Reynard tried to stop Epha.

Only when they emerged from the forest and reached the edge of the cliff was he finally able to bring the horse to a halt.

A slight turn of the head was enough to reveal the sheer drop just ahead.

The thought of having fallen down that cliff made his head spin.

Reynard let out a sigh of relief and checked on Evelyn, who was curled up and trembling in front of him.

“Are you alright?”

As he spoke to her, Evelyn’s body flinched sharply. Then, as if the fear had finally overwhelmed her, she began to cry.

Reynard gently patted her back and let out another heavy breath.

‘So this was it—the scheme Hesta’s delegation had planned.’

He had assumed Evelyn would be directly attacked, so he had focused the guards around her.

But Hesta’s side had instead targeted the horse she was riding.

It had been a plan to spook Epha and send her into a frenzy, causing Evelyn to fall.

Even if Evelyn had been skilled at riding, calming a suddenly panicked horse wouldn’t have been easy.

Let alone for Evelyn, who had only been learning to ride for just about a month. There was no way she could have controlled a startled Epha.

It was sheer luck that she hadn’t been thrown off when Epha first reared up.

She had already faced multiple life-threatening incidents due to abrupt decisions. This must have been an enormous shock.

As Evelyn continued to cry uncontrollably, Reynard carefully embraced her.

Her slight tremble was fully conveyed through their contact.

Evelyn was delicate and fragile.

She was from a world entirely different from his—a world where one hadn’t needed to constantly fight to survive.

He began to regret dragging her into this.

Keeping her close despite knowing her true identity had been a moment of fleeting impulse.

He had only wanted to repay the compassion a young girl had once shown him over a decade ago.

He never intended to corner her like this.

Countless thoughts raced through his mind.

In the meantime, Evelyn, still venting her sorrow, gradually began to calm down as she absorbed the warmth from his embrace.

“Take a deep breath in, then slowly let it out.”

Reynard whispered into her ear.

Following his instructions, Evelyn took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, repeating the process.

Perhaps it was working—her ragged breathing gradually returned to normal.

“Are you alright?”

Reynard asked her in a low voice.

Unable to answer right away, Evelyn nodded in response.

Then Reynard placed his hand over Evelyn’s, which was still gripping the saddle handle.

She had held on so tightly that her hands were completely pale.

Gently, Reynard loosened her grip.

Then, as if to warm her now-cold hands, he wrapped them slowly in his own.

“You held on well.”

“……”

That one short phrase—You held on well.

Those few words moved Evelyn deeply.

“You endured it well.”

“…I did.”

“What?”

Evelyn mumbled something in a tiny voice.

Even though they were close together, her words were so quiet that Reynard furrowed his brow and asked again.

Evelyn swallowed dryly, then took a deep breath and spoke.

“I believed Your Majesty would save me. That’s how I was able to endure it.”

In that moment, when Epha was charging wildly, the only person Evelyn could think of was Reynard.

Because he had told her he would save her, she had been able to desperately hold on—even in the face of death.

“Thank you. For saving me.”

Tears threatened to fall again, but Evelyn bit down hard on her lower lip, trying desperately to hold them back.

Showing such a pitiful sight once was already more than enough.

She had survived.

No matter what the outcome, she had survived.

Had Reynard not tried to save her, she would have certainly fallen off the cliff.

“Truly, thank you.”

“Evelyn!”

With those final words, Evelyn lost consciousness.

She slumped into Reynard’s arms.

He held her quietly for a moment without saying anything.

***

“Your Majesty the Emperor! Your Majesty the Empress!”

How much time had passed?

Voices of soldiers searching for them rang out from the brush they had come through.

Reynard turned his head toward the direction of the sound.

It didn’t take long for the soldiers to push through the undergrowth and appear.

“Are you alright?”

Upon seeing Reynard and Evelyn, the soldiers rushed over in a panic to check their safety.

Reynard raised his index finger to his lips, signaling them to stay quiet.

It meant to be quiet.

The confused soldiers finally turned their eyes toward the unconscious Evelyn.

Then, as if belatedly understanding why Reynard had wanted silence, they nodded.

“The Empress’s condition isn’t good. We’re returning immediately.”

Reynard gave the order to the soldiers in a low voice.

At the same time, he moved Epha’s reins and slowly led her away from the cliff.

***

Unable to bear the bright sunlight pouring in, Evelyn furrowed her brow and slowly opened her eyes.

The sudden light stung her eyes, which had grown accustomed to the darkness, and for a moment everything flashed.

Blinking a few times to adjust, Evelyn finally realized she was in a bedroom.

Now that she had regained consciousness, she thought she ought to sit up, but she quickly failed.

Her left arm felt oddly heavy—different from the rest of her body.

Puzzled, Evelyn turned her head to check her left arm.

And only then did she realize the reason for the weight.

A large man was asleep, lying with his head resting on her arm.

She didn’t know how or why he had ended up sleeping next to her, but his head on her arm had made it difficult for her to move.

She carefully tried to slide her arm out from under Reynard.

But she quickly gave up.

He was heavier than she had expected.

Evelyn lay back on the bed and blinked up at the ceiling.

Instead of trying to get up again, she focused on understanding why she had woken up in bed so suddenly.

Her last memory was of the hunting tournament.

She had been worrying that Hesta’s delegation might cause trouble, and then Epha had suddenly gone wild.

Clinging desperately to the frenzied Epha, Evelyn had held on with the sheer will to survive.

A mysterious belief that Reynard would save her had filled her mind.

And just as she had believed, Reynard had saved her.

Only he would ever know the terror Evelyn must have felt when she saw the cliff where Epha had stopped.

Still, she had lived.

She had survived.

After overcoming that huge crisis, a strange feeling began to well up in Evelyn’s chest.

That feeling stemmed from the man whose head was pressing down on her left arm.

Just as Evelyn was lost in her thoughts, Reynard furrowed his brow and opened his eyes.

He blinked a few times, then lifted his upper body.

Their eyes met as Evelyn quietly looked at him.

“Are you feeling alright?”

Reynard asked, concern in his voice.

Evelyn gave a slight smile and nodded.

“Yes, I’m alright. And thank you. For saving me.”

“One thank you is enough.”

“Oh… okay.”

At Reynard’s blunt reply, Evelyn let out a small laugh.

“I’m glad you’re alright. You were unconscious for three days. I was worried something might be wrong.”

“What?”

Evelyn’s eyes widened in surprise at Reynard’s unexpected words.

“I was unconscious for three days?”

At her question, Reynard gazed quietly at her.

Then he gently corrected her words.

“You weren’t asleep. You lost consciousness.”

With that, Reynard pulled on the bell cord.

Soon there was a knock at the door, and a familiar voice came from beyond it.

“You called for me?”

“Come in.”

With Reynard’s permission, Laura entered the bedroom.

“Bring some water.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Laura took a nearby water jug and filled an empty cup.

She placed it on a tray and brought it over to Evelyn.

Evelyn carefully sat up and took the cup Laura handed her, drinking a little.

The cool water on her dry lips made her feel somewhat alive again.