Chapter 63
“Your Highness, I really think it’s best if you return now. What if you get hurt?”
“Let’s look just a little longer.”
They hadn’t gone too far from the castle yet.
At her words, the attendant hesitated for a long while before finally speaking with difficulty.
“Then please look just a bit more before going back.
Once afternoon arrives, the sun will set quickly, and the forest will grow even darker.”
Not wanting to trouble the worried attendants any further, Floria eventually gave a small nod. How long had they wandered through the forest?
There was still no sign of Bella. It was beginning to seem as if the merchant’s sighting had been a false lead.
Just as she was considering whether to turn back—an unpleasant sound suddenly rang in Floria’s ears.
“What was that?”
Far ahead, there was a tall hill, and rocks were tumbling down from its peak.
One of the attendants craned his neck to get a better look at what was happening in the distance.
“It seems there was a small landslide. It’s fortunate we weren’t nearby.
Look how dangerous it is—now, really, we should—”
We should return now.
Before the attendant could even finish his sentence, the brown-spotted horse Floria was riding began to shudder violently.
Terrified by the distant noise, the horse rolled its eyes and then suddenly bolted forward.
Danger!
“Ah!”
Feeling like she was about to be thrown off, Floria instinctively ducked low over the horse’s back.
“Stop!”
She gripped the reins tightly and shouted, but the horse, spooked by the landslide, continued to gallop uncontrollably.
“Your Highness! Your Highness!”
She could hear the attendants frantically spurring their horses behind her, trying to catch up, but the panicked animal was too fast for the others to follow.
“Your Highness! Hold onto the reins! You mustn’t fall!”
The desperate shouts of the attendants rang out.
I have to stay focused.
The forest path was riddled with roots jutting up from the ground.
If she fell from the horse now, she wouldn’t escape with just a few scrapes.
Being trampled by hooves could mean death.
Her heart pounded and fear gripped her, but her mind remained oddly calm.
Floria clung to the horse’s neck and tried to soothe him in a whisper.
“It’s okay… it’s okay…”
When she had mounted the horse earlier, the grooms had said with a laugh that, aside from the one the Grand Duke rode, this was the finest horse in Sieff.
Perhaps that was why it was nothing like the horses she had ridden during her lessons.
Its speed was incomparable. The sound of the attendants chasing behind her faded into the distance.
Floria desperately tried to calm the horse.
“It’s okay. Please… it’s okay…”
What was this horse’s name again? Was it Rius? Her tongue wouldn’t work properly from the tension.
“Rius… it’s okay. Ah!”
Rius jumped over a thick tree root and came crashing back down, jarring Floria’s spine.
Still, she clung on with all her strength.
I want to live. I don’t want to fall and die.
How far had they run? Finally, a steep cliff of jagged rock loomed ahead, and the horse came to a stop.
Whinny!
With a loud cry, Rius turned his body and calmed down.
Only then did Floria finally exhale the breath she’d been holding in fear.
“Ha… haah… haah…”
Her hands, still gripping the reins, were trembling violently.
I thought I was going to die.
She had truly thought she might die just now.
Her vision had gone black, and her mind had gone completely blank.
After panting heavily for a while, she finally calmed down enough to stroke the horse’s mane.
“Why did you do that? Were you scared?”
Even as she spoke to Rius, he simply blinked calmly, as if the earlier panic had been a lie.
Floria turned around, scanning the deep woods behind her for any sign of the attendants who had come with her. But there was no trace of them anywhere.
“This is bad…”
Now, not even a sound could be heard.
“How far did we come from where we got separated? Where are we even?”
If they had only gone in a straight line, she could simply turn back.
But the horse had run wildly in all directions, making it impossible to tell where they were.
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