Chapter 90

︵‿୨ ₊‧꒰ა ཐི༏ཋྀ ໒꒱ ˚₊ ୧‿︵

At the edge of the forest where the treasure hunt had taken place, Evelyn let out a quiet sigh as she searched through the undergrowth.

‘This isn’t going to be as easy as I thought.’

She’d assumed it would be easy enough with the knights’ help, but no matter how hard they looked, Dahlia’s lost tanzanite necklace was nowhere to be found. One by one, the young ladies who had started out so eager began to lose interest, drifting back toward the rest area.

Chloe sidled up beside Evelyn, covering her mouth with one hand to whisper softly.

“Let’s go back too.”

“….”

“To be honest, I think we’ve done more than enough.”

Chloe added that if the necklace hadn’t turned up by now, it had probably been carried off by a wild animal or a crow.

Evelyn agreed with her friend, yet couldn’t shake the heaviness settling in her chest. The longer they searched, the more despondent Dahlia seemed to grow.

‘It must be truly precious to her.’

Dahlia’s hands were scraped and dirty from clawing through the underbrush. She was surely terrified at the thought of losing her mother’s keepsake forever. Having lost her own parents, she felt a pang of sympathy for the female lead of the original story. If their situations were reversed, she knew she would have acted the same.

Watching her for a moment, Evelyn slowly shook her head.

“No. I’ll keep looking a bit longer.”

“What…?”

Chloe, realizing there was no changing her friend’s mind, let out a resigned sigh.

“You know the hunting festival will be ending soon, right? Don’t be late.”

“Don’t worry, Chloe. I’ll be back soon.”

When she flashed a reassuring smile, her friend reluctantly nodded and headed off.

Left behind, she searched with renewed determination, but the little gemstone still refused to be found. The festival’s end was drawing near, and it was time to give up. By now, only Evelyn and Dahlia remained in the forest; all the other young ladies had already returned.

‘We really should head back.’

She decided they’d be better off sending a search party at first light to scour the forest properly. After a moment’s hesitation, she carefully stepped closer to Dahlia.

“Dahlia, I think we should—”

“Just a little longer… Will you help me, please?”

Dahlia’s trembling hand closed around her. Her violet eyes, still wet with tears, wavered with desperate emotion.

Evelyn gave a silent nod, then gently used her healing ability to tend to her scratched, battered hands. As the wounds faded, Dahlia’s ragged breathing slowly steadied.

“Can you remember anywhere else you might have gone?”

She hesitated for a moment, lost in thought, before letting out a short, shaky sigh. Her voice, when it came, was thin and uncertain.

“Evelyn, would you come with me?”

“Where is it?”

As she tilted her head curiously, Dahlia met her gaze, her eyes earnest.

“It’s not far from here.”

“Then let’s ask a knight to accompany us.”

“No, Evelyn. I want… just the two of us to go.”

︵‿୨ ₊‧꒰ა ཐི༏ཋྀ ໒꒱ ˚₊ ୧‿︵

The sun was slowly setting, and the sky was awash in the quiet hues of twilight. Evelyn glanced up absently, a faint crease forming between her brows as she looked around.

“Dahlia, are we almost there?”

Evening had settled in before she realized it, but Dahlia simply kept walking in silence. They seemed to be venturing deeper into the woods…

‘Surely nothing will happen…?’

She thought perhaps it was time to turn back the way they’d come.

“Maybe we should just retu—”

“We’re almost there, Evelyn.”

Dahlia cut her off, her expression suddenly a little strange. Her eyes still shimmered with sorrow, yet a gentle smile played at the corners of her lips.