TEB Ch 103

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“I have no idea where I am…”

It must have been about 30 minutes since he escaped from the iron bars. Liev realized that the security here was not as strict as he had thought. He didn’t know where this place was, but he was confident, judging by the size of the facility. It is not in the middle of the city. Maybe it was an underground dungeon in the imperial palace, but the security was too loose for that to be the case. Unless they were short on manpower or couldn’t afford to have too many guards, there was no way a regular person like himself could have escaped so easily.

“Maybe I should go upstairs and see.”

Liev lightly knocked on the stone wall. It was cold and damp, and there were patches of moss in every crevice. Even though he had been climbing for a while, he was still underground. Liev tapped the wall again, this time a bit harder. The vibrations made it clear that it couldn’t hold the weight of Renard in dragon form. That meant that Renard wasn’t being held in his true form.

It made sense. When he was in human form, he could be moved easily while unconscious, but in dragon form… Just like it was impossible to move an entire castle with the technology of this era, it was also impossible to move Renard’s real body. If that was the case, there was a high chance that they wouldn’t be able to subdue Renard in his true form if he started to resist.

“Well, worry about that right now.”

What was most important now was how Renard would react to him. If the imprint was completely gone, would he just treat him like an ordinary extra, or would he feel some kind of possessiveness as before? The more Liev tried to push the thoughts away, the more they filled his mind.

“Depending on Renard’s condition, my approach will have to change…

If he’s in the state where he’s lost all reason and only has the instinct to destroy, like in the original, then I don’t even want to imagine it, but I might have to leave it to Sigrid and his group to handle. No matter how much he means to me, it was hard to watch Renard being controlled by villains, consumed by the desire to kill. Because even if he lived, that truly wouldn’t be living.

It would be better if he was acting on his own will (although that was highly unlikely). It was the responsibility of the person who raised him until now to prevent Renard from becoming a tool for the villains and being manipulated.

“…”

Liev swallowed the bitter taste in his mouth again, and Liev sighed as he brushed his dry face. The best thing would have been if this had never happened. Liev thought of Renard, who had always been the first to step forward and help the sisters without being asked. He said that for him, he would wait and get along with others. I hope he didn’t get involved in whatever those guys did and managed to survive. Now all he could do was desperately hope.

“Anyway, I have to find Renard.”

The thought of still being stuck in the same place made Liev shudder. It’s not like he’s going to get caught by soldiers and immediately executed if he wanders around here, right? Liev rubbed his arms as a chill ran down his spine. No, let’s not think so negatively until I confirm the worst with my own eyes. Liev tried to calm himself down as he climbed the stairs. Suddenly, he heard someone coming down the stairs in a hurry from afar.

“……!”

Did I get caught already? Liev didn’t let his guard down and tried to find a place to hide, but unfortunately, there was no space to hide on the narrow spiral staircase. It would have been better if it was completely dark and he could hide without being noticed, but there were torches emitting faint light, so it was obvious that he would be caught if he tried to hide in the shadows.

“I have no choice but to shamelessly walk out!”

Liev tried to remain calm as he boldly blocked the middle of the stairs and faced the soldier who was coming down.

“Hey, what are you…”

“I just checked below! It seems like there’s nothing there!”

Although it seemed like the right thing to say, the pronunciation was so slurred that Liev couldn’t help but grimace. He held his weapon hidden under his cloak tightly in his hand as he held his breath for a moment. The soldier seemed suspicious of Liev’s words and asked,

“What do you mean?”

“What is it? The commander clearly told me to come and confirm it.”

As expected, it’s not working. I can vaguely understand the meaning, but is it a dialect? or is it because of the bad pronunciation?

Liev naturally continued the conversation, wondering what else he could say in his head. He put down the weapon he was holding and struck the soldier’s head. 

With a loud thud, the soldier’s body fell to the side. Liev hurriedly bent down and placed his hand under the soldier’s ear. Luckily, he could feel a pulse. It might not be enough to kill someone, but at least he was still breathing. 

Liev quickly went back up the stairs. He ran up the stairs as fast as he could, worried that he might run into other soldiers. Even Liev, who had some strength, was out of breath soon. It wasn’t endurance, it was just strength. His legs were shaking like a battery-powered fan whose batteries were about to run out. 

Ah, I’m dying. I should have built up my stamina on a regular basis. The only time he went out of the house was to see patients, but he regretted staying in the study all the time. How far does this staircase go? How much more suffering do I have to endure? As his body struggled, the complaints buried in his chest burst out. 

If it weren’t for Renard, all of these sudden hardships wouldn’t have happened. He told me to leave everything to him, but he’s still making me worry like this. This was the reason why I couldn’t stop moving, even though my trembling legs were screaming.

If something like this happens, I can’t trust and rely on you, even if things are resolved. What can he trust and feel safe with? 

As he sighed and was at a loss, the thought of still having to keep him in my arms suddenly came to me. Even if we have no choice but to separate later or find a way to see each other again, I couldn’t just leave it alone. Even if Renard no longer clung to me and hung on, it was the same.

Right now, I need Renard.

Liev climbed up the stairs again and suddenly discovered a window on the wall.

Huh? In a hurry, he ran and looked out the window, only to realize that he had gone further from the underground to the surface.

It seems like there was a passage leading to another building in the middle that was the entrance to the other building.

The window was only big enough for one person to go through. It seemed that no matter what he did here, it would only create an effect like a loudspeaker. At that moment, a good idea came to mind.

Actually, he wasn’t sure if it was a good idea, but there was no other way at the moment. Liev had no way of knowing what was happening in the current situation or what would happen. So it was either to continue hiding and eventually get caught and executed, or to take a gamble before getting caught. In either case, it was better to choose the latter. I felt like I would have fewer regrets if I tried nothing other than running.

“Call me anytime. If you think it’s dangerous, because I can fly directly to wherever Liev is.”

He spoke as if he were so proud. Just wait and see if he actually shows up. After taking a deep breath, Liev shouted as loudly as he could towards the window.

“Renard~!!!”

Huff huff, he shouted so long that his breath nearly ran out, but there was no response. As expected, it was a failure. He felt embarrassed and lost and had no idea what to do next, his future seemed bleak. Just as he was feeling hopeless, the whole building began to shake violently.

Woong.. Drrrrk, he felt goosebumps all over his body as the entire building was shaking.