Anyone would do. Please, at least save Ail, Ruth prayed desperately.

With Homan leading the way, Kamiel and Jessie, climbing the mountain, quickened their horses at the sight of the flames in the distance. The light from the fire, illuminating the dark forest, caused the knight squads on the mountain to start moving in that direction as well. Five small knight squads from the Rengetti region, along with five hundred mercenaries led by Homan, were gathering around the fire.

Since it had rained, there was no risk of the fire spreading through the mountain path, and no one was afraid of the flames. A fire of that size during the rainy season meant someone had intentionally set it. It could be the Red Scorpion or Ruth and Ail, one of the two.

If it was the former, they had already killed Ruth and Ail and were burning their bodies. If it was the latter, the two were using the fire to signal their location. And if they were in a situation where arson was necessary, it was likely that they were being chased by the Red Scorpion.

“This isn’t something we can just ignore…” Kamiel muttered through clenched teeth, uncharacteristically angry. They had been foolish. Even as they left Karileum, they had been too careless. They had underestimated their political enemies.

Suppressing his quiet rage, Kamiel urged his horse toward the growing fire.

Ruth, running along the steep mountain path, was shaking with fear at the relentless pursuit. Having intentionally zigzagged through the thick forest, the pursuing riders were struggling to maintain their course. A few throwing stars and arrows flew toward them, but they missed, hitting only the trees, unable to make their mark.

As they were running, Ruth suddenly heard the ground rumbling. Looking up instinctively, he saw numerous torches climbing up the mountainside. A large group of people, holding torches, was advancing through the forest. And from the top of the mountain, the sound of hooves could be heard. The movement was too organized for it to be assassins.

It seemed that Kamiel and Kasha had safely descended the mountain. The moment Ruth confirmed their safety, he let out a sigh of relief.

“It’s the soldiers.”

Ruth shouted as he continued running, and Ail nodded in response. Reaching out, he grabbed Ruth’s arm, which was starting to stagger with exhaustion.

“Just a little more. Hang on.”

Ail, too, was panting heavily, his face flushed with effort. He was clearly exhausted.

As they circled around a thick tree to hide behind smaller ones, a thick chain hook suddenly flew from behind. The sharp whistling sound of the chain made them quickly duck. They barely avoided it, but the hook, missing them, caught Isle’s ankle.

“Your Highness!”

Ruth hurriedly bent down to pull the hook off Ail’s leg, but then an arrow flew toward them at high speed. Ail, sensing the arrow aimed at Ruth, embraced him and turned his back toward the attackers.

The hook released from Ail’s ankle, but at the same time, an arrow lodged itself into his back.

As the two of them stopped moving, desert men emerged from the trees and threw arrows and throwing stars at them.

A thin arrow embedded itself again in Ail’s back.

Ruth, still cradled in Ail’s arms and unaware of what had happened, raised his head as something fell on his cheek.

Wiping it with the back of his hand, Ruth saw bright red blood. His mind froze. Slowly lifting his head to look at Ail, he saw blood dripping from his lips. Dark red blood. Internal injuries.

“Your Highness?”

While Ruth was in shock, he heard a soft exhale. Ail coughed up more blood.

The continuous flow of blood made Ruth feel lightheaded. He couldn’t comprehend what he was seeing or understand what was happening.

Why was he bleeding?

Why was his body stiffening like this?

He didn’t know.

As Ruth stared blankly at Ail, Ail smiled through the blood.

With his vivid red hair and golden eyes that shone even under the pale moonlight, and the blood, even redder than his hair. And the gentle smile.

He had always sent cold smiles, but now, for the first time, it was a genuinely warm smile.

Looking at that face, Ruth felt his chest ache as if it might burst.

Without noticing the pursuers getting closer, Ruth continued to gaze at Ail, frozen in place. Sensing the presence of enemies from behind, Ail wrapped his arms around Ruth’s body, shielding him with his own.

“…It’s better with two than one… because one can cover the other’s back…”

Ail murmured as he coughed up more blood.

He was remembering the hunting competition from four years ago. When his horse had gone wild and he had fallen alone, he had never imagined that Ruth would follow him. He had thought Ruth was involved in the incident, but Ruth had come after him, saved him, and protected him until the end.

At that time, I didn’t know. He was the son of the prime minister, but born to a lowly mother, with a body so slender for a knight and a face as delicate as a butterfly’s. He was a knight not even worth noticing—so insignificant. How could I have known that this knight would become so precious to me?

Back then, I could leave him without regret, thinking that if he died, it didn’t matter. But after returning to my knights, I couldn’t stop worrying about him. I couldn’t bear it, so I eventually climbed the rainy mountain path and found him with Elsen.

That must have been the beginning. The person I thought of as an enemy, the one I tried to control and ignore, showed me kindness, and somehow that stirred my heart. And so, here I am. Here, I couldn’t trust my back to him. I had to protect him.

Since the moment I was born, I believed I was someone of the greatest value. Even in the few instances where I faced death, my knights sacrificed their lives for me, dying in front of my eyes. There was even a wet nurse who died, holding me in her arms, just like I did for Ruth.

I thought that was normal. I was destined to rule this continent, and it seemed reasonable that a few people should sacrifice their lives for me. I would build a vast empire for the descendants of thousands, perhaps even tens of thousands.

But right now, I would die for Ruth. No, it’s not just that I’d be willing to die—it’s more that I want to save him.

Just as the knights who protected me did, I wanted to become his knight and protect him. I wanted to protect him from harm. I desperately wanted to save him.

I had always thought that if I died, he would die too, that it was inevitable—but now, I just wanted to save him.

Noises echoed around. The cries of horses, the rustling of the wind, the clashing of swords—it all became a deafening din, and the late-night forest brightened as if it were midday.

But Ruth couldn’t feel anything.

He was lying limply in the arms of the man who had held him, staring blankly into the air. Blood flowed from his body, soaking Ruth’s collar.

Ruth reached out and touched his cheek, then looked at his face.

His eyes were closed. He seemed to be in a peaceful sleep, his eyes shut.

This must be a nightmare. It’s a nightmare, I’m sure of it.

“Your Highness?”

He called out, hoping to wake him, but there was no response.

A man like him wouldn’t die so easily. He was supposed to be the ruler of the continent, as he had claimed.

“Ail?”

For the first time, he called his name. He hoped he would get angry and scold him for being rude, but he didn’t respond.

His eyes remained closed.

His lips didn’t move.

His hands and feet… didn’t move either.

As Ruth tried to free himself from his arms, the man’s body dropped to the ground with a dull thud.

This is a nightmare.

He is just dreaming.

If he close my eyes and open them again, He’ll be in front of the hearth at the house, and They’ll be enjoying a brief, yet long moment of pleasure together.

But after closing and opening his eyes three times, nothing changed. The sky was full of sparkling stars, and the faint moonlight shyly revealed itself. And then…

“Your Highness!”

A familiar voice was heard from a distance. Many people were running toward them, and the sounds of screaming and wailing filled the air.
Yes, this is a dream. It’s just a dream from the abyss.
When he open my eyes, everything will have changed.

Kamiel, who had rushed toward the fallen Ail and Ruth, first checked Ail’s breathing and carotid artery. His pulse was faint but definite, and he was still breathing.
“Bring the doctor!”

Homan, who had come along, pulled four doctors, who were now being dragged by the knights, gasping as they ran toward them. The doctors quickly checked Ail’s breathing and nodded.
“Give him first aid. And Ruth?”

While the doctor attended to Ail, Kamiel grabbed Ruth’s arm and tried to lift him up. Ruth’s eyes were open, but his pupils were unfocused. His gaze was distant, as if looking into nothingness, like the eyes of a dead corpse.
“Ruth, stay with me! Ruth Kaizel!”

After pulling Ruth into a sitting position, Kamiel shook his shoulders, but Ruth didn’t even blink. His consciousness was gone. Seeing him in this state, Kamiel slapped Ruth’s cheek hard.
“Wake up!”

The sound of a slap echoed, and Ruth’s head turned, but only then did his eyes slowly regain focus. However, the light soon faded, leaving only an empty, hollow gaze in his eyes.
“Ruth, the crown prince is fine. Stay with me.”

Ail was not in good condition. He was barely breathing. Luckily, he had been found in time, and the doctors had already begun treating him. If they were fortunate, he might survive. But for now, Kamiel needed to say something to calm Ruth. Ruth needed to regain his senses first.

“Gather all the red scorpions in this mountain. Search until morning. We need to capture every last one of them.”

Jessie, who had arrived late and confirmed the situation, shouted toward the mercenaries. If five hundred mercenaries searched through the night, they could capture everyone still on the mountain. They needed to capture them to track their movements.

Jessie, just like Kamiel, was engulfed in anger as he ran. After all, he was the one responsible for everything that had happened, so his anger was all the more intense. How dare they target the life of the future emperor… Lyman Kaizel had clearly decided to bring an end to this. And so, they would pay for it in full. Even if something happened to Ail, they would make sure to make them pay for their crimes.

They had been foolish. They had assumed that the red scorpions all came after Kasha, but the truth was that they had no reason to target him with just twenty mercenaries. It was their fault for not questioning this strange assumption.

Homan’s news was simple. The red scorpions had made a deal with Kasha, and thus withdrew the twenty men who had followed him from the beginning. In fact, there had been nothing to withdraw—those following Kasha were already dead. But the condition Kasha had mentioned was that Lyman Kaizel’s commission to “assassinate Ruth Kaizel” had not been revoked. That part of the deal had been made after Ail had left the imperial palace to search for Ruth.

Somewhere, the story had leaked. A knight who broke Ail’s order to keep quiet had informed Lyman that Ruth had left the palace. When Ail suddenly rushed out of the palace to find Ruth, Lyman, with the help of his concubine Leysha’s spies, confirmed that Ail was headed to Rengetti, then had sent the red scorpions after him.

The red scorpions initially planned only to assassinate Ruth Kaizel. Following Ruth’s trail to Rengetti, they happened to receive a commission from Duchess Maynon and discovered that Ruth was traveling with Kasha. They then planned to deal with both of them. They had deployed assassins throughout the entire mountain because, first, Lyman Kaizel had bought out the entire red scorpion organization, and second, they believed that Ruth might have additional support, so they needed more numbers.

Just as they had guessed, Ail arrived with his mercenaries and soldiers to save Ruth. After they split up, the red scorpions continued to pursue Ruth.

It had been suspicious all along. Why had the red scorpions not come to kill Kasha? Kasha was just downstairs in the inn. He had been treated for his wounds and was still unconscious, yet after killing everyone captured, they hadn’t come to kill Kasha.

They should have realized this earlier. They had foolishly waited until midnight, too relaxed in their assumptions. Why hadn’t they thought of it? They didn’t know who Kasha really was, but there was no way that so many people would be mobilized just to kill him.

They had been too dependent on the information they received and had foolishly rested while the red scorpions, according to the contract, had chased after Ruth. The arrow meant for Ruth ultimately pierced Ail’s back. Everyone had been too focused on Kasha’s shadow to see the true nature of the red scorpions.

Lyman Kaizel was a terrible man. No matter how cornered he was or how badly he wanted to make his nephew the emperor, how could he have commissioned the death of his own son? It was beyond comprehension. He had used his son as a target in order to kill Ail…

Had Leysha not caught the spy who had stolen her letter, this truth would have remained buried. Ail would have simply sacrificed his life to save Ruth.

This was treason. Lyman Kaizel had committed treason against the legitimate imperial family of Karileum, the Linus family.

This was a crime that could not be erased, even by death.

“Kamiel, take Ruth down the mountain for now. We will talk after we finish treating the prince.”

At Jessie’s command, which carried the dignity of royalty, Kamiel clenched his lips and nodded.

Everything was a mess. Regret, sighs, and groans filled the air.