# 48
48
“Ah… looks like we can get going now.”
Whether it was good or bad luck, the moment he was about to speak as if something had possessed him, the start of the hunting festival was announced.
He took a deep breath, as if expelling a suffocating feeling from his chest, then extended his arm in a familiar way to wrap around her waist.
Although she trained to ride a horse for a whole month, her skill did not improve much.
He made her sit in front of him, and with one hand he held the reins of the horse, and with the other he pulled her tightly to him.
“Where do you want to go, Angelica?”
He asked her before actually setting off on the hunt.
She hesitated a little, then pointed without hesitation to the depth of the mountain range.
“Wouldn't it be better to go somewhere where there are fewer people?”
Wild animals are quick to become wary, and it is natural for them to flee crowded places.
Hugo shook his head in agreement with her enthusiasm.
“Heeeeh!”
The horse started strongly, and the walk quickly turned into a gallop. The cold air enveloped her until she shrank slightly.
“Come in more.”
He quickly took off his coat and threw it over her shoulders.
“Ah... now I feel warm...”
The warmth of his body spread through her body, and her muscles relaxed unconsciously.
《It's okay...》
Suddenly I heard a strange sound.
"…What?"
It was Hugo's voice, but it sounded distant, unnaturally distant.
She thought she was delusional, but the voice echoed again, clearer than before.
《Hugo has already agreed. Now, the decision is up to you.》
‘His Majesty the Emperor? '
Why do you hear Cain Avendel's voice now?
The words did not fit the situation at all, yet her heart beat violently, and the headache that had subsided a while ago came back to hit her head harshly.
She looked around in confusion.
‘Why is Cain mentioning now, Angelica? '
Hugo asked her, catching her whisper.
She hesitated before answering in an uncertain voice:
“I heard… His Majesty’s voice just now.”
Hugo furrowed his eyebrows, spreading his aura around.
Only then did he feel another presence nearby.
The presence of Cain...and Cyril.
Direct the horse toward the source of the sensation.
The hoof beats continued, and with them the sound returned to her ears.
《I know what you're worried about. But if you stop now, you will have nothing but regret.》
‘Cyril…’
She didn't understand the meaning right away.
In fact, she understood him more than she should.
I felt it clearly.
“Regret?”
“If you stop now, not even regret will remain... there will be nothing left.”
Those words came out of her mouth, harshly cold.
Her voice was getting louder, while Hugo's voice became far away next to her, as if it was coming from another world.
“Angelica, what are you saying? No, your face is pale… We should go back.”
But she no longer heard well.
Her headache increased, and her head began to spin.
“Ah…”
Cain and Cyril appeared in front of her.
She looked at them, then at Hugo who was hugging her, then looked up into the void.
《Especially you, Hugo Bernstein.》
That suspicious feeling, that vague anxiety that had haunted her since the morning, returned.
And suddenly—
The atmosphere shook.
Then…
A huge sound rang out.
Her body fell suddenly, but a strong arm surrounded her before she hit the ground.
Didn't feel anything.
She only felt one word echoing in her mind.
'Repeatedly...'
Suddenly, forgotten memories came flooding back.
《Hugo Bernstein... your death...》
It is said that a wizard who reaches the tenth rank can control time and space.
They call it “the eye of the wise.”
They can go back in time, but they can't change fate.
Even if they knew the future, and even if they tried to prevent it, the end was the same.
That is the amount of time.
And Hugo Bernstein...was one of his victims.
And the person responsible for this fate was none other than Angelica Ratlay.
Memories flowed into her mind like a torrent.
She saw him lose his fingers in a fight because of them, then fight again after they were reattached.
She saw him being poisoned until his body almost dissolved, and he miraculously survived.
She saw him risking his life in search of something she once said indifferently about.
As in this moment...
“Keeeeeh!”
Her consciousness returned with the monster's scream.
She raised her head and saw the scene clearly.
She was far from everyone.
Surrounded by layers of magical barriers—Hugo's, Cyril's, and Cain's barriers.
Hugo's armor was closest to her, the sturdiest.
Although the battle was intense, he was the calmest.
“Kh—! Sir, are you okay?!”
"Hugo! Pull him over here!"
But the monster only looked at him.
He ignored the attacks of others and attacked him alone.
Then Angelica opened her mouth.
“Right to left…cut at an angle.”
Do as she said.
“Hit the claw first, then swerve upward...it will reveal its side.”
One stab.
“...Cut!”
The blade split the monster's body, but in return, its claws split its cheek.
“This species is usually killed by a stab to the heart...”
But—
“—does not die.”
“What the—!”
“Back off!”
And with that cry—
Blood flooded the scene.
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