SIDE STORY – Elgagrove (Part 8)

Tuesday morning. The kitchen at Gallahad Hall started preparing breakfast earlier than usual. They had to serve breakfast for two at 9 a.m. They also needed to prepare a lunch basket for them. The cook, excited about preparing picnic food for once, put a lot of effort into a basket that was a bit excessive for two people.

Bryant and Evelyn were returning to Kingston tomorrow. The two noblewomen regretted that a week was short but didn’t actively encourage them to stay longer. They knew they had lives to return to. The lives of a businessman and a writer were certainly different from those of nobles without jobs.

Thanks to such understanding and consideration, the couple had each other to themselves until dinner today.

“How long until we reach the forest?”

“Well, at this pace, it should take about 10 minutes.”

Bryant answered while holding the steering wheel. The Marquis’s estate had many fine-bred riding horses, but since Evelyn couldn’t ride, they were using a car to go to the forest. With a large lunch basket and a blanket loaded in the back seat, the car rattled slightly as it climbed the hill.

“Is it connected to the forest near the cabin we went to yesterday?”

“No, that’s the west side of the estate. This is the south side.”

I see. 

Evelyn murmured, casting her eyes far outside the car window. As the gentle slope gradually became steeper, her view widened. The green waves of the vast vineyard lay far below. The somewhat lighter, silvery field was a wheat field. A peaceful and fertile hilly area. Elgagrove was a beautiful land.

The car maintained a steady speed. After passing through a meadow filled with wildflowers, they finally reached the forest. From the forest’s edge, tall trees formed a distinct boundary, and passing that line revealed an entirely different landscape. Evelyn silently marveled with pursed lips.

The dense poplar forest was darker compared to the outside. The large, slender trees stretched up to cover the sky. The morning sun sparkled through the lush leaves, and beneath the tree shade, green ferns formed colonies.

After traveling further along the forest path, the car carrying the two finally stopped.

“Let’s get out here.”

As soon as the words were out, Evelyn opened the car door. She didn’t wait for the man to get out first and open it for her. The forest path and old leaves crunched under her feet.

“Are we walking to Black Peril?”

“Yes.”

“How far is it?”

“Not far. It’s nearby.”

Bryant replied as he walked around to the front of the car. Evelyn glanced at the shotgun slung over his shoulder and then took a look around. Black Peril was said to be a very high and rugged cliff. Was such a dangerous place really nearby?

She tilted her head in wonder. The surroundings were densely packed with straight trees. A forest so dense that even light barely penetrated. Sunlight and birdsong filtering through. A pretty but ordinary forest.

“It doesn’t seem like there would be a cliff. It’s just a pretty forest, and it looks safe.”

“That’s the trap.”

Bryant looked at her with a smile. A clear gaze. Vivid blue-gray eyes.

“If you knew that was there, you wouldn’t have started.”

He smiled a little more as he met her eyes. Evelyn seemed to understand the implication of his words. Feeling a bit shy, she diverted the topic,

“Do you really need to bring that gun?”

She pointed to his shoulder.

Black Peril and the surrounding forest were the Marquis’s hunting grounds, so entry was not allowed without permission. According to the estate manager, they were the only ones scheduled to enter today, so there were no other people in the forest.

“I think it’s necessary. It would be troublesome to encounter a bear or wolf without a gun.”

Evelyn was surprised by his unexpected answer. Since it was used as a hunting ground, she had only thought of deer, rabbits, or wild birds. Bears! She had only imagined dangerous animals to be foxes, but bears!

“Bears… Are there bears?”

“Of course. Bears, but wolves are predators too. Have you ever seen a wolf? They’re much bigger and fiercer than dogs.”

Though his tone was half teasing, Evelyn froze. Wolves! Instinctively, she moved closer to him.

“Scared? It’s a joke.”

“A joke? So there are no wolves or bears?”

“No, there are.”

“Then it’s not a joke.”

“But I’m here.”

“…….”

“I’ll protect you. No matter what appears.”

The man laughed lightly. The woman was a little moved. Standing side by side about a step apart, they began walking toward the cliff.

Bryant was dressed in hunting attire. Evelyn wore a comfortable woolen dress and flat boots. So her feet didn’t hurt even when walking on the forest path. The breath of the giant plants was cool and refreshing. Breathing it in, Evelyn walked the gentle uphill path. The hazelnuts she had hoped to see were not yet ripe. Instead, Bryant showed her a tree with fruit. The fruits clustered among the broad leaves.

“Cute, right?”

“They are.”

“It’ll take a bit more time for them to ripen. Late summer or around fall.”

“This place must be beautiful in the fall too.”

“It is. In the fall, the entire forest turns golden. There are hardly any mixed trees around here, and it’s all poplar, so it feels like the golden forest is endless.”

Evelyn imagined the scene he described. She saw a man standing in a golden forest. A man standing in the middle of autumn. A person standing alone among the endless trees.

“Let’s come in the fall next time. And eat those then.”

Bryant pointed to the unripe hazelnuts as he spoke. Evelyn stopped her imagination and met the eyes of the man in reality. ‘Next time.’ ‘In the fall.’ She nodded without doubt.

“Sounds good. I definitely want to try them then.”

The man looked down at her. His dark blonde hair contrasted nicely with the fresh greenery. Summer. The season full of vibrant life. Standing face to face with her in the green forest, he smiled.

*

As Bryant said, the cliff was indeed not far. When they reached the place she had only heard about, Evelyn was completely overwhelmed. It was inevitable. The majesty of nature always inspired awe and fear in humans.

“My goodness….”

It was as if a giant axe had cleaved the middle of the forest. From the dense forest to the void, it was barely five steps by her stride. The fields and meadows of the hills lay far below. To have experienced such a dizzying incident here. Just imagining it made her dizzy.

Black Peril. The cliff she witnessed was as lethal as its name suggested.

“It really… could have been a disaster.”

“It’s a wonder I survived.”

Bryant moved leisurely with self-mockery. Standing behind him, Evelyn wanted to take just one step back. The man standing at the edge of the cliff looked extremely precarious. 

It’s dangerous. Come over here. 

The words rose to her throat but remained unspoken. Instead of making him step back, she cautiously stood beside him. Facing the same direction, they looked out into the distance. Strangely, her fear gradually subsided.

A breeze blew toward the man and woman standing at the cliff’s edge. The scent of grass carried from the fields. A gentle and fragrant wind.

“Good horses trust people.”

When the man, who had been looking down the cliff, finally spoke, Evelyn already knew what she would hear.

“Horses are very timid animals, but if well trained, they’ll charge into battlefields. Because they completely trust their rider. Because they believe their rider would never harm them.”

“…….”

“He must have trusted me too.”

“…….”

“He died because of me.”

Evelyn knew what had happened here. It was when he went on his first hunt at sixteen, and he broke his shin when he jumped off the horse just before the fall. She also knew he couldn’t sleep for a while after the accident. That the pain of self-reproach was much worse than the pain of the broken leg.

Even though she already knew the story, Evelyn listened quietly. She listened as if hearing it for the first time. People console their wounds by speaking about them. At such times, just being there to listen was enough.

Like this, it was enough to maintain silence and gently hold his hand.

The man’s hand was large and warm. Evelyn gently intertwined her fingers with his, just enough not to touch palms. Just enough to feel each other’s warmth without suffocating.

Until, a moment later, he tightened his grip on her hand.

Bryant held her hand firmly. Evelyn stood at the edge of the cliff and smiled. The wind blew across her faintly smiling face. A gentle and fragrant breeze. A scent that was unfamiliar yet familiar.

*