Suddenly, Derol ran up to me. “There’s a cabin over there.”

    The mana tracker was still emitting a strong red light.

    Ardion tied the horse to a nearby tree and immediately turned to me. “Laila, I’ll meet Serina.”

    “I came all this way, and Your Highness wants me to wait here?”

    “I feel uncomfortable because I almost lost you earlier.”

    “But this time, Your Highness is with me, and I’m even wearing this hat.”

    Ardion only made a serious expression and didn’t answer.

    At that moment, Derol jumped up. “I’ll stay by your side, Master.”

    Derol had a dark look, and I returned it with a smile. It was fortunate that he was always on my side.

    When I looked at Derol, Ardion strangely blocked him with his foot. When I looked at him, he said, “Then let’s go together. Derol, you guard the horse.”

    “That’s ridiculous. I will go with Master...”

    I patted Derol’s head.

    Derol looked at me and mumbled, “Master, can I go with you? I’m worried about you.”

    “Then you’ll keep your promise, okay?”

    Derol seemed to hesitate for a moment but soon nodded.

    “Your Highness, let’s take Derol with us. He’s also quite helpful when he’s with me.”

    Ardion’s eyebrows hardened slightly as he looked at me. “Do as you wish.”

    His voice seemed to spread a coldness. I put Derol firmly in my pocket and approached Ardion.

    Ardion didn’t take his eyes off me. He was glaring at Derol as if he was going to kill him. Derol must have been scared by those eyes when he wasn’t in my pocket.

    “That little rat and I...” Ardion stopped talking and turned around.

    I approached him and examined his face. Ardion’s face was strangely red, especially the tips of his ears. He seemed more angry than embarrassed.

    Suddenly, I thought of the monster. “Your Highness, your expression doesn’t look good.”

    I even thought that maybe something was wrong with him since he touched the monster’s blood earlier.

    “No, I’m fine.” Ardion held my hand tightly with a hardened face. “Laila, don’t ever let go. Serina almost killed you.”

    “... Yes.”

    Ardion’s expression softened slightly, as if he liked my answer.

    My mind was at peace, and I gave him a faint smile. Anyway, I was grateful that Ardion saved my life in the hunting competition.

    However, Ardion’s face gradually hardened. He looked into my eyes as if he had lost his mind.

    “Your Highness?”

    Only then did Ardion blink. He held my hand tighter than before. “Sometimes, it feels like time has stopped.”

    “...”

    “Especially when I see you.”

    “But...”

    “Shh, Derol. She’s around here.”

    The mana tracker started to vibrate again. It was proof that Serina was around here. I quickly scanned my surroundings. Before I knew it, I saw a valley, a large tree below it, and next to it... was Serina.

    She was sitting on the water’s edge, washing her feet. Without her cloak, she was clearly Serina. Above all, her beautiful hair color stood out.

    I walked down the valley with careful steps.

    “Master, be careful.”

    I nodded and carefully stepped on the stones. There was a slight slope, but it wasn’t so steep that I couldn’t go down. Fortunately, I was far from where Serina was, so she wouldn’t hear any noises I made.

    I carefully looked down at Serina to make sure she wasn’t gone. I felt like I needed two pairs of eyes.

    I slowly walked down with a trembling heart. Then I raised my head again to check where Serina was, who somehow vanished. Where did she go...

    Suddenly, the moment I took a step, I lost my balance and slipped on a rock. “Ah!”

    I heard the sound of the gravel around me collapsing. I fell on my hands, and my palms were scratched.

    “Master, are you okay?” Derol hurriedly ran to me.

    I quickly got up and looked around, but Serina was still nowhere to be seen. “Derol, Serina is gone. She was definitely there earlier...”

    “Are you looking for me?”

    I turned my head in surprise, and Serina was standing there.

    “Serina.”

    “If you came looking for the necklace, I’ll tell you in advance that I don’t have it.”

    “Impossible...”

    “I already gave it to His Highness the Crown Prince.”

    When I was too flustered to say anything, Serina laughed. “Ardion is basically on the verge of dying. No matter how much both of you struggle, it’s no use.”

    I was dumbfounded. I asked. “... Why are you doing this?”

    “I’ve been through a lot.”

    “What do you mean by ‘I’ve been through a lot?’”

    “I don’t know if you’ll believe me, but I’ve already died once.”

    My mind went blank as soon as I heard that. Serina died once? Then, had this world I entered started over again?

    While I was thinking about it, Serina smiled brightly. “I didn’t think you’d believe me right away. Actually, I was surprised at first too. No, when I first woke up, I thought God was playing a joke on me.”

    At that moment, Derol pulled the hem of my skirt.

    Serina lowered her head and smiled at Derol. “I saw you then. You were cute because you were a little rat with mana.”

    When Serina reached out, Derol squeaked and seemed to want to bite her finger, but I quickly grabbed him. There was nothing good in getting on Serina’s nerves now.

    Serina smiled and looked at me. “Actually, I’ve had a dream since a long time ago. I wanted to become a master of swordsmanship, not a priest. Of course, that’s in the past now. But back then, my parents put me in the temple, and Ardion saw me there and followed me.”

    Everything Serina was saying was from the original story. I listened absentmindededly as she continued her story.

    “At first, I didn’t hate Ardion. But when I gave up being a priest and tried to learn swordsmanship, he started to oppress me more than ever. I started avoiding Ardion from then, but he pressured me even more.”

    “The Ardion you’re talking about is different then and now.”