As the holy sword cut through the water snake’s scales, the snake’s limbs twisted violently.

When it struck the water’s surface with its thick tail, a huge column of water rose up.

Diana floundered as she was hit by the falling streams of water.

‘I couldn’t finish it with one strike…!’

As the water snake plunged its head into the depths, Diana’s body, holding the noose, sank along with it.

Diana held her breath tightly and barely opened one eye to assess the situation.

The snake was pulling Diana into the abyss at a rapid pace.

The holy sword Diana had thrust into its side was gleaming.

‘I need to pull it out…!’

The creature clearly intended to suffocate Diana. Its yellow pupils that occasionally glanced back at her were filled with anger and contempt.

It seemed thoroughly annoyed at failing to dispatch its prickly prey in one go.

Diana tried to pull out the sword lodged in its side while descending along the noose rope.

However, the creature’s coiling speed was faster. Diana couldn’t control her body freely due to the water pressure, and she was running out of breath.

‘No…!’

It was at that moment, when she was barely clinging to the noose rope with her limbs bound.

With a large bubble, someone reached out a hand towards Diana.

‘…Who… is it…?’

A blue light flickered in her hazy vision.

The crushing pressure that felt like it would break her ribs disappeared, and Diana lost consciousness as something grasped her arm.

She could no longer breathe.

Though her mind was foggy, the incoming scent was familiar.

Cough! Cough! As air entered, the water filling her throat burst out.

Diana gasped for breath and opened her eyes wide.

The first thing she saw was the rough, water-droplet-covered ceiling of a cave.

Judging by the sound of cold water, it seemed to be not far from the lake.

Diana raised her waist and looked around. In front of her was a waterfall, and behind her was a dark cave.

She crawled into the depths of the cave, following the familiar scent.

“…Raoul? Is that you?”

“…Don’t come closer.”

“…Huh?”

“…Stay… hah… there.”

“Are you alright? Were you bitten by the water snake?”

“The one thrashing earlier wasn’t me, but a flying creature. Don’t worry…”

‘Oh, so that’s what it was?’ Diana scratched her cheek awkwardly for a moment before returning to the main point.

“That’s not the issue. You’re in your adult awakening period now. Without a bride, family should help! Since you don’t have family, I should…!”

“Hah… Diana… Please go back to the castle. If I see you now… I might go crazy.”

“Before you go crazy, I know a safe place to confine you.”

“I can’t… hold on… until then. I’ll transform.”

“I brought various things just in case. I’ll put restraints on you before you can harm me.”

“How could I harm you… No matter what happens, I won’t hurt you. I can promise that.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“I don’t want to show you this hideous form. This… huff… form that’s not human…”

“I already know what an adult Lycan looks like…”

“…You’ve only seen it in books.”

Diana gripped the hem of her dress tighter, feeling frustrated.

‘I took care of you even before the regression!’

Unable to reveal the truth, Diana let out a deep sigh.

“I don’t think Raoul’s true form is hideous. Everyone has their own unique form. There’s no need to feel ashamed.”

As if expressing his anxious feelings, the silhouette buried in darkness hid even deeper.

“You’ll think differently when you see it directly. You’ll realize… how different I am from you…”

“Do you dislike being different? Then what about me…? My hair color and background are not common at all. I’ve never said this, but outside… I’m pointed at. But you don’t dislike me, right? It’s the same for me.”

“…”

“I live proudly with my head held high, don’t I? There’s no need to change. I just need to find someone who loves me completely.”

It was a proper thing to say, but also something she wanted to tell herself.

Raoul was silent for a moment before answering in a slightly elevated tone.

“You’re pointed at? Who dares to… huff… do such a thing.”

Raoul growled with rough breathing.

“That’s not important. What I mean is that you don’t need to be ashamed either. So what if you have the form of a beast? That’s just a shell containing your soul. Above all, I don’t think that form is bad… I’d be happy if you showed me. It would be proof that you trust me that much…”

“Not bad, you say…? Hah… You can say that because you haven’t seen it…”

“I need to see it to judge. I’ll accept any form. Okay? I won’t be afraid. I’ll get used to it quickly. I promise.”

“That’s not enough. Hah… If… even a little fear… of me arises in your heart… I can’t tolerate that.”

“…Raoul…”

“Please… ugh… leave now. I’m begging you…”

“Do you really want me to leave? Abandoning you like this?”

“…Yes. I’m not doing this because I want to distance myself from you. I don’t… huff… want to lose you…”

“…”

“…Go now.”

“Hah…”

‘That stubborn fool!’

Diana reluctantly stood up. Her dress dragged on the cave floor, causing small pebbles to roll around.

Each time her bare feet touched the cold stone floor, the wet footsteps echoed through the cave.

Whether it was sympathy or compassion, what did it matter? Diana knew Raoul well.

He couldn’t turn away from pitiful people. It had always been so.

She took slow steps, retreating very gradually.

She hoped Raoul would change his mind upon seeing her haggard appearance.

“I’ll go slowly… follow me. Okay?”

Turning her back on Raoul, who still didn’t follow, she looked at the lake and saw an unconscious snake floating on the transparent surface.

Diana closed her eyes tightly and moved on, feeling goosebumps.

The place Diana arrived at after passing the lake was the nymphs’ habitat, filled with silvernights.

As she appeared in her damp attire, nymphs hidden in flower buds flew out and circled around her.

“Oh my…! You’re alive!”

“We thought you were dead, and two of us fainted!”

“We’re very sensitive to shock! Such sudden actions are not good!”

Diana scratched her cheek awkwardly and apologized.

“I’m sorry… But my friend could have died, you know.”

“That’s right. Did you save your friend?”

“Well… Fortunately, he wasn’t harmed by the snake.”

“Phew. If something had happened to him, we would have felt terrible. But why didn’t he come with you?”

“He doesn’t want to show me his transformed appearance. He’s going through growing pains now and can’t maintain his human form.”

“…What? You mean he doesn’t have a bride at that age?”

“What a fool…? How pitiful…”

The nymphs muttered, covering their mouths and furrowing their brows.

Their faces were so kind that one might almost misunderstand what they were saying.

“You seem to know a lot about Lycans. This isn’t their habitat, so how do you know?”

“It’s not here. But nymphs have connected neural networks, so we can communicate with nymphs living in other regions! Through these silvernights!”

‘So that’s the name of this flower.’

“We heard it from nymphs living in the northern continent. They say Lycans are a species that have become extremely chaste? They look solitary but actually can’t stand loneliness at all, the weirdos.”

“If he’s in his growth period, he’ll grow enormously soon, right? He might be writhing in pain for a while… He might go mad without a mate?”

“They’ve been mentally unstable since their ancestors’ time. A species that goes insane if a woman doesn’t love them, isn’t that a kind of threat?”

“When they become adults, they try to imprint immediately. The reason why growing pains end quickly if there’s a mate is the same. They’re trying to imprint quickly!”

“Gasp! Could you be his mate?”

“That’s not it, right? You’re just friends?”

“J-just friends. Calm down for now.”

“Phew. That’s really fortunate. We really hate large and rough species. They thoughtlessly trample flowers, you know? If you meet someone like that, you’ll suffer after marriage!”

“Hey, I heard Lycans treat their wives really well?”

“No! I heard they make them cry every night! Wailing and crying!”

“What? From what I heard, they always carry their wives so their feet don’t even touch the ground?”

“Which one is true?”

“Anyway, they have no delicacy at all! They might hurt you! They’re not good even as friends.”

“That’s right! Look at those distorted silvernights over there, it’s his doing! It takes 3 days for them to recover. During that time, those poor things can’t contact their distant friends!”

“Um, so about that, there’s something I’d like to ask.”

“What is it? What do you want?”

“We love requests! Ask away!”

Diana whispered her plan in a small voice.

The nymphs gathered closely around her face, then suddenly puffed up in surprise.

“If Raoul loses his mind, he might harm the forest flowers again. Could you help me just once?”

“…Hmm… what do you think?”

“She’s right. Imagine if he wanders around here in a frenzy… The silvernights might get trampled in our sleep!”

“…O-okay! We’ll cooperate! But the damage must be minimized. There’s already an area he ruined, so please proceed only there.”

“Alright. I’ll try my best to lure him there.”

Diana had no intention of giving up on Raoul.

She couldn’t let Raoul writhe alone just because he didn’t want to show his true form.