Chapter 92
For a brief moment, she was glad to see him.
But the confusion that followed was something else entirely.
In such a desperate situation, Aileen strangely lost her focus and almost let go of the reins.
“How are you here…?”
Her question never finished forming.
“Who are you?!”
The masked men all drew their swords at once and rushed toward Theorn.
The silver-haired man sitting calmly on horseback looked relaxed. Almost bored.
“Well now. It would be troublesome if you don’t know who I am.”
Before he even finished speaking, white light rose like mist and wrapped around the man at the front.
The body slipped off the horse.
It no longer looked like something alive.
“You see, you would die instantly like that.”
His dry gaze shifted to the rest, as if asking why they were still standing there instead of running.
“Damn it!”
“Attack him together!”
Two of them lunged at once.
Theorn glanced briefly at Aileen and gave a slight nod.
She understood the signal and was about to move closer—
Neigh!
An assassin suddenly blocked her path. She barely managed to hold the reins and avoid falling.
But she couldn’t avoid the sword coming down at her.
Clang!
The blade struck an invisible shield that suddenly appeared.
It was Theorn.
The streak of light traveled up along the assassin’s sword and instantly eliminated the man in front of Aileen.
But the price for looking away from his own fight was heavy.
“Theorn!”
She called his name without thinking.
He hadn’t been watching behind him.
“Oh.”
He turned just in time after hearing her warning, rolling off his horse to barely dodge the attack—but he couldn’t avoid getting hurt.
When he stood up, his left arm was stained red with blood.
Grabbing it, he frowned deeply and clenched his fist.
“I suppose I should finish this quickly.”
Power swirled around him and burst outward violently, knocking down the remaining attackers in one blow.
“Ha… ha…”
Breathing roughly, he dropped to one knee.
“Are you okay?”
Aileen quickly dismounted and ran to him.
Up close, she could finally see cold sweat forming on his forehead.
He gave her a strange smile and asked casually,
“If I say I’m not okay, does that mean I can clear my debt in your heart?”
“…You’re joking at a time like this?”
She sighed, though her shoulders relaxed slightly. At least he wasn’t about to lose consciousness.
She reached inside her sleeve and pulled out a dagger—one Cedric had given her long ago, meant only for the worst situation.
“How did you get here?”
“I thought you might need my help.”
“I mean here. Exactly where I am.”
Without hesitation, she cut off a relatively clean piece from the hem of her dress.
He clearly needed his arm bandaged. And no matter how she looked at him, he wasn’t in condition to heal himself.
“…So it tracks location now too.”
While tightly wrapping the cloth around his arm, she realized.
“As expected. You’re clever.”
His usual teasing tone was weak. His gray-blue eyes looked exhausted.
“You…”
Not long ago, he had brought rain at her request.
And now he had left Arwin and used this much power again.
He was seriously overexerting himself.
“Don’t feel too guilty.”
She must have stared too long. He stood up as he spoke.
“I came because I wanted to.”
“Why?”
“Have you thought about coming to Arwin?”
Theorn had a talent for saying unexpected things.
“Arwin? Right now?”
“Then are you going back to the ducal estate?”
She should have answered yes immediately.
But after looking at the horrific scene around them, the words wouldn’t come easily.
She had narrowly escaped death again.
“Death keeps following you.”
“If you go to Arwin, you’ll be safe.”
“You could disappear entirely. Not even reveal that you’re alive.”
He sounded calm. Like someone describing a long-considered plan.
“Throw away everything weighing you down.”
“I can’t abandon everything.”
“Why?”
She had responsibilities. People she had to protect.
Theorn seemed to see right through her.
“Don’t take on too much responsibility. The world will keep turning without you.”
“But…”
The idea of letting go of everything—even the name Cashier—felt strangely freeing.
Even she was surprised by how tempting it felt.
Theorn immediately caught that hesitation.
“Just once, try putting your own safety first.”
He spoke as if he understood how exhausted and overwhelmed she was.
The one she wanted that understanding from was someone else.
That made it painful.
“Can I even enter Arwin freely?”
“Have you forgotten who I am?”
He looked at her as if asking whether she really needed further explanation.
He had already noticed that her heart was starting to lean toward the idea.
“You probably have things you want to ask the Goddess too.”
“Then is coming here also Her will?”
“No.”
His gray-blue eyes stared at her seriously.
If she looked too deeply into them, she felt like she might find an answer she wasn’t ready to face.
So she avoided his gaze and gestured around them.
“What about this mess?”
“Ah.”
White mist rose from his fingertips again.
The bodies scattered on the ground began to disappear rapidly.
It looked like the natural process of decaying into soil over many years—compressed into a short moment.
“This way, whoever ordered your death will be confused.”
When he withdrew his power, even the disturbed soil returned to normal.
The forest looked peaceful again, as if nothing had happened.
“…You’re amazing every time I see that.”
“In Arwin, I could show you something even more impressive.”
His voice sounded more tired.
Should she take the hand he was offering?
With Theorn, their opinions never clashed.
From the beginning, they understood each other’s thoughts and emotions almost instinctively.
It was comfortable.
“If you still want to return, I’ll escort you.”
He added that gently, knowing she was still conflicted.
Aileen looked down at the cliff below.
“If I use the oath I made last time to ask, you wouldn’t be able to refuse.”
“It would be a waste to use it now.”
She smiled faintly.
Even if he said that, she knew he no longer wanted to force her choice.
Finally, she looked up at him.
“I’m going only because I trust you.”
Once, she had said something similar to Cedric.
That she came to the North because she trusted him.
That she wouldn’t have done it otherwise.
That she believed in him—believed in the special meaning of the word “us.”
But now…
“I don’t think I can rely on you completely anymore.”
So she would leave.
She knew it was impulsive.
It was the first time she had stepped forward without fully calculating the consequences.
“I won’t betray your expectations.”
Theorn always knew exactly what she wanted to hear.
That hurt.
Why didn’t Cedric know?
Aileen picked up the dagger she had set down.
She walked to a nearby tree, found a flat branch, and placed it there.
“…If you’re throwing it away, I can erase it.”
“No. It’s a message for Cedric.”
If he tried to find her—if he truly had the will to—
He would recognize the meaning of leaving behind the dagger he had given her.
Or perhaps he would give up more easily than she thought.
Maybe he would cleanly break off the engagement.
If so, he would never find this.
But if he searched for her and reached this place—
He would understand.
“Let’s go.”
Aileen let go of her lingering attachment first.
And stepped forward.
