16. Breaking the Secret (1)

Constantine left again for subjugation at the request of some region.

Left alone, Saena immersed herself in her translation. She needed something to do, and since Arlesian was something she both liked and was good at, it was a perfect task to focus on.

“…Oh! Oh oh?!”

Wait! Is this real?

Though she had devoted so much time to Arlesian, had there ever been such a thrilling moment?

“Deep…, final…, prepared…”

At some point, it felt like a light switched on in her brain, and the black diamond’s phrases seemed to flow smoothly in interpretation.

“Water…, hot… hot, key…?”

But that moment was brief.

Aagh! Saena pulled at her own hair.

The thread that seemed to be unraveling smoothly suddenly snapped, and her brain, which had started heating up, seemed to cool down abruptly.

“It can’t be hot key!”

Doesn’t it make no sense? A hot key!

Saena threw the quill pen onto the desk.

The recoil scattered ink everywhere creating stains, but she didn’t even think about cleaning them up.

“Sigh…”

There were many strangely repeating phrases that couldn’t be interpreted. It seemed there must be grammatical structures that Saena didn’t know.

‘Actually, he didn’t even specifically ask me to decode it…’

It felt like Saena was alone in clinging to an unnecessary sense of duty.

‘It’s not like solving this will solve our relationship either.’

Nevertheless, unable to just sit still, it felt like she was clinging to something pointless just to do something.

“Ahh…”

As proof, whenever she got distracted for a moment, sighs escaped. Thoughts kept creeping in through the cracks.

Saena jumped up.

She suddenly felt so stifled that she thought she might die if she didn’t get some fresh air right away. She needed an open space and abundant fresh air.

Horseback riding naturally came to mind.

Though it wasn’t particularly a hobby she enjoyed, perhaps galloping across the fields would clear her mind somewhat.

‘They say if you empty your mind and run like crazy across the fields, all your stress will disappear, right?’

Brother Sage often said such things, but neither Yuri nor Saena really believed it. No, maybe it was just that neither of them had any interest in horseback riding.

But now somehow those words gained a lot of credibility.

Though she wasn’t quite sure, Saena might have been feeling what was called stress. Galloping across the open field felt like a desperately needed release.

As soon as she decided to go horseback riding, Saena called a maid to prepare her riding clothes and notify the stable keeper.

“Kyang?!”

Just as she finished dressing in her riding clothes and was about to leave, Yolly suddenly woke up and came running. Come to think of it, for some reason today Yolly hadn’t gone out and had stayed in the room.

“Yolly?”

“Kyaang?”

Was he asking where she was going?

“I’m going horseback riding for a bit.”

“Kyang! Kyang kyang!”

“What, you don’t want me to?”

“Kyaang!”

“You want to come along?”

He spun around as if chasing his tail and barked “Kyang!” which seemed to mean yes.

It was strange how he asked to come along as if he’d been waiting for this. Though it was cute enough to make her laugh spontaneously, she didn’t mind.

“Alright. You’re about the size of a hunting dog now, so speed shouldn’t be a problem. Let’s go.”

“Kyang!”

Saena headed to the stables with Yolly.

“Please prepare a suitable horse.”

At her request, the stable keeper brought out a gentle-looking mare, saddled it, and adjusted everything to fit her build.

Once the saddle was secured, Saena mounted the horse immediately.

“Where’s a good place around here for a light ride?”

“If you go past the north gate and a bit further, there’s a field, ma’am.”

“Thank you.”

“But, my lady! Are you going out alone?”

“Ah.”

She had just come out wanting to leave quickly, but hmm.

“I’ll just ride around nearby and come back soon. It’s fine.”

“But still…”

She felt like she would die of suffocation if she didn’t leave right away.

For some reason, Saena found it difficult to wait even that moment.

Besides, Yolly was with her, wasn’t he?

“Go inform the main building. Find Sir Rupert Vishelma.”

“Yes, yes!”

Saena immediately turned the horse’s head and passed through the north gate.

As the stable keeper had said, beyond the north gate stretched a field perfect for horseback riding. Seeing there were no obstacles, Saena spurred her horse to increase its speed.

The feeling of cutting through the wind was better than she had imagined.

Coming out, spring was in full bloom everywhere. Wildflowers bloomed all around and greenery flourished. The fragrant spring scent mixed with the rushing wind filled her lungs, making her feel somewhat less stifled.

Yolly kept up with the horse’s speed. No, he ran ahead of the horse the whole time at an even faster pace, as if leading Saena. Without realizing it, Saena let go of her thoughts and endlessly followed behind Yolly.

That was why. Why they ended up going much further than intended.

“…Wow.”

At some point, she came to her senses.

An incredible sight spread before her eyes.

A vast lake.

Though geographically it was clearly a lake, it was so enormous it looked like the sea.

Saena dismounted and scooped up some lake water in her palm. She touched it slightly to her tongue and confirmed it was freshwater. It was definitely a lake.

‘I wonder if this entire wide surface freezes over in winter?’

If so, she thought it would be quite a spectacular sight.

The majestic forces of nature can overwhelm people with their scenery alone.

The emotion humans usually feel at such times is awe.

Saena was no exception.

As she took in the sight of the sparkling lake whose reflection etched itself into her pupils, Yolly tugged at the hem of her dress with his teeth.

“…Hmm? What?”

Having caught Saena’s attention, Yolly suddenly ran toward the lake and jumped into the water.

“…Hey?! Yolly!!”

He paddled his four legs and went deeper and deeper inside.

Though there’s a term ‘doggy paddle’, meaning canines instinctively swim well, Saena still felt anxious.

“Hey! Yolly! Come here! Where are you going?!”

Though the back of his head getting further from the shore looked confident, Saena couldn’t calm down at all.

Why was he going deeper and deeper inside?!

As Saena called Yolly’s name while anxiously pacing, she felt her heart drop.

At some point, Yolly disappeared from view. She couldn’t even see the back of his head anymore.

“Yolly–!”

Saena hurriedly took off just her riding boots and jumped into the lake.

Though it was spring, the lake water that had remained cold all winter was freezing cold, making her feel like her bones were turning to ice.

It was fortunate she wasn’t wearing a dress. If she had been in a dress, the skirts would have tangled and made swimming impossible.

Saena vigorously moved her arms and legs in the direction Yolly had gone.

Reaching about where Yolly had disappeared, Saena quickly tried to dive. If he had sunk down there…

‘……!?’

Though she tried to dive in the middle of the lake, for some reason as soon as she put her head under the surface, she hit something.

Startled, Saena came back up to the surface with disturbed breathing.

“Huah…!”

“Kyang!”

When she surfaced, Yolly was right in front of her. He came over, shaking himself off, and licked her forehead with his tongue.

“…Huh?”

The spot where she was hit hard was throbbing.

‘No, wait…. Walking?’

What kind of situation was this?

Come to think of it, wasn’t her body positioned as if she’s sitting down with arms braced against a solid floor?

Though water splashed around her neck, the feeling of the surface beneath her hands and the solid sensation under her bottom clearly felt like she was standing on land.

Yolly licked her a few times then walked in the opposite direction. As he walked further, the water level lowered until he stepped onto completely dry land and barked at Saena.

“Kyang!”

As if telling her to come up.

“……?”

Before her eyes stretched vast land.

Yes, there was land.

Land? How…

Was it like an island in the lake?

‘But I couldn’t see anything from the shore?’

Unable to understand at all, Saena walked back in the opposite direction.

“Ah!”

Suddenly the ground beneath her feet gave way and she plunged into deep water.

Oof! She frantically regained her balance and surfaced.

Turning to look toward the center of the lake, she couldn’t see any land or island.

‘What kind of ghost trick is this?’

No matter how many times she blinked, she couldn’t see it.

Yet when she swam inside, there was clearly an island there.

“Kyaang?”

Yolly tilted his head looking at Saena as if to say ‘What are you doing, not coming up?’

‘Ah, the land of the Oathkeepers has so many strange things.’

Though she wasn’t sure, it seemed like some phenomenon related to the Guardian Spirit.

There must be some kind of barrier in the middle of the lake preventing this island from being visible from the outside.

“But how did you find this place, Yolly?”

“Kyaaang?”

Playing innocent again.

It seemed he had led her here because he wanted to show this place to Saena.

‘Though I don’t know why.’

Finally understanding somewhat, Saena came out of the water. Water dripped from her wet clothes, and her feet were bare.

Fortunately, the ground seemed smooth enough that walking without shoes wouldn’t be bad.