Chapter 15

The surroundings were dark.

When Elena came to her senses, she realized that she was in a damp and dim place, just barely able to make out her immediate surroundings. Only she and Little One were there.

‘Where am I?’

She clearly remembered having dinner, putting Little One to sleep, and then going to bed earlier than usual beside him.

Beyond that, she had no recollection of anything. A wave of unease washed over her, and she swallowed dryly.

Little One, perhaps sensing her anxiety, babbled softly and rubbed his face against her chest.

“Is anyone there?”

No response came.

“Felix?”

She called out to Felix, who had been sitting on the sofa reading a magic book before she fell asleep. But his voice was nowhere to be heard.

The realization that Felix, the person she had been relying on for the past few days, was not there made her heart race uncontrollably.

‘Where is this place? Could someone have kidnapped me and Little One? No, that can’t be. Felix wouldn’t have let that happen.’

Her first thought was that she needed to get out of this eerie place. She began to move cautiously.

But no matter how far she walked, she didn’t see anyone. She began to doubt whether this space even had an end or if there was a way out at all.

Just as her legs, which had been moving tirelessly, and her arms, which were holding Little One, began to ache and grow stiff, she heard the sound of wings flapping somewhere nearby. Following that came a painful screech.

Swallowing nervously, Elena followed the sound. She had a bad feeling about it, but it was the only clue she had to escape this place.

Before long, she saw a large eagle wearing a crown.

The eagle couldn’t take flight and was flapping one wing desperately while crying out in pain. A thick-bodied snake was wrapped around its other wing. She immediately recognized what the snake was.

‘Anguis…’

The wicked serpent was mercilessly biting the eagle’s wing. Its sharp fangs sank deep into the wing, and crimson blood dripped to the ground.

The eagle struggled violently, screaming louder in its agony. But its wingbeats gradually slowed until it finally collapsed to the ground, bloodied and powerless.

The golden crown that had shone brilliantly above the eagle’s head fell to the ground with a loud clatter.

“No…”

The lament escaped her lips before she could stop herself, and the snake turned its head toward her.

Anguis stared at her with its fierce, torn yellow eyes, flicking its long tongue out as if savoring the taste of her fear. It began to slither toward her.

‘I have to run.’

She knew this in her head, but her feet wouldn’t move.

If Anguis caught her, she would meet the same fate as the fallen eagle.

She understood this, yet her body froze, unable to even twitch. Like a mouse cornered by a cat, she trembled in terror, unable to do anything.

As if to mock her fear, Anguis let out a hissing sound and opened its massive jaws wide, revealing its sharp teeth.

“Elena!”

Just as the snake’s fangs were about to touch her leg, a voice she thought she wouldn’t hear in this place rang out—Felix’s voice.

She heard his hurried footsteps as Felix stepped in front of her, blocking her from Anguis. The snake’s gaze shifted to Felix.

The wicked serpent changed its direction and coiled itself around his legs, climbing upward.

“Felix!”

Elena had thought Felix would easily deal with Anguis, but he didn’t move at all. The blue light that usually emanated from his necklace was absent.

Without any hindrance, Anguis climbed up to his neck and opened its jaws wide.

Its razor-sharp fangs glinted faintly in the dim light.

“No!”

Elena extended her hand toward Anguis. A red light seeped out from the ring on her fourth finger.

But before she could even finish chanting a spell, the venomous fangs sank into Felix’s neck.

A torrent of blood, far greater than what had poured from the eagle, gushed forth.

Felix’s body trembled as if he were a falling leaf and collapsed into the pool of warm blood. Elena was faced with a choice.

She wondered if she should continue holding onto Little One, who depended solely on her, or should she abandon him and try to save Felix.

She chose Little One.

As she held Little One tightly and wept uncontrollably, Felix lay in the pool of blood. His lifeless eyes, which hadn’t closed completely, stared emptily into the void.

***

‘No!’

Sweat dripped down her back. Her heart raced as if it were about to burst.

She inhaled sharply, as though emerging from underwater, and opened her eyes.

‘I’m in the lodge.’

It was too dark to see clearly, but she was certain this was the lodge where they had been staying. Just as before she went to bed, she was lying on the bed.

‘It must’ve been a dream.’

She tried to act as if nothing had happened, but perhaps the events of the day had affected her more deeply than she realized.

Seeing Anguis in her dream was proof of that.

She lay still for a moment, taking deep breaths to calm herself.

Once her heart rate had settled somewhat, she looked over at where Little One had been lying.

There shouldn’t have been anything wrong, but unease gnawed at her.

The spot where Little One should have been sleeping was empty.

‘Little One isn’t here?’

A chill ran down her spine again. 

Where could he have gone? No one had entered the lodge…

“Ha-uuuu!”

From the direction of the window came Little One’s familiar whimper, the sound he made when he was sleepy.

She quickly turned her head toward the window and saw Felix holding Little One, who was fussing in his arms.

“Shh.”

Felix, gently rocking Little One, whispered softly into his ear in a voice mixed with a quiet sigh.

“Let’s just sleep peacefully tonight.”

“Hoo.”

“If you keep fussing, you’ll wake the lady over there.”

Felix stroked Little One’s back, which was trying to wriggle out of his arms, in a soothing motion.

“You must’ve been really scared today, so let her sleep well. Okay?”

“Mm…”

Perhaps thanks to Felix’s persistent efforts, Little One obediently rested his chubby cheek on Felix’s shoulder and closed his eyes.

Elena lay still on the bed, watching them in silence so as not to disturb them.

She had seen Felix’s back many times since they were children.

When he was four or five, he had been smaller than her. After he started basic physical training and swordsmanship, he had caught up to her height, and before she knew it, he had grown taller than her.

Unlike her, who never seemed to grow no matter how much she ate, Felix seemed to grow taller with every bite he took.

At some point, his back, a full head taller than hers, began to feel intimidating. Sometimes, when he stood expressionless, she even found him a little scary.

‘How strange.’

But tonight, the back that had once seemed simply large felt dependable and reassuring for some reason.

Even though she was still upset and hurt by his harsh words.

That night, when she fell asleep again, there were no more nightmares. For the first time in days, Little One didn’t wake up crying in the middle of the night, allowing her to sleep soundly.

It was undoubtedly thanks to Felix, who had taken care of Little One throughout the night.

***

The next morning, she should have woken up refreshed after a full night’s sleep.

But unfortunately, her pleasant morning began with an unpleasant smell.

“Ugh, Little One.”

Even before she opened her eyes, a strange odor invaded her nose.

She had grown accustomed to this smell over the past few days, but the problem was that it was coming from right beside her.

When she opened her eyes, she saw Little One sprawled out with his head near her feet and his feet near her head.

“Ha-boo!”

Little One, noticing her gaze, flailed joyfully, making the pungent smell even stronger.

Quickly turning her head away, she scanned the room.

Felix, who should have been sleeping on the sofa in the corner, was nowhere to be seen.

“No!”

Her vision went dark. Regardless of their unresolved fight, she desperately needed Felix right now.

“Little One, where’s Felix?”

Of course, Little One couldn’t answer her question. He simply smiled at her and crawled onto her lap.

The sight of him climbing onto her was startling in an entirely different way than when he had first appeared on Festival Day.

“Wait, wait! Don’t come here!”

“Hii!”

Little One, moving quickly, pressed his warm bottom onto her lap.

His mischievous eyes seemed to say, ‘Change my diaper!’

“I can’t believe this! How am I supposed to change your diaper without Felix?”

“Baa!”

Little One wriggled impatiently on her lap, making her shudder at the thought of what was in his diaper.

She laid him down on the bed, holding his waist. Even then, he simply smiled without a hint of discomfort.

“Aren’t you uncomfortable?”

“Nyaa!”

“Then can’t you just wear that diaper until Felix comes back?”

“Haa-oo!”

“Fine.”

She interpreted his babbling in her favor.

‘If you have complaints, say them with words, Little One!’