I Became the Keeper of a Suspicious Forest - Chapter 56

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 56

 

Sionel looked down at his sibling below him with quiet eyes.

 

Beside them lay a goblin that had tried to attack Aren, its head severed and fallen. Sionel had killed it.

 

His adult sibling had grown to a similar build as Sionel, but his current appearance looked as frail as an old man facing death.

 

“Brother, I… I…”

 

Aren trembled as he spoke, but couldn’t finish his words. Sionel knew what Aren wanted to say.

 

An apology saying he was sorry.

 

But the reason he couldn’t even apologize was probably the same as why Sionel didn’t bother asking again.

 

Aren couldn’t bear the weight of an apology, and Sionel wasn’t ready to receive one.

 

It would have been nice if everything could be resolved with a simple “I’m sorry.”

 

Aren leaving the room that day wasn’t a momentary mistake or avoidance—it was a choice.

 

Neither Aren who left the room, nor Sionel who felt greater betrayal from Aren than from Gideon, could return to their relationship from before it all happened.

 

Sionel accepted this fact calmly, but Aren, facing this reality, kept trying to say something.

 

“Don’t say it.”

 

“Brother…”

 

“I won’t forgive Gideon, and I won’t forgive you either.”

 

Aren’s hand pressed against the ground tensed up.

 

“I know…”

 

Then suddenly, he lunged forward. Aren crawled across the ground and grabbed Sionel’s pants.

 

“Please kill me, brother!”

 

“…”

 

“After you disappeared, I… I was so scared! I don’t feel alive even though I’m living! I keep remembering you collapsing, and Uncle doesn’t seem like the person I knew! I can’t… I can’t live like this.”

 

His grip tightened as if only Sionel could save him. Moisture appeared on the ground.

 

Sionel had always been weak when it came to him. He had wanted to give him everything he possessed.

 

But Aren now knew that the brother he once knew had disappeared. And that it was all his fault.

 

So Sionel would gladly grant his request. With hands filled with anger from unbearable betrayal, he would personally deliver death to him.

 

It would be the greatest punishment he could give to the sibling who betrayed him.

 

However, Sionel stepped back from Aren who was clutching his leg. Then, a calm voice flowed out.

 

“I was the same.”

 

“…”

 

“When I slept, Uncle and you appeared. And you kept abandoning me with kind faces.”

 

“…”

 

“Were you in hell as much as I was, Aren?”

 

Sionel speaking in a tone that revealed no emotion seemed to be talking about a distant past that had long since passed.

 

Aren couldn’t understand at all. He hadn’t escaped from that day even a little, so how could his brother possibly…?

 

“There’s only one reason I came looking for you.”

 

“…”

 

“Don’t die, Aren.”

 

As if time had stopped, Aren couldn’t say anything.

 

“Endure it. Like I did.”

 

“Why…”

 

“I’m going back to the Ducal House.”

 

“…”

 

“I’ll set everything right. And I’ll pay them back one by one. You need to be there too.”

 

Aren lifted his head, his lips parting and trembling slightly.

 

Despite still remaining in the Ducal House, he had never once thought of what Sionel had simply stated.

 

“So stay alive and wait until then.”

 

“…”

 

He had imagined meeting his brother again countless times, but the Sionel in his imagination had never said such words.

 

Aren staggered and stood blankly, looking at him with a confused face.

 

“How… how are you so strong, brother?”

 

Sionel looked at the gaunt Aren and simply turned his back.

 

If he had met Aren again even just a month earlier than this, he would have made a different choice. He would have wanted to burn all those who betrayed him, and burn himself as well.

 

If it hadn’t been for Ponia.

 

Sionel smiled.

 

Now, he looked forward to when that young lady who had suddenly entered his life and left traces, that woman in a hood, that eccentric forest keeper might enter his life again.

 

So if I’ve become strong, it’s probably thanks to you, Ponia.

 

* * *

 

“Why are you going farther away when we could just head toward the cabin?”

 

“The goblins might block the path, so I’m trying to get out of their territory.”

 

Ponia walked without looking back even once. Though they had ended up alone together, Ponia still hadn’t found a way to hide her true identity.

 

Walking while lost in thought, Ponia soon arrived at a familiar place. It was the riverbank where she had gathered ingredients for cold medicine.

 

“The goblins won’t come here.”

 

And neither would people.

 

Nicolaus sat down under a tree.

 

“I need to get out of here quickly. This won’t do.”

 

After irritably running his hand through his hair, he saw Ponia standing still and pointed to the spot next to him.

 

“Sit.”

 

Ponia obediently followed his command. She had to settle things with the Prince here anyway.

 

“Your Highness, about what you were saying earlier.”

 

“Ah, about your identity.”

 

He playfully circled his finger toward her face.

 

“Right, I remember. I’ve seen your face at a banquet before.”

 

Ponia gulped. All sorts of thoughts ran through her mind.

 

Should I kneel down and beg him to keep it a secret? No. This Prince doesn’t seem like he’d let it slide just because of that.

 

Should I just push him into the river right now? That’s not right either. I’d immediately be charged with regicide, and forget about compensation—our family wouldn’t survive, and I wouldn’t even get a peaceful death.

 

“Actually, I once saw Your Highness when I was working as a maid in the Imperial Palace.”

 

Playing dumb was indeed the best option. Though it was a lie that even Sionel hadn’t believed, Ponia brazenly went with it.

 

The Prince listened to her words and grinned.

 

“Right, you were a palace maid.”

 

“Pardon?”

 

It was she who became flustered by the Prince’s confident assertion.

 

Could he be confusing me with someone else?

 

“I remember. You were carrying food at the banquet, right?”

 

I was carrying food. To eat it.

 

When Ponia nodded, he began excitedly rambling on, and since it was all stories unrelated to her, her eyes soon dimmed and lost their light.

 

Why was I so nervous for nothing?

 

Ponia half-listened and gave vague acknowledgments, then brushed off her skirt and stood up.

 

“Let’s head back now.”

 

“You’re leaving already?”

 

“We have a long way to go.”

 

There was no need to listen to more. Wanting to return home quickly, Ponia extended her hand out of courtesy.

 

She was about to leave while maintaining proper etiquette toward the Prince.

 

“Should I take you back to the Imperial Palace?”

 

Why does he keep talking nonsense?

 

“You don’t want to stay in a place like this either. You never know when you might die.”

 

Nicolaus spoke confidently with his nose in the air.

 

“I’ll specially keep you in my palace.”

 

His eyes swept over her face.

 

“We can play together from time to time.”

 

With such a pretty face, she’d be good to keep as a personal maid. If she’s obedient, I could give her a position later.

 

Despite it being an unimaginable opportunity for a commoner, Ponia openly sighed and lowered her head.

 

And when she raised her head again, her face was filled with deep disgust.

 

“You’re really hopeless.”

 

“…What did you just say?”

 

“Nothing!”

 

The forest keeper who had instantly changed her expression pointed behind them.

 

“Your Highness, there’s a monster living in this river. Wouldn’t you like to see it?”

 

“A monster?”

 

“You said there didn’t seem to be any strong monsters in the forest. This monster is really strong.”

 

“Really?”

 

As expected, the Prince showed interest.

 

“But isn’t it dangerous?”

 

“Don’t worry. It can’t come up this far.”

 

Ponia naturally guided him, and Nicolaus followed without suspicion.

 

“Aaaahhh!”

 

How could he have known he would fall after missing his step? No, did he really miss his step? Clearly, the ground collapsed the moment he stepped on the spot the forest keeper had led him to.

 

“You, you!”

 

“Your Highness! Are you alright?”

 

Ponia, who had handed him a tree branch as he fell toward the riverbank, asked urgently. Ponia’s expression as she inquired about his well-being seemed to contain no malice whatsoever.

 

“I’ll pull you up right now!”

 

She strained with all her might, her face contorting with effort, but his body wouldn’t be pulled up.

 

“What should I do… I don’t have enough strength… But I’ll somehow manage to, huh!”

 

Ponia pointed below him. When he also looked down, he could see a black form positioned in the water directly beneath him.

 

It was undoubtedly the monster the forest keeper had mentioned.

 

“Sa, save me!”

 

“I want to do that too, but my strength…”

 

Instead, the strength left her hands gripping the branch, and he slipped further down.

 

“I’m sorry…”

 

Splash!

 

An ominous sound was heard. The monster sensed him and cut through the water as if it would leap out at any moment.

 

Unable to overcome the chilling sensation that enveloped his entire body, the lower part of his pants became thoroughly soaked.

 

Swoosh!

 

With a water sound incomparable to before, Nicolaus saw the monster leap up toward him with its mouth wide open.

 

“No, don’t!”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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