Someone kept poking at Etienne’s head, waking her up from a brief nap, causing her to frown. She wished they would just leave her alone; there were only memories of hardships without a moment’s rest.

Trying to clear away whatever was disturbing her sleep by waving her hand, it seemed as if it was alive, always eluding her touch.

Finally opening her eyes, Etienne frowned at what had disrupted her sleep. She wasn’t angry, just unjustly bothered.

“He enjoys tormenting me.”

Otherwise, it couldn’t possibly be like this.

As Etienne groggily got up, Leharht greeted, “Awake?”

“Yes. Someone kept touching me…”

“You only know that, and nothing else?”

“What else is there?”

Fixing her disheveled hair, Etienne responded to Leharht’s question.

“What happened?”

Etienne asked, looking into Leharht’s eyes. With an innocent gaze, Leharht simply shook his head, as if implying there was nothing.

“No, nothing.”

Then, Etienne turned her gaze to Fernand. He approached her, offering a water bottle without saying much.

“Let’s go outside.”

Surprised, Etienne, who was drinking water, widened her eyes at Fernand’s words.

“We can go out?”

“I found a drafty passageway.”

“Really?”

Although there had been talk of wind before going to bed, she hadn’t figured out where it was coming from.

“This way.”
Fernando took Etienne’s hand and helped her up. Then, he wrapped her in his coat. Etienne looked down at Fernando’s coat and smiled, raising her eyebrows.

“It’s too long for me.”

“Still, it’s better to wear it since we’ll be passing through windy areas. The more you cover yourself, the better.”

“What about you?”

“I’m fine.”

“What if you get sick?”

In response to Etienne’s concerned words, Fernando just nodded without saying anything.

“Well… Thanks. Friends are indeed the best.”

Without hesitating, Etienne put on the coat that Fernando didn’t refuse. Fernando, looking relieved, turned around and began to walk toward the passageway.

Only Leharht noticed the expression that briefly crossed Etienne’s face as she stood behind Fernando.

“I heard everything.”

It seemed strange for her to act as if she knew nothing. Leharht turned around with a face that seemed to say, “I can’t stay out of it.” Etienne, standing at the back, let out a soft sigh.

“[Etienne would want to keep you away more than I would, right?]”

“I can’t deceive the Crown Prince.”

Although she had denied liking Fernando when asked before, it seemed she could no longer deceive him.

“Is that okay, then?”

As Leharht, who was at the forefront, watched Fernando leading the way, he whispered in Etienne’s ear.

“We’ll talk about it later.”

“Will you tell me everything then?”

Etienne didn’t answer. However, Leharht had a confident expression, as if he could draw out any answer.
“Let’s go out for now.”

Since no one came to rescue them, they had to find their own way out.

“Oh, wait a moment.”

Etienne, thinking of something, asked them to wait briefly and approached the Mitri tree.

‘I won’t use any ability.’

However, if there was something she wanted to show, Etienne thought to show it on her own, so she placed her hand on the tree. She still felt a strange sensation but didn’t remove her hand.

After a brief moment, Etienne opened her eyes and lowered her hand. Looking at the Mitri tree for a moment, she turned around with a satisfied expression.

“Now, shall we really go?”

⭐️⭐️⭐️

The place where the wind was coming in seemed to have a thin wall with occasional holes. Breaking down that wall and discovering a new passage, the three walked out of the place where no light came in.

At some point, the ground seemed visible, and not long after, they could come out.

“But, you know.”

They were now in the middle of a mountain. Etienne asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Can’t we just go back the way we came? Even if no one rescued us, people would come in from there anyway…”

“Yeah, that’s not going to happen.”

When Leharht softly denied, Etienne pouted. Falling and not knowing how deep it was.

“The last reason called the Temple.”
Leharht strengthened his voice as if he was about to reveal something special.

“I only reveal my appearance to the chosen ones. That’s why it’s called the Temple…”

Listening to the words of the Crown Prince, Etienne was startled by the ground-shaking sound. Trying to figure out what was happening, suddenly the floor moved, and the three of them swayed.

As dirt fell from above, Etienne covered her head with her hands and crouched down. Someone wrapped her body. Unable to lift her head, she stayed still, and at some point, the vibration stopped.

Etienne slowly raised her head.

“My face got dirty again.”

Leharht joked with a smile, but Etienne couldn’t laugh. From this angle, she had seen someone before. It was at dawn, with a faint light, making shadows darker, and the smell of morning wafting through.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Didn’t know I could wrap you up?”

“Yeah, sometimes you’re there when I least expect it.”

“So it makes you more flustered?”