* * *
“Gwen! Where has the child gone!?”
The person who had always been beside him was now nowhere to be found, and he was in a panic, unsure of what to do.
“What’s going on?”
I could guess, but just to be sure, I approached and asked for details.
Apparently, the child had disappeared while moving from the tea room.
I had seen them jump down from the children’s chair just moments before, so it really had been a narrow escape.
“Hawthorn, tell the servants that if they see a brown-haired boy about this tall, they should bring him directly to the lobby.”
I quickly gave instructions to the nearest servant and began to escort the remaining guests out.
Due to the last-minute commotion, many guests were visibly frustrated, their expressions seeming to say, “Why bring the child in the first place?”
‘I wanted to leave them with a good impression until the end, but this is a bit tricky…’
Still, the overall impression of Velon had undoubtedly improved, so it wasn’t the worst-case scenario.
Even those who had previously scoffed, wondering what there was to see besides snow, seemed to have enjoyed the snowy mountain walk, realizing there were plenty of activities like skiing if time and stamina allowed.
One guest even asked if they could make a reservation before the official opening of the Velon branch.
Everything had gone according to plan, except now I just needed to find the missing child.
‘This is a problem.’
After searching for over 20 minutes with no sign of the child, a cold sweat ran down my back.
I’d heard many warnings about how unpredictable children can be, but I hadn’t expected them to cause trouble in such a short time.
I even checked the old, unused dungeon just in case, but there was no sign of the child having been down there.
“Gwen-! Where are you!? Come out now, or Auntie will scold you!”
Even the aunt, now frantic, was running around searching, but still, there was no sign of the child.
This is bad… We eventually mobilized all the servants in the castle to search, but all they found was…
“It seems like they went out through here.”
The window ledge bore the small handprints of the child.
The window, luckily on the first floor, was at a height where even a child could jump out without getting hurt.
“Why would they do this all of a sudden?”
That’s when I remembered how well Hernan had been getting along with the child, so I grabbed him and asked, “What did you say to them? You didn’t tell them anything weird, did you?”
At this point, the only one I could suspect was Hernan, and without realizing it, I asked nervously. Hernan glanced at me briefly before answering.
“I didn’t say anything particularly provocative. The only thing I mentioned was…”
Just then, as if searching his memory, a fluffy tail appeared over his shoulder—Pori, showing affection.
It was the same behavior he used when he wanted treats from either Hernan or me.
“Oh, right. I explained Pori when he showed interest.”
“What?”
It’s a flying squirrel.
What’s there to explain about it?
That it’s older than you?
I glared at him, waiting for a response, and Hernan, as if trying to figure out where he went wrong, answered.
“I told him that flying squirrels are a species that live deep in the forests of Velon.”
At that moment, I almost shouted “Eureka!”
That’s it! I cursed under my breath and slapped Hernan’s arm out of frustration.
“Why would you say that in front of a kid? Did he say he wanted to keep Pori or take him?”
When I shot him a narrow-eyed glare, Hernan, looking unfairly accused, replied.
“He didn’t say anything like that.”
Even if he didn’t say it, you should have warned him not to venture into the forest!
Though even if you had, who knows if the kid would have listened.
With this unexpected situation on our hands, I hurried to explain the situation to the boy’s aunt.
Of course, it wasn’t fair to blame Hernan for this.
I reassured the aunt, who kept apologizing, and then, as a precaution, sent servants to the forest and began searching myself alongside Hernan.
“Are there wolves or other dangerous animals in this forest?”
Clutching a child’s winter coat in one hand and a lamp in the other, I asked anxiously.
Hernan’s expression darkened.
“There are plenty of predators that could harm a person. Although it’s their hibernation period, there are bears, and of course, foxes and wolves live here too.”
This is a nightmare.
My vision spun.
We’d invited guests, fed them well, made sure they had a good time, and now, if the boy were to get hurt or suffer a serious injury…
The thought of the boy’s safety, along with the future of Velon, filled me with dread.
“This is insane… Let’s just focus on finding him.”
I separated from Hernan and headed toward the right side of the forest. Hernan called out from behind.
“Don’t go too deep! It’s dangerous!”
I knew that much.
I had a compass to guide me back to the castle, so it should be fine.
Hernan seemed to be following closely behind, but I was walking faster, so he couldn’t catch up.
“Ugh… There’s no sign of his footprints.”
Snow covered everything.
To make matters worse, a snowstorm began to whip up.
If we get lost, there’s no way a child without proper winter clothing could survive in this weather.
Anxiety swelled inside me.
From deep within the forest, I suddenly heard a servant shouting.
“There are footprints here!”
We had to catch up to the boy before he got any farther.
Clenching my teeth, I took a step forward.
What if something had already happened to him?
Just as that dreadful thought crossed my mind, the ground beneath me cracked with a sharp sound.
“Huh…?”
Something snapped where I stepped, and my body tilted to one side, losing balance.
“W-wait…!”
I had to regain control.
Just as I tried to push myself up with my legs, I felt my body plummet downwards, rolling toward a steep cliff.
“Ugh…”
Since I’d strayed off the path, everything was covered in snow, making it impossible to see ahead.
There was snow above and below, obscuring my vision entirely.
Could the boy have fallen this way too?
The thought nagged at me, but my body continued tumbling downward, crashing into tree trunks and roots, each blow so painful that it brought tears to my eyes.
I have no idea how long I rolled, but by the time I reached the bottom, my body was battered, and the path back up seemed impossible to climb.
I shouted toward the top of the cliff.
“I’m down here!”
But the thick layer of snow around me absorbed my voice like soundproofing in a recording studio.
“This is driving me crazy…”
I had set out to find the boy, and now I was the one who’d ended up lost.
I scratched my head in frustration and gathered the shattered pieces of the lamp.
For now, my winter coat was still keeping me warm, but I knew that if I stayed here any longer, the cold would seep in, and I wouldn’t last.
I needed to start a fire. Luckily, I found a flint in my pocket.
“Better save the lamp for later.”
There was still a candle inside the lamp, but I decided to save it for an emergency and gathered dry branches and leaves to start a fire.
“Is anyone out there?”
I shouted again, hoping there might be a nearby house, but this forest was on the opposite side of Velon Castle from the village.
“Anyone here?”
I yelled at the top of my lungs, but the compass in my hand spun wildly, as if broken.
“Why is this happening?”
I recalled Hernan’s earlier warning about the compass being unreliable.
Great. Now I was lost in the woods with no sense of direction.
Desperate, I called out the only name that came to mind.
“Iudeneath!”
He’s a dragon—surely he could find me, right?
But my last shred of hope was crushed by the silence.
By now, the sun had set, and the forest was growing darker by the minute.
Now there were two of us lost in the woods.
What was I going to do?
I gathered some more branches and lit a fire, warming myself as best as I could.
The cold was starting to creep into my winter coat, numbing my toes.
I pressed as close to the fire as I could, but my body remained frozen.
‘….’
This was too much. I couldn’t believe how ridiculous this was.
Was I really going to die here?
As my life flashed before my eyes, a familiar face came to mind.
‘….’
But in this situation, even he couldn’t help.
No matter how much he’d promised to be there for me and save me, there was nothing he could do here.
The only option was to stay still, conserve my body heat, and hope that the search party would find me.
‘I’m so sleepy.’
I knew that falling asleep now could be fatal, but maybe it was because I had been so tense the whole day—sleep overcame me like a wave, and my eyes slowly began to close.
Hadn’t I been in a situation like this before?
As I curled into a ball, struggling to stay awake, a voice echoed in my head.
A voice I had heard long ago.
‘I’ll go get the adults!’
It was the voice of a panicked child, desperate to help.
I knew, and yet didn’t know, who the owner of that voice was.
* * *
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Its hernan ?