Grace stared in surprise at Damian and Jocelyn standing before her.
"I'll try not to trouble you. It’s a promise." Jocelyn said.
"No… Please don't say that," Grace said.
Adro took a deep breath. "It's not that we're worried about you, but your father. You didn't inform him about this—in other words, you're running away with Damian and Grace."
"I promise to defend you with my life if my father gets angry at you two. Please, allow me to come," Jocelyn pleaded.
"I-I don't mind if Princess Jocelyn joins, but... they said the journey would be dangerous, so I'll leave the decision to Prince Damian instead." Grace looked at the man, who was folding his arms across his chest.
Damian shrugged. "I’ve told Adro that I can protect both of you. Jocelyn is not as weak as you think. She has been practicing archery with me for quite some time."
Jocelyn smiled gently. "Thank you, Damian."
Damian winked. "That's the trut
The group entered the forest with minimal lighting to avoid attracting attention. Grace rode a horse alongside Damian.After ensuring they were far enough from the palace, Damian raised one hand, signaling the group to stop. "Open the baggage carriage!"Damian jumped off of his horse, followed by Grace. He climbed onto the small carriage and opened a food box placed on the top stack."Are you okay?" Damian asked while pulling out a girl dressed as a boy."Jocelyn, are you alright?" Grace joined.Catching her breath, Jocelyn nodded. "I'm fine. Thank you.""Princess Jocelyn? How did you end up in there?" A guard asked.Damian carried Joclyn down from the carriage. "Stretch your legs first. It must feel stiff after bending for so long." The
"Grace." Jocelyn gazed at her, pulling out her arrow with trembling hands."We need to run from here," Grace whispered, preparing her sword. "On the count of three, shoot the one blocking our way, and run."Jocelyn nodded; meanwhile, the snakes hissed louder and crawled closer."One.""Two."Grace tightened her grip on the sword, taking a deep breath. "Three!"Jocelyn's arrow flew, striking the snake standing in front of them right in the neck. This angered the other snakes to attack them.One of the nearest snakes moved to strike Grace, but she swung her sword as quickly as possible, injuring it. Before the other snakes could reach them, they ran as fast as they could."Oh... darn it..." Grace huffed in her run.Jocelyn looked back, only to find the snakes were almost catching up to them. At the same time, her untrained legs began to give in."Hold on!" Grace shouted, reading Jocelyn's condition.Seeing on
In that area with rocky dry soil, carnivorous plants thrived alongside giant bushes, forming a small forest.Through the cracks in the ground, gas appeared several times. Damian noticed it when they were surrounded by the plants. During the fight, he kept looking for the nearest gap to the plant's growth center and studied the moments when the gas spurted.Damian knew this was a daring move. He might have to risk his life if he made even a slight mistake, but he had seen who Grace Menken was. Unexpectedly, she had a great leadership spirit. When facing people, she seemed weak, but when on a mission like this, she could make quick and courageous decisions. If he died here, he was sure she could lead the others out.According to his calculations, Damian threw the still-burning torch right into a hole near the entrance to the giant bush forest. Just as the torch entered
Damian grimaced as Jocelyn poured water over the burns on his back and limbs."This is the medicine Lady Camelia gave me before I left. I hope it can alleviate Prince Damian's injuries." Grace handed a small black bottle to Jocelyn."The spring we found doesn't lead to anything. That means King Absolen mentioned another spring," Damian spoke."Thank you for saving us. You are badly injured.” Grace said."My task is to protect you. And I might have turned into ashes by now if you people hadn't helped me," Damian chuckled."That's not funny," Jocelyn muttered, wiping away her tears that started flowing again. She lowered her face as Damian sat up."Sorry for making you worry. Thank you for treating me," he said, wiping away her tears, then stood up with his sword. "I will check the conditions outside.""You need to rest, Damian. Elvaro and Kederic have gone out to find torchwood." Jocelyn stood up as well."There are other
A small gust of cold wind sent shivers down Grace's skin. Despite the fact that the underground air was cold from the start, she felt as though the dark tunnel ahead held something sinister waiting for them.Damian turned to Grace. "I think I should check inside.""We're on the same page. I will go too." Grace nodded. "But what about the others?""We just need to climb up that plant to get to Jocelyn, but I'm afraid she might not be able to continue the journey further," Damian said."I don't mind going in without an escort. I have a feeling there's something in there." Grace whispered.Damian nodded once, then looked upwards. "Elvaro!""Yes, Your Highness?""We've found a way here. We're going to check it out, so you all wait there.""Damian," Jocelyn's weak voice sounded."Jocelyn, stay there and don't move much. Elvaro and Kederic will protect you. I'll try to return as soon as possible. But if we're not back in about
Not only would Grace transform into a hideous monster, but she might also lose half of her sanity, leaving her constantly craving human flesh. She would be separated from Adro and everyone she knew to live as the slave of the half-monster man until the end of her days.Grace didn't want her tears to fall. She didn't want the Magical Stone to see her weakness. She had come this far, overcoming all obstacles that drained her strength and emotions.'Since I was a kid, I've always been Grace the loser. But can a loser walk this far? Can a loser face kings, future in-laws who hate her, and even monsters?’“You don't know how strong you are, Grace!” She gritted.Clamping her jaw, she nodded. "I agree.""Naive. With a weak body like that, the words coming out of your mouth sound as if you're a great knight. But don't you know that I can hear the quickening of your heartbeat?" The Magical Stone said. Then he dug into his large ears before pulling out a strand of hair that turned into a massiv
The darkness enveloping Grace slowly faded. She fell onto both knees and faintly saw the Magical Stone kneeling, still in the same spot.Grace squinted her eyes and furrowed her brow. If she heard correctly, didn’t that monster say that she would walk on her stomach and her head would remain bowed? But why was her perspective still the same as before?"Y-you..." The Magical Stone stammered. The red light shining around his hands, which were covering his stab wound, slowly dimmed. "How... how is this possible?"Shifting her gaze from the pensive Magical Stone, Grace raised her hand and found she still had her human form. "I... haven't changed?""It's impossible!" The Magical Stone exclaimed. "I cursed you. No one in this world can escape my curse after touching me!"The old man's words brought a s
"It's damp and smelly here. Are you sure you're okay?" Adro asked.Grace sighed. "This is the third time you've asked the same thing, Adro. I'm fine. Don't worry.""Alright," Adro replied, then reached for Grace's hand and held it tightly. "But you have to stay close and not let go of my hand."Then, they walked through the hallway, which led to the underground prison specifically designed to confine dangerous criminals."I can't believe that after entering the death cave, fighting various monsters, and defeating the Magical Stone spirit, you're still being overprotective of me," Grace said, feeling Adro's grip tighten."I don't care how strong you are now. You're my woman; I'm responsible for your safety," Adro replied, then sighed. "Your severely injured leg is enough.""Alright, I understand. Thank you for worrying about me," Grace said, embracing his arm.Arriving at the underground chamber, they encountered three iron doors