TOOCM 34

Chapter 34

Clop clop!

Reina kept riding. Stopping would make her prey for the snowfoxes.

Her body was already covered in scratches and bite marks. The scent of blood made the snowfoxes even more ferocious.

Stroking her exhausted horse, Reina muttered, “Please hold on.”

If only until the next refuge.

She fired flares at every turn to signal her location and await rescue. Only a few flares remained. In her haste, she’d long left the safety zone. The smell of blood could attract other predators, making the situation dire.

Her throat burned from tension.

Then, a snowfox bit her horse’s hind leg.

The horse reared, screaming, and collapsed.

Hiiiing!

“Ah!”

Thud!

Reina gripped the reins, but the recoil was too much. She fell, rolling across the ground.

Hitting a tree trunk, excruciating pain engulfed her.

“Ugh!”

Her body felt like it was breaking apart.

As she struggled to rise, a nearby snowfox lunged.

She quickly aimed her pistol at its eyes.

Bang!

Grrrah!

The shot fox staggered back.

Another fox hesitated, glaring at her.

Meeting their blazing eyes sent a chill down her spine.

Reina secured her pistol with the scarf and took a deep breath.

‘How long can I hold out?’

She hadn’t expected her second life to end so futilely.

If she’d known, she would’ve told Kaiden everything about the future.

Regret gnawed at her for doling out information bit by bit to be useful to him.

Though she’d held back to avoid creating variables in the altered future, now, facing death, regrets piled up.

Checking her bullets, she found only three left, as the foxes had torn her ammo pouch.

As she braced to hold out as long as possible, the hesitant foxes charged at once.

As clever beasts, they’d realized a group attack was their best chance.

Reina, clutching her pistol, shut her eyes tightly.

She was defenseless against the onslaught.

‘Please, let death come quickly.’

As she made that futile wish, urgent hoofbeats approached.

Bang! Bang!

Startled by the gunfire, Reina opened her eyes.

Kaiden, rifle in hand, was shooting the foxes charging at her.

Even with his arrival, some foxes still targeted her.

Reina fired her remaining bullets at them.

Kaiden hit every fox that followed, his movements precise.

After downing the last one, he dismounted and rushed to her.

“Are you alright?”

A pointless question—her body was clearly battered.

Trembling, Reina sighed, her hands shaking around the pistol.

“I thought I was going to die.”

“Sorry. I came too late.”

Kaiden draped his coat over her trembling body, her clothes torn to shreds.

“Can you stand?”

Reina shook her head weakly.

Her bitten leg wouldn’t move.

“Excuse me.”

Kaiden softly asked permission and lifted her into his arms.

Her body quaked from the recent terror.

He gently pressed his forehead to hers and said, “Close your eyes. It’s not a pleasant sight.”

Blood pooled around her, the stench from the carcasses overwhelming.

Reina obediently closed her eyes.

His scent relaxed her tense body.

As the tension eased, she fainted.

When Reina arrived at Crensia Castle bloodied, the castle was thrown into chaos.

Kaiden, his face grim, said nothing.

The castle’s atmosphere grew icy under his menacing aura.

The attending physician, tense under Kaiden’s glare, spoke cautiously.

“Treatment is complete. She may have trouble moving for a while, but there are no major injuries, so there won’t be lasting effects. However, scarring is possible, so I’ll prescribe an ointment.”

“Thank you.”

As the physician left, Ben approached.

“What happened?”

Reina, out for a picnic, had been attacked.

That it happened within the safety zone was even more shocking.

Kaiden silently studied Reina’s pale face.

Anxious at her deathly still form, he touched her cheek to check her temperature.

He’d nearly lost her right before his eyes.

“Seems she rode in the opposite direction to save Lady Dahlia. She likely aimed for a refuge but took a wrong turn.”

He recalled Lily’s tearful words.

The first flare Reina fired was far from any refuge.

Reina, always poring over maps and books, would’ve known the locations, making it odd.

Even if she’d misjudged in a panic, that wasn’t the only strange thing.

The snowfoxes appeared in the safety zone.

While rare for beasts to enter, a pack was unheard of.

Something must’ve lured them.

“I rode forward as Reina told me… but at some point, the snowfoxes chasing me vanished. They were definitely following…”

Dahlia’s testimony confirmed this wasn’t a mere accident.

Beasts would’ve targeted the easier prey—a child.

Kaiden’s expression turned grave.

“Someone targeted Reina.”

“What?”

“Snowfoxes entered the safety zone, and only went for her. Someone must’ve done something to her.”

“Who would do such a thing…”

Ben looked stunned, but Kaiden ordered coldly, “It’s obviously someone who doesn’t like her. I’ve been too lenient so far.”

“Your Grace.”

“Investigate thoroughly. Find and interrogate everyone involved. No exceptions.”

Ben bowed at Kaiden’s razor-sharp command.

It was expected when his face turned expressionless.

‘He’s furious…’

Whoever did this had made a grave mistake.

Kaiden was generally lenient with northerners, but crossing the line turned him into a beast.

Especially since Reina was someone he cared about deeply lately.

Ben wanted to ask why he was going this far but held back.

Some things were obvious without asking.

Pointless questions were best avoided.

Having served Kaiden for years, Ben knew Reina wasn’t just a contract partner.

To target her so blatantly was to invite his wrath.

Swift action was the best course.

“I obey.”

Ben rushed to the scene.