Chapter 7
The Crown Prince, who had been quietly looking up at me, slowly spoke.
“…My lady, why aren’t you letting go?”
“What?”
What nonsense is that, at a time like this?
I really might just let go and run away.
When I glared at him with sharp eyes, the Crown Prince let out a baffled laugh.
“I just don’t understand. Do you even realize that by trying to save me right now, you’re putting yourself in mortal danger?”
“Who wouldn’t know that…?!”
Behind me, a swarm of zombies were rushing in, shoulder to shoulder like old friends. Maybe they wanted to invite me to join their little club.
“Ugh.”
My body grew weaker, and I slumped forward.
With the motion, the ribbon in my hair snapped.
Rustle. My silver hair whipped across the Crown Prince’s cheek as it fell, and my golden eyes met his bright yellow ones.
Maybe it was because of those unnervingly calm eyes… but the last bit of strength left my already exhausted body.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
‘Ahh, this is it. I’m at my limit.’
That was when his hand slipped out of mine.
Smack. With the hand not holding his spear, the Crown Prince suddenly seized my wrist.
“My lady.”
“…Ugh, what now?”
“…If I die here, are you really planning to die with me?”
I glared at him with wide eyes.
‘Are you insane? Why would I? Do you just not want to die alone?’
I thought he was joking, but his eyes were dead serious.
His black pupils shimmered with iridescent colors, like opal fins stirring the water—like a child discovering a new toy.
I instinctively felt that I was standing at some sort of crossroads. That depending on my answer, his actions might change.
‘Ah, forget it.’
I clenched my eyes shut and shouted in despair.
“Fine! Fine, okay?! I’ll die with you! So just….”
Do something already!
I was screaming at him inside when—
One of the zombies broke through its fellows and lunged for my back.
A shadow loomed over me.
I stared in dread at the hammer about to crash down on my head, but just then something flashed past my cheek.
Crack!
In an instant, I heard the sound of bone shattering, and a few strands of my hair drifted to the ground.
Dazed, I looked at the fallen strands, then rolled my eyes toward the Crown Prince.
He was smiling broadly now. His eyes, glittering with strange light, were entirely different from before.
“Hold on just like that, my lady.”
He tightened his grip on my hand, braced his feet against the wall, and—
Thud-thud-thud!
He sprinted up the wall, leapt high into the air, and landed securely behind me.
‘What the….’
Stunned, I collapsed to the ground and blinked. Slowly, I turned to face him.
“Get up.”
The Crown Prince spoke in an oddly gentle voice as he pulled me to my feet. My legs shook like those of a newborn fawn as I stared up at him blankly.
“We need to go. To the forest.”
Smiling warmly, he struck down a charging zombie, took my hand, and ran.
Half-dazed, I picked up my fallen hammer and let myself be pulled along.
“……”
I don’t know how long we ran like that, but eventually the swarm of zombies thinned out, and a dense forest came into view.
And then, like fog lifting, one clear thought rose in my mind.
“…You bastard!”
That crazy jerk! He could’ve climbed up all along!
Smash!
Grinding my teeth, I swung my hammer—at a zombie’s head instead of the back of his.
By the time we reached the northern Sacred Forest, the sun had set, and darkness had fallen.
The forest’s edge was encircled by what seemed like a thin, transparent barrier.
I stepped through first, and the Crown Prince followed.
The shrieks of the zombies were cut off, replaced by the rustling of leaves in the night breeze.
‘Quiet. I like it.’
I walked ahead and pulled out a map.
On the map of the northern forest, several “X” markings had been carved. At the bottom, a note explained that the trees marked with “X” would lead the way to a pond.
I pulled out a lightstone (a lantern-like stone crafted by Heiton) and whispered the incantation engraved on it.
A pure white light flared, making me squint as I shone it on a nearby tree trunk.
“Found it.”
An “X” had been carved into the rough bark.
Tracing it with my fingers, I moved forward, map in hand.
After walking a while, the air grew colder.
I began gathering twigs and pinecones for a fire as I walked.
The Crown Prince came up silently and took them from my arms.
“….”
He tossed them aside and strode ahead again.
We walked on for some time before he suddenly spoke.
“My lady.”
“….”
“Are you still angry?”
“….”
“You sure hold a grudge.”
So what? Don’t talk to me.
I kept my lips tightly shut and focused on walking.
Eventually, as I pushed aside thick leaves, the smell of water hit my nose. Beyond the foliage, a shimmering pond came into view.
The purity of the Sacred Forest’s pond was directly tied to the strength of its barrier.
“It’s clean.”
I had worried that the earthquake—something not in the original story—might have damaged the forest. Luckily, it hadn’t.
I stepped up to the pond and stared down at my reflection.
Ruby-red eyes gleamed back at me.
My bangs fell across my forehead, framing my jawline in sharp layers.
When I leaned forward, my long silver hair slid down my back, brushing my waist.
‘Still so pretty.’
It had been over a month since I began living with this face, but I still couldn’t get used to it.
‘With a face this beautiful, why did she waste her life being so awful?’
As I blankly stared at my reflection, the Crown Prince’s face suddenly appeared on the water’s surface.
I scowled at him through the pond, then turned away.
Right after, I pulled out a ribbon from my pouch and tied up my hair. With my foot, I stomped on the weeds until I found a flat spot.
“Here.”
Seeing I meant to build a fire, the Crown Prince picked up the branches and pinecones he had set down earlier.
I naturally pulled paper and matches from my bag, lit a match, and tossed it into the tinder.
As the flames caught, I poked at the branches with a stick to help the fire spread. The Crown Prince knelt beside me, took the stick from my hands, and tended the fire himself.
Even when we built the raft, I’d noticed it—despite being royalty, he was surprisingly skilled at menial tasks.
I sat back, hugging my knees, and watched the fire.
When he finished, the Crown Prince leaned against a nearby tree beside me.
“I apologize for frightening you earlier, my lady.”
“….”
At last, a straightforward apology. That was just like him.
But it didn’t make me feel any better.
“My lady.”
His low voice broke the silence after a long while, and I sighed.
‘If I ignore him, he’ll probably keep talking even after I lie down.’
I glared at him out of the corner of my eye.
His golden eyes trembled slightly.
Honestly, that reaction surprised me. In the original story, he never would’ve cared if some noble girl was upset with him.
I sighed and turned my head away.
“You were testing me, weren’t you? Because you don’t trust me.”
The golden eyes glowing faintly in the firelight widened a little.
“You thought this might be the work of the Emperor’s faction. And maybe even that I was an assassin or a spy sent by His Majesty.”
The Empire was currently split between the Emperor’s faction and the Crown Prince’s.
The Emperor frequently sent the Crown Prince to both large wars and minor skirmishes—basically, endless battles. Everyone in the Empire knew it was because he wanted his son dead.
Yet the Crown Prince survived every time, returning triumphant and hailed as a hero. How much must that have infuriated the Emperor?
Naturally, spies and assassins were often sent against him as well.
So it wasn’t entirely unreasonable that he had grown distrustful, or that he suspected me.
But still… of all things, did he have to test me by putting my life on the line?
‘Do you know how much….’
Remembering how I’d felt back then, my eyes burned.
Not from sadness. From rage.
Sometimes, when my anger overflowed, tears came with it.
The Crown Prince’s golden eyes grew wide as he watched me.
