Chapter 33
“Okay.”
Dalia caught her breath as she dismounted from her horse.
Following her, Lily, Rose, and Mrs. Mary also got down from their horses.
While the three of them spread out a mat and prepared lunch, Reina looked around the surroundings.
The sight of pure white trees towering high, blanketing the sky, was incredibly beautiful.
It was almost regrettable that she hadn’t known such a vast world existed until now.
Reina breathed in the cold air filling her lungs deeply and fiddled with her snowflake fox fur scarf.
“Is this really for me?”
“You kept saying you were cold. I just happened to get it while I was at it. Snowflake fox fur is light and excellent at keeping warm—it’s practically essential for northern noble ladies.”
“I see.”
“It’s that common, so don’t get too touched.”
“Well, I don’t know about that. It’s rare for a husband to catch one himself and give it to you. I’m touched.”
“Ahem. It’s nothing special.”
As Kaiden had said, the snowflake fox scarf was light and warm.
Remembering that he had hunted it specifically for her, who was sensitive to the cold, brought a smile to her lips without her realizing it.
She was grateful that he remembered her casual words and took such thoughtful care of her.
In contrast, she felt anxious because she hadn’t given him much in return.
It had been a long time since she felt the desire to give someone a heartfelt gift.
As Reina kept fiddling with the scarf, Lily spoke up.
“That’s a gift from the Duke, right?”
“Yes.”
“It suits you so well. And since you’re wearing the same one as Miss Dalia, you two look just like mother and daughter.”
“Hehe.”
Dalia blushed at the mention of looking like mother and daughter, clearly pleased.
Deep down, she had been following Reina like a mother, so it was a natural reaction.
“In case you spill food while eating, I’ll hold onto it for you.”
At that moment, Mrs. Mary stepped forward.
Reina, hearing that she might spill food on it, readily untied the scarf and handed it over.
“Thank you.”
After also taking Dalia’s scarf, Mrs. Mary stepped back.
After lightly filling their stomachs with sandwiches, Reina and Dalia mounted their horses again. Seeing this, Lily said,
“We’ll clean up here and follow you. Don’t go too far.”
“Okay, got it.”
Reina and Dalia wrapped their scarves back around them and headed deeper into the forest.
With the ribbons marking the safe area, they figured it would be fine for just the two of them to wander.
The two were slowly strolling, admiring the surroundings, when it happened.
Rustle, rustle.
A presence stirred in the bushes, catching Dalia’s interest.
She bounced around excitedly, thinking it might be a squirrel or a rabbit—it was quite endearing.
But unexpectedly, the creature that emerged from the bushes was a fox with a pure white body.
Its bright blue eyes gleamed with an eerie, blade-like intensity.
“A fox…?”
Dalia’s face then turned ashen.
It was because, following the one, several more snowflake foxes had surrounded her.
“Re, Reina Teacher.”
Dalia called out to Reina in a trembling voice.
Then, a calm voice responded.
“Dalia. On the count of three, run back the way we came without looking back. Got it?”
In the blink of an eye, snowflake foxes had gathered around Reina as well.
Multiple pairs of eyes were fixed on Reina and Dalia’s scarves.
This was strange. They had clearly followed the safe zone ribbons, yet so many snowflake foxes were swarming them.
Even if it was for revenge on their kin, this situation made no sense.
Even if there was a snowflake fox habitat nearby, the ribbons should have prevented them from approaching.
‘Could the ribbon’s effect have worn off?’
That couldn’t be.
From the beginning, it wouldn’t have been managed so carelessly.
So, there must be some other variable at play.
Reina scanned her surroundings with a tense expression.
For now, escaping this place was the top priority.
Fortunately, she remembered from the map she’d seen earlier that there was a refuge nearby.
With the thought that she had to get Dalia to safety first, Reina gripped her scarf tightly.
Dalia, her face filled with fear, nodded and waited for the signal.
Reina spoke with a strained expression.
“One, two… three!”
Neigh-!
As soon as Reina’s shout rang out, Dalia bolted back the way they had come.
At the same time, Reina ran in the opposite direction.
If she led this many snowflake foxes back to where the others were, they would surely be in danger too.
Reina deliberately waved her scarf to draw the snowflake foxes’ attention.
Their eyes had been fixed on the scarves from the start, so it was half a gamble.
Fortunately, it worked. More snowflake foxes latched onto Reina than onto Dalia.
As she ran swiftly, Reina recalled Kaiden’s words.
“If you happen to encounter a beast, run to the nearest refuge and fire a signal flare. The refuges have defensive magic installed, so they’re safe.”
“And if, by any chance, the refuge is too far, head to the densest part of the forest and fire a rescue flare. Then, a knight patrolling nearby will come running right away.”
It was a moment when his excessive worry proved its worth.
Reina had memorized the locations of the refuges during their meal, just in case.
Luckily, the refuge wasn’t far.
Reina urged her horse on with all her might.
And when she reached the spot where the refuge should be, Reina was stunned.
“The refuge is gone?”
The map she’d seen earlier clearly marked a refuge here.
She had followed the map exactly, yet the place Reina arrived at was completely empty.
It was an open meadow, with no suitable spots to hide.
In the meantime, the snowflake foxes that had fully surrounded Reina growled as they slowly closed the distance.
Reina gripped the pistol in her bosom firmly.
She fired a rescue flare first, then began to flee from the snowflake foxes.
* * *
Dalia ran forward as Reina had instructed, looking straight ahead.
The snowflake foxes that had been fiercely chasing her were no longer visible at some point.
Unaware of this, Dalia kept running ahead. She was too scared to even think of looking back.
Then, suddenly realizing her neck felt bare, Dalia turned around.
It seemed she had lost her scarf while fleeing.
“Reina Teacher?”
The moment she realized she was running alone, Dalia panicked.
She had assumed Reina would follow right behind, but there was no sign of her.
“Where are you? Reina Teacher!”
It was while Dalia clutched her bare neck and called out in despair.
“Miss? Why are you alone?”
Lily approached Dalia with a puzzled expression.
Seeing Rose and Mrs. Mary following behind, Dalia burst into tears.
“Sob, Re, Reina Teacher is in danger!”
“What do you mean? In danger? What on earth happened to Madam?”
As Lily looked around for Reina with a flustered face, Dalia wore a tearful expression.
“S-Suddenly, snowflake foxes swarmed in… Hic, Reina Teacher tried to save me…”
She was so shocked that her words came out jumbled.
At that moment, a gunshot echoed from far away.
Pew–Bang-!
Thanks to that, everyone’s attention turned in that direction.
Rose immediately recognized the meaning of the gunshot and murmured.
“A rescue flare?”
It had to be Reina, who wasn’t here, that had fired it.
It was just as Rose hurriedly tried to borrow Dalia’s horse.
“Gasp!”
A massive shadow loomed over them. Rose, stopping instinctively, looked up in bewilderment.
“Your Grace?”
Dalia also recognized the figure and murmured softly.
“Big Daddy…?”
What leaped over them was the black horse that Kaiden favored for hunting.
Before they knew it, the black horse carrying Kaiden vanished in the direction of the rescue flare, its dark mane fluttering.
