Their first journey was to see the terrain of the Erebos Forest up close, as well as to find the best path to build as a trade route. Cecilia and her group walked from morning until noon. Then, when it was evening, Cecilia decided to take a break and mark the locations they had checked.
The sun was starting to set when they finally found a place to spend the night. The expedition had stopped by a clear river. While the soldiers and knights were setting up camp for them, Cecilia, Damian, and the researchers were elsewhere, marking the meeting point of three paths that could be used as a trade route.
"The southern path allows us to avoid the ravine," said one of the researchers as he pointed to a red line on the map. "But if we take that path, we will be too close to the wolf's den."
Damian added calmly. "The middle path is more direct. If we can clear the border point and set up a guard post here-" his index finger tapped on the claw-like part of the map, "-then we can build a small fortress. From there, traffic can be controlled by the soldiers on guard."
Cecilia listened attentively. She knew Damian was trying to dominate, but his strategy wasn't bad. It was just that she couldn't decide until all possibilities were fully analyzed.
However, before she could open her mouth, a sound was heard that made everyone fall silent.
"AUUU!"
They all heard a long, low, and deep howl. It was a wolf, the type of wild animal that dominated the Erebos Forest the most.
And they didn't come alone. One howl turned into two, three, and so on. The wolf howls continued to sound until Cecilia felt that the wolves had successfully surrounded them.
All the knights reflexively drew their swords. Several researchers immediately hid behind the equipment cart and stood on high alert.
Cecilia also prepared the sword in her waist. Her eyes combed the forest that was starting to be covered in shadow even though the sun had not completely set.
Then, a scream was heard.
A shrill scream, the scream of a woman, followed by footsteps coming from the direction of the gap in the rocks.
"Standby!" Cecilia ordered quickly, even before the second scream was heard.
From between the trees, a girl with long silver hair appeared, her body wrapped in a simple coat that was torn in many places. Her face was panicked, and her breath was ragged. Behind her, four wolves were staring at the girl as a predator.
Without thinking, Cecilia prepared the sword that had been in her hand. Cecilia jumped forward, ahead of the knights, and panicked Sir Robert who was in charge of protecting her safety.
"Your Highness!"
In one swift movement, she slashed the first wolf that jumped toward the girl. Blood spurted from the neck of the wolf that Cecilia managed to kill, but the others did not stop even after seeing their friends die.
Cecilia dodged another attack nimbly, then moved her hand to kill another wolf. Her movements looked like someone who was dancing rather than fighting. The movement was so beautiful that people were even more amazed by Cecilia's fighting prowess.
"Your Highness!"
Only Robert remained reacting. He slashed the wolf that tried to pounce on Cecilia from behind. His sword went straight through the wolf's heart. Cecilia nodded. It was a form of gratitude to Robert.
"What are you waiting for?! Quickly secure this area!"
Robert's voice the next moment made everyone immediately work to secure the area. Cecilia took a deep breath. After she put her sword back, Cecilia walked to approach the girl she had just saved.
When the girl staggered to the ground, Cecilia immediately approached her and knelt beside her. "Are you hurt?" she asked with concern.
The girl looked at her. Her eyes were large, clear, and shaking with shock.
"I-I'm fine… thank you. I don't know what happened. I came from the coast and… got lost…"
Her voice faltered because she was still exhausted and shocked. But what made Cecilia freeze wasn't her tone. Because the girl looked up to look at Cecilia, she finally got a good look at the face of the person she had just saved.
Cecilia could never forget that face. That face was the beginning of all her misfortunes. Although not all of her misfortunes were not her fault, her existence was still the reason why Cecilia continued to be trapped in this endless scenario.
Fiona.
The protagonist of this world was now right in front of her. Fiona looked confused and exhausted. She was different from Fiona who always smiled and was confident no matter where she was.
Cecilia had never met Fiona this early on. Furthermore, her presence in the Erebos Forest didn't make sense. Something that was beyond her control confused Cecilia. She involuntarily fell into thought. Cecilia did not talk further with Fiona.
Damian stepped to Cecilia's side when he saw something strange in the way she reacted to the mysterious girl. Damian's eyes narrowed as he stared at the girl. But not long after, his gaze returned to Cecilia.
"Do you know her?"
Cecilia stood up slowly, her eyes not leaving Fiona. In her chest, her heart was beating loudly. She had a bad feeling because fate had once again brought something she could not predict into her life.
"No," Cecilia answered softly. "I don't know her."
"Hm...."
Damian didn't seem to believe it right away, but he didn't say anything about it. His gaze then returned to Fiona. Just an ordinary girl. Damian didn't understand why Cecilia was so surprised when she saw the girl appear in the Erebos Forest.
Fiona stared at the two of them as if she was confused by what had just happened to her. Fiona tried to calm herself down. After a while, she tried to talk to the 'two' men in front of her.
"Are… are you guys filming a movie or something? I… I fell into the lake before I was suddenly swept away by the current that carried me to the shore. I know it sounds impossible. But it happened to me."
Now, Cecilia looked shocked. Ninety-nine times. With that much time, this was the first time Cecilia had heard about Fiona transmigrating.
"I shouldn't be here. I want to go back. Can… can you bring me back?"
Cecilia racked her brain. The stories she had read never mentioned Fiona as someone who came from the outside world like her. But Fiona couldn't possibly know things that only modern people would know if she hadn't transmigrated. Fiona's words seemed so convincing that Cecilia couldn't believe that the girl was talking nonsense about what she said.
"Err… Mister?"
"First, let's change your clothes first. You're safe now. We'll take you to the city safely once we're done with the business here."
Fiona still seemed confused, but she had no choice but to follow what Cecilia said. Robert led Fiona away to a tent where she could change clothes freely. Only when Fiona had left did Cecilia involuntarily let out a sigh of relief.
"Hm? I thought you didn't know that girl, Prince Cecilion."
Cecilia glared at Damian, who never gave up on picking on her weaknesses. She was not in the mood to play words with Damian. After giving a brief bow, Cecilia left alone to calm herself down.
Fiona's strange appearance was too suspicious for her. Cecilia pondered. She needed to think of something to make sure death was not the end of her life this time.