Chapter 28

While looking for medicinal herbs for a while, Kaizen called Astelle again.

“I think I found it here.”

Astelle ran to Kaizen again, trying to pick herbs.

What Kaizen was holding was a small white flower.

It was similar to the flower Astelle was looking for, but the spout was a little longer and the petals were too small.

Kaizen lowered his hand when seeing Astelle’s pale green eyes feeling disappointed.

“… Is it not? Again?”

“It is not.”

Disappointment and embarrassment struck Kaizen’s face.

Astelle comforted such Kaizen.

“It is because there are many similar flowers.”

Vellian came with both hands full of Gurren grass and approached, watching Kaizen standing silently.

“Well, Your Majesty, I can help…”

“Not needed.”

It was a cold voice that seemed to be frosty.

Velian finds the herb Astelle had asked for, and Kaizen looked angry that he kept looking for the wrong herbs.

‘Well, I’ve been into the forest a lot, but it’s the first time I’ve ever looked for medicinal herbs.’

As he failed one after another, Kaizen wasn’t happy with his mood.

He seemed to have a black shadow only around him.

Vellian handed the herbs he brought to Astelle’s basket, and he quickly ran away.

Kaizen, who had been searching through the grass for a long time, asked with a low sigh and complaining.

“When did you learn this?”

“There is a pharmacist living near my grandfather’s mansion. Somehow I got to know and learned to make medicine.”

“Why did you learn that?”

Astelle replied with a glance asking why he asked for such a natural thing.

“Well, of course, we have a young child and an elderly grandfather in our mansion.”

Even a simple cold can be fatal to young children and the elderly.

Of course, the most vulnerable to disease are the elderly.

Theor and her grandfather are both very healthy, but Astelle hoped they would never get sick.

In her spare time, she learned to make herbs and potions from Gretel.

Apart from eye medicines, she had to make other medicines in case anyone gets sick while Gretel was away.

Gretel praised Astelle for being talented when she making medicines.

‘Because of your meticulous personality, you learn quickly. You certainly seem to have talents too.’

Gretel praised her and said she could accept her as a student if she wanted, but Astelle politely refused.

There was not enough time.

Instead, she learned to grow medicinal herbs, and planted medicinal herbs in the garden.

She earned a living by selling it every year.

Astelle replied without much meaning, but Kaizen became confused again when he heard her words.

‘Was it so difficult to make a living?’

Kaizen walked on the grasses.

Even though he had been to the forest, it was the first time he had passed through the bush like this.

Everywhere he went, there was a smell of moist dirt and crispy grass.

He now looked up at the silver sky.

It was embroidered in a light purple sky over the setting sun over a reddish sunset.

There was Astelle three or four steps ahead.

Dressed in a plain dress, Astelle was holding a basket and picking up an unknown herb.

Suddenly I thought of the old days.

‘It turns out that I was in the forest with Astelle like this before.’

The memory of Astelle was always a beautifully decorated doll-like figure.

The background was a place like an imperial palace or a banquet hall of a gorgeous mansion.

However, he had only entered the forest with Astelle once.

It was an old memory, like a page in a dusty book.

Kaizen shakes off the accumulated dust in his memories that he had forgotten.

“I remember the old days.”

Astelle turned to his calm voice.

Kaizen looked at her and talked to her.

“We went hunting together on my birthday in the forest. Do you remember?”

Astelle clearly remembered it.

“Are you referring to the time I went into the lake trying to save Your Majesty?”

It was a cool tone, but it was right.

“… Yes, about that.”

“Yes, there was a time.”

Astelle said nothing more.

There was no emotion in her dry voice.

‘Well, it wasn’t a good memory.’

Kaizen silently recalled the memories of that day.

* * *

It was winter at that time.

It was when he went hunting in the forest a little far from the capital on Kaizen’s 18th birthday.

Usually, women were not taken to the hunting grounds, but on that day the Crown Prince’s fiancee, Astelle, attended the hunt on the orders of the emperor.

His birthday hunt, which should be enjoyable, was uncomfortable from the start because of Astelle.

‘That’s annoying.’

However, his father, the emperor, sent her with him, so he could not even drive her away.

At the time, Kaizen was indifferent but was pretending to be a polite fiance.

Even without the emperor’s request, she would not have been able to ignore Astelle.

He was more annoyed at the thought that he couldn’t do it himself.

He was forced to stay in the nearby castle for about a day and try to hunt, but that night a second misfortune struck.

It started to snow in the evening.

Snowflakes that were falling one by one before dawn came and the whole area turned white.

As soon as the day dawned, Kaizen put on his coat and walked out.

The castle’s backyard was connected with a wide forest.

He rode the horse with the party and went out through the door.

Against the backdrop of the bluish dawn sky, a darkly shaded forest spread over the snowy field.

In the middle, someone told a legend about the lake in this forest.

There is a lake in this forest, and it is a legend that if you go there and ask for love to come true, the spirit of the forest will grant you your wish.

“That’s bullshit.”

The man who was explaining the forest legend stopped speaking at Kaizen’s voice.

Kaizen looked around the snow-covered forest road and was laughing at him.

“That’s ridiculous to say that a lake makes your wish come true.”

Kaizen laughed at someone who seriously spoke of such a ridiculous legend.

On the other hand, Astelle, who listened to his explanation, seemed to like the story.

“Still, it’s a beautiful story.”

She wore a luxurious indigo hunting suit and a fur coat, and Astelle on a horse was as beautiful as the goddess of the forest.

However, no matter how beautiful Astelle was, she was like a stone passing by to Kaizen at that time.

Kaizen replied bluntly.

“I didn’t know my fiancee liked this superstition.”

Astelle risked her embarrassment and spoke her words to Kaizen again.

“Still, this forest is very beautiful. It’s morning, so the air is refreshing. It would be nice if there was a forest like this near the waterway.”

“Yes, that’s okay. It’s probably because there isn’t a lot of people in and out. If people go here and there, the scenery is ruined.”

Kaizen turned his horsehead to her side and spit out.

“Especially if people who don’t even know how to hunt come in and out, the hunting ground will be ruined.”

Kaizen said he didn’t want to talk to Astelle anymore, so he went into the forest leaving Astelle.

Kaizen loved hunting very much. But he preferred to go out of the imperial palace and run through the forest rather than hunting itself.

Because he was able to take off his pretense and act as he pleased at that time.

Kaizen had been walking in the forest for a long time, and he chased his prey.

He never met Astelle during the hours he had passed.

He didn’t even care where she was.

He didn’t know if Astelle liked this hunt or if she had ever hunted.

How long has he been gone around?

It was the first time when he came to the center of the forest.

There was a snow-covered board among the dense trees.

Kaizen turned the direction towards it.

But the moment he stepped on the snowfield, he suddenly had an unexpected situation.

As soon as he stepped, the floor collapsed.

As the ice broke, cold water sprang up. The black water swallowed him like a deep bog.

“Waah…”

The cry of a surprising word resounded like a sharp scream.

Drowned in the water, Kaizen quickly sank to the bottom of the water.

Frozen water stabbed him all over his body.

Kaizen desperately reached out to hold on to the ice.

However, his thick coat of fur clung heavily to his whole body, and his body slowly sinking.

The broken ice was in front of him, but his hand was out of reach.

At that time, an urgent voice was heard from above.

“Your Majesty!”

Someone reached out to him. Kaizen managed to hold the hand.

The master of the voice grabbed him and pulled him away.

It was when Kaizen grabbed the ice and barely climbed to the surface.

The ice next to it cracked and this time the person who caught Kaizen fell into the water.

“… Astelle?”

Kaizen, who barely climbed up the ice, realized that it was Astelle who pulled him up.

This time, on the contrary, he reached out to Astelle.

Astelle, who had been struggling for a long time, took Kaizen’s hand.