Chapter 4. Wrath (16)
Doubting his own eyes, his lips only trembling apart, Eckart, who had been carefully examining Ronen’s wrists to see if they were injured, cautiously opened his mouth.
“I’m sorry.”
“What is this… You must be worried I’ll run away, but I tried so hard to be caught obediently…”
Ronen’s voice cut off abruptly. Instead, he asked with a disbelieving face.
“…Are you afraid I might head to the execution platform myself? Is that what you fear? That I might die?”
At Ronen’s words, instead of answering, Eckart checked whether the cloth was tied securely. Ronen was so astounded he was beyond shock, letting out a short laugh like a sigh.
“You were looking for me. To catch me… But why…”
“I also.”
The short but firm voice cut off Ronen’s words completely. Eckart turned his back to Ronen and spoke as if lamenting.
“I don’t know either. Why I’m doing this. Why on earth… why…”
Eckart, who had exhaled a long breath as if in anguish, stood up. Without looking at Ronen, he requested,
“Please stay here for a while. Please… follow my words.”
Then he left the room, leaving Ronen alone. The sound of the door being locked from outside could be heard. Ronen, who had been watching his retreating figure with wide, surprised eyes, let out a short breath. Soon it turned into a chuckle.
“This is too… bewildering.”
He looked down at his own wrists. They were essentially no different from shackles. They were restraints to prevent him from going anywhere.
But why was it? Was it because of the difference between metal and cloth? He didn’t feel bad about it at all. Rather…
“Ah. What should I do about this?”
Ronen, who had been laughing like a sigh, flopped backward. The ceiling came into view, white with dust as if it had been empty for a long time, full of spider webs everywhere. Ronen made an ambiguous expression, seeming to laugh and cry at the same time.
He was happy about him—who had forgotten his duty and was hiding a sinner, who had chosen the method of completely confining the sinner for fear that he might go to his death of his own accord.
That emotion he had felt when their eyes met in the chapel, that hope that it might be a feeling similar to his own, that desire that he might take him and flee somewhere far away—it was telling him that it had become fact now. That his delusion had not been mistaken.
Ronen covered his eyes with his arm and muttered,
“Really, what should I do? I had no intention of corrupting you… but I’ve become greedy.”
Meanwhile, Eckart, who had left the room alone, hadn’t gone far. He paced near the room where he had confined Ronen, chewing over his nonsensical actions. He thought that he shouldn’t do this, that it wasn’t too late yet, that he should take Ronen to the court right now as Ronen had said to him, but his body was refusing. His heart wouldn’t follow.
He felt like he was really going crazy with such a self. Eckart finally collapsed as if falling, leaning his back against the wall. He placed his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands as if praying. As if by habit, he leaned his forehead against those hands and let out a miserable voice.
“O God… Why do you give me such trials…”
His voice, deeply stained with complexity, seeped into the air without a trace.
***
The Grand Duke reached out his arm in his sleep. It was a movement to capture Ronen’s body temperature in his embrace, feeling somewhat cool.
However, all that touched his fingertips was a lump of bunched cloth. His hand, which had been groping and stroking the thin blanket as if spreading it, stopped for a moment. His closed eyes opened, revealing gray pupils that were still hazy.
His unfocused gaze examined the bed. His heart dropped at the empty space. He tried to sit up hastily, but his body wouldn’t obey. His uncontrolled body staggered. The place where he had lain was damp with cold sweat. His skin, robbed of body temperature, was also coldly chilled.
His vision spun. The Grand Duke, who had barely managed to sit up, looked around with blurred eyes. Ronen was nowhere in the room. He got down from the bed and stepped onto the floor. Everything was distorted and swaying, making him dizzy to his core.
His unbalanced body swayed and finally collapsed to the floor. A shard of a bottle that hadn’t been cleaned up pierced through his skin. The pain seemed to bring back some of his consciousness. He remembered what the situation had been before he fell asleep.
The Grand Duke had put drugs in the alcohol and shared it with Ronen. It was a drug he had received from Hakan. Intoxicated Ronen had climbed on top of him and embraced him actively. He thought he had responded happily… but he couldn’t remember well. The Grand Duke pressed his throbbing forehead and let out ragged breaths.
He had definitely put less of the drug because of Ronen. He hadn’t brought a large amount to begin with. It was just enough to enjoy moderately, but his current physical condition was serious.
He called for someone with difficulty. Only silence answered his call. Realizing something was wrong with the situation, the Grand Duke staggered out of the room. The door to the room across was open. He barely managed to look inside while holding onto the wall, but no one was there.
It was just messily disheveled. The Grand Duke, who had been about to turn around, discovered something and approached closer. Unable to focus properly, he squinted hard and looked down at the table, where spilled powders came into view. Realizing it was a coarser and rougher powder, different from what he had brought, the Grand Duke gritted his teeth. His hands gripping the table turned white with force.
Fragmented memories flashed through his mind. Ronen knocking over the wine bottle with his staggering body, Osian appearing with a new wine bottle without being asked, Ronen seducing him more actively than usual, and the wine flowing into his mouth…
The wine seemed to have had a slightly strange scent. At the time, he thought it was because he was getting drunk or because it had stayed in Ronen’s mouth…Â
Since he had no memory after that, he must have lost consciousness quickly, but no matter how much the Grand Duke thought about it, he hadn’t put that much into the wine, so they must have played some trick. His clenched teeth ground audibly and twisted.
He moved his body quickly, putting strength into his legs stepping on the floor. He, who had been coming down the stairs rather noisily, lost his center and tumbled. After barely stopping halfway, he tried to get up while suppressing painful groans.
“What the…”
The Grand Duke, who had been looking down at the first floor, let out a bewildered voice. He had discovered men collapsed in front of the first-floor door. They were sprawled carelessly without moving, whether dead or unconscious.
Looking closely, two legs were sticking out from under the stairs. They belonged to the servant. He had believed he would naturally have chased after Ronen, but even his last hope had disappeared. Ronen, the attendant, the newly hired maid, and even the painter had all deliberately disappeared.
But how? Those things spilled on the table were definitely drugs, but how had they been brought in? Without even his knowledge. When exactly?
The Grand Duke, who had gotten up, barely made it down to the first floor while holding onto the wall. He walked over the gatekeepers and came to the bottom of the stairs, sitting down in front of the servant. He grabbed his collar and slapped his cheek. He had no strength, so even the sound didn’t come out properly.
Even in the midst of this, he didn’t miss seeing the cup that had fallen beside the servant’s hand. The servant’s sleeve was stained red as if the remaining wine had spilled. The gatekeepers were the same.
Perhaps because he hadn’t drunk much, the servant’s consciousness returned. The servant’s eyes, which had been frowning, opened slowly, then quickly regained focus when he discovered the Grand Duke.
“…Your Highness?”
“Right now… find him…”
“Pardon?”
When he gave the order with ragged breathing and unclear pronunciation, the servant asked back with a puzzled face. The Grand Duke released the hand that had been gripping the servant’s collar and pointed to the door.
“Right now, Ronen…”
The servant, who had turned his eyes following the finger, discovered the gatekeepers collapsed in front of the door and the open door, and seemed to have grasped the situation as he couldn’t hide his flustered expression. He seemed to remember the situation before he had fainted.
“Yes… Yes! I’ll immediately send people to find him!”
The servant, who had stood up abruptly, almost lost his balance and fell. The drug’s effects didn’t seem to have completely worn off yet. The Grand Duke, who had drunk quite a lot of wine, was sweating cold sweat like a sick patient. Even sitting still, his head was swaying from dizziness.
“The other bastards too… bring those sons of bitches. Just keep them alive. As long as they’re breathing, I don’t care if their limbs are broken or they’re missing an eye, so drag them to me right now!”
“Understood! I’ll also call doctors and servants to care for Your Highness, so please wait just a moment…”
“Don’t we not have time for this right now?”
At the Grand Duke’s eyes, fierce with anger even in his suffering, the servant quickly turned around. The Grand Duke leaned back, breathing heavily. His eyes kept closing and his consciousness grew distant.
The reason he could still endure was because the rage that felt like it would burn up his head was holding onto his reason. If only his body were intact, he was tormented by such intense anger that he wanted to destroy everything around him. The Grand Duke’s teeth ground audibly.
“How dare… how dare you…”
His cold gaze turned toward the door. He vividly pictured Ronen’s retreating figure, who would have rushed out as soon as he collapsed. Even if he went out, there would only be death anyway. So he had been somewhat relieved, but it had been a careless thought.
Before Ronen was caught by the officers. Before that, he absolutely had to find him and drag him back. He absolutely couldn’t let him go like that. Even if it meant death, he would somehow prevent it. Until the day the Grand Duke permitted it.
As long as the Grand Duke didn’t let him go, Ronen could never escape from his embrace.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
