Chapter 3: Reunion in the Forest (4)

Moments earlier, the house had felt a bit empty and bare. But now, Larie realized that wasn’t true. Somehow, so many kind and precious people had gathered around her.

Noticing Larie’s voice turning misty, Anna suddenly made a fuss.

“Ahem! Oh? Rahel, your hair’s really poking out.”

“Oh, you’re right.”

Larie smiled again and carefully loosened her headscarf.

The door was open from the move, and though she was standing inside the house, it still felt strange. Hiding away later might only make her look suspicious.

“Your hair is really beautiful, as always.”

“…Thank you…”

Larie replied bashfully as she tucked in the strands that had slipped out. Her whole life, she’d only heard that her hair was unlucky, so compliments like this still felt foreign.

Even so, the new home was soon filled with laughter. Though she was clumsy at it, Larie busied herself with genuine care in the kitchen—her first time truly welcoming guests.

“……”

“……”

Because of that, she didn’t notice the watchful, unfamiliar gazes peering from the alley, observing her new home.

***

“You found her?”

The report that Larie had been found reached Terian in less than a day. It was the moment he had waited so long for—yet when it came, his mind went completely blank.

“Yes, Your Majesty. The description matches.”

“…This is… the village I ordered troops to be sent to just a few days ago.”

“That is correct.”

The location where traces of Larie had been spotted was the same one Terian had instinctively commanded to be searched on that full moon night. And it wasn’t the only place he’d sent soldiers recently—so receiving a report wasn’t all that strange.

Or at least, it shouldn’t have been.

“Your Majesty… The village is extremely close to the capital. It’s possible this may just be someone who resembles her…”

“I know.”

The captain of the royal guard cautiously voiced a valid concern.

Indeed, the village’s location was surprisingly close to the capital. Close enough that Terian found it odd he had ordered soldiers there in the first place.

It wasn’t walkable, but it was only about two days by carriage. If Larie truly wanted to escape his grasp, it was a precariously placed hiding spot.

It was also a village that had already been combed through, its surroundings crossed by imperial troops countless times. That she hadn’t even dyed her distinct hair—that, too, struck him as strange.

Therefore, it was indeed strange that signs of Larie had appeared there now.

“……”

Even knowing that, Terian fell into deep silence.

This was the first time a report had been so clear. The first time someone had sighted her rare silver hair.

“…What shall we do, Your Majesty?”

Though reason could pick apart several aspects of the report, Terian slowly rose from the throne.

“Summon the knights.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

It could’ve been a trap laid by Tromperie. Or perhaps a mistake made by those fools, now desperate with their funds cut off.

Whatever it was, Terian could not ignore it.

“I’ll go myself.”

After all, the nights without her had already been far too long.

***

For the past few days, the weather had been suspiciously pleasant. Around this time of year, fickle rains were usually the norm.

Larie soothed her nerves by focusing on her embroidery. The unease surely came from having left the comfort of the forest behind. It made sense—adjusting to a new environment would naturally bring some anxiety.

What little savings she had were completely spent after the move. That meant she had to work hard again, and thankfully, Anna’s house—her source of work—was now much closer.

Still, today she made time to sew a new outfit for Rui. The soft blue fabric suited him perfectly.

“Abu… ah…”

“Are you excited for your new clothes too?”

Rui seemed a little out of sorts today—likely tired from the move—but he didn’t seem ill, so she decided to monitor him for now.

She worried whether it was because they had left the forest… though she tried not to dwell on it.

“Huu…”

Larie let out a deep breath, pushing away the creeping dread. She had learned now that in moments like this, she had to stay strong.

“Rui, let’s try it on, shall we?”

She purposely pulled her lips into a smile. Rui’s blue eyes were looking straight up at her.

As she held the newly finished clothes up to Rui’s body to check the fit—

The door suddenly slammed open with a loud bang.

“Rahel!”

“Jean? What’s going on?!”

Jean’s face was drenched in sweat, his expression frantic. Larie immediately shot up from her chair, sensing instinctively that something was terribly wrong.

“Grab Rui—we need to go into the forest! Now!”

“The forest? Right away?”

Without another word, Jean swung his large bag around and began shoveling food from the kitchen into it at random. The ominous sense growing inside Larie took on the weight and pull of a swamp—like something tightening around her throat.

Frozen for a moment, she instinctively reached up and adjusted the headscarf she always wore. Then she snapped back to herself, urgently moving to pack a few clothes into Jean’s bag.

Her fingers trembled violently, but she forced herself to keep moving. She still didn’t know exactly what was going on, but as a non-freeman, if she were caught in the lord’s sights, it would be dangerous—possibly fatal.

“Hurry. You get Rui.”

“R-Right.”

They grabbed their makeshift luggage and burst out of the house, racing through the back alleys under Jean’s lead. Their goal: the forest that might hide them.

***

As soon as the report came in, Terian mounted his horse.

The sudden mobilization of the Emperor startled everyone. Several ministers, especially those in the know, wore visibly unsettled expressions—because they knew who he was chasing.

Were they afraid he might truly find her?

It didn’t matter.

Casting aside all urgent affairs, Terian rode through the night without pause. His elite royal knights followed silently behind him.

For some reason, the urgency in his heart only intensified with each passing hour. There was a high chance the lead would turn out to be false, yet he felt an overwhelming dread—an unshakable certainty that if he didn’t go right now, it would be too late.

Larie’s retreating figure kept flickering before his eyes.

“Y-Your Majesty. What an honor it is to receive you in my humble domain…”

“Enough.”

But the moment he arrived at the targeted village, Terian’s foreboding grew heavier.

The local lord—who should have been holed up in his manor—was out front, flanked by hastily gathered retainers, trying to welcome him with forced ceremony.

“I gave clear orders for a lockdown.”

Still on horseback, Terian looked down at the lord with a chill in his eyes.

Just in case, Terian had ordered the village to be sealed off before he even departed—he couldn’t risk the Tromperie’s catching wind of his movement and whisking Larie away in the meantime.

But it seemed this fool had acted far beyond his station.

“Upon hearing that the criminal Your Majesty seeks is within our lands, I took it upon myself to act. We raided the location in question, but it appears she escaped just moments prior…”

“…Criminal?”

Terian’s cold voice cut through the flurry of excuses, and his horse stepped forward with a threatening clop. The lord shrank back instinctively.

It seemed the lockdown order had been twisted or deliberately misinterpreted.

Either that, or someone who loathed Larie had spread false information.

“Captain of the Guard.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“There are those distorting my will in the capital. Root them out.”

“At once.”

The ever-loyal captain bowed and stepped forward. At Terian’s signal, several knights behind him closed in silently. The captain then gestured toward the trembling count.

The count, realizing something was wrong, rolled his greedy eyes toward Terian, trying to read the Emperor’s mood.

“What shall we do with the count?”

“Take him. I want to know exactly why he pulled this stunt.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

“Y-Your Majesty?!”

The knights moved swiftly, binding the count before he could react.

Gone were the days of the powerless former emperor—Terian now commanded a military force few dared defy. The count’s gathered men hastily backed away, desperate to avoid being caught in the blast.

As Terian slowly guided his horse past the bound and kneeling noble, he cast a chilling glance downward.

“The one I seek is no criminal.”

“Th-Then…”

“If she has been harmed by your doing… I’ll kill you.”

“Hiiek!”

The count turned deathly pale at the words, spat like venom from Terian’s mouth.

Without waiting for another command, the knights dragged the man away. Just then, another knight who had gone ahead toward the village rushed back toward Terian.

“This way, Your Majesty. We’ve identified the house that was raided.”

“Lead on.”

Though he’d been told the target had already fled, Terian followed the knight regardless. If it truly was Larie, this might be the only chance to confirm it.

The residential area didn’t resemble a hidden refuge. It was crude—far too exposed for anyone in hiding, and certainly too ordinary to be a Tromperie hideout.

The village, which should’ve been busy preparing lunch, had fallen into an eerie silence upon the knights’ arrival. Behind tightly drawn curtains, wary eyes flickered through the gaps, watching Terian as he passed.

“This is the one.”

“…”

The knight pointed to a worn-down house. It bore every sign of a hasty escape—door flung open, the inside in visible disarray.

Dismounting, Terian entered, the clink of his armor echoing with each step.

“She moved in recently. We’ve received testimony that a woman and child were living here.”

“…”

There was hesitation in the knight’s voice.

Terian’s gaze happened to land on the floor—on a small piece of fabric.

It wasn’t until a second later that he recognized it as clothing—child’s clothing, to be precise. Only its shape gave it away.

No… Could Larie have b my child…?

A sharp pang shot through his chest. His expression darkened, hardening with a force that seemed to bend the air around him.

“We’ve found the owner of this place. There’s another dwelling up on the mountain slope.”

“Understood.”

One of the knights who had been restraining the count returned with a new lead. Terian rose, determined to follow this next thread.

Strangely, he found himself unable to let go of the small child’s garment in his hand.