Hell bound with you

A Wish and A Warning

The day before they were supposed to visit Gravel’s estate, a messenger arrived at Eric’s woodshop with a sealed letter from the duke.

Eric accepted it with a puzzled frown. Breaking the seal, he unfolded the paper and read the brief message.

We regret to inform you that tomorrow’s meeting must be postponed. An unexpected matter has arisen, and we are unable to proceed as planned. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Eric’s brows knitted together.

“What is this about?” he asked, looking at the messenger. “Did they change their mind?”

The man shook his head. “I don’t know, sir. I was only instructed to deliver the letter.”

With a polite bow, he turned and left, leaving Eric standing there with more questions than answers and the letter still clutched in his hand.

By evening, the news had spread throughout the household.

The moment Eric told Alexis, her expression darkened.

Only hours earlier, she had been dreaming about the future she had so carefully imagined—a grand wedding, Amelia dressed in the finest gown, and her daughter becoming the wife of a duke. She could already picture herself returning to the village with her head held high, proudly telling everyone that her daughter had married into nobility.

Now, that dream suddenly seemed to be slipping through her fingers.

“Postponed?” Alexis repeated, her voice tight with concern. “But why? Did they say why?”

Eric shook his head. “Nothing. Just that something came up.”

Alexis fell silent, worry settling heavily over her face.

Across the room, Amelia kept her expression carefully neutral.

Inside, however, she was dancing with joy.

Postponed.

It must be the forest spirit. He kept his word. I’m so lucky.

The word felt like the sweetest thing she had heard in years.

No duke. No marriage proposal. And, most importantly, no trip to Gravel’s estate tomorrow.

A smile threatened to spread across her face, but she quickly lowered her eyes, pretending to be deeply absorbed in cutting vegetables.

“I suppose these things happen,” Alexis said, forcing a disappointed sigh.

Amelia glanced at her mother and immediately softened her expression.

“I hope nothing serious has happened to the duke,” she said.

But beneath her calm facade, joy bubbled uncontrollably.

For once, fate seemed to be on her side.

And Amelia had no intention of letting anyone discover just how happy she was about it.

There was one thing she wanted to do now.

She wanted to find the forest spirit and thank him.

⸻

Amelia stood at the edge of the forest, her breath clouding in the cold, pre-dawn air. The sun had yet to grace the sky, leaving the dense woods draped in darkness. Shadows shifted between the towering trees, while the faint rustling of leaves whispered warnings through the wind. She wrapped her arms around herself, a shiver of unease crawling up her spine.

Amelia had been searching for Adam since morning. She had checked every corner of the village, asked everyone she could, and yet there was still no sign of him. A growing unease settled heavily in her chest.

A terrible suspicion slowly crept into her mind.

Could he have gone to the forest?

She was the one who had shown Adam where the berries grew. If he had gone there alone, it was partly her fault.

But she couldn’t tell her mother. If she found out Adam had gone into the forest—and that Amelia was the one who had introduced him to the berries—she would surely give her a scolding Amelia would never forget.

Her worry quickly turned into guilt.

The forest looked ominous. But retreat wasn’t an option. She was determined. It was her fault that her brother might be here. Her feet, though hesitant, carried her forward as she took her first step into the ominous woods.

“I need to find him, no matter what,” she muttered under her breath.

Amelia combed through the surrounding area, her eyes scanning every shadow and every nook. But there was nothing—no sign of Adam, just the endless maze of trees. Her anxiety deepened, fear coursing through her veins like ice.

Exhausted, she sank onto a fallen tree trunk, her heart pounding as her surroundings seemed to press in around her. Tears prickled at her eyes, but she swallowed them back.

Amelia’s worry for her little brother grew with every passing moment.

She still remembered what she had seen before, here in this forest. The memory sent another shiver down her spine.

Then she remembered the Forest Spirit.

He had granted her wish once. If he truly possessed such power, perhaps he could help her now.

If I pray to him… maybe he’ll find Adam for me.

No matter where her brother was, the Forest Spirit might be able to locate him.

But another question immediately followed.

How am I supposed to find the Forest Spirit?

That was when she felt it—a presence beside her.

She whipped her head around, her breath catching in her throat.

There he was.

“Ivar!” she gasped, her voice shaky. “How did you get here? I didn’t hear you coming.”

He sat beside her, his posture calm, his gaze intense.

“My lady,” he said, his deep voice resonating through the stillness. “Why are you here?”

“I was looking for Adam,” Amelia replied. “I thought he might have come here. He loves those berries.”

She pointed toward the frost berries growing among the trees.

“But it seems he didn’t.”

Ivar’s expression softened as he noticed the worry in her eyes.

“Go home, Amelia. If Adam is somewhere in this forest, I’ll find him. And when I do, I’ll bring him back safely.”

“What were you doing here?” Amelia asked, narrowing her eyes. “How did you even find me?”

“I was just passing by,” Ivar replied. “Then I saw you entering the forest, so I followed you, my lady.” There was a teasing edge to his voice.

Amelia frowned. “Stop calling me that. It’s annoying hearing it from you.”

Ivar chuckled. “Then I suppose I’ll have to keep doing it.”

Amelia sighed and looked away. She was beginning to suspect he enjoyed irritating her.

After a moment, she turned back to him.

“You live around here, don’t you? Where exactly?”

She tilted her head.

“Show me.”

Ivar studied her carefully, his piercing gaze seeming to unravel her intention.

“Let me take you back home, my lady,” he said, his tone softer now.

“No,” Amelia protested, shaking her head. “I’m not going home without Adam. My mother will kill me if I show up alone—and I’d rather face this forest than her anger.”

Ivar leaned back, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

“Tell me, my lady… aren’t you afraid of wandering through the forest alone with me?”

Amelia chuckled. “No. You don’t look very scary.”

“You’re a naive girl,” he teased. “How can you trust me so easily? You shouldn’t put your trust in a man you barely know.”

Her expression tightened, irritation flickering across her eyes.

“I’ve known you since you were little.” She held her hand a short distance from the ground, as though measuring her younger self. “And now…” She studied him for a moment. “You seem like a nice person.”

“Seem?” Ivar repeated, one brow lifting.

There was something mischievous in his voice.

He leaned toward her, his eyes dropping to her lips before meeting her gaze again.

“Really, Amelia? What if I told you that you’ve only seen what I’ve allowed you to see?”

Her breath caught.

She rose to her feet and put some distance between them.

“What are you trying to say, Ivar?” she demanded, though the slight tremor in her voice betrayed her unease.

Ivar stood as well. He took a few deliberate steps toward her, his earlier smirk fading into something far more enigmatic.

“I’m saying…” He paused, watching her reaction. Then his expression suddenly softened. “We should find your brother before it gets dark.”

Amelia stepped backward.

He stopped advancing, his gaze locking onto hers.

“Are you scared of me now?”

“No,” she answered firmly, though the tension in her voice hinted otherwise.

Ivar’s smirk returned, this time with a dangerous edge.

“Good. Then come with me… will you?”

He extended his hand toward her, the gesture both inviting and ominous.

Amelia stared at his outstretched hand.

Something about him made trusting him feel both foolish and strangely easy.