The Crown Prince looked at me and Shahar with a surprised expression.

“I didn’t know your stone had such abilities.”

“If it’s my mate, this level of ability is basic.”

“It seems quite useful. Would you consider handing it over to me? I’ll make sure to reward you handsomely.”

“Are you crazy?”

I forgot my fatigue and immediately sat up.

‘No one can borrow my stone!’

Just imagining someone else petting Shahar and tying a ribbon around him made my anger surge. Pinion shrugged at my intense reaction.

“I was just kidding.”

“Enough, let’s just get going.”

As soon as I finished speaking, Shahar glided smoothly. The Crown Prince also picked up his pace. After quite a while, the Crown Prince finally stopped. In front of him stood a massive stone, twice the height of an adult man. It was clearly smoothed and placed there by someone.

“I found this while exploring.”

“What is it?”

“It’s just a guess, but it might be a portal leading to Enril’s lair.”

“A portal?”

Now I understood why the Crown Prince was in such a hurry.

Mount Acheron had vast resources, but the most valuable treasure was undoubtedly the dragon lair. With Enril gone, there was hope of finding the lair, but its exact location remained unknown. The teleportation spell to the lair had been lost over time. Even the empire’s top mages and historians had been working for months without results. They couldn’t just excavate the entire mountain.

‘If I’m going back to another world anyway, what harm would it do to give a hint?’

Anyway, they were a couple with no answers.

“Your necklace might be the key.”

At the Crown Prince’s words, I took off my necklace and placed it against the stone. The pendant emitted a soft red glow, and some unrecognizable characters appeared on the stone.

“What’s this?”

“Hmm. This is ancient language, now completely lost. I wonder if anyone on the continent can still read it.”

“Does that mean this was a wasted trip?”

“We still gained something, so it wasn’t entirely in vain.”

As we descended the mountain, the Crown Prince suddenly spoke.

“Is Roengreen going to be officially added to your list of men soon?”

“What?”

“Actually, if you consider the order, Roengreen comes before Count Philip, right? He looked at you with such affection.”

The person who knew best that the rumors were false was acting strange. He used to mock me for dating anyone, but now that we were broken off, why was he acting like this? I didn’t want to talk to him, so I kept my mouth shut.

The season had fully transitioned into autumn. The deep forest was quite chilly even at midday, and with the recent rain, a light mist hung in the air. The smell of grass and wet earth was stronger than usual. As I sniffed the air, a sweet fragrance mingled with the fresh grass scent. It was a rich and dreamy aroma.

‘Is there a flowering tree nearby?’

I looked around, enchanted by the scent. Due to the thickening mist, I couldn’t see any flowering trees. After walking a few more steps, I heard laughter nearby. It sounded like the innocent chatter of children or the chirping of birds, a clear sound that lifted my spirits. I didn’t find it strange at all and kept walking.

Then I remembered not to stray too far from the Crown Prince. If I got lost, he would surely nag. Although I was disappointed not to find the flowering tree, I decided to turn back. Fortunately, I sensed someone behind me. It seemed the Crown Prince had followed me. Before he could start nagging, I spoke first.

“Don’t misunderstand. I was just about to turn back. Is there a path here? It seems like children have come this way.”

Surprisingly, he didn’t respond. While I was relieved not to hear nagging, being ignored made me feel annoyed.

‘Is he being petty and getting back at me?’

“Did you hear me, Your Highness? I think children have come this way.”

I turned to where Pinion had been, and froze. There was no one there. But what really shocked me was the mist. In just a few minutes, it had thickened and covered the entire forest.

‘Then who was following me?’

As if mocking my frozen state, I heard rustling leaves right beside me. Someone small brushed past me, but I could only hear and feel them, not see them. That’s when I snapped back to reality.

Though Mount Acheron was small compared to the mountain range Enril had ruled, it was still a place where a dragon had been sealed. It wasn’t a mountain that ordinary people could easily enter. How could children, barely reaching my waist, have made it here?

Realizing this, chills ran through my body. Why hadn’t I realized this simple conclusion sooner? It was as if I had been bewitched.

I reached into my pocket and tightly grasped Shahar. The solid feel of the stone reassured me. Still not fully convinced, I hurriedly pulled him out to check. I was never so glad to see his black, ugly form.

“It seems like fairies are playing tricks.”

Shahar said casually.

“Fairies…? Could they have slipped through the barrier?”

“Fairies aren’t bound by physical constraints, so even a small gap would be enough. However, I don’t understand why they’re doing this. They like to play pranks, but they’re not known to be malicious.”

Hearing it was fairies, I felt relieved. Though it was annoying that they entered the mountain without permission, fairies weren’t hostile to humans and didn’t have the power to threaten the capital.

“Maybe they were bored. But where did the Crown Prince go?”

Though he was usually annoying, I couldn’t help but wonder about his whereabouts in the middle of a deserted mountain.

“They probably took him too. Fairies like beautiful humans.”

“Oh, I see. Wait, does that mean the Crown Prince met their standards, but I didn’t…?”

Though it was fortunate, I felt oddly displeased. Seeing my expression, Shahar kindly replied.

“There’s no one more beautiful than my mate in this world or the next. Fairies prefer men over women, and the Crown Prince happened to catch their eye.”

“Thank you, Shahar. That’s really comforting… Right, what about Gined? He’s beautiful too! What if the fairies took him?”

“As a deeply trained priest, he’ll be fine. The stronger the faith, the greater the resistance to enchantment magic.”

“I see. Then shall we head down the mountain? The Crown Prince will probably come back after having some fun.”

Of course, I had no intention of looking for him. I was grateful to the fairies for taking him away. I hummed a tune as I followed the stream.

But no matter how much I walked, I kept ending up in the same place. Eventually, I couldn’t walk anymore and even riding on Shahar didn’t help us leave the mountain.

“What’s going on? Why can’t we get out?”

Since we hadn’t encountered anyone, it seemed others were also lost in the mist.

“The fairies are preventing us from leaving the mountain.”

“Why? They already took the Crown Prince. Isn’t that enough?”

“Maybe because—”

As Shahar was about to explain, I heard someone approaching.

‘Fairies?’

But the footsteps were too calm and measured for fairies. While I hesitated, the presence drew closer.

“Shahar.”

I whispered, and Shahar transformed into a long, slender sword. Despite the change in shape, the weight remained the same due to the law of conservation of mass, so I could wield him easily.

Gripping Shahar tightly with both hands, I prepared to strike.

“Hoo!”

Trying to overcome my fear, I took a deep breath and shouted confidently.

“Who’s there!”

Finally, the figure emerged from the mist. The first thing I noticed was a beauty that the mist couldn’t hide. I slowly lowered my hand holding Shahar.

“It’s me, lady.”