"Veronica."
At that mont, she heard a soft voice.
Her body montarily froze. She slowly turned around to see who it was.
Her heart trembled as she saw a familiar face.
"Ironin…" she called out his na. Her voice quivered.
"…" Ironin felt like sothing tugged his heartstrings.
Her pitiful voice was soft. He knew she was frightened.
"Co to ," he said in a low voice.
'Co to him? But how?'
Puzzled, Veronica lowered her head to check the distance between them.
Not only were they on the fourth floor, but they also had a three ters distance.
How was she supposed to jump over to him? She wasn't a ninja!
The height was enough to give her goosebumps.
Her eyes turned red as she glanced at Ironin. "…Ironin, I'm scared."
She was afraid if she jumped, he might not catch her on ti.
What if she fell? What if she was injured?
She was too scared to think of anything else.
Ironin understood her fear and assured her by saying, "I'll catch you. Trust ."
Veronica gulped, but her throat was still dry.
Trust.
This word weighed too much.
For the first ti, she realized how hard it was to trust soone.
She didn't want to trust, and yet, she wanted to be saved.
It was conflicting and painful.
Ironin clearly noticed that her eyes wavered. He realized that she couldn't trust him properly.
A numb pain spread all over his heart. He ignored it and reached out his hand.
"You won't fall. I will definitely catch you," he promised. He empathized with the word 'definitely'.
Veronica stared at his big, strong arm. Although she didn't believe in him completely, she was assured.
She took a deep breath and jumped over his side. She tightly shut her eyes in fear.
She wasn't good at jumping. Before she could reach him, she started to fall.
As she opened her mouth to scream, Ironin's arm grabbed onto her right wrist. His grip tightened around her thin wrist and pulled her up. Soon, she was in his arms.
Veronica was relieved. She trembled and panted heavily. His warmth slowly cald her down.
Ironin noted her trembling in nervousness. He securely embraced her body and leaped out of the tree.
Veronica's mouth gaped. She wanted to scream but the sound didn't co up.
She finally realized why Zinnia and Ironin were so confident in keeping an eye on her.
Ironin's light feet touched the branches without breaking them. Everyone was busy searching for the blessed child and extinguishing the fire. No one spotted him as he moved with the wind.
Veronica held her breath. Subconsciously, her arms tightened around his neck.
Ironin sensed it and his muscles relaxed. He passed the royal palace and took her to the bustling market.
At that ti, Veronica's stomach growled when the sll of delicious food entered her nostrils. She was hungry. She didn't eat anything after she went to the palace.
Feeling embarrassed, she lowered her head.
Ironin heard her stomach crying for food. He put her down near the lake and checked her injuries.
She didn't have many injuries but her foot was still bleeding. He applied the ointnt he had with him, tore a part of his clothes, and wrapped it around her foot.
Veronica felt much better after her wound was treated. She told him, "I want to eat sothing."
Ironin was planning to take her ho first and give her a al. Since she wanted to eat now, he casually asked, "What do you want to eat?"
"A bread chicken tikka is enough," Veronica hesitantly replied.
"Can you walk?"
"I will wait here. Can you bring ? It's not expensive. It's right across the street." Veronica pointed out the direction.
Ironin glanced at the street food shop she ntioned and agreed, "All right, wait here."
After he left, Veronica finally sighed in relief.
'Thank you, Ironin, for everything. But, I cannot go to that house and face Arthur afterward. I guess I'm not brave enough.'
Later, Ironin bought her al but she was nowhere to be found. Instead, he found a piece of paper left where she was standing. A stone was keeping the paper in place.
He took the paper and read what was written. His heart panicked and he looked around.
'She couldn't have gone too far with her injuries. I must find her.'
--------
In Morina's Palace, Arthur got up from his seat and stretched his arms.
'Finally, I can go ho,' he thought. Thinking of Veronica's bright face, his mood lightened up.
Just then, Darius ca inside his room with a bottle of liquor.
"Arthur, look what I found. This precious is five hundred years old. I bought it with all the money I earned from gambling. Didn't I hit the jackpot?!"
He was in a good mood.
Arthur smirked. "Let's taste how good is this."
"Sure," Darius readily agreed.
As they enjoyed the luxurious texture of the wine, Zinnia barged into the room.
"Zinnia, join us. This is a masterpiece!" Darius wholeheartedly invited her.
Zinnia frowned. "We don't have ti for this."
She glanced at Arthur and reported, "This is bad. Veronica is missing."
Arthur straightened up. "What do you an by she is missing?" he coldly inquired.
Zinnia told him everything, "She created fire and escaped from the palace. Ironin took her away. Later, she fooled him by saying she was hungry and then fled when he went to buy food for her. She left a note. Ironin is still searching for her."
Arthur's heart was beating fast. He had a bad premonition about this. An unknown fear clung to his heart.
He did his best to calm his heart and asked, "The note, where is it?"
"Here," Zinnia took a piece of paper and handed it to him.
Arthur and Darius read the small note.
THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING. PLEASE DON'T LOOK FOR .
"What is she thanking us for? Why won't we look for her?" Darius was confused.
Arthur's expression darkened as he read the piece of paper. He tightly squeezed the paper in his palm.
"I don't care what she wrote. Find her!"
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