Chapter 49
“Come to think of it, it feels like we’re always running away together.”
Trying to shift the subject, Kazar made the remark, and Eluana responded.
“We were on the run the first time we met too. Oh right, did you ever find that guard who betrayed you and break his legs?”
“Hawk… he’s dead.”
Kazar turned his head to meet her eyes, his gaze filled with emptiness, and Eluana couldn’t help but trail off.
“I see…”
A breeze swept by. It brushed away the thoughts clinging to their hair and circled them once before vanishing. After a short silence, Eluana inspected the wounds scattered across Kazar’s body.
“Let’s head toward the village. You need treatment.”
She gently tugged at his sleeve. Kazar circulated a bit of aura through his body to test it, then stood up.
The two of them began walking slowly. Eluana made an effort to keep pace, determined not to be a burden. They occasionally encountered the masked men who were searching for them, but thanks to their concealment artifacts, no one recognized them.
They continued moving toward the village. Just as they were about to take a detour to avoid another masked man, a dagger flew from behind a tree, grazing Eluana’s skirt before hitting the ground. Her eyes locked with the masked man who had thrown it.
“Huh?”
With that attack, the artifact’s invisibility wore off, and their figures became visible. Kazar quickly grabbed Eluana’s hand and pulled her behind him.
“That was our last use of stealth.”
Before Kazar could react further, the masked man blew a whistle hanging from his neck. No sound could be heard, but from his posture, it was clear he had called for reinforcements.
The masked man grinned.
“Still scurrying around like little rats?”
As he approached, more masked men emerged from between the trees. Realizing they were completely surrounded, Kazar sneered.
He glanced over his shoulder to see Eluana scanning their surroundings with fierce eyes. He wanted to protect her, but it seemed this was his limit.
‘If you die, what kind of disaster might happen?’
Suppressing his rising anxiety, Kazar spoke in an arrogant tone.
“You’ve still got more daggers? Brought a whole lot, didn’t you?”
“Throw them all!”
At the masked man’s signal, a barrage of daggers flew through the air. Kazar surrounded his sword and body with aura. He deflected what he could, blocked others with his body. The ones that struck his aura-covered skin fell to the ground, leaving only minor scratches.
But aura wasn’t infinite. Once it was depleted, those daggers would find their mark.
Eluana’s expression twisted.
“I don’t want you to die because of me. Please don’t die. Just run.”
She hated pain. She hated death. But more than anything, she hated being protected like this. Her heart was pounding chaotically.
Then, a dagger flew straight toward Kazar’s heart.
“No!”
With Eluana’s scream, the flying daggers suddenly froze mid-air. As if held by invisible hands, the hundreds of daggers hovered in the sky, then slowly turned.
Their sharpened edges aimed at the stunned masked men, and in a blink, they shot forward—burying themselves into their owners’ throats.
In a flash, most of the enemy was wiped out.
Life and death had split in an instant.
As Kazar let out a heavy breath, Eluana’s body collapsed. Realizing she had fainted, he gently lowered her to the ground and whispered,
“You did well.”
The number of enemies had drastically decreased. Only three remained. Even considering his condition, it was a manageable fight.
The lead masked man’s eyes turned toward the unconscious Eluana. The ease in his expression vanished, replaced by murderous intent.
“She’s already using her alchemy powers properly. There’s no way we can let her live.”
But as he slowly unsheathed his sword, his eyes widened.
“…What?”
Clatter.
The blade dropped to the ground.
What he had pulled from the hilt was only the handle. The same happened to the others—whether dagger or sword, every weapon had been separated from its blade.
Clink. Clink. Clink.
The blades fell into the underbrush one after another, as if not wanting to harm their friend.
Now, the only person holding a functional weapon was Kazar.
“Well, this makes things a little too easy.”
A smirk slowly formed at the corner of Kazar’s mouth.
“This way!”
Tears and snot running down his face, Louie pointed ahead. The group had just emerged from the cave and now followed the forest path as Louie directed.
“This way.”
The child pressed forward confidently, guided by clusters of glowing light. Sing led the way, followed by Alex carrying Louie in his arms, while four knights flanked them in a protective formation.
At first, the knights had been doubtful, but Louie’s directions consistently led them to Eluana’s traces. They followed him without question now.
“No, this way.”
At Louie’s correction, Sing changed course. Each time it happened, Alex felt a strange sense of unease.
“How is this even possible?”
“Louie’s a genius,” Sing replied quickly.
But that didn’t explain it. What did being a genius have to do with tracking someone through the woods? Still, Louie continued confidently.
Sniffling as he looked around, Louie mumbled,
“This path leads away from the village…”
“There are signs of hesitation here—”
Alex couldn’t finish. His body tensed.
“Someone’s ahead!”
Sing, sensing a presence, dashed forward. Pushing through the brush, he found a bloodied man walking toward them—carrying Eluana in his arms.
“Give her to me!”
“Take her. She’s heavy anyway.”
Realizing the stranger meant no harm, Sing eased his stance and snapped,
“She’s not heavy!”
Only when he took Eluana from the man’s arms did he relax. Her breathing was steady, and unlike the blood-soaked man, she was completely uninjured.
The man explained,
“She fainted. Probably collapsed from overusing her alchemy powers.”
“Thank you… for protecting her.”
Sing bit his lip.
It had been his fault Eluana ended up in danger. Orders or not, he shouldn’t have followed them. But she was safe now—that was what mattered.
Now all they had to do was find that damn Fourth Prince.
“Where is His Highness, the Fourth Prince?”
The man gave a crooked smile—but before he could answer, Louie, who had been in Alex’s arms, spotted Eluana and began flailing.
“Sis!!”
“She’s alright! She just fainted,” Sing said quickly.
Louie burst into tears. Alex approached, soothing him as he cried.
“Your Highness, are you alright?”
“I’m fine. Let’s skip the formalities.”
At the word “prince,” Sing flinched.
This blood-covered man is… a prince?
The man with scruffy hair had said he was with the prince, but Sing hadn’t imagined this was him. What prince would go to such lengths to protect someone like this?
…Was it love?
Well, our lady is lovable, Sing thought.
He’s totally fallen for her. Love at first sight. As Sing built his misunderstanding, Kazar applied pressure to his shoulder to stop the bleeding.
“What about Rhine?”
“If you mean the scruffy one, he’s relatively safe.”
As Alex hesitated, Sing awkwardly added,
“He’s with some soldiers, but… we kind of left him by the roadside.”
“So long as he’s alive, that’s enough. More importantly, did you take care of Laplanpia? We need to burn the body. Otherwise wild beasts might come.”
“I informed the castle guards.”
“There should be bodies over there. Collect all the weapons, especially the ones with separated blades.”
“Yes, sir.”
Alex responded seriously, still holding Louie. The boy, his eyes red and swollen, tugged at Kazar’s sleeve.
“Big brother…”
“We meet again.”
Kazar gave a faint smile.
“Thank you for saving my sister.”
And then Louie broke down in tears again. Kazar gently patted his head, uncharacteristically tender.
“I can’t really take credit. Your sister saved herself.”
Just as she had wished.
Kazar sat in a chair, gazing at the sleeping Eluana and the tearful Louie beside her.
To him, the siblings’ bond was… strange. Eluana had knowingly sent all the knights to protect her brother, and Louie was crying his heart out over her, despite her being unharmed.
For Kazar, siblings had only ever been threats to his life. Even with Princess Evelyn—his most peaceful sibling—they constantly clashed when they met.
Of course, there had been one sibling he cherished. An annoyingly cheerful, needy kid who once coughed up blood and still smiled, saying, “At least you didn’t have to eat it, hyung.” …An idiot.
That child, too, had pink eyes. Maybe that was why Kazar had such a soft spot for these two.
“Blow your nose, Lord Louie.”
Ling, who had been watching from behind, came over with a handkerchief and dabbed at Louie’s nose, sniffling herself.
She was just as strange. When Kazar first saw her sobbing with Louie, he’d assumed they were lifelong friends. But she’d only been a maid for four days.
Noticing Kazar’s gaze, Louie approached, sniffling.
“Thank you for saving my sister. I promise to repay you. I swear.”
It was the 48th thank-you, and Kazar’s lips twitched into a smile. Rhine widened his eyes again, but Kazar ignored him and said,
“I’ll remember that.”
He’d meant to brush it off—but Kazar clicked his tongue.
Going back now would leave a bitter aftertaste. He looked once more into Louie’s eyes. Pure, unclouded pink.
Those pink eyes really are the problem…
He focused on the glowing particles stuck in Louie’s hair. He tried to ignore them, but they were clinging so closely, it was hard not to notice.
“If you want to stay alive long enough to repay that favor, you can’t keep using that power like this.”
“Huh?”
Louie tilted his head, confused.
Kazar could see the shimmering lights around him. Aden didn’t have enough mana density for that many particles. When they’d met in prison, Louie hadn’t had any lights around him. So these must’ve followed him from the Spes Duchy.
“Mana likes you. That’s the problem.”
“Mana?”
Louie’s face showed no understanding, and Kazar frowned.
“You don’t even know that? The sparkling lights around you—that’s mana.”
“You can see them too?”
“I can. But others probably can’t. And don’t go telling anyone about it.”
“I was going to tell my sister, but… I suddenly got scared.”
“That’s normal. Usually, bad things happen when you talk about it. Do those lights respond to your wishes? Help you out?”
Startled, Louie nodded.
“Yeah. They’re my friends.”
“Mana liking you and helping you—that’s real. But it’s not without side effects. If you want to use that power without consequences, talk to the Duke of Spes. He’ll make you stronger.”
“Stronger? Strong enough to protect my sister?”
Looking into the boy’s red, swollen eyes, Kazar replied firmly.
“Strong enough to protect everyone you love.”
