The Hunting of Snow White: A Grim Tale - Chapter 70

Prina was riding in a carriage secretly prepared by the knights, heading somewhere unknown.

The carriage, seemingly royal from its fairly comfortable make, felt uncomfortable to sit in. Perhaps it was her heart that was uneasy. Her last memory of a carriage was when she had ridden under Sir Arthur’s escort. Would the knights do the same thing again? Baseless fear and restlessness welled up inside her. This time, she might not even be able to escape, since there were so many of them.

But somehow, this time felt different. Unlike Sir Arthur, they did not ignore her words, and they even accepted Lucky’s presence. One knight even seemed to find Lucky adorable. She told herself not to be so suspicious of people. It was only because she had run so far, only because she had barely escaped the forest, that she was feeling this way now.

Prina hugged Lucky tightly, the companion who had escaped that terrifying forest path with her.

Before boarding the carriage, she had received permission to keep Lucky. At first, she had been too timid to ask, but she could not bear to abandon the one who had endured that harrowing journey by her side.

Lucky would surely remind her of Hunter. But with time, even painful memories would fade. All she could do was endure the years. In adapting to a new place, someday she would forget.

‘What kind of person is Father, I wonder…’

Prina deliberately turned her thoughts toward her father as she watched the scenery shake past outside the window. It was an effort to push away the thoughts of Hunter that kept creeping back.

She had never held any expectations for her father. Having grown up in the convent until the age of twenty, with no one ever coming to visit her, she had assumed she had no family. Yet if her father had spent all this time searching for her while she was missing, perhaps he was not entirely as she had thought.

‘Still… he is my father.’

From now on, he was the blood relative she must rely on. Could it be that he had placed her in the convent for her safety? If so, why had he never come to visit, even once? She had learned in the mansion that if one truly cared for someone, one could not help but look in on them.

When Hunter was late returning, she had gone to the first floor to wait for him, peering out the window, her heart racing whenever she saw the large figure approaching from afar. She had hated to miss even the smallest details, staring at him intently. And he too, had felt the same…

‘…Please, stop.’

She had to consciously halt her thoughts of him, clamping her eyes shut and shaking her head as if to throw them off. Prina tried to reach for other topics, for wandering thoughts to distract herself, but gave up. No matter how she turned it, her mind circled back to Hunter. As for her father, she would only truly know once she met him.

The carriage veered onto a remote road. From the rough jolts, it seemed not even a road at all.

Surely not like Sir Arthur’s time… surely they weren’t taking her to some secluded place to harm her?

The old memories she had tried to bury resurfaced, sending ripples of unease through her. Her throat felt as if a thorn was lodged inside.

“Don’t think of such awful things.”

Frightened, Prina clutched Lucky close to her chest, as if to comfort herself.

Now I’ll protect you. And you, protect me too.

She whispered softly, rubbing her cheek against Lucky’s soft fur.

* * *

After a long ride, the carriage arrived before a stone tower.

“Please disembark. This will be Your Highness’s residence until affairs at the palace are settled.”

“…Yes.”

Escorted by a knight, Prina stepped down from the carriage. The stone tower, standing alone in a remote location, gave off a faintly desolate impression, though there was also something strangely familiar about it.

Though old, the inside was arranged to be fairly cozy. It was not like Hunter’s mansion, but there was a bed for her to rest in and all the necessary furnishings. Enough for her to live in, at least for a while.