Chapter 392: Luan Wants Answer (1)

"Roxanna, I... I’m scared."

Roxanna’s eyes widened in surprise because Luan had always been the type to keep everything to himself.

He rarely showed his vulnerable side, especially in front of other people. Even when he cried, he would always turn away or hide somewhere so no one could see him.

Hearing him openly admit that he was scared felt strange.

Still, Roxanna did not point it out. She simply reached for his hand and gently pulled him closer, wrapping her arms around him.

"It’s alright to be scared," Roxanna whispered.

She closed her eyes and rested her head against his shoulder. For a moment, Luan remained still in her arms, but then his body slowly relaxed. His arms came around her waist, holding her a little tighter than usual.

He took a deep breath, breathing in her familiar sweet scent. Somehow, having Roxanna this close made the fear in his chest feel a little less heavy.

"I can’t remember anything," Luan whispered. His voice sounded helpless. "I really can’t remember anything. I don’t even know what I did before this. I don’t know why I went there, or what the purpose of—"

"You don’t have to think about it if you can’t remember," Roxanna interrupted softly. "If you keep forcing yourself, you’ll only end up with another headache."

[At least, that was what happened to Azul back then.]

Roxanna still remembered how much Azul had struggled with his own missing memories. No matter how hard he tried, he could never force them to come back.

[Unless Luan finds something that can make him remember, or something happens that triggers those memories, he probably won’t be able to remember what happened just by thinking about it.]

The moment Luan heard her thoughts, his entire body suddenly stiffened. Then, without warning, he pulled away from their embrace.

Roxanna blinked as Luan lightly pushed her back, just enough for him to look directly at her face. His eyes were wide, as if he had just realized something important.

"You’re right!" Luan suddenly exclaimed. "I should go back to the forest! Maybe if I return to where it happened, I’ll remember what I did last night!"

Roxanna stared at him in disbelief. "No!"

The answer came out so quickly that even Luan looked startled.

Roxanna immediately pressed her lips together and took a breath before correcting herself. "I mean... yes, you can do that. But not right now!"

She tightened her grip on his hands.

"What if there really is someone out there who wants to hurt you?" she continued, her voice turning serious. "If you go back there without knowing what happened, they might try to hurt you again."

And that was exactly what worried her the most.

To be honest, Roxanna had already started to suspect that someone might have used black magic on Luan while he was alone in the forest.

After all, Luan had been in heat at the time.

His mind had probably been filled with nothing but the need to find her, which meant he might not have been paying enough attention to his surroundings.

If someone had been hiding nearby and waiting for the right moment to do something to him, Luan might not have noticed them at all.

"But isn’t that exactly why I have to go back?" Luan asked seriously. "If I want to find out what really happened, I have to return there."

Roxanna opened her mouth to argue, but no words came out. As much as she hated to admit it, Luan had a point. They could stay here and guess what had happened all day, but they would never get a real answer unless they returned to the place where everything had started.

Still, the thought of letting Luan go back into that forest made her uneasy.

"You can go back, but not alone," Roxanna finally said. "We should tell the others first. Zeir and Calen already went there earlier, so they might know exactly where they found the blood and the dead demon beasts. We can all go together."

Luan frowned slightly. "All of us?"

"Yes, all of us," Roxanna replied firmly. "Or at least enough people to make sure nothing happens to you again. We still don’t know why you lost your memories, Luan. Until we figure that out, I don’t want you wandering around that forest by yourself."

Luan stared at her for a few seconds before letting out a quiet sigh. Roxanna could tell that he wanted to argue, but perhaps he also knew that she would not change her mind so easily.

"Fine," he finally said. "But I want to go today."

"Today?" Roxanna repeated, immediately shaking her head. "You just came back after wandering around for an entire night, and you haven’t even slept yet. At least give your body some time to recover."

"I feel fine."

Roxanna looked at him in a deadpan expression. "You hissed at Cyrus and almost bit him earlier."

Luan immediately went silent and Roxanna raised an eyebrow at him. "Does that sound fine to you?"

"That was different," Luan muttered, looking away from her.

"How was it different?"

"I was confused," he answered in a low voice.

"And what makes you think you won’t suddenly get confused again when we return to the forest?"

Luan pressed his lips together, clearly unable to answer that question.

Roxanna sighed and reached up to gently touch his cheek. "I know you want answers. I want answers too. I want to know what happened to you and why you suddenly disappeared in the middle of the night. But I don’t want you to get hurt just because we’re rushing to find those answers."

Luan slowly turned his face toward her hand. The stubborn look in his eyes softened a little, and after a moment, he leaned into her touch.

"I hate this," he admitted quietly. "I hate not knowing what happened to me."

"I understand," Roxanna said. "But how about you sleep first? Just three or four hours, and then we can go to the forest together and find some answers."