“…What happened?”

“Don’t you remember?”

Merche nodded weakly instead of answering.

“I don’t know. Some crazy monster invaded and attacked you with its breath or something… Damn it. That crazy thing attacked you and left. That’s all I saw.”

It was difficult to guess the identity of the monster from just that explanation.

When Merche asked about the monster’s appearance, Rude frowned deeply and told everything he had witnessed.

An enormously huge body, a snake-like monster.

The ‘thing’ that stops all thought the moment you see it has a white spot on its head, and unlike a snake, it stands upright and moves only in straight lines.

Wherever ‘it’ passes, black water stains everything it touches or brushes against.

Of course, whether grass or flowers, or even people, everything in the path of ‘it’ lost their lives.

“Do you have any idea what it might be?”

Merche couldn’t bring herself to utter the name that came to mind. But no matter how she thought about it, there was no other answer.

“…From what I’ve heard, it sounds like a basilisk. …But that’s impossible.”

“Why? What is it that makes it impossible?”

“A basilisk is a monster from the kingdom’s myths and legends. It can’t possibly exist… it’s just a fantasy.”

“Fantasy? I don’t know what it was, but it looked pretty fantastic to me. It was a crazy monster that looked ridiculous, no, insane. That’s enough to be in any myth or legend.”

Despite Rude’s assertion, Merche shook her head out of habit.

Basilisk. Originally, it’s not such a huge monster.

Even at its largest, it’s probably no more than twice the size of the black wolf Rude drags around.

She had heard that they were sometimes found in caves or forests, but even that was rare.

Moreover, this is Venenum, where snakes are so abundant they trip over your feet.

Even Carla, who lived in Venenum all her life, had never seen a basilisk.

And now a giant monster that only appears in kingdom legends? And it’s ‘that’ basilisk that supposedly only the first king could stop when it rampaged?

It’s something only a child would believe.

However, Merche was neither young enough to believe in naive fairy tales nor foolish enough to be unable to distinguish reality.

“Why suddenly a monster in Venenum…”

Just as she was about to force her uncooperative mind to consider it as a monster similar to a basilisk, she had a thought.

“…Venenum. What’s the current state of Venenum?”

If Rude’s description was accurate, this monster could have killed everyone in Venenum’s main house and even those in the main territory, and then some.

Yet she had been helplessly attacked and lost consciousness, and only now did she recall that terrible fact.

What about Mariette? Carla? Mrs. Martin, the other servants, and the people of Venenum she knew…

She felt nauseous. How could she be so incompetent and stupid?

“No. It can’t be…”

She shouldn’t have stormed out of the hall in the first place for such a trivial reason as not being able to tolerate Rude’s behavior.

If she hadn’t, at least she could have faced the final moments with her loved ones. Even if it were to be a tragedy, she could have been there with them.

Her eyes suddenly burned, and teardrops began to fall.

She couldn’t even make a sound as she cried, overwhelmed by guilt.

What should I do? How should I… How dare I live on, having survived alone so cowardly?

“Damn it. How am I supposed to comfort you? …Stop crying and listen, Merche. That Venenum you’re worried about is fine, still intact!”

In an instant, her body was lifted. Rude, who had picked her up, trudged through the messy dirt and trees as if cursing.

Then suddenly, the view cleared.

Merche realized. This place, where she and Rude were now, this very position.

She had definitely felt a gaze from somewhere just before reaching the hall and looked in this direction.

“See? I told you it was fine.”

It was a dizzying height that required craning her neck to look up.

From there, Merche barely managed to take in the scene spread out below with her trembling eyes.

“…This can’t be.”

Rude was right.

The Venenum that the monster had swept through was full of signs of living people.

The commotion was faint but audible even from where she was.

People with torches were bustling about here and there.

Those tiny dots of people were shouting something incomprehensible, then gathering together and entering and exiting nearby buildings.

“…We need to go down.”

“In that condition? Why are you saying such un-Merche-like stupid things? It’s crazy, give it up.”

“No. I can’t do that. If you want to stay here, then do so. If you don’t like it, I’ll go down alone.”

“Merche. Have you suddenly become mentally younger? Earlier you were crying and making me play nursemaid, and now you’re acting like a monkey jumping around? Cut it out and just stay here…, ugh!”

Merche, who was about to move even if it meant pushing away the resisting Rude, stopped in shock.

“…Are you hurt? Where?”

Rude tried desperately to hide the pain.

However, his hand clutching his abdomen and the location it covered were too slow to conceal, consumed by pain.

“Rude.”

“Mind your own business. What does it matter if I’m in pain or dying?”

“…How is this possible?”

“What? If you’re going to speak, use proper subjects…”

Rude’s sharp retort trailed off.

Merche’s frozen eyes, her trembling gaze, fell squarely on him.

The area where Rude felt pain was exactly the same as where Merche was injured. As if he were sharing her pain.

−I imprinted on you.

It must be a lie. It should be a lie. Isn’t her blue eyes proof enough of his lie?

“Rude. Did you really…, you, to me.”

Imprint?

“…Are you asking because you don’t know?”

Rude’s eyes twisted upward, then stiffened as if sensing something, and finally sank into a gloomy ashen color.

Like a frail old man facing an unstoppable tidal wave, he collapsed miserably.

“You… I… For what reason are you so terrible?”

Enough to make such a shocked face. Enough to deny it with disgust even after being told several times. Do you hate me that much? Do you loathe and despise me?

−I regret being kind to you.

−I regret even the small affection I gave you. My past self… should not have been kind to you.

The memory he had desperately buried in the deepest part of his consciousness, in the pitch-black abyss where no light reached, surfaced.

It immediately became a blade, piercing and mangling his heart.

You, so stupidly kind.

The idiotically kind person who insisted on saving and pulling up the rotten filth that no one treated as human, and who never resented even after being robbed of everything.

With infinitely kind lips, she spoke of regret, turned away from her worn-out heart, and abandoned him.

He had finally been abandoned.

The only woman who treated him as a human now loathed him.

Rude swayed helplessly and then collapsed without bothering to resist.

Only a chilling, giggling laughter flowed continuously from his dry lips.

No. It’s too late, Merche.

“I can’t let you go. Even if I die, I can’t let you go…”

He grasped the hem of the tattered dress.

Until the end of his burning consciousness, he never let go of the hand he held.

Gradually, the woman’s pale face blurred, and then completely faded away.

It was dawn when Rude regained consciousness with pain.

The faint light that shouldn’t penetrate halfway up the mountain clearly illuminated his vision, and a rather cozy bed embraced his tired body instead of damp soil.

He groped the air with empty eyes. There was nothing in the hand that had been grasping the hem of the dress.

Without a doubt, it was the worst situation he had imagined.

So I’ve been abandoned again.

Whether a piece of luggage or a human being. He had no idea how many times he had been thrown away.

Rude closed his eyes in resignation.

Since it’s come to this, he wished he would lose consciousness forever and become a corpse. And then haunt Merche’s dreams until the day she died, tormenting the woman who had abandoned him.

However, a small humming sound that soon penetrated his ears made all those petty wishes vanish.

Rude quickly opened his eyes and looked towards the source of the sound.

“Waves, disperse and rage…”

The woman sitting curled up with her eyes closed had a rarely good complexion.

The gentle voice smoothly moved between high and low notes.

It was the first time the golden threads swaying with her gentle movements were so irritating.

The curtain-like golden hair covering her white cheeks fluttered like butterflies, dancing tantalizing.

Her face, alternately visible and hidden, scratched at his narrow insides.

“Grr…!”

What cut off his good mood was the familiar beast that noticed his presence.

The wolf, which had somehow found Merche and was lying on its back as if spoiled, barked shortly at Rude.

“Rude?”

“Yeah. My ears aren’t blocked. So just continue what you were doing.”

“When did you wake up?”

“Just now. I said continue what you were doing.”

Merche ignored him and stood up.

Her approaching footsteps were light.

She didn’t seem to feel any pain, and there was no sign of discomfort on her face.

On the other hand, his garbage-like body… he didn’t need to look to know. It was just garbage itself, what else?

“Shakar found me and the ball in the mountains. Thanks to that, we were able to safely move to the village adjacent to the main territory.”