"I have to go to Karina right now."
"Wait a minute. The Cursed Forest is a place where even simple magic is difficult to use properly due to polluted magic. What are you planning to do there?"
Max tried to dissuade him.
"It doesn't matter. I'll go."
Mikhail's attitude was firm. He remembered the time when Karina was kidnapped by the escapees. The dark and terrible memory of not being able to save her from danger. How much he regretted it in prison. Mikhail's eyes sank as cold as ice.
'I will never make the same mistake again.'
"How are you going to find the Grand Duchess in a place where even magic doesn't work properly? I heard that Grand Duke Colesberg has already led his knight to find her, so please wait a little longer."
Max's voice continued to flow out from beyond the communication port, trying to dissuade Mikhail. He then hesitated for a moment as he was about to use teleportation magic to move straight to the Cursed Forest. As if he had remembered something, he hurriedly headed to the storage room where the magic potions were stored.
"You might want to take this with you just in case."
Mikhail took the elixir had made into his arms.
***
"It's cold."
"I guess it's because the sun has set."
They had come down from where they had been, but it was still cold inside the cave, which was still at a fairly high altitude. They had taken off as much clothing as they could to make the rope, so they were both in a state where they could freeze to death. David was wearing only a thin shirt and trousers, and Karina was wearing only a dress made of thin material. Even that was a dress that was torn just above the knees, revealing her bare legs.
"I think we should light the bonfire."
Karina agreed with David.
"I'll look for something to make a fire with."
It would be best to converse the magic power of the Flame Stone as much as possible before escaping, so if she could light a fire to warm herself up, it would be a good idea to do so.
"I will look for it with you."
Karina and David explored the cave together. They gathered whatever they could find as firewood, such as dry branches and rotten leaves, and made a campfire in the center of the cave. The campfire warmed up the air inside the cave. As they sat in front of the campfire and warmed themselves, they quickly became tired. They had been fine before, but as they relaxed, their bodies began to ache here and there. It seemed that they had suddenly used their bodies a lot today.
"First, go to sleep, and when the sun rises tomorrow, we'll try to find a way to escape again."
Karina nodded at David's words. It was already hard, but she felt relieved to be able to take a breather and rest. Only then did Karina realize that she had not thanked David for saving her. Karina thought that now was the most appropriate time to thank David.
"Thank you for saving me, Your Highness."
Karina continued, her eyes locked with David's as he faced her.
"Actually, if I had been left alone, I probably wouldn't have known what to do, so I might have given up in the end."
David responded lightly to Karina's honest words.
"Isn't that quite bold?"
"I probably died with dignity."
Karina also said with a light dignity.
"..."
David couldn't find anything to say in response to what Karina said.
"I thought I could do anything by myself if I did that, but that wasn't the case."
Perhaps because I had almost died with David, Karina's true feelings leaked out a little.
"I've come a long way. but nothing in this world goes the way I want it to."
David raised the corners of his mouth and smirked at Karina's words. Then he muttered.
"It happens as you wish...."
David's profile, with its perfect smile that seemed to be drawn, was lightly shadowed by the flickering fire. His long eyelashes cast shadows under his eyes. In contrast to the upturned comers of his mouth, his eyes were dry and lacked any warmth.
"..."
Karina knew that expression. After looking for it for a while, Karina remembered an old money. As she was floating through that memory, Karina slowly opened her mouth.
"His Highness the Crown Prince must having a hard time too."
Suddenly the topic turned to David.
"Me?"
"Yes. You always have a smiling face."
"Why is it so hard to put on a smiling face?"
David asked as if he was really curious.
"You're not really smiling."
David paused for a moment at Karina's answer.
"...Why do you think it's not true?"
Karina smiled faintly at his question as if she could see everything.
"I've been like that too. I was sad and resentful when things were hard and burdensome."
Karina turned her head towards the cracking campfire.
"I thought that if I smiled and pretended that I was okay, then I was really okay."
"..."
"But when I looked back later, it wasn't really okay."
There was a moment of silence between the two. Karina broke the silence and continued speaking.
"Even though I laughed it off and said it was okay, I wasn't okay. It kept piling up and piling up until I couldn't;t bear it anymore. I wanted to cry so badly, but I didn't know how to cry."
"..."
"I kept enduring it, so it became a habit. I was so hurt and sad that I wanted to cry, but when I looked in the mirror, I was smiling, Me."
Karina made a bitter expression as if she remembered that time. She stared blankly at the flickering campfire before looking back at David.
"Your Highness's expression right now is exactly the same as mine back then."
"..."
David, who had been quietly listening to her, made a strange expression that was neither smiling nor frowning. Karina giggled at the sight.
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