Chapter 5. Haetae (5)
“You… no matter how much it’s you, this kind of thing is…”
“The guy who received the note, and even the gypsy who received the message from him again are all here, but we still can’t find the whereabouts of that bastard Canui or Ronen—isn’t this strange? How did they cover their tracks through so many people, and where exactly are they hiding…”
From when did they start planning this? The Grand Duke gritted his teeth. His breath caught short with anger toward Ronen, who must have prepared all of this while waiting for the right opportunity.
“I will definitely catch them. So they can never escape again… no, so they won’t even think of escaping.”
At Grand Duke Canis’s low murmur, Hakan finally turned around and fled the room as if escaping. If he stayed there any longer, he too would be caught up and dragged away by that vicious snake.
‘…He’s completely lost his mind.’
Though Hakan had known the Grand Duke for a long time, this was the first time he’d seen him like this. While he appeared to barely maintain his reason on the surface, the Grand Duke, whose insides had completely twisted, was dangerous enough to make the back of his neck prickle.
He couldn’t tell whether he should hope for Ronen to be caught as quickly as possible to return the Grand Duke to normal, or whether he should hope for Ronen to escape safely since it was obvious how much more he would suffer if caught.
The ruler of the swamp, a snake with fangs as large as its massive body and carrying deadly poison, had somehow set its sights on a small bird… Originally, predator and prey were destined never to coexist. Moreover, having dragged a bird that knew how to fly down to the ground and trapped it in its den, how could it remain intact?
The bird trapped in the snake’s den must have despaired while longing only for the sky and waiting for the day it could fly freely again, feeling its wings gradually stiffen, its eyes adapt to darkness, and snake venom spreading throughout its body.
About to get into his carriage, Hakan turned back to look at the mansion. Under the night sky where even the moon hid behind clouds, the mansion stood ominously like a castle where demons lived. In the snake’s den where the beloved little bird had disappeared, only innocent corpses were piling up, thick with the smell of death.
With a terrified expression, Hakan crossed himself and hurriedly escaped from that place.
***
Night had come again, so the officers gathered in one place. Eckart was the same. When he appeared at the appointed place with his increasingly darkened complexion, Lef approached him hurriedly with an unusually flustered expression.
“Captain, have you seen this? Good grief…”
The moment Eckart took in the list in Lef’s hand, he realized he could no longer buy time.
“To tell us to capture and imprison those who are no different from our comrades with our own hands, what should we do about this…”
Lef’s expression was strangely contorted. He looked troubled but also wore a somewhat interesting sneer.
Whether he had noticed that Eckart wasn’t moving, or whether it was simply the intention that making several copies of the list would be somewhat more convenient, not only Lieutenant Lef but several other officers had lists with familiar names written on them.
The officers huddled together with serious faces, whispering. They all seemed equally troubled, showing expressions mixed with panic and despair whenever they discovered familiar names.
“Oh my. Isn’t this the name of that guy who used to follow the Captain around like a puppy?”
Lef pointed to where the name Ardwino was written. Lef pretended to gauge Eckart’s reaction as if he found it troublesome.
“The Captain used to take good care of him too… Come to think of it, it’s been quite a while since I’ve seen him. Did he run away?”
As he said this, he clicked his tongue as if he had no intention of hiding his inner feelings of regret. It made sense since Lef and Ardwino didn’t get along well.
Eckart knew that Ardwino, despite not even being a member of the same order, had followed him around and interfered in everything, inevitably getting into conflicts with the Holy Knights, and that the members who had built up bad feelings would cross swords under the pretext of sparring and thoroughly beat him up.
“Well now. You didn’t secretly give him a tip-off, did you, Captain?”
Though Lef delivered it like a joke, his eyes were quite fierce. When Eckart gave no answer, Lef brushed it off with laughter.
“Just joking, just joking. Our Captain would never do such a thing. No matter how close they were, that’s that and this is this, right? Especially when this many reports have come in about this sinner.”
Come to think of it, he was quite famous on the battlefield too. Muttering this, Lef clicked his tongue. Eckart silently looked down at his feet.
‘I… would never do such a thing?’
Contrary to Lef’s faith, Eckart was hiding a sinner. Even now, he had only bought a short time, hoping that Ardwino had fled somewhere far away during that interval.
The fact that the name of a comrade they had once fought alongside was on the list was enough to bewilder the officers, and no one readily suggested going to capture him.
They only watched each other’s reactions and waited for Eckart’s orders. So Eckart had to assign duties to each of them with an even more nonchalant expression and attitude than usual, as if performing something natural. That was Eckart’s position.
However, he couldn’t do it. To those asking “What should we do?” he answered, “Since everyone seems confused, how about taking time to listen to God’s voice?” Since he was the most confused of all, he had evaded the reality at hand under the pretense of understanding the officers’ hearts.
At this, Lef and several other officers showed puzzled expressions, but most officers were convinced by Eckart’s words and readily agreed with some relief. It probably meant there were that many who were anxious about whether this path was truly right, whether they were following God’s will, just like Eckart.
Thus, everyone was given a grace period of several days. They all decided to offer prayers to God for just a while, listen to God’s voice, and accept this overwhelming and unbelievable reality. They believed that God would understand and forgive the hesitation of weak knights.
Lef tried to dissuade him, asking why he was doing this, telling him not to be caught up in petty guilt, that they were all just sinners anyway, that they were merely realizing justice by following God’s will, and that the world would be more cleanly purified as a result, but Eckart was firm.
After sending everyone away like that, Eckart also turned around. Lef followed behind him.
“Captain. If His Holiness learns of this…”
“When day breaks, I will personally visit and tell him.”
“Isn’t this no different from arbitrarily defying His Holiness’s orders? The person who waited for His Holiness’s decisions even on the battlefield—what is this ridiculous behavior… In the end, you’ve refused God’s word, so His Holiness will be greatly angered.”
“He will surely understand.”
He was a generous and merciful representative of God. He would surely think there was good reason for his knights, who had followed without question, to hesitate.
“He will guide us back to the right path. That is exactly what we who are in danger need most.”
At Eckart’s words, Lef could no longer reply.
Having dismissed everyone early like this, Eckart naturally came to where Ronen was. Since he was the one who had confined him there anyway, he needed to check on the situation and condition. There was also the need to watch since he might refuse meals again.
Getting off the carriage at some distance, Eckart scouted the surroundings before entering the building. As he climbed the stairs and reached the front of the door, he heard some sound from beyond the door. Realizing it was Ronen’s moaning, Eckart froze in the position where he had been about to grab the door handle.
“Hah… ah, mmph… mm…”
At Ronen’s faintly audible moaning, Eckart’s complicated mind went blank in an instant.
***
Inside the dark room. A man lying on the bed panted with heated breath, writhing restlessly.
Following his pitiful movements, the bed creaked and swayed. The water in the bucket placed beside the bed also rippled slightly. It was dirty water, probably from washing his body. The skin of his entire body, which had become cleaner, was red with heat.
Ronen held a bunched-up blanket tightly in his arms. His face, which had been snow-white, was also reddish. His green eyes, sunken with excitement, swayed here and there, and heated breath continued roughly through his lips.
Even when he desperately rubbed his fully aroused center or twisted his body trying to endure it, his once-heated body wouldn’t easily calm down. It was because Eckart’s touch, the sensation of the cold wet cloth rubbing against him, the hot eyes that seemed like they would devour him… the fingers that had forced his mouth open and roughly pushed inside had stimulated him.
It was already a body that had been trained for a long time. Lewd and base, it played separately from reason—a body that would always tremble with pleasure while climaxing several times even as it received the Grand Duke like punishment, claiming it was always an unwanted act.
A body that had received men almost without pause was craving intense pleasure. Especially since he was even staying with the person he had imagined while comforting himself alone, his body kept stirring.
When he was refusing meals and lacking energy, it was still bearable, but perhaps eating that little bit had given him strength—his center, which had swollen once at Eckart’s touch, kept wanting stimulation, weighing reason against instinct.
Ronen’s entire body was soaked with sweat. The thin white cloth clung to his sweat-dampened skin. That too was stimulating. The cloth brushed against his erect nipples, and he let out a faint moan while shrinking his body.
It was still a long time before sunrise, and Ronen buried his face, contorted with anguish, in the pillow.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
