Labyrinth Expedition Formation (3)
Erin was flustered.
A woman she had never seen before in her life was suddenly staring at her with eyes full of fear.
Erin found it utterly bewildering from her perspective— the woman was so guarded that she even brushed off Erin's hand, which had reached out in concern.
Erin had endured the contemptuous and mocking gazes of countless students at Aiter, but no one had ever looked at her with eyes frozen in terror.
What did I even do...?
It was only natural for her to feel a surge of injustice.
"Um, did I do something wrong? Why are you—"
"No, it's nothing... I must have mistaken you for someone else."
Even as she said that, Yuria couldn't erase the complicated expression from her face. She glanced around, surveying the underground facility.
The environment down here was far too pleasant and incongruous for a basement— no sense of stuffiness or discomfort.
Typically, underground facilities in the royal palace were choked with dust and stale air, making it hard for ordinary people to even breathe comfortably. But this place felt entirely different.
"What is this place?"
Even in this sealed space, a refreshing breeze continually flowed in from somewhere.
The air was clear, free of dust or murkiness, illuminated brightly by magical lamps. The vast area was impossible to believe was underground, and the numerous exercise machines scattered about evoked familiar scenes from Yuria's memories of her past life on Earth.
"...A gym?"
Seeing a space so similar to facilities from Earth, Yuria realized that Eunhyeon must be in a situation like hers.
She felt certain that he was the one who had created this underground facility.
He's built something like this using Earth's knowledge. But how on earth did he do it?
There's a strict limit to what one person can achieve alone— reinforcing the ceiling to prevent collapse, hauling in construction materials to build an underground space.
And physically, it was impossible to transport enough materials to fill this massive area, plus all those exercise machines, through the narrow staircase.
It had to involve magic or some external method, but she couldn't fathom what trick he had used.
"What a waste of talent..."
"Um, if I may ask... could you tell me your name?"
"Ah, I'm—"
Only then did Yuria realize she hadn't introduced herself yet.
"Yuria Pernias."
"Per...nias?"
Only royalty would use the name of this kingdom as their family name.
Erin's face paled as the realization hit her.
"I-I'm sorry! Your Highness!"
"No, don't. I was the one who was rude out of nowhere."
Feeling awkward about brushing off Erin's hand earlier, Yuria quickly stopped her from dropping to her knees in apology.
They had crossed paths once before in the prison, but Erin, amid the chaos of those events, didn't remember Yuria.
"But... what brings Your Highness to Lady Iliana's mansion? Lady Iliana isn't home right now."
"No, I'm not here to see the witch. I'm here to meet that man."
"That man...? H-Hyun?"
Yuria nodded silently, and Erin's expression turned peculiar.
What kind of relationship do Hyun and the princess have? Do they know each other...?
Erin immediately considered the possibility without a shred of doubt.
After all, he was friends with the captain of this kingdom's knight order, and his connection to a high-rank digit mage—one of the continent's top ten—was already an oddly intimate one.
Now he was on good terms with the Armitas ducal family, close with Alex, and shared a teasing rapport with Elenoa whenever something came up.
Though not yet public knowledge, Erin knew just how extraordinary that was.
With such an immense network already, even being acquainted with the princess didn't surprise her much anymore. She found herself marveling at how desensitized she'd become.
As these thoughts swirled, Erin glanced around, observing Yuria as she examined the underground training hall.
She's really pretty...
Even to another girl, her stunning beauty was undeniable, and her long, sky-blue hair—meticulously brushed by her dedicated maid—captivated Erin's gaze.
The clothes and accessories she wore were extravagant gifts from nobles across the kingdom, items utterly unattainable for someone like Erin, who was practically a commoner. Staring blankly at them, Erin wondered what business Yuria had with Eunhyeon.
"So... what brings you to see Hyun?"
"It seems like that man's trying to take something of mine. I came to warn him to keep his hands off."
"Pardon...?"
Erin's eyes widened in confusion at Yuria's baffling words, making her question if they were talking about the same Eunhyeon. Hesitantly, she spoke up.
"Um, Hyun isn't the type to steal from others or act unjustly, is he? Are you sure you haven't misunderstood something?"
"...You seem to know a lot about that man."
"Not that well, but... I just can't imagine Hyun seizing someone's belongings unjustly or causing a scene."
Yuria's brow furrowed at her words.
Deep down, she knew she was the one being unreasonable.
"You really trust that man, don't you."
"Of course."
Yuria's face twisted in disbelief at Erin's immediate, unwavering response.
"Why?"
"Huh?"
"Why do you trust him so much? You two had no connection before, but he's sheltering you, feeding you, training you. Doesn't it make you think he has some ulterior motive?"
"Uh, um..."
Erin let out a thoughtful groan, struggling for an answer.
She had always believed Eunhyeon was doing all this because of a promise with her late brother, Elvin.
She knew nothing of the goddesses, Eunhyeon, or the greater currents of fate in this world. From a third-party view, her boundless trust in him might seem odd.
"Just because."
"Just because?"
"Because it's Hyun."
"......"
Yuria's brow furrowed deeper at the vague reply.
"He's putting a lot of effort into me right now, sure. But I've never once doubted his reasons or intentions. Well... no, I didn't want to doubt them."
After the incidents, while she slept for so long, her only reliance had been her brother Elvin.
But with him gone, Erin had truly been alone.
Isolated, rejected by all, with no one offering a hand—Eunhyeon had been the first to approach her.
How could she doubt the one who extended a saving hand and promised to show her the way? To Erin, it was impossible.
"Fine. If that's how you see it, then that's how it is."
Yuria gave up pressing further upon seeing Erin's smile.
To Erin, who held unshakable faith in Eunhyeon, he was her savior and guide.
Having heard the truth about Elvin and Erin from him, Yuria had pondered deeply, but her fixation on the original story had blinded her to the real Erin Hersha.
Viewing her now not as a "fate's fairy tale" character, but as a 17-year-old girl born to misfortune, Eunhyeon's care in nurturing her growth seemed even more remarkable.
"Impressive..."
"Right? Hyun's really amazing."
Yuria had meant to praise Erin's proper growth, free of vengeance, but Erin misunderstood, thinking it was praise for Eunhyeon.
Realizing the girl's mind was filled with thoughts of him, Yuria wore an incredulous expression instead.
"There you are."
The two women turned toward the exit at the sudden male voice from the stairs.
"Ah, Hyun!"
Recognizing Eunhyeon, Erin lit up with joy and trotted toward him.
But he met her bright smile—clearly displeasing to him—with a poke to her forehead using his index finger.
"Eek!"
Erin's body was effortlessly pushed back, and she pouted at his action.
"What're you doing? Training time isn't over yet."
"Huh? Weren't you here to see me?"
"I was looking for her. Did you two introduce yourselves?"
"Yeah. But... she's the princess... right?"
"That's right. Yuria Pernias, royalty of the Pernias Kingdom."
"She said she came looking for you. What's up?"
"We're heading out on an expedition soon."
"Huh...?"
"You and Eira are included. Get ready."
"Ex...pedition? What's that?"
"It means going far away. I'll push your training to the max until then. More than usual."
"Ugh, more than now...? Fine..."
At Eunhyeon's words, Erin sulked but trudged back to the center of the training hall.
"I haven't agreed to this yet."
Eunhyeon glanced at Yuria, then shifted his gaze to Alex.
"It was your proposal, so you convince her."
"Will do."
Alex replied with a wry smile, and Yuria bristled at how things were proceeding without her input.
"Hey! Are you seriously doing this? How can you decide without consulting the person involved—"
"I was against it from the start."
"......"
"You know why, Your Highness. At this point, I didn't want you meeting Erin."
As long as Yuria saw Erin as a "madwoman who turns people and villages to ash," she was a ticking time bomb.
But after their conversation, it no longer bothered her much.
"True, she's quite different from what I knew."
Erin's face lit up with vitality when talking about Eunhyeon, looking up to him with admiration.
It was baffling how such a pure girl could turn into someone capable of such cruelty.
"Aren't you curious?"
"About what?"
"What that girl will ultimately choose."
"......"
Yuria silently watched Erin focus on her training.
She knew what "choice" Eunhyeon meant.
The culprit behind her family's ruin, Ashton, was now bedridden for life, unable to live normally.
The Armitas ducal family had pledged full support to clear Elvin's false charges.
Restoring Elvin's honor—Erin's deepest wish—was already half-achieved.
But her path ahead wasn't smooth.
Could this girl truly walk it all, facing the hardships, to reach the story's end?
Even Yuria couldn't say.
This world is no longer the one I knew.
She realized it was time to shed her original story biases and move forward.
Nodding belatedly, Yuria spoke.
"Fine. Take me on your expedition."
"Can you convince Lady Helena, the royal family, and the others?"
"Alex brought it up first, not me. So he must have a plan to sway both my mother and Queen Regent Dianne. Right, Alex?"
"Of course."
"Alright. Let's do this."
Yuria didn't know exactly what Eunhyeon and Alex aimed to achieve through this expedition.
She had rushed here only upon hearing it was toward the Arkys Great Labyrinth, determined not to let its treasures be taken.
But joining Eunhyeon's expedition felt like a chance to break free from the royal cage restricting her freedom.
With him at the center of all changes, Yuria resolved herself.
"I don't know what bus this is, but I'll take a ride."