“Come in. Yes, what is it?”
“Lord Azram has awakened.”
“Is his body alright?!”
At the intense question, the attendant smiled broadly.
“Yes. There’s no problem with his wings, and the doctor says the surgery went well and he’s regained consciousness, so he should be able to fully recover with time. Lord Azram also says the pain isn’t too severe.”
“I should go visit him right away.”
There was no request to see him, but he couldn’t not go see the son of the Winged Tribe lord who had come to recuperate and nearly died after being attacked by a beast in his own territory.
“Will you go too, Young Master?”
It was phrased as a question but was a demand. At the look asking for help so this matter wouldn’t become a problem between territories, Taeyon chuckled and nodded. The Azram that Taeyon knew wasn’t such a narrow-minded man. Since the lord had done his best to help him, the lord’s side probably wouldn’t make it an issue.
But if the lord could feel more at ease with his presence, there was no reason to refuse.
“Yeah. Let’s go.”
* * *
Inside Azram’s tent, the air was packed with stuffy heat. It was because water was being boiled vigorously over a bonfire for Azram, who was both a patient and an honored guest.
In the midst of that, Azram was lying on a bed with several layers of fluffy blankets spread out.
“Lord.”
“No, you don’t need to get up. Stay lying down.”
“It’s alright.”
Azram, who had sat up with the support of a servant, stopped moving for a moment as if enduring pain. His white wings trembled.
That appearance looked quite fragile, so Kaniel was able to shake off the fear and tension that still seemed to be caught under his chin. He was really completely different from the bird beastkin man who had tried to kidnap him. They had been rough and fierce like pirates in picture books, but Azram was the opposite.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes. The doctor said only my skin and muscles were injured, so I’ll recover before long. It’s just that I’m a bit of a wimp.”
“What are you saying. It’s natural to be in pain when you’ve lost so much blood.”
The lord comforted him as he sat in the chair placed beside the bed.
“I’m sorry you had to go through such a thing in my manor house.”
“Not at all, Lord.”
Azram’s voice was thin as he answered with a haggard face.
“I was too arrogant. I felt like there was a strange presence, so I went out to check, but I never thought it would be a beast.”
“You noticed the presence?”
“Bird beastkin are weaker in force than other beastkin, but our detection ability is superior instead. Plus, I’m a knight in my own right.”
“I see….”
“I thought it would be a monster at most. So I thought I could handle it alone, but the beast jumped out from there….”
Azram shrugged his shoulders, then groaned “urgh” and grabbed his side. It was a gesture that looked very painful.
“Taeyon, you came too.”
“Yeah. I’m glad you weren’t too badly hurt.”
“Thanks for worrying. And—”
Azram continued, looking at Kaniel.
“Kaniel, thank you for coming too.”
“Oh, n-no…. I hope you recover quickly.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Azram, who smiled lightly, moved his gaze back to the lord. At that moment, Kaniel realized something.
‘Ah. This person dislikes me.’
Though it was a brief glance, he could feel it clearly. A cold, sharp gaze carelessly scraped past Kaniel. It was a temperature an ordinary person would pass off as nothing, but Kaniel, who had lived a life of reading the room even at home for a long time, detected it sensitively.
‘Why…?’
He had only met him exactly twice now. And it wasn’t like this last time, so why suddenly?
Kaniel was confused.
“So the fact that I was injured is half my fault. Since it’s half my fault, Father won’t protest to Oblyad either, Lord.”
“…Thank you, Azram.”
“You say too much. Oblyad is my friend’s domain.”
“That’s right….”
The lord, who answered with difficulty, glanced backward as if gauging Taeyon’s reaction. Inadvertently, Kaniel also looked at Taeyon, but he just had his usual indifferent face.
Taeyon felt Kaniel’s gaze and looked at him. At that moment, Kaniel knew that Taeyon was thinking about the story that ‘hyung might have become a beast.’
Kaniel, who saw the complex eyes within the indifferent expression, squeezed Taeyon’s hand tightly and nodded. Taeyon’s hand flinched and trembled.
‘Why is he acting like this?’
Kaniel tried to lower his gaze to examine Taeyon’s hand. Taeyon moved it backward as if to hide his hand, but Kaniel pulled it back.
The tips of his index and middle fingers were purple.
When he looked up in surprise, Taeyon avoided his gaze with an embarrassed look.
“So, did you successfully catch the beast? I heard you returned not long after going out for the subjugation, so it must not have been a very strong beast.”
“No, we didn’t catch the beast.”
“You didn’t catch it?”
“Right. The thing is….”
The lord revealed to Azram that the beast was currently making a nest, but they couldn’t subjugate it immediately because it possessed corrosion poison.
Kaniel, who was listening to those words beside them, held Taeyon’s hand and peered at the tips, then narrowed his eyes. It was clearly because of a curse.
Kaniel fidgeted with Taeyon’s fingertips and considered using magic, but decided against it as it didn’t seem appropriate for the setting. It would be better to do it later when they were alone.
“That’s troublesome.”
“It can’t be helped.”
The lord, who shrugged his shoulders, asked again.
“So, what will you do?”
“Unfortunately, because of my wound, I don’t think I can help with the subjugation.”
“No, I didn’t even expect that!”
Azram, who smiled playfully, said after a moment.
“For now, I’d like to stay here. I can’t fly because my back is injured, so it’s hard to return home.”
“Then do that. Tell me if you need anything.”
“Thank you.”
“Then we’ll take our leave because of the beast problem.”
“Ah, Lord.”
Azram stopped the lord who was getting up from his seat.
“Is Matiel alright?”
At that question, the air froze for a moment. The lord widened his eyes and stared at Azram.
“Why does that child’s name come up here?”
“What? Well…. Surely, you haven’t seen Matiel?”
Azram, who rolled his eyes as if flustered, covered his mouth with a shocked expression.
“When I went to the back garden of the manor house, there….”
Unable to meet the lord’s eyes, Azram continued.
“Matiel and Piyod were there….”
* * *
Crash!
The lord who flung the door open shouted.
“Knight Commander! Opilon! Where are you?!”
At the rough behavior of the lord who rarely got excited, knights gathered. Even as the knights approached, the lord didn’t stop walking and walked at a fast pace.
“Lord, Lord! What on earth is the matter?”
“My son has gone missing.”
“What? What do you…. Wasn’t the young master at the lakeside?”
“He came back last night. When Azram encountered the beast, Matiel was also there.”
“That can’t be…!”
The knights who discovered the accident scene at that time had been too busy taking care of Azram. They had guarded against the beast and swept the surroundings, but they hadn’t looked closely because they withdrew quickly.
If Matiel had been lying in the bushes, it meant they might have passed by without knowing.
“Find Opilon and bring him. To my tent.”
“Understood!”
They had to find Matiel. To do that, they had to enter that extremely dangerous manor house. Braving the danger of corrosion poison.
There were many knights here willing to risk their lives, but Lord Linford knew that wasn’t the solution. Amidst the violent emotions about to explode, the lord gritted his teeth hard to avoid losing his reason.
Meanwhile, Taeyon walked out of Azram’s tent a step late with Kaniel. Kaniel, who was blankly grasping the situation, suddenly grabbed Taeyon’s arm.
“Taeyon, wh-what do we do? Matiel…. Oh, what about Piyod? What about Piyod….”
Though they’d only known each other for barely a day, they were friends who had gone boating together. He’d already grown quite attached to Piyod. When he met Piyod again, he was going to tell him that it was certain Matiel liked him, so he could confess.
“The two of them will be alive. Don’t worry.”
“Will they really be?”
“Yeah. It’s okay.”
Kaniel felt his heart pound and the cold feeling in his chest subside at the hand patting his back. Because when Taeyon said so, it was really so. He wasn’t the kind of person who would just say it’s okay to reassure someone.
Then an important problem came to mind.
Kaniel grabbed Taeyon’s hand and lifted it before his eyes.
“This is because of a curse, right? That corrosion poison you mentioned earlier.”
“…Right. It’s okay. I can treat it.”
“Liar. This kind of thing doesn’t heal well either.”
Kaniel, who glared at Taeyon, held his hand with both hands and pulled it close to his chest.
