Chapter 97

“No…,” Malena whispered.

Despair washed over her as she saw the snow begin to fall again. She had torn the arrow free, ripped her clothing apart, and clumsily stanch­ed the bleeding, but after staggering a few steps and gasping for breath, she clenched her teeth. The men who had fired the arrow would surely be tracking the young lady who had fallen from her horse.

She had to stop them somehow. Before the snow piled any higher, she had to take Odelliana back with her. Driven by sheer desperation, Malena forced her trembling body upright.

The young lady would be alive. She was resilient. She had to be alive.

At that moment, she saw two men approaching on horseback in the distance. Even through the falling snow, they rode at an unhurried pace, and something about them felt strangely familiar. Hope flared in Malena’s chest. She shouted with all the strength she had left, calling out to them, begging them to help, begging them to save them.

***

“Hah… ha… damn it.”

She was alive.

Time and again it had felt as though she were about to die, but she had clung on stubbornly. In the end, she had neither fallen asleep nor crossed into death.

Odelliana leaned back against the wall of a small cave she had stumbled upon by chance, breathing harshly.

But how many hours could she endure like this?

If it were midsummer, she might have survived a day stranded like this. But she had lost a considerable amount of blood, the cold was severe, and snow was pouring down with terrifying force. The situation was hopeless.

If she remained isolated, rescue would be unthinkable for at least four days. Without fire, how long could she possibly last?

She had avoided freezing beneath the snow, but the cave did little to keep out the biting cold. People froze to death even inside their homes during this season. In a place like this, she would not last even half a day. By evening, the temperature would drop further, and the snow showed no sign of stopping.

No matter how she tried to hold on to hope, reality forced her thoughts into cruel clarity. Her body had already begun to lose sensation. Whether the pain had dulled her nerves or they had simply died, she could not tell. Her whole body burned as if on fire, yet her bones felt as though they were rotting from the cold. Curling in on herself, she shook violently and expelled ragged breaths.

This was why she hated weakness.

The sheer helplessness was unbearable. When she realized she had reached a point that could not be endured by willpower alone, the strength drained from her body.

Odelliana blinked slowly, her eyelids heavy. Drowsiness crept in like a blessing upon parched land, clawing at her consciousness and tempting her to surrender herself to rest.

Had she not done enough? The flame of resolve flickered low. She soothed herself with the thought that she had struggled desperately enough to live. Just as she was about to yield to the pull of sleep, she sensed movement nearby and snapped fully awake.

The sound of a horse’s whinny, the crack of a whip. The noises drew closer.

Were they enemies or allies?

That faint spark of curiosity seized the fraying thread of her awareness.

A shadow fell across the cave entrance, and soon a horse and a man wrapped in fur came into view. He scanned the surroundings, shook the snow from himself, then led the horse into the cave. The instant she thought his manner felt familiar, her eyes slipped shut.

***

The sound of firewood burning echoed softly. Warmth spread through the space, accompanied by a mouthwatering scent.

When she slowly opened her eyes, the first things she saw were the reddish glow of firelight and damp stone walls. Turning her head toward the warmth, she saw the back of a man roasting something over the fire.

Enemy or ally?

As she stared vacantly, the man turned around.

“Looks like your mouth still works, at least,” he said.

A familiar voice. A repulsive face she could never forget, even if she were thrown back into a coffin. A chill ran down her spine, and a sharp shudder rippled through her body.

Jocelyn?

Why was he here?

Odelliana recoiled instinctively, her posture like a cornered cat with its fur bristling. Jocelyn let out a low chuckle.

“You seem lively enough, judging by that defiant look.”

She said nothing.

“I did not go through all that trouble just to be treated like this.”

“…You saved me?” she asked.

“I did,” Jocelyn replied. “I found you freezing to death, gave you my fur, and even lit a fire. That makes me your lifesaver, does it not?”

He sneered down at her with arrogant eyes.

“Just like before and just like now, hiding yourself away in places like this. It seems hide and seek is a favorite pastime of yours, Lady Odelliana.”

Odelliana did not answer.

Jocelyn lifted a skewer from the fire and held it toward her lips. On closer inspection, it was dried meat being roasted.

“Eat.”

She remained silent.

“There is no poison in it, so you can drop that hunting dog expression,” he said mockingly. “Ah, or is your body too wrecked to feed yourself? Do I need to put it in your mouth for you?”

Brushing at his words, Odelliana snatched the skewer. As she stared at its sharpened tip, she imagined driving it straight into his throat.

But even gripping the skewer was difficult. Her hand trembled violently, dragging her back to reality. The only parts of her body that would obey her were the hand holding the skewer and her legs. No matter how she tried, she could not gather the strength to sit up properly.

“Eat something,” Jocelyn said calmly. “If you do not, you will die.”

Of all people, she had to survive on the help of someone she wanted to tear apart. Swallowing her resentment, Odelliana glared at the jerky and began chewing it with irritation. She was ashamed to be seen in such a miserable state and humiliated by the fact that her life now depended on him.

Still, she wanted to live.

As he said, clinging to pride here would only hasten her death. She accepted the indignity because she understood that.

She was starving, and to recover even a little, she needed to eat. Water and salt were essential for survival, and salted jerky was the ideal emergency ration. She could not bring herself to refuse it.

“Your scalp was torn open. You lost quite a bit of blood, so I stopped it and treated the wound,” Jocelyn continued. “I applied the medicine I had on hand. You do not need to worry about infection.”

As she wolfed down the jerky, questions churned in her mind. Why had he saved her? Why was he here?

“You look like you have a lot to say,” Jocelyn observed.

She stayed silent.

“But I am not telling you anything right now, so do not bother with pointless questions. Just eat.”

When she finished the skewer, he offered her another. She devoured that too, and then he handed her a waterskin. She took a few sips, just enough to ease her thirst, and returned it. He glanced at the remaining water and laughed.

“I thought you would drink it all.”

This was the only lifeline she had. Draining it in one go would have been idiotic. Offended by his tone, she narrowed her eyes at him.

“Such a temper,” he muttered.

He drank from the waterskin himself, then threaded another piece of jerky onto the skewer and set it over the fire.

“I ran into your maid on the way,” Jocelyn said. “Her shoulder was badly injured.”

“…Is she alive?” Odelliana asked.

“She is,” he replied. “She clung to my trousers and begged me to save you.”

She fell silent again.

“I hesitated for a moment,” Jocelyn went on. “Whether I should risk being stranded in a snowstorm to search for a woman who humiliated me.”

He lifted his chin with a smirk.

“Considering that humiliation, I was tempted to leave you. But the idea of making you indebted to me, when you loathe me so thoroughly, sounded rather entertaining.”

Then he added lightly, “What shall we do this time? I came to see you again without any formal procedure. Will you issue another order to expel me?”

The smug look on his face was infuriating.

“If you do,” he continued, “I will simply return properly next time, following all the steps.”

She said nothing.

“Well? Decide,” he pressed.

His voice was calm and even, yet it felt coercive. What he wanted was submission, the conquest of someone whose lifeline he now held. The desire to stand above her pride was plain in his steady gaze.

To him, her precarious situation was little more than a brief amusement and a means to mend his wounded ego. Possessing warmth, food, and water, he threatened her with the gentle voice of a gentleman, telling her to bow her head and cling to him.

Odelliana ground her teeth.

She wanted to scream that she would rather die, but she could not bring herself to say it. The urge to survive overwhelmed her shattered pride, and even that hesitation felt humiliating.

She had always thought there was little point in clinging to such a wretched life. Yet now, with death so close, she wanted to live, even if it meant bowing to the man she despised most.

The sight of his smug face only fueled her rage. A fierce desire to survive, to one day crush that arrogant head beneath her heel, swirled together with her shame and fury.

At last, as Jocelyn rose as though he would not wait any longer, Odelliana reached out with a trembling hand and seized his.

“…Stay,” she said.

“What did you say?” he asked.

“…Stay here.”

The words were forced out as though wrung from her very blood.

Jocelyn studied her, rubbing his chin, then smiled in satisfaction.

“If I tease you any further, it looks like you might bite off your tongue and die,” he said.

He dropped down beside her.

“Let us get along until rescue comes, Lady Odelliana.”