Chapter 82

Chapter 82

“No, Young Marquis.”

She called out to him. Then, suddenly, a great stag appeared behind him. It turned its head this way and that, then abruptly fixed its gaze on her. Leaves and trees shimmered through its body. Yes—that was unmistakably a ghost. An animal soul, rare to behold, stood before her. No doubt about it.

The stag was nearly as massive as a horse. Yet it lacked the eerie chill of most ghosts. If anything, it struck her as beautiful. Its pitch-black eyes were bottomless, and the pair of antlers atop its head seemed carved like a polished work of art. Its body, too, arced with elegant, wave-like curves.

Wait… could it be one of the souls that won’t leave the Young Marquis?

She gazed at the stag in silence, floating in a dazed, quiet moment. Then, without warning, it opened its mouth wide, as if to swallow her whole. The gentle creature turned grotesque in an instant.

“Kyaaah—”

A bizarre cry echoed through the forest. Its sharp wail sent a chill racing over her skin.

“Kyaaaaah—”

The stag kept pouring out its agonizing howl. Then, in one motion, it charged straight at her. She grabbed the reins tight and hunched her body. Just as it brushed past her side, a blade-like wind whistled at her ear.

She felt her hair lift and scatter on the breeze. It was real wind—that ghost was conjuring actual gusts just by moving.

Heeeen—

The sudden blast made the horse rear up, front hooves lashing the air. She was pitched backward.

“Ahh!”

She screamed, a tear-choked yelp. Fear seized her—she was about to fall. But luckily, the beast set its hooves back down. Only for a moment. Then the horse bolted along the forest path.

“Laura!”

The duke’s voice, urgently calling my name, faded into the distance. Looking back, I saw he’d already dismounted—there was no way he could follow me on foot in time.

“This is bad. What do I do now…”

Panic seized me as I glanced around. Souls of all kinds ran alongside me—tiny mammals to massive predators, all jumbled together. At some point, they coalesced into small orbs, rising one by one into the sky. They looked like fireflies, but I couldn’t appreciate the sight. Fear hit me harder.

Rough branches scraped my skin like needles, and the wind howled, cold as a sheet of ice. Dizzy and lost, I curled into myself and squeezed my eyes shut.

“Laura! Open your eyes! You need to see ahead!”

The young marquis’s voice followed close behind. He must have been chasing after me.

“B-but!”

I shouted almost in tears. The situation closing in on me was terrifying—so terrifying I felt I might die.

“Laura. It’s okay. Look at me! I’ll handle this somehow!”

The young marquis kept speaking calmly, as if trying to soothe me. I managed to crack my eyes open and look back at him. He was on his galloping horse, reaching out his hand toward me. His pale hair was completely disheveled. His deep green eyes fixed on me intensely. He could barely hold the reins, but he didn’t look unsettled. The problem was me.

“Y-you want me to grab your hand?”

“Yes. I’ll hold you tight. I won’t let go—trust me!”

It wasn’t that I didn’t trust him. Still, I couldn’t let go of the reins. My hands just wouldn’t loosen their grip—my whole body was too tense to obey.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry! I can’t help it! My hands won’t let go!”

“…Alright. Then I’ll come over to you.”

“What?! That’s too dangerous!”

“It’s fine. Don’t move, stay right there.”

He twisted his body toward me. That snapped me back to reality for a second. After all, he could barely use one arm. His body wasn’t even fully healed yet. I couldn’t let him risk jumping between galloping horses like that.

Time was short, and I had to choose fast. The horse, running wild with no direction, was already dragging us deep into the forest.

“No! No! I’ll come! I’ll do it!”

I shook my head violently and shouted. Then I looked down at my two hands gripping the reins. I let out a long, deliberate sigh.

“Please… please… let go of the strength and release the reins. Laura Highen!”

One by one, I uncurled my trembling fingers. The sweat pooling in my palms felt cold against the wind. My muscles ached from how hard I’d been gripping. Still, I managed to straighten all my fingers and forced myself to look back at the young marquis.

“But don’t lose him! You have to hold on tight!”

I stretched my arm toward the young marquis. But in that instant, the horse let out a shrill whinny and reared up on its front legs. In a flash, my body tilted backward and I fell from the horse. I could easily foresee the future headlong plunge awaiting me.

“Laura!”

I squeezed my eyes shut at the young marquis’s short cry. A moment later, with a heavy thud, I was thrown to the ground. My body rolled several times before stopping. But something felt wrong. Instead of cold dirt against my back, I felt a warm body heat.

Could this be?!

I jolted upright and spun around — there was the young marquis. It seemed he’d grabbed me and fallen with me. He gave me a quick glance, then coughed, clearing his throat.

“Are… are you alright? Snap out of it!”

I grabbed him and shouted. But wasn’t there a damp liquid seeping between my fingers? Startled, I looked down and saw blood welling up from the young marquis’s side.

The rain began to pour in thick sheets.

At the same time, heavy raindrops started to fall. The horses that had thrown us were trotting away into the distance. The forest had already been shrouded in deep darkness, and I couldn’t find the way back. Only the sound of rain echoed around us. We seemed completely isolated.

A dizzying feeling came over me. I had to somehow resolve this situation. I got up and scanned the forest back and forth. Then I spotted a small cave nearby.

“Young Marquis, get up. Let’s move over there for now.”

I immediately helped him up, supporting him. He groaned, clutching his side. His clothes were soaked through. He seemed to have lost too much blood. Even so, the rain kept falling, seeping into my hair and collar.

We pushed through the rain toward the cave. Once inside, I laid him down and realized his condition was more serious than I’d thought. His face was far too pale. The air carried the bitter, metallic scent of blood, like rusty iron.

“Blood… you’re losing too much blood. Let’s get this off first, young marquis.”

“Wh—what?”

At my words, he fumbled nervously at his collar.

“You’re soaked through from the rain! And I need to see the wound.”

But I grabbed his coat and pulled at it stubbornly. He was already in bad shape—if he caught a cold on top of this, he’d be laid up for sure. And since this mess was about eighty percent my fault, I couldn’t just leave him like this.

“Ugh.”

The young marquis bit his lip as if in pain. I pulled back quickly. The smell of blood was growing stronger. I felt genuine panic creeping in.

“I’ll take it off.”

He leaned back and called out, then began unfastening his buttons with effort. He peeled off his outer coat and let it drop to the floor with a thud. Something yellow poked out from the pocket—the hair tie I’d given him. I snatched it up. There was no decent cloth to staunch the bleeding, so I planned to use this for emergency treatment.

By then, he’d undone all his shirt buttons too. Through the parted fabric, a deep, jagged gash came into view.

“Young marquis. Stay still.”

I folded the hair tie neatly and pressed it against the wound. But suddenly, he grabbed my arm tight.

“Laura.”

“Yes? What is it?”

“You’re going to stop the bleeding with this?”

“Oh, are you worried it’s dirty? But this is the only dry cloth I have…”

“No, it’s just… I’d hate to waste it…”

“……Is this really the time for that?”

Somewhat dumbfounded, I pressed firmly on his wound. The young marquis’s brow furrowed sharply from the pain. Soon I felt blood seeping wetly through the hair tie.

“Ah—sorry. Does it… hurt a lot?”

“Yes. It hurts terribly…”

The words came out like a confession. Unsure of what to do, I hurriedly pulled away from him. But then the young marquis grabbed me again and drew me close. His face, suddenly near, stared straight at me.

“Did I startle you? I was joking. It doesn’t hurt that much.”

“…….”

“So you don’t have to make a face like that. See? I’m not as hurt as it looks.”

The young marquis reached out a hand toward me. He briefly ran his fingers through my disheveled hair. Only then did I realize I’d been swallowed by a bleak mood. It must have shown on my face.

“……I’m sorry. If I’d grabbed your hand faster, this wouldn’t have happened. I was just too scared.”

I kept working on the first aid as I spoke. The sight of him so pale made my stomach twist. Even the skin under my fingers felt eerily cold to the touch.