# Chapter 74
On the way back, my hands held two blue bottles filled with hope. A precious liquid I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world. Medicine that could restore Rio’s normal life. After brief consideration, Arzel had handed it over to me.
I could be certain that Arzel truly trusted me. What flashed in his eyes at the final moment was clearly not doubt but a gleaming elation. Eyes that distinctly revealed the undisguised joy of someone who had finally obtained what they wanted. There was no deception or hesitation in them. They contained only fierce dedication to the plans ahead.
For some reason, that look in his eyes kept bothering me. The blatant joy from someone who had always been cold and calculating. It was somehow chilling to dismiss it as something normal. I could think that he was simply happy to have found a way to bring Kadilen down, but an unverifiable uneasiness remained. Just like when he first revealed his hatred toward me. An inexplicable premonition kept telling me to be suspicious of Arzel.
“Surely you’re not going to surrender everything to Rio this time as well?”
“We agreed not to argue about this anymore.”
Though I tried to smooth things over gently, Jiman’s face hardened. I knew he’d been greatly concerned about my health lately. But as I’d repeatedly told him, speed was crucial now. I judged it better to focus quickly on the plan rather than taking medicine to recover my health for a while. As soon as Arzel delivered the information to Luan, we needed to more aggressively find his weakness as well.
Of course, it was also a precautionary choice. So that even if everything fell apart, at least Rio could survive intact. Though it was an outcome I didn’t want to consider, if we couldn’t capture Luan…
At least Rio might survive. He’d already taken almost all of the required medication.
“What you’re worried about won’t happen.”
Jiman, who had somehow read my mind, softened his expression.
“So many people are giving their all. It will be fine.”
“I know. I just wanted to make absolutely sure… even if it’s just one person.”
Jiman tried to say something more, but I stopped him, saying there was no need. I didn’t need consolation. We both knew how much we wanted this to succeed. The way to repay Jiman’s concern was to find a solution as soon as possible and recover my health. Therefore, what we needed was our next strategy.
“As soon as we catch Luan, I’ll drink the antidote by the bowlful, so don’t worry.”
Jiman regained his warm smile at my words. As soon as he disappeared with the medication, the door to the ward cracked open slightly. Through the narrow gap, a slightly tense-faced attendant peeked inside. He followed Jiman’s retreating figure with his eyes and sighed in relief.
“His Majesty is looking for you.”
Kadilen occasionally sent attendants like this to summon me. It was an effort to be considerate of my discomfort at having to explain myself at length to Jiman or Devan. He seemed to have judged this preferable to the king visiting my room personally, but in reality, it made little difference. The attendant’s awkward espionage tactics were partly why Jiman quickly caught on to the situation.
“Please tell me you haven’t prepared another meal today?”
“…No, not that.”
“A performance, then?”
“After seeing you drool in your sleep last time… he doesn’t even mention it anymore.”
That wasn’t fair. When Kadilen had summoned a violinist with eagerly shining eyes, my pupils were already wildly trembling. I couldn’t bring myself to tell him that the only classical music I’d ever heard in my life was from a bed commercial.
Kadilen seemed desperate to give me anything. Like a child with an excited face who had prepared gifts but kept failing, I felt somewhat sorry for him. I had tried pretending to be genuinely pleased, but he immediately detected my boredom and became dejected.
“Actually, I’m not sure about today. He did seem excited about something, but…”
Judging by his ambiguous expression, the attendant seemed to sympathize with my awkward feelings. I followed him, half curious and half worried. When I opened the door to the office, Kadilen greeted me with a gentle smile.
“You’ve come.”
As he tried to approach me, I held up my palm to stop him.
“Just a moment. Let me check something.”
I looked around while he stood there blankly. Nothing particularly caught my eye. No cellist with a large instrument, no health food full of various herbs, no actor reciting boring dramatic monologues. I sighed in relief and looked back at him. Kadilen was awkwardly frozen, watching me. Still in the same position, about to approach me.
“I’m done now.”
“What were you checking for?”
“Just, you know…”
Unable to admit I was afraid of what gift he might have prepared this time, I trailed off vaguely.
“…what we might be doing today…”
But Kadilen instantly flashed a bright smile.
“Actually, I’ve prepared something special today.”
“Ah… really?”
He ignored my voice cracking with fear.
“This time will be truly different. It’ll be very fun.”
With an excited expression, Kadilen pushed my back and left the room. The attendant who had seen my expression behind Kadilen’s back followed along, quietly suppressing his laughter. Kadilen dragged me to the end of the corridor, then walked out to a small lawn arranged between buildings. Fresh grass made light sounds with each of his steps. Eventually, Kadilen stood at one end of the lawn and proudly showed me something. I squinted as it was too far to see clearly. When I couldn’t identify the object, the attendant whispered softly.
“It’s a bow.”
“A bow? As in… the bow I know?”
“Yes. Since strenuous exercise would be too much for you, he must have prepared something simple.”
I quickly imagined arrows flying swiftly and arrowheads piercing targets. It made sense that Kadilen had chosen this, since it wasn’t an exercise that required as much physical exertion as swordsmanship. But I was still concerned and looked around once more. Fortunately, the lawn was surrounded by building walls, so it seemed unlikely that anyone innocent would end up bleeding.
As I approached him half-skeptically, Kadilen handed me the bow. I obediently followed him and strung an arrow. The smooth feel of wood touched my fingers. When I pulled the bowstring with all my might, a taut tension was transmitted along the string. I felt a shadow overhead, and then Kadilen’s body came close behind me. He overlapped his hands on mine and gently corrected my posture.
“Hold it a bit lower.”
Calloused fingers carefully stroked my index finger. The arrowhead, ready to fly far away at any moment, was precariously attached to the bowstring.
“The wind is coming from the left, so look to the upper right.”
A large hand lowered my elbow. Following his words, I moved my gaze slightly diagonally from the red dot. Kadilen lowered his posture to look at the same place as me. His slow breathing gently tickled my ear.
“Exhale and…”
My tense shoulders relaxed languidly. I straightened my back and exhaled deeply. My breath dispersed heavily following the tense rhythm of the bowstring. A strange tension like the moment before running. The arrow was quietly waiting for my hand to release the string. It felt alive.
“Now release.”
I let go of the string. The arrow cut through the wind and lodged in a place completely different from where I was aiming. Despite my terrible skill, I couldn’t help but smile as the tension released. Seeing my smile, Kadilen silently took the bow. He immediately strung another arrow. His half-lowered eyelids sharply predicted the arrow’s path. Just as he quickly took his stance, he released the string.
The arrow shot forward refreshingly. Disregarding the wind rustling the leaves, it rushed forward looking only ahead. And then it landed precisely next to where my arrow was lodged. Barely a centimeter apart. Kadilen smiled only after seeing my surprised expression.
“You’re not falling asleep today.”
“If you were going to play another instrument, I was prepared to bring a blanket.”
He dropped the bow carelessly on the ground. Then he lightly held my cheek.
“Your archery skills are awful.”
“The same goes for Your Majesty.”
Pleasant laughter scattered with the wind. I glanced at his arrow and mine, both far from the red dot.
“Didn’t you miss the target completely?”
“Wherever you are is the target.”
He said affectionately. His cool hand touched me, but strangely, my face kept heating up.
“That’s cheating.”
“I don’t care.”
Black eyes gazed at me persistently.
“As long as I can reach you.”
My eyes closed involuntarily. Even with my sight blocked, I could feel Kadilen’s breath approaching me. It was dizzying, yet vivid. My heartbeat resonated throughout my body, and the world disappeared. Like a power outage, my senses faded one by one, leaving only one person standing before me. The person slowly approaching me now. The person who considered misaligned me as his target. His cold lips. The hot breath escaping. Beyond that, everything was just wind.
This time I had to admit it.
Archery wasn’t bad at all.
* * *
Devan and Wimu returned to the palace faster than expected. They had been monitoring inside and outside the castle for days, following Arzel. Since I had expected it would take at least a week to observe Luan’s movements, when Devan called for me after just three days, I was startled, fearing something had gone wrong. But he shared unexpected news with me.
“Something’s strange about Arzel.”
Wimu nodded beside him. I urged them for a more detailed explanation. Devan said that after observing his every move, sometimes from close by and sometimes from afar, he realized one thing: Arzel was deliberately not delivering information to Luan.
“You’re saying he has no intention of passing on the documents?”
“It’s been three days already. You said Arzel seemed pleased when you handed it over.”
“That’s right.”
He truly was. He disappeared with visible satisfaction. That naked satisfaction had made me uneasy enough that it couldn’t have been a simple misconception or deception.
“But why isn’t he delivering the information to Luan right away?”
“That’s what I’m saying. We expected Arzel to go straight to Luan. We planned to monitor Luan’s actions afterward. But Arzel hasn’t even met Luan yet. Rather, Luan is trying to meet him.”
“He’s deliberately avoiding him?”
My mind became complicated with this unexpected news.
“What could he be plotting? Why try to monopolize the information alone?”
Arzel wasn’t the type to plan impulsively. Rather, he was closer to a meticulous and detailed strategist. His fighting style was to calmly hide, waiting for the opponent to show a weakness, then strike the enemy camp in an instant. Waiting for an opportunity was his priority.
“…That was his intention from the beginning.”
I murmured.
“From the start, Arzel never intended to help Luan.”
That was the only explanation that made sense.
