Chapter 12
“Please, Save Him”
The scene in front of me shifted rapidly. Every time Idrish’s feet hit the ground, the shock reverberated through me, doubling in intensity. Each impact made it hard to breathe.
“Y-you… m-mu… pa… a-la… aah!”
My words broke apart from the violent shaking.
Damn it, I should’ve sat down! My posture is all wrong! My stomach feels like it’s going to explode!
But I clenched my teeth and closed my eyes tightly. Even if my stomach bursts, I had to save Rodrio.
When the carriage arrived, Zeros appeared, rubbing his sleepy eyes. Idrish’s unexpected arrival at this hour seemed to confuse him.
“Rodrio?”
“Rodrio-sama? He went to bed a while ago. Shall I bring him?”
“Did you check if he’s asleep?”
“…Uh, no.” Zeros rubbed his eyes.
“I’ll check myself.” Idrish strode up the stairs.
I anxiously gnawed at my nails, staring at the end of the stairs where Idrish had disappeared. I hoped that when he returned, he would say Rodrio was fast asleep.
Even if it meant I’d be the liar, at least tonight wouldn’t be the night Rodrio got hurt. I hoped he would come out grumbling about being woken from sleep.
“Mr. Hedgehog, right? What is the meaning of this? Why did you run off suddenly, and why are you looking for Rodrio-sama…?”
Zeros asked me, but before I could answer, Idrish reappeared.
Just by seeing his stiff expression, I could tell Rodrio wasn’t there. My vision went white.
Idrish grabbed my arm, and my body wobbled helplessly.
“Tell me everything you heard. Where is Rodrio now?”
“He’s in the forest… in the forest, I think. They said they’d lure him. To be precise… I don’t really know.”
I had been trapped in Idrish’s room. The windows and doors were locked so thoroughly that escape was impossible. Not that I wanted to run anyway.
All I could do was pace anxiously, peering out the window.
Searchlights flickered throughout the forest. Every servant in the house had been mobilized. Even the head of Artigrado, whom I had never seen before, was searching for Rodrio on his own.
At first, the lights near the mansion flickered back and forth, but gradually they spread farther. Rodrio seemed to be farther away than I expected.
My palms were soaked in sweat. Everything was my fault.
From the moment I arrived at the mansion, I knew something like this could happen—but I didn’t stop it.
I had ignored that young face, overlooked it the entire time. Even though I was scrambling to survive, I ignored Rodrio, who could die at an age younger than mine.
Rodrio was destined to die anyway. Even if I saved him now, unless the prophecy changed, the Serbiyan attack would continue. I couldn’t intervene, I didn’t have the power…
That’s what I told myself. But deep down, I knew.
I was just too scared to get involved. Preserving my own life was more important. I wanted to live this life, no matter what.
Tears streamed down my face. The thought that it was my fault Rodrio could die was unbearable.
“Where are you…? We have to find him.”
The longer I waited, the slimmer the chances of saving Rodrio.
But could I even find him? In the book, he was located well past noon. By then, his breath had already stopped.
Could I change the story?
Every time the thought hit me, my breath caught in fear.
As the sun rose and the day fully brightened, white smoke appeared at the edge of the forest. Someone had found Rodrio.
I nearly collapsed to the ground. Please… please let him still be breathing. I clasped my hands together and prayed to multiple gods I didn’t even believe in.
Please, save Rodrio. Please.
A short while later, Idrish emerged from the forest, carrying the small figure in his arms.
With every step Idrish took, Rodrio’s limp arms and legs swayed helplessly.
No…
The closer they came, the clearer I saw him. His clothes were soaked in blood.
It was impossible to believe he was alive.
Tears welled up and streamed down my face. Rodrio… please. Please stay alive.
At that moment, the clan head rushed toward Idrish, tossing his staff aside. He checked Rodrio’s body, then staggered as if he might collapse. The servants quickly supported him. The scene was unbearably cruel and horrifying.
Once Idrish and Rodrio entered the mansion and vanished from view, time slowed into a living hell. I desperately hoped someone would tell me Rodrio was alive—but it seemed no one was coming.
Throughout that lonely time, the bloody image of Rodrio haunted me.
By the time my face was swollen from crying, someone burst through the door. It was Zeros. He was covered in dirt as if he had been searching the forest with us.
“Cecilia-sama… Lord Tesmilion summons you…” His voice was hoarse, filled with despair.
I couldn’t bring myself to ask him about Rodrio’s condition. I just moved on trembling legs in the direction he led.
Creak.
Rodrio’s door opened, making an eerie sound.
The first thing my eyes fell on in the dim room was Rodrio lying on the bed.
He looked completely drained of life. The child was pale, his bare skin stained with dried blood. A large bandage wrapped around his waist, but the blood hadn’t stopped—it soaked the bandage and the bed.
“Rodrio…”
I collapsed in front of him and gently held his hand. It felt cold, unnaturally cold for a human hand.
“He’s okay, right… Rodrio’s alive, right?”
I asked Idrish, my voice pleading.
“His breath is still there.”
I had prayed just for him to breathe, to remain alive—but seeing him barely clinging to life was horrifying.
I squeezed his hand again.
“If we were any later, he wouldn’t have survived. You helped a lot.”
The words were meant as thanks, but somehow they sounded accusatory.
If only I had spoken sooner… this wouldn’t have happened.
Idrish grabbed my arm and pulled me up. My body swayed uncontrollably.
“There was something embedded in his stomach. You know what this is.”
I covered my mouth with both hands.
Just like in the book.
“A wolf’s fang…”
Ojar used wolf fangs when attacking the blue-eyed white tiger. Naturally, Idrish thought Rodrio had been attacked by the Wolf clan, the Robero, and targeted them first.
From Serbiyan’s perspective, removing the blue-eyed white tiger also eliminated the threat of the wolf beastkin clan, Robero. It was a tactical advantage.
But seeing it in real life was far worse than reading about it.
The ivory fang was over a hand’s length. Imagining it piercing Rodrio’s body…
Oh, no.
It was far too cruel for a child’s body to endure.
How much pain, how much fear…
Tears blurred my vision again.
Thankfully, the bleeding had stopped overnight.
Rodrio’s ghostly pale face regained some color—but he still remained unconscious.
I stayed by his side the entire time.
Perhaps because it was proven that my warning was truthful, Idrish didn’t seem to think of running away anymore.
I cleaned the blood clinging to Rodrio’s hair with a damp cloth.
Then, Zeros appeared.
“Cecilia-sama, Lord Tesmilion requests your presence.”
“Me?”
Tesmilion was the head of this house. He must have seen Rodrio’s injuries and his reaction yesterday… I was terrified.
I moved to the deepest part of the mansion—the study. Tesmilion spent most of his time either in his room or here.
Knock, knock.
I nervously knocked on the door, pressing my chest down as I slowly opened it.
Tesmilion was sitting inside.
His white hair, swept back, reached his neck. His face was lined with wrinkles and scars, evidence of a hard life.
But his eyes were sharp, piercing me. They were slightly more crimson than Idrish’s, as if they could see right through me.
My entire body tensed.
Even though Tesmilion couldn’t possibly know I had allowed Rodrio’s near-death to happen, I felt like I was being scolded. Meeting his gaze was difficult.
“You are… Cecilia Erizo?”
I wanted to say “Yes,” but my lips were frozen.
Instead, I nodded dumbly, like a startled child.
At that moment, the door behind me opened, and Idrish entered.
Thankfully, it seemed I wasn’t the only one summoned.
He stood beside me, and somehow the suffocating tension eased slightly.
But Tesmilion didn’t remove his gaze from me.
“I heard you warned him that Rodrio would be injured.”
His hoarse voice held no emotion.
Though he also had silver hair like Idrish, his looked worn by the world—white from exhaustion, like a winter wind that had traveled too far.
I lowered my head, staring at the floor, which was patterned with interlocking white marble tiles.
“Yes… that’s correct.”
Tesmilion’s words weren’t exactly a reprimand, yet my shoulders automatically slumped.
“How did you know?” he asked, suspicion sharp in his tone, like an arrow flying straight at me.
