Could the King of Galate have been after this jewel? The correlation between the strange situation and the jewel the woman possessed. Just as he was about to reach for the jewel, seemingly entranced, the woman’s closed eyelashes fluttered and her eyelids opened.

“Are you conscious?”

He expected a somewhat slow response, but Hari’s swinging fist came first. Blocking the sudden attack without difficulty, Achilleon frowned as he stared at Hari, who was breathing roughly and clutching the stone.

“Ah…”

Only then did the woman, realizing her hasty action, blink blankly.

“I’m sorry.”

“What is that thing?”

“It’s a keepsake my late grandmother left me. It’s really precious to me, so I was just startled.”

From the woman’s unusually rambling attitude, he could guess there was something more hidden. Though nagging questions remained, Achilleon changed the subject for now.

“What exactly happened?”

“I slipped while walking by the river.”

An obvious lie.

“More importantly, how did Your Highness end up here…?”

Large eyes filled with confusion turned toward him. She seemed to be trying to understand the situation of him being by her side. The woman moved her lips, appearing ready to ask something, then fell silent before saying something unexpected.

“We were in the middle of a party. Everyone will be looking for you, Your Highness. Selina is waiting, so please go back quickly.”

Achilleon stared at the woman making such absurd statements and let out a hollow laugh.

“Why should I care?”

“But you’re her partner.”

“Is her waiting important right now? Margharita, you nearly died. Did you think I’d believe your ridiculous excuse that you were walking perfectly fine and just fell into the river? Explain properly what happened.”

Judging by her casual talk, she seemed unaware that she had nearly become food for a beast. After a silence, Hari asked:

“Did you not see anyone else?”

“I only saw you.”

“…Thank you for saving me. I’m deeply indebted to Your Highness. I’ve already been enough of a burden. It wasn’t a big deal, and there’s nothing to worry about. I just took a wrong turn and fell into the water. That’s all. In the future, I’ll be more careful not to upset you with such clumsy actions.”

Hari got up, composing herself, and turned her gaze to the dark night sky. She felt his gaze on her back but didn’t look back.

“Besides, finding our way back won’t be easy.”

Hela must have acted on Selina’s orders. Hari had suspected some ulterior motive when Hela insisted on leading her, despite her refusals, to the secluded forest path. But Hari remained silent. She needed to avoid making enemies, and Achilleon had told her to protect herself. She knew that even if she explained the situation, Achilleon wouldn’t stand up for a slave from a fallen nation. At most, he would dispose of Hela, which would only provoke Selina’s revenge. If she couldn’t make a proper decision, it was better to stay quiet.

The night rain that had been falling steadily stopped. The beasts that had been holding their breath around the cave had vanished without a trace.

“Do you know the way?”

“Roughly.”

Achilleon, who had already mounted the saddle, extended his hand. The woman, who had been staring up at him in the darkness, hesitantly took a step forward.

“I told you to protect yourself.”

His narrowed eyes captured Hari’s face, which glowed transparently in the moonlight.

“Yes.”

“I dislike weak humans. Innocence that fails to recognize malice, stupidity that suffers despite knowing better, righteous beliefs that become useless in the face of death, and powerlessness that can’t resist. All of it.”

Achilleon firmly grasped Hari’s hesitant hand.

“So if you have a weapon, grip it and fight. Protect yourself, Margharita.”

The woman slowly raised her face. Her piercingly bright eyes penetrated through him, shrouded in darkness.

“What if you become a threat to me?”

Achilleon didn’t avert his gaze. Neither did Hari. In the forest so dark they could barely see ahead, they stared at each other for a long time, seemingly trying to discern each other’s hidden intentions.

“Does that advice still apply then?”

Hari’s faint smile and Achilleon’s tightening grip happened almost simultaneously. The woman’s body floated up. Her body, light as a dandelion seed, rose gently onto the saddle. Achilleon embraced Hari as she floated like a dancer, pouring into his arms. The sensation of her cool yet soft skin touching him in that moment was vivid.

“Go ahead and try.”

Rumble—his low whisper, mixed with a chuckle, was obscured by the gathering clouds that foretold more rain. Soon, the sound of hoofbeats galloping through the pouring rain echoed along the dark forest path.

* * *

Selina paced anxiously around the room, biting her lips. It was when she finally couldn’t wait any longer for news of Hela, who hadn’t returned by midnight, that she jumped up from her seat.

“M-mistress…!”

A pale-faced maid rushed in with shocking news.

“They say Hela’s body was found by the river!”

For a while, Selina could only blink blankly, unable to believe what she had heard. But when she discovered the earrings she had given as charity and Hela’s torn clothes in the small urn the maid handed her, she had to accept the terrible reality.

“…What is this?”

The maid hurriedly supported her mistress, who had slid to the floor.

“It can’t be. How could someone who was perfectly fine just yesterday return like this? Why?”

“According to the investigator, she slipped while walking and fell into the water.”

Selina’s eyes bulged in shock.

“What about the others? Was she the only one who fell in?”

“Pardon? From what I heard, yes—”

“Get out!”

As soon as she drove the maid out, Selina collapsed in front of the closed door, clutching her head. What was going on? Had she failed to kill the Galate woman? If so, where was she now…?

‘Could it be that my involvement has been revealed…?’

Selina spewed harsh curses. Whenever she got involved with that woman, things went terribly wrong. She had to live in anxiety, carrying dirty suspicions. Selina screamed, throwing the sharp ornament from her hair. Even when she sent a letter to Antor asking for help out of frustration, she only received a cold rejection saying he would be busy for a while and not to look for him.

“Busy with what! Probably busy rolling around with women.”

Anger surged again. This situation where she couldn’t relieve her frustration, this reality that wouldn’t go her way, brought indignation.

“Where’s Lem? Where’s Hexairon? Where have all those lowly ones gone when I need them! They’re just like Antor. ‘I love you,’ ‘cherish me,’ ‘you’re my only mistress.’ Just smooth talk. They’re never around when I’m truly lonely, sad, and struggling!”

“Please calm down, mistress. The people you’re looking for have left for summer training for the next Stadion games. They even came to inform you personally a few days ago.”

The maid urgently explained the facts, but they didn’t reach Selina’s ears, consumed by a flood of emotions.

“I bought them. I’m their sponsor. How do they think they can develop their talents without worrying about starving? They should come running when I need them. They should!”

Selina, who had been muttering in rage, suddenly closed her mouth. After venting the complex emotions brought on by Hela’s death, her cold hands and feet trembled slightly. As her anger subsided, the next vile emotion rose like water. Selina’s hand, fumbling across the carpet with a dejected expression, grabbed Hela’s fallen urn. As soon as she grasped the cold, hard container like a dead body, tears burst forth. Tears she couldn’t understand herself flowed endlessly down her cheeks.

“Hela…”

The crying didn’t stop until her father nearly broke down the door when it finally escalated into choking sobs.

“What’s all this commotion about! Are you making such a scene crying over the death of a mere maid?”

Duke Karnos’s eyes were half-crazed at witnessing his daughter’s disgusting behavior once again. If the butler who had rushed in hadn’t stopped him, his raised hand would have struck Selina’s cheek.

“I’m about to explode because a body from our household has suddenly appeared. The Third Prince is persistently pressing the matter, putting us in an extremely awkward position, and you, ignorant of the situation, are just shedding tears!”

Duke Karnos grabbed his daughter’s arm, pulling her up, and shouted:

“How long are you going to behave like a disgusting child!”

After driving out all the servants, conscious of watching eyes, the large room was left with only the bleak father and daughter glaring at each other.

“Did you do this?”

“…No. I didn’t do it.”

Selina, thoroughly frightened, unconsciously lied. It wasn’t entirely a lie. She had only assigned the task to Hela; she hadn’t directly contributed to her death. But knowing that Hela had no reason to fall into the water herself, her anger toward Hari only deepened.