As Selina recalled, she and Karen had never been particularly close, nor had they ever had a bad relationship. This was why Selina was grateful to bump into Karen at a time when she was unable to move around freely herself. Perhaps, she thought, this was an opportunity to explain Alter’s situation to Karen in person.

“Who gave you permission to see the elder?”

But events unfolded in a way entirely different from what Selina had expected.

“So you were still alive. You traitor.”

Karen stared at Selina, radiating a chilling hostility. In her glare was a n*ked hatred, the kind reserved for someone she truly despised.

‘I was wrong.’

Only then did Selina understand how Karen saw her.

Karen hated her.

There was no point in begging someone who despised her so much for mercy. Selina immediately changed her approach, bowing deeply towards Karen.

“I came because I have something to say. I wish to see the elder.”

“Hahaha. Are your ears blocked or something?”

The next instant, Karen grabbed Selina by the hair, yanking her head back. Her eyes flashed viciously as she leaned in close and whispered in her ear.

“You really think someone like you is worthy of seeing the elder?”

“Ugh….”

“Do you even know where you are, coming here alone like this? So fearless. Or should I take this as you begging to be killed?”

As Karen’s killing intent sharpened, Calliope, who stood nearby, began to fidget in visible distress.

“S-stop… let go…. This person saved me.”

“Get a grip. Because of this woman, the young grand duchess nearly died. And Calix, too—”

Karen could not finish her sentence, her voice catching in her throat. Perhaps the thought of Calix had caused her emotions to surge uncontrollably.

That was probably true.

The moment Calix’s name was mentioned, Selina felt her chest tighten, filling with a heavy, aching sensation.

“Even if I say this now, it probably means nothing.”

Karen said, her expression twisting back into cold mockery as she leveled her blade at Selina’s throat.

“You came all this way on your own—that means you were prepared to die. Isn’t that right?”

“……”

“So I’ll grant your wish.”

With that, Karen clapped her hands to summon the others. More guards stationed at the gate rushed in and closed ranks around Selina. Countless swords converged on her, encircling her like a steel necklace — each blade poised to pierce her throat at any moment.

The raw hostility, sharp enough to kill, bore down on her. Yet she opened her mouth, calm and unshaken.

“I came because there’s something I need to tell you.”

“And what if I don’t feel like listening?”

“You have to listen.”

Because it concerned Alter.

When Selina added that, Karen’s face went blank for an instant. Selina did not miss the opening.

“Alter is alive. He’s imprisoned now—in a notorious prison. Security is tight, so it won’t be easy to get in. You’ll need to assemble elite troops and break him out—”

“Shut up.”

Having reached her limit, Karen lunged forward and slapped Selina hard across the face. The pain was so intense that it felt as though a bolt of lightning had ripped through her. Selina stood still, raising one hand to her ringing ear.

“You think I don’t see through you? This time, are you trying to use Alter to trap us? Did that disgusting scheme come out of that head of yours?!”

Karen’s muffled, distorted screams crashed over her.

Selina had been worried about this. Even if she mentioned Alter, the other party might not believe her. Still, she had thought that someone like Karen — a former knight commander — would at least consider it.

‘I thought you’d think about how to get Alter out.’

However, Karen did not trust Selina at all; she was consumed by outright hostility. In that state, the story seemed even more unbelievable.

“……Believe me or don’t. It doesn’t matter. I came because I thought the only people who could save Alter were the elder.”

Selina still hoped that, even if she could not trust her, she would at least believe that Alter could be saved. Keeping this wish in mind, she spoke to Karen, who responded with a thin, mocking smile.

“Spare me your pathetic tricks.”

She then issued an order to the soldiers surrounding Selina.

“Throw that b*tch into the underground labyrinth. Now.”

***

The guards restrained Selina and dragged her into the forest near the castle. In the pitch darkness, only the torches carried by some of the guards illuminated the path ahead. Bathed in the eerie light of the flames, the forest appeared to take on strange shapes, as though countless small demons were writhing within it.

“Ever since ancient times, Thalia has locked those guilty of grave crimes inside the underground labyrinth.”

Karen said from behind as she followed.

“The labyrinth is crawling with monsters. No one knows what they feed on down there, but whatever it is, they’re far stronger—and far more dangerous—than the ones outside.”

The reason Karen kept rattling off such unnecessary details was simple.

She wanted Selina to be afraid.

‘Admit your fault even now. Prostrate yourself and beg. If you swear you’ll never come back here again, I might let you live.’

Yes. That was what Karen wanted.

For Selina to be consumed by fear—and never set foot in this place again.

The elder, or anything else. She wanted Selina to lose all interest in this place entirely.

“……”

But Selina said nothing.

Instead, she stared quietly ahead, seemingly lost in thought. Her calm demeanor was utterly out of place in such a situation. Realizing that it was pointless to try to intimidate someone who felt no fear, Karen fell silent.

Before long, they reached the entrance to the underground labyrinth. As they descended the worn stone steps, they came upon iron bars bound with heavy chains. No criminals had been cast into the labyrinth since Thalia fell into ruin.

‘…But Selina is different.’

Selina was responsible for Thalia’s downfall.

Karen desperately wanted Selina to die right then and there. This feeling was the culmination of the immense hatred Karen had nurtured ever since she first set eyes on Selina. Karen despised Selina. How could anyone feel anything but resentment towards someone who arrived later and took someone else’s place?

Karen hated Selina simply for standing at Calix’s side. Even worse, Selina had betrayed Calix and brought Thalia to ruin.

‘There are more than enough reasons to wish for Selina’s death. Even if I plunged a blade into her right now, no one would condemn me.’

That was how Karen justified her actions.

“Someone from Thalia will come.”

Suddenly, the elder’s words resurfaced in her mind.

“When they arrive, bring them to me. No matter who it is.”

Had the elder already known that Selina would come?

An unpleasant feeling twisted Karen’s lips.

“Put her in.”

At the commander’s order, the soldiers who had come with Selina opened the door and threw her into the cell behind the iron bars.

She was swallowed by darkness far deeper than that of the forest.

Karen watched the scene in silence, then broke into a bright smile and said.

“Sometimes, people do survive the underground labyrinth. There is an exit inside, after all. So why don’t you try to find it?”

Of course, the survival rate was closer to one in a hundred years.

After adding that in a chilling tone, Karen turned away with the others.

‘One in a hundred years….’

Trapped in the underground labyrinth, Selina stared blankly through the bars.

Once the torchbearers had disappeared, an overwhelming sense of stillness came over her. From somewhere deep within the labyrinth, grotesque sounds echoed faintly.

As she listened closely, a thought surfaced.

“Callios really was incredible.”

Someone who appeared only once in a hundred years.

‘Monsters aside… it’s so dark in here that it’s a little scary.’

Had he truly survived a place like this?

He was someone with a past that could not be dismissed lightly.

‘…But if Calios managed it, doesn’t that mean I can too?’

Suddenly, the underground labyrinth, which had seemed dark and terrifying only moments earlier, felt like nothing more than an ordinary basement. Of course, dark, cramped spaces stirred up old traumas for Selina, but—

‘Still, I can’t give up here.’

Selina clenched her small fists tightly.

There was no guarantee that they would believe her and rescue Alter. To make matters worse, the prison in which Alter was being held was located on a heavily guarded island. Freeing him would be almost impossible without help from someone on the inside.

‘If I want to save Alter, I have to escape from here.’

It wouldn’t be easy, but it wasn’t impossible either. Besides, she had something that others did not.

Steeling her resolve, Selina summoned Ari.

Light flickered to life, illuminating the dark, narrow passageway.

“We’re going to find the exit, Ari. Do you know which way we should go?”

Ari began to flutter forward like a butterfly.

Spirits were attuned to things that humans could not perceive. Although Ari had probably never been there before, her love of nature must have led her to instinctively sense the path leading outside.

“I’m counting on you, Ari.”

Selina followed Ari as she led the way forward.

Just as she was starting to feel confident that escaping the underground labyrinth might not be so difficult after all, Ari suddenly stopped flapping her wings. Near the corner ahead, she began to tremble in mid-air.

Beyond the bend in the tunnel was a large chamber, and Ari was afraid of whatever lay inside it.

‘There’s something ahead.’

Selina reached out toward Ari, shaping the light into the form of a blade.

Kiiiiik—

A grotesque sound, like the cry of a monster, emanated from within the chamber.

They had said that the underground labyrinth was filled with monsters. Nevertheless, she hadn’t expected to encounter one so soon after barely taking a step.

‘So, you’re too scared of the monsters to move forward.’

If she wanted to continue towards the exit, it seemed there was no choice but to confront the monsters blocking her way.