“I wouldn’t know either. But I think he sometimes went in and out of the Cursed Land. Looks normal, but he must be mad.”
I repeated the old man’s words in my head as I closed the door of the cabin behind me. The surroundings had grown quite dark.
“Miss, are you alright?”
Cassian approached with a worried expression and checked on me. I slowly nodded and turned my gaze toward the forest.
He said he wandered into the forest, didn’t he?
“No way…”
Suddenly, I had a terrible feeling.
And then it happened.
Fixing my gaze on the darkening forest, I slowly opened my mouth.
Someone was walking along the edge of the forest in the distance.
Without realizing it, I took a step toward them.
“Miss Selenea!”
Cassian called out to me, but I couldn’t stop. I had already started running.
It’s the same person I saw this morning!
That long brown robe, trailing to his feet, fluttered in the wind. I had seen it before.
In the daylight, his hood had been pulled too low for me to see his face, but now I could clearly see it.
Jet black hair.
So it really was the prince!
I recalled the vivid golden eyes I’d glimpsed beneath his hood and broke into a run.
My steps gained momentum as I ran downhill.
I was going so fast, I couldn’t have stopped even if I wanted to.
But the prince was already disappearing into the shadows of a massive tree.
“Miss!”
Cassian’s voice rang out behind me again, but a sudden gust of wind swallowed it completely.
The biting chill felt like it could freeze my nose. I shut my eyes tightly and kept running.
I didn’t know how long it had been.
The slope leveled out. Before I knew it, I was standing before the forest.
I slowly came to a stop.
Between the tall birch trees, I could just barely see a figure disappearing into the distance.
“Hey! You there!”
I shouted with all my strength, but he didn’t seem to hear me. The wind was too strong.
I stomped my foot and looked up.
The sun had long since disappeared over the hill. The sky had turned crimson, moments away from full darkness.
The wind howled fiercely, shrieking past my ears.
I stared helplessly at the retreating figure and reluctantly turned back.
And just a few minutes later…
I came to deeply regret that decision.
“I’m screwed.”
I whispered quietly, keeping my voice low.
Pressed against a large tree, surrounded by the pitch-black forest.
This is insane. I’ve lost my mind!
Deep regret surged within me. I closed my eyes tight.
With the sun fully set, not a single ray of light remained in the forest. I could barely see an inch in front of me.
But the worst part was the eerie howling I kept hearing now and then. It wasn’t a sound any ordinary animal would make.
Definitely not a normal creature…
I shook my head. This was the Cursed Land.
The very place my father led an expedition to every winter.
And the reason for that was…
To reduce the number of monsters that multiply during winter.
In other words, this forest was now crawling with monsters.
There’s no way I can find Father now, is there?
I bit down hard on my lip.
No matter how I looked at it, finding Father was close to impossible.
How was I supposed to find him in this vast forest?
And even if I did find him, I’d probably get severely scolded.
After all, I had only been allowed to join the monster subjugation on the condition that I wouldn’t step foot in the Cursed Land.
Ugh, why is the prince so fast?!
I thought I could catch up, but he disappeared in the blink of an eye.
“Haa…”
Who was there to blame for this ridiculous situation? No one but my own impatience.
No matter how hard I thought, no hopeful idea came to mind.
Adam?
He was the only one I could rely on at this point, so I called out to him inwardly—but no response.
He had lent me his sight earlier and likely depleted his strength. We couldn’t communicate now.
I can’t believe myself…
Everything started from that moment I chased after that stupid back view like I was hypnotized.
If I had just waited a few hours until daylight…
As I sighed deeply—
“Gasp—!!”
Someone suddenly grabbed my shoulder, and I flinched in terror, spinning around.
“…Miss Selenea.”
But the person standing there was a familiar face.
In the faint moonlight, Cassian looked down at me with a tense expression.
I slowly lowered the hand that had covered my mouth.
“This way.”
Without any greeting, Cassian murmured and grabbed my hand. Caught off guard, I stumbled as he pulled me along.
His back, which had once looked so childlike, was now tense and serious.
“We need to get out of the forest. Now.”
Though his words were abrupt, I nodded.
Cassian moved quickly, holding my hand.
“Cassian, do you know the way?”
I asked, just in case. He shook his head.
“…No. This is my first expedition.”
I fell silent. I had suspected as much. He was still just a young boy.
Soon, he muttered in frustration.
“But when I came in, I marked the trees with my dagger just in case… Though now it seems pointless.”
I followed his gaze—and my face froze.
On closer inspection, every tree around us had been scarred by something sharp.
“It’s the Nepas. A beast-type monster with claws like steel. They mark their territory on trees and stones like that.”
“Then…?”
Cassian nodded grimly.
“Yes, it means we’re in its territory. We need to leave as quickly as possible. Find a safe place and wait for daylight.”
I fell silent.
It weighed heavily on me, realizing I’d dragged Cassian into danger.
Biting my lip, I muttered in a small voice.
“Cassian, I’m really sorry. Because of me…”
“It’s not your fault. I should’ve caught you sooner. That’s on me.”
He smiled gently, trying to reassure me.
“Don’t worry. I swore to His Grace that I’d protect you, no matter what.”
“Well… no one expected something like this to happen…”
I sighed as I looked at his calm expression.
Just then, another gust of wind roared through the forest. Within it was a chilling sound.
A strange cry, neither human nor beast. It sounded like a scream—or a roar.
Cassian, sensing my body tense up, pulled me closer and muttered,
“It’s alright. It’s just a Banshee.”
“A Banshee?”
He nodded. I already knew what a Banshee was.
When I had been researching the Tears of God in the library, I had come across a book about monsters.
The first chapter of that book had been about Banshees.
“They curse humans…”
“Right. In terms of combat ability, they’re not the toughest enemies. But…”
Cassian whispered as we weaved between the trees.
“If they appear in a chaotic battle, they’re a real nuisance. Their curse slows movement and drains mana.”
I gulped. Clearly, this forest wasn’t home to just one or two types of monsters.
Looking around, I saw tall, straight trees with no low-hanging branches.
So much for climbing a tree.
There weren’t even any large rocks to hide behind. In other words, there was nowhere to conceal ourselves.
Sweat began to drip from my palms.
And then suddenly—Cassian stopped.
I bumped into his back with my face.
Rubbing my aching nose, I looked up—and beyond Cassian’s rigid back, I saw something glowing red.
“…Miss, step back.”
Before I could even understand what was happening,
Cassian let go of my hand and reached for his sword.
Terrified, I stumbled backward.
Something with glowing red eyes took a step toward us.
“Grrrr…”
A low growl slipped from between sharp, fang-like teeth.
It threw back its spiked head, and massive wings unfurled behind its back.
“A W-Wyvern…?”
I muttered in disbelief. Wyverns weren’t the largest of monsters, but they were still classified as dragon-kind.
“KIEEEEEEHHH—!!”
The creature flared its eyes and launched itself at Cassian.
It looked exactly like the illustrations I had seen in books—eerily so.
The wind from its wings made my hair stand on end, and I collapsed to the ground.
“Cassian!!”
I called out desperately, and he ducked just in time, as if expecting it.
The creature’s claws barely missed his back.
Cassian quickly rose, pulled a dagger from his belt, and hurled it at the monster.
The blade zipped past right over its head at lightning speed, and my face went pale.
A few seconds later, a scream erupted from behind me.
“KIEEEEEK!!”
Turning around, I saw the wyvern with a dagger lodged in its right shoulder.
It threw its head back and screamed.
Dark crimson blood streamed from the wound.
The fear hit me like a thunderclap—I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
My body started shaking uncontrollably. Only one thought filled my mind.
If I’m not careful, I’m going to die here.
Frenzied, I dug through the fallen leaves beside me—until I grabbed something.
It was a fairly thick tree branch.
Thorns along its length quickly cut into my palm, but I didn’t care. I gripped it tightly.
No. I won’t die here. I can’t.
“KIEEEEEEEH!!”
The wyvern let out another shriek—and twisted its grotesque head toward me.
Its needle-like eyes rolled—and locked onto mine.
