RGS Volume 2 Part 12

It seemed like he had briefly lost consciousness. When he opened his eyes, his breathing had barely calmed down. However, his thirst had increased. The accumulated fatigue pressed down on his body like a rock. Even regaining consciousness feels like it will only last for a bit.

Nevertheless, he managed to lift his head, and there he was, still sitting in front of him. Their eyes met as if he had been watching for a long time. The fact that he didn’t kill him or leave first was momentarily surprising. He tilted his head slightly to the side and moved his hand, looking at him with his hazy eyes.

Without taking his gaze off Abel, he held a leather pouch filled with a transparent liquid from his waist and removed the stopper. Then, he began to drink the liquid inside. He still maintained eye contact.

Gulp, gulp, gulp.

Seeing the water flowing down coolly, Abel’s thirst burned inside him like a desert. His throat felt so hot that it raised the temperature whenever he exhaled breaths. He wanted to ask him to let him drink as well. He actually tried to reach out his hand, but he couldn’t. His weakened hand could no longer moved, and there was no water left in the leather pouch.

Gurgle―

Karas poured out all the remaining water onto the ground.

Tap, tap, tap.

Abel couldn’t take his eyes off the sight of water being spilled on the floor until the last drop. After staring at the floor, which had changed color from the spilled water for a while, when he lifted his gaze, he met his gray eyes. His eyes still looked dazed. However, he knew that those eyes were continuously watching him.

For reasons unknown, he felt like there was a huge, undisclosed murderous intent seemed to be hidden within them. As he comforted himself with the possibility that since the man had already tried to kill him, it was natural for some murderous intent to remain, a casual voice sounded.

“Direction.”

“……Straight ahead.”

Abel faintly smiled and gestured with his eyes towards the direction he had chosen.

“That way will do.”

Then, he stood up. Abel followed his movements, feeling this time that he might truly die. Before he knew it, he had drawn his sword and laid it on the ground. However, a gentle smile spread across Able’s face. How fortunate that such a strong person was helping by the prince’s side. Perhaps the prince was doing even better than he had worried about. Able’s face lit up with a bright smile.

“Hehe… I have to guide you till the end.”

But now that the path has appeared, the Commander should be able to find it. His farewell flowed like a whisper before the relief spread in his green eyes.

“Thank you for helping His Majesty.”

A face that couldn’t hide its paleness, although messy, suddenly fell to the ground. Karas quietly looked down at his calm face. The man clearly knew that he was going to die. When Karas poured water on the floor, despair appeared on his face.

The guy who had walked for only a few hours and collapsed like a corpse definitely didn’t seem to be faking it. He even took the medicine with trembling hands, showing signs of pain somewhere. It wasn’t just a pretense when he passed out after a long time of watching. His thirst was also desperate.

The problem was that even his smiling face seemed genuine Even though he knew he was going to die, he had no fear or dread. Moreover, he pretended not to know anything until the end talking about His Majesty. His acting was so convincing that it felt real.

So, he should have killed him then and there, but Karas turned his body and began to walk along the path Abel had indicated. It was the first time he had kept someone alive for so long after deciding to kill him. Karas didn’t dwell deeply on the reason for this action. It was just too easy to kill him, and that would have been no fun. That was all there was to it.

⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖

Ashler’s party found the enemy’s traces after the sun had completely set. Based on the writing on the ground, they searched the east and finally found the open field in the southeast. Dozens of soldiers holding torches surrounded the field, making it as bright as daylight, yet the person they needed to find was nowhere to be seen.

“*Gasp!* W-what in the world is this.?”

The butler, who was seeing so many corpses for the first time, was the most shocked and stepped back. The stench emanating from the dozens of decapitated bodies seemed to be attracting animals. Among the corpses, movements of animals fleeing in fear could be seen.

Rustle, thud.

The sound of small footsteps fleeing could be heard from all around.

The soldiers busily searched through the corpses while holding torches. They were hoping to find any allies that might be there, but fortunately, all the dead were their enemies. Then a question arose.

Who on earth killed all these enemies?

 Ashler and the soldiers, of course, could quickly figure out the answer.

All the corpses had cleanly severed necks. Among them, there was an ally known as the “King of Slaughter” for beheading only enemy soldiers for the past six years. The answer was clear, but the more definitive evidence was the corpses hanging from the trees.

“His Majesty.”

As Ashler stared at the brutally mutilated corpse with severed feet and hands, Nani, who was beside him, nodded in agreement.

“Yes, it’s His Majesty. This is the method he used to kill his enemies whenever he’s bored.”

Melmond’s face hardened with concern at his words. He had been to the battlefield himself before to deliver the antidote, but he had never seen such a sight before. Dozens of corpses were killed by a single person.

And was it the result of boredom to brutally impale people on trees?

A sense of horror and unease mixed together. It was chilling to see someone who risked their life to serve the emperor be so ruthless. Ashler’s heart grew heavy. He looked at Melmond’s expression and understood his feelings. Even though he had become accustomed to the emperor’s cruelty during the 12 years he served Karas, he still felt a sense of horror when he witnessed it.

“Fortunately, His Majesty managed to escape the trap. The problem is where he had gone. It seems like he went knowing there might be another trap ahead.”

As Ashler spoke, Melmond nodded as if coming to his senses.

“Yes, fortunately, this time… he managed to escape.”

Even the truth of whether he really managed to escape was in doubt, but there was no time to worry about that now. The issue at hand was not the emperor.

“Ah, ahh! M-Melmond!”

When they heard the butler’s scream nearby, Melmond and his party hurriedly ran over. The butler was kneeling on the ground, illuminating the ground with a torch.

“What’s going on?”

When Melmond asked, the butler pointed to the floor with his hand. There was a familiar bottle that he often saw. It was one of Abel’s medicine bottles. Melmond quickly knelt down like the butler and picked up the bottle. At the same time, their eyes met. The butler spoke first with a trembling voice.

“Th-this… the, the medicine… of young master… but wh-where…?”

The question was, “Where on earth could the young master be if this is his medicine bottle?”

Melmond understood as if by magic and answered.

“Oh! Co-could it be… His, His Majesty… an, an accident… not recognizing… each other!”

The shock of the thought that perhaps they had encountered each other here and failed to recognize one another, leading to His Majesty accidentally killing Abel, was astonishing. The butler, who understood immediately, staggered with shock. However, Ashler, who had no idea what they were talking about, furrowed his brows.

“Sir Melmond, what are you talking about?”

“Sir Ashler! We must examine the bodies again. If Abel, who was reincarnated, met His Majesty and was killed without being recognized, what would happen?”

A linguistic genius was born. Ashler, who understood everything, looked at the nearby soldier with a surprised look and called him to confirm. Fortunately, the report came back that the young master, who was like an enchanting fairy, was not among the bodies. Then, the butler suddenly lost strength in his legs and sat down. Then he barely asked Melmond.

“Wh-what if he recognized him? Th-that means he might still be alive.”

However, Melmond shook his head. He hoped it would be so, but he knew that it was highly unlikely.

“For now, since both of them don’t know each other’s current appearance, that possibility is out of the question. Besides, I heard that His Majesty hates fake Abels so much that he would cut them down at the slightest resemblance. Sigh.”

Melmond continued to let out a deep sigh. He wondered if Abel was taken away and killed more brutally. Unexpectedly, a firm voice denying it was heard.

“No. The two of them must have surely recognized each other.”

With a strong voice full of determination, Melmond and the butler turned their heads abruptly. The owner of the voice was Nani.

“What are you talking about? Do you know something?”

When Melmond questioned, Nani immediately shook his head.

“No.”

“Do you want to die?”

“But think about it. Are the two of them in a normal relationship? Abel, miraculously reincarnated after 12 years because he couldn’t leave His Majesty. Moreover, His Majesty only opened his heart to him for a lifetime. These two people are bound by a stronger and tighter connection than we can imagine. Do you understand?”

With plausible words, Melmond and the butler nodded their heads. Then Nani smiled and pointed to the surrounding corpses with his hand.

“In other words, the fact that there is no body of Abel here means only one thing. These two people recognized each other at once!”

Hmm. Melmond twitched his eyebrows. It made sense.

Is reincarnation a common thing? Maybe these two really recognized each other. So, they embraced each other and cried while reuniting… Huh? Something was off about the picture. The emperor Melmond knew wouldn’t be the type to cry and fuss over meeting someone again.

After ascending to the throne and officially taking the name Karas, he became a completely different person. He abandoned everything he had as a prince. Perhaps Abel did too. And maybe Abel doesn’t even know the name Karas. They had become entirely different people. Especially Abel, even if he recognized the other, he would surely faint upon realizing that his prince had become such a ruthless king.

“No, that can’t be.”

When Melmond shook his head, Nani raised an eyebrow this time.

“I’m right!”

“No, I’m right!”

“Oh well, since they recognized each other. I bet my one month’s salary!”

“Alright, I’ll bet my one month’s worth of medicine sales!”

The bet was made. They had clashed once before during a knight’s swordsmanship competition 12 years ago. 12 years was a long time, but Nani hadn’t forgotten the betrayal of Melmond, who bet money on his rival, and Melmond carried the painful past of not receiving his share of the winnings after being expelled from the palace.

With the butler still appearing absent-minded, the only one who could intervene between the two was Ashler, but he chose to take a step back instead. He didn’t want to get involved in that conversation at all. So, he turned his body as if to search for the young master’s body around. That’s when the butler’s voice was heard.

“S-So, our young master is a-alive, right? Right?”

Unable to give an answer, Melmond turned his gaze away, and only Nani nodded.

“Of course! Since these two recognized each other, they are probably embracing each other by now, reminiscing about the past. Don’t worry.”

“Th-Thank goodness. It’s a relief that these two recognized each other. Really, it’s a relief.”

As the butler shed tears, Nani was pleased to have someone on his side and raised his voice.

“Right? You also believe that, right, butler? Haha, Melmond, look. The bet is 2 to 1.”

Just as he was about to shout that he was at a disadvantage, the butler’s low voice interrupted.

“No, I’d bet that they didn’t recognize each other.”

The butler was rational when it came to gambling. Moreover, he was a skilled player.

“One month’s worth of pay, plus three months more.”