“Looks like she fell asleep.”
There was still a storm outside. The inside of the cave was instantly filled with a flash of lights.
Rumble, rumble, boom-!!
A strike of lightning must have hit somewhere nearby, the booming in the ears was as loud as the sound of a cannonball.
His ears were ringing.
Sabina looked like she was already accustomed to the storms and lightning. She only stirred and frowned a little, then held the sword a little stronger.
It didn’t look like she was going to wake up soon.
“Um… At least she’s safe.”
said Dustin of the Black Falcon Knights, who had rushed at Tristan’s order.
‘I had heard that the Grand Princess-to-be was alone in the forest near the Ingo Mountains this night, so I hurriedly set up a search party…….’
He had expected it to be a difficult rescue operation. More than anything, he was concerned about her state of mind.
He had fully expected how frightened the helpless woman was after being left alone in the forest.
However…….
Dustin looked down at Sabina, who was sleeping soundly, with confused eyes.
‘Is she quite the dull one?’
At that time, the hunting grounds keeper who was looking around the cave said,
“There are several folded leaves placed at the entrance to catch rainwater.”
Tristan and the Black Falcons’ gazes turned to the hunting grounds keeper at the same time.
“If she had drank the river water, she would have been sick by now.”
All sorts of life were infesting the river that flowed through this forest. Like parasites, for example.
But Sabina did not drink the river water, she only drank the rainwater before it flowed and joined the river. Because of that, she looked fine now.
“And I don’t know where she got that rabbit from. This forest is not such an environment for a weak herbivore like that, as you all well know.”
Showing what he said, the meat and skin was piling up on the wall of the cave.
If the storm was to last for a long time, she couldn’t go out hunting. So she must have caught those all in advance.
“The only rabbits that live here are carnivorous rabbits…”
Carnivorous rabbits….. The knights who had been fooled by their cute ferociousness at least once, turned pale. They were reminded of the nightmares from that time.
The hunting grounds keeper added, solidifying their thoughts.
“Carnivorous rabbits are very cute, but… they tear people apart.”
Hearing that, Dustin had an epiphany.
‘Alright, she’s not a dull person, she’s someone who can survive even if left alone on a deserted island.’
At that moment the Black Falcons’ prejudice that the people from outside the boundary were unconditionally weak was shattered at once.
Of course, that applies only for Sabina.
“Then this means that she caught the carnivorous rabbit by herself…”
They were said to be the weak creatures in the forest, but by outsiders’ standards they were monsters.
She had caught it with a mere sword. The Black Falcons shouted to themselves in their heart.
‘Grand Prince, you truly must not let this person go!’
‘She’s the most qualified person to be in Valentine!’
‘There is no other woman in the world who can handle the Grand Prince unless it’s her!’
However, those words were never uttered out of their mouths. It was because Tristan’s face looked so chilling and his eyes were creepy.
He wasn’t the usual Grand Prince who was so drunk he would spit out nonsensical things with an apathetic face.
“Right, I can see how well my bride has been faring here. And how many times she passed over the threat to her life.”
“…”
“Is that the end of the conversation?”
Let’s try her some more, shall we? Tristan’s voice echoed quietly through the cave.
Seeing him languidly tilting his head with his arms crossed, Dustin exclaimed quickly.
“I’ll take her to the castle right away!”
Dustin recalled a saying that the person who farts, gets the angriest. Of course, he wasn’t that senseless to say it out loud.
After all, even if Sabina looked normal on the outside, she had been left out in the forest for a day.
He held Sabina in his arms. Sabina has been constantly exposed to the damp cold wind.
Since she was in a cave, she could shelter from the rain, but she couldn’t shelter from the wind altogether. Because of that, she instinctively clung to the warmth that had approached her.
‘Come to think of it, her lips looked blue in the cold…….’
The worried Dustin suddenly stiffened his entire body. Sabina had suddenly dug into his arms.
“I’ll, I’ll be troubled if you do this!”
The knight’s face slowly flared up.
“Ugh!”
The big-bodied knight, who was struggling in loss, was slammed to the cave floor. Tristan knocked him down and stomped on his back. He held Sabina instead.
“To hug my bride in front of me, you’ve got guts.”
Is it me who hugged her? Dustin couldn’t even express the injustice he had been subjected and wept bitterly as he got trampled on.
“I remember you.”
“What? You still don’t remember me?”
“I do. Justin.”
“It’s Dustin!”
Ignoring him, Tristan looked down at his arms holding Sabina.
“Uung.”
She smiled leisurely, liking his hot body temperature and the strength that had supported her body firmly. On top of that, she pulled herself into his arms even more and even rubbed her cheeks into his arms.
Without realizing it, Tristan hugged her tighter and locked her in his arms.
‘She’s like a different person.’
When her red eyes were wide open, he was trapped in those eyes and couldn’t recognize anything else.
‘Is this what silk feels like?’
He recalled the touch of the fabric, which he had passed over without much thought. He doesn’t want to let go after holding onto this light, small, soft feeling so tightly…….
At that time, her small, slender hand came to Tristan’s view.
Sabina was clutching something in her tight fist that her knuckles turned white.
His trouble was short-lived. Tristan gently loosened her hand to check the contents.
It was a note.
He placed Sabina in his arm for support and opened the crumpled note without hesitation.
[To my dear Sabina.]
Tristan’s forehead got crumpled just like the note he had read.
It was like a whisper of secret love to a lover.
Sabina opened her eyes.
“Oh?”
She looked up at the drapery on the ceiling and let out a bewildered noise. The overlapping fabric on the sky looked so fragile that her arm could tear it.
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