By Zephyria =======
Silver swallowed hard and spoke.
“What’s wrong? We were just drinking, since we’re around the same age.”
At those words, Black Weasel’s gaze shifted to Silver. After staring sharply at his son for a moment, Black Weasel spoke.
“Don’t drink with that fellow from now on. Stop hanging out with that attendant brat. Don’t even speak to him, and don’t even make eye contact.”
His tone was laced with an explicit hostility that pierced like an awl. Silver was speechless.
“Why go this far with an attendant…? Is it because he’s possessed by a wraith?”
“A wraith?”
Black Weasel asked back, his brow twitching. Silver let out a hollow laugh.
“Stop playing innocent. An enchanting wraith is possessing the attendant. Weren’t you throwing a fit because you were afraid that wraith would harm me?”
“Uh… right. That’s right! I’m sick to death of wraiths! Just thinking about that skeleton fellow and those fairies makes me want to vomit!”
Black Weasel raised his voice and slammed the table.
“Stop associating with the attendant. He’s a jinx! If you don’t listen to me, I’ll drain every drop of that brat’s blood and drink it as juice.”
Black Weasel held up his glass defiantly and gulped it down. This wasn’t something that could be laughed off as a joke. Silver sprang to his feet.
“You coward! I’m not like you!”
He stormed out of the inn. The sky was ashen. White snowflakes fluttered diagonally. The wind blew fiercely as if biting the air, and black shadows were flowing down the distant mountain ridges like dripping candle wax. Silver hunched his shoulders and pulled up his robe’s hood.
「Silver!」
A single shout flew toward him, carried by the humming sound of the wind. It sounded urgent and anxious, yet strangely affectionate…
Wolf quickly caught up to Silver’s side.
「Silver. Talk to me.」
Wolf grabbed Silver’s wrist. Startled, Silver shook the hand off. The moment Wolf’s hand touched him, a strange and dizzying pain surged through him. It felt as if a piece of red-hot iron was piercing deep into some part of his body… Fear rushed over him. It’s another trick of the wraith.
「Go! Just go away!」
Silver screamed and pushed Wolf aside as he walked. Wolf grabbed Silver’s shoulder. Silver shrugged his shoulder to shake Wolf off once more. Enveloped by the fierce wind and the scattered snowflakes, the two boys continued their unstable struggle of grabbing and pushing. Hot, white breaths cut through the cold air and dissipated. Eventually, Wolf spread his arms and blocked Silver’s path.
「Uncle talked about me, didn’t he? What did he say?」
「You’re delusional. He didn’t say anything.」
Silver pushed past Wolf and kept walking. Wolf followed persistently.
「He did. ‘Gnit’—that means ‘attendant’ in the Stohl language, right?」
「What nonsense? Gnit means dog poop.」
「Silver, stop dodging the question…」
「I’m not talking anymore. I’m going to wash up.」
An open-air hot spring surrounded by an old cedar fence came into view. Hot steam wafted from the spring as it caught the snowflakes. Silver threw off his clothes and dove into the water with a splash.
「Wolf, you come in too. You’re drenched in sweat, shouldn’t you wash?」
「I’ll pass. Open-air baths in winter are awkward for someone from the South.」
Contrary to his dignified words, Wolf looked around restlessly. Silver smiled faintly.
「I guess mixed bathing is uncomfortable for you? Fine, go back to the inn before some naked woman shows up.」
「I’ll go back if a woman shows up. Silver, answer me properly.」
Wolf turned sharply toward Silver and plopped down on the ground. Silver pinched his nose with his fingers and dove underwater. What a persistent brat!
「Tell me, Silver. I have a right to know. What did Uncle say about me?」
「…」
「I might not understand the Stohl language, but I can read people’s expressions. You said Uncle planned to kidnap and torture me. But earlier, Uncle’s expression looked like he was dying to kill me right then and there. Does he really intend to do that?」
He could no longer hold out. Silver poked his face out of the water.
「We suffered because of the skeleton wraith. Because of that, the Ice Armor Warrior seems to loathe anything related to wraiths. How should I put it… he needs someone to vent his anger on, and unfortunately, you’re the one closest to him, Wolf.」
「Ah…」
Wolf’s complexion turned pale. Silver brushed back his hair with one hand.
「He can’t kill you right away because of the Prince. Let’s perform another exorcism ritual tonight. If we offer a goat or a sheep as a sacrifice, the Goddess will grant the request.」
「That would be a relief, but…」
Wolf pressed the bridge of his nose with his fingertips. His muttered words followed one after another, like stumbling footsteps.
「I don’t know how it ended up like this. Not just beatings, but torture and murder—this is the absolute worst. Really, why… why is this happening to me of all people? Only two months ago, my biggest worry was whether I could become a good adult… In Atania, you’re a legal adult from eighteen.」
It was a rambling, disjointed lament. However, Silver’s heart sank. Like a cart suddenly losing a wheel and collapsing with a crash.
Whether I could become a good adult.
That was a worry he had never once entertained. Furthermore, in Stohl, one was treated as an adult from seventeen. Silver was already a bad adult.
Was it like this for all boys and girls? Did they all become adults haphazardly like him?
「Everything turned into a mess from the moment I set foot on this land. I’m fighting death every single moment. Even now, after escaping that place…」
Wolf’s tone was as dark as the dead of night. After his lips trembled a few times, Silver barely managed to squeeze out his voice.
「Don’t look for a reason. Is there anyone who wants to slip while walking down the street? You were just unlucky. No one is born into this world because they wanted to be. Misfortune is the same. It’s not something you can choose.」
Wolf lifted his head and stared intently at Silver. Feeling suddenly embarrassed, Silver cleared his throat.
「What are you staring at? See, you agree with me, right?」
「Yes. As you said, no one is born into this world because they wanted to be. But you can choose where you live. So, let’s leave for Atania with me, Silver.」
「Hey. Stop it.」
「Uncle is someone who wants to torture and kill me. Aren’t you and I friends? Then why don’t you leave Uncle? Is there some special reason you can’t tell me?」
「Worry about yourself. Especially since you’re possessed by a wraith.」
「Right now, I’m more afraid of Uncle than the wraith. Because he’s the danger right in front of me.」
Silver could no longer retort and fell silent. Suddenly, a surge of shame washed over him. He was miserably embarrassed. That the wretched Black Weasel happened to be his biological father.
Wolf. I didn’t choose to be born as that man’s son.
Wolf caught his breath and lowered his gaze. The snow had stopped by now. Only the sound of water droplets falling from Silver’s chin continued, drip, drip, like footsteps.
「Um, by the way, Silver.」
Wolf lifted his head with a look as if he had thought of something.
「The things the voice said when you fainted after escaping… do you really not remember anything other than ‘I have kept the promise’?」
「Are you asking that again? …’It’s the first time there have been this many survivors.’ Something like that?」
Silver stirred the water with his finger. Wolf crossed his arms and glared down. His gaze, fixed on the ground, didn’t budge an inch, like a nail.
「What is it? Did you hear something separately?」
「No. To be honest, I only vaguely remember that the voice said something. I can’t recall a single word of what it actually said.」
「Did you want gold nuggets like the Ice Armor Warrior? Are you disappointed?」
When Silver sneered, Wolf shook his head.
「I wouldn’t take them even if they were given. Cats bring humans mice, cockroaches, or dead birds as gifts. The skeleton wraith’s reward would be similar. It might be a ‘reward’ to a wraith, but by human standards, it would be extremely bizarre. For example, like a wish-granting quill…」
「What’s that?」
「I saw it in a fairy tale book. It was a gift a witch gave to a woodcutter; if you write only one wish per day, it becomes reality. But if you get greedy and write two or three wishes, the opposite happens.」
「Sounds like that pretty doll with a warning not to touch it on the night of a full moon. Forget it, you think too much. The reward was just a lie from that skeleton fellow.」
59 – Hell Execution Order