The moment I recognized the face right in front of me, I couldn’t help but be surprised.
“S-Sister?”
“A little later, and you would have been in big trouble.”
It was Sister Lagenne.
And she was holding a bow in her hand.
My mouth was so wide open in shock that I couldn’t even close it properly.
“Parker, get her to a safe place first.”
“Yes!”
Huh? Parker was here too?
Well, there was never a time when he wasn’t around when my sister was.
Parker picked me up in a flash and set me down where I couldn’t see the snake’s corpse.
After adjusting my awkward posture, my sister came right up to me.
“It’s a viper.”
“A v-viper?”
“Yeah. It had venom 70 times more deadly than a cobra.”
“Eek, 70 times?”
“Its aggressiveness is also very strong. It has the power to kill ten adults with ease.”
I knew it was no ordinary snake.
If it had such terrifying venom, it was practically a weapon of mass destruction.
“Oh my gosh that’s awful.”
If my sister hadn’t saved me.
I would have become food for that damn snake.
Ugh, crazy!
I shuddered all over with goosebumps.
“Say?”
“Ah! I’m okay!”
My voice cracked a little, but I quickly nodded to signal that there was no problem.
“Thank you so much, Sister. I mean it!”
Thank you. I’m grateful.
In fact, no expression was enough to convey all of my feelings.
“It was just good timing. Anyway, I’m glad you’re safe.”
My heart welled up at the sight of my sister thinking only of my safety even in the midst of this.
It was no exaggeration to say that an angel had descended.
I even had the illusion of a pure white light pouring down from above.
‘Just what are you, Sister?’
Following her martial arts skills from last time, now she has archery skills.
Right now, at this moment, my sister was nothing less than ‘light’ to me.
But my blissful thoughts were fleeting, and my train of thought shifted elsewhere.
‘Wait? But why is Sister here?’
Something was strange.
This place was so remote that people rarely visited, and my sister even had a bow in her hand.
My gaze was fixed on the black fletching of the arrows visible above the quiver.
As if imbued with magic, a black aura rippled around the edges.
I looked back and forth between my sister and the bow with a questioning look.
“But Sister, what brings you so deep into the forest?”
“As you can see, hunting.”
“Hunting?”
“Yeah. If I’m lucky, I might catch a deer. I came here because I heard a presence, but instead of a deer, there was only a viper.”
It was an answer that straddled somewhere between regret and nonchalance.
Besides, the black aura that had been visible near the fletching had disappeared.
What was that? Did I see it wrong?
“By the way, Say.”
“Yes?”
“What brings you to this forest?”
Ah, I’d almost forgotten.
How I ended up coming all the way into this deep forest.
But I couldn’t exactly tell the truth.
Especially not that I had a strange mark and was looking for Karky grass to hide it.
‘I can’t!’
The longer I delayed my answer, the more intensely I felt my sister’s gaze on me.
Should I just make up an excuse that I came out hunting too, without thinking too hard about it?
But then I wouldn’t have any equipment.
If I stalled any longer, misunderstandings were bound to pile up.
‘Ugh, let’s just tell her.’
Since there was nowhere else to retreat, I decided to talk about everything except the mark.
“Karky grass! I was thinking of getting some.”
“What? Karky grass?”
“Yes.”
“Why? Are you hurt somewhere?”
In an instant, my sister’s gaze turned to various parts of my body.
It was an instinct to look for injured places.
Flustered by my sister’s gaze on my body, my cheeks became as hot as if they had been scorched by fire.
I quickly waved my hands and spontaneously came up with another reason.
“No! I just thought it would be good for wounds, so I wanted to keep some on hand in advance.”
Was that natural enough?
I felt a chill from my sister similar to when I faced the snake.
I felt like a thief with a guilty conscience, and my throat was dry for no reason.
“That’s not something you can easily find in the forest.”
“That’s right! I’ve been walking around all day and haven’t found any.”
But as I spoke, I wondered if I was really this incompetent.
I should have at least researched where Karky grass grows a lot.
I really wasn’t acting like my usual self.
Even if hiding the mark was my top priority.
‘It’s all because of the dream.’
Wait a minute.
After complaining, I remembered the small grave I had seen earlier.
I looked around, trying to find the location of the grave.
‘Huh? Where did it go?’
The grave was nowhere to be seen.
The grave couldn’t have moved on its own.
I tilted my head and patted my back several times.
Even if I had seen it wrong, the sensation of bumping into the grave was still there.
“What’s wrong?”
“Ah, no! Have you seen a small grave around here?”
“Grave?”
Instantly, my sister’s brow furrowed.
I widened my eyes and shouted in a confident voice.
“Yes! In the same spot where you found me earlier!”
“I don’t know, Parker, did you see it?”
“I did not.”
That was a very firm answer.
Since not one but two people hadn’t seen it, could I really have been mistaken?
Well!
‘I was completely terrified earlier.’
I couldn’t completely rule out the possibility of seeing things.
“Haha! I guess I saw it wrong.”
“I guess so.”
“Yes!”
“Anyway, we should hurry. It’ll be hard to get out of here after sunset.”
“Ah, yes!”
I hurriedly got up from my seat.
Fortunately, I wasn’t seriously injured.
And my startled heart seemed to have calmed down.
With my sister and Parker’s escort, I was able to safely escape from the forest.
Before I knew it, I had reached my house.
“Thank you, Sister. I’m very grateful for your help today. And thank you, Parker, too.”
Parker bowed in response and stepped aside so that my sister and I could talk comfortably.
“Say, it’s not good to go into the forest alone. If you run into a wild animal, it’ll be a big problem.”
“You’re right. I’ll be careful from now on.”
What should I do about the Karky grass now?
It seems like there will be a setback in my plan.
I might have to travel back and forth to the forest until I find the grass.
Since Karky grass is said to be hard to find in the forest, it was definitely not easy to get.
But where did Sister get that grass?
‘Ah!’
What have I been doing all this time?
I was so late to the realization that my head throbbed.
Why didn’t I think to ask even though the person was right in front of me?
I asked directly without a moment’s hesitation.
“Sister, where did you get the Karky grass?”
My sister seemed a little taken aback by the sudden question, but she calmly answered.
“I’ll get it for you.”
“Really? Is that really okay?”
“As a reward for helping Mother.”
“Ah, no! I didn’t really do anything.”
I was embarrassed.
It was just using my innate attribute, not a great effort.
“As I said before, it’s something no one but you can do. So, can I ask you for favors often in the future?”
I answered without a moment’s hesitation.
“Of course!”
Just trust me!
I was filled with courage at my sister’s praise.
She was going to get me Karky grass, so I could do that much for her.
I decided to take advantage of this momentum and ask another question.
“Oh! Sister, about that cousin who participated in the martial arts competition last time. When can I see him again?”
My sister’s brow twitched at my question.
“Well! Ah! He said he was going on a knightly training journey.”
“Yes? Knightly training?”
“Yeah.”
“Then when will he be back?”
“I don’t know! I think it’ll be hard to see him for a while.”
I felt a strange atmosphere.
‘Hmm! Does Sister not want me to meet my cousin?’
I don’t know why, but that’s what it felt like.
Realistically, if my cousin doesn’t come back for more than a year, his value as a target will be completely lost.
“Well, I guess there’s no helping it.”
“Sorry, I’m just sad that I can’t introduce you.”
Are you really sad, Sister?
How can you say that with such a nonchalant face?
With this, one of the targets I had been eyeing had left.
But it was too early to be disappointed.
I still had options left.
“No, there’s nothing for Sister to be sorry about.”
Then the only option left was to be loyal to my sister!
“Thank you so, so much for today! I’ll prepare a lot of delicious food next time and invite you to my house!”
I didn’t forget to give my sister a look of reverence.
“Well, if you want to.”
“You can look forward to it!”
“Okay. Then, go in safely.”
“Yes, you too, Sister!”
After saying goodbye, I hummed a tune and came to my house.
Unconsciously, I swept my hair back, and then I realized that my rabbit hairpin was gone.
“Huh? My rabbit hairpin!”
Where did it go?
I patted my head several more times, but there was nothing there.
Ugh, this is driving me crazy.
“Why did it have to be that.”
A sigh mixed with annoyance escaped my lips.
I looked around to see if it had fallen nearby, but I couldn’t see anything.
It seemed like I had dropped it while wandering through the forest earlier.
“Ugh, you klutz! You should have been more careful.”
Even if I blamed myself, the lost rabbit hairpin wouldn’t come back on its own.
Besides, there was nothing I could do right now.
Finding a rabbit hairpin in the forest would be like finding a needle in a haystack.
“Young Master, are you really going like this?”
Parker looked around and approached cautiously.
Lagenne’s brow furrowed as he watched Say return home from a distance.
“I have to go. There are things I need to check.”
“Understood.”
Lagenne took out a couple of mana stones from his pocket.
A faint light flowed out.
After handing one to Parker, he headed straight for the forest.
In the dark forest, the mana stone served as a lamp.
Before long, they stopped in front of a small grave.
A strange light flickered in Lagenne’s eyes as he looked at the grave.
He wiped the dirt from the tombstone with his gloved hand.
No inscription was engraved on the tombstone.
When Lagenne brought the mana stone in his hand closer, surprisingly, hidden letters began to appear.
[Rest in peace, dear soul,
May you enjoy eternal rest.
87× Year × Month × Day ~ 87× Year June 8th
-L, Viviana]
“Parker.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“It’s better to move up the timeline.”
“Collin contacted me earlier anyway. He said he has prepared a good place.”
“Really? That’s good.”
Unlike the welcome news, there was no inflection in Lagenne’s answer.
It felt somewhat dry.
Just as he was about to turn around after finishing the confirmation.
A blue sparkle flashed next to the tombstone.
Lagenne stopped turning around and reached out towards the mysterious object.
“This is.”
It was a pure white rabbit hairpin.
The identity of the blue sparkle was the rabbit’s eye made of a mana stone.
However, one eye was broken, and light was flowing out.
There was no need to say who the owner of the pin was.
‘What a klutz.’
The corners of Lagenne’s lips curved slightly.