ἐπίτροπος The letters wrapped like a band around the dry wrist were in the spirit language. Though he couldn’t know what they meant, the red light spreading from the letters blinded everyone’s eyes for an instant. Only Anya could perceive a certain shadow within the flickering light. The boy’s hair fluttered as if dancing, then settled.
“……”
The rain began to slowly cease. Bluoa, who had been standing in a daze with his hood removed at some point, repeatedly rubbed his eyes vigorously. Was it a dream? He struck his cheek hard. Seeing that the pain was vivid, it wasn’t a dream. Then was that thing really standing before his eyes…
“Dragon…”
Red scales rose and fell clearly before Bluoa’s eyes. It moved its body once as if awakening from a tedious sleep, then spewed a long pillar of fire toward the sky. The surrounding leaves swayed and burst into flames. The stallions the black knights were riding whinnied continuously and shook their bodies.
Each time the dragon pressed the ground with its front feet bearing massive claws, the earth shook enough to make one’s legs tremble. Its massive head bowed toward Anya. Golden eyeballs flashed, and Anya’s hair stirred once more from its breath. As the dragon’s snout slowly opened, dozens of sharp teeth were revealed with a growling sound.
“It’s dangerous, Your Highness!”
Bluoa, who had regained his senses, urgently shouted. The moment the dragon breathed fire, Anya would disappear, turned into a handful of ash.
The dragon’s eyeball rolled toward Bluoa. As the vertically long pupils resembling a reptile’s contracted, Bluoa flinched and trembled. It seemed to warn Bluoa as if telling him to shut up.
“Your Highness! Run away!”
Bluoa witnessed the dragon’s throat gulping. It seemed like a massive pillar of fire would be spewed out soon. He finally put strength in his legs and ran. Fear was so vivid that his legs kept losing strength, but he ran toward Anya.
But before long, Bluoa had no choice but to stop walking. Because Anya was reaching out and touching the dragon’s snout. Amazingly, it quietly closed its eyes beneath Anya’s touch.
Anya rested his forehead against the dragon’s snout with a thud while whispering something.
Dragcals.
It sounded like that.
And the dragon, now having completely lost its will to fight, breathed fire toward the black knights fleeing to the Spirit Mage’s Tower. With terrible screams, the black knights fell from their horses. They rolled on the wet ground trying to put out the fire, but it was useless. The dragon’s fire didn’t extinguish easily.
“Let’s go.”
The boy holding Haebing stood side by side with Dragcals. The surroundings were entirely engulfed in flames, so the chill could no longer be felt.
Everything in this world turned red.
Bluoa hastily covered his mouth and nose with his sleeve from the acrid smoke, and followed a boy with squinted eyes.
What followed flowed unrealistically. As Dragcals lunged at the demon and bit its nape, the demon struggled with terrible screams. Then it stabbed Dragcals’s torso with its massive claws. But Dragcals didn’t budge and sank its teeth in even more strongly. The demon’s body dangled in midair.
Anya mounted Dragcals’s tail, then instantly began running up the torso and over the head. Then, without hesitation, he jumped down and plunged Haebing near the demon’s heart.
“…Urgh.”
As the demon shook its body violently, Anya let out a groan while hanging from Haebing. It felt like his arm would be torn off. The demon’s skin was extremely hard and strong, so all he could do was stab it. However, while gripping Haebing’s handle, he struck down the bottom of the handle with his other hand. Thud. Haebing stabbed in even deeper. A scream burst out that seemed to tear eardrums. As a final counterattack, the demon flapped its massive wings.
Finally, Anya let go of Haebing from his hand. As his body fell downward, the boy quietly muttered.
“Ignis (fire).”
Dragcals roared and breathed fire at the demon. With a terrible sound that seemed to gnaw at one’s nerves just from hearing it, Anya’s body fell to the ground with a thud. Pain assaulted him as if all the bones in his body were shattering into pieces, and Anya had to grit his teeth.
“Your Highness the Prince!”
Through his vision going dark, he saw Bluoa rushing toward him. Behind him, the demon’s corpse, turned pitch black, crashed down with a ‘thud!’, making the earth shake once.
As relief that everything was over spread through his entire body for an instant, Anya’s eyes slowly closed as if pulled by irresistible gravity.
* * *
Despite the pouring rain, most of those attending the hunting festival didn’t leave their seats. It was partly because it was a festival commemorating the Emperor’s birthday, and also because Emperor Luksus unusually didn’t leave his seat and stayed until the end.
As dusk deepened, the festive atmosphere at the camp became more heightened. Musicians sang on one side, and young men drank while holding dancers. However, when the rain fell, everyone had no choice but to take shelter inside tents. Some who were drunk moved to more secluded tents in the back with the dancers. The noblewomen didn’t add much comment about such things. Their interest wasn’t in such insignificant men in the first place.
“Oh my, Viscount Fron can’t get himself together again.”
Someone sneered, pointing at a man moving behind the tent, his tunic strings completely untied, led by a dancer’s hand.
“When alcohol enters him, he becomes like that, so Lady Fron must be very upset.”
“That’s why Lady Fron didn’t come to this hunting festival, making an excuse about being ill.”
Sounds of snorting could be heard here and there.
“A wise response. How could she watch that state with her eyes wide open?”
They looked under the golden tent where a black bird flag with two heads hung. There, along with the Emperor, the Empire’s dukes who didn’t participate in the hunting festival and other high nobles sat sipping alcohol. Buried in the sound of rain, unfortunately, they couldn’t hear at all what conversation was being exchanged.
“His Highness Imperial Prince Royster is arriving!”
The night sky showed no stars due to thick dark clouds, but moonlight flowed down occasionally, and the surroundings weren’t too dark due to the massive torches set up in various places that didn’t go out even in the rain. Several groups were emerging from the forest entrance. The prince had already caught several massive reindeer and piled them up in the back area. He came in front of the imperial tent with a triumphant attitude and knelt toward the Emperor.
“You’ve worked hard, my son.”
The corners of Royster’s mouth rose with a grin. His attendant came with soft cloth and wiped every corner of his wet body. Royster returned to the tent and unhesitatingly stripped off the heavy, sagging armor.
After that, participants returned one after another.
“His Highness Imperial Prince Cloy is arriving!”
Everyone craned their necks, curious about what Cloy had caught until the end. But he was empty-handed. He had only caught a few foxes in the afternoon. Disappointment appeared on the faces of those supporting Cloy.
“You’ve worked hard, son.”
However, Luksus praised him with the same expression as he had for Royster, unchanged.
“Who hasn’t returned?”
When the chamberlain asked that, an attendant checked the hunting festival participation list and answered.
“Duke Evernight, Prince Anya, and Duke Bluoa. We just need those three to return.”
As soon as the words ended, wagon wheels rang noisily as someone revealed themselves from the forest. It was Evernight and his knight Sisou. As his figure became clearer and clearer from the darkness into the bright place with light, someone gasped.
On the wagon connected to Sisou’s horse, several hideous Bearwolves lay stretched out, dead.
“Look there! They’re Bearwolves!”
With the exaggerated cry, those who had been continuing the banquet boringly turned their heads all at once. Evernight ignored the gazes filled with curiosity and shock, silently walked forward, and knelt before the Emperor.
“Bearwolves… Yes. Such ferocious things also lived in the White Forest.”
Luksus had a face soaked in sentiment as if recalling old memories somehow.
“That size… look at those claws. Oh my, how did he catch such hideous things, and several of them too!”
“And just the two of them at that!”
As the young noblewomen made a fuss busily, Riario, who had been watching silently, let out a small snort.
‘They’d faint if they saw him slaughtering demons beyond the wall.’
On the other hand, those who had participated in the hunting festival showed displeased expressions. Among them, Royster openly displayed hostility.
“It seems the rumors about you were true. That demon blood flows through you.”
His wrist, grabbed by Evernight that day, still throbbed. The wound cut by Anya hadn’t even fully healed. Nevertheless, he participated in the hunting festival because he feared that red earring would go to that damn Cloy.
‘If only it weren’t for those bastards!’
Blue veins bulged on Royster’s hand gripping the chair armrest. Seeing him openly catch Bearwolves after pretending not to be interested until now made his insides twist. Royster recalled what Anya had said at the White Forest lake.
‘Obtain the red earring and give it to Cloy? Go to His Majesty and beg to punish me? Fuck, the couple is making a scene together.’
“I’ll take my leave.”
Whether Evernight didn’t know what was on Royster’s mind or was openly ignoring it, he didn’t give any particular response and turned his back. How insolent for someone who was originally lowly to the extreme, just because he landed a duke’s seat. Royster called out to Evernight with a snicker.
“Hey, sir. Where is your partner?”
Evernight’s steps came to an abrupt halt. Royster moistened his throat with the wine glass an attendant offered and said.
“I saw earlier that he seemed very busy enjoying a secret rendezvous with the young Runfield heir.”
Sisou bit his lips and glared intensely at Royster. Fortunately, he chose to save his words rather than step forward boldly like before.
“Did you see that child?”
A faint heat seemed to be felt in his voice somehow. It might have been lingering because he had hunted all day.
“Seeing as he hasn’t come until now… he might be passed out somewhere after vigorously fucking…”
At the low-quality insult, Montrose, who was sitting nearby, grimaced. He let out a small sigh as if this had been foretold from the beginning when Bluoa, who couldn’t even fight, said he would participate in this hunting festival.
Emperor Luksus was boredly observing this situation with his hand supporting his temple. He seemed inwardly curious about how Evernight would answer.
Instead of an answer, a deflated laugh flowed from Evernight’s mouth. Thanks to the vivid bloodstain on his scapula, that laugh looked very bleak. Weary, cynical blue eyes pierced into Royster.
“He’s popular, my partner. Whether an idle duke or his fierce brother… though they’re all suitors who don’t help his life…”
As Royster kicked back his chair and stood up, only then did Luksus raise his hand.
“You’ve exchanged words once each, so that’s enough.”
The forces supporting Cloy quickly exchanged glances and showed subtle smiles.
“Musician, call a musician. It’s not over yet since midnight hasn’t passed.”
Luksus gave an order with an irritated voice.
And when the banquet that had subsided was ripening again with the musician’s cheerful music, someone pointed a finger at the air and shouted.
“There… there! Smoke is rising from the forest!”
