Chapter 67
Prina hesitated for a moment. But if she returned, the only thing left would be Hunter.
Everything she had in the mansion was what Hunter had provided her.
Everything was filled with Hunter, to the point it felt suffocating.
More terrifying than the unfamiliar danger ahead was his familiar and tender touch that wrapped around her and tightened like a noose. In his arms, she would have to endure a time like that of a taxidermied animal, alive yet as good as dead.
She had tried to accept him. She had spoken those words, so she tried to endure somehow. But… after Happy died, she lost the strength to endure any longer.
She did not want to see another life wither away again.
She could not bear to lose Lucky, the last one left to her.
So even if she was afraid, she had to break away from him.
She was not his dependent.
As long as she still breathed, she could live on her own.
She had to struggle, had to at least thrash against being swallowed into him, and step into the forest.
Prina urged herself forward, lifting her heavy steps as though to stamp against the ground.
“Lucky, I’ll protect you. No matter what.”
If Happy hadn’t died.
If the remaining Lucky were not so precious.
She could never have resolved to escape Hunter.
Indeed, Lucky must truly be the blessing his name meant. He was the fortune sent to her.
Clutching Lucky tightly to her chest, she stepped into the thickly wooded forest. Her heart began to pound faster and faster.
The surroundings were oppressive. She couldn’t even take one deep breath.
The trees blocked the sky so thoroughly that even though it was day, the forest inside was darker than the pitch-black of night.
It felt as though she had entered a maze with no exit, leaving her only with a stifling sense of despair. Still, she could not turn back.
How long had she walked?
No matter how far she went, the strange forest path never grew familiar.
The leaves brushing against her body stung like blades. Spiderwebs stretched between trees caught at her like traps.
Wooong, wooong—wind sounded endlessly in her ears.
The breeze stroked her cheeks, swept through her hair.
The rustling leaves in the wind chattered toward her.
Who are you? Where did you come from?
You don’t belong here.
Get out of here!
It sounded almost like someone warning her that she was in danger, telling her she had to flee.
Though stumbling, Prina could not stop her anxious steps.
“Haa… haa…”
The deeper she went into the forest, the more she floundered like someone drowning in water.
Her heart rose to just below her throat. As though invisible hands shot out from the thicket to seize her ankles, her steps grew heavier, dragging along the dirt with a scratchy scrape.
No. I mustn’t slow down.
If she did, he might hear her escape.
Her knees buckled as though she would fall, her body staggering, but with only that thought she pressed forward, step by step.
The thick fog never ended. Nothing within it appeared clearly to her eyes.
She no longer even had a sense of direction. She simply did not look back, did not step backward.
Though she walked without pause, it felt like she might collapse in vain at any moment.
Amid her blurring consciousness, anxiety began to settle.
Step. Step. Step…
“……”
Suddenly, she heard footsteps. Startled, she froze in place.
The moment she stopped, the footsteps stopped as well. What was that, was someone following her? A shiver ran cold up her spine.
Was that my own sound?
She took one step forward. Rustle. The sound of footsteps again.
Yes, it must be mine.
But then, why did it feel so sinister?
Disbelieving, Prina stepped again and again.
Step.
Step… step.
The last sound was slightly off-beat, but still…
It must be her own sound. The pounding in her ears must be only her heartbeat.
It couldn’t be Hunter.
But if it were Hunter… what kind of expression would he wear as he looked at her…
The moment she turned back, she felt certain their eyes would meet.
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