CH 83

Gareth’s restlessness grew throughout the day, and by noon, he was thoroughly irritated. All day, he had purposely entered and exited the hall multiple times, but hadn’t been able to bump into Elena. The woman’s silence would always make him feel uncomfortable. Unable to stand the uneasiness any longer, Gareth eventually made his way into the kitchen.

“Where’s Elena?” he asked Madel.

“I have no clue, either,” Madel replied immediately.

Gareth narrowed his dark eyes. “You don’t know? How come you don’t know? Wasn’t she here just this morning?”

“She didn’t come down today.”

An ominous feeling passed through Gareth at that moment, shaking his heart. His face ashened in an instant. Gareth immediately turned around and dashed up to the second floor, throwing open the door to his bedroom. He was hit in the face by a rush of cold air from the frigid, empty room. There was no hint of light in the fireplace.

“Elena!” he yelled as frightening thoughts rolled and crashed into him like rapid currents. Gareth stormed out of his room and searched through every room on the second floor, but it was to no avail—Elena was nowhere to be seen. The servants, maids, as well as his men were only able to stand by and watch him shout and run around in distress.

“Send people to search the villages and the forest to find her,” Gareth ordered, sounding out of breath. He then ran downstairs.

‘Elena’s missing. She’s not here. I can’t believe she’s not here…’ Gareth had never felt this way before. He felt as if his heart was being squeezed and torn out of him. ‘Elena!’

* * *

With the snow piled up to her knees, Elena followed what seemed to be a deserted path. She was convinced that Gareth wouldn’t come looking for her, but didn’t want to see him if he did. The snow followed her and erased her footsteps. Elena continued to walk silently in the deep woods, shivering from the cold. She didn’t know where to go, as there was no place else waiting for her. She couldn’t go back to Townsend estate or Gareth’s estate. Although she had no destination, she continued to walk as the fierce blizzard hindered her vision.

Elena trudged until she ended up tumbling down a slope at the end of the deserted road. “Ugh!” she grunted.

* * *

Elena barely managed to open her eyes. She didn’t know how long she was unconscious for, but when she came to, she was lying diagonally in the snow. Her vision was blurry as she looked up and observed the sky. It seemed that she hadn’t been able to realize that the road had ended. She tried to lift herself up, but ended up laying back down in defeat. She was exhausted, and didn’t have any energy left in her. Moreover, there was no reason for her to get up again. Elena closed her eyes as the snow piled onto her like a blanket.

* * *

“She’s not here.”

“She’s not here, either.”

Drenched in sweat, Gareth listened to his subordinates’ urgent words with a vacant look on his face. The days were shorter during the winter, and for this reason, he had mobilized everyone to thoroughly search the estate. Despite their efforts, Elena was still nowhere to be found. Gareth’s shaky eyes inadvertently drifted towards the boundary of his territory.

‘Don’t tell me… she…’ Gareth immediately turned his warhorse and shouted, “We’ll search the woods outside the walls!”

Gareth dispersed his men outside the estate. He knew that Elena wouldn’t have taken the easy route if she had really decided to leave this place. Nevertheless, he sent a few people to search the well-built roads with Giggs and led the rest of his men into the forest. The snow, which had piled up to their knees, was still falling, forcing everyone to dismount their horses and continue the search on foot instead. As the sun began to set, the forest quickly became blanketed in darkness and filled with the wind’s grotesque howls.

With igniting sounds, torches were lit. ‘I have to find her no matter what,’ Gareth told himself. Thick droplets of sweat rolled down his forehead as his body became colder and colder.