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"How do you know that name...?"
I stared blankly at Idris.
Aria.
It was an alias I used as a child so my friends in the slums wouldn't find out I was a noble.
A name that only one person in this world knew and could call me.
A name I thought would never be called again.
But now, someone was calling me by that name.
"I've been looking for you for a very long time..."
"......"
"In the meantime, you became covered in scars and put up your guard."
"......"
"So I kept you by my side and waited. Until you got used to me. Until your wounded heart opened up."
"......"
"Without realizing that my greed would put you in danger. Foolishly."
That's when all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place.
The boy who pretended to be blind while covering his eyes.
Those who brutally attacked a child from the slums.
"How would you feel if a friend who hurt you when you were young came looking for you?"
And, his longing for his childhood friend.
"I'm sorry for deceiving you."
"......"
"I'm sorry... I'm late."
With a voice that was becoming strained, I could feel the strength slowly leaving his hand that was holding mine.
"Idris...?"
I grabbed his hand urgently, but he couldn't hold on and fell to the side with his eyes closed.
"Idris!"
As I hugged his falling body, I could feel the heat of his breath on my neck.
At the same time, I felt his forehead, which had touched my shoulder, burning like fire.
My heart sank.
"Idris, no. Wake up, please..."
But Idris didn't respond.
Except for letting out painful breaths.
The tension that had disappeared just by being with him was stretched taut again, as if it would break.
'...Calm down, Leticia. And think about what you can do now.'
I calmed my breathing, cleared my mind, and assessed the situation.
'Idris is still alive.'
I don't know if he can detoxify himself as he said, but he's still okay for now.
So I had to do something while I could.
'It would be nice to have a fever reducer or an antidote...'
But there's no way there would be anything like that in the middle of the forest...
'...No. There could be, right?'
All antidotes are made from herbs.
I don't have the expertise to distinguish what kind of poison Idris is poisoned with, or what these plants in front of me are used for.
'But I have an eye to distinguish what helps.'
The time when dusk was just setting.
Short, but there was still time before the sun completely set.
"Idris, just hold on a little longer."
After checking Idris's condition, I went out of the cave.
It was my turn to save him this time.
A short while later.
I came back to the cave with two herbs in my hand.
Herbs that I found after wandering around in the darkening forest for a long time.
'I don't know what's good for what, but anyway, these two plants help with fever and detoxification.'
I managed to get the herbs, but there was another problem.
'...Idris is still not doing well.'
His body was still burning hot, and he was unconscious.
That means he can't eat these herbs himself.
Then there was only one way.
I swallowed without realizing it as I looked at Idris's lips.
'This is just to give him medicine...'
Suddenly, I remembered Idris overlapping his lips with mine again to give me breath when I fell into the waterfall earlier.
And, his confession that he liked me.
"...What am I thinking with a sick person in front of me?"
I slapped my burning cheeks and calmed my flustered heart.
Then, I chewed the herbs I had brought and made juice, opened Idris's mouth, and made him swallow the juice.
When I saw him in pain from the fever, the embarrassment from earlier disappeared as if washed away, and only worry remained.
I repeated the process once more, and then put a torn sleeve soaked from a nearby stream on Idris's forehead.
"...I've done this much, if you don't wake up, I'll never forgive you."
Idris naturally didn't say anything.
I missed his natural voice that always teased me.
Was it because of the relief that the situation had been settled to some extent?
My whole body trembled with the cold that came late.
I put more firewood into the small campfire and then carefully squatted next to him and periodically checked on Idris's condition.
And finally, when the dawn twilight began to fill the cave.
At some point, my eyelids became heavy.
"...Your Highness! Miss Chloe!"
When I opened my eyes, having fallen asleep for a moment, it was the time when the morning sun was beginning to seep in.
Through the light, I could faintly hear a voice from afar.
'Oh, when did I fall asleep?'
My body, which had been squatting until I fell asleep, was curled up on the floor.
Realizing that I had fallen asleep, I was startled and opened my eyes wide.
The first thing that came to my mind as soon as I came to my senses was...
'Idris!'
Surely, nothing bad happened while I was asleep for a moment...?
The moment I lifted my eyes with anxiety.
"Good morning, Leticia."
A languidly sunken voice rang out, and our eyes met.
Those golden eyes I had missed all night.
At the same time as I burst into laughter at the rising sense of relief, tears welled up for some reason.
In the end, I couldn't hold back my emotions and hugged him tightly.
It was a day when I realized anew how grateful I was for the warmth in this embrace.
The Duke Farnese's office.
"Please, please...!"
Paydan was pacing anxiously in the office.
He had been in that state ever since returning from the hunting grounds yesterday.
He saw Idris and Leticia fall down the waterfall and then swim out of the water unharmed.
'If those two are alive, they'll know that I did this!'
He kept shooting crossbows, but he couldn't even get close because of the water or the distance.
"But they must be dead, right? Yes, they must be dead. There are wild beasts in that forest, and it's hard to maintain body temperature at night because it's cold."
He was reassuring himself by citing various adverse conditions, but in fact, he knew in his heart.
If it was just Leticia, it might be possible, but if Idris, who had survived even worse battlefields, was there...
But what could he do?
The two had escaped to a place beyond his reach.
All Paydan could do in this situation was to pray and pray that the two were dead.
As a result, he couldn't sleep a wink all night.
If the two came back alive.
And if it was revealed that everything that happened at this hunting festival was his doing.
'I'll be dragged to prison for trying to assassinate a member of the imperial family...'
If that happened, he would have to abandon everything and run away.
Nevertheless, the reason he was still holding out in the mansion was because he couldn't give up hope.
If the heavens helped him and the two were dead, he would just have to act like a man grieving for the loss of his ex-wife.
'Now that it's dawn, the Imperial Knights must have resumed their search, and news should be coming soon, whether they're dead or alive.'
At that moment, the gate of the mansion opened and a carriage entered.
It was the carriage that Lockard, who had been left near the hunting grounds to assess the situation, had come in.
Paydan couldn't even wait for that short moment and hurriedly went down to the first floor.
"Lockard! What happened?"
"Y-Your Excellency. It's a disaster! The Grand Duke and the Lady have returned alive."
"Shit...!"
The blood in his whole body ran cold.
Hearing the news, Paydan quickly went up to his room to pack his bags, but Lockard grabbed him.
"Now is not the time for this. The Imperial Knights are coming this way. You must run away immediately."
At those words, Paydan shouted in a testy voice.
"Then what am I supposed to eat and live on if I go out? I have to have some emergency funds!"
"Of course, but the most important thing is to survive, isn't it?"
"Ha..."
"If you just get out of here first, I'll pack your things and follow you."
"How are you going to do that?"
"There's a way. Please trust me."
Paydan chewed his lips and muttered curses, and eventually left through the back door empty-handed.
Lockard watched Paydan's retreating figure with determined eyes, then slowly erased the expression from his face.
Only a mean smile remained in its place.
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