3. The Blue Deer  

“Kkiiiing.”  

A faint, animal-like whine drifting in from somewhere was slowly bringing Judy’s lost consciousness back. As her mind cleared, the sudden pain surging through her body made a groan spill out through her parched, cracked lips.  

“Hngh……. It hurts.”  

She could feel the agony of her whole body being torn apart and shattered, but she was not dead. Should she be grateful she had not died, or should she consider it misfortune that she had survived? The chilly wind and the rustling leaves grinding against it sounded bleak, and above her head, crows flew around, making unpleasant noises. Maybe she had fallen from quite a height—the cliff face rising up toward the sky looked dizzyingly distant. The forest’s distinctive cold air made it painfully clear that there was not a single person around.  

“Earl Wesley…….”  

This was not a situation that could be called “alive.” In a place like this, where there was not even the slightest trace of people, it did not seem like anyone would be able to find her. As Judy sank into despair and hovered around the edge of death, listening to her own ragged breathing ringing vividly in her ears, it happened.  

“Kkiiiing.”  

Oh? Come to think of it, that suffering animal sound was what had brought her to her senses.  

Judy struggled to push herself up and looked around. In front of a large lake, a mysterious blue deer she had never seen before was panting, struck by an arrow. The moment she met the deer’s mournful eyes—as if it had foreseen its own death—Judy could not just stand by and watch.  

“You and I—let’s live. We can’t die like this. Right? We have to live.”  

Enduring pain so severe it felt like it cut into flesh, Judy forced herself upright and dragged her feet toward the deer. Near the arrow embedded beneath its belly, red blood was streaming down.  

“It must have hurt so much. I’m sorry, on behalf of humans. Truly.”  

When she carefully placed a hand near it, the deer’s body trembled as if it hurt. Judy tore off a long strip of fabric from her dress without hesitation. It took everything she had, but by putting all her strength into it, she finally managed to grip a piece of cloth in the shape she needed.  

“Even if it hurts, just hold on a little. I’m sorry!”  

Judy squeezed her eyes shut and pulled the arrow out of the deer. Then she quickly wrapped the cloth tightly around the wound. While tending to the deer, she was so intensely focused that the pain in her own body felt slightly dulled.  

“You’re thirsty, aren’t you? Wait.”  

Once again, she dragged herself to the lake, cupped water in her hands, and came back. When she held it out, the deer lifted its head as if it had been waiting and lapped, flicking its tongue as it quenched its thirst. Judy brought water again and again, and only after the deer dropped its head to the ground—meaning it would not drink anymore—did she shove her own face down into the lake and drink.  

“Now I can finally breathe.”  

After drinking, she approached the deer, thinking it was better to cling to even an animal than to be alone. As she came closer, the deer, as if it had been waiting, rested its face on Judy’s thigh.  

“Is that your way of saying thank you?”  

The deer said nothing and simply looked up at her quietly.  

“In this scary forest, we’ll have to rely on each other……. Do you think you and I can get back to where we lived?”  

Holding the deer, warm with living heat, Judy let out a low sigh. Judging only by this situation, it was hopeless—but up above, Earl Wesley would surely be frantic, searching for her. People who were meant to meet always did, so Wesley—her destined partner—would definitely find her and meet her again. She did not want to abandon hope, even if only in that way.  

“I want to live……. I want to die after living happily……. I want to live a long, long happy life with people who love me, and then die—I don’t want to die like this, empty and pointless. You should be like that too, shouldn’t you?”  

When she stroked the deer, it seemed drowsy and soon began nodding off. As tension eased at last, sleepiness also quietly settled over Judy.  

***

‘Judy! Judy!’  

At her name echoing like a reverberation, Judy snapped fully awake again. The deer, which she thought would be on her lap, was nowhere to be seen, and she looked around. At some point, the deer was standing there in a steady, imposing posture, gazing at her calmly. The strip of dress she had wrapped around it was still there, but it looked perfectly fine, as if it had no injury at all.  

“Are you okay?”  

In answer, the deer approached with languid steps and offered its antlers, helping Judy up. As the deer stared at the uncomprehending Judy with sparkling eyes, it suddenly bit down hard on her forearm.  

“Ah!”  

“Judy!”  

The moment she looked at the deer in disbelief at the pain of being bitten once, a vivid voice—nothing like an echo—rang out from somewhere in the forest.  

“Why are you doing this? Why are you suddenly attacking……!”  

Judy surged with indignation at the deer that she had saved, only for it to bite her.  

“Judy!”  

In an instant, the thick leaves were shoved aside, and Theo burst through. Judy was about to snap at the deer that had bitten her deep enough to leave a serious wound, but it was already too late. The deer, with its long legs, sprang away in bounding hops and vanished swiftly into the deep forest. People said not to take in black beasts, but no one had ever said not to take in blue beasts.  

What a nasty blue beast.  

“Judy.”  

Theo, now right in front of her, panted, his breathing shaking. The moment she saw him, emotions surged up in her throat—perhaps relief that she could finally live. And yet, just as she began to feel hurt in advance at Theo, who seemed like he might scold her for looking away and ending up like this, and for not listening when he told her not to follow—  

He pulled her into his broad arms and hugged her tight.  

“I’m glad you’re alive. I’m really glad.”  

A low voice, faintly trembling, and a hot breath brushed Judy’s ear. For a while, Theo held her, steadying his unbalanced breathing.  

***

Until they escaped that harsh forest, Judy was alone with Theo. Only after they finally made it out of the tangled woods did they meet the knights who had been searching for them.  

“Young Duke!”  

The knights rushed in at once and checked Theo’s condition. After confirming he looked relatively fine, they shifted their gaze to Judy. She was in a state of complete dishevelment, as if she had rolled around in a mud pit, but only after confirming that her body itself was not seriously hurt and seemed alright did they step back.  

“Can you get on?”  

At Theo’s question, nodding toward the horse, Judy—face gone pale—shook her head. Remembering how she had clung desperately to the horse when it had been wildly excited, fear swallowed her again, and her heart pounded like it had gone mad.  

“I can’t ride alone. I’m scared.”  

“But walking from here back to where we started is impossible.”  

Even so, she gripped Theo’s clothes because she was too afraid to ride, and he lightly seized her waist and lifted her onto the horse.  

“Theo……!”  

As Judy hurriedly tried to get down, he caught her hand, then effortlessly mounted and took the reins. Thanks to that, Judy could sit relatively steadily between the reins and Theo. Her back touched his firm chest, and rather than feeling unpleasant or uncomfortable, it eased her anxiety.  

“Still scared?”  

“No. I’m okay now.”  

“Then we’ll go.”  

“Yeah.”  

The horse moved at an unhurried, strolling pace. Because of that, the swaying was not severe, and it felt comfortable.  

“How come you’re not angry for once?”  

“I’m not cold-hearted enough to get angry at someone who almost died.”  

“I see. But I really thought I was going to die.”  

Even as she spoke while looking back on days that had already become the past, she was not calm at all.  

“I won’t let you die in a place like this. Even if I had to cut down every tree in this forest, I would’ve found you.”  

“That’s reassuring. I guess I can’t die easily.”  

“That’s right. You can’t die easily.”  

“By the way, I saw a blue deer in that forest.”  

“A blue deer?”  

He echoed back as if he could not believe it.  

“Yeah. I saw it.”  

“……So it really does exist. A blue deer…….”  

“It was my first time seeing one too, so it felt strange. But that deer bit me.”  

Judy showed him the clear animal bite marks on her arm. Theo stared silently, then furrowed his brow.  

“Wait. I’ll catch it for you right away.”  

“No. Please, you—stop hunting, too. They’re all struggling because they want to live, and it’s pitiful.”  

The deer’s eyes—those eyes that had looked up at her sadly after being struck by an arrow and giving up on hope—were so vivid that she snapped the words out.  

“But a blue deer is…….”  

He started to say something, then ended it with, “Forget it.” Judy asked what he had been about to say, but she could not get any answer out of him. 

After traveling for a long while, they reached the starting point, and by then the sun was already sinking beyond the mountain, and everything around them had turned a deep blue.  

“Miss!”  

Gianna, who had been waiting under the tent, ran out with a pale face and hugged Judy tightly.  

“I thought something terrible had happened! I’m so glad you’re safe—truly. Really. Sob, sob.”  

As Judy patted Gianna, who had buried her face into Judy’s shoulder and was crying hard, Asilly suddenly appeared, shoved her aside firmly, and pulled Judy into a hug.  

“Let me see—are you okay? Do you know how scared I was, thinking I’d lost you?”  

With a face smeared with tears, Asilly frantically checked Judy from head to toe. Her complexion was dark, and her eyes were filled with heavy worry. She was genuinely worried about Judy. In truth, Judy had secretly felt jealous because Asilly was unusually close with Wesley, her fiancé—but in that moment, those feelings became shameful.  

“Thank you for worrying about me, Asilly.”  

From behind them, Judy gave a small nod of greeting to Wesley, who was walking out slowly.  

“See, Asilly. What did I tell you? Didn’t I say Judy would definitely return safely?”  

She was happy to see him again, but somewhere in her heart, bitterness remained. In that forest filled with nothing but fear, why had the only person who came looking for her not been Earl Wesley? Why had he waited calmly at the starting point for her? The questions that followed one after another only seemed to stoke her thirst for him even more, so she decided to stop.  

“I worried too much. I ran around in every direction, and I only just arrived here myself. Are you feeling alright?”  

“Yes. I’m okay.”  

“I think you should rest. Even if you look fine on the outside, you could have injuries. Let’s hurry and return home.”  

The moment Wesley took her hand and started to lead her toward the carriage behind them—  

“Ugh!”  

He suddenly pitched forward and fell, tumbling down in an unsightly heap, and Judy flinched in shock.