Chapter 203: Wolf, Alexander, Mobius (9)

Night had fallen.

The hallway, a concentrated display of the kingdom’s underbelly, reeked of alcohol. The guards, far from watching the ramparts, were gathered in the guardroom playing cards, and the Captain of the Guard, who should have been keeping them in line, was fast asleep in a corner.

Laughter spilled out under the bright lights. They were slamming their cards down so hard, Petunia Titi, walking in the shadows beyond the wall, felt like she could sketch out their entire game blindfolded. Oblivious to the elf lurking outside, one guard said,

“Hey, I really wish time would just fly by.”

“Didn’t you say you were taking leave soon? Weren’t you supposed to be off last time?”

“Ah, that was because I heard there was a festival in Ithaca. I wanted to time it with that.”

“Ithaca? Isn’t that the place where they executed the Hero’s family the other day?”

Laughter erupted again. This time, it didn’t sound pleasant at all. Filled with a mix of concern and disbelief, they mocked their comrade’s recklessness.

“This guy’s fucking crazy. What kind of festival are you going to at a time like this? If the Hero finds out, you’re dead.”

“Hey, how would the Hero know where I’m taking my leave? He’d probably ignore me even if I talked to him. Shit, he’s always busy screwing women at night and chugging booze all day, he wouldn’t even notice if I waved an Ithaca-bound carriage ticket right in front of his face.”

Petunia Titi frowned at the soldier’s words. Unlike her, who wanted to retort, the soldiers just kept laughing, making no move to say they’d gone too far or deny it. She felt the irritation churning in her chest turn into sadness, contorting her face.

“Ha, damn it, I’m out. But what’s so special there that you suddenly want to go to Ithaca?”

“I heard the newly appointed Priestess there is incredibly beautiful.”

“You’re going all the way to Ithaca just to see a Priestess’s face?”

“Who knows? Maybe I’ll go there, do this and that with the Priestess… huh? We could end up in a good relationship. Right?”

“Idiot.”

Petunia Titi decided to tune out the disgusting conversation that followed. They were boasting about how they could screw the mysterious Priestess, or engaging in low-quality chatter rating the looks of the women currently in the palace.

Petunia Titi suppressed the urge to smack each of the guards and dashed into the corridor. As lax as the security was outside, the interior was quiet and deserted. The servants who should have been patrolling every night were all holed up in dusty storage rooms or their quarters, fast asleep.

Even the maids, who were supposed to be checking for any irregularities, were busy chatting amongst themselves or cooking and eating in the kitchen. They enjoyed reheating the leftovers from the lavish morning banquet, serving them up prettily, and playing dress-up like nobles.

“Look at this. Don’t I look like a noblewoman?”

“Ooh! You suit it better, girl. You should have been the noblewoman, not that fat cow.”

“If I’d known it would be like this, I would have spread my legs for that punk too.”

They seemed completely unconcerned that the Hero was sleeping in this very palace. Crude laughter, devoid of any grace or refinement, echoed around, accompanied by gossip about the nobles.

Petunia Titi stealthily passed the brightly lit kitchen and headed upstairs.

She didn’t know where Wolf’s room was. But according to rumors, the Hero Wolf spent every night without rest, holding women, chugging booze, and staying up all night. During the day, he’d collapse like a corpse to sleep, only to habitually down more alcohol or handle official duties while openly displaying his violent tendencies.

His lifestyle-sleeping when he wanted, eating when he wanted, and focusing solely on copulation at night-was said to be just like a beast’s. So, the people in the back alleys called Wolf ‘Lion’. It sounded like a cool nickname, but it was just a backhanded way of calling him the ‘King of Beasts’.

“Ah…! Aaah…! Aagk…! Good…!”

The palace, already filled with debauchery and riches during the day, was saturated with lust and sordidness at night. With every step she took up the stairs, Petunia Titi could hear moans growing louder. It was as if a woman was moaning and throwing herself at her, the sounds echoing louder down the corridor with each step she took.

In a dark room devoid of light, a servant, pants down, was vigorously stroking his cock. Lacking the courage to approach the Hero’s chambers, he lay on a pile of straw, engrossed in his solo act fueled only by sound.

“Huuu…! You like it? You like it, you fucking bitch?”

The way he moved his hips, as if fucking the air itself, was utterly sordid. Petunia Titi suppressed the urge to kill once more. She tried to console herself, thinking it was her own fault for peeking at such a private act in a private place.

A sliver of light leaked from the Hero’s room. The moans flowed uncontrollably, like a dam breaking against a torrent, but the light seemed to draw a line, suggesting Wolf was different from the ignorant people downstairs.

A straight white line. But Petunia Titi knew that the Hero beyond that line had become no different from the servant masturbating in the room inside. A life that couldn’t find satisfaction even after revenge, even after making his family rich. A broken man, constantly seeking women because he couldn’t grasp love, obsessed with lust, and drinking to erase memories.

Petunia Titi wanted to step beyond that line.

“Hwaaaah! Aang! Hero-nim! Harder, please fuck me harder! Aaaang!”

But the obscene voices coming from the room kept making her step back. As she stood there, face flushed red, unable to move forward or back, the door suddenly swung open without warning.

“Oh my.”

Petunia Titi froze as a naked woman burst out. The woman had full lips and a slender waist. And a voluptuous pelvis and firm thighs. Petunia Titi didn’t know who she was, but she was a rather famous knight in the capital.

Her specialty was horseback riding, and she was a skilled bitch, adept at using the thighs trained in bed with the Hero to expertly squeeze his cock. In exchange for dedicating her body to the Hero periodically, she received a rather high salary and exemption from combat duty.

“Looks like the Hero invites elves into his bed too.”

The knight said this while scanning Petunia Titi up and down. Petunia Titi, unsure how to retort, could only blush and roll her eyes. And just as she couldn’t get a word out, the knight twirled her blonde hair and called out to Wolf.

“Hero-nim. Did you call for a woman? An elf is here.”

“An elf?”

Petunia Titi noticed that the room’s steamy atmosphere had cooled slightly with Wolf’s voice. The prostitute, who had been heating things up on the floor, subtly distanced herself from the Hero, and the knight naturally turned her body.

As she moved aside, Petunia Titi could face the Hero’s naked body. His firm muscles had softened slightly, and fat had accumulated on his belly and face. His unshaven face looked scruffy, and his hair stuck out in all directions like seaweed just pulled from the water.

Between his legs, a limp cock swayed slowly like a metronome, shaking off residual drops.

The dark circles under his eyes and his bloodshot gaze were nothing like the cool, taciturn Wolf of the past.

Petunia Titi felt the image she held of Wolf in her heart shatter. It was because the traces of laziness and lust that Wolf had firmly hidden beneath his armor and clothes were now laid bare.

The man Petunia Titi faced now was not the Hero Wolf of yesteryear. He was a common degenerate found in any tavern, a debauched rake rolling around with prostitutes.

With eyes devoid of any spirit, Wolf looked at Petunia. His gaze wordlessly swept over Petunia’s entire body, and she could clearly see his flaccid cock, like a sea anemone, slowly gaining strength.

Disgusting.

Facing Wolf’s appearance, Petunia Titi felt disgust for the first time. It felt as if the memories and love she held for Wolf were being negated.

What about that slightly protruding belly? It was different before. He had firm muscles that channeled the waterfall’s torrent when he stood beneath it. Every time she saw his chiseled forearms, Petunia Titi had longed to be held in those arms.

But now, she couldn’t find any trace of the old Wolf. His lips, smeared with alcohol and drool, were stuck to his beard, and his hazy eyes scanned Petunia Titi’s thighs and chest.

“Ugh…!”

Petunia Titi contorted her face.

But she hadn’t retreated yet.

Because Wolf could still come back.

Because Wolf was a good man.

Her love wouldn’t cool down over something like this.