086. Forest of Mist (4)
After finishing their meal, the three of them headed to the Forest of Mist with the knights.
The Forest of Mist was as densely foggy as its name implied.
“I can’t see ahead very well.”
Bella’s voice expressed amazement at the sight.
Despite the small size of the Forest of Mist, it took two days to grasp the terrain, all due to the fog.
She had thought about how thick the fog would be, but it was much denser than expected.
“There’s a small monster hiding behind us.”
Of course, that story applied to Bella and the ordinary knights.
Among the knights, there were four who could use Aura.
Even if they couldn’t see in front of them, they could gauge the situation through their senses.
And there was Owen.
“The path is this way.”
Even in the darkness, he could see everything.
Being such a person, it was impossible for Owen to fail in distinguishing objects in mere mist.
“Is it a monster?”
Bella muttered softly, seemingly displeased by Owen’s demeanor.
As Bella, she was incredulous.
Even when reading ＜The Flower of the Empire＞, she knew Owen had incredible abilities, but experiencing it firsthand felt different.
During the hunting competition, she had seen him use his abilities, but the current situation was different.
Back then, she thought of it as Owen’s ability, but not now.
It was unbelievable that someone other than Owen was harnessing his abilities to that extent.
Thunk.
Just then, the sound of Owen drawing his sword to cleave through the monster’s flesh echoed.
As the dying monster’s breath mingled with the scent of blood, pulling out the blade that pierced its torso caused blood to drip down.
“….”
Bella gazed at Owen with a perplexed expression.
Clearly, that person was not Owen.
Yes, that must be the case, but why…
“Enter inside.”
In his pitch-black pupils, there was no hint of hesitation or emotion, just a calmness bordering on indifference.
Eyes so calm and composed they could lull one into a trance.
The blade slid back into its sheath.
Engraved in the deep black sheath was ancient golden lettering.
[Berdin]
It was a sword bestowed upon Berdin, the Duke, by the Imperial Freyon Emperor.
“You…”
Bella stepped closer towards Owen.
Despite the thick fog ahead, those in close proximity were visible.
“Why are you so skilled with a sword?”
“The knights must be all ears.”
As Bella questioned, Owen glanced back at her before responding.
Fortunately, the knights were still a bit away.
Kyle was just three steps behind.
“If so, you or Topju would have stopped it first.”
As if warning against lies, Bella urged Owen on.
“Does it make sense that you can wield a sword like this just by receiving memories? Have you ever done something like this in Korea?”
“You would have seen it during the last hunting competition.”
Owen responded curtly to her doubt.
Then, he turned his back and continued walking.
Still unable to resolve her confusion, Bella narrowed her eyes.
“Are you going to personally explore the entire forest?”
As she spoke, Kyle passed by Bella and approached Owen.
“Wouldn’t it be better for me to use the ‘Temporal Eye’ instead?”
“It would consume a lot of your magic.”
“I’ll only use it at the royal banquet. Even if I use it for days on end, it shouldn’t deplete me in a day, right?”
Kyle chuckled and drew in his magic, concentrating it in one place.
As the blue magic condensed in his eyes, they momentarily glowed as if ablaze.
Then, the magic subsided, calming down.
“It’s better to record everything here and watch it back at the mansion.”
“The fog might blur the screen.”
Owen expressed doubt at Kyle’s suggestion.
In the original, Kyle didn’t use the ‘Temporal Forest’ while surveying the woods.
Surely, there was a reason for that.
“You can perceive through the fog. It may require a bit more magic, though.”
Owen’s expectations were elegantly sidestepped.
When I think about it, they had gone not only to the Misty Forest but also to the Snow Forest in the original work.
In both places, they had set up a ‘Protection Array.’
While there might have been mist in the Misty Forest, there were no such obstacles in the Snow Forest.
So, to put it differently—.
“It was a scheme.”
The story was that Kyle had schemed in order to spend more time with Bella.
Both Kyle and Bella were busy people, so they didn’t have much time to be together.
Even when excuses were made, Bella couldn’t come out because she was busy.
“In the end, it was all for the best.”
The amusing part of this scheme was that Kyle devised it but Owen was the one who benefited.
There was also the issue of the schedule that the three of them had, and the fact that Bella’s heart wavered and ultimately chose Owen was a bigger problem.
“Anyway, I’ll capture the scenes. We won’t be able to explore as much as we planned since it will start snowing soon.”
Owen nodded at Kyle’s words.
When he relayed the message to the knights following them, the group came to a halt.
It seemed like they were pleased with the situation, thinking it would be resolved quickly and smoothly.
Unlike those knights, Bella found the current situation quite absurd.
It was because Bella, like Owen, didn’t know that Kyle could use the ‘Eye of Spacetime’ in the forest.
“So, this was all a scheme…?”
She inwardly cursed as she realized how cunning Kyle had been in the original work.
“And now there’s no interest in any of this.”
Thinking up to that point made her feel bitter.
No matter how much a person changes inside, how could they change their attitude in a single moment like this?
Bella wasn’t particularly interested in Kyle, but it was inevitable to feel dissatisfied when everything from the original work turned out differently than she wanted.
“It’s all because of that man.”
The resentment ultimately turned towards Owen.
A man with a far more beautiful and exquisite face than the cover illustration of ＜Empire’s Flower＞ and what she had seen in the webtoon.
Today, his appearance was flawless as always.
Neat and calm eyes, deep and inscrutable dark eyes, high and straight nose, well-defined and red lips, sharp jawline.
Fair skin and a captivating presence.
Even in his knightly attire, one could easily imagine how his body looked.
“I don’t know why he’s so skilled with the sword and has the same atmosphere… but.”
She still didn’t understand.
How he could handle the sword so well and exude the same atmosphere as Owen.
If he had shown even a slightly different vibe, she would have been suspicious since the hunting competition.
The only thing that had changed about Owen when they met at the hunting competition was his attitude towards Lucia.
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It was still surprising that that was the only difference.
That he liked Lucia and cared for her.
“Well, then. Even if Owen disappears, it doesn’t matter.”
Since falling into this world, Bella had met Owen and dreamt only of having him.
While an ordinary person would have hoped to return to their original world and sought it, Bella found no meaning in her original world.
Unlike Owen, who had no family or friends, Bella had both.
However, they were just people wearing the facade of family, dreadful and cold.
Those called friends were ultimately connected for their own gain.
In such a world, Bella was tormented by a bitter sense of loneliness.
Then she came across the web novel ＜Empire’s Flower＞ and met Owen through that novel.
Owen was an unrealistic man.
Perfect in every way and always putting his people first.
It was only natural to want someone like him.
“Of course, as long as that man is in him, I can never be Owen’s person.”
As long as that man was inside Owen, she couldn’t wish for the original Owen.
But still, Owen continued to resemble Owen.
“But it’s okay. Even if I can’t have him completely.”
If she couldn’t have him entirely, that was fine.
She just needed to have a part of him.
To keep him by her side forever, even if it meant enjoying the gaze of resentment and hatred.
***
After Kyle captured the scenery of the forest using the ‘Eye of Spacetime,’ the group returned to the mansion.
While they spread out the images he had captured and analyzed the forest, snow began to fall outside.
“If we were late, we would have been caught in the snow.”
“That’s right.”
The knights exchanged words as white snow fluttered down.
“Now that the snow has started falling, the creatures will come out.”
Listening quietly to the knights’ conversation, Bella suddenly spoke up.
“They say that when winter arrives, the creatures hidden underground come out in search of food, is that true?”
“….”
Indeed.
The creatures that appeared during winter in the Keres Marquisate were all subspecies living underground.
Even though they held hunting competitions, they couldn’t eliminate the underground creatures, so the Keres Marquisate had to put in a lot of effort just to prevent the creatures from invading the village.
The same was true for the Taylor Viscounty.
While the number of creatures was low, unlike the usual days when knights could survey the forest once and maintain peace, the beginning of winter was different.
It was the time when the hidden underground creatures revealed themselves for the first time.
“Of course, they won’t come all the way to the village. There’s food in the forest too.”
Except for summer, the North was always in winter, but when true winter arrived, it became unbearably cold compared to now.
As it was still September, the plants in the forest were lush green.
Adapted to the North’s temperature, these plants maintained their greenness even in the winter weather of other regions.
“There are plants, animals, and more.”
The creatures were omnivorous.
They consumed plants, animals, and even resorted to eating humans when food was scarce.
“Still, it could get tricky. We might have to go set up a protective barrier at the entrance and face them.”
However, the most tempting prey for them was humans.
And that was precisely why humans hunted down and eradicated the creatures.
“It’s worrying.”
Bella finished speaking with a truly worried tone.
Owen couldn’t shake off the momentary suspicion as he looked at her.
‘Could it be…’
The saint possessed far more divine power than regular priests and was much more adept at utilizing it.
That was the setting of ＜The Empire’s Flower＞ and a well-known fact in this world.
‘She wouldn’t have foreseen the weather, would she.’
So Bella couldn’t have known that it would snow today.
Despite it being likely, this elaborate coincidence bothered him.