RHH | Chapter 1.8

Leehwan suddenly came to his senses. It hadn’t been long since he had resolved not to be swayed by emotions, and yet here he was, getting carried away again. He took a step back from Absalom.

“I guess I was too anxious. Sorry.”

“You’ll know everything soon enough. Just wait until then.”

“…Please.”

Leehwan hesitated before finally letting out the word. Absalom’s eyes widened, then he softly smiled.

It had been some time, and now Leehwan needed to return. This time, he calmly unfastened the button. The cloak, no longer secured, slid off his shoulders.

Leehwan caught the cloak and handed it back to Absalom, who quickly took it into his arms. A faint blush spread across his pale cheeks.

“You are warm, Leehwan.”

“…I’m going.”

Leehwan turned and walked away quickly. He could feel Absalom’s piercing gaze on his back.

After walking some distance and escaping Absalom’s line of sight, Leehwan stopped. His mind was in turmoil, clashing between reason and emotion.

He knew in his head. Leehwan was alive now. The abyss he had fallen into no longer existed, and neither Lucien nor Absalom had betrayed him yet. But his heart, remembering the past pain, kept pushing him.

If only he had been a true saint, capable of embracing and forgiving everything, would it have been easier?

“What kind of Messenger of God is this?”

There was a time he had hoped to be the perfect Messenger of God Iella, a Knight of Salvation. He thought that if he could perfectly fit that role, everyone, including Lucien, would be happy.

But it seemed he was nothing more than a mere human. Leehwan twisted his lips.

𓂃 ོ☼𓂃

The Phoenix Knights had eradicated a pack of manticores threatening the free city of Bisha and had returned to the Imperial Palace. When they departed, they were thirty-two in number, but only twenty-four returned. It was the lowest return rate since the creation of the Phoenix Knights.

All members of the Phoenix Knights held equal status. However, as a group that faced monsters, Leehwan was closest to being their leader.

Right after returning, Leehwan reported the damages to Crown Prince Charles and immediately confined himself to the training grounds. People speculated that he was pushing himself to become stronger, feeling a deep sense of responsibility.

Now on his fifth day of swinging his sword in the training grounds, Leehwan inwardly scoffed upon hearing the rumors. The real reason was different.

Lucien, who had been raised delicately like a flower, wouldn’t even step toward the sweat-stenched direction of the training grounds.

Still, since it wasn’t entirely impossible, Leehwan sent flowers to Lucien every morning through a servant. It was a preemptive move. Thanks to that, he hadn’t seen even a single strand of Lucien’s blond hair since returning. It was a rather satisfying outcome.

On the sixth morning, right after breakfast, a servant found Leehwan still swinging his sword in the training grounds. The servant was affiliated with the Crown Prince’s palace.

“The Crown Prince requests your presence for lunch.”

After quickly washing off his sweat, Leehwan headed to the Crown Prince’s palace, quite elated. As he expected, the Crown Prince ordered him to eliminate a monster. It was the very opportunity Leehwan had been aiming for.

The departure preparations progressed swiftly, thanks to his seasoned experience with such movements. And on the night before they were set to leave the Imperial Palace, Lucien came to find Leehwan. The avoidance he had been feigning had finally caught up to him.

Having finished their meals, they ended up drinking tea. Handling the tea set left behind by the servant, Leehwan looked at Lucien, who seemed unwell.

“Are you feeling okay?”

If there was anything wrong, he planned to use it as an excuse to send him back. Instead of answering, Lucien pointed somewhere on the table. It was a deep blue glass vase.

“Could you move that away?”

Whether it was just an excuse or not, when Leehwan moved it to another spot, Lucien’s complexion visibly improved.

“Didn’t you like that color?”

Most of the princes, following the Emperor with sky-like blue eyes, were born with the same colored eyes. However, Lucien, who resembled his mother, had green eyes. He viewed it as a symbol of his lowly birth and usually kept things around him that were blue. He even used forget-me-not essential oil because the flower was blue—it was an obsession at this point.

It was a casual remark from Leehwan, but Lucien’s reaction was peculiar. His shoulders shuddered, and he shook his head vehemently.

“What happened?”

“Just a bad dream… Anyway, now I can’t stand the color blue.”

“A dream?”

Leehwan sensed that the conversation would drag on but had to ask anyway. He resolved himself to endure this night with all his patience.

Unexpectedly, Lucien’s response was to blanch and bite his lip. Then, he suddenly stood up and moved towards Leehwan.

“Lucien?”

Leehwan cautiously stood up as well. Although he didn’t feel any negative energy like hostility or anger from Lucien, it was better to be cautious.

What followed might have been anticlimactic. Lucien grabbed Leehwan by the waist and buried his face in his chest. However, Leehwan stiffened at this seemingly insignificant action.

“Why, why are you doing this?”

Leehwan hoped his trembling could be interpreted as the clumsy reaction of a lover taken aback by sudden intimacy. Struggling to control his involuntary movements, he looked down and saw Lucien’s tousled blond hair. He barely managed to raise his arms.

Leehwan’s arms wrapped around Lucien’s shoulders, and Lucien pressed deeper into him. A small sound escaped Lucien’s rosebud lips.

“I had a strange dream.”

“What kind?”

“I was being killed by a dragon. Weird, right? I’ve never seen one, but I knew it was a dragon.”

“…That’s how dreams are.”

At those words, Lucien released his hold. Stepping back from Leehwan’s embrace, he smiled.

“Right? That’s just how dreams are.”

Instead of the scent of forget-me-nots, a different fragrance brushed past Leehwan’s nose.

The next morning, nineteen knights from the Phoenix Knights set out from the Imperial Palace. The monsters they were tasked to kill were a chimera and a harpy, both tricky foes.

The area where these two types of monsters appeared was a mountain named Chavriere, about ten days’ ride from the Imperial Palace. This region was reputed for its rugged terrain.

On the afternoon of the seventh day since leaving the Imperial Palace, Leehwan ordered an earlier rest than usual. It was clear that both the men and their horses had reached their limits after riding all day.

The knights only made minimal preparations for camping before collapsing from exhaustion. In contrast, Leehwan, who was less fatigued than the others, strolled around the area. As he expected, Absalom soon appeared.

“It was hard to find you.”

Absalom made no pretense of having met by chance. Nonetheless, since they had to play along, Leehwan had wrapped himself in a plain cloak to hide his uniform.

Suddenly, Leehwan found the situation amusing. Back in the Imperial Palace, he had been dodging Lucien, and here he was, meeting Absalom of his own accord. He soon dismissed this self-mocking thought.

Meeting Absalom was purely for utilitarian purposes. If it meant getting out of here, he had to do it.

“You found me, which means…”

Absalom silently examined Leehwan’s face. His deep blue eyes scrutinized him so thoroughly it was almost unsettling.

“The investigation is complete.”

Absalom, slipping his hand into his cuff, pulled out a sharply folded piece of paper. Just as Leehwan was about to take it, Absalom slipped it back into his sleeve.

“What’s this?”

“If you want something from a merchant, shouldn’t you pay for it?”

A sly smile that could only suggest ulterior motives spread across Absalom’s handsome face. Leehwan responded slowly.

“…I thought it was enough to provide good clothes, food, and lodging.”

“That’s a condition. It’s different from payment.”

Rumors said that dragons hoard immense treasures in their lairs. And yet here he was, about to become a fugitive, demanding payment from a human. Leehwan stared at Absalom defiantly.

“What do you want?”

Their relationship was based on a strange balance of deception. Unless one party revealed their cards first, the other had to pretend ignorance. Thus, what Absalom could demand was limited to what ‘a mere soldier like Leehwan could pay.’

Would it be jewels? Perhaps gold coins. As Leehwan waited for an answer, Absalom spoke.

“I can’t think of anything right now. I’ll tell you when we meet next.”

Considering Absalom’s elusiveness, perhaps dragons had a unique way of moving about. Giving an unpredictable person a chance was like carrying straw to dive into a fire.

Leehwan pursed his lips, and Absalom quickly added,

“I won’t ask for anything unreasonable.”

“…Fine.”

Leehwan had no other option right now. Reluctantly, he agreed, and Absalom handed over the paper again. Leehwan hoped that ‘next time’ wouldn’t come as he took the paper.

Having parted with Absalom and returned to his tent, Leehwan unfolded the paper in his palm.

Contained within this insignificant piece of paper was the information he desired. Earth, home, parents, daily life. Things he once would have given everything to regain.

Leehwan closed his eyes. The reality that the things he had once given up on were now within reach seemed utterly unreal, perhaps because he had lived too long having given up on them.

When he opened his eyes again, Leehwan touched the paper. The distinctive texture of paper brushed his fingertips—a reality, not a dream or fantasy. The feel of the paper reminded Leehwan of this fact.

He no longer hesitated and quickly read through the paper. It detailed six relics, two of which were well-known. And one of them—

Leehwan glanced down at the sword belted at his waist. According to the paper, the real Deiustellum, bestowed by Iella, was in the Imperial Palace’s treasure vault. He had thought it was just a rumor meant to stir up trouble, but it seemed not. Annoyed, he ruffled his hair with a jerky movement.

Seven days had passed since they left the Imperial Palace. Going back now was absurd, and besides, the Imperial Palace’s treasure vault was not a place just anyone could enter.

Should he let this opportunity slip by and go to the Imperial Palace to secure the real Deiustellum, or should he shift his focus to other relics? The decision came quickly.

The sword was already considered a pair with Leehwan. Even if he somehow managed to secure it and escape, getting caught by someone would spread the news in an instant. Moreover, missing this opportunity was also problematic.

The Imperial Palace could be entered later, and if not, there were other relics. With that conclusion, Leehwan began reading about the next relic.

Upon reaching the base of Mount Chavriere, the Phoenix Knights unpacked their gear in a nearby village and gathered information. The monsters they had to face this time were a chimera and harpies. Among them, the harpies, being flying monsters, required special attention.

After making thorough preparations, the knights entered the mountain. Initially, the area was noisy with the sounds of birds and insects, but as they ventured deeper, it grew silent—a sign of lurking dangers.