Chapter 32
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Of course, it’s raining, Lexus thought as he waited for Valentia, clicking his tongue.
After he heard how things were from Valentia, he was worried she might not be getting along with her teammates very well, so he sent Dottir off with a gift for them. He just hoped they were smart enough to understand what he meant by giving them that.
He wondered, what was going on in her head when she woke up alone in the carriage? What kind of emotions did she feel when she stood outside, seeing an endless row of empty carriages with no one but herself?
Just thinking about it made him feel like he was eating something bitter.
Then, Dottir returned from his errand, huffing and puffing from sprinting through the rain, entering the tent.
[Lexus] “What’s going on? Where’s Valentia?”
[Dottir] “Miss Valentia has disappeared.”
[Lexus] “What? What’s that supposed to mean?”
[Dottir] “I went off to take the gift and pick up Miss Valentia, but apparently someone already came by and took her away.”
Immediately he knew something was wrong.
There was no way anyone would take Valentia away with good intentions in mind. Without another second’s thought, Lexus stood up from his seat, shouting out to Dottir.
[Lexus] “Let the Academy faculty know! Tell them Valentia was kidnapped!”
[Dottir] “Yes, I will inform them. Please wait here, Your Highness……..Uh, Your Highness!”
Dottir jumped back in surprise as the Imperial Prince shoved past him and into the rain.
[Lexus] “I’m heading to the forest! Send people in behind me! Tell them to spread the search parties out and check other places, too!”
Lexus had his reasons for suspecting the forest. There was nothing but a long stretch of forests around this field, and if someone was trying to hide her or worse yet, take ‘care’ of her, then there was nowhere else they’d go.
[Dottir] “No! Prince, I will go to the forest.”
[Lexus] “I don’t have time to argue with you right now.”
[Dottir] “I have more experience with this kind of work. Things will go much faster if you inform and mobilize the Academy staff yourself.”
Unlike Lexus, Dottir’s main purpose for coming here from the Imperial Palace was to protect the Prince from any possible threats or accidents. He was an outsider to this whole event, so things would go faster if Lexus were to retrieve help instead.
[Lexus] “Fine, yeah that would be better…..Shit.”
His reason kept telling him that, but his body couldn’t sit still.
[Lexus] “Go let the Academy staff know and then follow after me.”
[Dottir] “But Prince, you must protect yourself…….!”
But it was too late. Lexus had already swiftly pulled the blade tied to Dottir’s waist and ran off to where the carriages were stationed.
Time was of the essence when it came to kidnapping. If they didn’t take her away with the intent of ransoming her off, then he could only assume their aim was to kill her.
Arriving with great speed, Lexus quickly cut the band that was keeping the horse tethered to the carriage. Horses couldn’t travel well in the forest, but he needed a way to cut across the field quickly since there was no way he could do it fast enough on foot.
But still, what reason did they have to take Valentia away like this?
What if I’m too late? What if I don’t get there in time? Lexus shook his head, desperately trying to shake off those invasive and disturbing thoughts that cut into his mind.
Near the entrance to the forest, Lexus discovered a set of footprints that had been crushed into the mud. They were large and deep—far different from something that could’ve been caused by a woman.
It was pouring rain, so if these footprints were still plainly visible, then that meant not much time had passed. But the farther in he went, the harder it became to see them until they eventually disappeared entirely.
Maybe bringing a hunting dog would’ve been smart. But even something like that would’ve been useless. The smell of rain completely washed away any trace that a hound could have picked up.
The hell is that?
That’s when he could hear a dog barking. Why would he hear dogs in the forest at a time like this, right after the Academy had supposedly cleared the area?
Lexus took off running in the direction of the sound—like the sound of a creature living within the forest, whining and barking after discovering its prey.
But what kind of prey would be available for wild dogs when it was raining so hard? It would have to be prey that had no choice but to wander outside in this kind of situation. Prey so slow and fragile, they could not even run away from a dog……
…….His thoughts were such a mess, he couldn’t tell if they were right or wrong. All he could do was run as fast as he could, holding onto a strand of hope amidst a sea of anxiety and panic.
And within moments of running within that darkened forest, the figure of a young woman lying among the brambles with a dog before her came into his view. Rushing forward with quickened steps, he gripped the hilt of the blade at his side, jutting it forward as he plunged it straight into the neck of the beast about to jump at Valentia.
He took a deep breath. Then, with a relaxed yet heavy voice, he called out the name of the one he was looking for—
[Lexus] “Valentia.”
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[Valentia] “Lexus?”
Hearing someone call her name made Valentia open her eyes.
Directly in front of her was the sight of a man’s broad back, torrent from the rain. He put his foot on the body of the dead dog on the ground, ripping out the blade that had been stuck in its neck.
Valentia couldn’t believe her eyes. He was really in front of her. Like he heard her call.
He didn’t turn back to look at her. There were still two wild animals left to deal with.
As if the recently killed dog was the leader of the pack, the remaining two faltered, ceasing their earlier desire to rush right in. They growled low, but they realized their own folly, turning to run with their tails between their legs.
Lexus shook off all the blood on his sword with a single swing, stowing it away back in its sheath.
[Lexus] “Hah…”
He sighed, and Valentia shivered. Ignoring the mud, he turned around, looking back at Valentia as he knelt down in front of her.
[Lexus] “You look like a mess.”
He was no different, though. His clothes were soaked through and his shining blond hair was wet and tangled from the rain. But though his appearance was far from his normal look, he was still stunningly bright. Enough to completely blind her.
Lexus reached out his hand, slowly wiping away the mud on Valentia’s face. She could feel the cold touch of his hand against her skin, but it still didn’t feel real.
[Valentia] “Lexus?”
[Lexus] “You’re gonna ask what I’m doing here?”
Lexus smiled, his face stained with the rain as he quipped. But Valentia could barely breathe. She couldn’t stay calm, nor could she act like everything was perfectly fine or like nothing had happened.
She didn’t know how to describe this feeling. It was too overwhelming to just be relief.
He’s here.
[Valentia] “How can you be here…..”
He’s here, like a miracle…
There was never anyone beside her. The only thing people gave her was rejection and hatred.
[Lexus] “I came here to get you.”
But his voice was ever teasing and playful.
He came here to get me.
To save me.
Just me.
[Lexus] “Do you have any idea how much I had to look for you? Didn’t anyone teach you not to follow strangers?”
No one ever taught her that. This was the first time someone had ever told her.
And not just that, but all these warm, playful conversations, walking side by side in stride, eating together—everything was unfamiliar, and she felt so awkward trying to navigate a world that was brand new to her.
But she didn’t hate it.
It was only after she finally had someone to talk to that she realized the seat next to her was always empty. Only after having someone to walk with did she know how crushing that fact was. That she was lonely……so terribly lonely.
Even now, she didn’t think anyone would come to save her. He was the first person to come to her mind out of the blue, but she didn’t think he would actually come. She thought she would need to figure this out on her own, like she did everything else.
But as the moment of crisis befell her, she discovered that she held no answers. She was entirely and utterly helpless.
And yet, before her helpless and useless self, this man appeared, standing in front of her.
[Valentia] “……..No one.”
[Lexus] “Sorry?”
[Valentia] “No one…..ever taught me.”
Valentia spoke like a child, her voice quiet and pained. She was so scared, but she didn’t even realize it. She was so happy that he came, but Valentia didn’t know how to say that.
[Lexus] “You didn’t know not to follow strange people?”
[Valentia] “……I didn’t know….”
[Lexus] “They say you’re the top student, but I guess there’s still some things you don’t know, huh?”
[Valentia] “Yes…”
She didn’t know. She didn’t know a thing.
She didn’t know how to get close to other people or how to share her heart with others. She didn’t know what steps she needed to take in order to be loved by someone else.
But before she could even start to learn, she was already alone.
That was why she lived like this. Living without loving or being loved in return.
[Lexus] “Don’t follow people you don’t know from now on. Okay?”
[Valentia] “Okay.”
[Lexus] “You’ve got a good heart, you know.”
[Valentia] “A good….heart?”
Valentia blinked in a daze at the unfamiliar phrase. It tickled her ear, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that such words did not suit such a gloomy person like her.
[Lexus] “You do.”
[Valentia] “No one’s ever said that to me before.”
[Lexus] “But it’s true. You’ve got a real good one. You fed a stray dog even though you didn’t have to, and you comforted that kid from before.”
[Valentia] “Is that all it takes to have a good heart?”
[Lexus] “According to my book.”
[Valentia] “Doesn’t that just make me a little pretentious?”
[Lexus] “Did someone tell you that?”
She was always told that showing such minor generosity was pretentious, meant only to stroke one’s ego. Those words, calling her a cold and preformative person embedded themselves within Valentia’s unconscious.
[Lexus] “Don’t worry about things like that. It’s all nonsense anyway. More importantly, I’m glad you’re safe. Though you look a little worse for the wear.”
He threw those words out so casually again.
[Valentia] “Ah, I’m a little…..”
Only then did Valentia realize how filthy she had become. She fell and rolled across the muddy forest floor, and she felt nothing but deep shame appearing like this in front of him.
[Lexus] “I was really worried, you know.”
Such warm words, spoken with an even kinder voice. Valentia swallowed hard.
What are you doing, worrying about me?
Why did he worry about her when she was sick and why did he come all this way just to find her because she was missing?
But more than those questions was the knowledge that she liked it when he worried about her.
Though her body was chilled to the bone, soaked in the cold rain as it trembled, a warmth burned in her heart, spreading throughout the rest of her body.
Lexus went to stand up and Valentia reflexively grabbed the hem of his coat. Suddenly stopping, Lexus leaned back down and looked right at her.
[Lexus] “Can you not stand?”
Valentia couldn’t say that she couldn’t.
She was just afraid of him standing up to leave. Obviously, now that he’d found her, the next logical thing to do was to get up and leave this place, but she didn’t want him to get even an inch away from her.
I want to be close.
Closer than we are now.
Just a little bit more.
Or, maybe a lot, if she was allowed to be honest just this once.
[Valentia] “Lexus.”
Valentia reached out to him, and Lexus, for reasons unknown even to him, held out his arms. Like she was taking a great leap, Valentia threw herself into his embrace, burying her face in his chest. She wrapped herself around him, tightly hugging him like her life depended on it.
The rain was harsh enough to hurt her as it fell, but she couldn’t feel a thing.
All she could feel was this man’s presence all around her.
The woman that was holding onto him felt so desperate and weak that a deep sense of sadness washed over Lexus. But tempering that sadness was a vexing sense of worry and care that he couldn’t make out—yet strong enough that all he wanted to do was take hold of her small body and hold her back.
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