Chapter 89

Hans had been staring up at the sky absentmindedly when a sudden wave of unease crept in, prompting him to mutter to himself. Back when the knights first said they had found Zen’s belongings and wanted to return them, he hadn’t thought much of it because he had been too obsessed with Philoa. But now that he kept replaying it in his head, something seemed off.

‘Why would they go out of their way to return some commoner’s stuff? That’s way too suspicious!’

Besides, the Zen he knew would’ve held on to Philoia’s bag no matter what, even if a monster appeared. He would never just abandon it and run.

Of course, if Philoia hadn’t been in the bag, that would be a different story.

As soon as his thoughts reached that conclusion, Hans suddenly found himself wondering what if Philoia really hadn’t been in the bag?

‘Come to think of it, if Philoa was in there, there’s no way they would’ve let me go after realizing I knew Zen.’

“Could it be that the story about finding the belongings was a lie?”

Hans felt completely clueless about what was going on.

And right when he started to regret not staying with Zen, he suddenly sensed a strange presence. Startled, he jumped to his feet, clutching his bag tightly to his chest, and shouted into the woods.

“Wh-who’s there?!”

His voice rang through the silent woods, echoing eerily into the stillness. The unnatural stillness of the forest only made things worse. As fear crawled up his spine, Hans took cautious steps back.

‘D-Damn it… What the hell is going on…?’

All at once, goosebumps broke out over his skin, and a cold shiver raced down his spine.

He spun around, panic creeping into his voice.

“I-I asked you who you are!”

His heart pounded in his chest, heavy with fear.

Then, as he scanned the treeline, he spotted a small child peeking out from behind a tree.

Realizing it wasn’t a monster or an assassin sent by the duke, the fear gripping his chest finally eased. As the tension drained from him and he sank to the ground, he shouted at the child, who barely came up to his chest.

“You scared me!”

“…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

The child’s quiet apology made Hans feel sheepish about snapping. He sniffled and gave an awkward little cough before getting to his feet.

His clothes were a mess from all the stumbling around. As he dusted the dirt off his knees, he asked,

“Ahem, anyway… how did you even get here? Don’t tell me you came by yourself…?”

He tried to sound nonchalant, but Han’s voice trailed off as he caught sight of the child’s feet.

He noticed the child’s small feet beneath their lowered head.

‘W-When did they even get here? I didn’t hear a thing. And more importantly… how could a kid be out here alone?’

His throat tightened as he swallowed dryly.

His gaze flicked between his dirt-streaked pants and the child’s pristine, pale feet. His instincts, sensing something strange, stirred fear within him.

‘How are their feet completely clean? Wh-what the hell is this? Are they… a ghost?’

The moment suspicion crept in, a cold sweat broke out on his palms. His whole body trembled with fear, but Hans forced himself to stand upright, doing his best to act composed.

The child’s face was obscured beneath the hood of their robe, only a glimpse of their lips could be seen.

“I-I’ve got something I need to do, so I-I’ll be going. Y-You should, uh, take care too…”

He tried to back away quietly, keeping an eye on the child when they slowly lifted their head and looked straight at him. The child’s pale green eyes, fixed on him in the darkness, looked dark and deep, like the forest blanketed in night.

“You shouldn’t go that way.”

“…W-What are you talking about?”

“It’s dangerous.”

“….”

“If you’re caught, you’ll die. Just like that person back then.”

As soon as the child said it, Zen’s face flickered across Hans’s mind. He tried to shake it off, telling himself he was just overthinking, but still took a cautious step back. Then he asked,

“W-Who are you talking about?”

“The man with a sharp face and a mole under his eyebrow.”

‘Z-Zen!’

The moment the child spoke, Hans’s last bit of hope that they weren’t talking about Zen was crushed, replaced by dreadful certainty.

He screamed and spun on his heels.

“Wah! A g-ghost!”

Hans took off in the opposite direction from the child, legs scrambling in blind panic. However, as he raced through the thick woods, something appeared in his path and forced him to stop in his tracks.

“You can’t go that way either.”

‘Wh, what the hell is this…?’

While he was gasping for breath, the child stood there without the slightest sign of heavy breathing. But more than anything, the fact that this little child had outrun him and was now blocking his way made him feel like he was about to pass out.

“G-Get away from me! Stay back! Aaaaah!”

Hans, who had been stumbling backward, turned around again and took off running. His legs were already giving out, and when his foot caught on the base of a tree, he collapsed again and again, tumbling across the forest floor.

“H-Help me! Please, someone help me!”

Branches scraped across his once unscathed face, leaving fresh cuts, but he was too terrified to even notice the pain.

Afraid the child might be chasing after him, he couldn’t stop, and he ran blindly, without looking back. He knew it was reckless to keep running through the pitch-black forest, but at that point, all he could do was pray for mercy.

‘Please, just let me live.’

His lungs were burning, his breath caught in his throat, and he was about to collapse when suddenly, a glimmer of light appeared between the trees.

Like a man stumbling upon an oasis in the desert, Hans pushed himself to run one more time with everything he had left.

“I-I made it, I made it! I’m alive!”

As the light became brighter with every step, he rushed toward it and stopped right beneath it, like a runner crossing the finish line.