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Chapter 13
Juhee did not answer. She glanced sideways and thought,
She wished those people would disappear now.
She wished they would never appear in front of her again.
As soon as she had that thought, without even needing to summon a spirit, vines suddenly grabbed the hunters’ ankles and pulled them.
“What is this?! Aaaah! Damn it, do something! Hey!”
As they were dragged away, their fingers scraped the ground, leaving long marks.
In an instant, the hunters were pulled deep into the forest and vanished.
“Hmm…”
Rowen rolled his eyes slightly while watching Juhee carefully.
It felt like he really shouldn’t make her angry.
As they left the forest, Juhee asked Mel,
“What happened?”
- They’re monster hunters. There are a lot of monsters in Melina Forest, so they probably came to hunt. Monsters sell for a lot of money.
Juhee’s guess had been correct.
She didn’t ask what would happen to those men who were dragged into the forest.
They probably didn’t even have proper weapons, so they would quickly be torn apart by monsters.
- Sometimes fearless hunters come, but those people were the first to come this deep into the forest.
Juhee put those thoughts aside and walked out of the forest.
Rowen’s injury was more important than those people.
Without realizing it, Juhee had already started to think of Rowen as someone important.
“Undine.”
- Call me more often, Juhee!
Undine complained cheerfully.
Still, among all the spirits, Juhee called Undine the most.
“Can you heal this wound?”
- Oh! This feels familiar… You’re the one I healed before!
Rowen’s eyes widened.
- You were seriously injured back then. Wait a moment!
Undine flowed into Rowen’s wound.
A cool and refreshing energy spread through his body, making him flinch slightly.
Soon, the open wound slowly closed and disappeared without leaving a trace.
Rowen looked at his healed hand in amazement.
Undine, who had been showering Juhee with kisses, disappeared, and Rowen looked at her.
He remembered what the spirit had said earlier.
“Juhee… was I injured before?”
“…Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I healed you with a spirit back then too. I didn’t know anything about you at the time, so I couldn’t say it carelessly.”
He understood her reasoning, but his heart still felt hurt.
“Then promise me now.”
When she looked at him, he held her hand tightly and said,
“Promise me you won’t keep secrets from me.”
“…Okay.”
She didn’t know if it was important, but she had nothing to hide anymore, so she nodded.
Rowen’s eyes looked dark for a moment.
But when she blinked, they sparkled again as if nothing had happened.
Behind their strange atmosphere, the forest remained quiet, as if nothing had happened.
Juhee lay on a hill, staring blankly at the sky, when Rowen asked,
“Juhee, when is your birthday?”
She thought for a moment before answering,
“I don’t have one.”
“What?”
“I’m an orphan. I don’t know when I was born.”
Rowen closed his mouth tightly.
When Juhee glanced at him, he looked like he regretted asking.
“What about you, Rowen?”
“Ah, I…”
He hesitated, then closed his mouth again.
“Haha… I don’t know either.”
“Really?”
“Since neither of us knows, we’re the same.”
But Juhee truly didn’t know her birthday, while Rowen had just lost his memory.
They weren’t the same—but she said nothing.
“Oh, right. Juhee, I think my memories are slowly coming back.”
“…Really?”
“Yes. They’re very fragmented… but I think there’s a chance I’ll remember everything.”
Rowen smiled brightly.
Juhee sat up and asked calmly,
“What kind of memories?”
“Hmm… I’m not sure, but I was always busy looking at documents.”
“Documents?”
“Yes. And…”
He suddenly stopped speaking.
When Juhee tilted her head, he smiled awkwardly.
“That’s all I remember. Nothing special, right?”
“Still, it’s good that you remember something.”
She lay back down again.
In truth, Rowen remembered more.
He remembered naturally giving orders to others, and many people following him.
But he hid it, afraid Juhee might distance herself from him.
Mel, lying beside Juhee, asked,
- Then if Rowen gets his memory back, will he leave?
Probably.
Juhee answered silently in her mind.
But for some reason, she couldn’t say it out loud.
While she stayed quiet, Mel pressed on her stomach.
- You’ve gained a bit of weight since you first came.
Juhee used to skip meals, but because of Rowen, she now ate regularly.
She even ate snacks, so it was natural she gained some weight.
“…Am I fat?”
“What? No! Not at all! You need to eat more—you’re too thin!”
Even though she only muttered to herself, Rowen reacted strongly.
He grabbed her wrist.
“Look. I can hold your wrist with one hand and still have space. That means you need to eat more.”
That was just because his hands were big.
Rowen kept nagging.
Juhee suddenly sat up and pressed her finger against his lips.
“Mm!”
“Shh.”
She stared straight into his light green eyes with her dark ones.
He stared back at her blankly.
Her eyes looked like a deep night sky.
“Stop nagging.”
“That’s not nagging! I’m worried about you!”
Rowen protested, holding her hand and lowering it.
Now both her hands were caught.
“From the first time we met, you looked too thin.”
“….”
“If you don’t eat properly, you’ll collapse. What if you get malnourished? You don’t live in a village—if you faint, no one will find you.”
“….”
“So at least while I’m here, you must eat regularly.”
Mel, who had been listening, covered their ears and shouted,
- Ugh, so noisy!
Then Mel flew away down the hill.
Rowen, still talking, felt something moving in his hand and looked down.
Juhee was fidgeting.
Her hand looked tiny in his large grip.
“How long are you going to hold it?”
“Oh! Sorry!”
Startled, he quickly let go.
Juhee lay down again, and Rowen followed.
From his returning memories, he had always been busy.
He suddenly asked,
“Juhee, what kind of person was I?”
“I’m not sure…”
What kind of person would be so badly injured and run into a forest?
She couldn’t figure it out.
“Maybe you were a noble.”
“Do you think so? It’s frustrating not remembering the important parts.”
He sighed lightly.
He didn’t seem like a commoner, but he couldn’t be sure yet.
Juhee glanced at him.
His hands had calluses, like someone who had held something for a long time.
If he was a noble, then perhaps he had held a sword.
Even his behavior felt refined.
Even in worn clothes, he looked elegant.
He was definitely not a commoner.
If so, people must be searching for him.
And if they came, he would return to where he belonged.
Juhee was lost in thought when Rowen spoke again,
“If I am a noble, I hope I’m not someone too high-ranking.”
“Why?”
“Because if I were too high, Juhee might feel burdened.”
“Hmm…”
She rolled her eyes.
Social status differences here were huge.
Suddenly, she remembered that the male lead of this story was a royal.
She didn’t know why she thought of it, but since it didn’t concern her, she quickly forgot.
“Ha…”
Rian sighed and marked an X on the map.
For a month and a half, he had traveled through many villages, but found no trace of Rowengreen.
Only one month remained.
There were only a few villages left, but they were far from the capital.
Still, he couldn’t skip them.
He also had to consider the time needed to return with Rowengreen.
“I need to move faster.”
At first, his horse had been stubborn, but it eventually followed him well.
“But this area has Melina Forest…”
Rian frowned at the map.
Entering Melina Forest alone was impossible.
There was a village just below it, so he decided to check there.
If he found nothing, he might have to cross the continent.
He prayed this would be the last village.
After riding for three days straight, he arrived.
He looked exhausted after sleeping outdoors.
“Ugh… that was exhausting.”
The villages were farther apart than he expected.
He gathered himself and headed to an inn.
“Hello?”
He tied his horse outside and went in.
Unlike the previous village, the inn was quiet.
“…Excuse me?”
A strange chill ran down his spine.
Then a sharp female voice spoke,
“Are you a guest?”
“Ah! You startled me!”
Startled, Rian jumped.
The woman looked at him oddly.
“One night is 5 copper.”
“Ah, okay.”
He paid.
“There are no other guests, so pick any room on the second floor. The bath is shared, at the end of the hall.”
“Thank you.”
Then he asked,
“I came by horse—do you have a stable?”
“There’s one behind the inn. It’s 3 copper.”
He paid again.
The woman went outside, and soon he heard hoof sounds.
Everything seemed normal, but the village felt strange.
Rian tilted his head and went upstairs.
