“Don’t tell me…”

The words had barely left her lips when they were hit by a violent gust of wind and rain, causing the suspension bridge to lurch dangerously beneath their feet.

Clinging tightly to Benate’s hand, Ailie summoned all her strength to stay upright. From somewhere behind them, shouts of warning could be heard, their voices broken and indistinct beneath the relentless roar of the storm.

—Creak. Creak.

The sound was ominous, as though the bridge itself were urging them to hurry. With every step, they felt as though another brutal gust of wind might strike at any moment. The fragile structure beneath them could give way without warning, sending them plummeting into the raging river below.

Before she could stop herself, Ailie looked down.

‘…Was it always this high?’

How had she died in her previous life?

Hadn’t she lost her footing and fallen from a great height?

She could feel that moment’s sensation crawling up her legs again. This couldn’t possibly be as high as before, yet the rain-darkened river looked bottomless, filling her with terror.

She was afraid.

She was so afraid that she wanted to collapse right there and then.

But she couldn’t hesitate.

“Can you keep going?”
“Yes. We should hurry.”

Ailie answered firmly.

Either way, they had already reached the midpoint. If it took the same amount of time and courage to turn back as it did to press on towards their destination, it was better to continue.

The longer they hesitated, the less time the others would have to cross the bridge.

“In that case… don’t let go of my hand.”

He would never let go, even if she wanted him to.

Ailie looked down at his hand, which was gripping hers, and nodded. The moment she did, Benate stepped forward without hesitation.

On the dangerously unstable bridge, which swayed in every direction, they took one step after another.

And as they moved forward, one cautious step at a time…

‘We’re almost there.’

The high ground was already before them. Benate landed firmly on solid ground. They had finally crossed the river.

Only then did Ailie breathe a small sigh of relief. Thank goodness! With her heart finally easing, she followed him. The moment her left foot safely reached the other side—

—Shaaah!

The sound of the rain suddenly grew louder.

Instinctively, she squeezed her eyes shut against the sheets of rain lashing against her face. When she opened her eyes again—

—Crack… snap!

With an ominous sound, the support post to which the ropes were tied shattered completely.

She saw it happen right before her eyes. They were almost at their destination.

Ailie’s pale, rose-colored eyes widened in shock, leaving her mind blank.

—Splash!

One by one, the wooden planks forming the suspension bridge dropped into the river below.

Unable to regain her balance, Ailie’s body tilted backwards into the air.

Benate was still holding her hand, but her left foot, which she had only just set down, was on the verge of slipping.

Steadying herself was a futile struggle.

“Ailie!”

She heard a panicked voice calling out to her urgently.

There was nothing beneath her feet.

Suspended in mid-air, she felt that familiar, ominous prickling sensation at the nape of her neck.

Ailie squeezed her eyes shut.

But then—

—Thud!

Without hesitation, Benate thrust out his free hand and caught Ailie’s other hand.

And with a powerful pull—

“Ah…”

Her body, which had been tipping backwards, suddenly regained its balance.

Blinking slowly, she tried to understand what had just happened. Both her feet were now firmly on the ground.

Benate carefully drew her into his arms.

It was just like the day he had saved her at the second hideout.

“…Your Majesty.”

“Thank goodness… thank goodness. If the bridge had collapsed even a moment earlier…”

“……”

“If it had…”

Unable to finish the sentence, Benate simply shook his head.

The ground was sodden and there was no sign of the rain letting up. If he had reached out recklessly and slipped, they would both have fallen into the river.

Yet Benate had saved her without hesitating for a moment.

That fact felt strange. Unfamiliar.

“Thank you… for saving me.”

It was strange. Truly strange.

Almost impulsively, Ailie lifted her hand and gently patted Benate on the back while he held her.

She could feel his back trembling faintly through her fingertips.

‘This is strange.’

Tap, tap.

Ailie recalled the way he had once patted her on the back.

Mimicking that motion, she slowly smoothed a hand down his trembling back. Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind.

Since her regression, she had seen far too many unfamiliar sides of Benate.

‘I’m supposed to hate you until this revenge is over…’

If Benate was unchanged since her return, why had he risked his life to save her?

Why had he not hesitated at all in making that choice?

Ailie asked herself this question and began to think it through.

After a long time, she finally shook her head.

‘I don’t know.’

No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t find an answer.

What were those pale, water-colored eyes—shimmering in the rain—trying to tell her?

***

The two of them had crossed the bridge safely, but the rest of the group were still stranded on the opposite bank.

Once the initial shock had passed, Ailie and Benate moved closer to the riverbank. They needed to discuss what to do next.

By then, the rain had eased slightly. If they shouted loudly enough, they should be able to hear each other.

“Can you hear us from there?”

At Benate’s shout, Breni, who was visible in the distance, quickly raised her arms above her head and formed a wide circle, her hand cupped around her mouth.

The suspension bridge had collapsed. The rain had not yet fully subsided, and only the imperial couple had crossed it. It was impossible to send them onward without a guard at their side.

The forest near Karpa was used as a training ground for imperial knights, so the knight commander would be familiar with the terrain, but they had already ventured far beyond that region. This forest was no longer one he knew well.

At least the coachman knew the area better than most, but only the routes suitable for carriages. This was probably why he had not suggested a detour when they first encountered the bridge in the downpour.

The greatest problem of all was that no one knew when the rain would end. As the coachman had warned, the land on the opposite side was low-lying. At any moment, it could be swallowed by rising floodwaters.

‘What should we do…? There doesn’t seem to be any way to regroup immediately.’

As she was lost in thought, Benate—who had been calmly surveying their surroundings—spoke.

“We won’t find an immediate solution. In that case, how about deciding on a place to regroup later?”

“That sounds best. We don’t really have a choice. And it would be better to ask someone who knows this area, even a little.”

Benate nodded, then raised his voice toward the opposite bank.

“Then I’ll ask. Is there anyone there who knows anything about this forest—even a small detail?”

For a moment, it seemed as though they were exchanging words among themselves. Then someone stepped forward toward the river.

The person who knew something about this forest was—

“…Breni?”

This wasn’t the time for jokes.

As Ailie tilted her head and muttered under her breath, Breni—somehow noticing—shouted back from across the river.

“I’m serious! I really do know!”

Her voice didn’t sound particularly reliable as she bounced in place, but she kept talking earnestly, even as no one else seemed to take her seriously.

“I’ve been here before! You know—back then! When I said I was going on a short vacation and came back covered in bug bites, crying about it!”

“Was there ever such a thing?”
“I complained about it so much back then!”

Ailie vaguely remembered. Very vaguely.

It had to have been at least seven years ago. Her brow slowly creased as she tried to recall.

“My family—the Veselli barony—has a villa on this mountain! There’s a caretaker, and it’s solidly built, so it’ll help!”

At this, the crease on Ailie’s forehead slowly eased.

A villa on this mountain? The idea stirred a faint sense of recognition, as though she had heard something similar before.

Even Benate, who had been listening in silence, nodded slightly as if he found the claim reasonable, too.

Whether Breni truly remembered the villa’s exact location was uncertain.

Nevertheless, the mere fact that a noble’s villa existed here at all was a relief.

Whoever reached it first could take relatively safe shelter from the rain. If it was grand enough to be called a villa, it wouldn’t be a miserable shack. It would likely be visible from afar, making it an ideal place for everyone to regroup.

“Your Majesty, then shall we split up for now and regroup at Breni’s villa?”

“That would be best. There’s nothing to be gained by staying here any longer.”

Having made that decision, Benate explained the plan to the others on the opposite bank of the river.

The knight commander conferred briefly with them before stepping forward to the riverbank.

“Yes, Your Majesty. That would be best. We’ll find a way to follow, so please don’t worry. You should take shelter from the rain as soon as possible.”

“All right.”

“We’ll follow safely.”

Ailie nodded in response to his steady, reassuring tone, even before she realized it.

Once the decision had been made, she and Benate moved ahead first. If they stayed by the river, their anxious companions would never be able to leave.

The relentless rain continued to pour down, obscuring everything ahead of them. Would they really be able to find Breni’s villa in a forest like this?

The scenery was repetitive, with every path looking the same as the last. One wrong turn would be enough to make them lose their way entirely.

If that happened—

“Your Majesty.”

“What is it?”

Ailie held out her hand towards Benate.

He stared back and forth between her eyes and her outstretched hand. His eyes widened as if he could not believe what he was seeing.

They had been holding hands just moments ago, yet now he was reacting strangely and stiffly.

“Please hold my hand. If even we get separated and start wandering, that would be disastrous.”

“…Ah. Right.”

His reply came a moment too late.

Still, once their hands were clasped together, even if they were to lose their way, they would do so side by side rather than alone.

Hand in hand, they ventured deeper into the rain-soaked forest.

If only it had been daylight, they might have spotted something, but beneath the stormy sky, there was no sign of a villa, no matter where they looked.

How long had they been wandering like this?

It was only when their bodies began to shake uncontrollably from the cold, and they were completely soaked after being out in the rain for so long, that—

“Ah…”

At last.

A different scene unfolded before them—unlike anything they had seen so far.

It wasn’t a villa, but at the very least, it was somewhere they could shelter from the rain.

“We can at least stay here until the rain eases.”

“Yes. We don’t have much choice.”

Even if it was a bit unsettling—dark, gloomy, and ominous…

A cave.

A cave that looked as though something might leap out at any moment, complete with a warning sign about magical beasts hanging nearby.