HEO 25

“Wolf, look at your situation. It’s exactly like Silver’s. You could easily climb the cave walls and escape, yet you stay here. You’re stuck because of me!”

Wolf couldn’t find his words. Red Eagle lowered his head. He raised both hands to cover his face, then finally began to cry.

“If I’d known this would happen, I would have learned martial arts…”

Seeing Red Eagle cry weighed on Wolf’s heart too. The area around the cave opening was rocky terrain with only sparse weeds. If there had been even a single tree, they could have somehow found a rope and escaped. Wrap the rope around a tree and drop it into the cave. If Red Eagle could wrap the rope around his waist, Wolf would pull him up from outside.

He hadn’t managed this simple escape until now. All because there wasn’t a single tree.

No… It’s because I’m weak.

Thinking this made Wolf want to cry too. If I had been strong, stronger than Black Weasel, everything would have ended long ago. He would have killed Black Weasel in one blow, kicked his corpse aside, and spat on it. By now, they’d be aboard a sailing ship bound for Atania with Red Eagle and Silver, getting heated over a card game. Damn it, if only I was strong.

After crying for a long while, Red Eagle lifted his face. His eyes held a resolute determination.

“Wolf. I have something to say.”

“I refuse. I won’t go out alone.”

“No. Don’t be stubborn.”

Red Eagle shook his head.

“At least you go back to Atania. Meet Princess Charlotte and tell her this: Don’t blame yourself for urging me to go to Stoll. You did nothing wrong. This is my last will.”

Your… last will?

It felt like a punch to the gut. What nonsense was this? He was trying to scare him. Your Highness, you bastard, don’t get ahead of yourself. Last will is something a wrinkled old man says to his kids right before he kicks the bucket.

“Ahh, I’ve never imagined my first journey would be a passage to death…! I have so much to tell the princess… I need to reward you for all your hardship… Ah, yes! I’ll write a will… There’s no quill here, so I’ll write in blood…”

Meanwhile, Red Eagle was weeping while biting his finger. It was unbearable to watch.

“Stop it, Your Highness! Stop! You mustn’t give in to despair so easily! Look at me! I almost died at that man’s hands, but thanks to Silver, I survived…”

Wolf stopped mid-sentence. It felt oddly disjointed, as if the words didn’t fit together. Why? ‘I almost died at that man’s hands, but thanks to Silver, I survived.’ What contradiction was there in that…?

……

……

Wolf’s eyes darted from side to side. This is it. This is it!

“Your Highness. Do you think Lady White Deer will die?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Red Eagle looked confused by Wolf’s counterquestion.

“You don’t know? Because my half-brother is stronger. Besides, Mother even summoned me, the king’s illegitimate child. Do you think she wants peace? That man’s words back then were hinting Mother would die.”

“At first glance, that’s a flawlessly painted still life answer. One question. Why did Silver spare my life? He stopped that man from killing me, and now he hunts daily just to feed me.”

“Probably… pity, no, he sees you as a friend or…”

Red Eagle, who had been mumbling incoherently, shut his mouth with a blank expression. Wolf chuckled.

“Your Highness, we were shocked to nearly die the moment we arrived at Stoll. There’s a Levenon proverb that says: ‘Fear is a veil that blinds the eyes.’”

“So we couldn’t see what was right in front of us because of fear?”

“Yes. Look again at the food and firewood piled here. The old man invested money and time into the hideout. If it was a situation where ‘it was obvious Lady White Deer would die,’ as you said, would he have done this?”

“That…”

Red Eagle’s face turned crimson.

“That bastard! He was toying with us?!”

“He was mocking the ignorant fools of Atania. It’s in the past. Getting angry now is a waste of time.”

Black Weasel was a native of Stoll. True to his reputation as an assassin, he was well-versed in the nation’s politics. He had foreseen Red Eagle’s half-brother and White Deer would reconcile. Fear, compounded by an information gap, had led the prince and his servant astray.

“If the situation had been dire, Silver wouldn’t have spared me. He must’ve overheard something. The ritual is the decisive proof.”

“How is that… Ah!”

Red Eagle raised both hands.

“The divination!”

“Yes. If Your Highness’s future were grim, he wouldn’t have suggested participating in the ritual.”

“I see. Haa… Then can we relax now?”

Red Eagle closed his eyes and let out a sigh of relief. Wolf clenched and unclenched his fist, lost in thought. No, Your Highness. It’s not time to relax yet.

You bet everything on Silver and ended up crying your eyes out. We can’t repeat the same mistake.

“…Your Highness. I will escape tomorrow.”

“Huh?!”

Red Eagle’s eyes flew open. Wolf spoke calmly.

“Your half-brother and Lady White Deer might not reconcile. Politics is like the weather.”

“Wolf, what’s this? Just now you were stubbornly insisting you wouldn’t escape alone?”

“Negotiate with that man, Your Highness. I know your face. Do you want sketches of the murderer of the Levenon royal family’s prospective son-in-law plastered across all of Atania and Stoll? A hefty bounty will be placed on the murder’s head.”

Red Eagle’s gaze changed. As someone who had rubbed shoulders with scheming adults since childhood, he instantly understood Wolf’s true intentions. Wolf met Red Eagle’s gaze and nodded. That’s right. This time, we’ll strike first.

Red Eagle clenched both fists tightly.

“Indeed… he’d think killing me would be a loss. I must skillfully lead him in that direction.”

“Yes, Your Highness takes the lead. But if the old man changes his mind…”

“Enough, Wolf. Leave the negotiations to me. From now on, you just worry about yourself.”

Red Eagle took a deep breath and extended his fist. Wolf bumped his own fist against Red Eagle’s.

“Let’s survive.”

“Yes. No doubt.”

Thus, the situation underwent a major shift.

Late into the afternoon, the two boys put their heads together and devised a plan. The cave contained plenty of supplies needed for camping: flint, blankets, a compass, and more. He could leave immediately once he packed a bag. Red Eagle continued to worry about Wolf.

“Wolf, are you really sure you can make it to Morgan alone?”

“I memorized the direction when we came up the river. If I walk along the riverbank, it should take a week at most? Don’t worry, commoner boys are tough as nails.”

Red Eagle handed his pocket watch to Wolf.

“This should get you on a ship. As soon as you disembark at the port, go to the Levenon Embassy and request protection. Don’t worry about me either.”

Wolf tucked the pocket watch away while fighting back tears. For the first time in his life, he swore a sincere oath to God. If Red Eagle were killed, he would spend the rest of his life hunting down Black Weasel. Even if Red Eagle was released unharmed, he would still hunt down Black Weasel. He would plunge into a world of reckless, dangerous games… no, adventures without purpose.

Then Wolf chuckled. Hadn’t he once grumbled that he absolutely refused any kind of adventure?

What did it matter? He had chosen his future career as a baker without much thought either. Plans always went awry.

“Wolf… I have a good feeling about this. We’ll definitely meet again.”

“Me too. But Silver’s late.”

Wolf looked up at the hole. It was now the middle of the night. Stars twinkled like finely ground jewel dust scattered across the sky.

“Seems like there’s no game to hunt tonight.”

“Silver…”

Wolf swallowed his gloom. Tomorrow, he would part ways with Silver without knowing when they’d meet again. Tonight, he felt he would stay awake all night, staring only at Silver’s sleeping face.

That night, Silver did not return.