Chapter 32: Protected by Three Hearts
The words hit Elder Vax like a slap. For a moment, the old man could only stand there in stunned silence.
After all, everyone knew that Axan was not the type to speak unnecessarily. If he said something this harsh, it meant his patience had already run out.
"Dig a hole or something, I don’t care," Axan said in a cold tone once more. "I also don’t care if you think our leadership is bad. You’re free to have your own opinions, after all."
His eyes turned cold. "But the moment you start putting the blame on our mate, that’s where I draw the line, so think carefully before you speak again, Elder Vax."
Axan’s voice remained calm, but the warning behind his words was impossible to miss. "Because unlike Ikarus, I don’t have much patience."
Elder Vax swallowed hard because Axan truly looked like he meant every word he had said.
"Do you have anything else to say, Elder Vax?" Ikarus finally asked, stepping in before Axan could continue.
Slowly, Elder Vax shook his head. "No, Leaders," he murmured. "Please just come back as quickly as you can."
Then the triplets gave a small nod. Without another word, they turned around and finally left the settlement.
At the same time, a familiar voice suddenly rang inside her head.
[Side Mission has been triggered!]
Maeve nearly groaned.
Of course.
Even during a life-threatening journey, Pinky still managed to find work for her.
[Side Mission: Find the Tomb of Heart using the Lumivale Forest Maps.]
[Condition: There is no time limit, but make sure nobody dies during the journey.]
[Reward: Special potions to support your childbirth later.]
Maeve stared at the mission notification, then she looked at her three mates, and then back at the mission.
Make sure nobody dies during the journey?
For some reason, she had a feeling that the condition would be much harder than it sounded.
===
They had been walking for hours, and the sun had long disappeared beyond the horizon. The moon hung high in the sky, casting a pale silver glow over the land, but it still wasn’t bright enough for Maeve to clearly see what lay ahead.
"Can you really see where you’re going?" she suddenly asked, breaking the silence that had settled over the group.
"We can," Ikarus replied gently. "Our eyes are used to seeing in the dark, so there’s no need to worry."
Maeve wasn’t really worried about them tripping over something. What bothered her was the darkness itself.
It felt endless.
If she had been walking through this forest alone, she was certain she would have turned around and run the moment she heard a strange noise from the shadows.
For some reason, this forest felt much scarier than a normal one.
The trees were dry and lifeless, many of them with only half their trunks still standing. Their twisted shapes stretched across the ground under the moonlight, making the entire place feel eerie and unsettling.
"Are you cold?" Cerus suddenly asked when he noticed Maeve hugging herself.
Maeve blinked in surprise. She looked down at her arms before letting out a small laugh.
"A little," she admitted. "I didn’t notice it at first, but it’s getting colder."
It was a common thing in this world. During the day, the heat could be so intense that Maeve didn’t even want to wear extra layers. But once night fell, the temperature dropped so quickly that the cold seemed to sink straight into her bones.
Maybe it was because the Lumivale Forest had become so dry. With so many trees gone or withered away, there weren’t enough of them left to hold the warmth from the day and help keep the forest warm at night.
As a result, the cold settled over the land much faster once the sun disappeared.
"Maybe we should start a fire," Axan suggested. "She hasn’t tried to eat anything since this afternoon either."
Hearing that, Ikarus, who had been leading the way, finally came to a stop. His gaze swept across the dark forest before landing on the remains of a massive dried tree.
"It looks like we can rest there," he said, pointing toward it.
Cerus and Axan nodded and followed him toward the tree.
The three of them moved without needing to discuss who would do what. Axan immediately went off to gather dry branches for the fire, while Cerus opened his animal-skin bag and took out some dried meat they had brought for the journey.
Meanwhile, Ikarus walked over to the cart and carefully lifted Maeve into his arms.
"The air is going to get much colder than what we usually deal with in the settlement," Ikarus said as he wrapped a blanket around her shoulders. Even while carrying her like a child, he made sure the blanket covered her properly. "And I don’t think the blanket alone will be enough to keep you warm. We’ll need to share our body heat."
Maeve knew that body heat was a real way to stay warm. She had even done it once with a friend when they had nearly gotten hypothermia during a mountain climb. But for some reason, she had a feeling that Ikarus wasn’t doing this for purely practical reasons.
As they walked, the hand that wasn’t supporting her weight slipped beneath the blanket and inside her clothes, resting against her bare back. His palm slowly moved over her skin and the warmth was definitely helping, but somehow, Maeve felt that the heat spreading across her face had very little to do with the cold.
After all, those large hands had already explored every part of her body before and had even touched her in ways that still made her face burn whenever she remembered it.
It had only been a week since what happened in the cave, yet Maeve couldn’t help feeling a little—or maybe not so little—starved for his touch again.
Maeve immediately shook her head. ’No! No! Don’t fall for it that easily! If I sleep with him now, I’ll definitely die!’
