The next morning, everyone woke up and began preparing for the hunt.
I had remained awake throughout the entire night.
While the others gathered their equipment, I quietly observed my surroundings.
It had become a habit of mine to pay attention to everything around me, especially when I was in an unfamiliar place.
Soon, Alex called everyone together.
“We’re heading out to hunt monster beasts today,” he announced.
“Listen carefully to the instructions, and don’t do anything reckless.
As long as we avoid making mistakes, everything should go smoothly.”
Everyone nodded and began checking their equipment.
Once everything was ready, we set off.
Meanwhile, Noctis was already joking around with the others as though he had known them for years.
He laughed at almost everything and occasionally said something ridiculous just to get a reaction.
I still couldn’t understand how someone could be so carefree in a world where danger lurked around every corner.
After walking for a while, Quinn suddenly spoke.
“You know, things weren’t this peaceful before.”
I glanced at him.
“Everything changed after Lady Alice arrived.”
The moment I heard that name, my attention sharpened.
Alice.
So she had come here, too.
I had partly entered this territory because of her and Arthur.
Now that I knew they had been here, I wanted to learn everything I could about what had happened.
I remained silent and listened carefully.
Quinn continued, “I once wanted to join their team, but they’re simply too strong.
I’ve seen both of them fight with my own eyes.
Meeting people like them is a matter of luck.”
Noctis suddenly burst into laughter.
“They’re not stronger than me!
I could defeat both of them by myself!”
The entire group burst out laughing.
Alex shook his head.
“Sure, sure.
And I’m the king of this desert.”
Noctis puffed out his chest.
“You don’t believe me?
That’s your loss!”
Everyone laughed even harder.
I didn’t join them.
I knew enough about Noctis’s strength to understand that his words might not be as ridiculous as they sounded.
If he hadn’t helped me, I might still be wandering aimlessly through the desert, struggling to survive.
I had witnessed almost every battle he fought.
Yet I had never seen him intimidate the weak or take pleasure in making others suffer.
To Noctis, killing monsters was practically the same as swatting mosquitoes.
But one question still bothered me.
Why had he helped me?
He had given me only one explanation.
When the time comes, you’ll have to help me.
That was all.
I didn’t know what he wanted from me, but I intended to find out eventually.
For now, I had no reason to reject his help.
I turned toward Quinn.
“What exactly did Alice and Arthur do?”
Quinn smiled.
“They didn’t just do something.
They changed this entire place.”
He pointed toward the city behind us.
“Before they arrived, the king oppressed everyone.
He forced people to go hunting, took whatever he wanted, and treated the people like his personal possessions.
Nobody dared to oppose him.”
He paused before continuing.
“But after Lady Alice and Arthur arrived, things began to change.
They helped people, stood up against injustice, and gave everyone a chance to live freely.”
I said nothing.
Quinn’s expression grew more serious.
“Of course, the king didn’t like that.”
He took a breath.
“Let me tell you what happened.”
The Fall of the King
“About two months ago, Alice and Arthur first arrived in this territory.
The king noticed them almost immediately.”
Quinn shook his head.
“When the king saw Alice, he became obsessed with her.
He sent his people to find out everything about her and eventually summoned her to the palace.”
At first, the king tried to persuade Alice to stay by his side.
He even offered her the position of queen.
But Alice rejected him without hesitation.
That was when everything changed.
The king’s friendly attitude disappeared.
“If you want to remain in my territory,” he told her, “you must obey me.”
From that moment onward, he began making life difficult for Alice and Arthur.
He assigned them increasingly dangerous missions, sent them to hunt alone, and deliberately prevented other hunters from assisting them.
Behind the scenes, he searched for an opportunity to eliminate them.
Unfortunately for him, things didn’t go as planned.
Instead of isolating Alice and Arthur, his actions gradually pushed the people toward them.
Alice and Arthur helped the injured, shared resources with those in need, and worked alongside ordinary hunters.
Slowly, their influence spread.
More and more people began supporting them.
By the time the king realized what was happening, it was already too late to stop their growing popularity.
Alice and Arthur continued operating outside the palace’s influence.
They even led people who had never met the king beyond the city’s walls, where they could train and become stronger.
They weren’t merely helping people survive.
They were building a force capable of challenging the king.
And the king knew it.
Arthur’s Betrayal
One day, without informing Alice, Arthur was summoned to the palace.
The king received him in a private chamber.
After dismissing the guards, he looked directly at Arthur.
“Do you want to give Alice to me?”
Arthur’s expression remained cold.
“I’ll go wherever I can gain the most.”
The king smiled.
“Then work for me.
You’ll benefit greatly.”
Arthur didn’t immediately agree.
Instead, he asked, “What will I gain by working for you?”
“First, tell me what you can do for me.”
Arthur remained silent for several seconds.
Then he answered.
“I’ll give you Lady Alice.”
The king’s eyes narrowed.
“How?”
“That’s my business.”
Arthur looked at him calmly.
“Now tell me what you can offer in return.”
The king smiled.
“Very well.
I’ll give you this kingdom.”
Arthur shook his head.
“I don’t want the kingdom.”
“Then what do you want?”
“I want to leave this place.”
For the first time, the king’s expression changed.
He stared at Arthur before slowly speaking.
“I wanted to leave this place, too.”
He paused.
“It’s been eight years.
I’ve tried countless times, but I haven’t succeeded even once.”
Arthur remained unmoved.
“That’s your problem.”
The king laughed softly.
“Fine.
If you bring Alice to me, I’ll give you permission to leave.”
Arthur’s eyes flickered slightly.
There was one crucial detail the king hadn’t mentioned.
Only the king knew how to awaken the monster guarding the way out.
Without that knowledge, escaping the desert would be nearly impossible.
Arthur understood that he needed the king’s cooperation.
And he was willing to pay almost any price to obtain it.
Even if that price was Alice.
The Price of Betrayal
For the next several days, Arthur continued hunting alongside Alice.
On the surface, nothing appeared to have changed.
They fought monsters, completed missions, and worked with their companions as usual.
But Arthur was waiting.
He needed an opportunity to hand Alice over to the king without exposing his betrayal.
Eventually, that opportunity arrived.
During one of their hunts, they encountered a Two-Star Monster.
The battle was fierce.
Even with their combined strength, defeating the creature proved difficult.
The monster’s attacks were powerful enough to threaten the entire group.
Arthur was seriously injured during the fight.
As the only healer in their group, he should have prioritized recovering from his wounds.
Instead, he made his move.
He suddenly attacked Alice.
Caught off guard, Alice barely had time to react.
“What are you doing?” she demanded.
Arthur didn’t answer.
He continued attacking.
Alice immediately fought back, but the battle with the Two-Star Monster had already exhausted her.
Her movements were slower, and her strength had diminished considerably.
Arthur had deliberately waited for such a moment.
He knew her abilities.
He knew her fighting style.
And he knew exactly when she would be at her weakest.
The battle between them was short but brutal.
Despite her resistance, Alice eventually fell.
Arthur stood over her, breathing heavily.
For a moment, he looked down at the woman he had traveled with for so long.
Then he turned away.
He had made his choice.
He handed Alice over to the king.
And the king immediately imprisoned her.
The People’s Despair
When Alice’s supporters discovered that she had disappeared, they became furious.
They gathered before the palace and demanded answers.
“Where is Alice?”
“What have you done to her?”
“Bring her back!”
The king received them with an expression of feigned confusion.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Without evidence, they couldn’t accuse him directly.
Then Arthur appeared.
He stood before the crowd and delivered another lie.
“Alice told me she intended to leave this place when she grew tired of it.”
The people stared at him in disbelief.
Arthur and Alice had arrived together.
They had fought together and helped the people together.
Many had believed that the two shared an unbreakable bond.
Now, with Alice missing and Arthur claiming she had left willingly, nobody knew what to believe.
Some suspected the king.
Others wondered whether Arthur was hiding something.
But suspicion wasn’t proof.
And without proof, they could do nothing.
Days passed.
Gradually, the kingdom began returning to its former state.
The king resumed his oppression of the people, taking advantage of Alice’s absence to regain control.
Meanwhile, Arthur continued preparing for his own plans.
He had betrayed Alice to gain the king’s favor.
Now he needed an army strong enough to secure his escape.
But his decision had left the people who once trusted him in a terrible position.
And deep beneath the palace, Alice remained imprisoned.
Beneath the Palace
The king descended into the palace basement.
The air grew colder as he walked through the narrow passageways.
Eventually, he arrived at a heavily guarded prison cell.
Alice sat inside.
Her long reddish hair fell over her shoulders, and her head was lowered.
Despite her circumstances, she showed no sign of fear.
The king approached the bars.
“If you agree to become mine, I’ll release you.”
Alice didn’t respond.
He waited for a moment before continuing.
Just say yes, and I’ll let you go.”
He leaned closer.
“I can give you anything you want.”
Still, Alice remained silent.
The king eventually ordered food to be brought to her.
When he tried to offer it to her himself, she refused to eat.
His expression darkened.
“Don’t test my patience.”
He gripped the bars.
“If I wanted to, I could have forced you to become mine already.
But I know that forcing something like this won’t make you love me.”
His voice softened slightly.
“I only want you, Alice.
That’s all.”
He stared at her, waiting for an answer.
None came.
The king’s expression gradually turned cold again.
“Fine.
Let’s see how long you can continue like this.”
He placed the food bowl on the ground and left.
Alice didn’t even look at it.
She remained seated in the darkness, her face unreadable.
Whether she was angry, calculating her next move, or simply waiting for the right opportunity, nobody could tell.
But one thing was certain.
She had no intention of surrendering to the king.
A Kingdom Without Its Light
While Alice remained imprisoned, Arthur continued working to strengthen his position.
He needed soldiers, resources, and enough influence to carry out his plans.
The king’s forces were considerably larger than anything Arthur could gather on his own.
So he moved carefully, gaining the king’s trust while gradually preparing for the future.
As the days passed, Arthur became one of the king’s trusted men.
Alice’s supporters noticed his sudden change of allegiance.
They understood that he had sided with the king, but they were powerless to stop him.
All they could do was remember what Alice had done for them.
She had distributed food without demanding payment.
She had helped the injured without expecting rewards.
She had stood beside people whom the king treated as disposable.
To many of them, Alice was more than a powerful hunter.
She was the reason they had begun to believe that their lives could become better.
Some even regarded her as a goddess.
So when she disappeared, their hope disappeared with her.
The kingdom had lost the person who had given them courage.
And the king was once again free to do as he pleased.
Lady Alice
Quinn’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts.
“Lady Alice is incredibly beautiful.”
I glanced at him.
He looked almost dreamy as he continued describing her.
“Her long reddish hair falls all the way down her back.
Her skin is fair, and her face is so perfect that it’s hard to believe she’s a real person.”
He shook his head in admiration.
“It’s as though the gods themselves created her.”
I remained silent.
Quinn wasn’t finished.
“Normally, her aura is gentle and calm.
But when she enters battle, everything changes.
Her aura becomes terrifyingly intense.”
He paused dramatically.
“Lady Alice is perfect in every way.
She’s like a fairy.”
Then he added, “And her eyes are as blue as the ocean.
Once you look into them, it’s difficult to look away.”
I listened without changing my expression.
Anyone who saw Alice for the first time would remember her.
I already knew that much.
But the Alice Quinn described was only one side of her.
I knew another side.
A cruel, calculating woman who could cut off someone’s arm without hesitation.
A woman who could make decisions without allowing emotion to interfere.
And a woman whose true intentions were often impossible to understand.
Beautiful?
Certainly.
But beauty had never made someone harmless.
Suddenly, Noctis leaned forward.
“Wait a minute.
Is she really more beautiful than me?”
For a moment, everyone stared at him.
Then Coen laughed.
“You’re a little more handsome than Arthur, perhaps.”
He shook his head.
“But Lady Alice?
She’s on another level.
She looks like an angel.”
Noctis touched his chin thoughtfully.
“An angel, huh?”
A mischievous smile appeared on his face.
“Then I’ll have to meet Lady Alice.”
Alex shook his head.
“That’s easier said than done.
They’re usually busy hunting, so meeting them isn’t easy.”
Noctis grinned confidently.
“I can do whatever I want.”
He paused before adding casually, “Besides, it’s not as though I’m trying to meet some random girl.”
I remained silent.
Noctis was clearly planning something, although I couldn’t tell whether he was serious or simply being himself.
Either way, I had more important things to consider.
Alice and Arthur were here.
They had entered this territory two months ago, changed its balance of power, and become involved in a conflict with the king.
Arthur had betrayed Alice.
Alice was imprisoned.
And the people who once supported them had been left helpless.
I didn’t know what would happen next.
But I knew one thing.
Our paths would cross again.
And when that happened, I would no longer be the powerless boy they had abandoned in the desert.