The Hunting of Snow White: A Grim Tale - Chapter 15

She set her feet down on the floor beside the bed. Worried it might hurt because of the injury she’d gotten while fleeing the knight, Prina quickly pulled her foot back, but, strangely, there was no pain at all. It had already been completely healed.

Prina slipped out of bed and slowly approached the door.

Rustle.

Someone was outside. Not far away.

With a trembling hand, Prina pushed the door open, and with a creak, the corridor came into view. She cautiously peeked out, scanning the long hallway back and forth.

Rustle— Patter, patter.

Her gaze followed something in motion. At the end of the corridor, a white rabbit was looking back at her.

The yellow lace ribbon around its snowy-white neck was unmistakably familiar.

“…Lucky?”

The rabbit was Lucky, the one Prina had healed and released. As if recognizing its name, the rabbit twitched its ears and then quickly disappeared toward the stairs.

As if hypnotized, Prina followed.

Lucky hopped down the stairs with quick, nimble jumps. Even as she chased after the tiny creature, there was no sign of anyone else nearby. Only the sound of Prina’s small footsteps echoed around her.

Lucky always seemed just within reach, but never quite caught. Keeping a steady pace, never stopping or rushing, as if intentionally guiding her somewhere. It felt almost like a mirage leading her on.

The mansion was a complex labyrinth of many doors and corridors, but Lucky never led her into a dead end. It was as if the rabbit already knew the layout perfectly, moving with clever precision. Prina felt that if she lost Lucky here, she might never find it again. She quickened her pace, closing the distance between them.

…Just a bit more, a little closer.

Just as she thought she had almost caught up, Lucky suddenly turned to face her in front of a certain room. The moment their eyes met, Lucky’s red eyes flashed like rubies.

And in an instant, it darted through a door left slightly ajar.

“…No, wait—”

Unthinkingly following the rabbit into the room, Prina found herself face to face with a familiar figure.

“……”

He lifted Lucky up.

As the rabbit, which had been on the floor, floated gently up in his grasp, Prina fixed her trembling gaze on him.

That man…

The large man who had handed Lucky to her in the secret forest was standing right before her eyes.

He was the man she had hoped never to meet again, but his hands were not rough as they had been when he had gripped Lucky’s ears. Now, his touch was gentle and unhurried, as if handling a tamed animal with care.

Lucky, too, was nestled quietly in his arms, as if it were a place of comfort and safety.

Contrary to her fears, the rabbit looked as calm as if it had found its true master. He softly stroked Lucky with his large hand.

At last, Prina met his empty, unblinking gaze.

Had he just bathed? His jet-black hair was still damp. And the man was completely naked, not a thread of clothing on his body.

Even exposed like this, he seemed entirely unfazed, as if it were nothing at all.

Instead, it was Prina who found herself flustered.

“You’re awake.”

At the low voice, her heart—which had nearly sunk—started to race again.

“Prina.”

The man clearly remembered the name he had taken from her in the forest that day, in place of taking the rabbit.

The moment he spoke her name again, as if it belonged to him, the sensations Prina had felt just before losing consciousness seemed to return, one by one.

Step, step, step.

The slow, deliberate sound of footsteps pressing into grass. The scent of greenery drawing closer.

He made no unnecessary movements.

Like a beast stalking its prey, his intense gaze was locked on her, his movements slow and relentless.

He was coming closer.

The hunt was already over, and all that remained was for the predator to claim his prize. The air grew heavier as he approached, and the blurry image she had seen in the rain that day overlapped with the clear reality before her now.

It felt as if his gaze was tightening around her neck. Everything in this place was within his reach. The overwhelming pressure was suffocating, and Prina stumbled backward. The moment her back touched the door, he drew up the corners of his mouth in a lazy, languid smile.

“Prina.”

He called her name once more, this time even more clearly.

Click. The moment the door opened, she fled the room as if running for her life.