, she concluded one thing: being honest now wouldn’t be a wise decision.  

“…I give up, Boris. You’re amazing for finding me so well.”

Livie reached out her hand toward him. Boris saw her slightly hesitant and faltering hand, and with a bright smile, he naturally buried his face into her palm.  

Smooth skin, coarse eyelashes, and soft lips brushed against her hand one after another.  

“I can find you no matter where you are, Livie.”  

So don’t think about anything else—

Livie felt as though she could hear the rest of his words.  

“It’s a good thing I found you; otherwise, it could’ve been dangerous. There are lots of dangerous things living in this forest. You’ve heard about them, haven’t you, Livie?”  

It was meaningless to figure out what exactly those dangers stemmed from.  

‘At least, right now in this forest, the most dangerous thing is none other than you.’  

Livie held back the urge to retort. Somehow, she felt like she had to.  

“Mm-hmm.”  

Livie answered while subtly averting her gaze. Sweat formed on her palm, which was tightly gripping the reins. Fortunately, he didn’t ask further.  

“I’m here, so it’s okay, Livie.”  

Boris grabbed the saddle and effortlessly leapt onto the horse.  

The sudden shift in weight made Livie’s body sway momentarily, but she was quickly stabilized by the arms that wrapped firmly around her waist.  

Thud.  

Seated behind her, Boris gave her a cheerful smile and extended his hand. Livie, confused, looked at him before realizing what his gesture meant.  

“Oh.”  

Livie slowly handed him the reins she had been gripping tightly. Boris smiled, took the reins, and nudged the horse forward.  

He turned the horse toward the camp and immediately began riding. It was then that Livie realized something was odd.  

“Hey, Boris.”  

“Hmm?”  

“Your horse?”  

A sudden question popped into Livie’s mind, and she asked him directly.  

“How did you get here so quickly?”  

At first, she thought he had come riding his own horse. But there was no sign of the horse he might have ridden.  

No matter how fast he was, chasing her on foot didn’t make sense. Moreover, she hadn’t heard any sound. It was strange that she didn’t hear his footsteps while he was following her.  

“Are you curious about that?”  

Under the large, glowing moon, Boris’s eyes shone even more mysteriously. Livie suddenly found herself at a loss for words.  

“I’ll tell you later, Livie.”  

Livie, held in his arms, couldn’t say anything. Instead, she tilted her head up and blankly stared at Boris’s sharp jawline.  

“Why?”  

Noticing her gaze, Boris looked down at her. His lips carried a gentle smile, but there was an unmistakable chill in the air.  

“Nothing.”  

Under the moonlight, his eyes glowed with an even more mysterious brilliance, leaving Livie unable to move.  

When she lowered her gaze after shaking her head, his arms tightened around her waist. She had no choice but to stay nestled in his embrace.  

Livie was returned to the camp and pushed back into the tent.  

“Rest a bit more. We’ll leave at dawn.”  

Before Livie could respond, the tent’s entrance was covered, the fabric hanging down heavily. The feeling was akin to a prison door slamming shut, leaving her in despair once again.  

Now, she was truly trapped.  

She could clearly sense the meaning behind his cold smile. He had been watching her. While she thought of him as an innocent, clueless puppy, he was sharp—like a wild beast with keen instincts.  

Although Boris told her to rest, Livie couldn’t rest. She couldn’t sleep. She could only sit in the darkness, her legs tightly pressed together, burying her face into her knees.  

***  

Not long after returning to the camp, Boris’s group began moving again. The knights of the Resette Dukedom, bound and humiliated, were loaded onto carriages to continue their journey. Livie, still held by Boris, rode on horseback.  

After riding for a long time, her entire body felt like it was screaming in pain, but she couldn’t bring herself to ask for a break. The chilling experience she had earlier kept lingering in her mind.  

‘He said he’d tell me later.’  

She still didn’t know how he had managed to chase her down. Meanwhile, the horse kept running.  

Occasionally, Livie would drift into a brief sleep, only to wake up again, each time finding Boris’s eyes on her, smiling.  

Before she knew it, the sky had turned a deep purple, gradually lightening until a hazy morning sky appeared. Boris and his knights, clad entirely in black armor, stood in stark contrast to the brightness.  

“We’re here, Livie.”  

His whisper woke Livie. It wasn’t sleep—it was just a long stretch of time that felt like it.  

“Where…?”  

Rubbing her eyes, Livie looked at where his hand was pointing.  

Beyond the morning mist, a castle, entirely white, rose high into the sky.  

Its outer walls, built with white stones polished to perfection, gleamed in the morning sunlight, exuding a serene beauty.  

‘Am I dead and in heaven?’  

Livie felt as though she was hallucinating.  

‘Yes, I’m dead. I died, and these grim reapers have taken me…’  

While muttering nonsense, she suddenly felt her body being lifted into the air.  

“I’ll help you down.”  

This time, instead of slinging her over his shoulder like a sack, Boris carefully placed one arm under her shoulders and the other under her knees to carry her. The torn dress had made her easier to handle.  

She saw the knights dismounting their horses one by one.  

“Where is this?”  

Livie whispered in a voice as fragile as a flickering candle. Even if she were to die, she wanted to know where she would die.  

“Edrach Castle.”  

“Edrach…”  

Repeating the word quietly, Livie realized it wasn’t unfamiliar. Tiso Village belonged to Edrach Territory.  

Edrach Castle.  

The residence of the great lord of Edrach Territory. But that position had been vacant for a long time, and the various lands within Edrach Territory had been divided and managed autonomously.  

The abandoned castle was said to be overgrown with thorn bushes and haunted by ghosts…  

“Why are we here?”  

Livie couldn’t understand the connection between Edrach Castle and Boris.  

Why had he brought me to this castle? And why was the long-abandoned castle standing so pristine?  

As if answering her confusion, Boris spoke.  

“Because I’m the master of this castle.”  

Even after hearing his answer, Livie said nothing. She couldn’t fully grasp what he meant.  

All at once, exhaustion overwhelmed her like a tidal wave.  

Leaning against him, Livie saw and heard Boris giving instructions to his knights, but the scenes and sounds felt distant, like a fading memory.  

“Livie?”  

His voice calling her sounded far away. Her eyelids grew heavy.  

Her vision blurred, and people seemed to split into two. Even his call of “Livie” sounded like an echo from a distant mountain, scattering in her ears.