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Chapter 60
“Your Highness, you’re here!”
A familiar voice rang in his ears.
The sound of hurried footsteps continued for quite some time, and then someone lifted his body up.
Isodrian opened his eyes because of the arm wrapped firmly around his shoulders.
At that moment, the faint scent of sun-dried cloth drifted across his nose.
A warm, subtle smell as if sunlight had seeped into the fabric—Penelope’s scent.
“…Ah.”
He was certain it was Penelope.
“Are you awake?”
Herestun carefully withdrew his hand.
Beside him stood Uben, looking as if he might burst into tears at any moment.
Isodrian turned his head and saw the stairs stretching high above them.
The first-floor hall—the floor.
“Ugh…”
When he tried to rise, Isodrian suddenly grabbed his head.
His vision spun and blinked black.
“It seems the drug’s effects haven’t worn off yet. It would be best not to move.”
Herestun’s voice echoed distantly.
“It appears the people from Reton stolen all the food… The ones still inside the castle…”
“Is Penelope safe?”
Isodrian cut him off, urgently scanning their surroundings.
He remembered the gates closing, remembered confirming Penelope was safe.
When he tried to recall more, a sharp headache stabbed through him.
“The Lady is missing. Everyone else is here—she’s the only one not found.”
“I’m looking for her now.”
Herestun briefly replied while patting the sniffling Uben’s shoulder.
“We haven’t checked the entire castle yet, so I can’t say for certain, but…”
When Isodrian attempted to stand and nearly stumbled, Herestun offered his hand.
The moment Isodrian grasped it, Herestun pulled him up with a firm hold.
“Since the gates are closed, she should be somewhere inside.”
“Let’s search.”
The dizziness made his temper rise.
He remembered clearly—the gate was shut.
He had shot from the second floor, saw Penelope was safe.
And yet…
Why was he the only one found inside?
Isodrian dragged his hand down his distorted expression and grabbed the stair railing.
He was just about to ascend when—
“Your Highness, I’ll search the upper floors. Please check outside.”
Herestun stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.
Isodrian simply nodded and headed out of the castle.
The sun had already set, making the backyard hard to see.
Sniffle… sniffle…
Uben’s trembling sobs followed closely behind.
“…Haah.”
He circled the backyard once, but Penelope was nowhere.
He wanted to run—but the pounding headache forced him to walk.
“Uben, stop crying.”
The child’s sobs only fed his own growing unease.
She had to be inside the castle.
And if she’d taken the same drug they had, she should wake up soon.
“Please…”
Suddenly, the image of blood trickling from Penelope’s neck flooded his mind.
A wound like that wouldn’t kill someone.
He knew that. He was sure he had confirmed she was safe before he lost consciousness.
Before he realized it, Isodrian was running.
Two arrowheads embedded in the ground near the gate caught his eye.
But Penelope was not there either.
“Please… Penelope…”
Breathless—unlike usual—and tugging anxiously at his hair, Isodrian stumbled.
Why was I the only one inside the castle?
He had no memory of moving himself.
And Penelope couldn’t possibly have carried him alone, unconscious as he was.
Then he noticed something else—the castle gate had no zombies clustered around it.
With the gate opening and closing so much, crowds leaving the castle… there should’ve been zombies.
Isodrian hurried toward the tower.
It was the only place they hadn’t checked.
So she had to be there.
If she isn’t…?
Climbing the seemingly endless stairs, the thought crept in.
What could he do then?
What if everything he remembered was a hallucination induced by the drug—
What if they had actually taken Penelope away?
His dizziness worsened, and the ground felt like it was collapsing beneath him.
Determined not to fall, Isodrian forced his heavy body upward.
“…Ah.”
Someone was collapsed on the stairway above.
Isodrian finally let out the breath he’d been holding back.
Penelope.
He rushed to her side and dropped to his knees.
“Penelope…”
Her face was pale.
Her limp fingertips were cold, and her hair and clothes were damp with cold sweat.
A dark, dried trail of blood stained the line of her neck.
When Isodrian brushed her cheek with trembling fingers, her eyelids faintly fluttered.
Penelope let out a small groan as she opened her eyes.
“Your Highness.”
Her dry, slightly cracked voice spilled through her parted lips.
“Yes. It’s me.”
Relief washed over him so suddenly that the dizziness returned.
As he blinked away the spinning in his vision, Penelope weakly nodded and tried to sit up.
He hurried to support her.
Even her back was slightly damp.
“Wait, Penelope. The drug hasn’t fully worn off yet. Don’t stand.”
If she slipped on these stone stairs even once, the result would be disastrous.
They should wait until the effects faded more.
“…Ah.”
And then he finally noticed her hand.
“You’re hurt?”
Her palms and fingers bore deep marks from gripping tightly.
Her fingers were swollen red, and a long, raw line marked the inside of her arm where the bowstring had struck.
She had climbed the tower and shot arrows.
Penelope brushed the marks lightly and nodded.
“Does anything hurt?”
“No. I’m not hurt. I’m fine.”
She smiled awkwardly.
There was no way she wasn’t in pain. No way she was fine.
Isodrian couldn’t understand her.
Why she insisted on saying she was okay.
There were so many things he wanted to ask.
When did she collapse?
How did he end up lying inside the castle?
Did she take care of all the zombies at the gate herself?
Why had she chosen to become a hostage instead of Uben?
Was she scared…?
But her simple insistence—“I’m fine”—chained his tongue.
No one faced death and remained unshaken.
But Penelope acted like she had to be fine.
“Your Highness, I’m really okay. Let’s go down.”
Her voice was overwhelmingly calm.
As if she had no one to confide her pain in.
“As if nothing happened.”
“That’s impossible. You’re hurt all over.”
As if all of this was something she had to endure alone.
She was utterly, devastatingly alone.
“…What made you like this?”
Isodrian couldn’t tear his gaze away from Penelope’s small hand pushing his away.
‘From now on, I’ll handle the dangerous things.’
The words she had once spoken so calmly stabbed through his memory.
The feelings he had forced down churned messily to the surface.
“…What?”
Penelope had changed.
She no longer lashed out or tormented anyone.
Instead, she tried relentlessly to help others, to become part of the castle.
She spoke less than before, and she never approached him first.
He understood she had every reason to hate and resent him.
But when he saw her staying silent…
When she avoided him or acted coldly…
Penelope had changed.
And that fact crushed Isodrian’s heart into pieces.
