The moment they fell down the cliff, Edgar instinctively knew that death was near. He wasn’t afraid of dying, but he feared about Rubica’s future.

Why on earth was she still holding his hand? She should have let go. If she had done that, at least one of them would have been safe.

However, she held his hand so tightly that her hand turned deadly white. All Edgar could do was to take her in his arms and roll.

He was planning to use his own body as a cushion so that she couldn’t be hurt when they hit the ground.

The forest was thick, but its branches didn’t slow them down as they were falling too fast.

He anticipated lots of pain and held her even tighter.

But when they touched the ground, something unexpected happened.

The ground turned soft like rubber. They bounced off and, when they fell down again, the ground held them like a cradle.

Did Ios cast some kind of magic on it in advance? It hurt less than when you are falling from the bed.

Edgar was relieved to see that she was fine and couldn’t even think about himself.

“Edgar!”

Rubica also checked on him first. They were still in danger, but he smiled at feeling her in his arms. Even the leaves stuck on her ruffled hair looked so lovely.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes, that Ios must have done something to the ground to make it soft.”

“Oh, I’m so glad that you’re not hurt.”

Rubica’s white face came back to normal only then. The green leaves made her clear and white skin look even more beautiful.

Thinking about it now, they had never been together under the bright sunlight. They had seen each other only in the darkness.

Edgar pretended to wipe off some grass on her face to touch it. Her soft skin was more than enough to make him feel in heaven.

“Oh, right. I’m pressing you.”

She enjoyed the warmth of his hand and blushed. But then, she came back to her senses and stood up.

He was a little disappointed when her weight was removed but, at the same time, he was worried that she was too light.

“I think we should take cover until Minos finds us…”

Rubica didn’t know what was going on back up the cliff, so she was worried Stephen might come down after them.

However, Stephen wasn’t after her. He was after Edgar who could make Stella.

She looked around and spotted a small cave a little above the cliff. They could hide in there and cover the entrance with branches and no one would be able to notice them.

“We should hide there.”

Rubica said, but Edgar, who had just said he hadn’t suffered from the fall, didn’t stand up.

She looked at his awkward smile. Maybe he said he was okay just to not scare her and suddenly she felt afraid.

“Edgar, are you hurt?”

“Oh, I…”

Her eyes nervously trembled while Edgar wondered what he was supposed to say. He couldn’t say it was a curse since that would scare her even more.

He sat up and she helped him.

Her soft arm was now on his strong arm. He always thought he should protect her, so he was slightly delighted and embarrassed at seeing that she was trying to protect him.

“I’m not hurt much. It’s just my legs are paralyzed and can’t move. They will be fine again after the sunset.”

“You can’t move your legs? But that’s serious!”

Edgar tried to make it sound as trivial as possible, but of course, Rubica was shocked. She yelled and the birds flew away, surprised by her sound.

She quickly covered her mouth and looked around. Thankfully, no one was nearby.

“We should hide in that cave for now. Edgar, can’t you use both legs or just one of them?”

“Both.”

Rubica was very worried. Edgar’s condition was much worse than she had expected. If Stephen caught up with them, they would be defenseless.

She didn’t want to spend a night in the forest without any preparation. She still had the memories of being chased during the war, so it made her even more anxious.

Misfortune came regardless of time, but it was also true that it came less frequently to those who tried to avoid it.

“Would your legs hurt if we move?”

“No, they won’t hurt.”

“Then let’s go there, I’ll support you.”

Edgar looked at the cave she was pointing at. It looked to be a perfect hideout, but it was a little too far away.

He was a sturdy man, so she wouldn’t be able to carry him all the way there. He shook his head.

“I’ll be fine here. But you should go there and hide, it’s too dangerous.”

“What are you talking about?”

Rubica was angry at hearing that and hit his back with force, which she rarely did nowadays.

Her cheeks and forehead were red, but not because she was embarrassed. She was mad.

It confused Edgar a little as he couldn’t even guess what he had done wrong.

“I should go and hide because it’s dangerous, but you will be fine here? What are you, invisible?”

“I didn’t mean… I have a gun and a knife, but you don’t even know how to use them. I’ll keep watching from here, so go and hide somewhere safe.”

“You are so stubborn!”

He was only thinking about her safety, and Rubica decided to not listen to him anymore.

Now, the person who was in danger was not her but him who couldn’t even walk. Rubica made up her mind to carry him to the cave. As she had done it quite often, she supported him with both hands.

“I’m not going if you’re not going. I won’t hide.”

“Rubica!”

“Just shut your mouth and let’s go.”

Using force was the answer to handling someone who just wouldn’t listen. She replied firmly while he sighed.

“I am too heavy for you.”

“I’ve carried heavier things than you.”

Then, she started to walk with Edgar, supporting him with ease as if she had really done it often.

‘How many times did she do this?’

Edgar bit his lips and took a deep breath to calm his anger down.

He was starting to understand that strange disharmony he felt from Rubica.

Her calmness was a little far from the calmness girls of her age had.

People who go through many hardships eventually realize what must happen happens, those who will succeed shall succeed, and those who cannot succeed shall fails. All we can do is to not leave any remorse in the process.

She acted in a way only someone who had learned it the hard way could do.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, you’re as light as a feather.”

She misinterpreted his apology and made a joke. Making a joke to console the sad heart of the injured had been one of her rules to survive the war.

However, the more she took the hard situation lightly, the more pain his heart suffered.

She had been through so much pain that he couldn’t even imagine it. To her, the unfair marriage he had arrogantly offered must not have even been a hardship.

“Well, we’re here.”

They arrived at the cave. Rubica put him in and then cut some branches with huge leaves to cover the entrance.

The cave’s entrance was too small compared to the considerably large space inside, so the job didn’t take long. And it was facing east, so they would get enough sunlight inside.

“What exactly is it? Is it a sprain?”

Rubica went to Edgar and asked as she examined his legs carefully.

Most of the injured people would moan in pain while moving, but he didn’t. She didn’t know if he was really not suffering any pain or just enduring it, and it worried her.

“No, it’s not a sprain.”

“Then, is it a broken bone?”

She asked again, touching his knee. But he shook his head.

“Well, if it were a broken bone, I should have realized it by now.”

She wasn’t an expert in healing, but she knew how to treat injuries.

Early treatment was always important. Even injuries that could be healed easily could take one limb forever when neglected.

“Where is the knife you used to remove that sack on my head?”

“Here.”

Edgar took out a small knife from his back pocket and handed it to her, thinking she wanted it to cut the rope that was still around her waist.

However, she went to his ankles and started to rip his pants with it.

“What, what are you doing?”

“I must take a closer look at your wound. It would be better to rip your pants than to make you take them off.”

“That isn’t necessary!”

“Don’t worry. I’m good at this.”

Patients tended to get nervous even at small things. Rubica said soothing words, but her hands mercilessly ripped his pants, leaving the part that only barely covered his underwear.