Current Karaf held his head with one hand and beat his chest with the other, punishing himself. Every time he saw scenes of himself belittling, ignoring, and mistreating Aesha, he tormented himself repeatedly.
However, the scene that had been unfolding in the palace suddenly transitioned into an entirely new space.

There, right on the edge of a cliff.

Karaf’s eyes widened at the sight of a delicate, blonde woman in front of him.

It was Aesha, but she had changed so much that he couldn’t recognize her.

Why… when… did she become so emaciated, unrecognizable, compared to how beautiful she used to be?

Karaf’s crimson eyes trembled mercilessly.

A man with the same chilling red eyes as Karaf himself, standing before him, spoke as if chewing through his anger.

[…The more you try to escape from me, the more miserable you’ll become. You must realize that every time you try to run away from me, I will catch you and tie you to my side. Even if I have to break your ankles, cut your wings, I will make sure you stay by my side forever…!]

She, like his mother, responded with a faint smile on her worn and haggard face.

[…Then I will fly far away with these broken wings. I will fly to a place where Your Majesty’s hands cannot reach.]

She took a step back and fell off the cliff.

Karaf let out a scream as if commanding the cliff to go away.

No matter how loud the scream was, it was only when his voice, reminiscent of vomiting blood, startled him that he could barely escape from the nightmare.

But he clutched his head and didn’t twitch on the bed like a silkworm.

Because he now painfully realized that the man in his dream was none other than his past self…

“Where the hell did these bastards take the captain!”

The Likaons were shackled at the ankles, connected by iron chains, tightly packed and sitting in a narrow prison cell.

When Geb caused a commotion, one of the Southern Knights coldly glanced at him and said,

“Your leader is currently undergoing torture. He probably won’t come out alive. As soon as Her Majesty’s order comes down, your necks will be on the line too.”

“What? This bastard…! Can’t you shut his mouth?”

As Geb tried to rise, he hesitated, falling back on the ground when pulled by the iron chains.

The knights just sneered and ignored him.

Sosa, restraining Geb, calmly asked the knight,

“What about Lady Aesha… No, Bannetza? What happened to her?”

“You know nothing. She is the mistress of the royal family, someone you can’t even touch or get close to.”

He didn’t say more, not revealing the fact that Bannetza was currently imprisoned in a different cell.

With the location already under strict security, they feared another kidnapping incident if the place was exposed.

Now that the existence of those among the minority who could transform into animals had been revealed, they couldn’t rule out the possibility of them transforming into birds or other animals to approach Bannetza again.
If, once again, they fail to protect her and let her slip away, even the Cocktus Knights might have to resign from their positions.

So, everyone nervously awaited Her Majesty’s decision, keeping a close eye on her expressions.

Geb shouted with bravado,

“Let Aesha shed a single tear from her eyes! I’ll make her utterly miserable! Got it?”

The soldiers laughed, but Geb’s legs trembled with anxiety.

Since realizing that his own tribe had abandoned him, he couldn’t bear the shame.

It had been a long time since he discarded his tribe, but even so, the fact that he belonged to the same tribe as them felt disgustingly dreadful.

He sincerely wished for Jackal and Aesha to be happy.

Thinking of Jackal, who sacrificed himself to save them by revealing his identity, and Aesha, who aimed an arrow at her own throat to save them, brought tears to his eyes.

Both of them didn’t think twice about risking their lives.

Geb looked up at the ceiling, blinking back tears.

“Darn it… damn it… damn it…!”

Sosa, instead of saying, “I’ll keep this a secret,” this time raised her chained hands and silently patted his shoulder.

For two days, a thunderous monsoon accompanied by lightning raged on.

And in the late dawn, a single shadow appeared in the prison where Aesha was confined.

Aesha, still crouching in the same position without a twitch, didn’t bother to check who it was, even though she sensed someone approaching.

The only person who would come for her was either Duran or Karaf.

However, the footsteps stopped in front of the iron bars, and there was no sign of movement.

The man in front of her didn’t utter a word.

The cold wind continued to blow through the iron bars that separated the two.

They remained silent for a while.

Eventually, Karaf spoke.

“…Bannetza.”

A hoarse, metallic voice flowed from his throat.

It sounded completely like someone else’s voice.

With no response from her, he opened his mouth again.

“Aesha…”

His voice, strangely thin and choked, seemed on the verge of bursting into tears like a child.

As she slowly raised her head, she saw Karaf, his face pale and eyes reddened.