Chapter 60

It seemed as if the floor had collapsed.

Lirika's smile kept coming to mind. The smile she had shown in front of the gallows.

Did I fail again?

What should I do? How—

Altears straightened Rudia. He grabbed her shoulders, making her look at him, and said,

"Lirika is a mage. She should be fine. I'll form a pursuit team right away."

At his words, Rudia turned around sharply.

"You're right, we need to find her right away."

"Call Tan."

At Altears' command, the attendant hurried out. Tan, who had been waiting, immediately came in.

He glanced at the fallen Pai and bowed before Altears.

"Lauv went berserk and took Lirika and ran away."

"!!"

Tan swallowed hard.

"Find her."

"Your Highness."

He answered briefly and immediately left the tent. The sound of him calling for assembly was heard.

Rudia said,

"I'll go out to look for her too."

"If someone else finds Lirika? Wouldn't it be better to wait here?"

"No."

Rudia answered briefly and ran out of the tent. The busy calls of attendants preparing horses and guns were heard.

Torches moved around, and the sound of people running in groups was heard.

"If he's berserk, don't provoke him!"

"Maintain distance and check the map! Don't let any part be missed!"

Altears, mounted on a horse, said in a low voice,

"Everyone else, stay here."

Despite his low voice, it echoed throughout the tent village. The nobles who had gathered at the entrance answered in unison.

"We will follow your orders."

No one wanted to offend the emperor's mood here, so the nobles behaved as meekly as mice.

Everyone remembered how Altears had immediately rebelled against the Black Sable clan as soon as he ascended the throne.

They also knew well that the emperor had later bestowed new black sable fur hats on the nobles.

Amidst the whispers, the noble faction—Barat's side—was filled with low voices.

"They're all incompetent."

"Talking about the wolf's berserk, this is why the Ulfgar is no good."

"If something happens to it, the head of the house will be responsible."

"The Knight Commander will be exiled."

"Next time, it must be someone from our side."

Amidst the whispers, Fjord smiled and said,

"Gathering here and whispering like this tonight doesn't seem good. Let's go back to our tents and rest."

"I understand."

"Sir, I'm sure you're disappointed with how things turned out."

Everyone offered words of comfort. How could the remnants of the Southern Alliance get into the hunt?

Barat must have helped them. Everyone thought so.

As the other nobles left, Fjord sank deep into his chair and closed his eyes tightly.

"Would you like a drink?"

He made a gesture to the attendant, indicating that it was fine. The attendant, who was more of a spy placed by the duke, asked.

While suppressing the urge to use his ability and run away, he continuously wished for Lirika's safety.

She must be fine.

She has to be fine.

'The dragon is protecting her.'

Using this as a comfort, Fjord pondered.

'Barat must have contacted the broken Southern Alliance. How? Who among the people I know?'

To his mother, he was just a decent piece of work, but the authority of the young Duke of Barat was great. He was using it and his charm to dig out information.

The brothers he had killed.

Just thinking about it made him feel nauseous. He thought his mother would question him about it, but she didn't.

She just said, "You moved too quickly to scrap it."

What would happen if he told Lirika this story?

Strangely, his little bird princess wouldn't hate him for such a story. She wouldn't despise or fear him and back away.

A strange premonition came to him that her eyes would be filled with tears and they would spill over.

She would hug him tightly, and her embrace would surely be warm.

So he couldn't help but deeply resolve not to forgive himself.

Fjord opened his eyes.

'It's going to be a long night.'

* * *

'Everything hurts...'

Lirika felt her muscles and joints screaming. She lifted her heavy eyelids. A stone ceiling came into view.

'Stone... ceiling...?'

"Ugh."

When she got up, she realized she was in a crevice between rocks. It was pitch dark.

The only light came from a collection box placed near her head.

'Collection box...?'

As she stared blankly at the collection box, her memory became clear. Lirika marveled at the sturdiness of the collection box.

The net had disappeared long ago, but the small lights inside the box gave her courage.

She wanted to fall asleep again. She wanted to close her eyes tightly.

'Mom... Dad...'

But neither Mom nor Dad were here now.

She had to figure out what was going on, assess the situation, and make all the decisions herself.

Feeling around, Lirika checked if her pendant was still securely attached.

It was time to get up.

'So... for now.'

"Lauv? Are you there?"

Lirika spoke softly. Her throat was tight. There was no response. She called out to him again, feeling anxious.

"Lauv?"

Still no answer. Lirika put strength into her knees and got up.

"Ah!"

The sound came out involuntarily.

Wobbling, she extended her body out of the rock crevice.

It was dark outside, but the full moon was shining brightly, illuminating everything.

She realized she was in a dry ravine. Looking around, she saw someone huddled in the distance.

Or rather, it wasn't a person.

Lirika continued speaking calmly.

"Lauv, what happened? Where are we? Ow..."

She must have been injured. Her arms and legs were covered in scratches, as if she had been shoved into the rock crevice.

'Oh, right, I was hit by a magic gun!'

Feeling around, she didn't find any injuries. She took out the necklace inside, just in case. The gold coin pendant, which she had made into a talisman, was dented.

'Thank goodness for the talisman...'

The gold coin was still shining. It seemed the talisman's effect hadn't been completely nullified by a single shot from the magic gun. She felt a bit more reassured.

Lirika approached the huddled figure, enduring the throbbing pain. Suddenly, he jumped up and crawled into the shadow of another rock.

"Lauv?"

"Go, go, go... please..."

She paused. She was now fully exposed under the full moonlight.

Scratches were visible through the torn clothes.

Lauv, hiding in the shadows, panted as he looked at the young princess. His teal eyes sparkled under the full moon.

Full moon.

Yes, under the large moon.

He resisted the urge to run and howl, feeling a rumbling in his throat.

A terrifying growling sound was heard, even to his own ears. His blood boiled.

Ah, it really is the young princess.

Small, fragile, and soft.

"!!"

Lauv retreated further. His nails dug into his neck.

He needed to cut off his own air supply.

"Lauv?"

But that voice was so sweet.

Lauv shook his head violently. He had broken the necklace to defeat the jaguar. After that, his memories were fragmented.

He was covered in blood.

He had killed, torn, and crushed. The taste of blood filled his mouth. Power surged through his body, and his joints and muscles creaked.

A cracking sound was heard as everything twisted.

But he needed more power.

He needed more power to find his master.

To find her, hold her, and just run away. The surroundings were full of enemies. He couldn't make proper judgments.

At the slightest sound, he changed direction. That's why he had hidden his lord in this deep rock crevice.

From humans.

From himself.

He realized he had crossed a point of no return. His appearance hadn't returned.

At least until now, he had maintained a human form, but not anymore. Not anymore.

He was no longer human.

'Am I going to be abandoned again?'

Fear and terror quickly consumed Lauv. His breathing became rough. The remaining sanity snapped.

Lirika looked at Lauv hiding in the shadows.

'Ah.'

An alarm bell rang. Her instincts, warning of danger, urged her to run.

Grrr

A low growl came from the darkness. Lirika swallowed.

If she even touched her pendant, the other might leap out like lightning.

'What should I do?'

At that moment, a light flashed.

Lauv fell without even a scream. The light flashed twice, three times in succession.

"Stay away from my daughter, you bastard."

Rudia, holding a long gun, muttered lowly.

Lirika opened her mouth without realizing it.

"Mother..."

Her voice trembled. Rudia lowered the magic gun and smiled at her daughter as if to say she was fine.

"Is it too late to warn after shooting?"

"Mother!"

Only then did Lirika cry out. She kicked the ground and ran to Rudia, hugging her. Rudia's hair was messy, and her face was drenched in sweat.

Her throat was hoarse from calling out for Lirika.

"Thank goodness, really, thank goodness. You're safe."

Tears streamed down Rudia's eyes. After