Louis had barely taken a few steps out of the reception hall when hurried footsteps sounded behind him.
He did not turn around, but stopped at the corner of the corridor.
Wind drifted through the high windows, stirring the curtains. Sunlight spilled over the stone floor, casting the shadow of a familiar pair of boots.
"You... really intend to go yourself?" Emily struggled to suppress the anxiety in her voice.
She stood beside him, her lips pressed tight, trying to appear calm.
Louis did not answer immediately. He simply said, "It's what I should do."
Emily bit her lip and stared at him, as though searching his face for the slightest hesitation.
"You heard it too... what Karl said. It isn't an ordinary monster." Her voice trembled slightly. "You could just send people to investigate. Why does it have to be you?"
There was no petulance in her eyes, no childish anger, only genuine fear.
The fear that he would never return, that she would have to watch him plunge into a desperate gamble with his life.
"We only just got married..." she whispered, her eyes reddening. "I haven't even had time... to talk to you properly."
The wind gently stirred her hair, brushing a few strands against her cheeks and making her look both fragile and stubborn.
Louis offered no further words. He simply reached out and gently took her cold fingers in his hand.
For that moment, the corridor fell silent save for the wind.
Emily froze briefly, then tilted her head and rested it gently against his shoulder.
She closed her eyes, as though trying to hide the moisture gathering at their corners.
"Then at least... promise me," she murmured. "The moment something feels wrong, you'll retreat..."
"I will." Louis tightened his grip on her fingers slightly.