Chapter 77
Jonathan. That idiot. Thinks he’s clever, but really, he’s the biggest fool alive.
“Mana! Mango! Lemon! Where are you? Please… come out!”
Who knows how many hours she’d been wandering the same spot.
For the tenth time, Roje found the red hair ribbon she’d tied to mark her path. She dropped by a tree with a frustrated sigh and started cursing out poor Jonathan for no reason.
And honestly—
“In a forest this dense, not losing your way would make you a cat, not a human! Noah’s not bad with directions, everyone else is just normal!”
Calling Noah directionally challenged—yeah, that had been the first mistake.
Not that she’d come in here thinking, I’m not like him, so I’ll find the cats easily!
“Do trees have names or something? If I asked, ‘Hey, which way’s the lake?’ would they answer me?”
Her irritation had nowhere to go. The trees wouldn’t hear her complaints anyway, so she took her frustrations out on poor Jonathan again—him and his ridiculous homework assignments.
“Ugh… I’m the real idiot here.”
Leaning against the tree, Roje ran her fingers through her hair, tugging in frustration.
If there were a prize for stupidity, she’d be the champion.
‘Yeah, congrats to me. What an honor.’
She’d already gotten lost in the forest once before, following Oliver.
Thankfully, she’d been in cat form back then and could climb up a tree to find her way.
“If I’d just stayed put, maybe the cats would’ve come back on their own.”
The cheese-colored kittens might have found their way back by climbing trees too.
Unless Melissa had tied them up or locked them away somewhere.
—Because I told her to dump them there.
The way Melissa had said “dump them” probably meant she expected them to die out there.
So really, there was no need for Roje to come here herself.
“…This feels like punishment.”
Maybe karma—for that lie she told trying to set up Noah and Christina.
Then she remembered why no one ever used this forest for hunting, and a chill crept down her spine.
“What kind of dangerous animals come down from this mountain?”
If she’d at least known which “dangerous” beasts they were talking about, it might’ve helped.
Not knowing made it worse.
Bears? They said they caught one near the capital once, so there must be some here too.
A bear might be scary, but at least you could try to run or hide.
But what if it’s a leopard or something?!
If it was the kind of predator that wanted to kill her—well, that would be it.
The thought alone made her body start to tremble.
Not from fear this time, but because her sweat was cooling fast in the night air.
Should’ve brought a coat…
Running around like this wasn’t going to solve anything, and lately she’d been acting without thinking far too often.
“And of course, the stars are beautiful.”
Great. I’ll freeze to death before something eats me.
Still, her gaze lifted to the sky, filled with glittering stars.
“Noah will come find me, right?”
Because Noah was there—
That’s why she could still look up at the stars, why she could be reckless.
It felt strange, realizing how much peace came from simply knowing someone would come if she called.
“…I’m hopeless.”
So much for “becoming independent.” Here she was, sitting around waiting for Noah to rescue her.
No! Stay alert!
Roje scolded herself and got up, scanning her surroundings.
If something happens to me, what’s Noah going to do?
The thought of him finding her body—torn apart by some beast—made her stomach twist.
“I’ll… climb a tree or something.”
Whatever came her way, it’d be safer up there—out of sight.
Who am I? A cat beastkin!
Tree-climbing should’ve been easy for her.
…It wasn’t.
“If I could just grab that branch up there, I could climb the rest…”
But all the trees were old, their lowest branches far out of reach.
“Argh!”
Sure, she could jump higher than most people—but not that high.
If she could just grab that one branch—!
She tried again and again, only to fall back and roll on the ground each time.
Maybe I should just give up…
Right when she thought that—
…Huh?
Rustle.
Something was moving. The sound was too heavy, too deliberate to be human.
Oh no! Oh no oh no oh no! Move! Legs, MOVE!
Definitely four-legged. Definitely getting closer.
She flailed, leaping desperately for the branch—
“Waaah!”
She managed to grab it—only for her arms to give out.
Before she could hit the ground, someone caught her.
“Roje!”
It was Noah—holding the leash of a massive hunting hound.
“Noah…”
He came. She’d worried he might send someone else this time—but no, he came himself.
“You…”
Just like that first time, when she got lost in the forest.
He caught her then, too. But now the ground seemed closer—
Because Noah had fallen to his knees as he caught her.
Not from her weight, but because the relief hit him so hard his legs gave out.
He sank to the ground, clutching her tightly, his body trembling even harder than it had that first time.
“I’m fine, Noah.”
Sitting across his lap, Roje reached out, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing herself close.
See? I’m fine. Alive.
Just as Noah’s heartbeat always calmed her, she hoped he could feel hers too—steady, warm, alive.
Thump, thump.
As she stayed in his arms, the tension in his muscles eased, and so did her fear.
Maybe that’s why—
“Never again…”
“Huh?”
“I’ll never leave you alone again.”
“Okay.”
Even though Noah hadn’t calmed down yet, laughter bubbled up in her throat.
Noah had found her.
Sure, the hunting dog probably helped—but still, he’d found her.
And what amazed her most was how naturally she’d believed he would.
She’d never imagined she could trust anyone this much.
As she tried to steady her breathing, Noah finally released her, his bright golden eyes scanning her face.
“Are you hurt?”
“Nope. Perfectly fine.”
Those eyes—so full of warmth—could probably heal wounds on their own.
Noah was her sun. And without that sun, could she ever survive?
Every time she met his gaze, Roje’s heart filled with uncharacteristic thoughts—
I don’t want to leave. I want to stay by your side forever.
That would’ve been the perfect ending.
Except—
“So… did you come alone? Or do you know the way back?”
“…It wasn’t a path one could memorize.”
And just like that, the moment shattered.
He’d rushed in without thinking, too focused on finding her to remember how to get out.
“Haha… It’s fine. Someone will come eventually.”
“Are you hurt?”
“No, really. I’m okay.”
She worried he’d start blaming himself again.
“Oh! But my feet hurt. Maybe they’re scraped—can you check?”
“What?”
They actually did sting a bit, but mostly, she just wanted to lighten the mood.
“I tried climbing a tree like when I was a cat, but I slipped.”
“Show me your foot.”
And just like that—
“Mm… ahem.”
“Uh… so, what’s your dog’s name?”
—she managed to make the atmosphere even more awkward than before.
