Soaked in a sense of powerlessness, her heart lightened with the thought it wasn’t her fault when he showed up and couldn’t protect her.

Thanks to Lakrahan promising not to let go of her hand until they were safe, nothing felt scary anymore.

The excessive praise and brief kiss made Bercheria want to be a better person.

It made her realize that she had the courage to change the situation and fight her way through.

“It’s okay.”

Bercheria, hanging by her arms from the railing at the top of the castle, slipped a hand inside her dress.

Beneath her feet, hanging on by just one arm, the dark floor seemed to gape open.

“Hoo.”

Unknowingly lowering her head, Bercheria, who had witnessed the terrifying height, turned her gaze with an expressionless face.

Having lived her whole life in the tower, she had no fear of heights.

However, she was clearly aware that, without her regenerative abilities right now, losing her grip would mean losing her life.

‘What we want is the next Bercheria that will emerge after you disappear. That girl will be lovely prey.’

Bercheria clenched her teeth.

“I won’t go down easily.”

Bercheria, who had been gripping the railing with both hands, slowly removed one hand.

“Ugh!”

Her body wobbled weakly in the air.

Bercheria, holding onto the railing with one hand, stabbed her other hand inside her dress.

When she pulled her hand back out, she held a small, tightly capped, transparent vial.

‘If you need me, throw this anywhere on the floor. Then we’ll come running at the sight of the smoke. I’d feel reassured if you have it.’

“I hope you haven’t forgotten that promise.”

Bercheria crushed the vial in her palm.

Soon, purple smoke enveloped Bercheria and began to rise towards the sky.

“Muha! Hurry!”

Dikfer grabbed one of Muha’s hairs and pulled it hard.

Muha, who was already close to bald, had that as his weakest point.

Creak.

The purple smoke was slowly becoming visible.

Even while facing strong winds, Dikfer’s expression remained unchanged.

He looked at Lakrahan’s castle with sunken eyes.

“I really didn’t think she would use it.”

He had not had high hopes when giving the vial to Bercheria.

Her behavior had been too different from what he had imagined.

He thought that someone who had spent her life trapped in a tower wouldn’t have her own convictions.
Starving as he was, he thought she would gratefully accept anything he gave her.

But upon meeting her, there was no way he could break through Bercheria’s defenses.

Despite other women being charmed by his words, she showed no reaction at all.

Was it because she didn’t know him, or was she simply shy?

Or was she waiting for the right moment?

“Ah.”

The moment Dipper spotted Bercheria hanging from the window, he curled his lips into a grin.

“It seems I’m the only one who can rescue you.”

Dipper steadied himself, stepping on Muha’s head as he balanced with his feet.

His long arm pierced through the thick, purple haze.

Just as he managed to wrap his arm around Bercheria’s waist, her frail body, at its limit, was pulled into Dipper’s embrace.

“Bercheria.”

Startled, she tried to slip out of his arms, but Dipper tightened his grip to hold her back.

“Be careful. Muha is quite a violent creature.”

Bercheria brought her trembling hands in front of her chest, as she had been gripping the railing.

The moment Muha’s feet touched the wall, the fortress crumbled like a cookie.

In the backlash, Muha, carrying Bercheria and Dipper, flapped its wings, flying towards the forest.

As soon as they were out of sight of anyone, Bercheria pushed against Dipper’s chest with her hands.

“Let me down now.”

Dipper looked at Bercheria for a moment, then simply nodded.

“As you wish.”

Bercheria stepped down onto Muha’s shoulder and finally relaxed her tense body.

“Thank you.”

She turned her head to look at the fortress of Lakrahan, now far in the distance.

‘Will it be okay?’

From the beginning, the target had been Bercheria, so she believed that without her, there would be no harm to Lakrahan.

It had to be that way.

“Did you meet that friend?”

Dipper, who had approached quietly, asked with a smile.

As Bercheria raised an eyebrow as if to ask whom he meant, he picked up a strand of her hair.

“A boy who resembles Mana’s aura.”

“Ah, yes.”

“How was it? Does he really resemble her?”

She recalled the image of Grubi, who had been sitting on the horse.

“He looked quite similar. Even the hair and skin color. It was intriguing.”

“People like that sometimes exist. Although they are complete strangers, they look like siblings.”

Bercheria nodded in agreement, although she felt that the golden hair and golden eyes were too special to merely chalk it up to coincidence.

On top of that, there was an eerie sense of relatedness.

“Yes, it was too coincidental to be a mere coincidence.”

“Since Emperor Gerard’s reason for coming to the north was you, I even thought he might be obsessed with golden hair. Wouldn’t be surprising if he found someone similar and brought them along.”

“……Why would he be obsessed with golden hair?”

As Muha suddenly changed direction, Bercheria’s body wobbled, and Dipper naturally wrapped his arm around her waist.

“Well, humans sometimes do inexplicable things.”

Bercheria pushed his hand away and took it off her waist, looking at the landscape stretching far into the distance.

The shape of the forest spread out before Muha was all too familiar.

Only her tower, Bercheria’s tower, was missing.

Holding her hair which was fluttering in the wind, she asked.

“Where are we going?”