Chapter 220
“Damn it!”
Luwen stopped and surveyed his surroundings cautiously. When he pushed aside the bushes, he found a thin string that had been severed. It was a trap designed to shoot arrows and make noise when the string was broken.
‘There weren’t traps like this when we were heading to the Kans hideout.’
Perhaps they had been lucky enough to avoid them, but… it seemed the cause was that they had bypassed the canyon and ended up passing through an area that was generally gentle and densely overgrown with bushes. It was terrain that was perfect for hiding and easy enough for even a child to pass through, so it seemed they had set up traps.
‘Was this why the pursuit team was certain that the 3rd Prince was still remaining in this forest?’
Unless they could determine how wide the range was and how the traps were installed, running recklessly would actually be dangerous. Our location would be exposed in real time. That’s why Luwen had stopped.
“How much further to the main camp?”
“We’re about halfway there now.”
Luwen wiped the sweat flowing down his jaw with the back of his hand while examining the surroundings.
“They’ve installed them irregularly. They’re cleverly hidden, making them hard to notice while running quickly.”
Our location had already been exposed. If I were a commander, I wouldn’t have deployed all forces to attack the Kans hideout where there was a traitor. I would have judged it sufficient to maintain the existing perimeter formation and send a unit composed of elites.
“People will come.”
They were the opponents we had our first skirmish with. They weren’t just a typical assassin group but practically equivalent to a unit. The fact that we couldn’t see that many people was probably because they were divided and positioned throughout various locations.
‘So they could respond immediately no matter where sounds came from.’
Had I been thinking too carelessly? If it was Luwen, who could sensitively sense human presence, he could detect and avoid them before they could, no matter how many there were. But traps like this were impossible to handle.
‘They even made them produce sound, of all things.’
If only arrows had been shot, we could just dodge them, but there was nothing we could do about the sound. To break through this area…
“Luwen.”
“No.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“What Fei would be thinking in this situation is obvious. You’re planning to deliberately walk around nearby making noise to cause confusion.”
Does this guy have access to the inside of my head now? How did he know?
“I clearly stated beforehand that if I had to save one of two people, I would choose Fei. Keep your promise.”
“Th-then if I act as a decoy…”
The 3rd Prince quietly raised his hand.
“That won’t work.”
“It won’t work.”
We both opposed simultaneously. Since they were targeting the 3rd Prince in the first place, if he acted as a decoy, it would be no different from practically handing over the target. Moreover, the 3rd Prince would be caught before long.
But even if I would be caught just as quickly, I wasn’t their target. Perhaps they might just let me go.
‘Of course… it’s just a perhaps, but this plan is too dangerous and should be withdrawn.’
Since it was a gamble with my life at stake, there was no way Luwen would accept it. I thought if I subtly pushed forward somehow it might work out, but he had already made the first move.
Now what should we do? I was pondering when—
“People are coming. This way.”
Luwen quickly led us away. Our speed noticeably slowed as we moved while examining the ground.
“Keep your bodies low.”
We hid our bodies in the bushes behind a large tree, and Luwen wrapped around my back while gently pressing down my head. All I could see were grass blades covered in dirt.
As we held our breath for a moment, we heard people’s voices.
“It’s probably just another animal anyway, so why the rush?”
“Hey now. If you let your guard down like that and beasts devour a corpse hit by arrows, it’ll be trouble for us if even the face gets damaged.”
Their voices carried no sense of tension. There was even a slight fatigue, as if they had come and gone several times because of mountain beasts.
“Well! The only advantage is being able to eat meat to our heart’s content every day.”
The soldier who had been complaining let out a hearty laugh.
‘Beast corpses…’
I swallowed dry saliva. Luwen had dodged the arrow so there wasn’t even a trace of blood. It was practically a countdown until they noticed it wasn’t a beast.
“Keep looking down.”
Luwen whispered softly.
“You can close your eyes too.”
He seemed to be planning to deal with them. Instead of answering, I just nodded.
“Kuk!”
“Wh-!”
The weight that had been pressing down protectively around me disappeared at the same time two people died. The quiet death rattle of one person, and the final cry of someone who died without even being able to properly finish a single word, was stark.
I was worried whether the 3rd Prince’s weak mentality would be okay, so I looked to the side, and he was poking his head out slightly, staring ahead with sparkling eyes.
‘What kind of reaction is that?’
Anyway, he seemed fine so it was fortunate, but it wasn’t a typical reaction, which was puzzling. Was it because he was royalty? Or had he become accustomed to someone’s death during his life on the run?
“Lord Blight uses incredibly beautiful swordsmanship.”
It was bewildering enough that he was muttering as if entranced, but even his form of address had changed.
“He’s my lover.”
“Hm? Well, of course… Ah, hahaha. You have a cute side? Don’t worry. I just liked his swordsmanship.”
While it was pleasant that Luwen received praise, it wasn’t very enjoyable to hear him openly say he liked him. Even though he had explained it wasn’t romantic feelings, it still felt unpleasant.
“By any chance, don’t you have thoughts of naturalizing to Tuaso? I’ll give you a magnificent mansion, and not some honorary duke title that’s just in name, but real duke status.”
What kind of nonsense is this all of a sudden? Where would I go, leaving my sister behind? It was a proposal made knowing Luwen’s situation as an Odrif Master, but it wasn’t appealing—
“Ah! And we also allow same-sex marriage.”
…For a moment, really just a moment, I was slightly tempted.
This guy, could he actually be really good at social maneuvering? Pretending to be oblivious, pretending to be stupid, pretending to know nothing. While doing so, breaking down barriers. It was too similar to what I had done at the Kans hideout.
‘If he were really oblivious and stupid, there’s no way he could bring up same-sex marriage.’
It was surprising enough that he knew the Empire’s marriage laws, which were utterly useless from an enemy nation’s perspective, but he had the sense to immediately pinpoint desires that hadn’t been revealed based on that knowledge. He had at least the minimum requirements for politics.
‘Although it was somewhat proven through our conversation at the shelter, he’s more useful than I thought.’
If someone tried to devour him thinking he was just simple and stupid, they might end up being devoured instead. He was like an Old Rena Tiger that leisurely circles around prey while pretending to be full.
‘If we let him live, he might actually end the war.’
He also had the will to end the war himself. Moreover, if evidence that the Tuaso Crown Prince had colluded with the Empire and deliberately massacred his own people to provoke war, inducing them to invade the Empire, came to light, his downfall would be no problem.
‘The problem is the emperors’ pride.’
Both Tuaso’s emperor and the Empire’s emperor wouldn’t bow first.
Our emperor has justifiable cause for acting that way, but Tuaso should surrender first since it was their fault. However, emperors generally have strong pride, so they would probably try to hush it up and cover it up. I didn’t know if he was someone who understood that his pride wasn’t more precious than his people’s lives.
Well, he might think it would be better to maintain the war and win rather than acknowledge and compensate.
“As expected, it won’t work. What a shame. I’d like to take you with me.”
Since I kept my mouth firmly shut and stayed still, the 3rd Prince clicked his tongue and got up. Then he extended his hand to me with a smile.
“Let’s move. Lord Blight has taken care of everything.”
When I took his hand and stood up, Luwen stood in a noble posture without a single drop of blood splattered on him. Though pools of blood remained on the ground, there were no corpses.
“Let’s hurry.”
In the blink of an eye, Luwen was right in front of me. He pulled away my hand that was holding the 3rd Prince’s and lifted me up. Since he held a sword in one hand, the 3rd Prince was left standing there looking bewildered.
“Our movement speed will slow down. Please be careful and follow until we get out of this area.”
“Okay. Don’t worry about me.”
Somehow… the 3rd Prince’s atmosphere had changed since earlier. It was hard to explain exactly what it was, but something was different. It was frustrating that I couldn’t clearly pinpoint what aspect had changed.
‘Had he become more relaxed?’
We were still being pursued and nothing had been resolved. Yet despite that, he had a relaxed air as if he felt no burden from the current situation at all. As if he had leisurely come out for a stroll.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
