The Flower Is Finished

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I turned to him, feeling slightly suspicious. "Isn't that very suspicious?" I muttered.

"What are you talking about?" asked Mischael, and I shook my head. "Nothing."

"Fine then, if that's the case, I don't need to go with you!" said Jack, his words followed by a slap on the head from Arvan.

"You're troublesome to others," he remarked to Jack. Jack then smirked cynically at Arvan.

"Just say I'm weak. Tch… old geezer," he whispered under his breath to Arvan. Arvan immediately slapped Jack's head again and clicked his tongue, seeing how stubborn Jack was.

"Fine then, I will lead you to the exit that will have its seal opened by the king. Mischael and I will look for another way out," I said to Arvan. But Arvan firmly rejected my suggestion.

"I don't agree. We've searched this far for you—it made us worry about your condition."

He paused, glancing at Mischael.

"I'm fine, and I'm certain we'll make it out of here."

I quickly cut off Arvan's words, and he exhaled harshly.

"Promise me you'll get out unharmed?" he asked, looking at me with deep eyes.

"Yes, I'll get out in good condition." Arvan could only nod after hearing that from me.

I glanced at the others. They didn't seem comfortable being here, and it appeared their energy had been drained by this forbidden forest.

"Can you truly guarantee you'll get out of here safely?" Arvan asked once more. I nodded with full seriousness.

"Yes, I'll make sure that when I leave here, I'll be alive and return to the palace as soon as possible." Arvan finally accepted my request, and after that, we moved forward to find a way out.

We had already prepared ourselves and were waiting for the owl that would lead us to the forest exit. Suddenly, a bird landed on a branch not far from me. I recognized it. It didn't speak, only purred as if saying, "Follow me, or be prepared to get out of here." It stayed still on the tree, and we immediately followed it.

"That's the bird that will guide us!" I pointed at the owl not far from us. We followed it, and occasionally, it turned to check if we were still behind.

The journey was quite long. Even after an hour, we still hadn't exited the forest.

When we reached near the exit of the forbidden forest, Jack suddenly realized that this was the exact path they took when they first entered.

"Turns out that owl is really clever. It knows the way, and this is the entrance we used earlier," he said while handing over a folded leaf he'd kept.

"How did you know?" asked George.

"This is the leaf I folded yesterday when we entered the forest," Jack replied, handing it to George. George accepted it.

"Alright then, we'll be leaving first," I said as Mischael and I prepared to go.

"Are you sure, Xanders?" Arvan asked again, questioning my decision. I nodded.

I walked over to George and gently petted his dog.

"You're a great dog. Your master is very proud of you." I saw the dog in George's arms.

"Alright then, I'll be waiting for you at the palace." I gave a faint smile and left with Mischael.

Every now and then, I looked back to make sure Arvan and the others had truly left the forbidden forest. Suddenly, thunder roared loudly, like the sky cracking under restrained fury. I didn't see anyone, but I felt the forest gate open. I turned to look, and he waved at me with a faint smile. One by one, they left the forbidden forest.

At that moment, Arvan shouted loudly to me,

"Be careful! I'll be waiting for you, so hurry to the palace!"

Then he disappeared from my sight. The thunderous tremors began to subside, and the clouds turned dark.

"Let's find the path we took yesterday," I said. We then began to make our way through the pitch-black darkness of the forest.

I looked back once more and saw that they were no longer in the forbidden forest.

"Why didn't you go with them?" asked Mischael. I shrugged, watching her small back.

We walked through the rather lush forest. The sun was still shining overhead, and she walked as if she already knew where we would exit.

"I noticed you seem to understand this forest's layout quite well?" I asked. She stopped, turned around, and let out a harsh breath.

She stayed silent. Eventually, I came to understand that her grandmother was once the guardian of this forbidden forest, that she knew where the entrance and exit were located—but her grandmother had died within it.

"I… am only… using instinct," she replied. Still, I didn't completely believe her.

"Let's go before night falls. We'll get lost again," she said, rushing forward. I raised an eyebrow, wanting to confirm what she was hiding, but I couldn't act recklessly now. At the moment, Mischael was the only one I could rely on. I just needed to be patient until my energy recovered.

We finally got out. The journey was exhausting, yet I also understood the route I would take to leave the forest.

"Don't tell anyone about this path," Mischael said once we reached the river where she had first found me.

"Why not?" I asked, but she looked away.

"If you use that path, someone will suffer," she answered, then immediately ran off, leaving me with an overwhelming sense of confusion.

"Who would suffer?" I muttered softly, then followed Mischael back home.

When we arrived in front of the house, Lira suddenly ran up and hugged my leg, telling me she missed me.

"Brother, I missed you so much," she said. I chuckled softly, seeing how attached Lira was to me, while Mischael chatted with the village elder.

"How is Lira?" I asked. She exhaled deeply, as if she were burdened by something serious.

"Yesterday, Lira was in so much pain. I even gave her sleeping medicine so she wouldn't feel it," she said with a somber face, looking toward Lira. I frowned—was she sick? That was the question ringing in my head.

"Is Lira sick?" I asked, about to carry her, but before I could, Mischael quickly lifted her.

"Is she sick?" I asked again, but neither the village elder nor Mischael answered.

"Let Mischael take care of her," said the village elder.

"What…?"

"You'll find out soon enough." Then he walked away.

I looked at Lira, who was waving at me while heading toward the house.

"Is there something I don't know?" I whispered softly.

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