By Zephyria 
“……I shall inform the Grand Duke that things have turned out this way.”
The administrator spoke with a gravity that bordered on solemnity, his face clearly etched with tension. His complexion was pale, as if he feared this unpredictable man might suddenly draw his sword and sever his neck. No matter how high his rank as an official trusted by the royalty, or that he had come on the Grand Duke’s orders, this man was of a temperament that would not hesitate to behead anyone who crossed his will.
Nevertheless, having said what needed to be said, the administrator waited with a stiff face for a punishment that could strike at any moment, but the prince showed no sign of drawing his sword. He seemed lost in thought, utterly indifferent to whatever the administrator was prattling on about.
After a moment of silence, the administrator slumped his shoulders slightly and clicked his tongue, muttering to himself.
“If only that young man had been escorted back obediently, he wouldn’t have suffered such great harm……”
He was a suspect, not a criminal. Moreover, it was an open secret that the young man was not the true culprit; even if the Grand Duke needed a vent for his rage, it wouldn’t have escalated to the worst-case scenario. The Grand Duke was a rational man of reason, so the matter likely would have been settled with the prince’s side paying a certain—quite substantial—price to the Grand Ducal house in secret. However, by fleeing, the young man had become a grave criminal and would now face a far harsher punishment than if he had been escorted quietly.
The administrator sighed, muttering that he had heard the guard was considered a fairly competent talent and wondered why he had made such a foolish choice, before lifting his teacup and swallowing the tea with a bitter breath.
The prince, who had been deep in thought with his chin resting on his knuckles, shifted his gaze toward the administrator.
It was because he knew there was no time.
Some might say he fled out of fear of punishment or cowardice, but that guard was not such a fool. He would have been more comfortable if he had been escorted to the capital. He was not someone who wouldn’t know that being locked in a cell would have been far safer and more convenient. Despite that, he chose to run.
“…….”
The prince clicked his tongue unconsciously. At that low sound, the people in the audience chamber flinched and grew tense, scanning his mood. They had been cautiously watching the prince with precarious nerves for some time now.
By nature, the weak—unless they are irredeemably foolish—are quick-witted. That is how they survive. And indeed, the prince was in a bad mood, to a degree he was consciously aware of.
No, perhaps he didn’t even know if he was in a bad mood. From the moment his displeasure and anger mixed and froze at their peak, he could no longer clearly define what he was feeling.
“On another matter, reports have come in that the movements of the soldiers stationed in the border regions are strange. Specifically, the region where Lord Kaian was stationed until last year,”
The administrator spoke, intending to change the subject. The prince merely cast a glance at him without saying a word, and the administrator continued, enduring that gaze with a stiff expression.
“Of course, the border soldiers are men who have faithfully guarded the frontier, so I believe nothing unusual will happen, but as you know, they are notoriously difficult to control and rough characters. While Lord Kaian was at the border, he managed them well, but since that is no longer the case, there are aspects of concern—”
“Has Roberny entered Hailun?”
The prince cut the administrator off. He had no interest in what the man was trying to say, nor had his thoughts shifted to the other topic.
There was only one thing on the prince’s mind.
The administrator’s face turned pale and stiff, sensing something in the prince’s low question. The adjutant, catching the administrator’s eye, also looked around anxiously before answering in a rigid voice.
“……No. However, I believe a significant number of Roberny’s subordinates have come to Hailun. It is expected that Roberny himself will also arrive.”
“I see. I see.”
The prince nodded and rose from his seat. Casting his gaze out the window toward the setting sun, he spoke to the administrator and the others who quickly rose to follow him.
“Tell the Grand Duke that I shall offer appropriate condolences regarding the death of Sir Leon. Although he was the one to draw his sword against me first, a father who has lost a child deserves consolation. I do not care what he demands. As long as it is not an excessively foolish request.”
The prince added that the Grand Duke would surely know where the line of reasonableness lay, and as if he had finished speaking on the matter, he turned away and added, “And,”
“The name Roberny shall vanish from this world before the year is out. Along with those who sympathize with or assist him. Without a single one remaining.”
The moment those words fell, a silence like a bucket of cold water swept through the audience chamber.
There was no one here who did not know how monumental that statement was.
Roberny was not merely the leader of a violent organization. He had already extended his reach deep into the royalty, the nobility, and the guilds that held the economic foundation. To eradicate Roberny meant potentially turning all those people into enemies, and the prince was explicitly stating his intention to do so.
The administrator opened his mouth to say that while he had no intention of shielding Roberny, processing it so urgently would cause a great backlash and be overreaching, and that it would be better to reconsider—but upon meeting the prince’s cold, pale gaze, his throat froze, and he could not utter a word.
Like a small animal discovering a terrifying beast with its maw open right before its eyes, his body froze under an instinctive, all-consuming terror.
The prince turned away, no longer interested in the administrator, whose face had turned ghostly pale in an instant.
The decision was made.
The prince left the audience chamber, leaving behind a silence where even the sound of breathing had ceased.
The bedroom was neatly arranged.
The bed was smoothed over without a single wrinkle, as if no one had ever lain upon it, yet it was a room that bore the traces of a human presence. Clothes hanging on the rack, a book placed on the table, trivial personal items.
The prince looked around these things casually, sat on the sofa by the window, and lightly rested his chin on his hand. Then, he looked toward the bed. Just as he had done several times before.
Only a few hours ago, he had been sitting in that exact spot. The only difference was that then, there was a person lying on the bed, and now, it was empty.
“…….”
The prince’s eyebrows twitched slightly. He didn’t like it. The sight of the empty bed bothered him.
Only a few hours ago, that guard had been there. He had been lying there, fallen into such a deep slumber that he wouldn’t have known if someone woke him. And a few hours before that, he had been tossing and turning, sobbing and crying on that very spot. All night long, he had clung to the prince, breathless and frantic, calling the prince’s name repeatedly. Clinging to the prince’s neck as if he would never let go.
Yes, that man had bewitched the prince truly like a witch. He didn’t know if he had ever been so immersed and addicted to something in his entire life.
This was his first time experiencing this kind of sexual encounter. To be precise, what the prince had done until now was not an ‘affair’ of passion. It was more accurate to call it simple ejaculation or the relief of desire. The prince had always been satisfied as long as his own needs were met.
It was the first time he had recognized the ‘partner’ used to relieve that desire—no, almost everything was a first. It was something entirely unfamiliar and different from the acts the prince had performed until now.
He had realized it from the moment he pushed his desire into that body.
The moment he pinned down the squirming, bewildered body and thrust himself into that tight, narrow space, the prince realized.
The thing he had always felt was lacking—the feeling of emptiness and insufficiency that lingered whenever he looked at that guard, brushed against his skin, smelled his scent, or bit into his neck to drink his fill of blood—was this.
That fullness.
Within the sweltering heat that enveloped him without a single gap, the prince tasted a suffocating sense of fulfillment for the first time.
At the same time, paradoxically, a terrifying hunger set in.
It wasn’t enough. It was woefully insufficient. He wanted to swallow more. More. He wanted to swallow him whole, leaving nothing behind.
The sensation of a void he hadn’t known existed being filled, and the sensation of a terrifying hunger he hadn’t known existed suddenly arriving. The prince learned for the first time that two opposite sensations could coexist.
The moment that sensation was felt most vividly was not when the prince released his own desire. It was when that guard clung to him. When he clung to the prince entirely. When he surrendered everything while simultaneously embracing him fully.
He could feel his own vitality flowing into the other. Also, he knew instinctively that no matter how much the other drank his vitality as if intoxicated, his own would never run dry. Vitality flowed from him to the other like a slow, majestic river. It was a pleasure akin to endless ejaculation.
Then, at some point.
‘……Lord Ian.’
He whispered the prince’s name.
He wasn’t calling the prince. Having been tormented for several hours, his consciousness was half-blurred; he didn’t seem to know what he was saying or doing.
Lord Kaian, he murmured the prince’s name again. As he did, he pulled the prince’s neck closer and kissed him. He wasn’t trying to eat his vitality. He simply overlapped their lips, licked his tongue, and held the prince in his arms. He embraced and stroked him as if he were incredibly lovely and precious. Held by the man who gently stroked the nape of his neck, his shoulders, and his hair while kissing him, the prince remained still.
It was also the first time he didn’t feel displeased while someone touched his body and head. Rather, that hand felt languid and comfortable.
In the meantime, when the fierce hunger returned along with the sense of fulfillment, the prince would satisfy a thirst-like greed for the nth time.
He hadn’t known a witch could bewitch a person so magnificently. That he could be so immersed and addicted to something.
Yes, in that case, let us see just how much more this witch can bewitch.
The prince became curious about whether he could be bewitched further, and if so, what that would feel like.
He could simply cut it off after indulging himself to his heart’s content. Escaping from indulgence or addiction is an easy task. Therefore, the prince intended to indulge as much as he wanted until he felt he had had enough.
Then dawn broke, and only after the guard, who had repeatedly fainted and woken up, finally lost consciousness completely did the prince withdraw from his body, yet he still didn’t feel entirely satisfied.
That was why the prince had sat right there, gazing blankly at him as he slept soundly, breathing heavily in exhaustion. He didn’t tire of it, to a point that was almost strange, and continued to watch.
Even while the head chamberlain knocked on the door several times, saying there were urgent matters the prince had to handle personally, the prince did not move from that spot. Not until the sound of the chamberlain’s repeated knocking showed signs of waking the guard.
It was also the first time he felt that someone should be left alone to sleep a bit longer. So, as he rose and left the room, the prince briefly wondered if he was being too generous to the witch, but he decided to let it slide.
He wouldn’t let him live long anyway.
Whenever his usefulness ended, that witch would die. Therefore, it was fine to show this much leniency.
Since he would be disposed of soon.
“――.”
The prince’s eyes twitched.
The empty bed stood out with particular clarity. He didn’t like how it was neatly arranged, as if no one had ever been there. It felt as if black soot were settling in a corner of his chest.
“……Not now.”
The prince murmured softly.
He would eventually eliminate all of the witch race, and that guard would be no exception.
However, not now.
Unless he desired it, the man must not disappear, nor must he die.
The prince rose and strode toward the bed. Then, he grabbed the neatly arranged bedding and yanked it aside.
He was in a bad mood. Since a while ago, displeasure and anger had been mixed with some unknown, strange emotion, sticking blackly to the bottom of his chest.
It felt as if something were constantly boiling beneath his heart. A very shallow, tiny fire, incessantly. A corner of his nerves felt on edge and hot. It felt as if the inside of his eyes were shimmering.
He didn’t know how to describe this feeling, which was entirely different from his usual state of being cool and heavily sunken.
He could guess the reason.
It was because that witch had fled. Since then, this unpleasant feeling had been clinging to him.
Thinking about it, there was no need for this. It wasn’t as if the witch had fled from him. Even if he had fled, he would return on the dark moon night, bound by the oath. Moreover, the fellow was quick and intelligent, so there was nothing to worry about; and even in the one-in-a-million case, as long as the heart and eyeball—the tools to see where Roberny’s witch is—remained intact, it was fine.
As long as the heart and eyeball were intact, it didn’t matter if an arm was injured.
“…….”
Suddenly, the guard’s bewildered face came to mind.
The face of the man who had returned, clutching a blood-stained shoulder, standing blankly in the courtyard, bewildered by the gazes of the people. Even as blood continuously dripped onto the floor, the guard stood there, looking around at the people, not knowing what had happened, and upon realizing the situation, he thought briefly and turned away without hesitation.
The momentary bewilderment vanished, and his face soon settled into calmness; once he decided what to do, he was unwavering until he left the place, cutting off any conversation.
In that moment, the prince realized anew. That was the man’s essence. Once he made a decision, he would not waver. And it was precisely that fact that made the prince feel a certain unidentified displeasure once again.
“An injured arm is no big deal, but,”
The prince muttered abruptly. As he walked toward the window, his eyes had cooled. Then, a low voice followed through his teeth.
“Not unless I want it.”
Yes, an arm can be injured. But that, too, must happen only when the prince desires it. Unless he wishes it, that witch must not be hurt. Regarding that witch, everything had to be as he desired.
Outside the window, the sky was already turning red with the sunset.
The prince opened the window and let out a long whistle. Not long after the sharp sound tore through the air, a large hawk flew in from the other side of the sky.
The giant bird of prey landed on the prince’s forearm, accepting the prince’s touch as he stroked its beak, rolling its intelligent eyes. The prince untied the paper attached to the hawk’s ankle, checked the contents, and threw it into the brazier. Then, he gave a piece of raw meat to the hawk that had flown a long distance and murmured while stroking its wing.
“I must find him first. I cannot simply leave my things unattended.”
As the prince gave a light nudge to his forearm, the hawk, having swallowed the large piece of meat in a few bites, flapped its wings and soared.
“Find out where he is. With your eyes, you should be able to find him quickly.”
As if it understood the prince’s words, the hawk circled once above his head and then flew high. The sound of wings beating boldly echoed as it soared high into the sky and soon vanished from sight.
The Prince followed the trail of the hawk as it vanished into the red glow of the sunset. He watched until the deepening crimson stained into purple, eventually blending into the night sky.
The moment was drawing near, and time was running out. There were many things he had to do to achieve what he desired.
However, that was only after he found his guard. That was the most important task of all, and the Prince had no intention of simply waiting for him to return of his own accord. He couldn’t, not with this anxious—a strange, unpleasant feeling the Prince had never known until now—sensation scorching the inside of his chest.
The guard belonged in his place. And his place had to be somewhere the Prince could see him whenever he turned his head, somewhere he could grasp him whenever he reached out his hand.
Regardless of the reason, regardless of the cause, no matter what words anyone—even he himself—tried to attach to it, in the end, that was the only fact that was most important and obvious.
“Oh… it’s the one Lord Kaieon keeps.”
Isaac, who had been snapping dry twigs into small pieces, looked up at the sky and suddenly murmured.
When he stood up and whistled, the hawk that had been circling above for a while dove down like an arrow. Perhaps because it had seen him a few times while serving that person, the hawk didn’t land on Isaac’s forearm, but on a low tree right beside him. It remained docile even as Isaac untied the small bundle of paper tied to its ankle. However, whenever he tried to pet it, it made a motion as if to peck him with its beak; it was a creature that didn’t take to human hands unless it was its owner.
“I think this every time I see it, but it really is a clever thing… Now, please deliver this to him. I’m asked to run errands, but I’ve got nothing to give you. Do you want some cat meat?”
As Isaac spoke while tying the piece of paper back onto the hawk’s ankle, the bird glanced at a black cat rolling in the grass as if it understood. Simultaneously, the cat sprang up and let out a 「Kaaak!」, its fur standing on end.
「Where is there a cat here?!」
「Even if there is, why would you eat cat meat?」
「How could you eat something so cute and lovely?」
While the three cats voiced their indignation in unison, calling him a barbarian, the hawk soared high into the sky and disappeared beyond the pitch-black night. Isaac marveled at how the bird of prey had found him despite their typically poor night vision, wondering if it had followed the bonfire, before sitting back down.
He had lit the fire to ward off wild animals, even while worrying that Roberni’s group might find him by the light. It worked out well. He had been wondering how to tell Lord Kaieon that he was currently in the mountains between Atlane and Kuslo and was searching for the Witch of Roberny, who seemed to be nearby, so he felt a sense of relief.
He wondered how long it had been since he last spent a night in the mountains.
Isaac sat between tree roots as thick as a human torso and tossed dry branches into the bonfire. The flames leaped up with a friendly crackling sound.
「Oh, my aching bones. What is this, spending the night in the mountains at my age?」
「Sleeping outdoors in the open when you’re young makes your bones ache when you’re old.」
Watching the creatures lounge with utter comfort, clinging to the log as if they were wearing fur pelts, Isaac, wearing only a single short-sleeved shirt, moved closer to the fire.
“Cat fur would be warm…” he murmured, only to be met with another 「Kaaak!」 and shouts of 「Where is there a cat here?!」 and 「Why would you skin something with a piece of fur the size of a palm?!」 When he stared at them and mentioned that tiger skin would also be nice, they predictably hissed, 「A tiger has to die to leave a skin!」 and 「How extravagant to want something so precious!」
Good grief, of course you would, Isaac thought, letting out a small laugh as he turned back to the fire.
Yes, still, it was much better with them around.
Because the mountain terrain was too rugged to bring a horse, he had turned it back at the foot of the mountain and entered the woods alone. Though it wasn’t his first time moving in such isolation, he couldn’t help the loneliness in his heart. Moreover, while his arm was still bleeding in small droplets and hadn’t been properly treated, four or five of Roberni’s subordinates, who had somehow tracked him down, ambushed him. At that moment, he had seriously thought his life might end today.
Unable to use one arm, he barely managed to cut down two of them and successfully shook off the rest by diving into the dense forest. But in the process, as the early night fell darkly over the mountains, Isaac had looked up at the night sky in despair.
Seeing how quickly they had chased him this far, it was obvious that by tomorrow, numerous subordinates of Roberni would swarm the mountain and search every inch like they were hunting lice. Even if he descended to a village with houses, it was clear that Roberni’s faction would have set up camp there. Evading them would be a chore, and if they unleashed hounds, the dogs would catch his scent and track him down instantly. …No, more than anything, since he was spreading the scent of blood in the mountains, it was only natural for wild animals to attack tonight.
‘…This isn’t easy…’
Just as he leaned his back against a rock and sighed, feeling a sudden wave of mental exhaustion, he heard a rustle in the bushes behind him. Isaac tensed up immediately, gripping his sword and turning around, only to find—
『Nya-hung!!』
With a long cry, three fierce-looking beasts lunged at him.
When he saw the small, black creatures clinging to his chest, his back, and his waist with their claws out, a surge of overwhelming joy rushed through him.
『Why are you wandering so far when your body isn’t even whole?』
『We are hungry! Quickly, give us some blood!』
As Isaac looked down at the three of them chattering away and licking his injured arm, he let out a chuckle, and by then, the wound had already begun to heal. Murmuring, “Now that my entourage is here, I should get ready to eat and sleep,” Isaac stood up lightly.
Since the mountains were teeming with wild animals, he had easily caught a rabbit to tide him over, found a spot where he wouldn’t be easily seen, lit a bonfire, and finally sat down.
With the fire burning well and his stomach full, Isaac lay down at a comfortable distance from the flames. He had gathered leaves and grass to make a thick bed, which felt quite plush. The faint scent of dry grass wafted up, causing his mind to relax. The sound of a stream flowing nearby could be heard softly.
He decided he would wake up early tomorrow and move before dawn. He didn’t know how far Roberni’s subordinates had progressed, and more than anything, the thought that he was close to the witch’s location made him eager. He wanted to find her quickly and confirm that he had caught up with them.
「Alikisa is somewhere on this mountainside?」
「How are you going to find her by scouring this vast mountain range?」
The cats, lying flat on a thick branch hanging over Isaac’s head, chattered. In the darkness, seeing them only as shadows, they looked like three large fruits resting on a branch.
“First, I’ll calculate the angle of the mountain ridge reflected in the mirror and find a position where the ridge looks like that. I thought about it hard earlier, and if I cross this mountain toward the northwest, I think the ridge will appear at roughly that angle.”
「Vague, so vague.」
“Since she seemed to be in a fairly luxurious inn, she’ll be in one of the larger villages scattered around.”
In the valleys of the overlapping mountains, there were many villages of various sizes. From tiny hamlets with only a few households to considerably large villages with hundreds of homes, which were quite rare for a mountainside location.
Somewhere among them. In a village where the mountain ridge would appear at the angle reflected in the mirror, Alikisa would be.
Searching for those villages without a map while evading Roberni’s subordinates in the mountains would be no ordinary task, but it couldn’t be helped. His only concern was that it might take longer than expected and the witch might move elsewhere in the meantime, but as long as that witch was inhabiting a human body, she wouldn’t be able to move that far.
He hoped he could find her in time.
Isaac made a wish in his heart and lay down, using his arm as a pillow.
A round, white moon was visible through the thick branches. It would be a full moon again soon. Time was flowing steadily, oscillating between the full moon and the Dark Moon.
When the full moon came, his physical condition would slump, so spending time in the mountains during that period would be quite a struggle. …It would be wonderful if he could consume life force at a time like that. Isaac took a deep breath unconsciously. His body relaxed languidly. Indeed, they say that life force sucked from a human cannot be stored for long; despite absorbing so much from the Prince, it seemed to be almost entirely depleted now, leaving his body weary. Then again, compared to the hectic day he’d had, this wasn’t even true fatigue.
I wonder what he’s doing right now.
Isaac suddenly thought of the Prince. The image of the Prince from the last time they met remained exceptionally vivid in his memory. When Isaac was leaving the courtyard, the Prince’s face, watching him from among the crowd, had been terrifyingly stiff. As if something had been forcibly taken from him.
In that image, despite being among people, he seemed completely isolated. …He wanted to stay by his side. To not leave him as if he were alone.
“If only I had learned how to enter other people’s dreams when I met the dream demon. …This flint stone is useless except during the Dark Moon.”
Isaac murmured softly, feeling the flint stone he always kept in his inner pocket. He had practically whispered it to himself, but those fox-like cats seemed to have caught it.
「Useless? Useless?!」
「You just used it to light the bonfire a moment ago!」
“…Yes, yes, I was wrong. The virtue of a flint stone is, of course, in lighting fires, indeed.”
Isaac quickly apologized as he looked at the creatures shaking the branches and barking above his head. It would be a disaster if a branch broke and all three of them fell on him at once.
In the darkness, they were too black to be seen clearly, but their large eyes flashed brilliantly.
「Besides, what would you do in someone else’s dream?」
「Whose dream are you trying to enter?」
“Well, of course…”
Isaac trailed off. However, the eyes of the cats looking down at him narrowed eerily. He could hear them whispering among themselves: 「It’s a life source, a life source.」, 「It must be a life source.」, 「They say a late bloom is the most dangerous; our innocent Manbang…」, 「Oh my, how scandalous.」 You little…
“What on earth do you think I would do in a dream?”
When Isaac glared at them, they sheepishly cast their eyes downward.
「Suck some life force, probably.」
「Suck it up from top to bottom.」
“I wouldn’t do that?!”
「Even if you don’t, the life source will probably pour out in torrents.」
“….”
Isaac suddenly found himself speechless. He had never thought about it, but thinking about it now, those words might not be entirely wrong. Perhaps it’s better not to enter the dream. …Still,
“I feel like I could speak more comfortably in a dream.”
Isaac murmured like a sigh. In a dream, he felt he could say whatever he wanted. It’s just a dream, so what does it matter, he thought.
「What is it you want to say?」
“I don’t know… well… that I like him… or to not hate me too much for being a witch… ”
As he listed them one by one, he felt a bit embarrassed, but the things he wanted to say came to him naturally and flowed out. He wasn’t saying something that wasn’t true, nor was he saying something he shouldn’t, so what did it matter? It wasn’t something he couldn’t say to the person himself. Of course, he wouldn’t be able to do it if he faced those indifferent, piercing blue eyes.
「You’ve already said all that.」
A cat murmured, looking at him with triangular eyes. Isaac thought for a moment longer before continuing.
“Also, that I hope Lord Kaieon finds someone who will let him be close… ”
Someone the Prince would willingly let by his side. And someone who would willingly stand by him. He hoped there would be someone who could stand side-by-side with him and walk together for a long time.
The cats looked at Isaac, who was gazing up at the moon, with narrowed eyes. After rolling their eyes as if contemplating something,
「Someone other than you?」
they asked in a very grumpy tone. It was a tone that suggested everything was unsatisfactory. Isaac looked blankly at the cats.
“I’m a witch.”
「…Is this one a softie or an idiot…!」
「Good grief, you naive thing…!」
「And you call yourself a witch? Stop talking like a witch! You can’t even take what’s given to you!」
Finally, one cat jumped from the tree onto Isaac’s stomach. Isaac gasped at the immense weight, curling his body and shivering, and a tail slapped across his cheek. When he grabbed the cat by the scruff and pulled it away, it nipped at his fingers, appearing thoroughly irritated.
Isaac let his finger be bitten and clicked his tongue. When he scratched behind its ear, the cat shot him a fierce glance.
“Of course, if I actually saw someone else by his side, my heart would ache. I’d be depressed. …But that doesn’t mean I want him to stay as he is forever.”
The cat’s black eyes stared intently at Isaac. Isaac gently scratched the creature and looked up at the sky. He murmured that he felt a bit drained, perhaps because the full moon was approaching. However,
「Good heavens, worry about yourself!」
This time, two cats tumbled down from the tree. One hit his head, and another landed on his chest.
As Isaac lay crushed and shivering in pain, the three of them nipped at his fingers, ankles, and forearms as if they found him utterly pathetic. 「Is he a Bodhisattva or something?」, 「Maybe his hobby is accumulating dharma relics,」 they chattered, biting him relentlessly. Having no words to refute them, Isaac simply gave his whole body to them.
In truth, Isaac didn’t think of himself as particularly soft or stupid. He had no heart of a Bodhisattva, nor any intention of accumulating relics. He simply believed in accepting what he felt and thought as it was. He believed that even if it were harder and more painful now, he would have no regrets later. Therefore,
“I miss him.”
Knowing that saying such a thing would only make the cats more furious and bite him harder, Isaac murmured it anyway.
「Why on earth do you like him?」
The one clinging to his finger asked, its tea-cup-sized eyes wide and flashing.
「Sure, the life source is handsome. Of course, he’s the greatest beauty in the land, so it’s natural to be enchanted. If his life force is delicious too, it couldn’t be any better. But still! Knowing that temper of his! Just because you’ve had a bit of life force a few times! Is it okay to like him that much? Huh?!」
「Right, right! We didn’t raise you like this, Manbang!」
The ones biting his ankles and forearms chimed in, not wanting to be left out.
When did these things ever raise me… Isaac glared at them with cold eyes, but decided it was too much effort to argue. Meanwhile, he chewed over those words.
When had he come to like him this much? At what point? He had certainly feared the Prince and thought he should avoid him as much as possible—and in fact, that feeling still remained to some extent—nevertheless, he liked the Prince. It hadn’t been long since he realized this fact.
“…Does delicious life force enchant a person that much?”
Or was it not just the life force, but that thing he did for the first time… no, that wasn’t it. The life force was delicious, but that thing really pushed deep inside him, and he thought he was going to suffocate and die. Isaac shuddered at the memory and shook his head.
He thought for a moment about why he had come to like him this way, but in the end, he couldn’t tell. All that was clear now was that he missed him. It had been less than half a day since they parted, yet he wondered about and missed a person who probably wasn’t thinking of him at all; loving someone truly is a sorrowful and poignant thing.
…Still, it’s fine.
Sighing quietly, Isaac closed his eyes that had been watching the moon. Wishing that the moon, which wasn’t yet full, would quickly become the Dark Moon, he gently stroked the small heads of the creatures who were biting him and sighing deeply.
…Wake up! …Get up! Isaac!
A faint sound, like the scratching of grains of sand, suddenly became clear in his ears. It sounded like an urgent call mixed with the sharp cry of a cat.
Startled by a sudden, chilling presence, Isaac snapped his eyes open. Seeing a blade descending toward his head at that very moment, he reflexively rolled away. The sword plunged deep into the patch of grass where Isaac had been lying just a second before.
As Isaac tried to push himself up, spotting the blade glinting in the darkness, he hurriedly rolled to the side again at the sound of something slicing through the air from behind. However, he was a fraction too late.
“――.”
A flash of pain as something tore deep into his thigh made his vision blur for a moment. But without a second to spare for the pain, Isaac sprinted toward the largest tree in the immediate vicinity. During those few steps, two more weapons flew toward him, both grazing his skin lightly.
Reaching the massive tree and pressing his back against it, Isaac first ensured he was shielded from attacks from behind before shifting his gaze across the men standing against the backdrop of the pitch-black night forest.
Four—no, five massive shadows flickered in the dim light of a dying campfire.
“Huh, he’s pretty good at dodging. But it would’ve been better not to. It would have been happier to just die quickly. Since things have come to this, we have to capture you alive, as the Elder commanded.”
Isaac recognized the face of the man approaching him, swinging a massive axe as lightly as a toy. He was one of Roberni’s subordinates who had ambushed him shortly after he entered the mountains earlier that evening. That man, likely the leader among them, had been the hardest opponent to shake off. He had finally caught up.
“But the Elder said as long as you’re breathing, it doesn’t matter if you’re missing a few limbs, so capturing you alive shouldn’t be hard. No matter how elusive you are—slaughtering over a dozen of our comrades at once and vanishing without a trace.”
The man chuckled. Isaac saw another man walking toward him, firing a signal flare. There were likely more of their comrades stationed not far away.
Judging by how relentlessly he had been pursued from Hailen to the foot of this mountain, it seemed Roberni had sent every available subordinate here. After losing so many men and even sacrificing a daughter he cherished like his own life, Roberni must have been driven by sheer spite.
Isaac lowered his gaze to check his thigh. The pain was too distant to gauge accurately, and it was too dark to see clearly, but his leg was quickly becoming soaked. It was a deep gash. Of all places, his leg.
“……Well, how generous of him to spare my life regardless. It certainly puts the enemy at ease.”
Isaac gave a bitter smile, cold sweat streaming down his face. The man swinging the axe arched a thick eyebrow.
“Hah, as expected of someone who serves a monster as a master, you’ve got some nerve. I suppose you’ve seen so many people slaughtered that you’re unfazed even when it’s your turn for your head to roll, eh?”
“――.”
Isaac remained silent, the bitter smile still on his face.
The man knew that Isaac was the Prince’s guard. He also knew that the one who had been killing Roberni’s men was, in fact, the Prince.
Knowing such things, this man likely held a significant position within Roberni’s faction, and as Isaac had already deduced from the way he handled the axe, he would not be an easy opponent. Even though Isaac had been in a deep sleep, the fact that the man had approached so silently proved it. This wouldn’t be easy. …Calling it ‘not easy’ was an understatement; it was dangerous.
“You go around slaughtering a dozen people at a time, and did you really think you’d never be caught? Heaven isn’t that indifferent.”
The man slowly approached Isaac. Suddenly stopping his chuckling, he swung his arm. Isaac urgently dodged the axe as it fell with terrifying speed. As the blade bit deep into the tree trunk, another man, who had been lounging close by, swung a sword. Isaac hurriedly raised his own blade to block it, and the man chuckled and stepped back readily.
Like cats playing with a rat trapped in a jar, they surrounded Isaac. Isaac quietly scanned his surroundings, gauging how much he could move with his severely gashed thigh.
“Planning to run? Well, you’ve been so elusive while killing all those people that this should be a piece of cake for you, right? Huh?”
The man looked at Isaac with a mocking, narrow-eyed gaze before suddenly leaning his head forward.
“You should have served your master better. Why on earth did you stick by a monster like that and end up taking the fall like this, hm……?”
Tsking and speaking in a low voice, the man suddenly swung his axe like a bolt of lightning. The blade grazed just above Isaac’s head as he barely managed to dodge. The man grinned, seeing Isaac drenched in cold sweat.
“Don’t worry, I won’t kill you right away. The Elder is on his way here, and he told us to keep you alive until he arrives. Though he said it’s fine to chop off your arms and legs. You’ll die in agony, regretting the day you were born, but the Elder has a final bit of mercy—he’ll return your corpse to your master. How nice, to be able to return to your master even in death.”
Clutching his thigh tightly, Isaac looked at the man with a pale face and suddenly gave a faint smile.
“……Even if you’re the culprit who slaughtered his subordinates and drove his precious daughter to her death, you don’t have the courage to take revenge on the person himself, so you’re just showing off the traces of your venting here……? My, you certainly are brave and dignified.”
The moment Isaac muttered weakly, the smile vanished from the man’s face. His features twisted grotesquely, and just as he raised his axe, shouting, “You brat――,” Isaac threw his entire body against him. Simultaneously, the nearby men lunged forward, raising their weapons.
“――.”
Weapons grazed Isaac’s back, shoulders, and legs. Some were mere scratches, while others were deep cuts.
There was no other way. He had no choice but to run, taking the hits with his body. He only struggled to avoid a fatal wound.
Grabbing the arm of the man with the axe and suddenly shoving him toward a rock, Isaac slammed the man’s head hard against it and bolted through the gap between the other men. He had always been confident in his ability to escape, but even that was difficult with his heavy, injured thigh. In the process, he was inevitably struck by a sword in the waist.
“This bastard!”
“Where do you think you’re running!”
The men chased him fiercely. Narrowly escaping their grasp, Isaac ran into the darkness. The only things that could help him here were the dense thickets of the dark mountain, the towering trees, and the darkness lurking within them. The men were right behind him, only a foot or two away. The gap wouldn’t widen. His breath reached his throat.
He had never lost a race before. If his comrades saw him now, running like that while covered in sword wounds, they’d probably tsk and point fingers, calling him a truly stubborn bastard. ……Even in this state, thinking of those people made him want to laugh.
I kind of miss them, he muttered as he ran. Eventually, most of the men fell behind, leaving only two or three. He no longer knew where he was running.
Damn it, that gap of a foot or two wouldn’t widen. He couldn’t even look back at the sound of breathing right behind him. The moment he looked back, he would be caught.
Is this it? Is this the end? It seems it was too much. His breath, his thigh that felt like it could never move again, and the wounds all over his body felt like they were on fire. It might actually be easier to just be caught…… Even as he thought this, Isaac did not stop. He could hear the cursing from behind—stubborn bastard. Thinking of his comrades again, he let out a weak laugh.
Then again, even if those men were nothing but villains, how heartbroken must they be to have lost so many of their own comrades? There is no such thing as a person who is evil to everyone―― just as Isaac was thinking this.
Then, his foot caught on something. Rather than a blade of grass or a stone, it felt as if something had grabbed his foot. At the same time, Isaac fell obliquely down a slope and tumbled head over heels. A groan escaped his lips. The slope wasn’t long, but it was steep, and after rolling down for a dozen paces, Isaac stopped with a splash, half-submerged in water.
A stream was flowing at the bottom of the slope. It wasn’t deep enough to struggle in, but the midnight stream, nearing winter, was cold enough to chill him to the bone.
So this is how I die. Isaac felt as if he could see death right before his eyes.
“Got him! Go down and grab him!”
The men shouted from the top of the slope. The man in the lead began to step down. Just then,
Grrrr……
A low sound scratched at his ears. The men must have heard it too. They all froze and fell silent.
A pungent, musky scent wafted over. The low rumbling in the throat grew louder. So did the sound of something rustling through the brush. Soon after,
“A-a boar…….”
He heard a man mutter faintly. In the eyes of Isaac, lying at the bottom of the slope, a pitch-black shadow the size of an ox appeared. The moment he saw the shadow slowly approaching with a low rumble in its throat, his heart sank.
It was a boar as large as a monster. Even several grown men couldn’t handle that thing. Unless they were starving or exceptionally ferocious, they didn’t usually attack humans first, but,
“…….”
Isaac closed his eyes, mindful of his own state, scattering the scent of blood everywhere. He heard the men whispering briefly and then the sound of them slowly retreating. They were probably deciding to come back later to collect the corpse.
While the men retreated, the boar sniffed the air and descended the slope. Following the scent of blood, the boar soon found Isaac. The boar’s musky smell and hot breath hit him.
I never thought I’d end my miserable life as animal feed…… Isaac barely suppressed the urge to let go of everything and faint, gripping his sword instead. Even if I die, I should do my best until the end, he thought, tightening his grip on the sword.
Suddenly, the boar, which had been circling and sniffing around Isaac, backed away. The sound of heavy breathing gradually faded. Huh……? Just as Isaac wondered and relaxed his tense shoulders, suddenly—Sshhk! Something rough scratched deep into the open wound on his thigh.
“Ack!!”
「What do you mean ‘ack’! What did you do to deserve an ‘ack’! Stay still!」
「A witch being pushed around by a human in the mountains? And in the middle of the night?」
「This is a disgrace to witches, a total disgrace!」
Three of them had lunged at Isaac, fiercely grumbling as they licked his entire body. Perhaps it was his imagination, but their tongues felt rougher than usual. Because they were scratching at areas that already hurt, it was excruciating. Isaac’s body went limp, but he shivered, shouting, “Ack! Ack! Ack!” 「Stay still!」 One of them smacked Isaac with its tail, showing no mercy as it fiercely licked the wound. They were three cats.
「Can’t you even call one boar? Do we have to bring it here ourselves?」
「Sigh, what to do with this Manbang.」
He must have been quite badly injured. The grumbling cats licked Isaac for a long time. Even while relaxing his body in relief, Isaac listened to the distant presences. The men were still there, within a distance where their sounds could be faintly heard. They would likely return as soon as they realized the boar had left.
“I can move well enough, so stop. I need to move my position first.”
Forcing himself up, Isaac gauged his leg, which still held a heavy pain as the wound hadn’t fully healed, and his waist and back, which were stabbed and cut, then stood up. The cats, flicking their tongues in dissatisfaction that he wasn’t fully healed, moved aside.
His body, soaked in the stream, trembled violently. He wanted to light a campfire immediately to dry himself, but he had to move now. Isaac began to head upstream, using the sound of the flowing water to hide his presence.
「Aren’t you trusting us too much and throwing your body around recklessly? Huh?!」
“Uh, yeah. I’ve only got you guys.”
「…….」
Isaac replied while focusing on distancing himself from the human presence. The cats suddenly fell silent, then began to whisper, 「Did he eat something wrong?」, 「Maybe he got hit in the head with a sword?」
「But why go this way? Going to the lake to get some energy? Then cutting across that slope is the shortcut.」
「Hey, hey, it’ll be a pain if we run into those humans again and a sword fight breaks out.」
Looking back at the cats chattering among themselves, Isaac muttered, “Is there a lake this way? Can I get energy from a lake? I’m already about to die from lack of energy.” He felt he needed to say something to distract himself from the cold and fatigue.
「Most of the lakes in Hailen gather energy well. In the old days, even the Great Old Witches used to visit and take energy.」
「It’s not as much as it was back then, but lakes deep in the mountains where people rarely go are still quite decent.」
“How do you get energy from a lake…… Not by kissing it, I assume. Do I have to drink until I burst……?”
「Well, if you soak your body in it, you naturally absorb the energy, but since you don’t know the knack for absorbing from natural objects, it’ll be hard for you.」
Whether it was energy or life force, that’s exactly what he needed now. As Isaac moved his feet, which felt like they were sinking into the ground, he suddenly thought of the Prince. That hot, thick life force that spread through his body. That sweet, fragrant taste. If he could drink that right now, he felt he would give up his life for it.
……But even if it wasn’t life force, it was fine. Just being able to see him would be enough. If only he could just see him.
Is this why scenes of people remembering family or lovers right before they die are so common in dramas…… Isaac let out a low sigh and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
It was cold. Having lost so much blood, his body temperature was dropping, and his movements were becoming sluggish. He needed to find a fire and dry his clothes somewhere—just as he was thinking that, he saw something like a small house on the slope while walking along the stream.
A dwelling. Looking closer, there were several other houses spaced apart behind it. The area around Hailen had many mountains, and there were villages formed in clusters within the mountains; this seemed to be one of them.
Isaac stopped.
Perhaps he could get help. He could at least obtain a set of clothes, which he desperately needed. But at the same time, the presence of people meant that Roberni’s subordinates might be staying there. ……Was this a blessing or a curse?
After hesitating for a moment, Isaac began to climb the slope, keeping his noise to a minimum and scanning the surroundings. He heard nothing unusual.
Hiding in the shadows of the trees as he approached, he saw about a dozen houses behind the first one he had spotted. For a mountain cluster, this wasn’t particularly small.
After a moment of thought, Isaac shook his head. He couldn’t just walk in blindly. Even if Roberni’s subordinates weren’t there right now, he didn’t know what harm he might cause them. He should just pass by. However,
“I probably won’t be struck by divine lightning for stealing one set of clothes…….”
If he stayed like this, he would surely collapse from hypothermia in less than an hour. But lighting a campfire was also risky, as he didn’t know when he might be spotted. Just one set of dry clothes, he muttered, stepping toward the village.
「I wonder if there’s anything tasty there?」
「I wonder if someone will give us some mountain goat meat?」
「Looks like they’re all asleep. Not a single house has a light on.」
The cats chattered. Simultaneously, Isaac froze.
That was it. From the moment he first saw the village, he had felt a subtle sense of incongruity—there were no lights at all.
Even considering it was the middle of the night, it was a village in the mountains. To keep mountain beasts away, they would usually keep at least one lamp lit in the yard, but the entire village was submerged in pitch-black darkness.
It wasn’t that no one lived there―.
The small vegetable garden, recently tended by hand, the tools left haphazardly in the yard, and the clothes hanging on the laundry line—all left behind traces of human presence.
Yet, there were no lights. Moreover, it was excessively quiet. There wasn’t even the sign of livestock, which one would inevitably expect to find in the mountains.
“…….”
Isaac approached the house bit by bit, moving with extreme caution and every nerve on edge. As expected, he heard no movement. No sound at all. As if no one were there.
It was strange. It was almost like an abandoned ruin where people had simply vanished. However, the mundane aspects of daily life left behind so casually created a bizarre dissonance with the eerie silence of the village.
Isaac approached the village, making the slightest bit of noise. Still, nothing could be heard. No barking dogs, no sign of animals moving. Approaching the house at the edge of the village, Isaac tried to peer inside through the window, but it was too dark to see anything.
On the wooden platform in the yard lay a hoe and a sickle. Judging by the whetstone and towel beside them, it seemed as though someone had stepped away for a moment in the middle of maintenance. He lightly brushed the platform; a layer of white dust sat upon it.
Rubbing his dust-covered fingers, Isaac slowly gripped the door handle. A strange feeling washed over him. It was a peculiar and unsettling premonition. Very slowly and carefully, Isaac opened the door.
Creeak. The sound of a rusted hinge echoed. He flinched at the screech, but there was still no sign of life inside.
“……Excuse me.”
After lingering outside for a while, Isaac murmured softly and stepped inside. The interior of the house was pitch black, devoid of any answer or presence, but after a moment, his eyes adjusted to the darkness and the surrounding objects began to come into view.
The house was ordinary. It was relatively tidy, but signs of habitation were visible everywhere. A bag set down by the door, dishes piled up by the kitchen sink, a cup of water on the table, a slightly askew cushion, and various trivial items scattered about.
Despite this, there was no one in the house. Even as he carefully looked into every room, he found no one.
With a strange feeling, Isaac looked around the house and turned back toward the living room. That was when something caught his toe. Looking down indifferently, he saw clothing. Someone had taken off their clothes and flung them on the floor.
“Right, for now, I should borrow something to wear…….”
Only then did Isaac realize he was cold again, and he picked up the fallen clothes. He picked up a shirt that seemed a bit loose for him, likely belonging to a man of sturdy build, and the trousers layered beneath it flopped to the floor. Underwear was visible between the fabric, and slippers lay beneath that.
Everything a person had been wearing was layered exactly as it was. As if the human body had simply vanished, leaving everything behind.
The expression vanished from Isaac’s face. Holding the shirt in his hand while staring at the clothes on the floor, Isaac suddenly turned his head. Now that he looked, there were clothes on the kitchen floor as well. As he strode over and picked them up, a full set of women’s clothing fluttered down. Even a small ring fell and rolled across the floor.
Isaac stared intently at the ring as it stopped at his feet. Clothes flung on the floor, with everything from underwear to accessories remaining intact, as if only the person had disappeared.
Isaac knew what the trace of this was.
“――.”
Isaac bolted out of the house. He went to the neighbor’s house a few dozen paces away. That house was also pitch black and devoid of any presence. Even when Isaac flung the door open violently and marched inside without silencing his footsteps, no response came.
As Isaac moved through the house, throwing open every door, it caught his eye immediately. Three sets of clothes lay sprawled in the bedroom. Including very small garments.
Staring blankly at the clothes, Isaac soon bolted out of that house as well. And he went to the next house. Then the next.
No way. Surely that couldn’t be. It couldn’t be.
Isaac’s face hardened with every house he passed, and by the time he reached the innermost house at the edge of the village, his expression was distorted as if he were about to cry.
This entire small village. Everyone who had been here.
“…―.”
Isaac leaned against the low wall of the yard. He couldn’t even bring himself to sigh; he could only leave his lips parted.
A quiet mountain village where about a dozen households had lived. In this place swept clean by a witch, Isaac was now the only living person.
When had they passed through? The ones who swallowed everything that lived and moved, leaving nothing behind.
His throat felt tight, and not even a groan could escape. Isaac clenched his teeth and shut his mouth. His heart hammered. Dizziness rushed over his fatigue-worn body, making him feel as if he might collapse on the spot.
However,
“I think someone’s over there. Is it that guy?”
“Who’s there!”
The sound of people approached from the edge of the village. A man leading with a torch was followed by three or four other men. Spotting a face he had seen earlier among them, Isaac grit his teeth and turned to run. It was Roberni’s gang. Having spotted Isaac, they began to chase him, shouting, “It’s him!” and “Catch him!”
It was a terrible night. This was truly a nightmare.
Unhealed wounds clung to his body. The sound of pursuing footsteps clung to his ears, refusing to fade. The afterimage of clothes scattered in the dark houses clung to his mind, refusing to leave.
Perhaps because of his pounding heart, the breath reaching his chin felt more suffocating than usual. His legs kept giving out, forcing him to gather all his strength time and again. The thumping footsteps of the pursuers, barely a few paces behind, sounded loud and heavy.
“Tsk, you little rat!” he heard a man click his tongue in annoyance. Suddenly, the sound of the chase seemed to stop for a brief moment, and in the next instant, a fist-sized stone flew and struck Isaac’s shoulder hard. Thwack. Isaac flinched at the sharp pain hitting his shoulder blade, but he did not stop.
It was exhausting. This pitch-black night felt endless.
How comfortable would it be to just stop here? Perhaps it would be easier to just be caught by them. Perhaps.
Such thoughts echoed in his mind, but Isaac did not stop his feet. He had never learned how to give up in such a manner, so it felt utterly foreign. He might be defeated, but he did not know how to surrender.
Thus, even when the blade wielded by the man closely trailing him became near enough to scratch the skin of his nape, Isaac did not stop. However, just as he grit his teeth, thinking that he would likely be caught soon—
Thump.
A very faint sound was heard. It was closer to a presence than a sound. A tiny—yet chilling sensation that spread through his entire body via his ears.
Ugh…… A grotesque groan, one where not even a voice could emerge, seemed to drift by like the sound of wind. The footsteps chasing Isaac stopped, and after a short interval, there was a thud—the sound of something heavy tumbling.
Despite feeling those eerie presences, Isaac did not look back. He stopped only because, in the next instant, a long arrow slammed into a wooden pillar—thwack!—right a hand’s span in front of him, blocking his path. A thick arrow shaft, capable of bringing down a giant beast, trembled violently before Isaac’s eyes and then stopped.
As Isaac froze like a stone statue, the sounds of pursuers from further away drew closer. The comrades of the men who had been trailing him closely were arriving a step late. However, those sounds also vanished one by one shortly after. This time, sounds of surprise and shouting mingled before they too disappeared.
Only then did Isaac slowly look back.
Right behind him, the giant who had been swinging the axe earlier lay dead. A thick arrow shaft had pierced through his neck. It was a thick iron arrow often used in the borderlands where fierce beasts or magical beasts frequently appeared.
“…….”
Isaac turned his head toward the direction the arrow had come from. The forest was dark and dense; nothing was visible. Through the gloom, he heard footsteps—step, step—that were weighty yet light. Soon, a large, unfamiliar man revealed himself beneath the dark, overgrown branches. His leathery clothing, typical of those residing in the borderlands, caught the eye.
Thinking that the man seemed to have helped him but was a stranger, Isaac looked at him with wary eyes. In the next moment, he realized another set of footsteps was overlapping behind the man. Rustle. The sound of footsteps treading on grass. Heavy footsteps that made no effort to be hidden. A familiar sound.
The stranger half-turned to clear the way, and a massive silhouette emerged through the path he provided. The figure was illuminated by the moonlight filtering through the leaves.
“……Lord Eon.”
Isaac stared intently at the man without even blinking and whispered his name. No proper sound came from his parched lips, but the man seemed to have heard his name.
Walking toward Isaac with an expressionless face, he raised an eyebrow slightly, as if in response. However, as they drew close enough to see each other properly, his complexion froze coldly.
He slowly scanned the blankly standing Isaac from head to toe. Scratched by branches, cut and stabbed by blades, tumbled in stream water—he was a mess. Looking like a tattered rag, with an expression as collapsed as his appearance, Isaac looked at him.
As if seeing something that could not possibly be here in this darkness, Isaac looked at the Prince with wide eyes.
The Prince walked straight toward Isaac. His steady pace quickened slightly. His stride seemed to grow rougher.
When they were close enough for the Prince’s face to be clearly visible, Isaac hesitated. It was because the Prince’s face, frozen like a sheet of ice, was terrifyingly cold.
Keeping his gaze fixed on Isaac, the Prince approached in a few steps and, without even glancing at the man’s corpse lying beside him, drew his sword and slashed. The neck where the arrow had been embedded was severed and rolled away. Arms and legs were sliced off as if cutting through chunks of meat.
Isaac did not look at that gruesome sight. His gaze was held captive by the Prince, who was glaring at him terrifyingly.
“……Why,”
Why are you here, why do you look so angry—there were many things to ask, but the words wouldn’t come out. Under the bluish moonlight, those piercing blue eyes were frozen to the point that it chilled Isaac’s very heart. Feeling as if that blade might cut through everything, Isaac instinctively took a step back.
In that moment, a pitch-black light seemed to flash through the Prince’s eyes.
“――.”
Like a wild beast pouncing, the Prince grabbed Isaac by the collar. He didn’t even think to dodge. In the moment he thought Oh, Isaac had already been shoved hard against the wooden pillar.
Ugh, a short groan lingered in his mouth. When he opened his eyes, which had closed reflexively, the Prince was staring at him from less than a hand’s span away. Those deep blue eyes that looked almost black. ……Terrifying. It was incomparably more chilling than the men who had been chasing him until a moment ago. To the point that his heart froze. Yet, the thought of running away did not occur to him. Even though the aura was so chilling that he thought the Prince might swing that sword and cut his throat right now.
“Is this all you’ve become?”
The Prince murmured lowly. His voice was as cold as his gaze.
“I didn’t expect you to be in such a state because you couldn’t properly handle mere things like these.”
Even though it was clearly the face and voice in his memory, Isaac stared at him intently, unable to believe he was actually before him. Then, suddenly,
“……It really is Lord Kaieon.”
He murmured to himself unconsciously.
The Prince’s eyes twitched for a moment as he started to say something, but then he stared at Isaac as if he were absurd and shut his mouth again. The gaze scanning Isaac from head to toe became even more desolate.
Was he dreaming? A dream that didn’t break even after experiencing such vivid pain—he didn’t like that part—but if it weren’t a dream, there was no way this person would be here. He didn’t even know where the dream had started.
Isaac suddenly lost all strength. While held by the collar, the tension left his body.
“Even if it’s a dream, ……it’s nice that you came.”
Thank you. Giving a small nod, Isaac ended up with a weak smile.
Whether it was a dream or not, it was fine. It felt suddenly funny that his heart relaxed like this even though a person incomparably more dangerous than the men who had been chasing him had appeared, but more than anything, it was good. He had missed him. Since a while ago.
The Prince was staring intently at Isaac with a furrowed brow. Looking at the faint smile on Isaac’s lips, the Prince seemed to click his tongue briefly. In the next moment, he ruthlessly bit into Isaac’s lips.
A hot and familiar sensation overwhelmed him. Only after being seized by that vivid and suffocating sensation did Isaac think that perhaps this wasn’t a dream.
“Swallow.”
The Prince murmured lowly between their lips. Then, as if venting his rising frustration, he roughly bit Isaac’s tongue. He pushed his tongue in and sucked, as if he intended to devour every corner of the tongue, the lips, and the inside of the mouth.
Isaac swallowed the life force that rushed in with that hot breath.
He was now quite accustomed to feeling and accepting life force. Isaac began to swallow the life force flowing in through their touching tongues. Like celestial dew, the life force permeated his body, which had been exhausted to the point of death. It was a taste more sweet and fragrant than any other.
It’s not a dream.
A sensation this intense could not be a dream. Even in a dream, he couldn’t recall this terribly sweet and thick taste. Nor the feeling of life force gradually permeating his tattered, exhausted body.
But what gave him a deeper sense of satiety than the life force was the person himself. Just the fact that he was here in front of him caused the heart that had been walking alone in the pitch-black darkness to suddenly unravel and fill with warmth. Even if he didn’t give him any life force, it was fine. It wasn’t a dream.
“――.”
And it was then. Isaac suddenly realized.
It wasn’t that he had suddenly come to like him at some point.
His affection for this man hadn’t been a sudden change. That emotion, which had started like a tiny seed, had been steadily growing without him knowing. It was just that Isaac himself hadn’t realized it,
“……Since a long time ago.”
It had been since a long time ago. Since a time he couldn’t even remember.
Isaac, who suddenly murmured the words in his head, didn’t even realize he had spoken aloud. Thus, when the Prince—who had been ravaging Isaac’s mouth as if to devour him and had just pulled away for a brief moment—looked down at him silently, Isaac looked up in wonder.
“Since a long time ago?”
Only after the Prince, who had been staring at Isaac for a while, asked back did Isaac realize he had spoken aloud, and he fell into a state of embarrassment. However, after a brief hesitation, he answered honestly.
“I think I’ve liked Lord Kaieon since a long time ago.”
The Prince raised an eyebrow slightly and looked down at Isaac. Since he couldn’t tell what the expressionless face was thinking, Isaac belatedly wondered if he had said something unnecessary. Perhaps it wasn’t a very pleasant thing to hear.
“Why.”
The Prince asked. This time, Isaac sank into thought for a moment. Again, he had no intention of hiding it or speaking in riddles, but the answer didn’t come to him immediately.
“……, I don’t know……, it’s certain that he caught my eye because he’s handsome…….”
Isaac murmured in a troubled tone. The Prince remained silent. He felt as if he had to provide some answer to that silence, but he still couldn’t think of one. He didn’t even know if there was ever a single, clear reason for coming to like someone. So, in the end, Isaac shook his head and answered, “I don’t know.”
“If you weren’t handsome, you wouldn’t have liked me.”
“……. Would that be so?”
Isaac tilted his head at the indifferent remark made by the Prince, who had been looking down at him. If that were the case, he wouldn’t have been captivated by him the first time he saw him. He might not have kept staring at his face while he was reading a book or resting. Is that so? If his appearance hadn’t been his taste, perhaps he wouldn’t have come to like him like this.