Chapter 5. Haetae (4)
However, Ronen’s following words gradually cleared his blurring vision.
“I don’t want to commit more sins. So this is enough.”
Ronen, who had completely turned his back, curled up his body and fumblingly grabbed the blanket at his feet, pulling it up.
“And you too… I wanted you to pray for me, not to commit sins.”
Ronen, who had buried himself deeply in the blanket, closed his mouth after those words. Eckart felt his boiling blood growing cold. His mind cooled down. Only then did he realize what he had been thinking.
That he had almost lost his reason and committed a great sin.
Eckart bolted upright. He left the cloth anywhere and fled the room as if escaping.
Left alone, Ronen squeezed his eyes shut.
“But still…”
He had definitely… He really hadn’t intended to do that. He couldn’t bear wanting to act according to his heart, his desires. It was hard to endure. It was agonizing to suppress the desire to cling to him, begging him to do something about his body that had heated up so much.
At first, he had been grateful just for the prayers, but now he wanted just a little more. He wanted to see him and be with him for just one more day. And now he was even desiring him.
“Don’t make me keep being greedy.”
Rather than being put through such trials, it would be more comfortable to just be killed. Ronen let out a deep sigh.
***
Reports were filed not only against prostitutes but also against those who enjoyed homosexuality or had a history of sleeping with multiple people, and even knights who had satisfied their comrades’ needs on the battlefield. People who had thought it would be somewhat peaceful now that most prostitutes had been dragged away were shocked, and the entire territory of Antonello became chaos.
The situation wasn’t much different in other neighboring territories. It would be their turn next. All the more so because there were already officers moving with lists from other regions.
Everyone was busy keeping their heads down, and those with sins or unclear memories fled far away. Groups fleeing in the night formed long lines.
Standing by the window, there was a man watching groups departing on their long journeys with carts. The man casting anxious glances with a tired complexion, having lost his original vitality, was none other than Hakan.
He too had heard that even knight order members had been reported and listed, and searches had finally begun. While it was unavoidable to be dragged away and punished since it was called sin, the current situation was far too unfair and cruel.
Because he, being a noble, wasn’t on the list, while only those who had struggled to return alive from the battlefield were dying.
And on the list was Ardwino, whom he cherished. He had given him money and told him to go down to his hometown, and hadn’t met him since then for fear that he might be caught because of him, so even Hakan didn’t know where Ardwino was or what he was doing. He had stationed people out of anxiety, but no report had come up yet. He was curious and afraid about the reason for the delay.
His mouth felt dry so he skipped meals, and he couldn’t sleep properly from constantly watching and worrying whether he might be imprisoned. It was natural that he looked unwell. His lips were covered in scabs from constantly biting them.
Why was he so anxious? Hakan, who couldn’t sit still for even a moment and kept pacing, finally called for a carriage. The carriage carrying him headed to Grand Duke Canis’s temporary residence.
Grand Duke Canis’s mansion was desolate beyond measure. It was quiet enough that not a single breath could be heard, and the servants all had terrified faces. In the ominous atmosphere, Hakan’s steps became even more cautious. He headed to the reception room guided by the steward.
The steward quietly disappeared, and Hakan, left alone, shuddered at the air inside the mansion that was not just depressed but ominous. Fortunately, it wasn’t long before Grand Duke Canis appeared.
“Duke Canis…”
It was a friend he felt like he hadn’t seen in a very long time, but there was no time to be happy. His expression was murderous. The atmosphere already suggested that something serious had definitely happened. Hakan swallowed dry saliva and asked.
“…What on earth happened to you?”
It was as eerie as facing a beast starving for blood. He had been so busy worrying about the current situation and Ardwino that he hadn’t had time to hear news about Grand Duke Canis. He had been speculating whether something had happened to Ronen as well.
The Grand Duke, who had been resting his arm on the opposite sofa and gazing out the window for a moment, opened his mouth.
“…Ronen escaped.”
“What?”
Hakan, who was greatly surprised, bolted up from his seat. His spine turned cold. Cold sweat immediately broke out. Rather than being curious about how Ronen had escaped and why he had done such a foolish thing in this situation, he was first worried about how to handle Grand Duke Canis’s rage.
“Good grief…”
Naturally, he would have people searching and would drag him back soon. Perhaps this time it wouldn’t end with just being confined. He might break his legs so he could never escape again.
Though Hakan hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, it was obvious that the Grand Duke had been restraining and enduring himself, preserving Ronen in perfect condition like his other art pieces. Given his nature of being unable to tolerate even a small scratch on a cherished work, it wasn’t hard to guess.
However, with the Grand Duke giving off such a dangerous atmosphere now, he might render him unable to walk in areas that weren’t visible or wouldn’t show easily.
Words defending Ronen unconsciously burst out of Hakan first.
“This is… certainly something to upset you greatly… Why did he do such a foolish thing… Don’t pets usually run away once or twice? He probably wanted some fresh air out of frustration. He couldn’t have gone far anyway, so when he comes back, don’t scold him too harshly…”
“It’s been days. We haven’t found a single trace.”
“…What?”
Hakan looked at the Grand Duke with a disbelieving face. It wasn’t that Ronen had never fled before. He had escaped countless times and been caught countless times. There was no corner to escape from the Grand Duke’s eyes. This time too, he had thought, ‘He must have escaped this morning… He’ll be dragged back by now…’
“This time he escaped with determination.”
Even his voice was steeped with deep anger. Watching the Grand Duke grinding his teeth audibly, Hakan’s legs gave out and he sat down again.
“No matter how determined he was, not finding a single trace…”
“There was someone helping Ronen.”
Grand Duke Canis strode toward the door and looked back as if telling him to follow. Hakan was paralyzed with fear. Though he hadn’t seen anything yet, it already seemed like the thick smell of blood was wafting through the air. He barely managed to move his steps and follow behind the Grand Duke.
“It seems that fellow Canui played some trick…”
“Canui, isn’t that the mute painter? I heard he can neither speak nor write?”
“That’s right. So I was too complacent. If it’s writing, Lady Cornelia would know how to write, and perhaps that girl who used to come and go with the lady might have known how to write too. Or he could have communicated through pictures rather than words.”
“So you… captured that mute painter?”
“No.”
Grand Duke Canis’s eyes were sharp. Hakan swallowed dry saliva.
“Instead, I brought in everyone around him who knew him.”
The Grand Duke, who had been saying this, suddenly stopped walking. The guard standing in front of the door hastily opened it for him. Instantly, a rotten smell wafted out and Hakan urgently covered his nose and mouth. But it was no use. Something far more terrible than the smell was spread out before his eyes.
It felt like entering a butcher shop. Chunks of meat hung from the ceiling, entrails and pieces of flesh that hadn’t been cleaned up were scattered about, and on one side various grotesque tools were lined up in rows. Blood had pooled and was rotting black. The flesh that had already turned bluish was the same.
“This, this is… ugh.”
Unable to bear the rising nausea, he dry-heaved. Unfortunately, this wasn’t a butcher shop, and what appeared to be clothing rags were draped over the chunks of meat hanging from the ceiling. Unable to bear the disgusting revulsion, he finally grabbed the wall and vomited, while Grand Duke Canis casually walked among the corpses, leaving Hakan behind.
“This one was caught while loitering around the art shop that fellow Canui frequented. He ran away as soon as he saw the servant. When I asked why he ran, he said it was because of drugs… He thought we had come about drugs… His drugs were of such poor quality that people often died from them, so he thought it was about that again… Whether I should say he was lucky to survive after taking that much of such low-quality drugs…”
The Grand Duke, who had been letting out an eerie laugh that didn’t suit the situation, poked at another corpse. Then something amazing happened. The limp flesh began to twitch and move.
“He’s, he’s alive?”
Regardless of Hakan’s shocked voice, the Grand Duke continued with what he had to say.
“And this one is the owner of the art shop that fellow Canui frequented. At first, he said all he did was get drugs for that fellow Canui when he said he needed them. So I tortured him. Cut off his ears, plucked out his eyes, cut off his fingers one by one… Of course, he already confessed obediently when I cut off his ears. He said he only delivered the paper he was asked to deliver.”
Hakan’s face had turned not just pale but completely white. He stepped back hesitantly and spoke with difficulty.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
