Rachel and Ryan began slowly riding their horses into the mountain interior.

At the mountain entrance, there were no notable prey to be seen due to the many people who had entered on horseback.

The large and heavy game that people were looking for would undoubtedly be located much deeper in the mountain.

Although Rachel wasn’t particularly interested in hunting, since the Emperor had announced her as the protagonist of this hunting competition, she felt the need to show some visible results.

Rachel drove her horse deeper into the mountain, thinking she would catch a beast about the size of a wild boar and return.

Ryan followed her, driving his horse deeper as well.

“Come to think of it, is this your first time participating in a hunting competition?”

Ryan suddenly asked.

“Yes. Until now, I’ve only watched from the sidelines. This is my first time being a hunter myself.”

Until now, Rachel hadn’t been able to use combat magic, so there was no occasion for her to participate in hunting competitions.

Therefore, directly participating in the competition like this felt unfamiliar, but she didn’t think it would be particularly difficult.

“Then let me guide you. Come this way.”

Ryan, finally finding something he was better at than Rachel, began leading her.

Rachel followed him on horseback.

While slowly riding up the mountain, Rachel sensed several presences.

They weren’t the presences of prey.

They were following behind Rachel and Ryan.

One was Tervan, who was following a bit further behind.

Tervan had been following them consistently since Ryan and Rachel entered the mountain.

And finally, some unsettling presences whose identities were unknown.

They followed at the same pace whenever Rachel moved.

[Can you feel them?]

It seemed Rachel wasn’t the only one who sensed the followers.

Creon abruptly asked Rachel. She nodded slightly in affirmation, careful not to make it obvious.

‘Probably three?’

[That’s right, three.]

When Rachel guessed the number, Creon confirmed it.

‘Are they attackers?’

[That’s highly likely. I would think so.]

It would be more surprising if a group suppressing their presence and secretly following weren’t attackers.

‘Is their target me? Or… Ryan?’

[You and Ryan are so close together, it’s hard to distinguish.]

‘I suppose so…’

It was difficult to make a hasty determination.

So to identify the target, she would need to separate from Ryan.

Rachel glanced at Ryan.

He was in the middle of telling Rachel various trivial stories, completely unaware of those following them.

‘Separating isn’t an option.’

If the attackers were waiting for Rachel to separate from Ryan and then attack him, it would be difficult for her to respond.

Even though there were personnel accompanying Ryan, they didn’t seem reliable enough to trust completely.

Rachel had enough affection for Ryan that she didn’t want him to be harmed in such an incident.

Rachel slowly began to memorize magic spells.

Regardless of who the attackers were targeting, she wanted to memorize protective magic in advance so she could use it immediately later.

“There seems to be something over there.”

Ryan looked straight ahead as he spoke.

Rachel raised her head to check the direction Ryan was pointing. There was a deer with large antlers looking around.

“It’s a deer.”

“Yes. Even so, it’s quite large. Would you like to go first?”

Ryan asked, offering to yield to Rachel.

Rachel stared at the deer for a moment before shaking her head.

“No. You go first, Ryan. I’ll watch for now and then take my turn after.”

At her words, Ryan shrugged. Then he took out his bow and nocked an arrow.

Ryan pulled the bowstring as quietly as possible, worried that the deer might sense their presence and flee.

Everyone around maintained silence to accommodate Ryan.

Rachel, while watching Ryan’s actions, concentrated as much as possible on the presences she felt behind them.

‘Could they be sent by Duke Bermund?’

[That’s the most likely possibility.]

‘But why? Didn’t he want me to turn back time? There’s still quite some time left until the decision…’

[You might not be the target. Ryan would be a sufficiently worthwhile target.]

‘…’

Rachel glanced at Ryan.

Just as he was about to release the tightly drawn bowstring, she sensed movement from behind.

Rachel kept her gaze fixed straight ahead, pretending not to notice anything.

And at the moment of the ambush from behind, she spread a barrier around Ryan.

The attackers, unaware of this, threw daggers at Ryan and Rachel.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince!”

Belatedly, the knights guarding Ryan noticed the attack and drew their swords. They hurriedly deflected the daggers but couldn’t block all of them.

Fortunately, thanks to Rachel’s preemptive barrier, the daggers hit the barrier and fell to the ground.

“It’s an attack!”

Someone shouted loudly. At that signal, knights gathered around Ryan.

“Rachel!”

Ryan, buried among the knights’ protection, urgently called out to Rachel, but she had no time to pay attention to him.

This was because of the eerie feeling of something being fired at her next.

[Right rear!]

Concerned that Rachel might not notice, even Creon heightened his senses and advised her.

After using body enhancement magic, Rachel immediately tried to dodge in the direction from which she sensed the weapon coming.

However, before she could, someone embraced her and they fell to the ground together.

“Ugh!”

Rachel, who had suddenly fallen from her horse and rolled on the ground several times, groaned softly. Then she froze momentarily when she identified the person who had shielded her.

It was Tervan.

After rolling on the ground, Tervan quickly moved away from Rachel and examined her condition.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“…No.”

“That’s a relief.”

Having confirmed that Rachel was unharmed, Tervan drew his sword while shielding her behind him. Then he began surveying the surroundings cautiously.

Rachel also looked around. Just until a moment ago, she had been beside Ryan, but now he was nowhere to be seen. It seemed they had rolled quite far after falling from the horses.

‘The attackers?’

Rachel asked Creon, as she could no longer sense the attackers’ presence with her own senses.

[Not here. They seem to be near Ryan.]

Creon briefly answered Rachel’s question. Rachel felt considerable relief and tried to stand up.

“Ah!”

“Rachel?”

The moment Rachel tried to stand by placing her foot on the ground, she let out a cry of pain from her ankle.

Despite having experienced death several times, she still hadn’t developed a tolerance for pain.

“Are you okay? Did you hurt your leg?”

Tervan approached Rachel and asked. His voice was filled with concern.

Rachel, frowning from the pain, looked up at Tervan for a moment. Then she let out a small sigh.

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.”

“How can I not worry? You’re hurt. Let me see.”

Tervan reached out toward Rachel to examine her ankle. However, Rachel pushed his hand away in refusal.

“I can handle it myself.”

At Rachel’s words, Tervan paused for a moment and stared at her intently.

Feeling his gaze but pretending not to notice, Rachel extended her hand toward her reddened, swollen ankle.

As Rachel concentrated and used healing magic, a bright light emanated from her hand.

The light lingered on Rachel’s hand before moving to her ankle, where it enveloped it with a white glow before disappearing. Simultaneously, the pain vanished without a trace.

Tervan watched Rachel healing herself with his lips tightly pressed together.

Thanks to her rapidly improved magical skills, the healing process was completed quickly.

Tervan looked at her perfectly healed ankle before standing up.

“So you can walk now?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s go. The distance seems a bit farther than I thought.”

After finishing his words, Tervan extended his hand toward Rachel. He seemed to want her to take it and stand up. But Rachel didn’t take Tervan’s hand.

Rachel, having risen on her own, began to lead the way.

She had already sensed the flow of mana and determined Ryan’s location.

She judged it would be good to check on Ryan’s condition, as her magic would have been dispelled when her concentration was broken while rolling on the ground.

“This is the right way.”

Rachel began walking in a different direction from the one Tervan had indicated.

Tervan, who had been watching Rachel taking the lead, belatedly followed her. However, his steps were irregular, unlike his usual gait. This was because he too had been injured while rolling on the ground.