Quickly shutting my mouth and holding my breath again, I carefully observed their movements.

However, for some reason, the enemies who had left quickly before were now lingering and circling the area.

‘I have to find a way to get out somehow.’

I couldn’t afford to lose him so helplessly.

If I stayed like this, Kaern could really be in danger.

I regained my composure and tightly clenched my fist.
And with the resolution to save him, I focused on the enemies’ movements.

However, they still seemed to have no intention of leaving the area where we were.

So now, all I could do was make a choice.

I had to either risk calling Kaern’s subordinates or find herbs; one of the two had to be done.

“Kaern.”

I called him in a very faint voice while looking at him.

“I’ll protect you. I will… somehow, I will protect you.”

With those words, I forcefully pushed away his hand with all my strength.

“Herena!”

At that moment, as I was about to go out of the cave along with his desperate voice calling me, someone suddenly appeared and started attacking the enemies.

Kaern, who had been watching me blankly, hugged me tightly from behind.

“Please… Herena.”

His relieved sigh mixed with desperation reached my ears.

“Kaern, it looks like someone came to rescue us.”

“I told you. My subordinates will come…”

“That’s right. Just as Kaern said, they really came.”

As soon as I saw those who came to rescue us, the overwhelming sense of frustration and fear that had filled me disappeared in an instant, replaced by a surge of powerful emotions.

Soon, the sound of clashing swords echoed everywhere.

But among those who came to rescue us, upon closer inspection, Calyx was also there, and I wondered what had happened.

‘How did Calyx…?’
Setting aside my puzzled feelings for a moment, I prayed earnestly for everyone’s safety and watched the fight.

And as expected, those under Kaern’s command were strong.

They swiftly cleared out all the enemies, and the battle ended so quickly that it became almost trivial.

After confirming that the surroundings were safe, I exited the cave with Kaern.

“Viscount Laverion, Lady Rosentia, are you both okay?”

“Viscount, I apologize for being late. We were chasing after the Viscount, and we arrived too late due to a surprise attack by the enemies in front of the temple. But… Viscount, are you okay?”

One of Kaern’s subordinates, Jace, noticed something strange about Kaern’s condition while reporting the situation and quickly approached, providing support.

“We don’t have time now. We need to escort the Viscount back to the mansion quickly.”

“Understood. We will quickly return to the mansion.”

“…Wait.”

Everyone stopped in their tracks at Kaern’s words.

“Did you spare one?”

“Yes. To ensure that the Viscount can rest comfortably, we spared one.”

Upon Jace’s words, Kaern nodded laboriously.

Soon, with the brisk movements of his subordinates, we safely descended the mountain.

Then, riding a carriage, we returned safely to the mansion.

“Oppa!”

Seeing Kaern getting off the carriage with the support of Calyx, Adelia hurriedly ran over.

“What’s going on? Calyx, why is my brother like this? Herena! What happened?”