After Putting the Slayer of the Night to Sleep, I Ran Away - Chapter 74

“What is your name?”

“My name is Hans, Lady.”

“Yes, Hans. We seem to have come quite far in, so it would be good for us to fly the hawk as well.”

At Ayla’s words, Hans replied, “Yes,” and blew the whistle hanging around his neck.

Instantly, the hawk, which had been folding its wings on the leather gauntlet, let out a sharp cry and powerfully took flight.

Its silver-gray feathers, catching the sunlight, glinted in the sky.

“Do you control the hawk with that whistle?”

“Yes, Lady. Humans cannot hear it, but the hawk hears and reacts precisely.”

Ayla looked on with curious eyes.

She had gone out for falconry at Shuelle’s suggestion, but seeing the hawk actually fly made her heart pound.

The thread tied to the servant’s waist unspooled at a rapid pace, following the hawk’s movements.

“Lady, you must pick up the pace a little from now on!”

“Understood!”

Ayla quickened her steps, looking up at the soaring hawk.

A trained hawk does not fly too high, so she could chase after it sufficiently by running a short distance.

‘What a well-trained hawk.’

Would that hawk really be able to find prey?

Her gaze focused on the moving hawk with anticipation.

However, as time passed, her breath grew short and her legs felt heavy.

As chasing the hawk began to become difficult, the thought, ‘Isn’t there no prey at this point?’ crossed her mind.

At that moment, the hawk suddenly folded its wings and began to glide.

“Look there, Hans. The hawk has finally….”

Ayla pointed to where the hawk was landing and looked back.

But the servant, whom she expected to be following, was nowhere to be seen.

“…Hans?”

Her expression, which had been one of puzzlement as she looked around, hardened.

She had clearly been following at the beginning, but no matter how much she looked around, she couldn’t see him at all.

‘Was it a trap after all?’

Ayla let out a deep sigh.

Of course.

She had expected they wouldn’t do something like this, especially after her fight with Vivian.

Ah, perhaps they intend for me to play the role of an older sister who cries her eyes out after losing me?

Whatever the case, she had indeed let her guard down.

Quickly composing herself, Ayla surveyed her surroundings and muttered.

“First, let’s find the hawk.”

Since the thread was tied to the hawk’s leg, she figured she could find her way by following it.

Ayla pushed through the undergrowth without hesitation towards where the hawk had landed.

‘I haven’t seen it fly up yet, so it must be waiting there.’

As she thought this and took another step forward.

“What is this….”

Ayla frowned at the sight before her.

“A deer….”

The animal the hawk had hunted was a deer.

The problem here was that the deer was a prepared prey, lying on the grass with its four legs tied, bleeding.

The hawk was clinging to the deer’s back with its sharp talons, letting out a low cry.

“They deliberately made the hawk hunt this….”

The moment she realized this, a chill ran down her spine.

The situation was too meticulously planned to be dismissed as a mere prank.

“I need to get out of here.”

Ayla slowly lowered her body so as not to startle the hawk.

She couldn’t handle the hawk without her gauntlet, so her immediate priority was to grab the thread tied to its leg.

She approached cautiously, holding her breath, and reached out her hand.

“…Got it!”

Fortunately, Ayla let out a short sigh of relief the moment she grasped the thread.

Afterward, she firmly picked up a nearby stone and cut the thread tied to the hawk’s leg.

The hawk stared at her for a moment, then hopped back.

“Go back or fly away, do as you please.”

Ayla waved her hand as if urging it to fly away quickly.

The hawk glanced at the deer before it, then spread its wings and took flight.

Only then did Ayla lower her gaze to the deer.

Looking at the small creature trembling with its legs tied, she fell into complex emotions.

“There’s not much I can do for you right now. I’m sorry….”

Then, she untied the rope binding the deer’s four legs.

She couldn’t treat the injured deer, but she couldn’t just leave it there either.

“Looking at you makes me reflect. It seems I’m paying the price for trying to hunt an innocent life for sport.”

She had been so captivated by the novelty of her first experience that she hadn’t thought about the consequences.

If something like this hadn’t happened, and if the hawk had succeeded in hunting a small animal, would she have been able to watch its life fade away and feel joy?

‘Hunting for survival is unavoidable, but hunting for amusement should be avoided.’

Ayla steeled her resolve and picked up the thread.

Fortunately, the thread lay across the bushes, so there seemed to be no risk of getting lost.

She felt relieved, thinking she could find her way back, and walked for a long time before her steps suddenly stopped.

“No….”

The thread she had been holding was broken.

Her heart sank.

‘They’re going this far?’

It was obvious to anyone that it had been cut deliberately.

Unable to believe the reality, Ayla bit her lip and quickly scanned her surroundings.

But the forest where she stood alone was only silent.

Somewhere, the sound of wind rustling through leaves echoed.

Ayla shivered at the eeriness of the sound and hurried her steps in another direction.

The common sense that it’s best to wait in place when lost didn’t come to mind.

She was impatient, scared, and afraid it would get dark.

Although she usually liked the night, she didn’t want to imagine spending it alone in the deep forest.

‘I wish I hadn’t cut the string tied to the hawk’s leg.’

If she hadn’t, she might have been able to return by following the trained hawk.

Regret came too late, but it was irreversible.

The more her heart raced, the more scratches from branches accumulated.

When a sharp branch grazed her cheek, leaving a stinging pain, Ayla felt like crying.

But she gritted her teeth.

“No. Even if I can’t find the way, they will come looking for me, so I can’t cry….”

She missed Leo so much.

To see him again, she swallowed her tears and decided to change her strategy.

At the very least, she had to mark the path she had taken.

Ayla reached out and broke off a branch, muttering.

“I’m sorry, tree. But this will make it easier for that person to find me….”

As she broke off branches on the left and moved forward step by step.

A faint voice carried on the wind.

“……!”

Ayla stopped breathing and her eyes widened.

Someone was definitely nearby.

Instinctively lowering her body, she cautiously approached the direction of the sound.

Then, the voices began to become clearer.

Empress Tatiana had left the viewing area saying she was going falconry, but she had a different objective.

Leaving her attendant maids in the carriage, Tatiana boldly entered beyond the safety zone.

A sign with golden engravings marked the boundary, but she didn’t look back once.

‘Just a little further from here….’

Her memories with him were old, but her feelings were as vivid as if they had happened yesterday.

The moments she had spent with him.

She had visited this place countless times with him when Alexander was the Crown Prince.

The times they had dismissed the guards after finishing their hunting for sport and whispered their love alone.

For her, this place was not just a hunting ground, but a place of memories with him.

After passing a few familiar trees, she reached a small clearing enclosed on three sides.

And…

“Alex.”

He was there.

The man she had truly loved, becoming her lover in the interim when she believed he would naturally marry her.

“Tia!”

A deep, low voice carried on the wind.

Tatiana ran without hesitation, and without a moment’s pause, leaped into his arms.

“Alex….”

He seemed to hesitate for a moment, then tightly embraced her back.

Strongly, as if he would never let her go again.

“Ah….”

How long had she longed for this warmth?

Tatiana’s eyes reddened.

The embrace she had yearned for even in her dreams, the man she couldn’t even see, was right before her eyes.

As his hand stroked her hair, the resentment she had accumulated burst out like a spoiled child’s plea.

“Why, why did you come back now?”

“Tia….”

“Do you know how long I’ve waited?”

Tatiana’s voice trembled terribly.

From the day their separation was forced, she had not had a single happy day.

No matter how much time passed, she hadn’t been able to fill the emptiness, and now she finally knew how.

“I’m sorry!”

Alexander opened his mouth with difficulty.

“I didn’t know you would be waiting for me. I thought you would have forgotten me, of course….”

“What are you talking about? How could I?”

Tatiana looked up at him, her face wet with tears.

A firm resolve appeared in her eyes.

“There’s something you need to know, Alex.”

“Need to know?”

“Yes.”

Tatiana quietly wiped away her tears.

Support