Chapter 47 Part 4: The Wolf Hunt, A Long Night

Two shadows falling down a cliff.

“Cayron.”

In that fleeting moment.

Their eyes met.

‘Rosa.’

Cayron gritted his teeth.

In all his life, he had never felt such a desperate despair as this moment.

Not when he first went to the battlefield.

Not when he experienced his first kill.

He had never been so afraid, his whole body trembling like this.

Fortunately, there was a valley below.

It was better than falling on hard ground.

Still, falling from this height, it’s true that one had to rely on sheer luck.

The only thing Cayron could do.

Was to minimize the impact Rosa would receive.

In that brief moment, Cayron hugged Rosa as protectively as possible.

His thick fur cloak.

Armor, and body.

Of course, including Rosa.

Then, everything was swallowed by water.

Splash-

The impact was so great that Cayron’s insides were shaken.

It was such an intense shock that he couldn’t speak for a moment and almost lost consciousness.

And.

His vision went black.

The Quenril Forest is very vast.

It is larger than several cities combined.

Cayron was walking with Rosa on his back.

Only superhuman endurance moved his steps forward.

He had felt this sensation before.

When he was first cut by a sword on the battlefield.

The moment the thick blade cut through his waist, an indescribable pain spread throughout his body.

It was so hot, so painful.

That his breath stopped and his vision became hazy.

It is similar to the sensation he felt then.

He took the impact with his whole body while injured.

But Cayron moved.

Following the stream downwards.

Clinging to a faint hope.

‘Thank goodness.’

Rosa is completely on his back.

She was just unconscious, but she looked fine on the outside.

Cayron raised his head and stared at the sky.

“…?”

The red sunset fills his vision.

The forest after sunset is more dangerous than when the sun is up.

Wild animals that could appear at any time, and the temperature that drops rapidly.

It’s coming soon.

‘If I can’t find signs of people..’

At least.

A place to hide and make a fire is needed.

So it was really fortunate.

A cabin came into view.

His prediction was correct.

Hunting has been going on in the Quenril Forest since ancient times.

Rarely, there are those who make their homes in the forest.

Usually, such people are by rivers or valleys.

So the fact that the two of them fell into the valley was rather fortunate.

The fence surrounding the cabin has a ditch around it.

It serves the same role as a castle moat.

There must be traps inside.

Circling around it, Cayron soon found the hidden entrance to the cabin.

And he knocked on the thick wooden door.

“..Is anyone there?”

His voice was completely hoarse.

He wondered if he had spoken properly.

Fortunately, after a while.

The upper part of the door opened slightly.

“Who is it..?”

Eyes full of suspicion.

“My wife is hurt. Please help..”

Before he could finish speaking, the door opened.

“Oh my.”

It was an old man with white hair.

He couldn’t hide his surprise.

Thud-

The axe he was holding fell from his hand.

It’s natural to be wary.

In fact, Cayron had his hand on his sword without showing it.

“Come in. Hurry!”

But such caution was meaningless.

Because the visible condition was so serious.

“Honey. What’s wrong?”

The old woman who approached soon also seemed to lose her words in surprise.

“Come this way! There’s a bed.”

Following the guidance, Cayron headed to a small room.

Dirt and blood dripped, but the old couple didn’t care at all.

To be precise, they didn’t have time to.

Cayron laid Rosa on the bed.

And perhaps because the tension in his body was released, or perhaps because he was relieved to meet the kind old couple.

He closed his eyes while leaning against the wall.

Slump-

His body slowly slides down the wall.

“Hey! Stay conscious…”

“Move him to the next room…”

The cries of the two old people became faint like a murmur.

The camp was turned upside down.

It was a hunting festival where no accident had ever occurred.

A heavy air settled.

The sound of clanking boots did not stop, and the torches in front of the barracks flickered ominously.

“Kkuaaak-!”

In one place.

The screams did not stop.

The altar had already been removed from the open space where the ritual was held.

In front of many people.

Those who were tortured confessed the truth.

Heated whips and irons.

Various instruments of torture.

The masked men were hung on them like captured prey.

“”

“What’s going on.”

People held their breath in fear, but watched the situation with hardened faces.

The five hundred goat riders who came here quickly took over this camp.

There can be no opposition in the first place.

Everyone knew that the flag of the wheat-colored mountain goat was the troops of Variang.

In addition, there is an order with the Archduke’s seal, so there is also justification.

Those who returned after hunting were detained in their barracks.

“Even now. Are you going to make excuses?”

Walter Variang was furious.

The ledger he just threw hit the head of the Theicia family in the face and fluttered.

There was a clear record of the troops that had leaked out in the past few months.

Similar things happened in the territories of four families.

Mercenaries hired for money took their place.

The murmuring grew louder.

Under the strict guard of the knights, all the processes were being disclosed.

The head of the Theicia family, Gdan Theicia, let out a vain laugh.

It’s shameful.

It was humiliating.

But in fact.

It seemed that somewhere in his heart he had expected this to happen.

So he was more composed than expected.

“Aren’t you being too rude?”

Walter’s fierce blue eyes stared at him.

As if he didn’t care at all, Gdan muttered in a low voice.

“You look like the king of this place. What makes you think you can treat us like this?”

“King..?”

“Are you going to set up the Archduke as a scarecrow and become a king who practically lives off of his authority?”

There was no value in responding to the somewhat absurd sound.

“Don’t talk nonsense. It is a courtesy not to behead you right now.”

The evidence was already clear, and one of them was the disappearance of the Archduke.

The knights of the Archduke’s family have already left to search.

Gdan Theicia scoffed.

“If we are detained like this, the troops in the territory will not stand still.”

“Are you talking about war now.”

Sparks flew from Walter Variang’s eyes.

You don’t even have the confidence to start it.

That’s why you used such a rat-like method.

“Have you no sense of yourself for defiling the sacred hunting festival?”

And it was finally.

The calm mask was broken.

“Shut up! Traitor!”

The blood vessels stood out on Gdan Theicia’s face.

“How can a Variang do this? Weren’t we comrades who fought together against the Empire?!”

The strongest military power in Elchen.

That is the Variang family.

Perhaps the moment they entered under the Archduke.

The hardliners were already driven to the edge of the cliff.

“You will regret it. Walter Variang. Your arrogant folly will drop this land into the hands of the Empire.”

The other three family heads also scoffed.

They are also tied up with ropes as accomplices.

History will record.

Who is the real traitor?

Is it us who abandoned our pride?

Or is it Variang who became a stooge of the Empire?

“If you get defeated one by one, Elchen will be split like a delicious cake. Congratulations. Walter Variang. Everything is going according to the Empire’s will!”

“First of all, will the Archduke come back alive? That’s also unknown.”

Walter Variang, who had been listening quietly, finally opened his heavy mouth.

“Don’t worry about the Archduke’s safety. He is the first hunter, a descendant of Iolad.”

“Kk, nonsense.”

“Don’t dismiss it as nonsense.”

There is not a shred of doubt in that expression.

“He is the one who will reclaim the glory of the past. The one who will rebuild the fallen Elchen.”

The descendant of Iolad is the bloodline of the destroyed dynasty.

The Second Prince of the Empire, Cayron Winslet.

“How he has been mistreated in the Empire. How he rose from that mistreatment. You, who have closed your eyes and ears, would never have tried to know.”

Of course, the reason Walter Variang knows that fact was because of an event long ago.

But.

Putting that recollection aside, he opened his mouth and said.

“The current Emperor of the Empire is old. He doesn’t have much time left to live.”

If the fight for the throne is near.

“When that time comes, the Archduke will fight. He is the Second Prince of the Empire with a legitimate right to the throne, and he will surely be caught up in a bloodbath regardless of his will. But when that time comes. Variang will stand by his side.”

He is a born emperor.

So he won’t fall easily.

Walter Variang was certain of that.

“If he becomes Emperor. The new Emperor of the Empire will have the blood of Elchen in his body. Besides, he has lived in Elchen for quite some time. In fact, his first home is Elchen.”

Naturally, the Archduke who has enough affection for this land.

The four captured family heads finally grasped Variang’s true intentions.

He was drawing a big picture from the beginning.

Such Walter Variang declared.

“He will bring a new spring to Elchen. In the history of the future, the traitors will not be me, but you.”

The expressions of the four family heads became distant.

Their disposal will be decided after the Archduke returns.

It was around the afternoon of the next day that Rosa regained consciousness.

Her whole body ached as if she were bruised.

There is still a stinging sensation.

But.

When she opened her eyes, Rosa immediately sat up.

“..Cayron!”

And she looks around.

The anxiety that cannot be hidden was full in her eyes.

She must have lost consciousness.

But the moment of desperation still remains.

Dizziness.

And fear.

All those emotions were still vivid.

At that moment of crisis, Cayron was with her.

When I opened my eyes, a cozy room.

The room, filled with small furniture, smelled of wood from the walls and floor.

The blanket on the bed I was lying on was quite fluffy.

“Ouch..”

As a result of raising her body abruptly, Rosa’s waist bent.

A darkening vision.

The shock that hits the body.

The sensation of water filling my nose and ears.

But she screamed and got out of bed.

“Cayron.”

Please.

‘Please let Cayron be safe.’

Despair.

And a faint expectation.

The sounds of conversation came from beyond the door.

“I hope he recovers quickly.. They don’t seem like ordinary people.”

“They seem to be from a noble family. I’m glad the dress I used to wear fits her.”

Only then did Rosa look down.

Instead of the riding clothes and protective gear she was originally wearing, she was dressed in a neat dress.

It is a green and white everyday dress.

“I don’t know about the young lady.. But the man, it’s a miracle that he’s alive.”

Creak-

When she opened the door, the eyes of two people came.

An old couple with white hair.

“Oh. Thank goodness.”

The old woman quickly approached her.

“Don’t overdo it. You still need to rest a little more.”

Rosa spoke urgently.

“Cayron. No, the man who was with me..”

“Don’t worry too much. He brought you here.”

“Where is he?”

The expression asking that question was filled with fear.

She remembered the blood that fell.

From the beginning, even before falling, Cayron was not in perfect condition.

An indescribable anxiety and guilt came over her.

“Follow me.”

It’s the room right next door.

When the old man opened the door, the strong smell of medicinal herbs stung my nose.

A narrow bed in the room.

Cayron was right on it.

“Cayron.”

Rosa immediately went to the bedside.

He was quietly closing his eyes.

“Ah.. Thank goodness.”

Rosa held his hand tightly.

For now, he’s alive.

“If you wait a moment.. He’ll wake up.”

The old man’s words were already too late.

Cayron was not unconscious.

He just couldn’t completely let go of his guard.

“…”

Their eyes meet.

The old man, who was quietly watching the two, quietly closed the door and left the room.

“Cayron.”

Then.

Only the two of them were left in the room.

“..Cayron.”

Before his eyes.

All his value exists.

The reason he lives.

The reason he should live from now on.

The reason he fought.

The reason he will fight in the future.

“Cayron. Are you okay..?”

Cayron holds the happiness that came into his hands tightly.

“I’m fine.”

“”

Even though he says that.

Rosa blames herself.

“I’m sorry. Because of me..”

Tears streamed down her cheeks.

“Rosa.”

Cayron spoke.

It may be a somewhat out of place situation.

I know.

In this situation, in this place, it’s not something to say.

‘But..’

Cayron thinks of that moment of crisis.

One of the things he feared was, of course, that Rosa would be seriously injured.

And, the other one.

“..Rosa. I love you.”

It was not being able to convey these words.

Such a heart that cannot be expressed with just these words.

Because I can’t control the overflowing heart.

Than the cut on my back.

Than the wounds on my back.

A more deeply scarred heart speaks.

“I love you.”

Cayron said in a hoarse voice.

Rosa.

Was so flustered.

“..Huh?”

That she let go of his hand.

But it’s not a joke at all.

That fact can be known from the weight of the words.

Not expecting an answer, Cayron just said those words and closed his eyes again.

After that blunt confession.

An eternity seemed to pass.

Rosa sat there, frozen, unable to move.

Whether what she heard was true.

I ruminated over it dozens of times.

In the meantime, the night deepened.

The night in the forest was very long.