By Zephyria 
Just then, a waitress bringing a new plate spotted the cats and, horrified, rolled up her sleeves and grabbed a poker leaning in the corner of the wall. Only then did Isaac spring up and shout.
“Wai—wait a moment! They’re my cats. I’m sorry.”
Under the glares of the people around him, he bowed his head repeatedly as he approached the table. Regardless of the commotion, the Prince, who had been staring blankly at the cats as they chewed through the meat with a rhythmic chomp chomp chomp without sparing Isaac a glance, finally shifted his gaze toward him.
“Your cats?”
“Uh… yes, for now.”
“…. I feel like I’ve seen them somewhere.”
The Prince murmured as if to himself. Isaac merely let out a hollow laugh and broke into a cold sweat, remaining silent.
“Your cats? Do you starve them? Why are these little things eating meat like they’re famished?”
The informant glared at Isaac with fierce eyes.
Isaac, who had certainly piled a mountain of kibble into the cats’ bowls before leaving, could only stare bleakly at the cats as they tirelessly devoured the meat, chatting away: 「It’s mountain goat~ it’s mountain goat~」, 「As expected, mountain goat is the best meat.」, 「Aren’t they giving us wine?」. They were absolutely obsessed with mountain goat meat, just as one would expect from the witch kin. …I like it too, but it’s expensive meat that I can’t afford to eat often.
“Anyway, if you’re the owner, take them and go. Hurry.”
The informant, seemingly displeased by the approach of a stranger, glanced at the Prince for his reaction and then waved Isaac away. Just as Isaac bowed his head and reached out to pick up the three cats, the Prince, who had been watching them, spoke.
“Let them finish the meat that was put down before you take them.”
There were still a few pieces of meat left that the informant had washed and placed on the table. Isaac blinked at the unexpected generosity and withdrew his hand, saying, “Thank you.” The informant looked at the Prince in surprise, then turned a fond gaze toward the cats.
“By the way, you’re a young man, so why does your complexion look so poor? Have you not even had a drop of thin porridge?”
The informant spoke to Isaac, who was waiting for the cats to finish eating. Isaac shook his head.
“I’m just not feeling very well. It’s nothing.”
Then, from behind a pillar, Olsen—who had been watching to see what was happening when Isaac suddenly stood up and went to that table—shouted loudly.
“Hey, you’ve been acting all frail today. Is it a cold? A cold, right?”
“How can you have a cold in the middle of summer?”
As Hoden muttered beside him, Olsen shook his head in disagreement.
“Haven’t you been to where he lives? It’s a rotten stone building that looks a hundred years old; the wind just whistles right through it.”
“That’s where I live right now! It’s only fifty years old!”
“Ah, you lived with Isaac, didn’t you, come to think of it? Well, you’ll be getting married and leaving soon anyway. Oh boy, our frail Isaac, who catches colds even in midsummer, is going to end up as a lonely senior citizen.”
“The reason he started raising those cats was so he wouldn’t become a lonely senior citizen. How much must he cherish them to bring them all the way here, you crazy bastard.”
“I didn’t bring them here!!”
Unable to take it anymore, Isaac shrieked, only to swallow a sharp breath and cough violently. He wondered if these people, who continued their idle chatter without a care in the world, were truly his comrades.
“There’s a well-known theory that when unmarried men and women of age start keeping pets, their chances of marriage are over….”
“He’s already a lost cause because of how much he’s obsessed with faces. I mean, look how much he cares about looks.”
“I do not!”
Once again, Isaac shrieked and then coughed. At this rate, he really would become a patient. Then, realizing the Prince was watching him, he hurriedly waved his hand.
“No, really, I’m just not feeling very well. I’ll be better after I get some rest.”
“…….”
Only after meeting the expressionless gaze that seemed to ask why he was telling him such a thing did Isaac clutch his mouth, realizing his slip, and murmured inwardly, ‘Ah, right, you’re not someone who would worry about me…’
Unlike Isaac, whose complexion looked like that of a sick person, the Prince looked to be in excellent health. It made sense, given it was the full moon. Even though he was in disguise, his entire body radiated life force, and his skin was glowing.
“Black hair suits him well too….”
As expected, when a person has the basic looks, everything suits them regardless of how they do it. Isaac murmured his admiration unconsciously, only to snap his mouth shut when the Prince’s gaze flew toward him again.
“No, I didn’t mean anything else. I just thought you must have heard that you’re handsome quite often.”
“I haven’t.”
The Prince answered shortly. A brief silence followed. Both the informant and Isaac looked at the Prince with simultaneous looks of disbelief.
“You haven’t? Not at all?”
“Not at all.”
Isaac almost blurted out, You liar, but a realization hit him in the next moment. Ah, actually, that could be true. There might not have been anyone brave enough to openly tell such trivial and meaningless things to this man’s face. …But because of this, I feel like I’ve just told a lie or flattered him.
Isaac scratched his head and murmured.
“Uh… well… you are handsome.”
As expected, the Prince’s expression remained unchanged. He didn’t seem pleased. He merely raised an eyebrow slightly. Seeing this, a memory suddenly flashed through Isaac’s mind, and he hurriedly added:
“Of course, this is just an objective statement and I have absolutely no personal ulterior motives. I respect the preferences of others. Very much so.”
As Isaac spoke with a serious face, the informant burst into laughter.
“Ho ho, now that I look at you, you’re an interesting fellow. By the looks of it, you’re from the Royal Guard…?”
“Yes, I am Isaac.”
The informant’s laughing face froze for a very brief moment. Seeing his eyes blink while he continued to smile silently, Isaac realized the man had recognized him as the person whose background he had investigated recently. Mister, you looked into me in such detail, yet you didn’t know my face? Isaac merely faced him with an innocent smile. However, the informant brilliantly hid that trace in a flash and laughed like a kind old man, saying, “Ho ho, I see, you’re doing noble work.” Isaac responded with a natural smile, “You’re too kind.”
Then, just as Isaac felt the Prince’s eyes narrow slightly and realized his mistake, he tried to compose his expression.
“Guest, did you leave shoes for repair?”
He heard the waitress calling from behind. Turning around, he saw a cobbler standing behind her holding Isaac’s shoes. They must be finished now. Perfect. He had to leave quickly before any more nonsense came out.
Isaac scooped up the three cats—who had cleanly finished the meat on the table and were licking their lips in satisfaction—all at once in one arm.
“Then I shall be going. …I’m sorry my cats caused a disturbance. I will pay for the food….”
“Oh, no, it’s fine, it’s fine. I gave it to them. Just make sure you don’t starve the little ones and raise them well. Go on now.”
The informant also waved him away, seemingly glad to see him go. Isaac glanced at the silent Prince, gave a quick bow, and turned to leave. Taking the opportunity, he told his colleagues that he wasn’t feeling well and would head back first, then left the area.
After hurriedly bidding farewell to those who told him to get home safe and those who told him to stay longer, Isaac practically fled the shop. He didn’t look back until he left that alley and reached the main road. Only after walking through two more alleys did Isaac slow his pace, stopping only after confirming that no one was following him.
He had already been feeling heavy and lethargic, and after a midnight power-walk, he was out of breath and exhausted. Isaac slid down and collapsed on the spot.
Seriously, of all places to run into him.
Wait, did I make any mistakes today?
Feeling an inexplicable sense of unease, Isaac retraced his memories, only to look down as he felt the three of them squirming in his arms. The little things had eaten so well that they were licking their lips and letting out loud burps; it was quite a sight.
「Ah, that was a good meal.」
「I was about to die from lack of energy, but I feel better after eating.」
「As expected, mountain goat is the best. The seasoning was a bit strong, but that’s fine. Slurp, slurp.」
“…Why are you little witch-cats wandering around on a red full moon night instead of lying quietly at home?”
While the cats were regaining their strength by eating meat, Isaac didn’t realize his own energy had been completely drained. The cats rolled their bright eyes and looked at Isaac.
「Our Manbang was worried that you might collapse somewhere while going out on a red full moon night, so he dragged his tired body along to accompany you.」
「Aren’t you grateful? You should be.」
「So from now on, you should provide mountain goat meat.」
“Shut up. Do you know how expensive mountain goat meat is? How could you devour it so greedily? You shameless brats.”
When Isaac flicked the cats’ noses with his fingernails in a reprimand, they hissed in anger.
「So what, he’s a human who’s going to die soon anyway!」
「Right, right. What’s the point of a ghost having a good complexion? It’s better that we, who will live long, eat it instead!」
“What?”
Isaac paused and raised an eyebrow. The cats grumbled, licking their flicked noses.
「The shadow of death has cast a deep veil over him.」
「He probably won’t live another month.」
“Who?”
「The one who gave us the meat.」
Isaac stared blankly at the cats as they continued to chatter, saying that since the man had done a good deed for them, he would go to a warm hell after death.
That informant.
Isaac thought of the middle-aged man who looked perfectly ordinary, with a healthy complexion and seemed far removed from death. Though he didn’t know the man well, a chill ran through his chest.
Being an informant always comes with danger, so it wouldn’t be strange for something to happen at any time. Moreover, the more competent a person is, the more dangerous they are, never less.
Isaac looked at the night sky for a moment and quietly shook his head. He wondered if it would be better to give a hint, but he decided against it. There was no way for him to explain it.
“…Sigh… you damn cats.”
You made my heart heavier by saying useless things, Isaac thought as he gave the cats a series of little flicks on the head and pushed his heavy body up.
Let’s go home. I need to rest. I shouldn’t have come out in the first place, why did I…
“Ah.”
Isaac stopped just as he was about to move. He looked around the deserted alley, then lifted one foot to touch the shoe with the cleanly repaired sole. Isaac pulled out a piece of paper that had been tucked under the heel and unfolded it as he began to walk again. This was the reason Isaac had specifically come here today. The date and place where the Roberni faction would next gather was—
“…Uh.”
Isaac stopped walking again. His face frowned slightly as he stared intently at the paper for a long time.
As a child, Isaac had often heard his mother say, ‘How can you be so clumsy and airheaded?’ He thought he might have a slightly vacant side to him, but he didn’t believe he was that airheaded.
On the contrary, having survived the hardships of a rugged life, he had come to think that he was more resourceful than average. In fact, he often heard such things; whenever he was given a task, he would find a way to succeed even by using tricks, or if he couldn’t succeed, he succeeded in blurring the lines to make it look like he had, and if it seemed impossible to succeed, he simply didn’t touch it in the first place.
The same was true now.
The moment he reached the old factory site where dozens of empty warehouses stood, the route he needed to move was already drawn in his head.
In the dead of night, in the pitch black where there was no light and no sign of people, he easily mapped out where the most suitable place would be if someone were hiding and watching the surroundings, where the blind spots would be that those locations couldn’t cover, and at what timing and through which path it would be safest to move.
At the same time, keeping in mind that there might be someone else thinking similarly to him, Isaac thought, ‘Yes, I’m not half-bad at my job.’
Despite that,
「How can this boy be so clumsy and airheaded?」
「There’s no answer, no answer. He’s hopeless.」
「Sigh, our Manbang, what are we to do with this naive thing.」
The chattering voices of the three shadows scurrying frantically beneath his feet hit his ears. …But now that he looked, these brats were moving in a route that was ghost-like in its invisibility.
“Why did you guys come here?”
「And why did you come?」
“I—”
…Of course, I had no reason to come here either. Isaac was left speechless and stammering before he turned his head away. He could hear the cats clicking their tongues.
The day Isaac handed the slip of paper to the Prince was the very next day after the full moon night when he had received it.
Upon seeing the paper, the Prince showed no reaction, as if he were seeing information he already knew. He had likely found out the details while talking with the informant the previous night.
The place where the Roberni faction agreed to meet next was an old factory site outside the capital, currently empty as it was scheduled for demolition. The date was the night before the Dark Moon. Both the place and the time carried a very clear implication. An empty place, the night before the Dark Moon.
Roberni was waiting for that Mysterious Assailant. Furthermore, he believed that the Mysterious Assailant would surely come, even to such an explicit place and time.
And another obvious fact—a mage would come. No, perhaps—though the possibility was low—a witch might come.
It is the night before the Dark Moon, a night full of Mana. The Dark Moon is when witches are brimming with energy and roam freely, but they are fickle and do not perform ‘work’ as commissioned or instructed by someone. The night before that is when they do work, and it is a time when Mana is more abundant than usual. It was also a time when mages, who are affected by the flow of Mana, were in peak condition.
Could choosing such a day be a coincidence? It wouldn’t be. Moreover, in the current situation, Roberni would not send an ordinary mage. He would intend to bring things to an end this time.
‘…….’
The Prince returned the paper without much reaction. That was all. He said nothing and continued reading his book. There were no instructions on what to do or how to do it. Isaac, who had waited for a while in case there was something to be said, was about to withdraw when—
‘I suppose your comrades agreed to meet there yesterday.’
‘Ah, yes. …Does Lord Kaieon always meet you there?’
At the Prince’s sudden question, Isaac answered instinctively and asked back.
‘No. We don’t make appointments to meet. When I leave the castle, he finds me, and we enter a suitable shop nearby.’
After being puzzled for a moment, Isaac soon understood. Even without pre-arranging a place or time, the informant would find the Prince once he left the castle. Indeed, for an informant, that would be a piece of cake, and not making an appointment would actually be safer.
‘Then yesterday… it really was a coincidence.’
Isaac murmured to himself unconsciously. And right then, he met the eyes of the Prince, who was staring intently at him. Eyes so blue they almost looked black. It was at that exact moment that Isaac realized this man viewed him with suspicion.
About what? ——About everything.
Since the hunting competition, they had continued to clash to the point where it wouldn’t be strange to be suspicious. Since he couldn’t explain himself—and even if he did, there was no guarantee he would be believed—Isaac had no choice but to withdraw silently. After that, the Prince hadn’t said anything specific to Isaac or treated him differently, but Isaac had felt a lingering discomfort in his heart up until now.
「Even so, why did you come here?」
「Look at him, coming to find them first even though he wasn’t called.」
「Yes, that’s our Manbang. Is Manbang not Manbang for nothing?」
The three brats chattering away were obnoxious, but Isaac, having nothing to say in response, remained in a sulky silence.
Until this day, the Prince had made no mention of it. The time and place where the Roberni faction would gather. Despite the fact that they shared such secret information, Isaac thought the Prince might give him some kind of hint, but he neither told Isaac to come nor asked for his help. He showed no sign of awareness at all, to the point where Isaac wondered if the man had forgotten that today was the day.
In that case, Isaac should have naturally pretended not to know and stayed away; in fact, he should have been relieved that he wasn’t called… yet, here he was.
“The Dark Moon is the problem… it stirs up the blood for no reason.”
Isaac whispered like a sigh, looking up at the pitch-black night sky. The Dark Moon, where the moonlight had died, stirred Isaac’s instincts.
The atmosphere at Byeokyeong Palace had been heavy since a few days ago. Today, the eve of the Dark Moon, it was so quiet that one could barely hear the sound of people breathing, and no one visited without urgent business. The Prince did not leave his bedroom.
In contrast, although it was now midnight after working all day, Isaac was vivid and free of fatigue, yet his heart felt heavy.
The date and time written on the paper were definitely tonight. The location was here, somewhere among the empty warehouses of a factory site that was little more than a ruin.
Perhaps he forgot. Or maybe he won’t come because he’s not feeling well. Since there wasn’t even a hint, maybe he doesn’t intend to come at all. …Seeing as he ended up coming despite such thoughts, yes, I’m a fool, a complete fool.
“Anyway… which one of these numerous warehouses is it?”
Recalling that the location was simply written as ‘a warehouse in the Alaila district,’ Isaac looked down the road where dozens of warehouses stood in a row.
The factory site, lined with empty warehouses, was silent and desolate. This place, scheduled for demolition starting next month, had already been vacated months ago, leaving no one behind. The street, lined with old, crumbling empty warehouses, looked utterly bleak under the eerie night sky.
However, what made Isaac feel most uneasy was the absolute lack of any human presence.
There was no sign of anyone.
No matter how well one hides their presence, if there are several people, it cannot be this silent; it felt as if he were the only living person here. It was inexplicably chilling and unpleasant.
It was then.
Suddenly, a light flickered on in a warehouse building some distance away.
There had been no sign of anyone until now, yet suddenly, in that one building.
Isaac flinched, his shoulders hunching. His heart hammered with a sudden jolt due to a sense of anxiety.
And right then, as if waiting for the perfect moment, a figure appeared turning the corner of the alley. The person walking calmly, as if taking an afternoon stroll, was the Prince.
Isaac, who had just stepped forward, paused and considered hiding, but decided against it. Even if he hid, he didn’t think he could escape that man’s notice, and since the man was walking so boldly, there was no point in hiding.
“….”
Upon seeing Isaac, the Prince raised an eyebrow slightly. But that was all; without a word, he continued on his way. Isaac watched the back of the man as he brushed past him, then smacked his lips with a sour expression and followed behind.
He came. I thought he would… but if he was going to come, he could have told me to come along or follow him, why come alone? What a great way to be. I feel somewhat slighted, but then again, it’s probably wrong to feel slighted when we aren’t in a relationship where I can say such things. Isaac sighed inwardly. Regardless, he didn’t have the mental leeway to dwell on such useless thoughts right now.
“Today is no good,” “Yeah, let’s play somewhere else,” “Let’s go back, Manbang-a.” Holding the scruffs of the chattering cats, Isaac followed the Prince. As they approached the lit warehouse, his expression grew heavier.
The warehouse, a two-story temporary wooden structure, had clearly had its lights turned on suddenly a moment ago, yet no sound could be heard from inside. As expected, even upon arriving right in front of it, no presence could be felt. It was as if the lights had turned on by themselves in a void.
It felt wrong. His stomach churned as if he had swallowed something extremely unpleasant. …He wanted to go back.
While Isaac hesitated and stopped in front of the building, the Prince walked inside without hesitation. With a grating, rusty creak, the wooden door began to close slowly; only just before it shut completely did Isaac grab the handle, click his tongue softly, hold his breath, and step inside.
The inside of the warehouse was empty.
With crumbled pieces of wood and torn scraps of cloth scattered about, the place was thick with dust. It looked as if it had been empty for decades, not just months. The only thing filling the space was a foul stench. A smell of something rotting permeated the air.
Unconsciously covering his nose with his hand, Isaac looked at the Prince standing a few paces ahead. Seemingly indifferent to the nauseating stench, the Prince stood with his back turned, looking at something. Following his gaze, Isaac frowned.
On the dim wall, large, black letters were written.
‘Caught you’
“——.”
A cold sensation ran down his spine.
At the same time, he felt a presence behind him. Turning around, he saw the wooden door Isaac had just entered closing silently. Silently. The door that had made such a metallic screech just moments ago.
Thud. The door closed quietly, and with that, Isaac realized he was trapped. The warehouse building itself had become a barrier.
Turning his head, he saw that the Prince was also looking toward the door. Meeting Isaac’s eyes, the Prince looked at him for a moment before indifferently averting his gaze. Isaac then followed him as he climbed the stairs to the second floor.
The sensation of the old wooden stairs creaking beneath his feet was clearly transmitted through his legs, yet no sound was produced. In that bizarre dissonance, he soon reached the second floor.
The second floor, half the size of the first, was also filled with dust, just like the floor below. The wooden debris and small bits of trash were the same. However, there was one difference.
The second floor was not empty.
“——ugh,”
Isaac let out an involuntary groan before swallowing his words.
Directly in front of the stairs they had climbed, a person was hanging on the wall.
No, to be precise, it wasn’t a person. It was a corpse that had become a mass of crushed meat. And seeing the head, the only part of the corpse that remained intact, Isaac clenched his teeth.
It was the Prince’s informant.
The middle-aged man he had seen not long ago was hanging there, dead, with his tongue hanging long out of his mouth. He couldn’t have been dead for long, yet he reeked of rot as if he had been dead for dozens of days.
The Prince scanned the corpse with an expressionless face, not batting an eye.
Standing silently behind him, Isaac’s nerves were on edge. The feeling that something was watching. The sensation that something was lurking somewhere—somewhere within this barrier—scratched at his nerves. His hand did not leave the vicinity of the sword hilt at his waist.
Then, having finished examining the corpse, the Prince turned around. Turning toward Isaac, he tilted his head languidly from side to side and opened his mouth.
“Then, shall I hear why you are here?”
At that slow, casual question, an answer did not immediately come to Isaac. It was because he himself didn’t know why he had come.
“…, I thought Lord Kaieon would come alone….”
The Prince, looking askance at Isaac’s hesitant response, drew his sword. Sring, the sword slid slowly from its sheath, glistening in the light. Isaac shut his mouth.
“Did you think it would be easier to strike if I came alone?”
“…That is not the case. I… I came because I was worried about Lord Kaieon.”
Isaac answered in a stiff voice. However, the Prince, staring at his own blade, did not seem to take those words to heart.
“You always stand out in these kinds of situations. Moreover, …you’re an eyesore.”
He seemed to mutter to himself that for some reason, Isaac continued to bother him. Without any warning or sign, he lunged toward Isaac and slashed downward; Isaac hurriedly leaped back, but the tip of the blade grazed his shoulder. Fortunately, it wasn’t deep, but his clothes were quickly stained red.
It only ended like this because the strike wasn’t intended to be serious. However,
“I came because I was worried. I was concerned that you would come to a dangerous place alone,”
This time, he was being sincere.
Whether the words Isaac urgently spat out were heard or not could not be told from the Prince’s expressionless face. However, he could tell that the aura as the man slowly raised his sword again was not a mere joke or threat. He also knew that the light test to gauge the opponent had ended with the previous strike.
“Wait a moment, I understand that you’re suspicious, but this really was a coincidence. I truly have no intention of harming Lord Kaieon, —I, I have no evidence against me! This is unfair!”
Isaac shouted abruptly and stepped backward. The Prince didn’t move a single step from his spot, but increasing the distance by a few paces didn’t reduce the sense of crisis.
“Evidence.”
The Prince murmured slowly.
“Yes, there is none. Something keeps bothering me, but there’s nothing. And yet, it keeps bothering me. It’s so irritating… it would be better to just clear you away cleanly.”
He could see the strength tightening in the Prince’s hand gripping the hilt. His eyes met those piercing blue eyes that looked on indifferently. Like a frail prey before a natural predator, Isaac froze, unable to move. He couldn’t even tear his gaze away.
Finally, the Prince moved. It was a movement as fast as light, yet strangely, every single motion appeared incredibly slow and clear.
No. That shouldn’t happen. …For your own sake, you shouldn’t do this, you foolish man…!
Suddenly, something hot surged up in his heart. An aching emotion, different from unfairness or fear, welled up.
The Prince was closing in on Isaac’s face. He could clearly see the blue pupils approaching. He saw the eyes narrow for a split second. By then, the blade was already falling toward Isaac’s chest—
“——!”
A fierce, beastly cry seemed to ring out.
Isaac closed his eyes at the sudden, searing pain spreading across his chest, and for a moment, he held his breath from a dizzying agony that made his vision go black. However, after a moment, although his mind was a mess, it was still functioning reasonably well, and while his body continued to throb with pain, he didn’t feel as though he had died.
Isaac slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was his own chest, bleeding profusely. The skin had been sliced long, and blood was soaking his clothes, but the wound wasn’t that deep. It wasn’t a critical injury.
Huh, he thought, and as he looked up, the next thing he saw was the Prince holding a sword in one hand. On the forearm holding the sword, there were four long claw marks. Perhaps because they had been scratched deeply, one or two of the blood-beaded marks were dripping blood. Beside him, three cats were pretending to be oblivious while licking their front paws, making it impossible to tell which one was the culprit cat.
“…, I-I’m sorry, my kids…”
Isaac stammered, looking dismayed at the Prince’s forearm. 「Good grief, look at that idiot, he almost died and he’s saying sorry.」, 「Good grief, so frustrating」, 「Manbang is not enough, let’s call him Eokbang, Eokbang」; for once, Isaac felt sorry and grateful to the chattering cats.
The Prince looked down at his forearm and silently flicked his sword. A few drops of blood flew off. Isaac shut his mouth.
He had truly intended to kill him. The mark of the long slice across his chest passed right over his heart. Rather than fear or anger, a feeling of sorrow came first. Not knowing why, Isaac simply traced the wound with his finger bitterly.
The Prince was looking down at his blade, where blood was dripping. As if considering whether to slash him again or not. Then he turned his gaze back to Isaac, and Isaac looked back at him, thinking that perhaps this time his heart really might be split open. He wondered why he felt so sorrowful and pitiful.
He stood facing the Prince with only three or four paces between them.
If the expressionless Prince raised his sword at any moment, that would be when Isaac’s breath would finally be cut off. Despite this, with a strangely calm feeling, Isaac looked at him with a touch of melancholy.
Suddenly, the Prince’s eyes seemed to twitch slightly.
And—it was then.
There was a sign of something moving.
In the corner of his vision. In that empty space where there should have been nothing capable of moving. Something moved.
Isaac’s and the Prince’s gazes shifted almost simultaneously.
Something that shouldn’t move, something that must not move—the corpse hanging on the wall was moving.
It was an incredibly grotesque and chilling sight.
Swaying, the corpse, which had been moving limply on the wall, soon fell to the floor. Rising slowly, it eventually took a step. Squelch. Squelch. Bloodstains drew lines on the floor behind the slow, wet footsteps.
『Which one is it…? Who is it…?』
A voice, sounding like boiling molten iron, flowed from the corpse’s throat. It was a sound that seemed to come from beneath the earth. The sunken eye sockets spun erratically. The corpse’s nose moved grotesquely. It sniffed as if smelling something, and then at some point, its eye sockets fixed on the sword the Prince held.
『It is you. You harmed him. To dare harm a mage, a mere human.』
The Prince, looking expressionlessly at the corpse baring its teeth, spoke.
“Then what are you. Are you human, or not?”
『I am a mage. A mage is one who knows how to handle Mana. I am human, yet a being greater than humans.』
The corpse spoke.
And then, for the first time, the Prince’s lips curled slightly. His blue eyes glowed deep blue.
“Why have you only appeared now, mage of Roberni.”
『The price of magic is something precious to the contractor. For your life, Roberni staked the life of his own daughter.』
The corpse laughed. The vile laughter flowing from its throat was filled with joy. Isaac shuddered as he recalled the rumors about the daughter Roberni cherished like his own life, and as he saw the corpse exulting in his misfortune and the girl’s death.
『Now, tell me. Who are you?』
The corpse had already approached the Prince. A hand, crushed like a lump of meat, reached toward the Prince.
“And who are you? You, who hide and manipulate corpses.”
The Prince’s sword severed the corpse’s wrist. The wrist, which fell and landed on the floor with a thud, however, began to move on its own, crawling back up the corpse’s body. Thinking that a hideous insect crawling would look cuter, Isaac frowned.
Watching the wrist reattach as if nothing had happened, the Prince unhesitatingly cut the corpse’s neck. The torso, which seemed to tilt for a moment after losing its head, picked up the rolling head from the floor and placed it back on top; this time too, the head attached to the torso without issue and burst into manic laughter.
Even if the limbs, neck, and torso were sliced into pieces all at once, it was the same; though there might be a slight time lag, it eventually returned to its original state.
“Ugh… what is that thing.”
At the sight of flesh crawling and gathering on the floor, even Isaac, who had a fairly strong stomach, felt a surge of nausea and covered his mouth. Then, he heard chattering sounds beside him.
「Just sprinkle ash on it.」
「If you sprinkle ash on the cut, it can’t reattach.」
「If he just breaks the bead the mage planted in that body, that corpse won’t be able to chatter anymore.」
「But we shouldn’t tell him. He called us useless things before.」
「He called us noisy beasts, too.」
「Right, right, let’s not tell him.」
Let’s not tell him, let’s not tell him. Beside the three cats nodding their small heads, Isaac hurriedly searched his pockets. It was there. The flint stone he always carried in his pocket out of habit. Although today was not the Dark Moon and it was nothing more than an ordinary flint stone, for now, that was enough.
There was nothing suitable to use as tinder, but it didn’t matter. He stripped off his outer garment, tore it into thin, narrow strips, and struck the Firesteel against them; a fire caught easily. …However, in his haste, he had made the mistake of overlooking the thick layers of dry dust and wood shavings piled around him. A spark falling from the hem of his clothes instantly ignited the parched wooden floor.
“…Ack.”
Beside the momentarily frozen Isaac, the three creatures—who had been watching with wide eyes since the moment he took out the flint stone—began to make a fuss.
「He set a fire, he set a fire!」
「Arson is a very serious crime among crimes.」
「He even did it right under the watchful eyes of a superior.」
「Trouble’s brewing, trouble’s brewing!」
Those brats were really adding fuel to the fire. Regardless, Isaac quickly stomped out the burning hem of his clothes and scraped away the ash. The Prince gave Isaac a brief, annoyed look, but soon turned his head back toward the corpse as if such a thing were irrelevant.
“I must hurry. First, I need to find out who you are.”
The Prince reached out and gripped the corpse’s neck, then tore away the rag-like clothing the body was wearing. If it was a corpse controlled by a mage, the mage’s unique sigil would be somewhere on its body.
It was then. The corpse’s face contorted as if grimacing. Only after a cackling sound burst from its wide-open mouth did it become clear that the distorted expression was a laugh.
『Then let us hurry—and see who you are.』
With a sound that seemed to echo from the bottom of hell, the corpse flung its mouth wide open. Something black seemed to glint deep within its throat. But before that glint could be identified, black smoke erupted from there like an explosion. The smoke instantly engulfed the Prince, and in a flash, he vanished within the black haze. The smoke continued to spread, filling the entire building.
『Who are you?』
『What are you?』
The humming, echoing voices felt as if they were pounding against the inside of his head.
Inhaling the writhing smoke, Isaac felt his stomach churn instantly. A wave of nausea surged, feeling as if his entire insides were being overturned. His head and eyeballs throbbed. Dizziness set in, and his vision distorted. In that warped sight, everything seemed to have come to a standstill.
As if time had stopped, only the voices rang incessantly in his ears. What are you. Who are you. What are you. Who are you. You are…
“—.”
The nausea was unbearable. It felt as if his entire body was being crushed.
Kneeling on the floor, Isaac gripped his throat and convulsed. He felt as if he were dying. He thought it might be easier to just die—and just then,
「It’s because that handsome boy’s yeom is too massive. To think it’s even making the barrier creak.」
「How can a mere human have yeom like this?」
「Don’t block it. Let it through. Let it pass through your body like air.」
「This smoke is useless against you. A human mage’s magic doesn’t work on you. So don’t worry and just leave it be. Don’t try to block it; accept it. Take it in and let it flow over.」
Whispering voices burrowed into his ears. They were voices that gently soothed his twisted insides. Though his consciousness was too dizzy to distinguish whose voices they were, Isaac listened to them with all his might. Struggling to steady his breathing, he surrendered his body to the sensation that was crushing and flooding over him.
It wasn’t easy at first. His body stiffened reflexively in defense, curling up to protect itself from this strange and unpleasant sensation. However, as he endured the sickening discomfort and tried to embrace the sensation bit by bit, the weight crushing his body gradually diminished.
Black, slender streams flowed into his body like a flood and then exited. As if Isaac’s body were a gateway for them, they dove in and out, and in the process, the nausea and sickness subsided.
Then, a sensation began to spread slowly.
Like drops of ink falling into water, certain scenes began to unfold one by one. —No, he wasn’t seeing them. He was experiencing them. A strange sensation that made him live through those moments.
They were memories.
Memories dissolved into the black smoke were passing through Isaac.
These memories belonged to a man who had lived his entire life enveloped in awe.
He hadn’t even realized it was awe. This was because people do not consciously notice things that are ‘obvious.’ Those obvious things were awe, reverence, fear, and meaningless, baseless jealousy or hostility.
Everyone—without a single exception, even his own kin—had always been that way, and there was nothing else in his memories.
Always alone.
He existed alone within those obvious things.
Yet, he didn’t mind. He paid no attention to such things and remained unconscious of them. He simply spent his days alone amidst those obvious things.
He wasn’t lonely. He didn’t know what that was. No one had ever taught him. Because he didn’t know what it meant not to be lonely, he didn’t know what loneliness was either.
He had never felt goodwill toward anyone, nor had he ever harbored hatred. He had never received those emotions clearly from others enough to know what they were.
A gray world without color, brightness, or darkness.
That was everything that filled him.
Perhaps that was why he had been sent far away to the harsh frontiers, separated from those who were familiar and well-known. Those familiar people shunned and feared him, wishing he would not be near them. Thus, the one who went to a distant, strange land at a young age was greeted by days of cutting down countless monsters and magical beasts lurking in every corner of the rugged terrain.
Cut, cut, and cut again.
Day after day, without end.
Every day, overwriting the curse-laden screams and murderous hatred of those creatures.
That, too, became something obvious to him.
In those numb and meaningless times, the only thing that brought an intense sensation was the pain that arrived periodically.
Pain that pushed both body and spirit beyond the absolute limit.
Pain that he could not eliminate with his own power, with no one to help him, and nowhere to lean on even for a moment.
A time when he had to endure everything utterly alone.
In the midst of that, he suddenly thought.
Why?
Of all the things given to him thus far, there was nothing he had desired. Not people, nor status, nor the curse, nor even himself. Everything had been equipped that way from the start.
If so.
I shall desire something.
For the source that made everything this way to disappear.
And so—he decided to erase it.
“—Yes. That is why you all must vanish. For that is what I desire.”
A low voice flowed from within the smoke, which was so black that not even a silhouette was visible.
The mass of smoke, looking like a giant ball of yarn wound tightly with thin, black threads, moved slowly. A figure shrouded in smoke slowly raised an arm and gripped the neck of the corpse that was continuously emitting smoke. The smoke flowing from the corpse’s neck gradually diminished. As the mass of smoke faded, blue eyes began to appear within. Below them, the corners of the mouth were curved upward in a slant.
“You are no simple mage. What are you?”
Strength surged into the hand gripping the corpse’s neck. Crack, crack, the corpse’s neck bent and twisted. The corpse’s eye sockets widened, staring back into those blue eyes.
『You are… You are… You are…』
The voice flowing from the corpse’s throat kept changing. High, low, thick, thin, as if countless people within were taking turns. Then, the sound suddenly stopped, and—
『You are… one who bears the royal curse. I know who you are.』
A low, sinister voice spoke. The corpse’s mouth slowly ripped open up to its ears. The Prince, whose form was reappearing from the dispersing smoke, stared at it coldly.
“Now tell me who you are, non-human thing.”
Snap. The corpse’s neck broke. Not only did it break, but with terrifying grip strength, the neck was torn from the torso and dropped to the floor. The severed head began to tremble and laugh.
『Are you not the non-human one? Who would call someone like you human?』
The Prince expressionlessly stepped on the laughing head. Crunch, even as it was crushed beneath his foot, the mad laughter bursting from the head did not cease.
It was a scene from hell. Fires were spreading and burning fiercely all around, and acrid smoke lingered in the warehouse. In the midst of it, a corpse was laughing. Yet, the most alien and terrifying thing of all was likely the figure of the human standing quietly, looking down at that head with indifference.
Only after it was crushed to the point of losing its shape did the sound bursting from the corpse’s neck stop. However, the sound seemed to spread through the air, as if laughter could still be heard from somewhere.
“—Kaieon-nim, the flames are,”
Isaac barely managed to part his lips, but before the words could fully emerge, the corpse’s torso moved.
The place where the neck had vanished bulged and moved grotesially, and a new neck sprouted upward. The appearance of the newly emerged neck was that of a middle-aged man with a round, gentle impression—the face of the King.
『Will you cut this too, Bel? Yes, Bel? Your father?』
The King’s face laughed grotesquely.
The Prince looked at that face expressionlessly—and swung his sword.
The corpse’s right arm was severed cleanly. As the severed arm writhed and began to crawl back up the torso, Isaac, who had been watching with a frozen face, quickly approached and sprinkled ash on the severed site.
The Prince glanced at Isaac. Unconcerned by that gaze and indifferent to being singed by the flames, Isaac was preoccupied with scraping together ash. This was because gathering ash was actually more difficult while the fire was blazing.
The arm, which had almost reached the corpse’s shoulder, flopped back down. The King’s face twitched and distorted.
The face became a mess, tangled like a lump of meat paste, and soon revealed another form. This time, it was a lady with a kind and elegant face—the Queen Consort.
『My child, my child, my son. My so—』
This time it was the left arm. The Prince looked at the beautiful lady’s face expressionlessly and severed the left arm from the torso, and Isaac rubbed the small handful of ash he had managed to gather onto it.
Amidst the roaring flames, the wooden beams supporting the old ceiling roof snapped. A corner of the roof collapsed.
The head continuously transformed. Into the form of a younger sister, then a younger brother. And each time, the right leg and then the left leg were severed in turn, until finally, the corpse collapsed to the floor, leaving only the torso.
And the final transformation of the neck of the limbless torso sprawled on the floor was—
『Will you cut this as well?』
The one sneering and staring straight at the Prince had eyes of the same blue hue. The Prince’s own face had grown upon the corpse’s neck, staring back at him.
The Prince looked down expressionlessly at that face, which was chuckling with lips ripped wide. But that was only for a moment. With a languid air, the Prince flicked his sword a couple of times, and then, without anger, hatred, or even a shred of hesitation, he raised his hand and—
“—.”
Squelch.
The blade plunged deep into the throat. The corpse froze, eyes wide as if struck by lightning. All sound ceased instantly.
It was Isaac who pulled out the sword that had been driven deep into the convulsing neck of the corpse.
Isaac, who had plunged the sword into the throat before the Prince could cut the neck, pulled the blade—which had pierced through the neck and deep into the floor—with force. As he did, a glossy black orb embedded in the tip of the blade came out with it. It was the mage’s control orb for corpses.
『You… you… how can you move…? Why did the magic not work…?』
The corpse’s eyeballs shifted frantically toward Isaac. Only then did it seem to realize there was another person there, and it stared intently at Isaac with wide, disbelieving eyes. The blue eyes gradually stained black and began to glisten. The pitch-black eyeballs spun wildly within the sockets. Then,
『…Aha. I see.』
The corpse suddenly muttered. The corners of its mouth twisted maliciously.
『Now that I look at you, you are—』
But before the corpse could finish its sentence, the orb pierced by Isaac’s sword shattered with a crack, and simultaneously, a sound like a horrific scream erupted from the corpse’s throat. The entire warehouse shook as if an earthquake had hit, and the air swirled like a storm. The flames soared madly.
The corpse, which had been moving vividly until a moment ago, turned black and rotted, then instantly withered and crumbled away as if weathered by time. The crumbled powder formed a certain pattern. It was the unique sigil of an individual mage.
“—.”
The pattern was soon swept away by the fierce wind accompanying the flames, but that brief moment was enough to identify whose sigil it was. It was a sigil so well-known that anyone who had worked in the court for a long time would have seen it once or twice, even if they didn’t know mages well.
It was the sigil of the head of the Court Mages, the Guild Master who leads the Mage Guild.
“…….”
The roof, walls, and pillars of the warehouse collapsed one by one in the flames. The Prince, with the corpse—now reduced to powder and a few bone fragments—beneath his feet, looked down at the empty space where the sigil had been. Isaac took a step closer to the Prince’s side. Only then did the Prince turn his gaze to Isaac. Even at a time like this, his face was no different from usual.
“The orb,”
Isaac murmured in a fading voice.
“It would have been better if I had broken the orb a bit sooner. I am sorry.”
Before the Prince had to cut that corpse’s neck several times. If only he could have stopped it before the Prince had to cut down those familiar faces in succession.
The Prince gazed silently at Isaac, who was covered in ash and dust from the fire, with burns across his body, looking gloomily downward.
“What are you?”
The Prince asked.
“I am Kaieon-nim’s guard.”
When Isaac answered, the Prince seemed to frown slightly and stared intently at Isaac. His lips moved for a moment as if he were about to say something, but he said nothing and closed his mouth again.
Isaac looked as if he were about to cry. No, he really wanted to cry. He felt that if he just wailed loudly, he might feel a bit refreshed. His chest felt tightly blocked.
It was because of this man. Because of the man who stood alone and indifferent, with a face that seemed unaffected even amidst these terrible flames and smoke.
“Since I am Kaieon-nim’s guard, I must protect you. That is my duty. So—I know you are used to moving alone and find it more comfortable, and I know you don’t particularly want a guard, but as long as I am your guard, I would appreciate it if you would tell me. What you intend to do, where you are going, and what I can do to be of help to you.”
The Prince watched Isaac in silence as he spoke slowly but clearly, word by word. He still couldn’t tell what those blue eyes were thinking. One might think he was being precocious or arrogant. He might even swing that sword right now.
Regardless, Isaac turned his exhausted body and gathered the bone fragments of the corpse scattered here and there. He might have been cut the moment he showed his back, but he was an opponent Isaac could never avoid if the Prince intended to strike.
After gathering the bone fragments in one place as he found them, Isaac muttered, “I hope you go to a good place,” and turned around to find the Prince still staring at him. Still with an unreadable face.
Meanwhile, the flames had reached his feet, licking at the heels of his boots, and the warehouse roof and floor were collapsing.
“You should go back. I think you need to rest.”
Isaac spoke, and the Prince looked at him for a while longer, but in the end, he did not draw his sword. Isaac waited quietly as he silently sheathed his blade—and in the meantime, though he hurriedly stomped out the flames that were finally catching the hem of his clothes—he followed behind the man who walked away briskly, indifferent to the fire.
The long night had passed, and the dawn of the Dark Moon was arriving.
While the Prince was lightly brushing the soot from his collar, the guard, who had been out of sight for a moment, returned. The guard walked back, glancing at the warehouse where flames were leaping high, and spoke.
“The distance to the neighboring building is far enough that I don’t think the fire will spread. I’ve cleared away anything nearby that could catch fire… so I think we should head back quickly and notify the sentries.”
“Luckily there’s no wind and no one around,” the guard muttered, dusting off his palms. He frowned, perhaps having been pricked by a thorn while clearing away lumber or the like, and gently scratched the area with his fingernails. The Prince had wondered where he had vanished to the moment they stepped out of the burning warehouse; it seemed he had circled the perimeter.
Only then, as if finally able to breathe, the guard slumped down and let out a long sigh. “Gosh… I’ve never been this tired on a Dark Moon before…” he murmured to himself, then suddenly flinched and shut his mouth, glancing sideways at the Prince.
The Prince, who had been gauging the time by looking up at the stars filling the still-dark sky, felt the gaze and looked at him. Seeing the Prince illuminated by the fire, the guard blinked a couple of times, his expression clouding as he stood up.
“Uh… are you alright? Lord Kaieon, your complexion is…”
The Prince looked at the guard for a moment, then turned his gaze away without a word. There was nothing left for him to do there. As he turned and began to walk, he felt the guard following behind him.
“Um, would you like a piggyback… …no, never mind.”
The guard, who had cautiously spoken up from behind, murmured, “I’m sorry,” with a face that clearly read, ‘I’ve spoken out of turn, I’m a lunatic,’ when the Prince stopped and turned to look at him blankly. The Prince resumed his walk, and after a short interval, the presence following him continued.
The Prince raised his hand and quietly wiped his face. It came away covered in ash and dust. If he were to look in a mirror now, his appearance would likely be a disaster. Setting aside the fact that he was filthy, his deathly pale complexion would look desolate, as if he might collapse at any moment. In truth, even lifting a single hand felt heavy.
It was always like this as the Dark Moon approached. It felt as if the atmosphere were crushing him. His entire body throbbed and ached, as if he were suffering from a severe bout of the flu. Needless to say, now was even worse. It felt similar to the time he had spent in the frontier, swinging a sword for three full days during a magical beast subjugation. He wanted to enter the forest beside them right now, climb a suitable tree, and close his eyes for a while.
Since he felt this way, he could guess without a mirror that his complexion must be no different from a corpse’s, but to offer a piggyback ride.
It was a phrase he had never heard before, so for a moment, he had to think about what ‘piggyback’ actually meant. The fact that he offered to carry him was one thing, but what was even more absurd was…
“…”
The Prince looked at the guard, who was walking a few steps ahead, picking up debris that blocked the ruined path and tossing it to the side.
Soot-stained and his clothes covered in ash, the man was truly a wreck. Furthermore, though it was hidden since his back was turned, blood was still slowly seeping from the chest wound inflicted by the Prince’s sword. His limbs were covered in burns.
The idea that someone in such a state—someone who looked like he couldn’t even hold up a single cat—would offer to carry someone else was preposterous. …Or so he thought, until one of the cats that had been running around the guard’s feet suddenly climbed up the back of his neck. Then, as if they had been waiting, two other cats followed, dangling from the guard’s shoulders, back, and head.
“Hey, hey, could you please get down… I really feel like I’m going to die…”
As the guard grumbled, the cats began to chatter away as if they understood him. With three of them meowing at once, it was quite noisy.
“…”
The Prince suddenly looked down at his own hand. The hand that had been gripping the sword until a moment ago.
He could have cut him.
The moment he had swung the sword, even though a cat had lunged and scratched his arm, he could have easily withstood that amount of weight. With the same force he used to slash, he could have easily split the man’s heart. And yet, the grip on the sword had loosened, resulting in nothing more than a shallow cut through a layer of skin.
The Prince shifted his gaze from his hand to the guard. As he picked up a piece of wood blocking the path and tossed it into the grass, he had a sulky expression, looking like someone being scolded by a bucketful of nagging amidst the cats that continued to meow on his shoulders and head. With his lips pouting, looking as if he couldn’t stand the noise, he grumbled barely audibly, “Ah, enough! Fine, thank you, thank you. I survived thanks to you guys, alright? So can you just stop it?!”
One of the cats clinging to his shoulder meowed something and licked the area around the guard’s cheek. “Ow, it stings! Hey, that’s a burn!” The guard jumped, wiping away a stray tear as he slowly moved his head away from the cat. Then, with a sudden sigh, he stroked the cat’s head, and beneath his ash-covered, scarred hand, the cat purred contentedly.
The cat, which had maintained a ghostly balance on the shoulder, swaying with every step the guard took without any sign of falling, suddenly turned its head as if sensing the gaze. Eyes larger than marbles rolled toward the Prince, and suddenly, the creature hissed. Then, it snapped its head away.
“…”
The Prince watched the guard, who was grumbling, “Why the sudden temper? Don’t fight on my shoulder, I’m exhausted,” and slowly clenched his empty hand.
Why had he not cut him?
Even though he fully could have.
The Prince knew that the moment the cat had lunged, he had willingly released the strength in his hand. But why?
There was something about this guard—he didn’t know exactly what—that kept bothering him. It had been that way from the start, and it remained so now. Yet, he could not identify what it was.
“You.”
The Prince spoke. Though it was a low voice, almost like talking to himself, the guard managed to hear it and looked back.
“Yes?”
Turning toward the Prince with a puzzled look, the guard was, as expected, a wreck. The chest where the Prince’s sword had cut him was stained red with blood from the shoulder down to the waist, and burn wounds were everywhere. Despite being in such a state, he carefully observed the Prince’s complexion and spoke with a clouded expression.
“Would you like to wait here for a moment? You seem to be feeling very unwell… I will go and bring the horses here.”
Suddenly, something surged up from within the Prince. Anger.
It was a very unfamiliar emotion. While there had been many times he found something annoying or bothersome, he had always simply disposed of it immediately. An emotion accompanied by such unpleasant irritation was foreign. He couldn’t immediately think of how to clear it away, nor did he know exactly why he was angry.
“You cannot bring them.”
“Ah… I suppose that’s true.”
When the Prince spoke coldly, the guard simply nodded and turned back. He then continued to walk ahead, clearing away the lumber scattered on the road. Following silently behind, the Prince suddenly thought that if it were this guard, perhaps it might be possible.
The Prince’s horse was a treasure presented as a tribute five years ago from the Freia region, famous for its fine horses. Even in Freia, where horses that could run a thousand li a day were common, the stable master had marveled that a horse of this caliber was rare. It was a brave and intelligent horse that had been with the Prince since the frontier. It was also incredibly arrogant, treating the stable hands as its servants and refusing to be touched by anyone other than its master. The horse, which would gallop instantly when the Prince called, usually hated being tied up and preferred to wander leisurely through forests or fields; no one else had any way to call or catch it.
“…”
When was it? It must have been about six days ago.
Early in the morning, while reading a book in the study, he had looked out the window and seen the horse grazing nearby. It didn’t matter what it ate; the creature was intelligent, so there was no need to worry. As he turned his attention back to the book, he heard a murmuring sound. He recognized the voice as the guard’s immediately. There was still time before the start of the shift, so it seemed he had arrived a bit early and was resting beneath the window.
‘Hey… you’ve got plenty of high-quality hay in the trough, so why are you eating butterbur? Even if you do eat it, it’s so bitter.’
A voice, clicking its tongue at the horse’s taste, held a clumsy smile.
The Prince looked down below the window. The guard, sitting with his legs stretched out comfortably against the wall, was staring blankly at the horse. He was practically half-lying down, as if he were in his own home. The horse rolled its eyes and glanced at the guard, but it didn’t seem to listen.
Seeing the horse leisurely walking closer to the guard while grazing or sniffing, the Prince raised an eyebrow slightly. The horse fundamentally always kept a distance of several steps from anyone other than its owner. It was a rare sight for the animal to be within arm’s reach, as if it had let down its guard because there were no other people around. He had never seen it do this with anyone except the stable master who had cared for it for years.
On the other hand, the guard also seemed uninterested in anything more than watching, even as the beast he was comfortably observing approached and grazed right next to him. One might have expected him to reach out and touch it at least once, but he just watched. It wasn’t as if he were intentionally holding back for fear of startling the animal.
He was simply existing naturally in that state. Allowing someone to approach him just as it was.
Then, when a cat approached with a sparrow in its mouth, trotting with a proud air, the horse turned away in annoyance and distanced itself. However, for a very brief moment, the Prince saw the horse nudge the back of the guard’s hand with its muzzle—as if telling him to move so it could smell the grass underneath.
It was a very short instant, but it was such an unexpected sight that it was vividly engraved in a corner of his mind.
Including things like that. That was why this guard continued to bother him.
The Prince had good instincts. Having survived countless brushes with death, his intuition had never failed him, and thanks to that, he had been saved many times. Whether it was ‘dangerous,’ ‘fine,’ ‘it will work,’ ‘no,’ ‘must do,’ or ‘must not do,’ he usually acted after finding thorough evidence, but in situations where no evidence could be found, he always followed his intuition, and the results always matched his premonition.
However.
“Talking about goat meat… do you know how expensive that is? How can you ask for that all week. Just eat me, just eat me.”
The Prince gazed steadily at the guard, who was murmuring to himself like someone possessed—though the man seemed to think his voice was so small that no one could hear him.
He couldn’t tell. It kept bothering him, something kept gnawing at a corner of his mind, but he couldn’t grasp it. Whether it was dangerous or the opposite, whether he should eliminate him or not. He even wondered if the man might not be human, but there was no clear confirmation, nor any further inkling.
The guard also knew that the Prince was observing him closely. For instance, the Prince would occasionally test the guard, half-seriously and half-absentmindedly. Such tests included telling him to move the silver guillotine blades used to behead witches to another storage room, or having him carry objects purified with holy water.
The guard was no fool, so when asked to do such things, he quickly realized that the Prince suspected him of being connected to the witches. In those moments, he would look slightly discouraged, but he did as he was told without a word, and the Prince would indifferently watch him silently move objects that a witch or magical beast would not even be able to touch.
‘He must really find me suspicious… sigh.’
Once, after moving a silver dagger that the Prince had told him to put in a drawer, the guard had gone outside for his break, and the sound of murmuring had drifted from the backyard. Looking out, the Prince saw the guard crouching under a tree in the backyard, sighing gloomily while cats licked his hands. “That’s enough, you can stop licking now,” the guard had said, stroking the cats and giving them dried jerky. Despite clearly knowing he was under suspicion, his behavior did not become particularly more suspicious afterward. A similar, subtle feeling always persisted.
…Should I just cut him?
It was the first time something had continued to bother him like this.
Despite that, it was also the first time he hadn’t simply eliminated or cleared away the nuisance as he always had. He felt a constant rustling at the edge of his nerves.
Disliking the irritating sensation, he had thought several times about just killing him. However, each time, he had left him alone, driven by an unknown feeling that it might be better to keep him alive for now.
But it was still irritating. With each passing day, he felt his nerves becoming slightly more on edge.
Should I just cut him after all?
“Still, it’s a relief that it’s not the actual day of the Dark Moon. It would have been even harder if it were the day itself.”
Just then, the guard, who had begun to walk more comfortably as there was little left to trip over, spoke abruptly while looking up at the night sky.
Since it was the day before the Dark Moon and the moon had almost vanished from the sky, it was filled with stars shining brilliantly with their own light. The guard’s face, looking up at the starry sky, appeared exceptionally pale, perhaps because he had lost his color. To a glance, he almost didn’t look human.
From that calm face, the Prince suddenly overlapped a memory of another face.
It was when he had gone to Mass on a Sunday.
On Sunday mornings, the members of the royal family would gather by obligation in the palace chapel for Mass unless there was a special circumstance, and naturally, their guards would stand stationed at the front and back of the chapel.
He had seen it then. As the Prince’s gaze wandered aimlessly, he caught sight of the guard standing by a pillar of the chapel, staring blankly at the statue in the center.
The guard had that look on his face then. A quiet, silent face, with an expression that betrayed nothing of his thoughts, staring intently at the statue without ever taking his eyes off it. For the entire duration of the service.
‘He must be very devout. He didn’t take his eyes off the statue.’
When the Prince mentioned this while leaving the service, the guard blinked and looked at the Prince, then tilted his head ambiguously with an “ah.”
‘It’s not that, I just suddenly had a thought. …I wondered where I would go when I die.’
The guard seemed reluctant to speak, but when the Prince waited with a steady gaze, he added the words somewhat hesitantly. Where would I go when I die, he said quietly, like a monologue.
‘I’ve heard that those with deep faith go to heaven.’
When the Prince said that, the guard looked at him for a moment and then simply laughed. The curve of his lips had somehow lingered in the Prince’s memory.
‘A friend who lived next door when I was young died of an illness. Seven or eight years old, I think, really young…’
The guard murmured intermittently, as if searching his memories or letting a monologue slip.
‘The priest who prayed for us then, seeing me cry, comforted me and said that after a long time had passed, we would be able to meet again in heaven.’
He stopped speaking. The guard said nothing, as if lost in thought. Then, after a long while, he murmured like a sigh. That he wished he had been kinder.
‘I think there’s nothing to do but do one’s best in each moment. While doing what I truly want.’
‘That sounds incredibly cliché,’ the guard had said, frowning and scratching his temple as if he didn’t like his own words. With that, the topic had ended.
Doing what he truly wanted in each moment.
The guard who had spoken those words was now walking slowly with a battered body, staring blankly up at the star-filled sky.
“Why did you come here?”