RGS Volume 1 Part 11

The area around the forest was always covered in thick fog. The dense fog, which made it impossible to see even a few steps ahead, did not disappear no matter how bright the sunlight was. Due to the fog that surrounded the entire forest, anyone who entered would get lost and eventually die.

It was called Dragon Forest, but it was also known as the Forest of Death. Only the king who inherited the dragon’s abilities and his Regas could enter, but the current king was said to dislike the forest and had never entered it. So, the story was like a legend that had not been proven to Ashler, who had never seen it until now.

“Fog?”

Abel, who was holding the prince, asked with a puzzled expression. The prince, as always, was biting Abel’s neck with his teeth and causing wounds on Abel’s body. Abel just held the prince tighter, as always.

“This fog.”

Ashler pointed to the white fog spreading in front of him and asked curiously.

“The fog is so thick like this, what will you do if something bad happens while you’re carrying the prince?”

But instead of answering, Abel kept looking around and repeating the same words.

“Fog?”

“Can’t you see the fog? This fog…”

Ashler paused. He stopped speaking and looked at Abel quietly.

“Abel. What do you see in front of you?”

“It’s a forest.”

“……”

“But wow, it’s a very dense forest. The trees are huge!”

Abel raised his head in admiration and turned his body so that the prince could see the forest.

“Your Highness, please take a look over there. The forest is truly beautiful, isn’t it?”

Of course, the prince still didn’t raise his head as he was absorbed in his thoughts. However, Abel continued speaking without minding.

“The forest has so many interesting and amazing things that you can’t even imagine. There are various fascinating plants, and you can also see interesting insects. You can even encounter animals that you’ve never seen in the palace. Oh, and there are fruits that you can pick right now. I’ll show you everything.”

Abel gently stroked the back of the prince’s head with his large hand. It seemed like a peaceful gesture that shouldn’t be disturbed, so Ashler couldn’t bring himself to speak. Fortunately, Abel turned his head first.

“I will never do anything dangerous. I won’t go too far.”

“Understood. But…”

Ashler briefly glanced at the foggy path that he could only see.

“I will wait here. It seems like only the prince and Mr. Abel should enter the Dragon Forest.”

Although his duty was to escort the prince, he had no intention of risking his life to go into the Dragon Forest. The captain of the guard had mentioned that the Dragon Forest was excluded from his mission. Abel seemed slightly surprised that Ashler wouldn’t go, but he nodded soon after.

“Yes, then I’ll only accompany the prince today. Next time, Sir Knight should definitely come with us. Hehe.”

He really didn’t listen to the explanation. Ashler held back the urge to say something to his smiling face and took a step back. Well, maybe it’s for the best. It was as if he had no fear of the Dragon Forest, so he really didn’t know if they would return safely, just as he said.

If Abel wasn’t a Regas, who was qualified to enter the forest, he would be engulfed in the fog the moment he let go of the prince’s hand inside. In that case, Abel might die, but what was important wasn’t his life. The worst-case scenario was if the prince was harmed when he was left alone.

Ashler still couldn’t believe that the king had allowed this. Of course, even if the permit had the king’s signature, the decision must have been made by the king’s close aides. Did they not care if the prince died? Or is this forest really enchanted and protects the prince?

“I will be back.”

When Ashler turned his gaze away from his farewell, Abel had already disappeared into the fog. Ashler stared at the spot where he disappeared and began the tedious wait.

The forest was a playground and a home to Abel from the moment he was born. Every morning, he would wake up and run to the forest. He would chase his brothers, collect wood, pick fruits, and catch mice, and before he knew it, the day would pass by. In the winter, like a bear sleeping in a den, he would be trapped inside his house, but as soon as the ground started to thaw and the first buds appeared, he would return to the forest.

Abel, being always short of food, would search through the bushes, hoping to find a magpie’s nest. Unlike other birds, magpies built their nests on the ground, making them the only birds from which Abel could obtain eggs.

However, despite spending the whole day rummaging through the bushes with a stick, he often came back empty-handed. Nevertheless, the next day, he would wake up again and go in search of eggs. Inside the nest made of dry grass and feathers, there were about ten small eggs with black dots on them.

He couldn’t take all the eggs. He had to take only a few, so as not to attract attention. That way, the magpies wouldn’t move their nest. If he was lucky, he would find a nest with eighteen eggs. In that case, he could collect more eggs, and Abel, at the age of eight, became the best egg hunter in the neighborhood.

Before summer ended, he diligently picked fruits, and when autumn came, he had to collect acorns with great effort. The days when the sun shone were too short to explore the vast forest. At night, he would fall asleep and even dream of running through the forest.

When Abel lost his family and left his hometown, he kept looking back while holding his master’s hand. To him, the forest was more appealing than the village that had burned down. The forest was such a natural part of his life that he didn’t hesitate to follow his master.

“From now on, you will learn about nature. The land, the trees, the animals.”

“The forest?”

“Yes, the forest.”

Over a period of time, Abel realized that learning from his teacher was not much different from running through the forest alone. He wondered why a Regas, who was a special person, was teaching him such things. Even now, with the prince by his side, entering the Dragon Forest, Abel couldn’t be sure.

The things his master was going to teach him and do together seemed so ordinary that he didn’t think he could tame a dragon like a Regas could. Besides, Ashler had also warned him about the Dragon Forest. He said that unless he was a true Regas, he would get lost in the forest and die.

Even though he could be able to, he was still scared. However, the reason he moved towards the forest without hesitation despite the burden and fear was because of the sadness that gathered inside his heart. The smell of blood that wouldn’t disappear even after washing. The cruelty of attacking and killing animals, tearing them apart. Hidden by his hair, but a face without expression. Not laughing, not crying, not showing any signs of dislike, and just like a doll that’s emotionless.

This prince made Abel’s heart heavy. He glanced down at the prince nestled in his chest. The tired child was now quietly snuggled up. The child’s nails and teeth were still digging into Abel’s flesh, but there was no strength in them.

No matter what others say, to Abel, the prince is just a scared and lonely child. He stopped walking and looked up at the tall forest reaching towards the sky. He didn’t know if there was anything he could do.

Maybe in a month, he would leave the palace only to face criticism and ridicule.

Still, he wanted to hold the child’s hand. He wanted to make the child feel even a little bit of the comfort he felt while laughing and running in the forest. That’s all. Abel whispered to the prince, who had entrusted himself to him.

“Prince, do you hear that sound? I think there’s a magpie nearby. This guy is a talkative one, good at fighting too. But you know how stubborn it is, once it finds a nest it never leaves. It even comes back to its nest even if it’s caught by a person. Shall we go see this foolish creature?”

⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖

As the sky turned red, Ashler found the answer to the question he had been curious about all day.

Thump thump.

Abel, who had embraced the prince just as he was in the morning, appeared in the fog.

“Sir Knight! You were still here after all. Haha, I knew it and that’s why I brought a gift too.”

He quickened his pace, delighted. Ashler had never left his spot, worried that there might be a problem with the prince, but he didn’t show it. Instead, he quickly scanned the prince’s body with his eyes.

He was still biting Abel’s neck and his nails were still digging into his skin, just like in the morning. But the prince’s hand was stained. It was clearly a dry bloodstain. Ashler took a step closer and spoke in a cold voice.

“What happened to the prince?”

“What?”

Abel blinked his eyes and hesitated, stepping back. He held out a branch with a blooming white flower to Ashler, but he glared at him with more intensity.

“I’m asking you what happened to the prince?!”

“W-we went to see the magpies.”

“A magpie? Did the prince get hurt because of that?”

Ashler took a step closer and reached out his hand to receive the prince.

“Please let go of the prince right away. I will take care of his wounds.”

However, Abel who looked puzzled did not think of letting go of the prince, When Ashler tried to forcefully touch the prince, he quickly stepped back.

“Lord Regas!”

“No! The prince isn’t hurt.”

“Then what is this blood?”

Abel finally lowered his head and looked down at the prince’s hand. Not only his hand but his sleeve was also stained with blood, turning black. The prince remained silent, not reacting to his surroundings.

Ashler looked up at the prince. Abel thought the prince looked no different from this morning, but now he was not. He had new wounds on his face and neck, which clearly showed how aggressive he had been in the forest. However, Abel was speaking in a calm voice.

“It’s the blood of the magpie.”

A perplexed smile appeared on Abel’s face as he explained.

“We went to see a magpie’s nest. Fortunately, I found a nest in a not-so-high hole in the tree, so I climbed up the tree. But suddenly, well…”

It seemed unnecessary to hear the rest. The prince must have killed the bird. But his eyebrows didn’t furrow like they used to. Instead, the question of how he caught the bird came to mind first.

“The bird… Did the prince catch it?”

As the question came out of his mouth, Abel let out an exclamation as if he had been waiting.

“Wow, that’s right! It’s really amazing! The prince didn’t catch it, but the magpie didn’t move in front of the prince and just stayed still!”

It didn’t move? Ashler had a new question, but Abel was too busy expressing his amazement to the prince.

“Prince, this is truly remarkable! You can now become a hunting genius! Hahaha! You will never starve to death from now on!”

Ashler was torn between drawing his sword as an insult to the royal family or holding back at Abel’s praise. To compliment someone by saying they won’t starve to death when they can become a king. Ashler was dumbfounded, Abel continued with a warm voice.

“So, Your Highness. How about getting along with animals instead of killing them next time? You might be surprised by the sudden animals, but I will definitely be right next to you.”

However, the prince showed no particular reaction. There was no disappointment on Abel’s face either. Instead, he extended a blooming branch to Ashler with a bright face.

“I found a big lake while looking for a sparrow. And there were still blooming magnolias nearby.”

Ashler asked without accepting it readily.

“Why are you giving it to me?”

“Because I’m grateful.”

“What?” Trying to ask, Abel explained first with warm laughter in his eyes.

“You’ve been waiting here all day.”