Chapter 94

Rayden put a lot of effort into choosing the horse, and it truly was a gentle and good one.  

“When riding a horse, you have to remember the rhythm well. If you lose your balance, you can easily fall off, so you must always be careful.”  

As the horse moved very slowly, Vivian’s fear gradually began to fade.  

Having Louis behind her soon brought more comfort than tension. When they completed a lap around the small meadow, Louis, looking down at Vivian who was less tense than before, stretched his red lips into a smile.  

“I’ll let Her Majesty the Empress know, so just hang on until His Majesty the Emperor finishes announcing the opening of the competition.”

Vivian nodded with a determined expression.  

“You’re cute.”  

Startled by Louis’s words, Vivian quickly turned her head.  

“Ah! Moving so suddenly is dangerous.”  

Vivian’s body tilted as she momentarily lost her balance, and Louis, who quickly caught her, sighed in relief.  

Vivian, also surprised, placed her hand on her chest and took a deep breath.  

“Louis, saying something like that all of a sudden!”  

Once she calmed down a bit, Vivian raised her voice. Her ears and even the top of her head turned red as she trembled slightly.  

“What did I say?”  

Louis feigned ignorance, looking down at her.  

“Cu-cute… I mean.”  

Unable to turn her head for fear of losing her balance again, Vivian stammered while looking straight ahead, and Louis felt a bit regretful that he couldn’t see her face.  

But it’s not like it’s Vivian’s fault that he couldn’t see her face. Feeling a bit sulky for no reason, Louis tightened his grip on the reins.  

“Hold on tight.”  

“What?”  

Louis tapped the horse’s side to increase its speed.  

“Louis!”  

Vivian, frightened by the sudden increase in speed, called out to Louis desperately, but he didn’t slow down.  

To Louis, it was almost like a brisk walk, but to Vivian, it felt as if they were galloping at full speed through the wind.  

“I’m sorry! So please, let’s talk about it. Okay? Let’s get off the horse and talk!”  

Holding tightly onto Louis’s arm and hand, which were grasping the reins, Vivian apologized profusely without understanding why.  

They were merely lightly ascending and descending a gentle hill, but seeing Vivian desperately apologize made Louis wonder if he had gone too far, so he began to pull on the reins to slow down.  

‘Whizz.’  

With the sound of the wind, an arrow embedded itself in the ground in front of the horse they were riding.  

Neighhh.  

Startled, the horse raised its front legs.  

“Ah!”  

With Vivian’s scream, Louis quickly pulled on the reins and grabbed Vivian’s waist to prevent her from falling off.  

However, the excited horse showed no signs of calming down and suddenly started running somewhere.  

Pulling hard on the reins was useless.  

“Damn it!”  

The horse, now running fast, quickly dashed into the forest. With tremendous jolts, Vivian’s body was shaken back and forth.  

Despite various attempts to calm the excited horse, for some reason, it only became more agitated.  

This is bad. At this rate, both Vivian and I are in danger.  

As they ventured deeper into the forest, where the terrain became more rugged, Louis began to feel anxious. Looking at Vivian, who was holding onto his arm tightly and barely holding on, Louis quickly scanned the surrounding terrain.  

Fortunately, Louis spotted a low cliff covered with moss not too far away.  

“Vivian, can you hold onto my waist?”  

When Louis shouted, Vivian managed to turn her body and grabbed his waist.  

“You have to hold on tight!”  

Louis hugged Vivian’s shoulders and pulled hard on the reins to turn the horse’s head.  

The horse, which had been neighing loudly, raised its front legs and then started running again in the direction its head had been turned.  

Holding Vivian tightly with all his might, Louis narrowed his eyes, waiting for the right moment to jump off.  

Now.  

Letting go of the reins he had been gripping tightly, Louis hugged Vivian and rolled to the side.  

Feeling as if they were floating, Vivian tightly closed her eyes and clung to Louis’s waist.  

A short while later, they landed with a tremendous impact on the moss below and rolled a few times before coming to a stop.  

Amidst the distant sound of the horse running, birdsong reached Vivian’s ears.  

“Vivian, are you alright?”  

Louis shook Vivian’s shoulders, who had her eyes closed. Vivian, grimacing from the tingling sensation coursing through her body, managed to lift her head.  

“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”  

Louis, with his hair thoroughly disheveled, dirt on his face, and unknown leaves stuck in his hair, looked at Vivian with concern.  

When Vivian barely nodded her head, Louis sighed in relief and began to lift his upper body to stand up.  

“Ugh!”  

However, Louis immediately let out a pained groan and collapsed back onto the ground.  

“Louis?”  

Startled by Louis’s groan, Vivian grabbed his arm. Feeling a warm, sticky liquid on her hand, she examined his arm.  

Blood was seeping through the torn hunting attire Louis was wearing.  

“Louis, you’re bleeding…”  

“It’s alright. It’s nothing.”  

It seemed he had hit something and torn it when they fell from the horse.  

He said he was fine, but the pain must have been significant, as Louis gritted his teeth to endure it. Vivian looked around, but they had ventured quite deep into the forest, and all she could see were large trees.  

Stay calm. Think calmly, Vivian.  

Taking a deep breath, Vivian removed her riding jacket and draped it over Louis.  

“I told you, I’m fine. The temperature will drop in the forest. Put it back on.”  

“Is this the time to worry about me? You’re bleeding so much…”  

Vivian took out a handkerchief from her pocket. It was far too small to wrap around Louis’s wound.  

“Vi-Vivian?”  

When Vivian began unbuttoning Louis’s jacket, he grabbed her wrist.  

“Just stay still for a moment.”  

Vivian brushed off Louis’s hand and finished unbuttoning his jacket. Then, she untied the thin scarf around her neck and began wrapping it around his injured arm.  

“If you bleed too much, it can be dangerous. We need to stop the bleeding first… I’ll tie it tightly, so bear with it for a moment.”  

With clumsy hands, Vivian did her best to tie the scarf around Louis’s wounded arm. Even the slightest touch caused immense pain, and Louis bit his wrist to stifle his groans.  

“Can you stand up?”  

At Vivian’s question, Louis looked down at his ankle and shook his head.  

“Let me take off your boots for a moment.”  

Vivian carefully reached for Louis’s boot.  

It was Vivian’s first time removing a man’s boot. As she began to struggle with the stubborn boot, Louis lifted his body slightly and spoke with difficulty.  

“First, untie the knot at the top…”  

Following Louis’s instructions, the boot, which had been tightly gripping his ankle, soon loosened. Removing the now-loose boot, Vivian carefully rolled up the hem of Louis’s pants.  

“Your ankle is very swollen.”  

Louis’s ankle was swollen to the point where anyone could see it was in pain, and standing up and walking seemed practically impossible.  

The scarf wrapped around Louis’s arm was being stained with blood, and his swollen ankle made it seem unlikely that Vivian could help the tall Louis out of the forest.  

Raising her head to scan the surroundings, Vivian placed her hand over Louis’s, which was resting on his knee.  

“I’ll go call for help. Please hold on here for a bit.”

At Vivian’s words, Louis’s face, already grim, grew even more severe.  

“The forest paths are dangerous. Besides, you don’t even know the way, Vivian.”  

“If you look here, you can see traces where moss grew on one side. So, the opposite side is south, and since the event is being held at the southern entrance of the Emperor’s forest, if I go straight in this direction, I should be able to find someone who can help.”  

Vivian pointed to the side opposite where the moss had grown. Even judging by the position of the sun faintly visible through the dense trees, the direction Vivian indicated was undoubtedly south.  

“No.”  

“Louis, it’s impossible for the two of us to get out of the forest together in this state. You’re still bleeding…”  

Vivian trailed off as she looked at Louis’s injured arm.  

Continuing to bleed was dangerous. Vivian felt anxious, knowing she needed to bring help as quickly as possible.  

“It wasn’t a coincidence that the horse got excited.”  

Louis tried to move his swollen leg. Even the slightest movement brought a heavy pain. Swallowing his groans, Louis took a deep breath.  

“Someone shot an arrow in front of the horse. I don’t know if they intended to excite the horse or target us, but there’s definitely someone nearby targeting us.”  

“Who on earth…”  

Vivian’s eyes widened in shock at Louis’s words, trembling slightly.  

“The sure thing is that someone targeting us is nearby. In such a situation, I can’t let you go alone, Vivian.”

Swallowing hard, Vivian turned her head to scan the surroundings.  

Only the sound of unfamiliar birds and the rustling of trees in the wind filled the air.  

The forest, not yet fully claimed by spring, felt even more eerie.  

“First, let’s find a place to hide and wait. Rayden will soon realize we’re missing. By now, he might have people searching for us. So, it might be safer to hide until then.”

Considering Louis’s words, Vivian knelt and stood up. After walking a short distance, she spotted a place between the roots of a large old tree where they could hide.  

Thinking it would provide shelter from the wind and a place to hide, Vivian returned to Louis and examined his leg.  

“If we go between the roots of that tree, we won’t be completely hidden, but we should be able to conceal ourselves somewhat. Can you walk that far?”  

Louis nodded, and Vivian lifted his uninjured hand to her shoulder to support him.  

“Just a little more, hang in there.”  

Louis was two spans taller than Vivian. To support him, Vivian had to tense her thighs and grit her teeth.  

With each step, Louis’s entire body screamed in pain, but he sweated profusely, trying not to lean on Vivian, who was supporting him.  

Though it was a short distance, it took a long time for Vivian and Louis to reach the space between the roots, where they collapsed almost exhausted.  

Vivian leaned against the tree and covered Louis’s body, which was groaning in pain, with her jacket. As she looked at Louis’s increasingly pale face, Vivian barely held back tears.  

All she could do now was pray that Rayden would find her and Louis quickly.  

“I’m sorry.”  

At Vivian’s words, Louis, who had been enduring the pain with his eyes closed, opened his eyelids.  

“If only I were better at riding…”  

Vivian, sitting with her knees drawn up in front of Louis, trembled as she spoke. Looking at Vivian’s face, struggling to hold back tears, Louis patted the ground beside him.