Chapter 15
It felt like a dream. Not a sweet, lingering one, but a horrific nightmare.
He had always thought that no matter where he went, his life wouldn’t be any different. Even as he dreamed of escaping beyond the desert to another city, he knew nothing would truly change. Struggling within the confines of the life he’d been given—that was all he could do. But it wasn’t true. He had simply been born with abysmal luck.
“……Is it like this everywhere?”
“What do you mean?”
“Do the lords in other places do this, too?”
Del tilted his head at the sudden question. After leaving the mansion, Del hadn’t spoken to Ethan. He’d been chattering away since they first met, so the prolonged silence felt like consideration. Del answered,
“You’re just unlucky in that regard.”
But he didn’t bother to comfort him. Del simply stated the facts.
“……Damn it.”
“As for other places…… there are some similar to this one and some that aren’t, so I don’t know what to say.”
Seeing Del, who was usually so composed, look awkwardly troubled, Ethan’s heart strangely settled. Just a few days ago, Del could have ignored the words of a hired boy from the slums. But he was listening to Ethan’s words and trying to give him a proper answer. If he had met a lord like this, maybe he wouldn’t have lived such a miserable life. He found himself imagining it without realizing.
“There are many like this city’s lord. He just crossed a line he shouldn’t have.”
A city where drugs were gathered. Decreased taxes and increased weapons. The lord, who had lived like a king of the desert, probably wanted that. And the Emperor had sent the empire’s most powerful magician here. He didn’t want to know what that meant, but he did.
“Whose fault is it?”
Ethan’s words made Del look at him. His eyes were different from the furious ones of a moment ago. They were eerily calm, as if something refined had settled beneath them. His way of expressing anger had changed. Del smiled faintly.
“Is it an individual’s crime or collective punishment?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s not for me to judge.”
A dog didn’t need its own thoughts. It just had to loyally carry out its master’s will. Del said,
“The order I received is this: ‘Find evidence. Make an example of those who mocked the imperial family.’”
“…….”
Ethan closed his eyes. There was no room for salvation. Even the greatest power in the land was ultimately the Emperor’s servant. What could he expect from someone who had come on the Emperor’s orders? It wasn’t something he could decide.
“……Coming-of-age ceremony.”
“What?”
“Isn’t it too early?”
“Yeah.”
Ironically, the thought that struck him then was whether it was too much to order a boy—or girl—who hadn’t even had their coming-of-age ceremony to do such a thing. No matter how powerful a magician he was, or whether he had the ability to do it, the Emperor had ordered him to see the city’s darkness and harm people with his own hands. His throat was dry. Nothing in the world seemed right. No matter where he fled, he’d end up repeating this life.
He heard the coachman saying something at the gate. After a long time, the coachman drove the carriage. Ethan kept his eyes tightly shut. He almost wished that when he opened them, none of this would have happened. Of course, he knew that was impossible, but he clung to the futile hope. After quite some time, the carriage finally stopped.
“Miss, we’ve arrived.”
At the coachman’s voice, Del opened the carriage door. A dry desert wind blew in, and Ethan opened his eyes. Beyond Del’s back, standing in front of the carriage door, the pitch-black sky was densely studded with stars. His black hair fluttered in the dry wind.
“Will you stay here?”
Del’s question made Ethan stand up. It wasn’t a demand, but he didn’t want to hear from anyone what would become of the city where he was born and raised. Still, it was his hometown.
The coachman had stopped the carriage on a low hill where the entire city was visible. From afar, the city walls were said to look like stars. He’d only ever heard travelers talk about it, but he’d never imagined he’d see it like this. Just like the many residents who could never leave the city. Especially those who barely scraped by, like him—they’d probably never see this view.
“How is it?”
“It looks like a prison.”
The walls, which he’d only heard about, didn’t seem beautiful—just like a prison. A low chuckle came from beside him.
“What will you do?”
Ethan asked Del, who stood at the edge of the hill, overlooking the city. The wind blew his long hair and the hem of his robe. Under the starry night sky, he was undoubtedly beautiful, but Ethan didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t even guess what Del would bring.
Del said,
“I came here for two reasons.”
He spread his index and middle fingers, then folded his middle finger back down.
“One was to find you.”
A magician needed a crow. The magician who had descended under the desert stars to find his crow spoke with emerald eyes fixed on Ethan. It felt mysteriously enchanting. It was his desire or need as a magician. And the other reason was—
“And the other is to carry out His Majesty’s order—to execute the rebels as an example.”
In the end. Ethan’s expression darkened at the unavoidable truth. He had caught Del’s eye and escaped, but the residents wouldn’t be so lucky. He wasn’t particularly humanitarian, but their deaths just seemed unfair. Del said,
“But the people here don’t seem much like his subjects.”
Ethan’s head snapped up at Del’s words.
“The lord doesn’t see them as people. They’re not ‘my people’—they’re ‘my things.’”
“……So what changes?”
“All the lord’s property belongs to the Emperor. I can’t lay a hand on the Emperor’s property.”
Ethan’s eyes sparkled. Under the sky densely studded with stars, Del laughed, his long hair fluttering in the wind.
“What do you think, Ethan? Are they innocent?”
Are they without sin? Ethan shook his head. How could anyone be endlessly innocent?
“Not innocent. But not evil enough to deserve death.”
“So they’re ordinary.”
“Probably.”
“I like ordinary people.”
After finishing his words, Del turned his back. Ethan unconsciously stepped forward and stood beside him. It was a place where the whole city was visible. It was no longer a space of despair as it had been a moment ago. But what was he planning? Then Del reached out his hand.
“Ethan, take my hand.”
“Huh?”
Even as he questioned it, he took Del’s hand. It was the hand of a boy, but it was soft and warm. Maybe this was what someone’s warmth felt like.
“Watch closely, Ethan.”
“What?”
“Remember what kind of magician you serve. Keep it in mind.”
Del smiled and raised his hand. At that moment, the world brightened.
A pillar of fire erupted from the center of the city. Like a column, the rising flames writhed and spread. It started from the lord’s mansion where they had been just moments ago. The flames, which had engulfed that place, were now burning the nobles’ mansions. Rising and burning on their own, the shape of the flames resembled a dragon shrouded in smoke. Huge and majestic, it made his heart race. Thump, thump. He felt more alive than ever.
He couldn’t say a word. The fire dragon was rampaging, but nowhere outside the city center was burning. The outskirts, the slums—none of it was affected. The pillar of fire seemed to have a will of its own. He knew whose will it was. Ethan couldn’t close his mouth at the astonishing sight. The slums, shrouded in the shadow of the stars, had finally escaped their shadow and gained freedom. Something they had longed for but never obtained had suddenly fallen into their laps with a single gesture.
“……How is it?”
Oh God. He couldn’t say a word. Ethan was speechless at the sight before him.
“Now everyone is free. Those who can sustain their own lives.”
The beautiful boy’s face, when he turned back, was now terribly pale. His black hair, swaying in the wind, was like the night sky. His green eyes had been fixed on Ethan since they first met. That was why he couldn’t avoid it.
The long-haired boy, who had smiled brightly, collapsed into Ethan’s arms. Startled by the sudden weight, Ethan fell backward, holding Del tightly, his back cradled. Under the thin skin, blood pulsed wildly. He could almost understand what it meant for blood to boil. The body he held was burning hot, and the blood filled with magic raged madly. He couldn’t see it, but he could feel it—like breathing.
The moment Ethan realized it, the chaos raging inside Del’s body settled quietly. Del’s breathing became steady. Just because he was in his arms. The great and powerful being who had destroyed the city was so small and fragile in his embrace. Ethan held Del tighter.
Ethan looked down at Del, who was asleep in his arms, breathing evenly. His arms, holding Del, tightened unconsciously. Was this a premonition? Or perhaps a certainty. The strange fate he had felt since they first met would ultimately revolve around him. Ethan was sure.
Ah. Even if I escape the desert, I won’t be able to leave him.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
