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Chapter 52
“Undine.”
- I was so frustrated! Do you know how anxious I was!?
As if testing it, as soon as Asfel called Undine, she appeared.
She looked at him with a slightly dazed expression.
“How… did you—”
“As long as you don’t wear it directly, it’s fine. To me, that’s just a bracelet that can easily be broken.”
Undine didn’t even seem to notice Asfel anymore and drifted back to Juhee’s side before disappearing again.
Before long, the bell marking midnight rang out.
“It’s time to go.”
“…Yes.”
“Then, if you’ll excuse me.”
Asfel stepped toward Juhee and slipped his arm behind her knees, lifting her into his arms.
She nearly screamed in surprise but managed to hold it back.
He placed a foot on the window frame.
Just before he could leap out, hurried footsteps were heard—and the door burst open.
* * *
Everything had gone smoothly.
After receiving the oath of loyalty, Rowen returned to his room to prepare for the ball.
He wanted to see Juhee for a moment, but the chamberlain kept urging him that there was no time, so he had no choice but to head straight to his room.
He fixed his disheveled hair and changed into fresh clothes.
Only after putting on a crimson cloak was he fully dressed.
Then Rowen quickly headed to the ballroom.
As the protagonist, he planned to stay for a few hours and leave early, pretending he was tired.
He wanted to go to Juhee before midnight.
But things did not go as he planned.
Countless nobles kept offering congratulations and striking up conversations, making it impossible for him to leave.
Before he knew it, midnight was approaching.
Just as frustration welled up at the thought that he might only reach her after midnight, he suddenly felt something snap inside him.
“…No way.”
Rowen spoke quickly.
“I’m sorry, something urgent came up. I have to go.”
“Y-Your Majesty! Where are you going?! Your Majesty!”
The nobles called after him in panic, but he ignored them and headed toward the imperial palace.
The nobles left behind were thrown into confusion.
Even though he was out of breath, he didn’t stop.
He had definitely felt the bracelet break.
It was enchanted—there was no way it could be broken by ordinary force.
Sweat dripped down his chin.
Finally, he reached Juhee’s room.
A maid looked startled and tried to inform Juhee, but Rowen was faster—he opened the door himself.
The first thing he saw was the shattered bracelet scattered on the floor.
When he raised his head, Juhee’s shocked expression met his eyes.
And she was in a man’s arms.
Rowen and Juhee locked eyes, and she quickly looked away.
His heart dropped.
Silence filled the room.
No one dared to speak.
After several attempts to speak, Rowen finally whispered in a fading voice,
“…Juhee.”
It was very quiet, but the room was so silent it felt like thunder.
At the sound of her name, Juhee flinched and turned her head sharply.
“Where are you going?”
“….”
She didn’t answer.
Rowen stepped into the room.
“Come here. You belong by my side.”
At that, she spoke as if spitting out the words.
“I’m leaving.”
“…Leaving? If you just want to go out for a while, I can go with you.”
“I’m not going out for a while.”
“….”
“I… am leaving this place.”
At her firm words, Rowen froze.
His mind stopped working for a moment.
Seeing her hardened expression, his thoughts slowly began to turn again.
‘Leaving? Me?’
It felt as if the ground beneath him had collapsed, plunging him into an endless abyss.
He barely regained himself and walked forward slowly, speaking to Asfel.
“Let her go right now.”
Asfel, who had been looking at Rowen with indifferent eyes, tilted his head slightly.
“You want me to let her go?”
“No. Go quickly.”
At that, Asfel moved—and Rowen urgently shouted.
“Wait, wait! Juhee, did I do something wrong? Is there something you don’t like? Tell me. I’ll fix it all. So—”
“Let me go.”
“….”
“Please.”
Rowen froze, then muttered darkly before striding forward.
“No.”
“….”
“If you want to leave, kill me first. Then I’ll let you go.”
His sorrowful eyes made the air heavy, but Juhee did not change her mind.
“Leave before you’re caught.”
“Fine. Understood.”
Asfel moved, and Rowen reached out.
But Asfel was faster.
Rowen’s hand only brushed Asfel’s clothes and grasped empty air.
Half-crouched, Rowen looked down to see Asfel land lightly on the floor.
Roo followed, jumping out the window below.
The chamberlain who arrived late heard Rowen’s chilling voice.
“Catch them. No matter what it takes, bring them to me.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
After the chamberlain left, Rowen walked out with a hardened expression.
He could not let Juhee go like this.
She belonged only beside him.
* * *
Juhee looked around worriedly.
It seemed knights had already been dispatched, as chaos spread.
“Asfel, what if we get caught?”
“You worry too much.”
He snorted and summoned a spirit.
“Silaphe.”
- What is it this time?
A spirit suddenly appeared, and Juhee widened her eyes.
Mel whispered into her ear.
- That’s Silaphe, a mid-level wind spirit. Elves can summon even higher spirits.
Asfel ran quickly while speaking.
“Make me, this girl, and that divine beast invisible to others.”
- Got it.
Silaphe rose into the air, creating strong winds with its wings.
A thin barrier formed around them.
- Now no one can see you.
“Thanks.”
- Don’t mention it.
Silaphe disappeared, and Asfel changed direction.
“This palace is unnecessarily large.”
The imperial palace was located deep within the royal grounds.
That meant it was far from the entrance.
Soon, knights holding torches appeared in the distance.
“You go that way! We’ll take this side!”
“Yes, Captain!”
A group of knights rushed toward Asfel.
Juhee’s heart pounded.
Even though Silaphe had hidden them, she wasn’t entirely reassured.
To her eyes, Asfel and Roo were still clearly visible.
If they were caught now, it wouldn’t end with just a bracelet.
She might be locked away.
Cut off completely from the outside world, living the rest of her life inside the palace.
That fear grew stronger.
Just before leaving, she had remembered Rowen’s final gaze—and instinctively clenched her hands.
The knights came closer.
She closed her eyes tightly.
But they passed right by them.
Juhee exhaled in relief.
“As long as Silaphe doesn’t reverse the effect, no one can see us.”
“…Yes.”
Since the main gate was likely sealed, Asfel decided to scale the wall.
The wall was extremely high.
After gauging it, Asfel summoned Silaphe again.
- Why again?
“Can you push me up with wind? Not too strongly—just enough to get over the wall.”
- Got it.
He leapt without a running start.
A strong gust lifted him.
As they crossed, Juhee’s ribbon—loosely tied in her hair—came undone and fell to the ground.
Just before landing on the other side, Juhee noticed it.
It was the ribbon Rowen had once chosen for her, saying it suited her best.
She looked at it for a few seconds, then turned away.
Asfel landed without hesitation.
“We should leave quickly. By tomorrow, the capital might be sealed.”
“Yes.”
Asfel set her down.
It was the first time she had stood on the ground in tens of minutes.
Juhee planned to ride Roo again.
Before mounting, she looked back at the palace.
She would never return here again.
Her connection with Rowen ended here.
Without hesitation, she climbed onto Roo.
* * *
Rowen felt like his mind was breaking apart.
Only Juhee’s last expression remained in his thoughts.
He couldn’t live without her.
Without Juhee, he couldn’t survive even a single day.
She had been his only source of air in a suffocating life.
Because of her, he had endured everything.
So he could not let her go.
He searched the entire palace himself.
The chamberlain told him knights had been dispatched, but Rowen ignored everything.
Now that the bracelet was broken, she could use her spirit powers freely.
And that man she was with.
Rowen ground his teeth.
He remembered the man from the marketplace.
Back then, Juhee had said she didn’t know him—but that had been a lie.
At the time, he had thought the man was ordinary.
But now he knew better.
‘He wasn’t human.’
In the moonlight, the man’s ears had been clearly pointed.
‘Why would an elf be with Juhee…?’
Juhee was human, like Rowen.
When they lived in the forest, no one ever came to see her.
So he could not understand how she was connected to an elf.
But that didn’t matter now.
Everything would be investigated after he brought Juhee back.
First—he had to find her.
