By Zephyria “…”
The rain, though thinner than before, still soaked the two men’s clothes.
Even amidst the noisy raindrops drumming against the earth, Nero’s voice was exceptionally clear.
Water droplets that had formed on his golden eyelashes couldn’t withstand the weight and flowed down his eyes. But Leonardo didn’t blink once, staring solely at the other.
Soon, one of his eyebrows, which had been slightly furrowed, arched up in a graceful line.
“What?”
‘Run away?’
Nero’s words were very short and simple, but Leonardo pondered their meaning for a while. It was because he didn’t understand.
Was that something that could be said in this situation? And from this guy?
Leonardo’s contorted expression clearly showed that he had a lot he wanted to argue about. Because of that, Nero added words without giving the Captain a chance to issue a harsh order.
“I’m not saying this impulsively. Last time, when you jumped off the cliff to save one of the Council bastards, Captain. Even then, I was seriously considering just taking you and leaving while you were unconscious. But do you know why I didn’t take you?”
“…”
“You would have hated me getting involved, and the tracker issue hadn’t been resolved yet. So I didn’t rashly intervene.”
As the word ‘tracker’ came out, the muscles on Leonardo’s forehead twitched for a moment. Seeing that, Nero gripped the hand he was holding even tighter and quickly continued.
“But it’s okay now. The military Headquarters’ surveillance network is temporarily paralyzed, so for a few days, they won’t be able to find out the location of not only me but all tracking subjects. So if we move now, no one will know. Not even the fact that we contacted each other, or that we went outside the peninsula.”
Nero’s eyes, trying to persuade him, were very serious and desperate. The grip that seemed to have no intention of giving him a choice was firm. A rough pulse was transmitted from the fingertips where their skin touched to the entire palm.
Feeling that throbbing vividly, Leonardo could tell how sincere Nero was being at this moment. But as he listened to his words, ominous questions began to spring up one by one.
“…The surveillance network is paralyzed? You, don’t tell me…”
“Pierce and Taylor took care of it, so you don’t have to worry about anything else. With those two’s skills, they wouldn’t have left any traces, and there’s no way we’ll be followed—”
“Hey, you idiot, I told you not to move recklessly!”
Leonardo’s voice, which suddenly burst out, echoed fiercely throughout the rocky hill area.
As a harsher order than expected flew at him, Nero’s eyes widened for a moment, and he couldn’t say anything.
All sorts of worries and confusion instantly covered the golden eyes he faced. At the end of it, a deep anger smoldered like a flame.
A cold gaze, trapped in dark thoughts, glared at him as if it would devour him. But Nero knew that the emotions contained within were anxiety, unease, and worry.
With his shoulders heaving violently, Leonardo massaged his stiff lips for a moment. Then, he slowly exhaled his trembling breath, closed his eyes tightly to fight off the approaching dizziness, and opened them again, calmly opening his mouth.
“Leonardo Blaine, who hadn’t shown his face for a while, was captured by the Council after almost 3 years. And in the midst of that, the military Headquarters’ surveillance network, which had been fine, suddenly becomes paralyzed? Do you think the military leaders will dismiss this as a simple coincidence?”
“…If they’re determined to be suspicious, they might find it strange, but still, there’s no material evidence that we did it…”
“Every existence in this world, every situation, is determined to suspect everything about us. You’ve experienced it, so you know. This isn’t a problem to be taken lightly like that.”
“…”
“And even if we’re acquitted of suspicion because there’s no material evidence, what’s next? Headquarters will strengthen its security and monitor the movements of tracking subjects more thoroughly because of this incident. Then, even if I’m released from the Council, will we be able to meet again after that? Huh? Within the Empire’s territory, not the peninsula, do you think we’ll be able to face each other again and have these kinds of conversations?”
Nero’s expression gradually distorted at Leonardo’s calm yet overbearing words. He tried to argue back to the Captain several times, but in the end, he closed his mouth and suppressed the excitement and rebelliousness rising in his chest.
He tried to calm down, his jaw trembling, but the resentment and frustration that were flooding in were not so easily suppressed.
After agonizing for a long time, Nero soon looked up at the sky once and spat out.
“Then, are you just going to stay still again?”
Nero’s cold voice and gaze were thrown roughly between the two. It was as if he was challenging him, and Leonardo’s other eyebrow arched up at that.
Nero gnashed his teeth, growling lowly, and asked again.
“Are we going to have to stay still again, unable to do anything?”
His voice, filled with resentment, trembled so slightly that only those who had known each other for a long time could tell. His tightly clenched hand had already lost circulation and even felt numb.
“Leonardo Blaine has finally been captured by the Council, the Empire’s sword has cut off the Empire’s rotten silver arm. It’s been splashed all over the newspapers, so probably everyone in this Empire knows about it by now. But even after seeing that, you’re telling us not to move recklessly?”
“…”
“We don’t see each other often, and we don’t know what’s going on, but suddenly we come across news of the Captain’s situation in such articles, and you’re saying we should have stood by and done nothing in that situation? Did you not think about how we would have felt seeing that?”
Nero had fully expected that the Captain wouldn’t be so happy that he was still in the peninsula and that he had intervened in this matter. He had also been aware for a long time that the emotions he was pouring out were far from rational.
But being on the receiving end of unilateral criticism rather than the emotions he wanted to share was more heartbreaking than he had expected.
The negativity and distrust embedded in each of the Captain’s words sounded like an order to just sit idly by.
Just like in that day’s cruel courtroom, where he couldn’t do anything.
“…”
“Captain, why are you so—”
Nero tried to convey his emotions, which were boiling over with unstable breathing. He wanted to throw any words at him and somehow scratch at the other’s heart. But as he suddenly met the face staring at him with mournful eyes, he was momentarily at a loss for words.
The tired, wet eyes pulled at his hand, even though he knew it shouldn’t.
Nero raised his left hand and lightly touched Leonardo’s eyes and cheeks, then carefully lowered his hand to his shoulder, which was soaked in blood. Then, he slowly caressed the affected area with his heated palm and lowered his voice once more, muttering as if he was resentful.
“…Why do you try to shoulder everything alone like that? You said we’re family. Can’t you trust me a little and go with me?”
Leonardo, who had been silently staring at Nero, simply blinked slowly with a complicated heart. Then, he bit his lip and swept back his hair, turning his gaze to the distant horizon for no reason.
Looking into those wavering red eyes, his heart was severely shaken against his will. He knew very well how unsightly it was to blame others and the situation and get angry at a precious comrade who had come to save him out of concern.
But his current reality was driving him to do so.
Even with his comrade risking his life, the captain couldn’t welcome him due to fear.
That pathetic and unseemly figure was his reality now.
Just then, a violent explosion in the sky shook the ground beneath his feet heavily. Simultaneously, whether it was due to the blood loss or not, he felt a chill and his body trembled lightly.
No sooner had he felt that trembling than Nero stepped closer and enveloped his entire body in flames. But even as he melted into the warmth beside him, Leonardo’s eyes captured the corpses scattered chaotically, covered in ash and smoke.
Their body parts trapped under the rolling boulders, they were growing cold under the ashen rain falling from the gloomy sky.
Leonardo blankly etched that miserable sight into his eyes and mind. Then, still fixing his gaze, he spoke different words to Nero beside him than he had before.
“Nero, this is a battlefield.”
He heard his voice, faintly spreading in the rain, but Nero didn’t answer. It was all too obvious what he was trying to say.
But as if to remind him once more, Leonardo slowly continued in a low, gentle voice.
“This is a battlefield where countless people are dying. Have you forgotten what we have to do on that battlefield, who we are?”
Nero frowned deeply at the dogmatic words that reminded him who ‘we’ were, turning his head and meeting his eyes. Soon, a weary sigh escaped him.
“I haven’t forgotten. I haven’t forgotten. But this is something the Council should handle. Not us.”
“Nero.”
“I won’t ask why the Council bastards brought you here, Captain, or what was said in between. But you have no obligation to risk your life here, bleeding like this. It’s their duty, not yours. If we leave now, no one will ever know—”
“Nero.”
Suppressing the words to stop, Leonardo bit his lip again. His fingers, which had been pressing his forehead as if his head ached, dug into his golden hair and roughly grabbed his bangs. The gleaming light revealed beneath stared at Nero with tormented eyes.
“Is that how I taught you?”
Nero momentarily faltered at Leonardo’s sudden words. He immediately tried to retort, asking why he was bringing that up in this situation, but Leonardo’s voice was faster.
“What, do you think I don’t hate the Council? I’m pissed at the bastards who caught me too.”
“…Then—”
“I want to kill all the higher-ups who suddenly sent me to subjugate the peninsula, and I want to gouge out the eyes of the bastards who whisper and stare behind my back, mentioning my name, the bastards who glare openly and try to fight me, the bastards who don’t know their place and try to talk to me. I just want to get out of here. But do you know why I’m just holding back?”
“……”
“Because they’ll let me go if I stay quiet? Yeah, that’s right too. It’s not wrong. But before that—!”
Leonardo snatched his hand away from Nero’s in an instant and raised his trembling left arm, pointing somewhere.
His fingertip was directed at the middle of the gruesome wasteland, where blood from the corpses had pooled.
His straight index finger jabbed at the place he had seen countless times in his nightmares. Yet, with a resolute and desperate voice, he recited each word to the other.
“Those unlucky bastards dying over there are all citizens of the Empire.”
Leonardo clenched his right fist and struck his own left chest hard enough to make a thudding sound. Then, he stretched that hand straight out and gently placed it on Nero’s left chest.
That firm will was conveyed to Nero through the fist touching his heart.
“They are also people we have to protect.”