HEO 65

The warriors jumped up immediately. Shocked stares rained down on the praying mantis fairy, who had flopped onto the dirt ground along with flints, silver coins, amulets, and a glass vial. Even Black Weasel jumped up before quickly regaining his balance. No one would believed that it was a brief display of bare-handed gymnastics.

“Silver!”

Wolf shouted, his face had turned pale. Red Eagle simply slumped to the floor. It seemed the scene of them being roasted golden brown in the flames unfolded before the eyes of the prince and the servant like an illustration from a fairy tale.

However.

“I’ve never seen a mantis this big. Hey, kid! Where did you pick up such a cool bug?”

“Sell it to me. Four silver coins!”

“You even dressed it in clothes? Kids will be kids.”

“Hey, Big Eyes! Come here and climb onto my hand!”

The warriors scrambled to reach out toward the mantis fairy. Silver shrugged when Black Weasel glared at him. What did it matter? It worked out. Aside from them, nobody would ever see the mantis fairy as a real fairy.

“It’s over. Put your clothes on.”

The mantis fairy returned to the pocket, but the vial was gone. As expected, it had been confiscated. Could one feel this despondent when a pickpocket robs their pouch of silver coins?

“Stay quiet. It’s dangerous here.”

As he whispered to the mantis fairy and closed his pouch, Wolf glared at him fiercely. Has that fellow never seen anyone talk to a cat?

“Move up!”

They crossed the plank, surrounded by the warriors’ axes. Silver stared intently at Black Weasel walking ahead. They were both empty-handed. Silver would look for a chance to knock him out; if that didn’t work, a brawl would do. The thinking could come after.

“You fine mercenaries over there! Have a drink with us!”

A gruff voice called out. On one side of the wind-swept deck, Bronze-Billed Hawk held a cup high and winked. White Deer lay beside him. The heavy scent of alcohol leaking from the tan wooden barrels rolling around them reached all the way here.

“You lot, back off. The mercenaries are unarmed.”

Following Bronze-Billed Hawk’s words, the warriors lowered their axes and stepped back. Once the path opened up, Black Weasel headed for the drinks without hesitation. Wolf and Red Eagle were pushed toward the hatch by the warriors. They looked like captured prisoners rather than a prince and his servant.

Suddenly, Wolf looked back at Silver. The face of the boy his age staring in this direction. He stood out vividly, all alone, amidst the chaotic tangle of the smell of alcohol on the deck, the ceaseless stench of iron wafting from the village, and the shadows of rough warriors. Moreover, his gaze conveyed a message to him. Silver immediately read that unspoken message.

Let’s leave for Atania together? Persistent bastard.

But by any chance… do you hate goodbyes, too? Like me?

It felt as if a drumstick was pounding on his chest. Silver turned his head away from Wolf. He trudged after Black Weasel, staring at his back. If White Deer had even a shred of a mother’s heart, dinner would surely be waiting beneath the hatch.

“Sit comfortably! Sit!”

“Thank you.”

“Take this. Drink!”

Bronze-Billed Hawk handed a cup to Black Weasel.

“Actually, I received a report. My subordinates I sent to Morgan were defeated. A giant wearing a wolf skin and a boy in a black robe. You’re a good actor. If I hadn’t received that report, I would’ve let you pass carelessly.”

“I’m just a fool with nothing but size.”

“You’re humble. But looking at you brings a certain rumor to mind. They say there’s a wandering mercenary who travels with his young son, and his skills are as great as legendary thunder. Could that man be you?”

“You’ve misunderstood. That brat isn’t my son; he’s my slave. We don’t resemble each other at all, starting with our faces.”

“Naturally, you’d disguise him as a slave. A young son is a fatal weakness for a contractor like you. Besides, a wise man looks at temperament rather than features. To me, the malice in that child’s eyes is identical to yours.”

Black Weasel said nothing. Bronze-Billed Hawk didn’t ask further and tilted his cup. The Ruthless Prince, who had slaughtered his own siblings, seemed to like the wandering mercenary. His intention to lure the man into becoming one of his warriors was plain on his face.

Don’t waste your breath, old man. Bingapsu hates warriors.

Silver hid a smirk behind a cup.

Beside her husband, who was preoccupied with the assassin, White Deer silently downed her drink. Heat radiated from her flushed cheeks like an open forge.

Suddenly, White Deer looked at Bronze-Billed Hawk.

“You look very happy.”

Following the provocation, she punched Bronze-Billed Hawk’s shoulder.

“I guess you really like your son, whom you only met for the first time today?!”

“White Deer? What are you talking about…?”

Bronze-Billed Hawk furrowed his brows and blinked.

“You’re very drunk. That boy isn’t my son; he’s your son.”

“He’s your son.”

“Right, since I married you, he’s my son too. As his half-brother and stepfather, I’ll gladly bless his future. Now, let’s forget the past and drink happily.”

“He’s not your stepson. He’s not your half-brother, either. He’s your biological son.”

“Wait? Hey? What?”

Bronze-Billed Hawk, who had been asking repeatedly, fell silent. He looked as if he had suddenly remembered something. In an instant, the deck became as quiet as a graveyard. In the whistling winter wind, Black Weasel, Silver, and the warriors all held their breath and watched the next king and queen.

They all knew it. An incredibly entertaining spectacle was about to unfold.

Bronze-Billed Hawk threw his cup down.

“That can’t be! My father, me, and you, the three of us only had fun together once!”

“If you enjoyed it then, you should know. Your father is impotent.”

“He told me he just wasn’t in the mood that night!”

“The child born four years after the women claiming to carry the King’s baby suddenly stopped coming is my son. You never thought that was strange? You’re a dull bear in that regard.”

“That…”

Bronze-Billed Hawk hesitated, then shouted again.

“Then why did you lie and say he was my father’s son! Wait, do you have proof your son is mine? What if it’s someone else’s seed?”

“Are you insulting me?”

White Deer threw her cup and grabbed Bronze-Billed Hawk’s collar. Her knee aimed at her husband’s face. Just before her attack landed, Bronze-Billed Hawk grabbed his wife’s wrist and threw her. Their movements were those of people who slept clutching axes every night.

Cheers erupted. One warrior whistled. Another stomped on the deck. Some shouted out betting amounts. Amidst the heated cheers, the couple’s brawl grew more violent.

“I was a widower back then! Why didn’t you say he was my child!”

“Why do you think, you idiot! Because I didn’t want to marry a widower with seven kids!”

“No, no! You’re lying after all! You called my father’s name all night long, and now you say he’s my kid!”

“That’s because your father’s face was better to look at!”

Just then, two men pushed through the warriors and rushed out. One spread his arms and blocked White Deer. The other hugged Bronze-Billed Hawk and pushed him back.

“Please, Stepmother! You’re drunk!”

“Father, calm down! It’s only been a few days since you married; how can you treat your bride so roughly!”

“Let go, you brat!”

Bronze-Billed Hawk pushed his son away. He glared at White Deer for a moment, then snatched a cup from a nearby warrior’s hand and drained it in one gulp.

“We head for White Deer’s tribe at dawn!”

Bronze-Billed Hawk shouted, and threw his cup into the river. The cup sparkled briefly before being swallowed by the dark water.

“However, this ship will head to the nearest sea harbor! Make sure White Deer’s son is put on a ship for Atania!”

“Bronze-Billed Hawk and White Deer’s son.”

White Deer corrected him immediately and spread her arms wide toward Bronze-Billed Hawk’s two sons.

“Be happy, stepsons! You have a youngest half-brother! He’s quite a lacking fellow, just like someone we know!”

“A half-brother?”

“What…?”

The gazes of the two sons hurried back and forth between their father and stepmother. Bronze-Billed Hawk gripped the railing tightly with one hand.

“Don’t misunderstand.”

The wooden railing snapped in the grasp of the next king.