Chapter 14
Ariella’s lips pressed tightly shut.
How could he say something like that so casually?
Yet Dmitri didn’t seem to think much of it.
“It looks like it’s going to rain.”
Just as he said, the weather was getting worse and worse.
It was hard to believe that the sky had been so bright this morning, but now thick storm clouds loomed in the distance.
“Yes.”
While Ariella responded, Grey, who had been walking quietly by her side, suddenly began to growl.
As the dog entered full alert, Dmitri’s body tensed sharply.
Why, why again?
“A bear.”
“What?”
“Shh.
Be quiet.
It sounds really angry.”
He can tell it’s angry just from its breathing?
Dmitri crouched lower, forcing Ariella to bend with him.
With his injured arm, he adjusted his grip on his sword and stretched out his other hand to grasp Ariella’s firmly.
“Don’t worry.
I’ve hunted bears plenty of times before.”
“Y-Yes.”
“If we take that thing down, we won’t need to hide anymore.
We can go straight back.”
Dmitri turned his head toward her and gave her a reassuring smile.
After scanning the surroundings, he seemed to spot where the bear was and crouched even lower.
Ariella’s heart pounded furiously in her palm where their hands touched.
But strangely enough… even knowing an enraged bear was out there in the dark forest, she didn’t feel afraid.
“Ariella, listen to me carefully.
If I let go of your hand, run to that thick tree over there and hide behind it.
See it?”
“What?”
“Do you understand?”
Ariella checked the tree’s position, then gave a firm nod.
Only after receiving her promise did he move again.
One step, two steps, and then a great leap forward.
“Now!”
The moment Dmitri released her hand, Ariella sprinted in the direction he’d pointed.
But she tripped over a fallen branch and fell with a thud.
Looking back, she saw it as an enormous bear, towering like a house, spreading its arms wide and threatening him.
Grey barked ferociously at Dmitri’s side.
Though dwarfed by the beast, the dog never backed down.
When the bear swung a massive paw, Grey darted aside and growled again.
“Ariella, run!”
Only when Dmitri roared did she scramble up and dash with all her strength.
Even from afar, the tree was thick enough to completely hide her small frame.
Clutching the tree tightly, she peered out at Dmitri.
Even with his injured arm, he moved without hesitation.
The ghost of the battlefield.
Hell incarnate among the living.
Phrases she’d once heard from Gerald surfaced in her mind.
She couldn’t stop trembling, yet she couldn’t look away either.
Even in the midst of deadly combat, his movements were terrifyingly elegant.
What if his wounds tear open again?
Her heart pounded wildly, stirred by emotions she couldn’t explain.
Just as the bear’s ferocity began to wane, a group of horsemen appeared from the direction of the setting sun.
Ariella narrowed her eyes at them.
At first, she thought Eric had arrived with reinforcements.
But it wasn’t him.
If it had been, he would have rushed straight to Dmitri’s aid.
Dmitri, with his back to them, was too focused on the bear to notice.
Ariella studied the newcomers more closely.
‘No way….’
At their lead was the Emperor.
She couldn’t believe he was here but that dazzling golden hair was unmistakable.
Frederick simply observed, watching his son possibly about to be crushed by a bear.
But what happened next was even more shocking.
The Emperor drew a bow from horseback.
Was he going to shoot the bear?
She thought until Dmitri shifted left, and Frederick’s arrow tracked his son instead.
No.
That had to be a mistake.
But then Dmitri moved again, and once more, the Emperor adjusted his aim toward him.
This can’t be real.
His son is fighting a bear, and he points an arrow at him?
No matter how much he despises him, how could he think of killing his own child?
Even from a distance, she felt it was his murderous intent.
Ariella opened her mouth to scream, but in that instant, the Emperor tilted his aim slightly.
This time, the arrow was aimed at Grey.
The loyal dog, terrified yet unwilling to flee, stood his ground to protect his master.
Ariella remembered Dmitri’s warm gaze whenever he looked at Grey.
“No.”
Today, the horse had already died because of a trap laid by his father.
If Grey died, too?
The Emperor pulled the bowstring taut.
This time, he truly meant to release.
Perhaps he could not kill the Crown Prince outright.
But he could still strip away the few scraps of warmth his son held dear.
Her body moved before her mind could.
The thought of punishment for standing against the Emperor didn’t even cross her mind.
“Grey!”
“Move, now!”
If Grey dies, my boy’s heart will darken even further!
Her scream rang through the forest, so loud that the Emperor flinched in surprise.
His hand trembled, and the arrow veered off its course.
Ariella threw herself forward.
For an instant, she thought she met Dmitri’s eyes, but then everything blurred.
“Ugh.”
Pain tore through her side.
Lifting her gaze, she saw the arrow buried deep into the tree in front of her.
‘Ah, it missed.
Thank goodness.’
She frantically looked around. Grey was safe, though shaken and standing some distance away.
Relief cooled her chest.
But Dmitri’s eyes were wide with horror.
At that moment, the bear lashed out with both paws.
“Aaah!”
As Ariella squeezed her eyes shut in fear, Dmitri drove his sword straight into the bear’s neck.
He then rushed toward her as the beast collapsed with a heavy crash that shook the ground.
“Ariella!”
He caught her in his arms just as the bear’s body went limp and crashed to the earth.
“Are you okay?
Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine.”
He grabbed her arm and she let out a pained groan.
“What did you do?
You’re bleeding!”
“What else could I do?
Grey could have died.”
Dmitri fell silent.
He hadn’t flinched at his own torn flesh, yet now he looked at Ariella’s wound with a strange expression.
An expression she’d never imagined from him one that made her foolishly think maybe, just maybe, there was hope.
Before she realised it, her hand reached for his furrowed brow, as if to smooth the crease away.
Startled, she pulled back instantly.
What am I doing…?
Grey padded over, circling her protectively, as if he knew she had saved him.
Ariella smiled gently at the pitiful creature.
Her arm stung, but it wasn’t a deep wound.
“I’m fine.
Really.
The arrow hit the tree.”
“If it had shifted even slightly, it would’ve struck you directly.”
“Th-that’s true, but…”
“You could have died!”
“……”
“Stay locked in the tower for now.
I’ll get you out soon.”
That’s too much.
Does he think words alone justify everything?
“I absolutely refuse.”
Pushing him away, Ariella leapt to her feet. A slight dizziness swept over her, but it wasn’t just from the injury.
“See?
I’m fine.”
She marched briskly, and Dmitri stood as well.
With a swift motion, he caught her hand and strode forward, pulling her along.
The cabin was in better condition than she’d expected, likely used often during hunts.
Though a bit dusty, it was neat and orderly.
Inside the spacious room were a single bed, a table, and a fireplace.
The kitchen area had a cupboard and a small dresser.
By then, the sun had set completely, leaving long, sharp shadows across the cabin floor.
Dmitri seated Ariella on the bed, then fetched disinfectant and bandages from the dresser.
Placing the supplies beside her, he pulled over a wooden chair without a back and sat in front of her.
Sunset light bathed half his face in gold, while the other half was swallowed i
n shadow.
The stark contrast made it seem as though both good and evil resided within him capable of being a tyrant, or a virtuous ruler.
Ariella’s throat went dry.
She cleared it awkwardly.
Only then did she notice the many wounds across his body the claw marks raked across his chest by the bear.
