TOPWL 157

Yudit blinked, wondering if he had misheard something.

“What do you mean? You went on a monster subjugation mission, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, but we were attacked by barbarians along the way. It was like they were trying to lure us somewhere. And when we reached their base…”

“Khalid?”

Jolted awake by Yudit’s call, Khalid blinked rapidly and continued his sentence.

“Mm. We found Prince Hiore, barely alive.”

“The real… Hiore?”

“Would there be a fake one?”

Yudit shot upright, shaking off Khalid with a strength he didn’t know he had.

“Why are you telling me this now?”

Khalid looked at him with eyes still moist from lack of sleep.

“Because last night, nothing felt more important than the lover calling my name while getting himself off.”

Yudit shut his eyes tightly and got up.

“Where is he?”

“I’ll tell you… after two more hours of sleep.”

“Khalid. I’m not in the mood for jokes.”

Seeing Yudit’s serious expression, Khalid sighed and sat up.

“I’ll take you. I’ll show you myself.”

“You’re exhausted. Just tell me and I’ll go alone.”

“No matter how tired I am, you think I’d leave you alone with someone like him?”

Khalid had no qualms referring to a prince as “someone like him.” It was far too early to wake Shane, so Yudit ended up going with Khalid.

Creak—as they stepped out of the room, the bluish dawn light gently wrapped the hallway. Walking down the corridor, Yudit asked,

“How is Hiore?”

“Well, without treatment he’ll die. With it, he might live.”

“That bad…?” Yudit looked startled. Khalid nodded.

“What happened? He should be in the palace—or at least in his own territory. Why was he there?”

Reginald may not have shown ambition for the throne, but Prince Hiore’s hunger for it was unmatched. The idea that such a man would end up near Yudit’s domain, nearly dead, was hard to believe. Khalid seemed to think for a moment, then spoke.

“He came to assassinate someone.”

“…Me?”

“No. Prince Azil.”

Yudit’s expression darkened. He knew Azil had been assigned to a nearby region. The emperor had wanted the two of them to grow closer. His legs started to shake. The fact that the prince himself, not an assassin, had come—it hit hard.

“Did he get hurt trying?”

“No. He acted alone and didn’t even reach Azil. Azil must’ve felt sorry for him and let him go.”

But if he’d been let go, why was he injured to the point of near-death? As Yudit frowned in confusion, Khalid sighed.

“He took out his frustration by attacking a barbarian village. Got himself wrecked. Charged in alone, so of course it went badly. Still, he killed two and injured ten. But once they realized he was royalty, it became a problem for them too. So they picked a fight to drag us deeper in, then shoved Hiore at us and told us to take him.”

Only then did Yudit start to understand why Hiore was here. This wasn’t just any noble—they had severely injured a prince. If that got out, the barbarian village would be wiped off the map. Whatever personal grudges they had, what they did was reasonable.

“Poor men.”

“Yeah. That tribe wouldn’t be bad if they didn’t keep trying to expand their territory.”

“Can’t we incorporate them into our lands?”

“We’ve tried. But they’re too deeply rooted in their religion—and they’re extremely xenophobic.”

“Ah…”

“Anyway, let’s deal with the matter at hand first.”

Khalid opened a door. Yudit took a deep breath and stepped inside. It didn’t take more than a few steps before the sharp scent of medicine filled the air. Prince Hiore’s face was swollen beyond recognition. His body was covered under blankets, but the bandages wrapped up to his neck suggested things underneath were even worse. As Yudit approached, the smell of blood and bitter medicine grew stronger, and he grimaced.

“He’s in bad shape.”

“Yeah. If we don’t treat him, he’ll die.”

Khalid said flatly, pulling back the blanket. Yudit inhaled sharply. Hiore’s entire body was wrapped in bandages. One knee looked completely crushed—it was unclear whether he’d ever recover.

“…Why did you bring him here?”

“I wanted to show you what he looked like. Just once.”

Khalid shrugged.

“No other reason.”

“This could be dangerous.”

The ones who hurt him were the barbarians, yes—but Khalid had brought him here. If Hiore died in Khalid’s estate, it wouldn’t end well for either of them.

“That won’t happen.”

“Why do you think so?”

“If Prince Hiore dies here, the blame will fall on the barbarians. If he lives, the credit will go to us.”

“But you said you took him from them, didn’t you?”

“I brought him out in complete secrecy. There’s no way this will reach the capital.”

Khalid wasn’t the kind of man to speak carelessly. That gave Yudit a bit of reassurance. He looked down at Hiore. Seeing the one who had tormented him for so long lying unconscious and helpless made Yudit feel strangely alienated from himself.

“What do you want to do?”

“What do I want to…?”

“You could kill him now if you wanted.”

At Khalid’s words, Yudit sucked in a breath.

“I know that Prince Hiore caused you pain.”

Khalid’s eyes gleamed dangerously.

“I brought him here to give you the choice.”

“…”

“Do you want to kill him? Or save him—and make him owe you his life?”

Yudit’s palms were damp with sweat.

“That’s why I was going to let you sleep first. Judgment falters after a sleepless night.”

“Is there a chance… Hiore might be listening?”

Yudit lowered his voice. Khalid shrugged.

“If we save him, we’ll be his benefactors. Anything he hears in a coma could be dismissed as hallucination.”

And if he dies, he won’t be saying anything. Khalid didn’t say that part aloud, but Yudit somehow felt as if he had. He studied Hiore’s face. It was bruised and cut, but still recognizable as Hiore.

“If we leave him like this…”

“He’ll die. To save him, it’s not just treating the wounds—he’ll need surgery. It’s not complicated, but without it, he’ll die for sure.”

He’ll die. Hiore will. Yudit closed his eyes for a moment. Memories of what Hiore had done to him flooded back. It may have started at Reginald’s urging, but after that, Hiore had clearly enjoyed it. Like cornering a small animal, he had hounded Yudit relentlessly and hit him without hesitation. Hiore had been a monster to him.

There were plenty of times he’d wanted to kill him. When Hiore had beaten young Yudit nearly to death in a fit of rage. When he mocked his mother. When he sneered and humiliated him in front of others. Yudit had always dreamed of killing him one day. And now that chance was right here.

“…”

He wouldn’t even have to lift a finger. If left alone, Hiore would die. It would be revenge without a trace. But he could get involved. Yudit had trained in swordsmanship. He knew where to stab for a quick death—and where to strike for a slow, agonizing one. If he wanted to wake Hiore up and make him die painfully, Khalid would grant him that.

Yudit clenched his fist and took a deep breath. Khalid was right—this wasn’t a decision to make on no sleep. But this moment, encountering Hiore in such a state, was fate—for both of them. Yudit turned to Khalid and said,

“I’ll save him.”

“Are you serious?”

Yudit nodded.

“Why don’t you sleep on it a bit more?”

“No. I’ve made up my mind.”

“Why did you choose that?”

Khalid asked, curious. He seemed genuinely puzzled.

“It’s not that I don’t want to kill him. If Prince Hiore were put on trial for his crimes, I’d gladly be among those calling for his death. But…”

Yudit hesitated, then continued.

“Dying like this… I think it would haunt me for a long time. He already caused me years of pain. I don’t want to let him do that anymore.”

“So in other words, killing him now wouldn’t sit right with you.”

Yudit nodded. Khalid crossed his arms and looked down at Hiore.

“I can understand that. But Prince Hiore left Prince Azil’s territory and ended up in a barbarian village. And that village is right next to ours. Do you know what that means?”

“Are you saying Hiore came to assassinate me?”

“There’s a good chance. The barbarian village isn’t on the road back to the capital.”

Khalid looked Yudit straight in the eye and asked:

“Even so—will you still choose to save Prince Hiore?”