Upon hearing the story that Yurisien had returned safely, Erugen quickly rushed in. His face, which had been praying to Gweision in the study, seemed to have aged ten years during that time. His gaze landed on Yurisien’s stomach, stained with a reddish hue. Yurisien hurriedly explained,

“Oh, no! This is fake blood, as I mentioned earlier.”

“But seeing that you went to such lengths, it’s clear that Prince Heathcliff pushed you into a corner.”

Erugen’s red eyes momentarily gleamed ominously. Yurisien couldn’t deny or affirm. Mixed emotions crossed Erugen’s roughened face.

Among them, the most significant emotion was the helplessness and misery stemming from powerlessness. It was pitiful to be in a position where he had to repeatedly force his daughter into a situation where she was perfectly awake. Approaching him cautiously, Yurisien hugged him and asked,

“Have you been worried a lot?”

“Sigh…”

Erugen exhaled a tired sigh, facing his daughter. There were many things he wanted to say, but as much as Yurisien was on the front lines, pouring all her strength, Erugen held back the words piling up to his throat and simply comforted Yurisien by patting her shoulders.

“Rest for today… Let’s talk tomorrow.”

“Yes, I understand. Father, please rest too. I’m really fine.”

“Even though it may seem so now, you might have been surprised without realizing it. And this incident… It must have been a complete closure for you. Take care of your body, okay?”

“Yes, I will. Daisy will help me.”

Behind Erugen, Daisy, exhaling a sigh of relief, nodded eagerly with a brisk face.

“Yes! I’ll do my best so that the young lady who has accomplished such a big feat can rest comfortably! I won’t let you catch a cold!”

“Alright. I’m counting on you.”

Erugen left with Andersen. Andersen, exchanging a glance with Yurisien, conveyed through his eyes that Erugen would take good care of her, so not to worry.

He, too, seemed relieved and concerned about Yurisien along with Erugen. Yurisien realized anew how much she was loved by others. The challenging day that had been continuing since last night was finally coming to an end.

Returning to her room, Yurisien received Daisy’s care and took a bath.

“I’ve gained weight. Really…”

Wearing only a thin dress on the snowy field, each touch of warm water on her pale skin stung.

“Still, there doesn’t seem to be severe frostbite. Your fingers and toes might need some treatment for a while.”

Daisy, with a distressed expression, said this and quickly left the bathroom to bring ointment suitable for frostbite. Although she showed a healthy and brave appearance in front of Benjamin and Erugen, in reality, Yurisien was in an extremely exhausted state.

Starting from the sudden execution of the plan by the Rat King last night to everything that happened in the snowfield, it still haunted Yurisien. ‘I’m fortunate not to have been betrayed…’ As they decided not to have a separate meeting before executing the plan to completely deceive Heathcliff, the kidnapping was also abrupt for Yurisien. Despite checking each other intermittently with various terms of address, there was still anxiety. Since they hadn’t built an appropriate bond before executing this plan, it made her even more uneasy.

‘But now it’s really all over…’ Yurisien thought as she submerged her body in the bathtub. However, the red eyes staring blankly at the bathroom ceiling didn’t seem at all relieved.

The wailing sounds of the undead outside, the future of a country devoured by the undead, everything was still uncertain, and if at least one thing could be sorted out, it might have been a little better. Her mood was utterly bleak, much like when she received the abrupt farewell from Heathcliff.

“Is this farewell…”
Muttering, Yurisien closed her eyes. She wished Daisy would return quickly to finish bathing and allow her to sigh deeply before sleeping. Thoughts about the undead and the Solzerion Empire could come later.

When a person is too exhausted, sleep doesn’t come easily, and today was one of those days for Yurisien. She expected to fall into a deep sleep as soon as she dried her hair, but unexpectedly, her mind was wide awake despite her damp and tired body.

They say the most painful torture is the inability to sleep. Yurisien felt that keenly, even though she had no tormentor. Frustrated, she muttered to herself,

“Ugh, this won’t do.”

Eventually, Yurisien reluctantly got up from her bed. She draped a shawl over her shoulders, thinking that a warm cup of tea might help her sleep, and opened the door.

Creak.

Something blocked her way.

“Huh?”

She couldn’t believe Daisy would subtly obstruct her path, fearing Yurisien might wander outside again. Perplexed, Yurisien made a puzzled noise and cautiously peeked outside through the gap in the door.

That’s when she was met with green eyes staring back at her from the other side, as if monsters in the abyss were examining us when we looked into it.

It was Benjamin.

“Why?”

“……. ”

“Why are you here?”