Chapter 44

Karina slowly opened her eyes. The buzzing noise around her gradually became clearer.

“Ka, Karina. Are you awake now?”

The worried voice belonged to Della. Next to her, Kate and Adolf were sitting with serious expressions. Karina wanted to tell the tearful Della that she was okay, but no sound came out of her mouth.

“I’ll go get the doctor.”

“Here, drink some water. Don’t get up yet; you need to rest.”

Her body felt like it was going to break apart, but she managed to sit up and sip the water. Right then, Adolf entered the room with the doctor.  

Her hazy mind couldn’t fully grasp the situation, but one thing was certain.  

She had escaped the ravine. And it had been done while she was unconscious, by someone else.  

‘What on earth happened?’  

Just as that thought crossed her mind, the doctor left the room, and Kate sat down on the bed and spoke.  

“We’ll talk once you feel a bit better. For now, just rest today.”  

Seeing Kate speak in a troubled tone, Karina could only nod silently, like a mute.  

Not long afterward, Kate and Adolf left, leaving only Della behind. As if she had been waiting for this moment, Della burst into tears and clung to Karina. Feeling sorry, Karina comforted Della and asked about the first person who came to her mind.  

“How’s Noah?”  

The answer she received was more positive than she had expected.  

Unlike Karina, who had taken two days to wake up, Noah had apparently opened his eyes the morning after the incident.  

“I heard he was injured pretty badly too. They said his ankle was completely broken.”  

But his injuries were incomparable to Karina’s.  

Not only was his right ankle fractured, but three of his ribs were also cracked.  

“Can I go see him now?”  

“What? No way. You just woke up!”  

“But—”  

Della, on the verge of tears, desperately tried to stop her. Reluctantly, Karina pretended to agree while secretly plotting how to sneak out.  

However, before she could finish her thoughts, she heard something unexpected.  

“…Kamil-oppa?”  

Della, her nose red from crying so much, nodded her head.  

“He went deep into the forest for the rabbit hunt and found you two there. He was so shocked when he saw you being carried on someone’s back.” 

Finally hearing the full story, Karina furrowed her brows slightly. It was hard to explain, but something about it didn’t sit right with her.  

As she tried to piece together her hazy memories, there was a knock at the door.  

When Della stood up and asked who it was, a familiar yet unfamiliar voice came from beyond the door.  

“It’s Kamil Melbourne. I’ve come to see Karina for a moment.”  

***

The air in the room was tense. It was Kamil who broke the silence.  

“Are you feeling better?”  

Karina answered with a slight nod.  

Even though she was openly showing her wariness, Kamil only smiled as usual.  

“That’s a relief. I was really worried.”  

“…What exactly happened?”  

When Karina asked curtly, Kamil scratched his face with an awkward expression.  

“Well… I’d like to ask you that, actually. What happened to you?”  

Faced with his question, Karina hesitated for a moment before recounting everything that had happened—from sneaking into the forest, to encountering the wolf pack, to being kidnapped by the assailants.  

Listening intently, Kamil covered his face and muttered.  

“To think something like that happened… I had no idea.”  

He seemed genuinely shocked. With a serious expression, he asked about the events of that time.  

“Did you see the faces of the ones who kidnapped you?”  

“I don’t really know. At the time, I was too focused on running away.”  

Recalling the desperate situation in the forest made cold sweat run down her back. Even trying to calm herself with deep breaths didn’t help. Her head started to ache.  

“I see. It’s alright. What matters is that you’re safe now.”  

Kamil’s voice softened again as he comforted Karina. He was right. Karina tried to remind herself that she was safe now.  

“More than anything, I’m glad you weren’t too badly hurt. Considering the height you fell from…”  

Just as Karina was beginning to calm down, Kamil added another comment.  

Karina stayed silent and stared at Kamil. He didn’t seem to be hiding anything. His eyes only reflected concern. 

Was it really just my imagination? 

Karina let out a small sigh.  

‘Yeah. I must be mistaken.’  

It was strange to doubt him in the first place.  

There was no way Noah, with a broken ankle and fractured ribs, could have carried her out of there. It was only natural to think so, yet she still couldn’t speak the words aloud.  

It was because of her faint memories—of a back climbing the steep incline in silence.  

In the end, Karina cautiously opened her mouth. It was her final attempt to confirm the truth.  

“Thank you for saving me.”  

“There’s no need to thank me. It’s what I should’ve done.”  

“No, really. If you had been any later, it could’ve been very dangerous.”  

It wasn’t difficult. She just needed to confirm whether Kamil had really been there.  

“My body temperature kept dropping because of the nearby stream.”  

It was a harmless lie. So harmless, in fact, that even she didn’t understand why she felt so tense. Karina held her breath, waiting for his response.  

Kamil smiled faintly, as if mocking her.  

“Exactly. It’s a good thing I found you in time.”  

His overly casual demeanor made her mind go blank for a moment.  

There had been no stream in the ravine where they had fallen.  

Her confused mind couldn’t think of what to say, but her mouth moved on its own.  

“Why are you lying?”  

With that single sentence, the atmosphere shifted. Kamil’s expression slowly hardened. But Karina didn’t care and continued.  

“There was no stream there.”  

“…What are you talking about, Karina?”  

Even his forced smile couldn’t hide the realization in his eyes that he had made a mistake.  

“Please leave.”  

Karina spoke firmly, pointing to the door with her hand.  

By now, Kamil’s face had lost all traces of his smile. He seemed like a completely different person, but she wasn’t afraid.  

It was all a lie.  

The person who had saved her wasn’t Kamil Melbourne.  

It was Noah Velcarid. Once again, it had been him.  

***

“Did you hear about it? About Young Lord Kamil?”  

Karina, quietly walking down the hallway, paused at the sound of voices. Two maids were walking down the corridor ahead.  

“Of course. I heard he won the event hosted by His Highness the Crown Prince.”  

“No, not that.”  

Karina felt a strange tension. It was likely because of what had happened with Kamil during lunch earlier.  

‘There seems to be some misunderstanding. I’ll rest for now and talk about it later.’  

Kamil had left the room, shameless until the end. What was even more absurd was the last thing he said to her.  

‘I never told anyone that I saved you and him.’  

Thinking back, it was true. He had cleverly left himself an escape route. Everyone must have believed him. It was utterly ridiculous.  

But the maids’ conversation soon took an unexpected turn.  

“At first, everyone thought he won, but it turns out that wasn’t the case.”  

Their voices grew quieter and more secretive. Karina leaned in closer to listen.  

“They said the rabbit he caught had a key around its neck.”  

“Yeah, a silver key.”  

“So… it turns out it was a dud.”  

As the speaker shrugged, the other maid burst into laughter.  

They continued chatting as they walked down the opposite hallway. Only then did Karina step out from behind the wall.  

Unexpectedly hearing good news, she felt a little better.  

‘Serves him right.’  

Smirking to herself, Karina resumed walking. She felt anxious for taking so long after sneaking out.  

Before long, she arrived on the first floor and headed toward the infirmary she had scouted out earlier.  

“Excuse me. Is anyone here?”  

She knocked cautiously, but there was no response.  

Just then, the tightly closed door next to the infirmary creaked open, and something fell out.  

Karina instinctively bent down to catch it. It was a wooden crutch.  

Before she could process it, a familiar voice came from above her head.  

“Oh, thank you. I couldn’t grab it myself.”  

A man wrapped in bandages was struggling with his clothes caught on the doorknob.  

Watching silently, Karina reached out and freed his clothes.  

“What are you doing, looking so stupid?”  

“…Miss Karina?”  

Noah blinked his wide eyes in surprise. Finding it amusing, Karina burst into laughter.  

“Let’s go inside. I’ll help you.”  

She offered her uninjured arm, and Noah hesitated before taking her hand.  

Inside, the room seemed to be a space for patients.  

“When did you wake up?”  

“Today. Around lunch, so not long ago.”  

Noah nodded and took the crutch. He began moving further inside.  

Karina used the excuse of helping him to observe him closely. His upper body, right shoulder, and arm were all tightly wrapped in bandages. She had heard he was covered in countless bruises, and his condition was indeed severe. His right ankle was also encased in a thick cast.  

‘Did he carry me up with that leg?’  

It was unimaginable, yet the man before her had done it. Karina froze in place, overwhelmed by an indescribable feeling.

‘Why go so far?’

It was a question she asked herself, knowing there would be no answer. It was such an absurd situation that she couldn’t even bring herself to say thank you.

As she stood there for a long time, Noah opened his mouth to speak. At that moment, the door opened.

“Lady!”

Kaya’s eyes widened as she spotted Karina. At the same time, Karina’s gaze shifted to the small creature in Kaya’s arms.

It was a tiny, pure white rabbit. A golden key dangled from its neck, swaying as it moved.