RGS Volume 3 Part 3

He couldn’t finish his sentence and pointed at Abel with his eyes. But Karas looked at the soldiers, who were staring at Abel as if he had possessed them, with cold eyes. The quick-witted Ashler quickly gestured to his soldiers to bow their heads. When he recalled how he had looked at the people around Abel with such cold eyes even when he was young, the answer became clear.

“I don’t know.”

“Yes, you don’t… I mean, what?”

Ashler was so surprised that he forgot it was impolite and quickly raised his head and asked again.

“You don’t know?”

Ashler cautiously added, wondering if Karas was trying to hide Abel’s true identity.

“If it is uncomfortable for you to speak, I will take care of the soldiers.”

“Why?”

“Yes?”

Ashler opened his eyes wide, forgetting his manners again, but Karas repeated in an irritating tone.

“I don’t know.”

Then suddenly someone shouted loudly from behind without any fear.

“Your Majesty! Why are you pretending not to know?! You hold him so dearly, and you have been so kind to him all the way here… Oh!”

Nani, who was about to become a beggar, realized the reality as soon as he shouted excitedly and met the emperor’s cold gaze. He was about to be dismissed from this world before becoming a beggar.

“Your, Your Majesty… So, I mean… I…”

Nani tried to apologize while trembling and prostrating himself on the floor. However, before he could speak properly, Karas asked first.

“All the way here?”

Sensing Karas’ worsening mood in his low voice, Ashler hastily made up an excuse.

“Your Majesty, we heard a story from a thief who claimed to have seen you while coming here. But that thief said that Your Majesty cherishes someone who looks like a fairy…”

As Ashler said this far, he looked at his gray eyes that grew even colder and immediately realized the truth. The youngest thief was lying.

Gulp. Ashler swallowed his saliva unknowingly and calmly continued speaking.

“Of course, I didn’t believe that story. I was just surprised that Your Majesty had a companion.”

Glancing up again, Ashler noticed that Karas seemed annoyed as if he found the matter bothersome.”

“He was the guide.”

When Ashler realized that it referred to Abel, he found it strange but thought it was possible. Well, unless there was a purpose, why would Karas be accompanied by a stranger? Unless it was Abel. However, the purpose was as a guide. It was doubtful how the fairy became a guide, but judging by Karas’ tone and gaze, it didn’t seem like he considered the fairy as Abel.

“Oh! Y-Y-young Master!”

“Ack! An arrow in his arm!”

At that moment, the butler and Melmond, who had arrived late, rushed towards Karas, each screaming and shouting in terror. They were both pale and trembling with shock as they approached, their gaze fixed on Abel. They seemed to have forgotten Karas’ presence entirely, only to hastily bow their heads when they reached him.

“Your, Your Majesty…”

When Melmond managed to open his mouth, Karas looked at the collapsed Abel and then at them alternately and asked.

“Do you know him?”

Ashler had already reached a conclusion with that short question. If he had known Abel, he wouldn’t have asked like that.

“Oh! Yes, of course. He is… “

Melmond, who still didn’t know the situation, attempted to mention Abel’s name, however, Ashler interrupted him.

“Sir Melmond, you might be surprised, but it seems that the young master guided His Majesty.”

“Huh? G-Guided His Majesty? What do you mean?”

Melmond blinked in confusion, and Karas asked again.

“Do you know his name?”

Melmond froze, blinking his eyes even wider. Asking for Abel’s name, was he testing him? Although Melmond remained silent and stiff, fortunately, the other person was different. Like a habit, the butler, who could even sob and speak the young master’s name while collapsing to the ground, opened his mouth.

“Uhuhuh, our young master’s name is… “

Hm? Melmond snapped back to reality and interrupted the answer.

“Lil!”

He shouted loudly, covering the butler’s mouth, and responded to Karas again.

“The young master’s name is ‘Lil’.”

The sobbing butler, whose proud young master’s name had been reduced to a single word, stopped crying. However, for Melmond, only Karas’ reaction was important. His expression showed that it didn’t matter what the name was. And then, he casually handed Abel over like a piece of luggage.

Melmond received the collapsed Abel and noticed that his face had become even paler than before. Moreover, the arrow wound seemed quite severe.

However, all his attention was focused solely on Karas.

What happened? Didn’t they recognize each other?

If he had recognized him, he wouldn’t have entrusted him to others like this, turning away so coldly. Even if there were lingering feelings of resentment towards Abel. But Karas was already walking towards the decapitated corpse in the back, giving Ashler other instructions.

“M-Melmond, w-we need to quickly take the young master to the carriage for treatment.”

Melmond, who had been in a daze, barely regained his senses at the butler’s urgent voice and nodded. Yes, now the priority was to save the weak Abel. With the help of the butler, Melmond rushed to the carriage with Abel in his arms.

Karas’ eyes seemed to glance at them for a moment, but he quickly kicked the severed head on the ground with his foot.

“Impale it in the sword and place it in front. Clean up the rest.”

Ashler and the soldiers held their breath upon realizing that the head before them belonged to the enemy’s king. The king of the enemy country, who had resisted tirelessly for years while hiding, was now lying dead before them. In a mixture of astonishment and confusion, they exchanged glances and moved cautiously.

However, as well-trained soldiers, they quickly drew their swords and remained vigilant for any potential enemies nearby. Meanwhile, Ashler tried to follow Karas, who had turned around and started walking away. At that moment, a soldier approached Ashler and asked in a perplexed tone,

“What should we do with our wounded comrade?”

Comrade? Ashler was taken aback and looked around, only to discover that there was indeed a comrade who had been injured. One of their allies was lying on the ground, it was Nani, unconscious and foaming at the mouth. Ashler gave instructions on how to handle the situation.

“Step on him to wake him up.”

After giving the brief command, Ashler quickly followed behind Karas. Karas immediately gave Ashler an order as he approached him. It was a specific location and detailed instructions.

“Go and find it.”

Upon hearing the command to find it, Ashler quickly realized what it was and looked at Karas with astonishment.

How did he figure it out? However, it was a matter that he couldn’t dare ask before he spoke it himself.

“Understood. What will you do once I find it?”

When he asked about his next move, he received a casual response. However, despite the tone, his gray eyes darkened.

“I will return to my palace.”

⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖

The six-year-long war had finally come to an end.

Perhaps due to the lack of humidity, a cool breeze blew as the sun set, cooling down the day’s heat. However, Ashler hurriedly walked without even having the leisure to feel the coolness of the wind. He was thinking about various reports to give to the emperor as he walked when a tree branch blocked his path.

The late summer here was different from his hometown. The landscape was transformed by trees with large, lush leaves and unfamiliar fruits. The branch before him hung heavily with leaves larger than his palm and small fruits. He could have easily brushed the obstructing branch aside or ducked his head slightly to pass under it.

Normally, he would have done just that, but strangely enough, on this day, his attention was drawn to the leaves. There was a time when he had collected several of these seemingly useless leaves. No, it would be more accurate to say that he had received them as gifts. It was when Abel started exploring the forest with the prince.

At some point, Abel began to bring back small gifts whenever he and the prince returned from the forest. Though he called them “harvests,” they were just common acorns, small fruits, flowers, leaves, and even stones that could be found anywhere. Yet, Abel’s eyes always sparkled with excitement as if he had discovered something extraordinary.

“Prince, please give that to Sir Ashler quickly. I found it earlier!”

When Abel encouraged him loudly, the prince would extend his small hand with an expressionless face. In his hand would be a tiny flower no bigger than a fingernail and a stem, long-wilted and drooping. To Ashler, it seemed that the prince found this rather bothersome, but Abel, beside him, couldn’t contain his joy.

“Ahaha—Sir Ashler, look at this! We even made rings out of these flowers earlier. Of course, we made one for you too, Sir Ashler. Haha, and guess what, the prince made this one himself. Surprised, aren’t you?”

Abel’s excited chatter was almost deafening, yet it had a strangely uplifting effect. The flower ring, clumsily crafted by the child’s hands, had already come apart at the seams, barely resembling a ring at all. The flower had wilted from being held in a warm hand. But hearing Abel’s voice conveyed a vivid sense of joy.

“We made several rings like this. The prince and I wore them on all ten fingers, but we were afraid they would fall off, so we had to walk around with our fingers stretched out. It was so exhausting that I thought I was going to die.”

Are you a fool?

The feeling was so infectious that he almost felt like he had become a fool himself. However, hearing that the prince also walked around with his fingers spread out to keep the rings from falling off, he couldn’t help but praise him for his efforts. Then, Abel’s eyes sparkled as he immediately made a request.”

“Sir Ashler, please try it on too!”

There had never been a moment when Ashler’s patience had developed so greatly. On the night he wore the ring of humiliation, Ashler couldn’t stand it and went to challenge Abel to a duel. However, it ended with him hearing something from Abel instead.

“Sir Ashler, please be happier. Ah, you need to react more enthusiastically so that the prince, who’s giving you a gift, feels prouder and happier. It’s all for the prince, you know. Hehe, you will do that, right?”

When Abel brought up the prince, Ashler had nothing to say. From Ashler’s perspective, it seemed like the prince was going along with it even if he found it bothersome because Abel seemed too delighted with it. It was unclear for whose benefit this was, but Ashler couldn’t bring himself to oppose Abel, who was emphasizing it was for the prince’s sake.

The next day, he resolved to change his mindset and show a reaction. And Abel and the prince he had been waiting for appeared. Once again, they held something in their hands, and Abel started bragging as soon as he saw Ashler.

“Sir Ashler! Look at this leaf. Wow, it’s so amazing, isn’t it?”

It was just a leaf. What’s so amazing about it?

However, Ashler nodded his head as he had made up his mind. It’s amazing, he replied, and Abel, as if he had been waiting, urged the prince to hand over the leaf. And with expectant eyes, he asked.

“Hehe, the prince and I named this leaf together. Guess what is it?”

How would I know that?

Ashler’s patience had once again undergone significant development. He wanted to ask a question, but when he looked down at the ordinary maple leaf, he had no words to respond. Then Abel gave him a frustrated look, as if urging him to react better as he had mentioned yesterday.

But what did he expect him to say about a nickname for a leaf? Eventually, Abel gave him a hint.

“What does it resemble, being divided into five ends? Yes? What do you think it resembles?”

Ashler looked at it for a while and finally opened his mouth.

“A leaf.”

“……”

“……”

“Ha, haha… Ha, Ashler, you’re really good at jokes. Right, prince? Uh, Ashler. It resembles a sole, doesn’t it?”

“Whose sole?”

“A frog’s!”

After that, he received several leaves as gifts. Each time, there was a reason behind it. Some were exceptionally larger than other leaves from the same tree, some had different colors, and some resembled something else. Each leaf had a nickname. He even brought back some stones.

Among them, the stone resembling a duck was particularly intriguing, even to herself, as it did bear some resemblance. It was the only time he had been interested in a stone that he stepped and kicked on. It was because he had met this person named Abel.

Ashler picked up a leaf that was larger than his palm.

If Abel saw it, he would say it resembles a bear’s sole and jump around happily. Ashler briefly examined the leaf before urging himself to go see the emperor. There was no young prince who would give him such a leaf anymore. There was only the emperor who would give him orders.

However, in his mind, as he walked towards the emperor’s quarters, the fairy who was said to be Abel’s reincarnation came to mind. What would he say if he brought this large leaf to him, who had not yet awakened? He put the leaf in his pocket with a small sense of anticipation. Sometimes, he missed those days when he received stones or leaves from the prince.