CH 98

Riding through the forest, Herwin saw a yellow flag in a small clearing and dismounted.

“I can’t believe I came all this way and couldn’t find it…….”

A yellow flag, a sign of proximity to the forest entrance. He scanned the outskirts, asking people he met along the way to help him locate the monster.

But even after all this time, he still hadn’t found the monster.

The hunt was coming to an end. As the minutes ticked by, he had an ominous feeling. 

Aaaahhhhhhhhhh!

In the distance, a scream could be heard. Herwin reacted quickly, reining in his horse and heading toward the sound.

As he cut through the grass, he saw a pale man crouched on the ground.

“Are you all right?”

“Phoe, Master Phoenaeus?”

“I heard screaming, so I came over. What happened?”

Looking at the man, his right arm was swollen as if it had been hit by something. Herwin’s hand touched the arm and the man groaned.

“You’re hurt, let’s get you some medical attention…….”

“Mo, monster! There’s a monster!”

Herwin looked up reflexively as he examined the man’s arm.

“A monster, did you run into one?”

“Yes, yes, that’s right, I was hunting a beast and suddenly a monster appeared…….”

The man was terrified and shaking with fear, but he explained what had happened to him.

The man said he was in an ambush to hunt a deer when he heard a strange noise behind him. When he turned around, he saw an orc standing there.

The man managed to dodge, but the orc then grabbed him by the arm.

Just when the man thought he was going to die, the orc suddenly shook him off and headed elsewhere.

‘You’re lucky you didn’t die after all that.’

He was lucky to have survived the orc, which could break a man’s arm with its strength alone. 

“But why did the orc suddenly change direction?”

“Well, I don’t know about that, I thought it might have spotted something…….”

Squeak! Squeak!

Just then, a creepy wailing sounded in the distance. As Herwin turned his head with a puzzled expression, the man spoke.

“Probably the monster cub, that one, it’s been crying since before the hunting festival even started.”

“Cried the whole time?”

“Yes, sometimes I couldn’t hear him because he got tired, but he kept crying.”

Herwin’s face paled as he realized what was happening. He quickly rose from his seat and mounted his horse.

“Master?”

“I’m going to go first, you can go back on your own.”

“Now, wait!”

The man called from behind, but Herwin couldn’t waste any more time.

‘Damn it, I told them to kill him right then!’

There was only one reason for the orc’s sudden change of direction, leaving the man behind.

To save its cub.

Any delay would be catastrophic. Herwin clenched his jaw and urged his horse on, determined not to be late.

* * *

Returning with two hares and a fox, Bern brushed a stray strand of hair off his forehead.

‘How do I look at Lucia’s face?’

Bern’s mind kept lingering on the eve of the hunt. 

He told himself to be honest with Lucia and not deceive her, but as the time approached to meet her, he began to feel nervous again.

‘First, I need to apologize, and then….…’

Stalling for time would be deceiving Lucia. If he’ll be honest and tell her everything, she’ll understand.

Maybe she’ll even laugh it off as a joke. She’s the kind of person who would.

Still, Bern couldn’t calm down.

“Whoa…….”

Sweat trickled down his forehead in a steady stream. Without thinking, Bern grabbed a handkerchief and wiped it off.

Only then did he realize what he was holding.

In his hand was the handkerchief Lucia had given him.

The tiny embroidered forget-me-nots caught his eye. Bern clenched his fists.

“Bern, are you here?”

Lucia approached.

Bern bit his lip hard when he saw her blank face. 

“Good job, did you catch a lot?”

Lucia greeted Bern and glanced behind him. She could see the servants and knights bringing in two hares and a fox.

“You must have caught a fox, congratulations! You said you weren’t sure, but you’re a good hunter.”

Unaware of Bern’s feelings, Lucia simply treated him as usual.

For a moment, though, she noticed that Bern’s mood had dropped.

“Lucia.”

“Yes …….”

Lucia smiled and looked at Bern. Bern’s nervous eyes didn’t register the look on Lucia’s face now.

“I said there was something I wanted to tell me when I got back… I think I’ll tell you now.”

Bern let out a shaky breath and squeezed his eyes shut. Then he bowed his head.

“I’m sorry, Lucia, but I don’t think we can continue our engagement.”

“May I ask …… why?”

There was a hint of laughter in her voice, but Bern was too nervous to recognize it.

“I haven’t forgotten about Celine. I know how much she means to me and how good she is. Lucia has helped me on many occasions, but I could never forget Celine.”

“I see.”

“I’m really ashamed of myself. I know that no excuse works because I’m breaking up the marriage just for myself. I’ll leave it up to you, Lucia, and I’m so sorry.”

Lucia looked at Bern silently, who bowed his head. 

Bern had been honest enough to offer no excuses, only to admit that he was at fault, and that made her laugh.

Lucia held back her laughter, but the corners of her mouth twitched when she saw a young Bern behind him

“I understand where you’re coming from, Bern, and I appreciate your honesty.”

Bern opened his tightly closed eyes. When he finally looked up, his face was filled with a mixture of guilt and apology.

“Thank you… It’s not enough for me to apologize a hundred times…….”

“No, thank you. I can see how much you must have agonized over it before you made your decision. Actually, I kind of noticed. Bern’s eyes at Lady Jayson were very passionate.”

Bern, who had been absent-minded for a while, belatedly understood Lucia’s words, and his face burned at once. His normally smiling face crumbled, and Lucia laughed softly.

“A-am I that obvious?”

“Well, hiding it doesn’t make it invisible, and since you seem to be avoiding her unusually, I was just making my assumptions.”

Bern pouted his lips, then hung his head.

“God, I’ve been so mean to Lucia.”

“No, you haven’t. I enjoyed your company, even if only for a little while, it’s just that we both wanted different things.”

Bern briefly choked up at the sincere words and soon smiled.

“I’m glad we postponed the engagement, it would have cost a fortune to cancel it.”

“Haha, that too.”

Realizing that Lucia was joking to break the ice, Bern relaxed even more and laughed. 

His smile was so honest and without pretense that Lucia felt like she was finally facing the real Bern.

Lucia smiled back and asked.

“So, what do you think you’re going to do?”

Bern, who had paused for a moment, fiddled with her hand. In his hand was a handkerchief given by Lucia.

He looked at the forget-me-nots and spoke.

“I’m thinking of asking Celine to marry me.”

“Are you sure …… you’re okay with that? I’m sure people will stare and talk about it.”

If Bern, who said he was engaged to Lucia, suddenly marry Celine, it was clear that society would be shocked. Bern smiled bitterly as if he had expected it.

“I’ve already made up my mind. In fact, Celine had been coming on to me all this time, but I hadn’t taken her up on it, partly because of my engagement to Lucia, but mostly because I didn’t want to get my heart broken anymore.”

Lucia’s eyes fluttered as she realized Bern was feeling the same way.

“Until yesterday, I was so overwhelmed by my hurt that I dumped all my burdens on Celine, and she just stuck with me. I know it must be hard and scary for her too…….”

Lucia thought back to what had happened with Celine earlier. Sure enough, she shivered, but she gathered her courage. 

“So, you’re not scared of the stares?”

“I’d be lying if I said it didn’t scare me, but that’s okay because I love Celine that much.”

His words struck a chord in her chest, like something tight and stifling had been pierced.

The path that had seemed so unstable and scary had gradually become stable.

Lucia smiled at Bern for trying to move forward without a moment’s hesitation.

“I see, young lady. I didn’t have to tell you.”

Bern was dumbfounded, then followed Lucia’s gaze and turned around to see Celine approaching at any moment.

“Ce, Celine…….”

Celine bit down hard on her lower lip and eventually burst into tears.

“Bern, are you… are you really going to marry me?”

Bern looked at the crying Celine and walked over to her, confused, then looked back and forth between Lucia and Celine.

Lucia squared her shoulders and said.

“When Bern was out hunting, I had a long talk with her.”

“So, you knew about…….”

“Yes, I knew, and I was going to tell you to break the engagement first, but you hit the ball first.”

Bern was speechless. Yesterday Celine said she would try to persuade Lucia, but he didn’t know she really talked to her.

Then a tug on the hem of his dress made him turn his head.

“Answer me.”

Celine didn’t believe him when he said he loved her. She wanted to be sure.

Bern was grateful that Celine had approached him without reservation, even though she must have been very nervous.

Now it was his turn to approach her.

“Celine, I’m…….”

Lucia smiled at the two, who couldn’t have been happier.

Then she walked away from them.

‘Good for them.’

This is how it’s supposed to be. At first, they thought they couldn’t achieve their love and that marrying someone who could sympathize with their grief was the answer……….…

‘Things have changed now.’

Bern’s lover, whom he thought he had lost forever, has returned. Now his love was no longer unattainable.

“So am I.”

Lucia reached into her pocket and pulled out a handkerchief. She hadn’t taken it out when Herwin had begged for it.

Just a few hours ago, she had thought she shouldn’t give it to him.

It was something else to give to Herwin, although she had an unknowingly lingering regret.

She hadn’t been able to give it to him because of the conflicting interests, but now she doesn’t have to worry about anyone else’s judgment.

Lucia stroked the area where Herwin’s initials were engraved and smiled lightly.

“Herwin…….”

There’s something she wants to say when he comes.

Now, like Bern and Celine…….

Koooorrr! Koooorrr!

Lucia’s head snapped up from her thoughts at the sound.

She walked as fast as her feet would carry her, and before she knew it, she was near the cage with the baby monsters.

She kept hearing strange noises coming from somewhere, and it was the cries of this creature.

Koooo! Kooooo!

It was crying so hard that its voice cracked, and Lucia felt compassion for it.

She had always thought of monsters as evil beings that wreaked havoc on the world. But now that she saw it crying out in front of her, she felt a little sorry for it.

Seeing as if it was looking for its mother, Lucia reached out. But she pulled it back before it touched the bars.

“Herwin told me to be careful.”

He had told her to stay away from monsters, even if they were in cages.

It didn’t hurt to listen to Herwin, who had dealt with monsters many times before.

They might look pitiful now, but they were still monsters.

Lucia stepped back with a sour feeling in her heart. Just then, she heard a commotion in the distance.

Kooooooorraaaaaa!

A cry louder than a baby monster’s echoed through the forest.

“Kaaaahhh!”

“Mo, it’s a monster!”

“Everyone, avoid it!”

The noise grew even louder, and even if Lucia didn’t turn her head, it was obvious what was going on.

“Ugh!”

Amidst the screams and shouts, a monster bigger than a tent appeared. The monster attacked people as soon as it saw them.

Lucia’s legs trembled as she watched the scene unfold.

“I, I have to run…….”

As she stumbled backward, her eyes locked with the orc.