After finishing the meal, I sat by the campfire.

I huddled in the cool mountain air. Unable to lie down, I held a faded flower candy from my dress pocket.

I hesitated, wanting to give the candy to Liam but unsure how to bring it up.

He had been searching for me without rest since yesterday, and it was a forced march to cross the border. We had dinner, but the amount wasn’t sufficient.

‘He must be tired. I wish I could give him the candy.’

I fell asleep while hesitating.

I woke up to a bone-chilling cold. As I sat up, the leaves covering me fell off.

I was alone in the cave.

“Liam?”

The campfire was burning hot, as if wood had been added midway.

Outside the cave was a misty dawn, trees barely visible through the haze.

As I tried to get up, my body creaked all over.

I raised my stiff body, like a log.

I put on the damp dress. I thought it wouldn’t dry because it was thick, but only the thick parts were damp.

As I was about to step out of the cave entrance to look outside, Liam blocked my way.

“Where are you going? It’s dangerous.”

He was wearing only his wrinkled jacket over his bare upper body, having given me his shirt.

His neatly combed hair was now wet with morning mist and falling loose.

I was momentarily speechless at his intense, wild appearance.

“Did you sleep well?”

“I couldn’t catch any animals. We’ll eat this for breakfast.”

He held out apples covered in dew, which he must have picked while wandering around.

They looked redder and more appetizing than the fruit picked yesterday.

“We still have some from yesterday.”

“I’ll eat those.”

He went over to his shirt hanging on a tree.

After looking at the shirt for a moment, he awkwardly put it on and ate the fruit picked yesterday.

“No signs of trackers. But we can’t let our guard down. We seem to have come deeper into the forest than expected, so we need to move.”

“Alright. I’ll put out the fire.”

I recalled how knights would extinguish campfires before departing during camping trips.

Remembering that, I lifted my dress and kicked dirt onto the campfire with my foot.

I moved my feet vigorously. Liam, who was scattering leaves on the ground to erase traces of our stay, looked at me with an incredulous expression.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

Liam covered his mouth while rubbing his chin.

His cheeks twitched slightly. Seeing him try to hold back laughter made my face burn hot.

“What is it?”

“The princess is doing her best.”

“What? I saw knights putting out fires like this.”

“The method is correct.”

With a kick from Liam’s foot, a heap of dirt poured over the campfire. It had remained unextinguished despite my repeated kicks, but now it went out instantly.

While he erased the remaining traces, I braided my hair.

He had told me in my third life that long hair gets caught in branches when moving through forests.

“Are we leaving this behind?”

“Yes, wearing everything would be too heavy.”

Seeing the discarded underdress, Liam tore it forcefully. He draped a large piece over my shoulders like a cloak.

“It may not look good, but the fog hasn’t lifted and it’s cold. Better than not wearing it.”

He cut the remaining cloth into long strips like bandages.

He made me sit down and lifted my dress hem without hesitation. Before I could stop him, he wrapped the strips from my feet to my calves.

“Ah, thank you.”

“I should have let you keep your shoes on.”

My legs felt warm.

We soon left the cave and set out.

Liam was a skilled hunter.

The fog-shrouded forest was indistinguishable in all directions, and even from high ground, we couldn’t see our surroundings to determine our location. Yet he often looked up at the trees to find his bearings.

As he said, the foggy forest was cold.

The hem of my dress, which had somewhat dried, became damp again.

If he hadn’t wrapped cloth around my feet, I probably would have tired quickly.

Liam pressed forward, steadying me as I stumbled on wet leaves and moss.

It was a strange feeling.

Liam walking ahead, matching his pace to mine.

The fog was so thick I couldn’t see ahead. But I wasn’t afraid.

It was as if a new world was being created before us as the path continued.

It felt like only he and I were left in the world.

Even in a situation where we couldn’t let our guard down, I couldn’t take my eyes off his back.

This was a situation that hadn’t occurred in my three lives. A new future was unfolding before me.

My struggles had not been in vain.

We were moving towards a meaningful result.

My heart tightened, and I felt a burning sensation behind my eyes.

“Shh.”

Liam stopped and listened carefully.

Faintly, we could hear animal cries and the sound of running through fallen leaves. From the sound alone, there seemed to be multiple beasts.

Then a sharp ‘yelp’ was heard as something approached rapidly.

It soon came into view.

A red beast was running towards us.

“Princess, over here!”

Liam grabbed my waist and lifted me up into a tree.

The branches were slippery and thick, and I barely managed to hang on. I lacked strength.

“Step on my shoulder and climb up.”

“Liam!”

He grabbed my feet and made me step on his shoulders.

Struggling, I barely managed to get onto a thick branch. Looking down, I saw Liam drawing his sword.

“To encounter a sacred beast of Intrus in a place like this, I’m not sure if it’s good luck or bad.”

In a previous life, Liam had kept a white wolf.

The mountain keepers feared the white wolves living in the Intrus mountains, calling them sacred beasts. They believed them to be the limbs of the mountain god, traversing life and death.

It had white fur, though I hadn’t noticed earlier as it was covered in blood. Moreover, as it approached, its enormous size became apparent, which I hadn’t felt when it was farther away.

“Liam, quickly climb up the tree!”

Liam gripped his sword tightly.

He aimed his sword at the approaching wolf, but behind it, a pack of over a dozen black wild dogs was chasing, barking as if driving it.

We had thought the wolf was after us, but it was actually being chased.

“Damn it!”

Liam quickly struck his sword into a nearby dead tree to create a foothold and climbed up.

A red trail formed where the wolf had passed.

It ran desperately, bleeding. When it reached the base of the old tree we were in, the wolf warily looked at us before collapsing.

The excited pack of dogs barked in celebration of their victory.

The fallen wolf barely managed to rise and growled at the surrounding dogs, which slowly closed in, forming a circle.

Then a terrible thing happened.

The dogs began nipping at the wounded wolf one by one.

The wolf was larger than a person when standing. Even injured, it seemed they wanted to tire it out by inflicting small wounds, wary of a counterattack.

Yelp! The wolf fought back against the pack but was outnumbered. It limped and staggered. The dogs were persistent, seemingly intent on finishing off the wolf’s life.

The wolf stood firm despite staggering, but blood spattered on the ground.

“This will never end if we leave it be.”

Those words felt like an excuse to help.

Liam broke off a short branch and threw it at the dogs.

Flames erupted from the freshly broken branch as it fell among the dogs, causing them to retreat in alarm.

“With a medium, you can increase the power of abilities.”

The Wilboyers had to live without blessings, so they learned to use their abilities effectively even with little power.

Liam jumped down and swung his sword, threatening the pack of dogs.

The dogs growled and tried to attack Liam, perhaps because their hunt was nearly successful, but when he threw another flaming branch, they soon gave up and ran away.

I created flowers. When they touched my flowers, Liam’s fire died down.

As it was morning and the fallen leaves were wet, the fire didn’t spread elsewhere.

“Liam, behind you.”

The wolf, though staggering, was still wary of Liam.

It growled but soon gushed blood from its neck and collapsed.

Liam, after helping me down from the old tree, examined the wolf’s condition.

Even to my untrained eyes, it looked quite critical. It was gasping for breath but still trying to stand, its legs struggling.

Blood poured from its wounds, yet it fought desperately to live.

Those struggles gradually weakened. Unable to rise, it still growled warily at Liam.

Is there no way to help?

When it wants to live so badly.

Liam adjusted his grip on the sword. Its tip was pointed at the panting wolf.

It’s still alive.

“Liam.”

“Ending its suffering is mercy.”

There was no hesitation in his movements. The wolf closed its eyes at the cold blade.

We’re in the mountains, and we’re travelers who must leave.

We have no way to treat the wolf, and if we leave it like this, it will eventually be torn apart by the returning dogs until death.

Liam’s choice was right. Right, but…

“Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

I pulled some fallen leaves to cover the wolf.

It would be nice to make a grave with stones, but we need to get out of the mountains quickly too.

All deaths eventually become someone’s nourishment and return to the earth. They become part of nature, nutrients for new life to take root.

I will become that too.

‘I hope to become that.’

I hope my existence will be of help, even if small.

It’s what I want too, but the struggling of the dying wolf wouldn’t leave my mind.

Exhausted from the rough mountain path, gloomy thoughts washed over me.

I took steps forward, watching Liam’s back.

How is this struggle different from that of the dying wolf?

Knowing the day of death, yet moving for what one wants. Ending the pain might be merciful, but we’ll all die someday anyway.

So I want to live as I wish for now.

I took another step to give Liam a better life.

As the fog lifted, revealing the forest and distant mountains, the seeping gloom was heavy but couldn’t stop me.

Just a little more, just a little more.

Death is a predetermined future anyway.

So, even if just a little, I…

“Huh, what’s this?”

Just then, a small furball leapt out of the forest and bit Liam’s leg.

Though startled, Liam stared blankly at his feet, showing how little impact it had.

It backed away and then bit Liam’s leather shoes a few times more, looking quite valiant.

“I wondered why the sacred beast of Intrus fell, but it was to protect its young.”

It had fought and lured the pack away to protect its young.

I felt more glad than anything.

The wolf cub, still small like a puppy, had black front paws as if wearing shoes.

‘Falken! It’s Falken!’