Eustar quietly nocked an arrow to his composite bow. The deer was still busy chewing on tender inner leaves with its head buried in the rough bushes.

‘In one shot.’

Raising his bow, he held his breath and narrowed his eyes. His vision wavered in the dark shadows… then stopped at one point. At the same time, the arrow shot out with a sharp ping sound.

“Kieek!”

With a short, dull death cry, the deer’s body collapsed. Blood flowed when he pulled out the arrow that had accurately pierced the vital point on the long neck.

He would take it back, skin it, cut out only the edible parts of the meat, and cook it over fire. He took out a rope from his leather pouch, roughly tied the deer’s legs, and looked around.

“Laila!”

There was a fluttering sound and a rustling sound all at once. It was the sound of small animals fleeing, startled by his shout.

“Laila, where are you?”

Eustar, who was about to lift the deer, rose with an anxious expression.

The forest, which had grown even darker in a moment, was quiet. Even the rustling sounds of small animals like rabbits or mice had disappeared, and it was as silent as if he had entered a tomb.

“Laila!”

Anxiety crept into Eustar’s voice. Leaving the bleeding deer behind, he walked towards where Laila had disappeared, trampling the bushes.

Before he could take even ten steps, he heard something rustling behind a tree and the sound of water gushing out.

“Laila.”

Eustar called her in a dejected voice. Laila was crouched in front of a spring, dipping her fingers in the water. The leather pouch was already bulging, likely filled with water.

“Laila, what are you doing?”

Laila turned her head sharply. For a moment, Eustar stopped moving, feeling a strange sensation cutting through his chest. Her innocent red eyes played hide-and-seek behind her eyelids. Once, twice…

“Eustar, come here. Put your hand in. It’s really cool.”

At Laila’s words, Eustar sighed once again. He secured his composite bow to the buckle on his belt and crouched down next to Laila.

“Didn’t you hear my voice? I was really startled.”

“Was that so? I didn’t hear. I must have been too focused on this.”

Eustar looked down at the spring. It was surprisingly transparent and clear, so much so that the bottom was clearly visible.

“There’s nothing there, what were you so focused on?”

“The water, what else? It’s really clear, isn’t it? It’s been a long time since I’ve seen such clear water. Rizhikus… There was a spring this clean when you climbed the mountain there. I used to drink water from there.”

Eustar’s gaze steadily observed Laila. She had her hand submerged deep enough for the water to lap at her wrist. Her slender wrist was flushed red from the coldness of the water.

“Let’s go, Laila. If we keep Muge waiting too long, she might kick us.”

Laila looked at him.

“Just a moment, Eustar. You should put your hand in here too. It’s cool and… it feels good.”

The surface of the spring water rippled gently. As Laila moved her hand, the undulating waves sparkled strangely.

Eustar, who was about to stand up, slowly put his hand in the water without taking his eyes off Laila’s face.

The water was surprisingly cold. An icy chill penetrated to the bone, making him wide awake and giving him goosebumps.

“It’s cold.”

“Doesn’t it feel good?”

“It certainly woke me up.”

At that moment, a smile appeared on Laila’s lips. It was a smile even Eustar had never seen before. Her red eyes shining brightly between her narrowly folded eyelids, her black hair moving as softly as silk curtains, were enchantingly beautiful.

“I felt the same.”

Laila whispered softly as she leaned in. Eustar pulled out the hand he had dipped in the spring and embraced her body as she approached him.

Her breath had a sweet scent. Her lips, close enough to kiss, moved gently.

“If we spend time kissing here now… will Ms. Olga be angry?”

Eustar’s lips curved into a slight smile. Watching this, Laila also smiled, showing her white teeth.

At that moment, Eustar grabbed Laila’s hair and bent her neck backwards.

“Ack…!”

Laila’s eyes widened. Her face, barely able to move her eyes to look at Eustar, showed a shocked expression.

“Eustar, what, are you…”

Eustar’s long hair fell like a cascade over her body, which was bent sharply backwards. Looking down at Laila’s pale face, Eustar drew the dagger from his waist and aimed it at her nose.

“If you speak anymore, I won’t let you off. Where is Laila?”

“Eustar, what…! It hurts, please… Aah!”

“This is the last time.”

The bluish-glowing tip of the dagger touched her neck. Laila’s body, which had been groaning and choking with parted lips, trembled.

“Ugh, kugh… Kuk, ku… Kheuk, kik, kikkikik…”

An eerie and frivolous laughter flowed from the mouth of the thing that looked like Laila. Eustar gripped its hair more tightly and pressed the sword closer.

“Speak.”

“Kikkik… kik… That witch is precious to you. You’ve given your heart to that witch. How funny, how hilarious! The cursed descendant of Hyanmorik will mate with a witch and give birth to something worse than a demon! Something with the hooves of a cunning beast and strong horns will tear open the witch’s belly, come out, and sprinkle you with blood! Ahah, it’s funny! Hahahaha, how hilarious. Hilari…!”

A choking sound burst out. Eustar stabbed the sword into its neck with an indifferent expression, then twisted and pulled it out. The white skin imitating a human’s was horribly distorted, and black water gushed out instead of blood.

The body of the water ghost, which had transformed into Laila’s appearance, swelled up and then burst. The water, emitting a ghastly stench, seeped into the ground.

Eustar, who had jumped up cursing, turned his head looking for Laila and his mouth fell open.

“Laila!”

Laila was in the spring he had just seen. When he reached out and pulled her out, the spring dried up instantly. Eustar laid Laila’s soaking wet body down and put his ear close to her nose. He couldn’t feel her breath.

“Laila, wake up!”

Eustar, after slapping her wet cheeks a couple of times, interlaced his hands and pressed on Laila’s chest. He kissed her lips, which had cooled to a gloomy degree, blowing air into them, then pressed her chest again…

Just as his face was flushed red and sweat was beading on his forehead, Laila’s body twitched. Then water trickled out of her mouth.

“…Cough! Hack! Sob…”

“Laila!”

Eustar, supporting Laila’s body as it rolled on the ground, wiped her lips and face with his sleeve. Soon, her cheeks, pale as if she was about to die, trembled slightly, and Laila’s eyes opened narrowly.

“…Eustar?”

“Laila, are you alright? Look at me. Can you see me?”

“I… cough! …I can see.”

Eustar sighed and hugged Laila’s body tightly. Her skin was cold, and water was still dripping from her clothes.

He took off the jacket he was wearing and wrapped it around Laila, then hurriedly picked her up.

“Don’t lose consciousness, Laila. Understand? I’ll take you to Muge, and you can warm up by the fire there. Until then, you mustn’t lose consciousness. Say something, anything.”

Laila closed her eyes tiredly, resting her head in Eustar’s arms. She could feel his heart beating rapidly. From fear, or relief. She wanted to sleep forever buried in that sound.

“The deer…”

Laila mumbled.

“Did you catch the deer?”

“I did.”

Eustar replied as he jumped over a vine with small thorns.

“In one shot. Impressive, right?”

Laila’s lips moved slightly.

“Impressive. But… it will be a lot of work… to prepare it…”

“Muge is good at that.”

“Ms. Olga? Why…”

“Well, she seems to have studied skinning for a very long time.”

Having successfully kept Laila conscious with meaningless conversation, Eustar soon found Muge at the bottom of the cliff.

She had lit a bright bonfire to create a boundary that would prevent darkness and things from the lake from approaching. As soon as she saw the two, she jumped up and burst out angrily.

“Hey, what took you so long! I told you to just get some water, did you dig a well or some…”

Muge belatedly realized that what Eustar was carrying wasn’t game, but Laila.

“What’s this? What happened?”

Eustar laid Laila down close to the bonfire.

“It was a water ghost. It seems to have bewitched Laila. It was in Laila’s form.”

Muge looked down at Laila with an incredulous expression.

“I told you to stay alert! You got bewitched by a water ghost as soon as I took my eyes off you?”

Eustar stopped her.

“That’s enough, Muge. We’ll talk later. I caught a deer, so I’ll go get it. And I left behind the leather pouch Laila had filled with water. I’ll bring it, so please take care of Laila.”

“You’re really going out of your way to make work for people.”

Even as she swung her fist, Muge transferred embers to other firewood she had gathered to make another small bonfire. Laila’s body was still shaking severely. Her lower jaw trembled, making a chattering sound with her teeth.

Eustar quickly returned with the deer and the water pouch.

He was worried about whether the water might be undrinkable, but after putting in a crystal and carefully taking a sip, the water was clean and sweet. Muge, who also examined it by pouring a little water into her palm, nodded with a sigh.

“It’s safe to drink.”

Eustar sighed in relief and brought the mouth of the pouch close to Laila’s lips as she lay weakly.

“Drink a little, Laila.”

Then Laila, who had been trembling while clutching his jacket, moved her pale lips and smiled faintly.

“I think I drank plenty when I fell into the water. You drink, Eustar.”

Eustar let out a hollow laugh.

“You call that a joke? It’s not funny at all. Do you know how scared I was?”

A faint smile appeared on Laila’s lips again.

“When I was in that water, strangely… I could see all the scenery outside. I saw you putting your hand in the water… everything.”

“That’s fortunate. I didn’t kiss you, captivated by your face. If I had, I would have been slapped.”