HEO 68

At that moment, Wolf bowed his head. Like a bare branch snapping under the weight of accumulated snow. His chin nearly touched his chest.

[So you really do like that old man.]

[…….]

[It makes sense, since you’ve lived together for over ten years. I was the fool.]

[……Wolf.]

[You know, Silver. Do you remember? When you saved me from the cliff.]

Wolf suddenly changed the subject. Silver’s brow furrowed. What is he talking about?

Wolf continued talking while staring down at the floor.

[I was out of my mind back then. Even when you spoke to me, I didn’t budge an inch, like a rock.]

A murmur that sounded almost like a soliloquy. A tone that seemed to be dragged out reluctantly.

[I… I was stunned because you saved that man first. I believed that no matter how long you’ve lived together, you’d save me, your friend, first.]

[That was… because one of Bingapsu’s shoulders was dislocated….]

[I see. It was a practical decision. ]

Wolf clenched his fists tightly against his thighs. The tips of his fingers turned white. Silver felt suffocated. As long as he didn’t know the truth, Wolf would see him as nothing but a bastard. A bastard who sided with an assassin trying to kill his friend.

Should he just close his eyes and say that Bingapsu is his biological father?

As Silver hesitated, the voice continued.

[You hugged me and cried back then. You shouted in Stoll, but I understood everything. I knew you were sad, thinking I’d lost my mind from the shock.]

[Uh… Well. S-sad…? It wasn’t that bad…]

[Your tears soaked my neck. They were warm, like a scarf.]

[W-when did I cry……]

Silver’s face grew hot without him realizing it. Hey, Wolf? Listen, no matter how I look at it…… that’s not something you should be saying to another grown man.

He glanced sideways at Red eagle. The latter was leaning forward. His face looked like that of a kid who’d woken up in the middle of the night, left his room to get a drink, and then froze upon hearing the suggestive moans leaking from his parents’ bedroom. Don’t get the wrong idea, you little brat!

[So I kept pretending to be spaced out just because I felt good. I was happy that you were crying for me… It’s just… that’s all… ]

His voice gradually grew quieter. Wolf’s face turned red all the way to his ears as he rubbed the floor with his fingertips. He looked as if he were writing a letter to someone.

Suddenly, goosebumps spread across Silver’s skin. Those awkward words that guy had said out of the blue… Could it be?

The realization slammed into his head like a siege hammer. A final message left for me?

Because he didn’t want to put his friend in danger and run away alone? Had he given up on escaping altogether and, as a last resort, confessed his true feelings to his friend?

You stubborn bastard! I can’t take this anymore!

[Cut it out, you idiot! I’m not going to die at Bingapsu’s hands! That man is my biological father!]

Silver shouted angrily. Red Eagle’s eyes widened like a frog’s, and his mouth dropped open.

[Silver, what did you say? That man……?]

Wolf also slowly raised his head. Silver slammed his fist into the floor.

[Got it? I’m not going to die. So stop moping and focus on escaping!]

[Silver. You’re trying too hard.]

Wolf let out a wry laugh. Red eagle chimed in.

[Right. That went quite far, Silver.]

Caught off guard by their reaction, Silver was speechless. He’d finally mustered the courage to confess… and they didn’t believe him?

The prince and his servant each added their two cents.

[First of all, there isn’t a single feature on his face that resembles yours. There’s even a saying that apple trees don’t bear strawberries…]

[Exactly, Your Highness. That man and Silver are as different as a worm-eaten tomato and a fully bloomed lilac.]

[But those are still plants. To me, they’re as different as a whale and a bluebird.]

[If you were even as similar as a cucumber and an eggplant, I might have believed you. Well, your eyes are similar. I’ll give you that.]

Silver gritted his teeth inwardly. Bronze-Billed Hawk who had been acting all high and mighty with his line about “the wise look at character rather than facial features,” was actually smarter than the kids in front of him. Are you blind, you bastards? Didn’t you see that Bingapsu and I have the same drinking capacity!

There was only one option left. To punch Bingapsu squarely in the gut right in front of Wolf and say, “It is disgusting that I am your son.”

[Um, but Silver……]

Suddenly, Red Eagle looked over at him, hesitantly.

[Are you really not going to tell us the reason why he’s trying to kill Wolf…?]

[It’s annoying. You can hear it from Wolf on the ship to Atania.]

Silver replied indifferently.

[And you, Wolf. Don’t get lost in sentimentality anymore. This isn’t some war game for kids. I’ve had it confirmed by Bingapsu twice. Or was it three times? Anyway, just before I came down here, he boasted that if I behaved myself, it might extend your life a little.]

He stopped the warning there and shifted his thoughts in a different direction. The escape problem was solved more easily than expected. The next headache was the evil spirit clinging to Wolf. Could the priests of Atania exorcise the Stoll evil spirit? It was a nuisance, but it might be better to explain the whole situation to Red eagle. After all, he held a position that allowed him to summon the best priests.

[Hey, Prince. Don’t be surprised, just listen to me…….]

Silver’s words trailed off. Red eagle’s expression also changed.

[Wolf…? What are you doing?]

Red eagle asked hesitantly. Silver snapped his fingers right in front of Wolf’s eyes.

[Hey, do you see a giant spider or something? What are you staring at?]

Wolf said nothing. His gaze remained fixed on the empty air. It was as if he had spotted a ghost standing somewhere, one invisible to everyone else. A chill ran through Silver’s entire body. Had the evil spirit already devoured Wolf’s soul?

[Wo–!]

Just as Silver raised his voice, Wolf pointed his finger at the empty air.

[Can’t you see that, Silver?]

[What? Well… I don’t see any bugs…]

Silver’s voice trailed off. Where Wolf was pointing, only dust as fine as flour was swirling in the lamplight.

[Something like a window… or a small door… You say you can’t see that?]

Wolf, who had been mumbling, suddenly fell silent. His irises, still fixed on the same spot, glowed with the lamp’s light, becoming even more vivid. Silver shook Wolf’s shoulder.

[Wolf! Snap out of it! Don’t just stand there, shake your left hand! If you do that, the evil spirit will…!]

[Choise……. Right to refuse…….]

[What are you talking about! I said shake your left hand!]

[5 times……. Conditions met…….]

Wolf’s pupils rolled rapidly. Left, right, left, right.

[Side effects……. True nature…….]

Silver turned his head toward Red eagle.

[This won’t do. You shake Wolf’s left hand. I’ll go get a sacrifice from the deck, so you have to hold on until then!]

[Wolf! Wolf!]

Red eagle grabbed Wolf’s left hand. It was just as Silver was about to stand up. He saw a blinding light, white and intense, an explosive flash. Then came the pressure.

[U… ugh…!]

[Aaaargh!]

A ferocious gust of wind slammed into his chest. Both Silver and Red eagle were sent flying in opposite directions like sacks of flour. In an instant, his body crashed onto the wooden floor. He rolled around like a log sliding down a hill.

“Ugh… Damn it!”

He cursed. Silver braced himself with all his might with his palms planted on the floor. Even so, his body spun around. Damn it! More! More!

He slammed his toes into the wooden floor. He tensed every muscle in his body and channeled all his strength into his palms. Suddenly, his fingertips dug into the floor. Wood chips flew up. He stopped.

“Haa, haa…”

Silver, gasping for breath, quickly looked up. The moment Wolf came into view, he was overcome with horror. He was spewing light and a gale. Dozens of dazzling beams of light streamed out from beneath his clothes. The hem of his robe fluttered like a flag in the howling wind.

The dark corridor instantly transformed into a winter wasteland at high noon. Even amidst the violent onslaught of light and wind, Silver couldn’t take his eyes off Wolf. What… is that?

Wolf’s right hand. Something was suddenly surging up from his wide-open palm. Growing long like a snake, it instantly transformed into a greatsword the size of a small child before popping out of his hand. Wolf’s large hand snatched the greatsword as it slid downwards. Even in his stunned state, a shiver ran down Silver’s spine. The way he moved his hand and swung the hilt left and right was excessively skillful and instinctive.

“Ugh…!”

Silver flinched. In the blink of an eye, everything went dark. There wasn’t even a breeze.

Darkness. The light of a lamp. Laughter coming from the deck. Everything had returned to the way it was before. Except for Wolf.

With the great sword clenched in one hand, Wolf stood with his body leaning to one side and stared down below.

Silver immediately realized. It’s a monster.

[W-Wo-Wolf… what, what’s wrong…?]

From the end of the corridor, Red Eagle lay collapsed, crying. Blood was trickling down his forehead.

Wolf slowly raised his head. Silver couldn’t move a single finger. It felt as if his body were filled to the brim with wet sand.

[Silver.]

Wolf turned his gaze toward Silver. His eyes were different now. Something as cold as winter seawater had taken hold of his pupils.

[If I go up to the deck right now and kill that man, there won’t be any problem, right? This is Stoll, after all.]

Silver couldn’t open his mouth. Fear weighed down on his entire body like molten bronze.

[I’ll finish this. Just wait a moment.]

Wolf turned around and ran, dragging his greatsword. His movements were so fast it was hard to believe even when seeing it with his own eyes. Wherever the greatsword passed, deep gouges were carved into the wooden floor. Silver came to his senses too late. No!

[Stop right there!]

It felt as if his whole body were being submerged by a surging tide. He had a bad premonition.

[Wolf!]

Silver plunged into the darkness. Two steps, three steps, he skipped down the stairs and reached the deck in a single bound. The winter wind. A blade already in motion. A single white arc in the darkness. Black Weasel’s head flew off his shoulders and into the river. His sturdy body staggered a few steps like a drunkard heading home, then slowly sank to its knees. Thud. The head had already vanished.

Cheers and whistles, the smell of alcohol. Warriors pumping their fists.

Silver collapsed to the ground. Sweat poured from his entire body like rain. It ended this quickly?

It can’t be.

Is this real?

The warriors surrounded Wolf and cheered. Bronze-Billed Hawk, who had once praised Black Weasel, slapped Wolf’s back with one hand. White Deer bent over and laughed. Everyone was cheering for the victor. A red line flowed slowly toward Silver. It was his biological father’s blood.

‘Silver! You’re thunder too!’

He remembered Black Weasel lifting him high in the air and shouting those words eleven years ago. Back then, his father had smiled as if he held the world in the palm of his hand.

Silver’s vision blurred. He couldn’t make sense of anything.

Why had Wolf suddenly turned into a monster?

Why Bingapsu died so quickly?

Why?

He didn’t know.

Everything was a mess.

It was chaos everywhere.

It was hell.