HPV 93

Hancanera, even now, is reclining sideways in the his antechamber, savoring my misery.

The bird that had once been caged underground flew away, but even what the bird believed to be freedom was, in truth, just a larger cage. The wings that beat so powerfully were artificial—wings Hancanera had given him, and wings he could snap at any time with the flick of a finger.

How many days had Hancanera waited, amused, eager to reveal that truth to the bird?

“You’ve finally earned recognition from humans and even been granted land. I sold you and rose in the world. It was a trade we both profited from.”

I searched for the right words and shaped them carefully. The mean streak I’d cultivated since my days in the order served me well.

Banwes blinked vacantly. His face looked foolish, but there was nothing funny about it.
As if trying to find something else in my expression, he even removed his glasses. At first, his eyes were doubtful. Then, they grew uncertain—and shortly after, became as cold as mine.

“Back then, being with you felt good, in its own way. But now, I don’t need it to be you anymore. I can find plenty of people like me who’ll satisfy me.”

The look on my face reflected in Banwes’s eyes must have been one that genuinely didn’t want to see him ever again.
That much, he couldn’t help but read for what it was.

At this moment, I was more sincere than I had ever been. I never wanted to see Banwes again.
I hated that Banwes appeared in my vision, overlaid with Hancanera’s.

Expecting some venomous outburst, I folded my arms and waited in front of him. But what I got in return was something completely different.
The man lowered his eyes, unable to hide the helplessness weighing him down, and nodded in acceptance.

“…I understand.”

He turned his back and walked away—toward somewhere I could no longer see.

***

The High Priest had been overwhelmingly busy lately. He’d been attending to various matters for the important guest now staying in the temple.

And he was also carrying out a plan he couldn’t share with even his secretary or closest confidants.
He moved quickly along the path nobles walked, when a mage he happened to pass quickly approached him.

“Yuri.”

The High Priest stopped in place. He placed a hand over his chest and smiled gracefully, like a painting.

“What breeze has brought Sir Ikaran of the Mage Tower to speak to me?”

Yurichen acted as though he couldn’t recall what he had said to the mage on the eve of his supposed glorious death. He remained completely composed.

Penzey hesitated for a moment. What to do—play along? Or let it pass and steer things in his direction? He quickly chose the latter and smirked with a sharp edge.

“I saw Riarun on the road. He was alone.”

The High Priest blinked several times. Then, in a calm tone, he said,

“He was not alone. Bzhan was with him—you must have simply failed to notice.”

“I know that too. …So where is he?”

Banwes was not at Riarun’s side. That meant—

“He could be dead. Or perhaps he’s being held somewhere.”

“Why have you become even more extreme?”

Yurichen, as always, ignored Penzey’s nonsense. Though reluctant, he gave a detailed explanation.

“Riarun came into the temple. Banwes arranged a quiet house nearby for him to stay in until the authority ceremony is completed.”

Penzey nodded repeatedly, then suddenly narrowed his catlike eyes.

“Why did you separate them?”

“What are you talking about? I didn’t separate them. Riarun wanted to stay in the temple.”

The mage rolled his eyes, still suspicious.
But Yurichen didn’t have time to humor him any longer. He turned away and went straight to Bzhan.

“Have you been following Riarun properly? Nothing unusual in the library?”

“Nothing.”

Bzhan was publicly Riarun’s escort—but in truth, he was his watchdog.
—What if someone tries to take him away, enchanted by that angelic appearance? Riarun could certainly handle himself, but just dealing with it would wear him down.

Taken in by those words, Bzhan had faithfully carried out his role as the High Priest’s spy.

And yet, it wasn’t entirely because Yurichen had tricked him that Bzhan followed Riarun.

“Even in the central region, someone with a dark heart has tracked Riarun.”

Yurichen stopped in his tracks and fixed Bzhan with a piercing gaze.
Someone with a dark heart—followers of Rohin. But that had been several months ago.

“Why are you only telling me this now?”

“I thought I told you quickly.”

“Still, well done. Thank you for letting me know, even now. That was very helpful.”

‘As expected—I was right. Riarun, you must not take even a single step outside the temple.
That mind of yours must not be allowed to think of forgiving the cult, or burying everything quietly.’

The plan must be accelerated. Yurichen walked even more swiftly down the corridor.

Because of that, he failed to recognize the person walking from the opposite side and just passed by.

The one disguised like an ordinary servant, with his face hidden. The one who claimed to be sneaking out as usual, so no one thought to stop him from leaving the palace.

Prince Dodio briefly watched the back of the High Priest, then swiftly slipped away from the scene.

Yurichen, unaware of what ripple effects this moment might bring in the future, walked back in small hurried steps like someone who’d just remembered they forgot to feed their cat—and heard words he didn’t want to hear.

“Please let me go.”

Riarun was trying to leave the temple with his things packed.

{So now you’ll finally see the inside of the Temple of Gaioch. Once you figure out where the High Priest’s chamber is, what should I do with that information?}

Even inside the temple, Hancanera continued to invade his thoughts. Whether joking or serious, his voice wore him down all the same.

During the journey, everyone had been kind to him. Even so, he clung desperately to the belief that it wasn’t real.

If this world were a game, then he believed himself to be the villain. Even though he wasn’t capable of truly villainous deeds.

That was easier. That carried no burden. So he had chosen to think that way.

He became the villain.

A demon—traveling with Hancanera and exposing everyone to him.

And now, disappearing with secrets, right in front of them all.

Yurichen tried to stop him, wearing a calm expression.

“This is troublesome. Now that you’ve entered the temple as an honored guest, you must remain here for a while. It has been decreed by the divine.”

“That can’t be true. Please let me go.”

He insisted like someone speaking to a wall.

“Let me say it again. If you leave now, it puts me in a difficult position. Could you endure this for my sake? How about I allow you more visits with Banwes?”

“I don’t need visits. Let me go.”

“…Very well. I’ll assign you an escort.”

In the end, his stubbornness even bent the High Priest’s will.

Yurichen thought he was going to Banwes. That was obvious from the way he instructed the holy knights on the location of the house where Banwes was temporarily staying.

Riarun didn’t bother correcting him. Yurichen’s misunderstanding was to his advantage.

‘I have to leave the temple. I have to go somewhere no one knows.’

If he asked anyone for help, even that would be seen by Hancanera.

In the end, he’d only drag someone else into defeat along with him.

Banwes finally has land and a home to call his own—he’s on the brink of a peaceful life.

Surrounded by the holy knights, Riarun made his way to the meeting point he had arranged with Bzhan. He only intended to use Bzhan to shake off the knights, and later deceive him somehow to part ways.

But instead of focusing on his plans, his mind filled with useless old memories.

He stopped in his tracks, and the holy knights halted with him. They were likely watching him, but none asked what was wrong.

He had gone through many things and was no longer the same person who had once lived locked away in the cult.

He had seen a boy who couldn’t become an elf overcome his desperate past upon realizing that what he pursued was destroying him.

He had seen a hero set his heart on beheading the friend who betrayed him, yet continue on without losing his conviction.

He had seen those who defiled life by serving a false being, and he had seen the holy light of the High Priest restore life by serving the right one.

He had seen a mage, long hidden in lies, finally accept himself through the High Priest’s comfort.

He had seen a man who lived buried in the sins of his own birth find solace and escape from torment with just a single word from him.

Even if all of that had been leaked to Hankanera and lost its light—even if it no longer held value—

He…

…He chose to become the villain.

One of those burdensome characters who can’t take care of themselves and end up throwing trials at the protagonists after their arcs are over.

Taking everything into account, he would ask for help.

He would not make sacrifices again that were only for himself.

Even if, in this very moment, Hancanera saw through everything. Even if everything he did and thought became a burden—

The promise between him and that man, though broken once, was still valid. So he could not go off to die alone.

Snapping back to himself, Riarun looked back at the holy knights and shouted loudly,

“I—I’ll return to the temple!”