HEO 28

Wolf’s expression changed.

[Silver, it’s true I deceived you… but calling me cunning? That’s a misunderstanding.]

[Misunderstanding? You practiced climbing the cave walls while I was gone! Am I wrong?]

[That was…]

Wolf trailed off before closing his mouth. Seeing that, Silver’s head went blank.

No way, but maybe…

Bingapsu was right after all.

The two boys stared at each other without saying a word. Silver clenched his fists. Amber eyes stared unwaveringly at him. Blond hair shining under the sunlight. Well-defined eyebrows…….

It was a face like a wooden sword stuck in a bloodstained scabbard. The face of an immature boy and a dangerous warrior layered together. Silver was familiar with that face. If you erased the smile lingering at the corners of his lips like southern sunlight, it was the face of a typical warrior-class boy.

The wooden sword would become a greatsword within a few years. His jawline would harden, his eyes sharpen, deep shadows would settle beneath his brow bones. If he lost even that boyish smile around then, Wolf would be forged into a man as rough and cold as Black Weasel.

An ordinary face. Except for the color of his eyes.

Yet the very first moment that face entered his sight, Silver was swept up in a strange sensation. As if a thick fog obscuring his vision had suddenly lifted, filling the entire world with blinding sunlight… It was a bizarre experience. What was even stranger was that, for some reason, that ‘ordinary face’ kept feeling like an ‘incredibly handsome face’. Damn it, I’ve lived too long staring at Bingapsu’s rotten face.

[Silver. Please try to understand His Highness and me.]

Wolf’s voice brought Silver back to reality.

[His Highness and I thought we’d die at that man’s hands. We had no choice but to deceive you while fighting for our lives. It wasn’t about money or clothes, it was a matter of life and death. It might sound brazen, but I won’t apologize for secretly practicing climbing the cave walls. However, I desperately want your understanding.]

Wolf’s explanation piqued Silver’s interest. Indeed, the expression Black Weasel had worn while intimidating the prince and his servant at the hot springs resembled that of a butcher selecting his first animal of the day. Had that face held just a bit more intensity, Silver might have unconsciously called out for his mother too.

[Then let me ask you this.]

With a bit of hope, Silver asked back.

[You weren’t thinking anything special when we were playing around with each other, right? You acted like usual?]

[Yes, I acted normally. Though I was thinking something. I was trying to lower your guard. His Highness and I wanted to make you our ally and run away together.]

What?!

Silver was horrified. Bingapsu saw everything, every single detail!

Wolf took a step forward.

[Um, Silver? Like I said before, we had no choice…]

[Shut up.]

Silver said.

[Unless you want to die by my hand right here, right now.]

His voice was barely audible, but Wolf’s face turned pale. Silver turned around and started walking away. It felt like winning a dice game only to get fleeced for all your money. His insides boiled like stew in a heated pot. He grew even angrier at himself for reacting this way, doubling his rage. Was it really worth getting this worked up over some servant stabbing him in the back?

Yeah. It wasn’t worth getting angry over. He hadn’t even known the servant long, and they were only connected by work. That bastard probably had his reasons for stabbing him in the back. His life was on the line, what could he do? Fuck, but it still piss me off. Why? Why!

Why…?

Huh?

…….

Oh, right? That’s weird. Seriously, why am I like this?

The very fact he kept thinking about Wolf was strange. Because Silver’s actions were driven by one thing only: instinct. In short, he lived without thinking. The act of thinking deeply, long, or often about something was like a chicken wandering the yard suddenly taking flight. Yet, when it came to Wolf…

This… couldn’t be.

A terrifying guess took hold of Silver. That bizarre sensation that had enveloped his entire body the moment he first saw Wolf. Could it be…?

Was this what they called “love at first sight”? Could that be why that bastard’s face looked so handsome to him?

He couldn’t just dismiss it. Memories came flooding back.

[You could call it the characteristic of a warm southern man? A relaxed, joyful impression that suits sunlight, blue seas, and palm trees. That kind of face is popular.]

“A face like yours?”

[Huh? What?]

“You must be popular with girls.”

That’s why I couldn’t sleep that night, feeling inexplicably gloomy… Ugh, now that I think about it, I was being weird?

Once doubt took root, everything appeared suspicious. Saving Wolf from Black Weasel’s hands, and then going hunting every day just to feed him, all of his actions raised questions. Why did he show such kindness to the servant when he’d never given a penny to a beggar?

His head started aching. He realized for the first time that thinking too much could give me a headache even without drinking. Silver suppressed his confusion, pulled a flask from inside his robe, and brought it to his lips. He swallowed a mouthful of liquor and closed his eyes. Reluctantly, he pictured himself kissing Wolf, his eyes blazing with passion.

“Ugh!”

Before his lips even touched Wolf’s, the alcohol surged back up. Silver covered his mouth with one hand and bent over.

“Ugh… Ugh! Blergh!”

[Silver, what’s wrong? Are you alright?]

Wolf hurried over and patted Silver’s back. Silver wiped his mouth and straightened up.

[It’s nothing. Probably from drinking on an empty stomach.]

[Let’s rest before going. Climbing that cave wall in this state is dangerous.]

[Who are you to tell me what to do? Don’t talk to me, you cunning bastard. You forgot my warning to shut your mouth if you don’t want to die?]

Silver swatted Wolf’s hand away and turned back. Despite the embarrassing disaster of vomiting after the intense test, he felt a sense of relief. He harbored absolutely no dangerous feelings toward Wolf. All those suspicious actions… well, it was probably just because the servant was around his age. That feeling of ‘the whole world being filled with sunlight’… must have been him mistaking the glare of the sun for sunlight.

Wolf continued talking as he followed.

[Silver, I just want to clear up one misunderstanding. My feelings for you as a friend are genuine. You are my friend.]

I’m not falling for it, you bastard.

Silver kept drinking as he trudged along.

[Believe me, the moment I got out of the cave, I came looking for you first. I spotted smoke rising from a campfire in the distant forest and thought it might be you, so I followed it. I even decided to train my martial arts skills to go find you and the old man. To free you from him…]

Silver snorted. Like you could?

[But listen… I have a question, Silver.]

The next moment,

[You… that uncle… do you… like him a lot?]

Caught off guard by the unexpected question, Silver spit out the drink he was sipping.

[Silver! Not again!]

Wolf rushed over and slapped Silver on the back. While coughing, Silver suddenly froze. A scent wafted out of nowhere. The moist, damp scent of sandalwood. It was like smelling freshly ground sandalwood from a sunlit window. The scent instantly pierced his throat and burrowed into his lungs. He suddenly felt dizzy. His legs went weak, and Silver nearly fell.

What… what was that?

The scent vanished as if it had never been there. Was it just… a drunken hallucination? No, it was definitely the exquisite scent of sandalwood carried on the breeze.

There was no time to look for the sandalwood. Wolf pounded Silver’s back and yelled at the top of his lungs.

[Silver! Are you alright? The butcher from our neighborhood died from drinking too much!]

[…Stop hitting me, asshole. You’re making me cough worse.]

Silver pushed Wolf away and lifted his head.

[What was that just now……. you know your tone earlier was really weird, right?]

[What… Ah? Ahh! No, no, that’s absolutely not what I meant! What I meant was, with a pure heart, no, respect? awe? That… that kind of feeling toward the old man.]

Wolf’s ears turned bright red as he hurriedly waved both hands.

[Actually, the reason His Highness and I gave up on you… was because… even though you could have run away if you’d wanted to, you didn’t. I thought maybe the old man was holding your family hostage, but seeing you earlier, it didn’t seem like that. You and him seemed closer than I thought. Like how you went out to meet him…]

Silver’s expression turned rigid.

[Is the old man your master? Your teacher?]

[No.]

Silver replied curtly.

[We’re sworn enemies. That bastard killed my mother.]