Chapter 54 ….
Since I was hurt, was it too presumptuous of me to guess that this was why he was angry?
Or… would he get that angry if anyone else had been hurt?
I blankly met Epher’s gaze for a moment.
“Your Highness. We’ve arrived.”
Before I knew it, the carriage had reached the entrance of Tyris Mountain. It was now time to say goodbye to the leopard.
Ah… I wanted to ask the leopard a few things too.
Epher assumed there would be no evidence, but I thought differently.
No matter how much one hides evidence or conceals witnesses, the leopard that had been kidnapped was right here. I was certain that talking to it could give me solid proof.
“I’ll take you a little further and come back.”
I met the leopard’s eyes, exchanged a signal, and slowly started walking toward the mountain. Then the knights began to follow my pace in a swarm.
Ah… at this rate, I probably won’t be able to talk to it.
Of course, among the knights there must be one of Heryon’s lackeys. I felt they might try to prevent me from finding decisive evidence.
I turned around and said firmly to the knights:
“No one follows. That’s an order.”
Perhaps because I hadn’t given orders before, or maybe because I always appeared compliant and calm, the knights were taken aback by the word “order” and glanced nervously at Epher.
Then, Epher stepped forward from among them.
“Wait here.”
He was included in “no one should follow,” but showing my stubbornness here would probably look bad in every way.
I whispered to the leopard, drawing close:
“Can you take me to where you were captured?”
The leopard blinked slowly and then guided me. As I followed behind, Epher quietly fell in step beside me.
With the leopard next to me, it kind of feels like walking a big dog.
As we walked slowly, I could hear the leopard’s story.
[About a month ago, a group of people in the same clothes came rushing up this mountain.]
Even hearing this much, I was certain Heryon was the culprit.
[Strange things were happening on this mountain. I don’t feel it now, but starting two months ago, a mysterious aura kept suppressing us.]
“Mysterious aura?”
[Yes. The aura I feel when I see you.]
I thought carefully.
Heryon said he had something to investigate on Tyris Mountain.
Everything matched exactly with when I first entered the story.
“Probably because of me. Are you okay now?”
The leopard tilted its head slightly at me.
[It was a slightly different kind of aura than yours. But it seems fine now. Anyway, that aura kept tightening around my neck, so I tried to escape down the middle of the mountain and ran into a group of people.]
Knowing that fighting a dozen or so people would be futile, the leopard had tried to stay hidden and wait for them to pass.
[But one person in different clothes saw me and attacked, saying, ‘I’ll at least skin this one to feel satisfied.’]
I frowned. The more I listened, the more Heryon’s face came to mind.
At that moment, the leopard stopped somewhere and lifted its head.
[I tried to escape up there, but got caught. The arrow missed, but maybe it was a sleep arrow—because I fell asleep immediately.]
I turned to follow the leopard’s gaze. The path was narrow, rough, and fairly steep.
Carefully, I stepped off the slightly larger path, and suddenly Epher blocked me.
“What are you doing?”
“I want to go up there. Since the leopard was captured nearby, I want to see if there’s any evidence left…”
Epher glanced at the place I indicated and sighed.
“I’ll go.”
“No, I want to confirm it with my own eyes.”
He frowned as if extremely uncomfortable and looked at me.
What? I was just trying to say it doesn’t look like he wants to go.
It was meant as a gesture of consideration, but his reaction was absurd.
Epher threw off the cloth covering him from head to toe and handed it to me.
“Don’t overdo it.”
I hugged the red cloth to my chest and absentmindedly watched his back as he climbed the slightly steep mountain path.
Don’t overdo it… what does he mean? This mountain isn’t filled with landmines.
This… must be the way someone worries about the person they like.
We had to find the main culprit who interfered with our wedding, but for some reason, thoughts like this kept creeping in.
Yet, Epher’s behavior over the past few days had been confusing. He gave me a precious gift. His eyes were filled with concern when he saw I was hurt.
Come to think of it… there were only two signs.
If I had a friend, I’d want to ask them whether he liked me or not.
[Your fiancé worries about you a lot, doesn’t he?]
If an animal friend said that, then it was clear he did care.
Soon after, Epher, who had been searching here and there, slowly descended to where I was.
“I found it.”
He extended his palm with a dazed expression, as if surprised he had found it.
“It’s a crest of the Royal Knights.”
The silver button bore the insignia of the knights.
I sighed in slight disappointment. As Epher had said, Heryon seemed careful not to leave any trace of his actions.
“It’ll be hard to present this as evidence. Only you and I know it was found here.”
I thought I would need to climb a little higher to find more concrete proof.
But unlike my disappointment, Epher clenched the button tightly and spoke with confidence:
“This is enough. We can outline the situation. That the Royal Knights captured the leopard and only now released it… they must have kept it somewhere for a month.”
“Ah… yes.”
“There are many ways to track them. We can investigate if the Royal Knights stayed here for a month and check who recently returned to the capital in a hurry.”
He muttered while rolling his eyes around.
“We should check the butcher in Elrenoa to see if a knight regularly bought meat. They would have had to feed the leopard to keep it alive for a month.”
He looked quite pleased.
“The Knights wouldn’t have handed the leopard over to wedding guests. If anyone has connections, it must be one of the knights from Elrenoa Castle.”
I inferred it from what I saw and heard, but Epher could think this far from a single button—it was impressive.
“Even if we can’t reveal Heryon as the mastermind, we can at least find the spy in my castle.”
“I overheard some of the knights saying, ‘The leopard came down because of the fox.’ I don’t know exactly who, though.”
Epher nodded.
“Let’s head back to the castle. It’s not good to be away for too long.”
Right. We never know what Heryon, the ‘master of public opinion,’ might do while we’re gone.
It’s kind of funny. A wedding banquet without the bride and groom.
Like a bean bun without the filling!
“And…”
Epher hesitated, then took the red cloth I was holding and draped it over himself again.
“Since the Duchess came all the way here, when we return to the castle, go straight to your room. The court physician will be waiting.”
It was just a minor shoulder wound, yet he seemed extremely concerned.
I bid farewell to the leopard friend I had met briefly but intensely.
“Take care. And next time, don’t come all the way down here.”
[Thank you for taking me home.]
I lightly tapped the leopard’s rump and waved for it to leave.
But the leopard didn’t immediately leave; it glanced between Epher and me and wagged its tail gently.
“Why? Something you want to say?”
[I hope you and your fiancé get along well. He’s a good one.]
“How do you know that?”
[I saw him treating injured animals sometimes. He often comes to Tyris Mountain and releases magic energy.]
I wasn’t surprised he liked animals, but the idea that he released magical energy startled me.
[But why hasn’t he come recently? Watching was fun.]
I turned to look at Epher. He was looking at me strangely.
“Releasing magic energy on Tyris Mountain?”
His eyes were wide, as if surprised I knew.
“This leopard always watches from afar and asks why you haven’t come recently.”
Epher alternated his gaze between the leopard and me, then asked me:
“Were you really talking to the leopard?”
“…?”
Epher looked genuinely flustered, but I was even more shocked.
So he hadn’t believed me until now?
“I’ve told you several times it can communicate. Don’t you believe me?”
I crossed my arms and glared at him. The leopard seemed to understand me too and glared along.
[Your fiancé is quite skeptical.]
No kidding.
[Anyway, next time your fiancé comes, you should come too. I’ll repay the favor.]
The leopard left those words and leapt back to the place where Epher had found the button.
[Take care, Ms. Fox.]
I waved at the leopard, then turned back to glare at Epher.
“If you didn’t believe me, wouldn’t you have thought I was just talking to myself all this time?”
“Well…”
“Think reasonably. If it wasn’t communicating, how would I know it was captured here?”
“I thought you were just guessing.”
“How could you pinpoint the exact location?”
I’m not a shaman, after all.
Flustered and annoyed, I lightly punched his arm in frustration.
“What do you take me for—ow!”
Since I swung my injured arm, the wound must have reopened, and the pain made me involuntarily scream.
I tried to give him pain but ended up punished myself.
Epher urgently grabbed my wrist and glared at me.
“Didn’t I tell you not to overdo it?”
I couldn’t tell if he was scolding or worried. His tone was sharp.
“This won’t do.”
He sighed, placed his hand on my back, slightly bent down, and hooked his arm behind my knees.
“Let’s go quietly, please.”
In an instant, my feet left the ground, and I was lifted naturally, my hands resting on his chest.
Previously, when I suggested taking a picture like this, he had hated it so much—it was the princess carry.
No matter how I thought about it, this was something only someone who likes you would do. I was too shocked to even speak.
The wound isn’t on my leg… it’s on my shoulder…
