The broken bridge seemed to be telling everyone that once they were in, there was no turning back. So, hoping to escape the ind had just been wishful


    thinking.


    "Even if the bridge hadn''t broken, no one was getting off this ind. This is just a mind game meant to shake people up. If you let fear control you, you''ve already lost," said Dominic, ncing at Gerard.


    Gerard couldn''t say anything. Vespera said, "I''m scared, too. Being afraid isn''t a crime."


    Their eyes met, as if trying to motivate each other. Upon seeing that, Dominic was confused.


    Just then, more guests stepped out of the castle. This time, the way they looked at Dominic and the others was hostile. There was an edge ofpetition.


    "Mr. Reid..." A voice called out to him.


    Behind the guests who had stepped out, there were three people, one of whom was Drake, the wealthy middle-aged businessman from earlier. He was still apanied by two beautiful women.


    As Drake walked, he kept ncing nervously over his shoulder. Following him were two men who were clearly eyeing the two women.


    "Good evening," greeted Dominic.


    "Mr. Reid, are you heading into the forest as well? Perhaps we could go together?" Drake asked, wanting to have Dominic and the others aspany.


    Dominic replied, "You''re free to take any path you like. You don''t need to ask for my permission."


    In other words, Dominic meant, "I won''t let you into my group, but if you follow us shamelessly, I won''t chase you away."


    Drake nodded awkwardly. Dominic ignored him. Dominic led Vespera and the rest toward the right, while Drake tagged along shamelessly.


    Eventually, they arrived at a spot. Vespera''s eyes slowly rose to a window above them. It was the room they had stayed in earlier. She mumbled, "How can this be..."


    There was no body or blood. If the woman had survived the fall, there should have at least been a trail. Could she really not have been human at all?


    Vespera''s thoughts spiraled. Why had the Jitanese womane knocking on their door? Why had she fallen right outside their window? And hadn''t the curtains been tightly drawn until Dominic opened them?


    A cold gust brushed Vespera''s face. Like someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over her head, her mind cleared. At that moment, everything snapped into ce. The answer was very simple.


    "Let''s go to the back," said Dominic, reaching for Vespera''s hand and pulling her away from the scene.


    The others had grim expressions. No one wanted to discuss the encounter. Some truths were heavier the more they understood them.<fna0fa> Readplete version only at f?ndnovel</fna0fa>


    They continued toward the edge of the forest. Surprisingly, it wasn''t dark. Instead, the forest glowed with golden lights strung along tree branches and nestled in the bushes. It was like something out of a fairy tale.


    Dominic led the way in. The forest was thick with lush greenery, including trees, streams, wildflowers, and mushrooms.


    They hadn''t been walking long when Dominic stopped in a clearing. He announced, "Let''s rest here. I''m tired."


    But it had only been three minutes...


    "Aren''t you all looking for the ne?" One of the women with Drake asked curiously. Her gown was almost identical to Vespera''s.


    Vespera replied, "Of course, we are. But our boss is tired. You can continue searching for it with Mr. Drake.


    The woman said, "I saw on the map that there''s a treehouse about 400 yards ahead. We could check it out while your boss rests."


    Vespera smiled and responded, "You''re pretty motivated. It isn''t like you''ll actually get the prize if you find it."


    Evelyn suddenly chimed in and said, "That''s actually a great idea. I love treehouses. Vespera, let''s go and check it out with her."