Mia entered a nomadic village in Naizman.
Tall, slender people were tending sheep or carrying water jars back and forth.
Some of them glanced at her briefly, but no one approached or spoke to her.
She had worried they might be hostile or treat her like a curiosity, but thankfully, that wasn't the case.
However, her physical condition was far from okay. Hunger and thirst were one thing—but the exhaustion was overwhelming.
She had been through too much. Her legs trembled with weakness.
For a moment, Mia considered asking these people for help.
But she shook her head.
Leca's father had guided her to this path—these people probably weren't dangerous—but it was better to stay cautious.
She'd had enough of being betrayed by those she trusted.
Leca might have been a misunderstanding, but Mithys... the more she thought about it, the more infuriated she became.
Mia grit her teeth and pressed on toward her destination.
Just a little more.
She could eat and sleep properly once she was back in Sibareth.
Determined, Mia walked without looking back.
"Sheep grazing," he had said. She figured she could follow the shepherds.
A girl and a boy, both around mid-teens, were chatting happily as they herded the sheep.
They must be heading out to graze them.
Mia followed them for a long while until they came to a vast open field.
She looked around carefully—and there it was. A truly massive tree.
Without hesitation, she ran toward it. The tree was wide enough for three grown men to stand side by side.
Circling around it, she finally found a recessed area about the height of an adult man.
There, sticking out like a crude doorknob, was a stone embedded in the trunk.
'This must be it...'
Holding her breath, Mia pushed it.
Then she stepped into the pitch-black hollow within the tree.
Shamanaz hurried toward Julius's private villa.There was so much she needed to say.What did he think of Mia's disappearance?
Even if he showed a hint of regret, she would act indifferent...
They weren't deeply involved yet, after all. She couldn't show herself being jealous—that would be pathetic.
But when Shamanaz arrived at the villa, she blinked. Had she seen it wrong?
A strange girl had caught her eye.
She was walking among the handmaidens, talking with them about something, and heading in Shamanaz's direction.
Short, black hair that didn't reach the shoulders.
Bizarre clothing.
Shamanaz had seen attire like that only once before—when Julius had traveled to the other world to find Mithys.
She remembered watching that world through the peridot crystal, and in that world, people wore such clothes, regardless of gender.
And that short, awkward hairstyle...It was unmistakable.
"Oh my, if it isn't Lady Shamanaz!"
One of the maids recognized her and called out.
The group approached. Shamanaz clenched her fists, trembling with fury.
"You... who are you? I haven't seen you before."
She could barely speak the words. The short-haired girl lowered her head in embarrassment, and one of the maids answered for her.
"Her name is Anna. She's from Naizman. The young master recently bought her at the slave market."
"Then why on earth is she dressed like that?"
The maids exchanged glances but didn't respond. Their hesitation made Shamanaz's blood boil.
She didn't want to imagine what it meant.
"What are you dawdling for?! Didn't you hear me?!"
Her icy shout pierced the air. One of the maids reluctantly spoke up.
"W-Well... the young master ordered it. The hair, the clothes—he told her to dress that way…"
"...What?!"
Shamanaz grabbed Anna's chin and forcibly lifted her face. She studied her features intently.
The girl's face was sharp and striking, with strong lines—completely unlike Mia's plain and gentle features. But the small build, the expression, the aura... something about her felt eerily similar.
Or maybe it was just the hairstyle.
"Where is Jules?"
"He... he was preparing to go hunting, milady..."
Shamanaz stormed inside, her steps pounding. She arrived just as Julius was about to leave, and he saw her charging toward him like a furious bull.
"Hey there, what's the rush?"
"I should be asking you that! Are you playing dolls again?!"
"Dolls?"
"I saw that damned slave girl! The one from Naizman!"
"Ah."
Julius scowled.
Round two, following Rodolphe's visit this morning.
"Why would you do that to her?! Don't tell me—it's for that reason, is it?!"
Julius strode ahead with a look of irritation.
"Think whatever you want. I have no reason to explain myself to you."
"Jules!"
Shamanaz hurried after him, grabbing his arm.
"I'll just believe you wanted to keep a memento from your otherworld trip. A kind of... trophy, maybe..."
"...Suit yourself. I need to go hunt."
With that, Julius walked away. Shamanaz felt like her chest was being torn apart. The fear she'd buried ten years ago came rushing back. Her gut feelings never missed.
Julius mounted his beloved horse, Gaia. Hunting, along with tending to roses, was one of his favorite pastimes. He spurred the steed into a frenzy, racing into the Dreamwood—reserved exclusively for royal hunts.
Riding Gaia hard and loosing arrows often helped cool his temper. But not today. Today, he would shoot anything in sight. He usually avoided harming anything but monsters, but today would be different.
"Prrrr... Prrrr..."
Gaia, a divine beast, had an exceptional ability to sense living beings. Once inside the Dreamwood, she neighed softly, shaking her head from side to side. That meant prey was near.
"Well, this is lucky. Found something already? Let's go!"
Gaia dashed like the wind. Julius reached for his bow and began preparing to shoot.
"Which way?"
Gaia's neighs grew louder. They were close. Just as Julius aimed and drew his bowstring—Gaia let out a sharp whinny.
"...What is it? What's wrong?"
"Neigh! Neighhh!"
Gaia cried again, then galloped a few more paces before suddenly stopping. Julius frowned and dismounted.
And then—
He saw a girl collapsed on the ground.
"M-Mia...?"
His heart dropped. He rushed to check her pulse and looked her over. Thankfully, she seemed to have only fainted—no serious injuries. He gently scooped her up into his arms.
"Thanks for the prize catch, Gaia."
"Prrrr…"
"Well then... let's get our unconscious little princess somewhere safe."
Julius carried her into a small hut hidden in a corner of the Dreamwood. He had it prepared for times when a monster hunt stretched over several days.
But the moment he gently laid Mia on the bed—her eyes snapped open. She caught sight of him and bolted upright in alarm.
"You?!"
"For such an ambitious escape, you sure came crawling back quickly."
Julius tried to keep his voice even, masking the joy he felt at seeing her again.
"This... where am I? No, I clearly..."
Mia was disoriented. She remembered descending a dark staircase inside a tree for a long time. It had been pitch black. Even her will-o'-wisps refused to appear. She'd had to suppress her fear with every careful step.
She remembered falling. The ground had suddenly vanished beneath her feet. Everything went black after that.
"What a coincidence. Of all places, you landed in the royal hunting grounds."
Julius smirked. Mia's baffled expression prompted him to tease further.
"Or... did you mean to end up here?"
"Of course not! I just... got lost flying."
"Why did you run away?"
Mia clamped her lips shut. Because I didn't want to marry you—the words nearly escaped, but she swallowed them. This man was terrifying in his beauty. It was safer not to speak her mind.
"Fine. Don't answer if you don't want to."
To her surprise, his tone softened. His light green eyes, like finely cut peridot, glinted gently.
"...Where are we, anyway? I..."
"Planning to escape again once you know?"
"...I appreciate the help, but I can't keep being a burden."
"And where will you go?"
Should I say I'm going back to where I came from? Maybe he'd help. But...
Mia swallowed hard. Then she shook her head. No. I can't trust him. Mithys tricked me with that sweet face, too. I should never trust pretty faces—male or female.
"I'll just go back to the Sibareth palace. To my room."
"Oh? After all that effort to escape?"
"Then where do you expect me to go?"
Julius sat down beside her. He leaned in, whispering softly by her ear.
"Let me tell you one thing—Leca is no longer by your side."
His golden hair brushed against her cheek like silk.