The dense forest continued endlessly, and with every step I took, a faint breath escaped between my lips.
I hadn’t walked very long, but the dragon heart embedded in my chest was sending me a slight pain.
My eyes went down to the compass in my hand.
Watching the needle shake slightly, I couldn’t even imagine how long I would have lost my bearings and wandered in the thick foliage without this small tool.
The sunlight carefully filtered down through the leaves and faintly sparkled on the surface of the compass.
The map in my hand showed a city about 20 kilometers to the north.
The forest was more humid and hotter than I had expected.
The sweat that had formed under my outerwear clung to my body unpleasantly.
My limping legs felt heavier than usual, and each step seemed to be pulling me backward.
The only thing that broke the silence was the occasional chirping of unknown birds.
I walked forward, listening to the sound of the dirt under my feet on the grass.
The path my feet were on was much rougher than I had expected.
I almost fell down several times on the stone path, I barely managed to continue walking with the help of my cane, then stopped and closed my eyes for a moment.
The humid air seeped into my lungs.
“Flora…”
I muttered the name quietly without realizing it and looked at the compass again.
With a faint hope, the fact that I had to hurry my steps weighed heavily on my mind.
The road to the city was long and rough.
“Just a little further…”
The thought of continuing to walk crossed my mind, but the pain in my legs and ankles coldly warned me of my limits.
I opened my bag and took out a small magic tool.
I carefully breathed magic into the object that looked like an ordinary stone on my palm.
A warm flame rose above the branches, and the dry branches that I had roughly piled up quickly turned into a bonfire.
The crackling sound of the flame drove away the thick darkness.
The warm energy seemed to melt my frozen body, but the coldness in my heart still did not go away.
As I stared blankly at the flame, I remembered Flora handling the fire.
Ferociously Even the burning flames turned into warm warmth under her touch.
I missed her warmth so much.
I shook my head vigorously to shake off the anxiety and thoughts lingering in my head.
I wanted to empty my mind, but they didn’t go away easily.
When I laid down next to the campfire, the damp earth felt unpleasant.
Dragonheart still sent sharp pain along with its irregular heartbeat.
My tired body refused to fall asleep, and every time I closed my eyes, her image came to mind.
I could clearly feel the cold leash touching my neck.
Proof of the love Flora had filled me with.
As if to prove our relationship, the leash was still hanging around my neck.
I reached out and grabbed the leash.
The feel of the leather reached my fingertips.
‘I’ll be able to arrive in the city tomorrow.’
I consoled myself like that and forced my tired eyelids to close.
The fervent hope that I would definitely find a clue about Flora tomorrow supported my mind.
I slowly fell into sleep, following the faint wind.
What woke me up was a sharp growl.
The smell of the earth seeping into my nostrils was damp and rough, and I could feel the threat of a wild beast approaching in the darkness.
The sound of tree branches breaking came closer and closer.
I felt my heart pounding, as if I realized that my death was near.
I knew that I was so weak that just being exposed to the beasts in the dark forest threatened my life.
I thought of the appearance of the Demon King.
I recalled the torrent of power that had destroyed all of Flora’s magic and destroyed everything.
I was helpless in front of him.
I could only watch, unable to even protect the fallen Flora.
As the beasts grabbed my ankles, some emotion boiled inside me.
I went up.
I gripped the staff tightly.
In the darkness, the movements of the beasts were getting closer and closer.
In the darkness, the yellow eyes of the beasts shone sharply.
More than twenty blood-red gazes were all looking at me, piercing through the silence of the forest.
A tension flowed as if they would attack me at any moment.
I lowered my gaze and looked at the rose pattern embroidered on my gloves.
The gloves with roses engraved on them, left by Flora.
Even in the darkness, the rose pattern was creating a gentle shadow as if it was alive.
A force that had tormented me and could not be escaped no matter how hard I struggled.
The intense pain that had spread through my wrist, and the pain of something being torn apart inside my body came back to life.
I knew that it was a force that should not be used.
I gritted my teeth and turned my gaze to the beasts.
They were still keeping their distance and exploring me.
Strangely enough, they did not attack me readily.
Their yellow eyes Beyond me, it was staring at my chest.
Was it because of Dragonheart?
The heart of another person that had caused me pain for a long time.
Now that it had become a part of me, it was protecting me.
It was ironic.
The being that had tormented me was now my shield.
“It’s not even funny.”
I laughed softly and gripped my staff tightly.
A low growl echoed in the silence, rang in my ears like the sound of war drums.
I felt the cold touch of the staff.
I took out a few small bombs from my waist bag and held them in my hands.
I saw the yellow eyes of the beasts in the darkness tremble slightly.
“Do you think you’d be afraid of beasts?”
The words that came out like a low whisper dispersed into the air.
Was it the emotions that had been boiling in my chest?
My voice in my ear felt colder than ever.
I felt like I wanted to tear the beasts in front of me to pieces right away.
The beasts were visibly flustered by my stubborn attitude.
The one who seemed to be the leader snorted harshly and glared at me,
but they never came near.
They only let out low groans as they watched each other.
“Come at me. Let’s see which one will be the one who loses their breath.”
A brief moment of tense silence flowed, and finally the beasts reluctantly turned and scattered into the darkness.
The sound of the grass rustling gradually faded away, and soon only silence filled the forest.
For a brief moment, my whole body relaxed and trembled.
The pressure I had felt from the beasts lingered like an aftertaste, and my hand lost its strength and my cane slid to the ground.
The pale dawn light penetrated through the leaves.
My body, which had been crouching all night, felt like a creaking machine.
My legs, which had been walking all day, felt like a heavy burden, throbbing with pain. But one thought that came to my mind made me stand up again.
Flora is waiting.
Pain surged through my legs, but I didn’t stop walking.
After taking a few steps, Flora’s hands suddenly came to mind.
Her warm hands, and even her laughter as she tickled and played with me, came to mind vividly.
If only she were here right now…
I snickered at the thought.
The forest was soaked with the fog that had fallen during the night.
The grass reflected the sunlight and sparkled, and the fresh scent of the grass tickled my nose.
I heard the sound of water flowing in the distance, so I moved my feet.
Soon, a small valley with clear, transparent water appeared.
I sat down by the water’s edge and dipped my hands.
The cold water ran up my tired fingertips and cooled my whole body.
As I washed the sweat off my face, the tension from the moment I faced the beasts slowly melted away.
At that moment, I realized.
‘I felt angry.’
Before I met Flora, it was strange to be angry at something.
No, I didn’t even need to feel that way.
My life was always numb, just moving like an empty shell.
I grabbed my cane again.
I saw my reflection on the water.
The empty eyes looked different somehow.
Flora had changed me.
The time I spent with her had sprouted something new inside me.
Only she was the meaning of my life.
The sound of trickling water tickled my ears.
The calm yet clear sound of the water seemed to comfort my heart for a moment, but when I turned my head, the marks on the ground caught my attention.
The marks were clearly visible on the moist ground where a few blades of grass had sprouted.
They weren’t well-trimmed marks, but they were definitely the marks of a shoe.
Next to them were rough and heavy marks that couldn’t be called human footprints.
I could tell at a glance that they were from the demon tribe, from their size and shape.
Kingdom Knights.
As the name came to mind, a bitter smile appeared on my lips without me knowing.
‘Bastard.’
The contemptuous derogatory term still seemed to linger in my ears.
I tried to ignore it, saying that it didn’t matter how they called me, but deep down inside, those words were still stuck like sharp thorns.
But it was not the time to care about that.
It was the position of Duke that I had acquired against my will, but I had to use it to find information about Flora.
I didn’t care if there were mocking words exchanged.
The Demon King’s Army was a much bigger problem than the Kingdom Knights.
I wasn’t sure where this was, but it was hard to imagine that civilians would be wandering around the places where the Kingdom Knights roamed.
If I ran into the Demon King’s Army, I might have to prepare myself.
My heart was pounding heavily.
The needle of the compass in my hand trembled faintly.
I slowly leaned on my cane and headed north.