She gasped in surprise, letting the handkerchief slip from her fingers onto the table.

‘What was that just now?’

Starting from the spot where Ryan had touched her, a sharp jolt surged through her, followed by a foreign voice flowing directly into her mind.

The clear malice carried in a woman’s voice was unlike anything she had ever experienced before.

“Your Highness? Are you all right?”

“Oh, yes. I’m fine. I was just… lost in thought. I accidentally dropped it. It’s something precious to me—sorry about that.”

“No, please. Let me pick it up.”

Concerned for Yerpi, Ryan quickly retrieved the handkerchief that had fallen onto the table.

While Ryan carefully folded the handkerchief and tucked it away, she began recalling the source of the strange phenomenon she had just experienced.

‘That was my memory.’

Not just a random thought—her own memory.

More precisely, a scene from her past life, in a world entirely different from this one, had momentarily resurfaced.

‘But why?’

After initially struggling with confusion caused by memories from her past life, she had once tried relentlessly to recover every detail.

Yet all she could recall were the cityscapes she had seen in that previous existence, along with how people lived and the rules they followed—her actual life memories remained distant and hazy.

‘Could that woman be connected to my death?’

She hadn’t died in a car accident. She had only recently realized this. A severe cherry allergy present in her former body had been what ultimately killed her.

It wasn’t an accidental ingestion. Clearly, someone’s malicious intent had led her to death.

And all of this was somehow linked to the Forest of Discovery.

No one had yet recovered their lost memories. That was precisely why she needed to rush into this investigation.

Yerpi stood up. Ryan moved to escort the Grand Duchess, but she stopped him.

“I should be going now. Please recover well. Pepe is very worried about you. And since she’s my personal maid, she can’t help but be concerned.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

She didn’t mean to burden him—she simply hoped he would regain his memories soon.

Yerpi declined his offer to see her off and rose from her seat.

After that, a week passed.

The order lifting Ryan’s quarantine was issued. None of those who had been in contact with him showed any unusual symptoms.

This also signaled that the departure of a new investigation team was imminent.

Three more days passed.

The investigation team was formed with a small, elite group—and both Yerpi and Pepe were included.

‘I heard you’re going with the team. Please, take me along too, Your Highness.’

This time, Pepe had insisted earnestly.

She said she needed to see with her own eyes the place where her younger brother had been transformed.

She also hoped to find some clue there.

It was impossible to ignore the plea of a maid who had spent nights weeping.

Besides, since a maid was needed to attend to her, bringing one along was necessary anyway—so voluntary participation wasn’t a bad thing.

At the open field before the city gate, the knights were finishing their preparations. But no carriage was ready.

Pepe, finding this strange, glanced around curiously.

“Your Highness. There you are.”

“Sir Johan.”

Turning around, she saw a familiar face. He, too, was armed, apparently set to join the expedition.

He was the commander of the unit, and had previously led the last investigative team that returned.

Realizing this, Pepe smiled brightly and greeted him.

“Oh, you’re the superior officer of my younger brother. I’ll leave him in your care.”

“No, the honor is mine, Miss.”

Watching their exchange, Yerpi silently breathed a sigh of relief. She had worried Pepe might resent Johan, who had been in charge of the previous investigation, but it turned out to be an unnecessary concern.

Aside from her brother’s matter, Pepe was a calm, trustworthy, and admirable woman.

She fulfilled her duties diligently and always did her best in serving Yerpi.

“Sir, do you happen to know where the carriage for Your Highness is? It’s going to be quite a long journey, and I’d like to prepare it in advance.”

“Well, that is…”

Johan paused mid-sentence. He had just spotted Raymond approaching from behind Pepe.

“Ah, here comes His Lordship now. Perhaps it’s better to ask Your Highness directly about the carriage. And Miss, can you ride a horse?”

“No? I was planning to ride in the carriage.”

Pepe gave him a puzzled look—why was he suddenly talking about something completely unrelated?

But completely oblivious to her confusion, Johan led Pepe toward his horse.

“Well then, you’ll ride with me!”

“What? What do you mean—wait a second!”

Before she could react, Pepe was already seated atop Johan’s horse.

The maid, eyes wide with shock, turned to Yerpi for help. Just as Yerpi, flustered, tried to stop Johan, Raymond spoke up.

“There’s no need. The path ahead cannot be traveled by carriage.”

“What? What do you mean…?”

In response to Yerpi’s question, Raymond gestured toward the rear. A magical beast shaped like a horse snorted aggressively.

Though it resembled a horse, it was at least twice the size of a regular warhorse, making it appear quite intimidating.

Johan then mounted his steed. Oblivious to whether the maid was uncomfortable or not, he chuckled heartily and took the reins.

“You heard His Lordship, didn’t you? You’ll be coming with me.”

“Your Highness? No, wait—Sir!”

The horse carrying Pepe and Johan rode off. The knight, treating it as completely natural to have taken a maid he’d just met for the first time, smoothly joined the ranks.

Pepe’s expression was dazed. After a brief moment of shock at the sudden turn of events, Raymond guided Yerpi.

“Come here.”

“Isn’t our destination the Spring Territory?”

Riding a horse wasn’t the issue. But the journey seemed far too long, and the number of people gathered here seemed too few to even be called an investigation team.

“We’re taking a different route.”

Raymond lightly answered her question and lifted her onto the saddle of his horse.

Despite her being a full-grown person, he lifted her as if she weighed no more than a feather—she could only marvel at his strength.

Regardless, Raymond was the one who knew the geography of Growen best. As Yerpi silently gripped the handle attached to the saddle, Raymond mounted the horse behind her.

“Let’s move out.”

The knights, aligned in formation, followed Raymond in unison. Descending the hillside where the castle stood, the unit proceeded in a direction entirely opposite to the Spring Territory.

After half a day of travel, they arrived before a massive cave.

‘Are we supposed to go inside?’

She couldn’t understand how this was connected to the Spring Territory. Under Raymond’s command, all the knights dismounted.

Apparently aware this was their destination, they began tying their horses to nearby trees.

Raymond did the same. After helping Yerpi down, he briefly stepped away to prepare for entering the cave.

In the meantime, Pepe, who had been taken along almost against her will on Johan’s horse, approached the Grand Duchess energetically, waving her hand.

Yerpi had worried about the maid being forcibly taken, but Pepe’s expression was surprisingly bright—much more than expected.

“Pepe, are you all right?”

“Yes. I was startled at first, but as we talked, I realized he’s actually a very kind person.”

For quiet, reserved Pepe to say this much meant Johan had treated her with great consideration.

Judging from what she saw, he had a talent for winning people over, no matter their personality.

As Pepe continued recounting one conversation after another with the knights, she turned and looked back at the cave entrance.

“But why did we come to a cave? I didn’t know there was such a large one near the castle.”

The enormous, dark cave had a sinister, almost devouring aura.

Yet once they stepped inside, the impression changed completely.

“Oh my, it’s so beautiful.”

Pepe burst out in awe at the brilliantly glowing, multicolored crystals. The cave, which had appeared dark and gloomy from outside, was in fact a mine covered in dazzling crystals.

‘Beautiful.’

She, too, was momentarily captivated by the radiant sight. She was relieved it wasn’t frightening—but still couldn’t understand why they had come here.

At that very moment, Yerpi noticed an unusual mist ahead.

‘What is that?’

At first, she thought it might be a reflection from the crystals, but the substance before that passageway seemed to move like living smoke.

The mist shimmered, shifting between green and pink hues. Yet no one seemed to find the mist in front of them strange.

“It’s invisible to you. That mist is a special barrier capable of crossing dimensions.”

Raymond stood behind her.