episode_0032

The air is cold.

The moonlit mountain path in the early morning is chilly and dangerous. The steep path deceives the eyes from afar, and the protruding rocks and tree roots lurk menacingly underfoot.

“Heuk… Heuk…”

“Haa… Haa…”

The rough breath of the two creates white puffs of air. The temperature of the winter mountain, still covered with white snow, was like that.

Damn it, no matter how carefully they tread, the smooth snowfield clearly reveals the fugitives’ footprints. As long as time was on their side, there was no target they couldn’t track down.

“Haa… Huk… Roderick… I’m so tired…”

“Endure it, my dear. If we stop now, we could really be in trouble.”

“Huk… Will Richard be okay?”

“Even if the whole world perishes, that guy will survive. So don’t worry.”

“Okay…”

Amidst Esutiel’s labored breathing, she managed to squeeze out a difficult reply. Observing this, Roderick tightly closed his eyes.

“Damn it… Why is this happening…!”

It all started with a simple request.

A request came in to subdue a group of bandits that had overrun a territory. With all available forces out on duty at the time, Rahilt decided to handle it alone.

It was a trap.

An unknown force had attacked their headquarters.

Roderick was overwhelmingly outnumbered in terms of troops and quality to resist alone. With his retired and aging body, even moving as he used to was difficult.

Thus, Roderick set out on an escape route with Esutiel, the forbidden leaf of the mercenary group.

Esutiel, who had just three years left until adulthood. They had to somehow keep this young girl alive. As long as Esutiel remained, Rahilt’s sanity would not crumble.

“I can’t afford to lose her. She’s become a person now, shedding the past memories. Do I just let it all go to waste?”

Rahilt, the abandoned child. He first met him when he was eight years old.

The child, who didn’t even show a hint of emotion, seemed like a finely crafted doll made by a god.

The only desire he had was not to become an outcast. That modest desire was the only scent the child had.

It felt strange.

Begging for his life and meticulously planning to use it for his advantage… As time passed, the child gradually changed from a means to an end.

If there was a child below, wouldn’t this be the feeling, he thought. Sometimes he fell into absurd delusions.

That’s why? Like a fool, he even visited the palace to completely erase the past called the plague.

He offered to give up everything about the assassin known as the plague. In return, he would contribute greatly to establishing the palace’s special forces and serve, asking only to erase the past.

Fortunately, the emperor and empress of that era accepted the proposal.

He felt a sense of relief for becoming a bit more upright.

After some time passed.

One day, when he looked at Esutiel, he felt like he had become a nanny with two kids. In the meantime, those two had grown up without him knowing, transforming into completely unappealing figures. But for some reason, it was strangely heartwarming.

“Haa… Haa…”

The gracefully grown girl pushes herself forward.

Youth is truly wonderful. Even though it’s a body that has lived fiercely. But I’m reaching my physical limits soon, and Esutiel is moving her legs so diligently.

What plague?

Who’s the assassin’s tower?

This is the end of an old man soaked in the warmth of people.

I finally opened my mouth.

“Aesong, don’t stop. Keep running even if the house collapses. As long as you don’t get caught, that guy will take care of it somehow.”

“Roderick…?”

“I’m just a baggage handler. Leave me behind quickly.”

“What nonsense is this?!”

Oh dear, growing up surrounded by a group must have made her like that. The girl who grew up so delicately is now cursing.

I calm my surprised heart. I have to somehow detach her meager sympathy.

“You didn’t like me. Don’t hesitate now. I also don’t like those who don’t like me.”

“Wh-who, who do you dislike?!”

“I dislike you, Aesong.”

I deliberately spat out as if to provoke, but it seemed to have the opposite effect.

“Don’t do this… Don’t leave me alone, Roderick… Let’s go together, okay?”

“Where? To the afterlife?”

“Roderick…!”

“You have to live too. I’ll buy you some time, so go quickly.”

“What am I supposed to say if I go alone? Tell Rahilt that I ran away using you as bait because I wanted to live alone? And then comfort Rahilt who blames himself? No, I don’t want to, I don’t want to… Let’s go together, okay?”

“Sigh…”

At this point, I have a gut feeling.

Either both of them won’t make it, or they’ll both be severely injured when they meet again. It was a forced choice between the two futures.

“It’s this way!”

“He looks exhausted…!”

“We finally caught up.”

The unidentified pursuers follow.

They claim to be part of the royal knights. In fact, the swordsmanship they use is clearly royal. If you think about it normally, you should dismiss your doubts…

“Unbelievable, I’m speechless.”

In reality, their swordsmanship was hastily learned to make their scars look convincing.

Where did these crazy people pretending to be from the royal family come from?

“Estiel.”

Not a kid or a novice, but Estiel. I finally mentioned her name properly.

“Step aside so you don’t get in the way.”

“Okay…”

Estiel steps back behind a thick tree trunk. Roderick, after confirming her determination, draws the two daggers and the memorized sword from his waist.

“Sigh… How did I manage to live a model life until this day.”

He sincerely warns them as if it could be the end of his life.

“If the world ends, know that you’ll be the main culprits.”

With a sigh of regret, the man who had been plagued by disease rushed at them with all his might.

◇

It was a cry of a person’s personality shattering into pieces.

The thick scent of blood is carried by the winter wind. The white snow turns red with blood, covering the many bodies at the end.

Among them, the trembling hand reaches two bodies.

A beautiful girl and a young man frozen cold.

His once peaceful world collapsed in an instant.

Happiness that he held in his hands slipped through his fingers like fine grains of sand.

His heart ached.

For the first time in his life, his emotions stirred violently.

The unknown emotion he finally realized was hatred. It was a fierce and persistent emotion that could tear the sky apart if he could find a target.

A woman following from behind placed her hand on his shoulder.

She was the heiress of the forbidden territory where Rahilt had personally been dispatched – Lashera Lua Te, the young lady.

“This is the royal swordsmanship.”

“…”

“Because of the hierarchy of the father, I heard such stories. They said that the royal family secretly established a special forces unit to carry out missions. People with unknown identities who manipulate assassinations, conspiracies, and even public opinion.”

Lashera corrected herself slightly, touching her lips with her index finger.

“Of course, it’s just a conspiracy… but looking at this, the evidence is too clear to avoid suspicion. No matter how hard you try to hide it, habits are ingrained in the body. The remnants of the Imperial Knights’ swordsmanship are visible in the scars…”

Soon, Rasher’s hand touched the bodies.

Brushing off the snow, she knelt in front of them. Then, she clasped her hands together in prayer, her posture resembling that of a devout saint.

“May you find peace…”

At that moment, Rahilt’s eyes turned towards her. After a while, he closed his eyes and took Rasher’s hands, lifting her up.

“The ground… is cold.”

But Rasher refused the gesture of kindness. Instead, she bowed again and looked into Rahilt’s blue eyes, now tinged with red.

“What a tragedy. Even now, the two who suffered an unjust death are lying on the cold snow.”

“…”

“I… I can’t bear it. Lord Danju was a benefactor to our territory, and to treat his family like this… so ruthlessly…”

Rahilt’s newly sprouted hatred was fueled by Rasher’s sympathy.

Roderick and Estiel.

To avenge the deaths of the two people they considered family, they could erase the palace from the map at any moment.

Then, as if reading his determination, Rasher spoke.

“Do you want revenge?”

“I don’t…”

…

……

“Yes, I do.”

“Do you want to kill them all?”

“Do you think I can’t?”

“No, it’s the opposite. I think you can do it.”

Subtly, Rasher asked.

“Have you ever thought that death is a luxury? That you’d rather offer a life crawling in despair than a moment of pain?”

Rahilt understood well.

As the son of a concubine and a ruler, he knew better than anyone the despair and hellish pride that a fallen noble feels.

“I will be on your side.”

“…”

“I will stay by your side until the day you achieve the revenge you desire. I will never leave you alone.”

“…”

“I’m sorry for hiding my true intentions. In truth, I need you. Perhaps, more than anyone in the world.”

“…”

“Let’s help each other. I will do my best. So, will you follow me?”

Rasher reached out her hand.

Rahilt hesitated and struggled before slowly reaching out his hand. Rasher forcefully grabbed his hand.

Approaching the man she had seduced, Rasher nestled deeply.

At that moment, a smile of triumph spread across her face.

‘… Success.’

The assassins disguised as special forces had fulfilled their roles to the fullest.

There can be no room for error in their manipulation. Because among them, there are two real special forces operatives who were captured by the fake ones.

Now, all that’s left is to build Rahilt’s trust and wait for him to reveal himself as the son of the concubine.

Suppressing her excited emotions, Rasher met the icy blue eyes of Rahilt.

“Someday, I will rid you of your sorrow.”

The hollow oath was carried away by the winter wind.