‘Imprisoned.’

No matter how loudly she screamed, no matter how hard she pounded on the walls made of darkness, it was useless.

Allosa’s jewel was a world thoroughly cut off from the outside.

The only way to see the outside world was through the glass screen. But even that functioned according to Charlotte’s vision, not Yerpi’s will.

Another person’s field of sight kept shifting.

At first, she had tried to perceive the passage of time through the screen, but even that gradually became difficult.

The darkness was devouring Yerpi’s mind. This was exactly what being trapped meant.

Gradually, it became harder to grasp the flow of time.

She closed and opened her eyes, and the screen had changed from the red forest to a beautiful autumn garden and the magnificent appearance of a castle.

‘So we’ve returned to the Autumn Castle.’

They must have searched the forest thoroughly for a long time but failed to find Yerpi. After all, she had been inside the necklace.

Even in such a desperate moment, she had to find hope. But waves of torment rushed in like a great tide, blocking her.

‘So sleepy.’

The darkness was consuming Yerpi—her countless memories, her present life. Everything.

Exactly as Charlotte wished.

***

The Autumn Castle lay submerged in silence.

They had searched the Red Forest for four days straight, but found no results. The Archduchess had seemingly vanished into thin air.

Realizing that no further traces could be found no matter how many searchers they deployed, Raymond contacted the Mage Tower through the Mirror Bird.

Soon, magicians including Mercadi were scheduled to arrive at the Autumn Castle.

All the magicians were specialists in search operations.

Moreover, Mercadi understood the unique nature of Yerpi’s magic, so he would surely be of great help.

Raymond was in the midst of a meeting with the lord.

Dyson, who knew how deeply affectionate the Archduke and Archduchess had been as a couple, felt profound sorrow seeing Raymond’s frozen expression.

“We will search not only the Red Forest but the nearby areas and beyond—we will find Her Highness.”

His sense of duty was tinged with guilt.

He believed this incident could have happened because he had failed to properly manage the Autumn Territory.

“Please leave now.”

“…Yes. I’ll take my leave.”

Before departing, Dyson glanced at the Archduke. Dark circles shadowed the Archduke’s eyes, and his cheeks had sunken.

Since the Archduchess’s disappearance, the Archduke had neither slept nor eaten.

Seeing him endure each day solely to find his wife, Dyson first worried about his health.

He wanted desperately to beg him to rest even a little, but the atmosphere made it impossible to utter such words.

All Dyson could do was quietly leave the room and begin searching for traces of the Archduchess.

“….”

Raymond turned away from the door through which the lord had exited. Through the large window, pale sunlight illuminated barren tree branches.

On the desolate branch, a single dry maple leaf clung on barely. It looked like the very last leaf.

Raymond tightly shut his eyes. Everything within his sight seemed now connected to Yerpi.

The spirit beast of the Red Forest had entered reincarnation, and the Great Tree had restored itself completely, free of any corruption.

The spirit beast that had died would be reborn into a new life through reincarnation.

There was no more noise, no more rotting wood. As if nothing had ever been wrong from the beginning.

This fact was driving Raymond insane.

He saw no way to control the gnawing agony inside.

Even when he exhaled, his breath didn’t leave him but coagulated and hardened within.

Was this the fate of someone who realized too late that his entire existence was Yerpi?

Or perhaps, he wondered, was this his way of atoning for the sins he had committed against her?

One thing was certain: the only reason he was still alive now was to search for Yerpi with all his strength.

He was staring endlessly out the window.

Knock, knock. A small knocking sound was heard.

Raymond, who could identify who was beyond the door from the slightest movement, didn’t respond at all.

In the silence, the knocking continued. The one who kept making noise despite being consistently ignored finally opened the door.

“I brought some food.”

It was Charlotte who entered without permission.

In her hands was a tray, and she wore a calm, light blue dress.

Recently, Charlotte visited Raymond every day with food.

Today, as usual, she placed the plate of sandwiches on the table and stood quietly, gazing at Raymond.

His persistent silence only deepened Raymond’s sigh.

“I already said I don’t need it.”

“I’m worried you might collapse. If you fall, who will find my sister?”

At the mention of Yerpi, Raymond fell silent. Seeing this, Charlotte faintly smiled.

She clearly knew that mentioning the missing woman was the fastest way to silence Raymond.

Raymond frowned. The sight of her only intensified his throbbing headache.

As if there was nothing more to see, Raymond waved his hand.

“Take it away.”

“Then I’ll leave it here.”

Charlotte deliberately pushed the sandwich on the table closer to Raymond.

Wasn’t she someone with whom words would never reach? The neatly cut food only made him angrier.

It was around the time when Raymond chose to remain silent.

From the corner beneath the side table, Dante crawled out and leaped onto the table.

After sniffing the sandwich seriously for a while, Dante snorted and raised his chin.

[No poison.]

“…Of course not.”

She wasn’t the type to openly attempt murder.

The reason Raymond kept Charlotte around was because, on the day Yerpi disappeared, Charlotte had been the closest to her.

Of course, there was no evidence linking Charlotte to Yerpi’s disappearance.

But why, then, did Raymond’s suspicion toward her refuse to fade?

After severing the spirit beast’s lifeline and returning to the spot, Yerpi was nowhere to be found.

That was when a sinister feeling began tightening around his throat.

Now, over a month since Yerpi vanished, Raymond was slowly going mad.

‘They say dragon-blooded go insane when they lose their mate.’

Raymond’s mind was becoming polluted far faster than it had been before meeting Yerpi.

He might turn into a madman and lay waste to the entire region before he could even reclaim her.

He had to find Yerpi before that happened.

The woman who had become his breath, his life.

Raymond was gathering his remaining mental strength.

Suddenly, Dante lifted his head in front of him and declared his decision.

[I heard everything. You’re going back to the Red Forest with the magicians. I’m going too.]

His attitude was firm, as if refusing to back down this time.

But to Raymond’s eyes, it only looked like stubbornness.

“I already said no. We don’t know what might still be lurking there.”

[You already searched many times, right? If nothing turned up, why can’t I go!]

Having hidden in a corner of the room and eavesdropped on his entire conversation with the lord, Dante found Raymond’s decision utterly unacceptable.

Unable to endure any longer, Dante burst out in anguish.

[What do you know, Uncle? If you know everything, then where did you leave Yerpi!]

The young dragon, unable to bear Yerpi’s absence, trembled with anxiety.

His bright yellow pupils shook restlessly.

Until, at last, their gazes met.

The truth was, Raymond felt the same. No, he carried an even deeper wound than Dante.

Gradually calming down, Dante eventually apologized.

[…Sorry, Uncle.]

“You’re right.”

He, too, blamed himself for failing to protect Yerpi. But he had no intention whatsoever of giving up on finding her.

“Still, wait at the castle. If I lose you too, I won’t have the face to see Yerpi again.”

[…Mm.]

Dante nodded, his shoulders slumped.

He wanted to insist further, but he faintly understood the pain of losing Yerpi in the same place.

The magicians were expected to arrive in a few days.

They planned to trace Yerpi’s magic from the massive tree where she had vanished.

The young dragon lying limply on the table muttered softly.

[I miss Yerpi.]

“…I will find her.”

Raymond gently patted Dante’s shoulder.

The young dragon, who usually detested his touch, remained quietly still this time.

The hearts of the two dragon-blooded were no different.

***

“Hmm, hmm, hmmm.”

On her way back after delivering the sandwich to Raymond, Charlotte hummed a pleasant little tune.

Her voice was beautiful, yet somehow felt chillingly eerie.