CHAPTER 012
An hour earlier.
“I have business with Lord Laurel in his territory, so stay in the tent and wait for me,” the Emperor said, handing Arabelle a large box of chocolates.
The tent was more comfortable and cozy than her attic room.
As Arabelle carefully opened the box of chocolates while sitting on a soft cushion, the faint smell of burning wood drifted into the tent. When she peeked outside, she saw the eastern sky covered in dark red smoke.
“There’s a wildfire!”
Arabelle urgently told the soldiers standing guard, who gave her an awkward smile as if they already knew.
“It seems so. The fire doesn’t look like it will reach here, so you can relax. But just in case, please stay inside the tent for your safety.”
“If we’re not careful, the animals in the forest could be trapped and die. We need to help them.”
“I'm sorry, but our duty is to ensure your safety, my lady. The fire is spreading quite extensively, so you must stay here.”
“Please go back inside the tent. Otherwise, we’ll be in serious trouble.”
The soldiers answered with troubled expressions, avoiding Arabelle’s gaze.
They had the sense not to mention that the wildfire was the Emperor’s order. If the lady discovered the origin of the fire… The thought of the Emperor’s face made the soldiers’ shoulders shudder.
Seeing the soldiers’ unpersuadable expressions, Arabelle retreated into the tent as if giving up.
Soon, the sound of hooves came from behind the tent, where the horses were resting. The soldiers, filled with confusion, saw Arabelle mounted on a horse.
Pulling on the reins, Arabelle said, “I’m sorry. I can’t just watch the animals get endangered.”
With that, she galloped east towards the burning forest.
The soldiers chased after her, but Arabelle had already disappeared into the flames on the other side of the forest.
Unfamiliar with the southern territory’s terrain, the soldiers were at a loss, and soon the horse Arabelle had ridden returned alone.
In front of the tent where the soldiers had returned, Sir Kyle, who had come with orders to escort the lady to the lord’s castle, was standing.
***
“Just a little more. Once we get through this forest, we’ll reach the valley...”
Deliberately using a cheerful voice despite her cracking throat, Arabelle encouraged the animals to follow her.
Holding a black bear cub in her arms, she made her way through the scorching forest. Behind her, dozens of injured and healthy animals, including the mother bear, deer, antelopes, foxes, raccoons, and wild boars, were moving in a line.
The wildfire had suddenly spread, leaving the animals trapped and bewildered, until a girl with large, clear eyes appeared before them.
The animals began to follow the small human girl out of the forest as if they understood her. It was an unbelievable sight.
The thick smoke stung her eyes and nose, making it hard to see. Her face and body were covered in countless scratches as she stumbled along the path.
The wildfire had turned the animals’ habitat into ashes in an instant. Furious flames with red tongues of fire devoured everything around them, chasing the procession of animals.
With a crack, a large willow tree burned and split, crashing down behind them, and causing more chaos with the cries and movements of the animals and birds.
Arabelle lifted a yellow kingfisher that had fallen from the sky in her hands.
Placing the kingfisher in her skirt pocket, she expertly picked up the trembling bear cub clinging to her neck. Arabelle led the animals hurriedly through the collapsing forest.
“Cough, cough,” she choked as her lungs struggled for air. Her legs trembled with fear and pain as she fled the searing flames.
‘Once we reach the river valley, the animals will be safe. I have to keep going until then.’
She smiled at the exhausted antelope leaning against her and thought.
How far had they gone? Amidst the roaring vortex of flames, the sound of the valley’s water began to reach her ears. Her light brown eyes finally sparkled with hope.
“We’re almost there. Don’t be scared, and keep moving forward without looking back, okay?”
As if speaking to herself, Arabelle hugged the trembling bear cub tightly, mustering strength in her wobbling legs.
If she faltered now, she feared she might fall and never get up again. The animals, seeming to understand her words, followed her more calmly than before.
At the edge of the forest, Arabelle joyfully pushed aside the overhanging branches, only to have her eyes filled with despair.
They had arrived at the edge of a high cliff. Far below, the valley river flowed.
The only way to the valley was to cross to the forest on the opposite side. In Arabelle’s wide eyes was a frayed and worn rope bridge, the sole path connecting the cliff to the valley.
Arabelle stood by the bridge, directing the animals to distribute their weight evenly as they crossed.
She hurriedly found the mother bear, ensuring the animals crossed in a balanced manner and placed the bear cub on its mother’s back.
“From now on, you need to go with your mom,” she gently whispered, steadying her trembling voice.
She took the kingfisher from her pocket, and the rested bird flew up into the sky.
After the last wild boar family safely crossed to the opposite forest, a sigh of relief escaped Arabelle’s lips.
It was now her turn. Carefully stepping forward, she felt the ropes creaking under her small feet.
Determined not to look down, she clenched her eyes.
“Just a bit more, just a bit…”
She prayed fervently, gripping the bridge with trembling hands. The forest was getting closer.
‘Just five more steps.’
Arabelle smiled at the waiting animals…
Crack, crack, crack.
The sound of ropes snapping continuously behind her,
“Ahhh…!”
The bridge broke, and Arabelle’s body plummeted into the abyss.
Her body, falling helplessly into the void...
Suddenly, stopped in midair. A strong arm caught her slender waist, pulling her into a broad chest and enclosing her.
Her wide eyes traveled up a strong neck and met a pair of crimson eyes staring down at her.
Relief was brief; she felt herself being consumed entirely by the gaze burning hotter than the flames she had escaped. She wanted to look away, but strangely, her eyes remained fixed on the Emperor.
***
The Emperor had sworn never to create a weakness in his life. The most fatal weakness for a person is someone they want to protect. Maxwell’s father’s weakness was his wife, Maxwell’s mother.
He had accidentally discovered the truth about his father’s death. Contrary to what people believed, the real target of the demon black panther had not been his father from the beginning.
The reason it had infiltrated the crown prince's quarters in the imperial palace was his mother.
His father could have escaped to safety. However, he chose to protect his wife, charging at the black panther… The result was his body, so mangled it was unrecognizable.
Crown Prince Luca, who had been expected to usher in the third era of prosperity for the empire, surpassing his father, Emperor Alexander.
He was the rising sun and pride of all the empire’s people, with a personality as excellent as his potential. But his father met a tragic end because of his one weakness.
Without being able to realize his ambitions, the rising sun fell into darkness. Remembering his father’s hollow death, Maxwell deeply imprinted on his heart the resolve never to create a weakness in his life.
***
The sight before him left the Emperor stunned and furious to the point of losing his sanity. Riding at full speed through the flames, he saw Arabelle, guarding the ropes and leading the animals to safety.
While momentarily halted by the falling giant trees blocking his path, he was relieved to see Arabelle nearly reaching the forest on the other side of the bridge.
Just as he pulled the reins tightly, aiming for her...
Crack, snap, snap.
In an instant, the ropes of the bridge started breaking. The Emperor’s blood-stained hands on the reins turned white with the force.
No one will ever be a weakness in my life. A tender-hearted woman willing to sacrifice her life to save insignificant animals will not be accepted as my weakness.
At that moment, Arabelle’s small body fell vertically.
Maxwell spurred his white horse, galloping at full speed across the breaking bridge. He leaped into the air from the horse’s back.
The white horse landed lightly in the forest on the other side. The Emperor, falling towards the cliff, reached out to grab the ropes hanging from the tree on the opposite side.
Dangling from the ropes with one hand, he stretched out the other and caught Arabelle’s waist. Only after pulling her slender body into his embrace did the intense pounding in his neck begin to calm.
Grinding his teeth until they nearly shattered, the Emperor refused to acknowledge the truth.
He would never admit that he risked his life, with all rational thought halted in an instant, to save this woman.
Holding Arabelle in one arm, the Emperor climbed the rope and landed on the ground. As soon as his feet touched the flat land, heavy raindrops began pouring from the sky.
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