Font Size:
At Ail’s quiet words, Ruth rose and reached for the bandages. Holding the white bandage in his hand, he examined Ail’s wounds, only to find himself in an awkward predicament. Wrapping the bandages around Ail’s chest and shoulder would inevitably require him to lean into Ail’s embrace. Though he was the one who had volunteered to treat him, and such proximity wasn’t a big deal at this point, the thought of pressing his bare skin against Ail’s made his face flush involuntarily.
“Raise your arm, please,” Ruth said.
Holding the bandage in his left hand, Ruth moved his arm around Ail’s back. Then, slipping his right hand through Ail’s left side, he took hold of the bandage in a position that left him almost hugging Ail. Carefully, he wound the bandage around Ail’s chest, securing the injured areas. Each time he moved closer, the sharp scent of alcohol mixed with Ail’s natural scent left his head spinning. Memories of touching Ail’s skin flashed through his mind, making it worse.
Ail chuckled at Ruth’s tense demeanor.
“Why are you so nervous? Is this your first time wrapping a bandage?”
Emergency treatment was a fundamental skill all trainees learned, so Ail knew it wasn’t Ruth’s first time. Still, he teased him, noticing how clumsy and hesitant his movements were. Ruth ignored the jibe and focused on his task.
After wrapping the bandages—albeit awkwardly—around Ail’s chest and side, Ruth tied a knot and let out a small sigh of relief. He then moved out of Ail’s embrace, lifting Ail’s right arm.
“Let me take care of your right arm now,” he said.
Ail glanced down at his chest and clicked his tongue.
“You’re worse at this than I am.”
“…”
“How did you even get into the knights?”
“…I barely scraped by on the basic subjects,” Ruth admitted.
“Like with dancing?”
Annoyed by Ail’s persistent teasing, Ruth snapped back, “I’m good with a sword, at least.”
“Fair enough. Your swordsmanship is commendable. But what else?”
Ail’s eyes glimmered with mischief as he continued probing for Ruth’s weaknesses, finding amusement in the interaction. Despite the time they had spent together, they knew surprisingly little about each other beyond their families and general personalities. Ail had no idea about Ruth’s time as a trainee, his relationships with peers, his hobbies on days off, or even his favorite foods.
“Your arm, please,” Ruth said, cutting off Ail’s playful interrogation.
Completely ignoring him, Ruth grabbed the bottle of alcohol and poured it directly onto Ail’s arm wound. The sharp, intoxicating smell of the liquor filled the air, and Ail winced, furrowing his brow in pain.
Ruth glanced at him briefly before wiping away the excess alcohol with a clean cloth. As he bandaged the wound, he said, “There’s one more thing I’m good at.”
“Pouring alcohol on wounds?” Ail retorted.
“…Killing people with my bare hands.”
“Bare hands?”
“There was a special class offered for volunteers,” Ruth explained. “It covered various techniques, like close-quarters combat, escape tactics, and ultimately, how to kill an enemy effectively without weapons.”
“How?”
“Breaking their necks or targeting vital points,” Ruth replied matter-of-factly.
“You’re pretty skilled when it comes to killing,” Ail remarked.
“My instructor said the same thing.”
After finishing the bandage and tying a knot, Ruth continued staring at Ail’s wound, as if deep in thought. Seeing his expression, Ail reached out and lifted Ruth’s chin.
“Does this wound bother you?” Ail asked.
“Yes,” Ruth admitted.
“It doesn’t bother me.”
“But it left a scar,” Ruth pointed out.
“It’s your scar. I don’t mind.”
At Ail’s gentle and sweet words, Ruth let out a bitter laugh.
“Take it slow. You’ve changed so much so suddenly, I can’t keep up.”
“If I’m going to change, it’s better to do it quickly,” Ail said firmly. “Dragging things out doesn’t suit me. I’ve already wasted too much time, and I’m not about to waste any more of it. Besides, we don’t even know if we’ll make it out of here alive. I don’t want to waste what little time we might have left.”
Hearing such uncharacteristically pessimistic words from Ail left Ruth momentarily taken aback.
“Why do you think that? I thought you believed that His Majesty would never die…”
At Ruth’s words, Ail suddenly recalled what he had said when leaving the palace: “You are definitely not the type of person who would do such a thing.”
“You don’t know me as much as I don’t know you. I don’t believe I won’t die, I just think if I do, there’s nothing I can do about it. I grew up surrounded by such dangers. But as long as I can, I try my best not to die. I’m too valuable to die early. If I die now, this continent loses one of its greatest rulers. The unification of Karileum might be delayed for over a thousand years, or it might even be impossible.”
Ail’s confident words made Ruth smile bitterly.
“That’s more than just a belief that you’ll never die, that’s an overconfidence.”
“Because it’s the truth.”
“Have you ever been targeted for assassination?”
“Several times. You’ve seen it yourself.”
“…Were they all sent by your father?”
“About half of them were. Besides the Chancellor of Kaizel, I’ve got many enemies. My nurse even tried to poison me.”
Upon hearing that, Ruth suddenly fell silent. He felt a deep sense of despair. Without saying anything, he wrapped the bandage around Ail’s arm, and then, finally voicing what he had been wanting to ask, spoke.
“Is being an emperor really that important?”
“Because you can achieve everything you desire.”
“Is that something worth sacrificing loved ones for?”
“It is. For some people, it is. And for others, it’s not.”
“What about you?”
Ruth stopped wrapping the bandage and looked into Ail’s eyes, asking a direct question. At his honest query, Ail responded with a question of his own.
“What about you?”
“I’m the ‘not’ side. I don’t have any ambition or aspirations.”
“You do have one grand aspiration. Didn’t you say you’d have about twelve children?”
“…That’s already water under the bridge. I’ve answered, so it’s your turn, Your Majesty.”
“That question doesn’t apply to me.”
“Why not?”
“To me, being emperor isn’t something I need to fight for; it’s something that should naturally be mine. I was born for it, and I was raised for it. Becoming emperor is as natural as breathing.”
Ail’s proud words sparked curiosity in Ruth. Did all chosen ones have such confidence in themselves? Or was it because he was born as the crown prince that he thought this way? If it wasn’t that, could it be that Ail Linus was truly one of the chosen people?
“If we make it out alive, it will be hard.”
As Ruth finished bandaging Ail’s arm, he tied the knot and lowered his head. Ail continued speaking.
“But you must endure. Your only strength is your patience, so this works out well. Endure and hold on. If you stay by my side, you’ll have to be prepared to die.”
Ruth quietly lowered his gaze, not bothering to argue. That self-centered, arrogant side of Ail seemed unlikely to change until the day he died. But it was so typically Ail that Ruth couldn’t help but accept it.
Ail pulled Ruth back into his embrace and, watching the weakening fire in the stove, pulled the warm blanket over both of them. Neither of them had the luxury of relaxing right now. They both knew that the Red Scorpions could attack at any time. But neither of them mentioned it, both staring into the light of the stove.
As Ail tucked Ruth’s head into his arm and pulled Ruth closer to his chest, Ruth felt his body being pulled toward Ail.
The warmth of his body against Ruth’s back brought a sense of calm. It felt as if everything had stopped. Time, space, and the flow of air all seemed to freeze, creating the illusion that there were only two people in the world. He was worried about what had happened to Kamiel and Kasha, but he didn’t want to say it out loud. The moment he spoke those words, he would be pulled back into reality.
He wanted to dream a little longer, even if it was just for a moment.
“As soon as we leave this mountain, let’s find Kamiel and Jessie and return to Karileum. If they’re still alive, that is.”
Ail broke Ruth’s illusion and pulled him back into reality. Ruth, feeling a bit resentful of Ail for speaking the words he couldn’t, responded with a bitter expression.
“…I suppose so.”
“The journey there can be a little slow. We could stop by Vera if we like.”
Noticing Ruth’s mood, Ail redirected the conversation, explaining a plan that seemed considerate. But Ruth no longer cared about Vera. It was a place he longed for, but now that he had decided to take Ail’s hand, he had to let go of his attachments. What bothered him, however, was the aftermath of their return.
“Don’t worry about anything. No one except the knights who were there that day knows you left the palace. We’re just traveling to Clozium on a whim.”
Ail kindly explained Ruth’s concerns, speaking calmly. But what was distracting Ruth now wasn’t that.
“When you return… you’ll have to marry, won’t you?”
Ruth’s voice, now calm, caused Ail to loosen his grip around him slightly. Sensing Ruth’s unease, Ail continued, pretending nothing was wrong.
“It doesn’t matter. You’ll have to marry either way.”
“…Do you not want me to marry?”
“…I don’t want to answer that.”
“Try answering.”
“I don’t want to.”
Having said that, Ruth closed his mouth, signaling that he would say no more. Ail, still holding Ruth’s shoulder, whispered softly.
“If you don’t want me to, then I won’t.”
At those words, Ruth’s shoulders tensed and shuddered. It was a sign that his heart had softened.
“Then answer me. You can think about it on the way.”
Ail coaxed gently, and Ruth hesitated for a moment. Ail was about to become emperor. Now that he was an adult, marrying a consort was not an option, but a duty. No matter how much of a trickster he might be, he couldn’t deceive the people and the royal family. He thought that it was inevitable. He had resigned himself to that part. But Ail kept prodding him.
“Tell me what you want. I said I’d grant whatever you ask.”
It was sweet talk. But despite this, Ruse wanted to believe him. No, he already trusted his words. Ail was someone who would do what he said, so Ruth believed he could upend the entire royal family if he wanted to. But it was because of the consequences Ail would face that Ruse hesitated. He had already brought him this far and made him suffer; he didn’t want to create more weaknesses for him.
“Ruth?”
Ruth kept his lips tightly shut as Ail continued to prod him. It was at that moment that the sound of hooves echoed from outside. It wasn’t just one or two people; at least ten or more. Hearing this, both of them quickly rose from their positions and put on their clothes. After quickly and quietly dressing, they each grabbed their swords. Having just taken a brief rest and treated their wounds, their movements were light and swift.
Ail, who had put on his outerwear first, moved to the window, lifted the wooden shutter slightly with the end of his sword hilt, and peered outside through the gap in the curtains. Everything was dark. Only the faint moonlight cast a dim glow, and there was no sign of any light. The sound of hooves was getting closer, but within their line of sight, they couldn’t spot anyone.
“Left side,” Ruth whispered, now standing beside him with his sword in hand. Ail nodded and gently pushed aside the left curtain.
It was then.
A sharp throwing star flew through the window.
Lhaozi[Translator]
To all my lock translations, 1 chapter will be unlocked every sunday. Weekly update for all my ongoing translations. Support me in Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/lhaozi_23 If you have concerned in all my translations, DM me in Discord: Lhaozi(I'm a member in Shanghai Fantasy discord)