Holy Night: My Husband is Definitely a Paladin - Chapter 116
At Michael’s words, everyone moved swiftly, like a well-trained army. They had come to realize that even the smallest mistake in this situation could cost them their lives.
Unlike when they first entered, their return journey was accompanied only by the sounds of restrained breathing, muffled sobs, and suppressed nausea.
The group was now moving almost at a running pace. Those who had initially complained about the small size of their raid now felt grateful. If there had been more people, it would have been much harder to move this quickly.
They soon reached the wide area where they had rested earlier, eating snacks. They immediately headed toward the path they had originally taken, but soon, everyone came to a halt.
“…What is this?”
Despite the maze of paths connecting the plaza, there was no way they could have mistaken the path they came from. Yet, none of them could find the entrance they had used.
As the group began to panic, Irene counted the number of paths leading from the plaza with her fingers.
“…Eight.”
The realization sent a chill down her spine.
When they first arrived, the plaza had been connected to nine paths.
One of the paths had disappeared.
* * *
In the end, the group had no choice but to stop at the plaza.
Not only had the number of paths decreased, but their locations had also shifted slightly.
“I’ve never heard of a dungeon where the layout changes like this.”
Irene suppressed a sigh, trying to recall everything she knew.
It was one thing if walls collapsed during a fight with monsters, but for the dungeon’s layout to change mid-exploration? That was unheard of.
‘But this is an unstable dungeon.’
Since this dungeon hadn’t fully anchored itself in this world, its structure could still be fluctuating as it attempted to settle here. Perhaps that was why the paths were shifting.
‘But that’s just my theory.’
Even if it were true, it wasn’t useful information in their current situation.
The purifiers gathered in the center of the plaza were looking at Irene with fearful eyes.
None of them blamed her for bringing them into this place.
Some of them thought, ‘If I had joined the other raid, I’d probably be lying dead among those bodies right now.’ They were thankful for having chosen this group.
And, of course, they had Michael. While the other teams had been wiped out, with him on their side, there was still a chance they could survive longer—or even defeat whatever monster was lurking.
However, finding comfort in that thought was different from knowing what to do next.
“What do we do now, Miss Irene?”
“Which way should we go?”
The purifiers huddled around her, desperately seeking direction. Irene felt suffocated.
The weight of knowing that all these people were depending on her was overwhelming.
‘Their lives are hanging on my choices.’
The thought pressed down on her like a heavy burden.
‘This is my fault.’
She should have stayed quietly in the corner of the fortress. Why had she tried to change anything?
She should have taken Princess Cecilia’s hand when it was offered, or shamelessly borrowed money from her and left.
Or maybe she should have declined Michael’s request to become his pair.
She began to think that if she had made just one different decision along the way, they wouldn’t be in this situation now.
At that moment, Michael knelt in front of her, meeting her eyes as she stared at the ground.
“Don’t blame yourself. This is all my responsibility.”
“No, Sir… it’s not—”
“Michael,” he corrected her gently.
Was it really that important to him, even now?
Irene let out a small, deflated laugh at his stubbornness.
“Yes, Michael.”
When she smiled, Michael seemed to relax, a faint smile appearing on his face as well.
“As your pair, it’s my responsibility to ensure you don’t feel uneasy. If I were stronger, a dungeon like this wouldn’t be any trouble at all.”
Stronger? Irene thought. Michael had already surpassed the limits of any normal human. How could he possibly become any stronger?
“But don’t worry too much.”
He stood up and turned his gaze toward the darkened area marked on the map as unexplored.
“No matter what happens, I will make sure you return safely.”
He stared at that unexplored region as if he could see something beyond it.
