HEO 9

Black Weasel, who had been laughing heartily, patted Red Eagle’s shoulder.

“Prince, there’s only one way. Explain your intentions to White Deer, get the money, and return to Atania. As for me, my duty is simply to deliver you safely to White Deer. Beyond that, I couldn’t care less.”

“There really is no other way…”

Red Eagle replied listlessly. Wolf frowned. He wasn’t some nanny soothing a child; he doubted a powerful tribal chieftain coveting the throne would willingly abandon her ambitions at her son’s tears.

No. The moment he meets White Deer, that prince is finished.

During their journey to Stoll, Wolf had genuinely grown fond of Red Eagle. He was kind, gentle, and noble. He would never adapt to this insane, barbaric continent, and would wither away like a dried flower.

Wolf stepped forward.

“Your Highness. There is a way to return immediately.”

“Huh?”

Red Eagle stared at him in disbelief.

“A way to return immediately? How?”

“Negotiation. Your Highness proposes to Warrior Black Weasel that he escort you to Levenon in Atania. You offer to pay him more than White Deer paid him for his services. The Levenon royal family values you highly and will gladly pay the price.”

He had heard the Stolls rarely keep their word. If they offered a huge sum as compensation for betraying White Deer, Black Weasel wouldn’t hesitate long before accepting.

Wolf looked at Black Weasel in the eye.

“Levenon may be a small kingdom, but it’s a wealthy one with immense resources. We can pay whatever price you desire. Please escort Prince Red Eagle to Levenon.”

“Huh. This one’s a bold fellow.”

Black Weasel scratched his cheek with his fingertip and chuckled.

“I assure you, Warrior, this is no losing deal. Levenon gold is highly valued in Atania. Any exchange house…”

Mid-sentence, Wolf absentmindedly shifted his gaze to the boy. The pale face, shadowed by the hood, wore a somewhat stiff expression. When their eyes met, the boy shook his head slightly.

Why is he acting like that?

A second later, something cracked against the top of his head.

* * *

The black snow ox trudged along, pulling a cart. White sunlight scattered like hazy smoke. After a disappointing summer, this winter was relatively milder than usual. Yesterday’s snow had mostly melted, revealing the red earth beneath where the cart wheels rolled.

Black Weasel, perched on the front of the cart and driving the black ox, looked back. Beside the large chest, Silver lay with his arms as a pillow. Only his lips were visible beneath his hooded face.

“Why did you do that?”

Black Weasel turned his head to ask. Silver remained silent.

“Did you feel like going easy on him because he’s about your age? You know we only have enough food stored in the hideout for three people, right?”

“……”

“I can forgive you for slacking off and being lazy while I’m working. But I won’t forgive you for interfering with my work. Just now, you interfered with my work. You did something that deserves to be whipped until your hide is stripped off.”

Black Weasel added while pulling on the reins.

“However, I’ll make an exception and forgive you this once. It’s the first time you’ve interfered with my work. But there won’t be a second time.”

The carriage wheels clattered along. Black Weasel lost himself in contemplation.

Silver, who was usually unsociable, had been chatting quite a while with the prince’s attendant since they met. And the attendant’s gaze as he looked at Silver… Beyond the cliché phrase ‘his soul had left his body,’ no other expression came to mind.

Silver was indeed very pretty, but to stare at him with such a spellbound gaze? More importantly, that servant boy was pure-blooded through and through. His fighting skills were formidable too.

Black Weasel’s heart rattled like a wheel rolling over a gravel path. Spruce and Ash. Both manifest their traits only after turning twenty. Unless identified at birth, even the individual remains unaware of their nature until that age.

A line from some folktale flitted through Black Weasel’s mind.

Yet they are instinctively drawn… As if a lock left neglected for a long time, slowly rusting away, has finally found its key. Even before the magic stirred by scent has time to begin.

* * *

Everything rattled and shook. Wolf groaned and opened his eyes. The top of his head ached.

Where am I?

His hands were tightly bound, and he was crammed into a tight crouch somewhere. It was pitch black. Every time the floor shook, his body slammed into the sides. He was probably trapped inside a big trunk.

“Your Highness? Where are you?”

The moment he shouted that, a loud sound rang out. It sounded like someone had slammed their fist down on the trunj lid.

“Shut up.”

It was the boy’s voice. A rustling sound came from beside Wolf.

“Wolf. Are you awake?”

Red Eagle whispered, barely audible.

“Your Highness, are you all right?”

“This isn’t the time to worry about me, Wolf. You need to watch your words and actions. I have political value as Mother’s puppet. But you’re just a servant.”

Wolf’s entire body grew cold. He remembered the boy shaking his head with a stiff expression when he’d offered to negotiate with Black Weasel. Was that a warning to stay out of it?

“Wolf, do you know what happened while you were unconscious? Black Weasel tried to chop your neck with an axe. He wouldn’t listen even when I begged him.”

The image of Black Weasel laughing boisterously flashed before Wolf’s eyes. He was, after all, a murderer.

“Fortunately, that boy stepped in and saved you from death. I couldn’t understand what he meant since he was speaking Stoll, but he seemed to be trying to stop Black Weasel. Anyway, you and I are stuffed in a trunk, being transported somewhere. It feels like we’ve been moving for a couple of hours.”

He saved me?

Wolf’s heart pounded. He heard Red Eagle’s sigh.

“I’m truly sorry. This entire situation is entirely my fault. Wolf, I promise. I will make sure you, at least, are returned safely to Atania.”

“Your Highness. We must return together. Princess Charlotte awaits you.”

Suddenly, the shaking stopped abruptly. The lid flew open, and the boy grabbed Wolf by the collar before flinging him out of the trunk. Red Eagle was dragged out too.

The boy severed the ropes binding Red Eagle and Wolf with his dagger. The sunset-drenched forest loomed ahead like a castle wall. Wolf, glancing around, spotted the black beast pulling the cart and his eyes widened. Is that… a cow? It looks just like a black bear…

His curiosity was quickly satisfied. When the boy released the reins, the beast let out a short “Moo” and slowly turned, disappearing into the forest. Black Weasel stepped down from the cart and gestured.

“Follow me. And you, servant boy, if you mess around again, I’ll kill you for real this time.”

Wolf bowed his head. He decided to keep his mouth shut for the time being. The saying was true: a person’s true colors show in times of crisis. Only after arriving in Stoll did Wolf realize his own true nature, one he hadn’t even known himself. To borrow the expression of commoner boys, he had a ‘temper.’

No, more than that… it felt like he’d rediscovered a part of the instincts of a Stoll man, the savage instincts he’d believed he’d shed while growing up as an Atania man. Feeling suddenly miserable, Wolf inwardly cursed. Fuck!

The forest was dim, barely touched by sunlight. Once again, Black Weasel led the way, with the boy following behind Red Eagle and Wolf. Wolf kept glancing back.

He wanted to say thank you for saving him.

If they walked side by side, he could at least speak in a whisper, but it was frustrating. After walking for a while, Wolf cautiously observed Black Weasel and glanced back slightly. Huh?

Where did he go?

The boy was nowhere to be seen. Just as Wolf was about to call out to Black Weasel, fearing the boy might have fallen victim to a stealthy pursuer, the boy emerged from behind a nearby tree.

“What?”

The boy stared at him sullenly. Wolf felt awkward all of a sudden. Did he go take care of business alone? Huh, wait a minute?

“What’s that thing in your hand?”

“It’s a rabbit, what else? It ran by, so I threw my dagger and caught it.”

“That’s a rabbit?”

“Never seen a rabbit before?”

The boy raised an eyebrow and retorted. Wolf couldn’t close his gaping mouth. A cow that looked like a black bear was already strange enough… but a rabbit with fur as curly as a poodle’s? And a long tail too!