Chapter 12:
“Kiriyan!”
Kiriyan ran so fast that even though Yvonne chased him with all her strength, she couldn’t catch up.
Her lungs burned and her chest ached, but she still couldn’t just leave him alone.
Because every time she thought about how, to her parents, she always came second after Diana, it made her feel unbearably miserable.
So she ran into the darkness—into the damp, foul-smelling night of the slums.
“Kiriyan! I’m sorry! Kiiiriyan!”
He must have been hurt. Just like when Beth looked at him sitting alone in front of his own birthday cake.
“Kiriyan!”
“Don’t follow me!”
His voice echoed from somewhere ahead on the invisible road.
Yvonne shouted with all her might, hoping her voice would reach him.
“I’m sorry for overhearing. But I’m glad you’re here with me.”
There was no answer.
“You helped me when I got beaten, and you shared your snacks with me, and you held my hand before sleep. Kiriyan, I like you.”
Tears suddenly burst out. She didn’t understand why she was crying.
But she realized soon enough: she saw herself in him.
The reason she could never hate Diana—even though Diana had “taken” their parents’ love and attention—was because Yvonne knew that the person Diana loved most in the world was **her**.
Diana always loved her. With everything she had.
That was why Yvonne wanted to love her first friend with all her heart too.
“Kiriyan. I don’t have any friends. I’m a crybaby and I get scared easily, and everyone is afraid of my parents, so no one wants to be friends with me.”
All her pent-up sorrow came pouring out as sobs.
Could Kiriyan hear her? Was he listening to anything she was saying? Little Yvonne prayed desperately that her feelings would reach him.
“You’re my first friend. I liked being with you. Hnng…”
Tears dripped down as she wiped them away with her sleeve. Her nose ran, and she sniffled loudly.
If Kiriyan abandoned her, it would feel like her chest was being punched through.
It was really just a fear of losing someone—but she was too young to understand that.
Yvonne’s soft little heart had fallen deeply into her first friendship. She sincerely wanted to get along with Kiriyan.
“We only just met, but I really like you, I mean it. So don’t run away. I—I won’t cry anymore, okay? Hic!”
She tried to stop crying, covering her mouth with both hands. Tears kept dripping, but she struggled not to make any sound.
“Hnng… hic!”
When Kiriyan still didn’t appear, she sank to the ground, buried her face between her knees, and curled up.
In this unfamiliar place, Kiriyan was all she had. They’d only known each other for a few hours, but she had already grown attached to him.
She couldn’t hold back her sobbing at the thought that he might have left her for good.
“Uwaaah… Kiriyaaaan… I’m so sorryyyy… uwaaah… Kiriyan… snff…”
Footsteps approached.
She thought it was some monster coming to eat her, and cried even louder.
“Dianaaaa! I’m scared!”
Something was getting closer. She felt like her heart would stop.
“…Hey. Stop crying. Didn’t you say you were done crying?”
It was Kiriyan, emerging from the darkness.
“Kiriyan?”
“Yeah, it’s me. How many times are you going to shout my name? It’s embarrassing.”
“S-sorry… but I c-couldn’t… hic!”
“Seriously…”
His worn-out shoes tapped her foot. She had lost one of her own while chasing him, so one foot was completely bare.
“Where’d you sell your shoe this time?”
“I’m sorry…”
She stood up, wiping her face with her damp sleeve.
Kiriyan sighed. “Get up.”
“Okay…”
“On my back.”
“I’m fine…”
“A fancy little lord like you can’t walk around this neighborhood. There’s glass everywhere.”
Kiriyan knelt down in front of her. They weren’t even that different in height.
He was three years older, but from starvation he was small and thin.
Still, Kiriyan moved quickly and had the instincts of a young predator.
“Thank you…”
She climbed onto his back carefully, and he lifted her with ease.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to listen.”
“It’s fine… After all that yelling, I would’ve heard too. Why did you follow me anyway? You don’t even know the way. Weren’t you scared?”
“I was scared. That’s why I couldn’t leave you alone. I had to be with you.”
“…Ahem.”
He cleared his throat. The arms wrapped around his neck felt warm.
“You’re a scared little crybaby, what are you talking about?”
“I’m really happy because you’re here with me.”
“…Yeah…”
“And thank you for not leaving me.”
“…Where did a kid like you even come from?”
“Me? I came from Münster, I told you.”
“Wow… You really can’t take a hint.”
“Diana says it’s because I don’t have any friends. That since I only ever stay with her at home, it’ll get better once I make some.”
Yvonne hugged his neck tighter.
“Now that I have you, I’ll get better at picking up hints.”
“Hah.”
Kiriyan carried her a long while. She chattered endlessly behind him.
“Don’t you like swings? Do you like swinging? I like standing up on the swing, but Father always scolds me when I do.”
“That’s dangerous, obviously.”
“I like acting too.”
“Acting?”
“Yeah! Like *The Adventures of Wolf Warrior Finn*. I play Finn and Diana’s the dragon.”
“You really do everything.”
“It’s fun! Mother always smiles at me when I act.”
“…Your parents don’t like you?”
“They do! I like them too. …They just love Diana more. Diana’s sick.”
Silence fell. Kiriyan didn’t ask further.
“Yaaawn…”
Maybe from crying so much, fatigue washed over her.
“Don’t sleep. We’re almost there.”
“Where are we going?”
“The forest. The same way you came. There’s an old poachers’ hut.”
“Wow! A secret hideout?”
“…Think whatever you want.”
“I always wanted a secret hideout with a friend! Maybe it’s my birthday present. A hideout! Amazing!”
Overjoyed, she nuzzled her face into his neck like she did with Diana. A strange purring noise came from her.
Kiriyan jumped in shock.
“H-hey! What are you doing?!”
“Hmm?”
“N-nothing. Forget it.”
Like a real little lord…
He muttered under his breath.
Before long, they reached the hunters’ hut.
It was too dark to see, but Kiriyan skillfully lit a fire and found some candles.
“Yaaawn…”
“Sleepy?”
“Mhm… But can you teach me how to climb trees tomorrow?”
“Why trees?”
“I want to try climbing one.”
“That’s dangerous. Crybabies can’t do it.”
“I’m not a crybaby.”
“You said you were.”
“I’m not anymore. So teach me. If you don’t, I’ll cry.”
“You brat!”
His fist landed on her forehead. It stung so much that she grabbed her head and glared at him.
“When I get a little bigger, you’ll be easy to beat.”
“What are you talking about? Just go to sleep.”
Kiriyan dragged over a dusty blanket and covered her. They shared the threadbare blanket.
In the distance, an animal cried out.
“H-hey, there aren’t wolves here, right?”
“There are no wild beasts in Ronyak Forest. They were hunted to extinction. But don’t come here alone from now on.”
“Why?”
“It’s dangerous…”
His tone said he didn’t want to explain more, so she didn’t push it.
Kiriyan couldn’t tell cowardly little Franz that bodies often turned up here—victims of illegal dealings and murder.
“Okay… Then you shouldn’t come alone either. Always come with me.”
“You little runt, what are you saying?”
He chuckled softly beside her.
This time, he took her hand first. Her eyes widened. He spoke awkwardly.
“Ahem… You’re scared, right.”
“Hehe. Thanks.”
Maybe because unstoppable Kiriyan was beside her, she fell asleep almost instantly.
As she drifted off, she thought: This year’s birthday present was the best gift in the world.
—
Kiriyan watched the sleeping Franz. Tearstains were still visible on his cheeks.
He was nothing like Kiriyan—a well-raised little lord with clear signs of having been loved.
How much could a kid like that understand his situation? And yet, every word Franz said felt sweet.
That was why, though he wanted to leave Franz behind like always, he had come back.
*“I like you.”*
*“I liked being with you.”*
In the slums, everyone called him *Mad Kiriyan*.
With a hysterical mother who screamed daily, and a temper just like hers—they said only a madman could act like that.
But this tiny brat wasn’t afraid of him at all. He just smiled like a fool and ran toward him.
Franz radiated a bright, warm energy—like the midday sun.
It captured the gaze of someone like Kiriyan, who lived in winter.
“Idiot. Crybaby.”
He clicked his tongue at Franz, who had kicked off his blanket and exposed his belly. He covered him carefully again.
“You’re not scared of me, huh.”
Most people had one of two reactions: fear, or disgust.
Except his mother—who only cursed him.
Everyone was so scared of him that they called him that ridiculous nickname, Mad Kiriyan.
And then came this kid, Franz.
He called Kiriyan a coward, but Kiriyan didn’t think Franz was one.
To him, Franz was a little giant—with a warm heart and great courage—who approached someone like him, cursed and unwanted.
“Still a fool, though.”
He likes me…
Even so, it didn’t feel bad.
He hated sweet things, but Franz’s sweetness melted his head.
Watching Franz sleep, Kiriyan finally closed his eyes.
