“Miss!”
I let out a deep sigh at the familiar voice from behind me. But I quickly erased the expression from my face and turned around.
“Cassian? What’s wrong?”
“I was having a meal on the first floor when I saw you stepping out…”
Cassian stood there, wiping the sweat from his forehead with an awkward look on his face. I gave him a sheepish smile.
“Ah, I was just going out for a walk.”
“But the sun will start setting soon.”
I blinked blankly.
“Uh, I like walking around sunset…”
Cassian’s face brightened.
“Then let me join you!”
I fell silent at his enthusiastic voice.
For some reason, I could almost see a wagging puppy tail behind him.
Maybe he noticed my awkward expression, because Cassian quickly added in a flustered tone:
“I won’t be a bother. If it’s uncomfortable, please at least let me follow from a distance!”
“…”
“His Grace told me not to let you out of my sight, even for a moment!”
After a brief moment of hesitation, I nodded reluctantly.
“…Alright. Then let’s go together.”
“Thank you!”
Cassian beamed and stood behind me. I secretly shook my head and started walking.
The market was still bustling with people. I glanced sideways at Cassian following right behind me.
‘I was planning to gather some information from merchants and villagers…’
But with him tagging along, I couldn’t do that comfortably.
If I started asking around in front of him, he would surely find it odd.
“…Can’t be helped.”
“Pardon?”
Cassian asked, having heard me muttering to myself. I looked at him and said,
“Cassian. Actually, I’m looking for someone.”
“Pardon? Who are you looking for?”
“Uh, an old friend?”
“A friend?”
His eyes went wide. I scratched my cheek awkwardly and continued,
“Yes, a friend. We used to… see each other quite often in the past.”
It wasn’t a lie. He was in a novel, and I was in the real world, but still.
“Ah, so that’s why you rushed out!”
Cassian replied with a bright expression.
‘Why is he always so cheerful?’
As I looked at him in disbelief, he added,
“It’s amazing that you even have a friend in such a small town! Please go about your business freely. I’ll just follow quietly without interfering!”
I hesitated for a moment but eventually gave a reluctant nod.
I thought, “Well, it should be fine,” and turned my gaze back to the still-crowded market.
Then, I suddenly stopped in my tracks after spotting something among the crowd.
It was a street stall selling cheap accessories. I quickly walked over to it.
“Excuse me. May I ask you something?”
An old man who seemed to be the stall owner looked up at me suspiciously.
“Is there a hill around here with a farm on it?”
But the man just stared at me silently.
After watching him for a moment, I had no choice but to take out a coin and offer it.
“There’s a farm on a hill. It’s near a field of reeds.”
The old man’s wary expression faded slightly as he took the coin and examined it.
“There are plenty of farms around here.”
“Sorry?”
“But if you mean the one on the hill…”
He glanced at me and finally opened his mouth.
“Just keep heading north along this road.”
That was exactly the answer I needed. I bowed my head with a bright smile.
“Thank you!”
Cassian followed close behind me as I moved quickly.
But perhaps I had been in too much of a rush.
I didn’t hear the merchant muttering to himself behind me.
“…Strange girl. Why ask the way to the cursed land?”
* * *
As I struggled to climb the hill, I kept glancing back at Cassian.
‘Would it be too much to ask him to carry me?’
He was walking up the steep hill as if it were flat ground, looking completely unbothered.
Meanwhile, I was wiping sweat from my forehead, struggling to catch my breath.
To think I’d sweat this much even in the middle of winter… the hill was steeper than I expected.
“Miss, the sun is starting to set…”
Cassian’s concerned voice came from behind me.
After catching my breath, I pointed toward a faint silhouette at the top of the hill.
“Haah… We’re almost there. We just need to get to that cabin up ahead.”
Cassian’s expression brightened at my words.
“Ah, then we just need to hurry a little!”
I nodded and mustered my remaining strength to press on.
Fortunately, the slope eased slightly near the top of the hill.
As the cabin grew clearer in view, Cassian asked beside me,
“You must be very close to this friend!”
“Huh?”
“If you’ve come all this way just to see them, you must be close.”
I nodded with a half-hearted smile, looking at his innocent face.
“Well… he’s a very helpful friend.”
Cassian nodded like he completely understood. As I turned my head, I realized we were quite close to the cabin now.
My pace quickened. The landscape Adam had shown me unfolded around me.
Vast fields of reeds, open meadows, and even flocks of sheep grazing peacefully.
This is the place.
After walking a bit more, we finally arrived in front of the cabin. I glanced at Cassian and said,
“Cassian, wait out here for a moment.”
He nodded. I quickly stepped up to the door and knocked.
But no answer came from within. Just as I was about to knock again—
“…Who is it?”
A gruff voice came through the door. But something felt off.
‘That’s not the prince.’
It was too deep and rough to belong to a nineteen-year-old prince. Tilting my head, I replied,
“Excuse me. I just have a quick question.”
There was silence beyond the door. Getting nervous, I hurriedly added,
“It’ll only take a moment, I promise.”
Creeeeak.
The wooden door opened slowly. I froze at the face I saw through the crack.
A white-haired old man with a thick beard stood there, stroking his chin.
After eyeing me up and down, his gaze shifted to Cassian behind me.
The moment he spotted the sword on Cassian’s waist, his eyes filled with tension.
I watched his reaction, feeling awkward. Silence stretched between us.
Finally, the old man muttered reluctantly,
“…If it’s just for a moment, come in. But only you, miss.”
I nodded, still stunned. Then I stepped inside as the door creaked open.
The old man looked rather intimidating, so I turned slightly to look back at Cassian.
‘He’s outside, so I should be safe.’
Cassian also looked tense, his hand resting near the hilt of his sword.
‘Wait here,’ I mouthed silently. He nodded.
Without a word, I followed the old man into the cabin.
After passing a short hallway, the cozy interior came into view.
Tapestries woven with colorful threads hung on the walls, and a fire crackled in the fireplace.
As I looked around in a daze, the old man glanced at me and said curtly,
“Sit there.”
I looked behind me.
There was a sofa made of wooden frames, stacked with thick blankets.
As I sat down, I felt the soft cushioning beneath me. I barely had time to admire it when the old man asked, still frowning,
“…Didn’t you have a question?”
He clearly wanted to get it over with.
“Ah, right…!”
Snapping back to my senses, I spoke quickly.
“By any chance, does a young man with black hair and golden eyes live around here?”
The old man narrowed his eyes.
“Young man?”
“Oh, I mean— a bit older. A youth.”
Considering the prince’s age, that seemed more appropriate.
His cloudy eyes scanned me from head to toe, suspicion thick in his gaze.
“…I live here alone.”
“Then, is there perhaps another house nearby—”
“Didn’t you see on your way up?”
I blinked at his sudden interruption.
“See what?”
“The forest beyond the hill.”
“…The forest?”
I nodded as something came to mind.
Cassian and I had seen that vast forest while climbing the hill.
“I saw it. It looked quite large, but why—”
“You really don’t know?”
“…?”
“That’s the infamous Cursed Land. Who would live around there?”
My mouth slowly fell open.
So the place my father had marched off to subjugate… was here?
Now that I thought about it, he had ridden off in this direction.
I stood frozen in shock, my lips moving wordlessly.
“I have bad eyes, so I wouldn’t notice hair or eye color…”
I tensed at the old man’s next words.
“But there is someone who comes and goes around here. I do know one person.”
He stroked his beard, thinking deeply.
“…Goes by the name Tatio.”
My eyes widened at the unfamiliar name.
“There’s this fearless fellow who hunts around these parts and sells things to the townsfolk. I even bought something from him today.”
I looked where he gestured and saw a basket of red berries on the wooden table.
‘Tatio…’
I repeated the name silently.
One thing was certain—according to the vision Adam had shown me, the prince had definitely come here a few hours ago.
‘So it’s very likely this Tatio person is the prince…’
But the name was different.
Still, my expression shifted subtly.
‘…Come to think of it, a prince in hiding wouldn’t go around using his real name.’
I quickly asked the old man,
“Then do you happen to know where this Tatio person lives?”
The old man looked at me with a very strange expression.
