RHH | Chapter 4.8

His face was pale, with shadows under his eyes. There was also a faint smell of blood.

“Where?”

“Huh?”

“Where are you hurt!”

As Leehwan tried to get closer to Absalom, he realized he was completely enveloped by him. Before he could panic at the unexpected situation, Absalom pulled him closer again.

“I’m fine, so stay still.”

“Absalom!”

“I don’t know what happened in the forest, but your condition was bad the whole time. Your body temperature dropped sharply, so I had to hold you the entire time. And you kept trying to make contact, so I really struggled to hold back…”

“What?”

“Do you remember calling my name over and over in my ear? I thought I’d hear a lifetime’s worth of my name today.”

So this is me being petty.

Absalom whispered that into Leehwan’s ear. Leehwan rubbed his ear vigorously. Then, realizing his body temperature had dropped, he obediently let Absalom hold him.

By then, he noticed they were inside a cave. The damp, chilly air was palpable. As Leehwan looked around, his gaze fell on Absalom’s hand. A large blister marred his otherwise smooth, white fingers.

Leehwan grabbed his hand and pulled it closer. As he did, Absalom’s sleeve slid up, revealing his wrist. There were burns there too. Without hesitation, Leehwan began to undo Absalom’s sleeve.

“W-wait…”

Absalom’s flustered voice came from behind. Leehwan pretended not to hear. As he pulled the sleeve down, he saw a long blister on Absalom’s firm, white arm. It looked as if he had been struck with a hot iron rod. Absalom quickly spoke.

“It looks a bit ugly, but it’s fine.”

Leehwan said nothing. Absalom added.

“You’re more injured than I am. Scratches and cuts everywhere…”

Leehwan touched the sore spots. He felt the sticky texture of ointment. Feeling a lump in his throat, he reached out to Absalom.

“Give me the medicine.”

Leehwan began treating Absalom after receiving the medicine. Silence fell over the cave for a while. After gently applying the medicine to prevent the blisters from bursting, Leehwan held his arm.

“Does it hurt?”

“It’s fine.”

Leehwan skillfully applied the medicine and wrapped the bandage. Then he pulled Absalom’s arm closer and quietly pressed his lips to the bandage.

‘If scars remain, I’ll blame myself.’

Those were the words Absalom had said to Leehwan on the day he threw himself into danger to escape the imperial family. Leehwan felt he understood a bit of how Absalom had felt back then.

After some time, Leehwan’s body temperature returned to normal. They left the cave and mounted their horses.

“Thank you.”

Before setting off, Leehwan spoke to Absalom. In the chaos, taking care of both himself and the horse couldn’t have been easy. It was a word of gratitude for that.

Absalom looked puzzled by the sudden words. Leehwan lightly stroked the horse’s mane. Absalom smiled brightly.

“You’re welcome.”

Leehwan and Absalom set off toward the city where they had stayed the previous night. They planned to rest there for a day before continuing their journey to find the next holy relic.

After riding for about half a day, they came across a fairly large ruin. A massive statue of a winged wolf with a snake coiled around it lay broken on the ground. Not far away, a familiar statue of Iella had also fallen.

The place was desolate, but it was proof that they were on the right path to the city.

However, Leehwan abruptly pulled on the reins. His horse, unable to handle the sudden stop, reared on its hind legs.

Whizz—

A sharp whistling sound cut through the air, followed by an arrow embedding itself into the frozen ground. If he had continued forward, it would have struck the horse’s head.

Leehwan immediately guided his horse away, dodging the incoming barrage of arrows. His sword was already in hand. As he deflected the projectiles, he glanced at Absalom. He, too, was swinging his sword, cutting down the arrows in midair.

Leehwan quickly analyzed the accuracy and force behind the shots. This was no random attack. The precision was beyond that of mere bandits.

At the very least, they were professional soldiers.

And Leehwan had a good idea of who they might be.

“Absalom! Fall back!”

“But!”

“No.”

Leehwan shook his head firmly.

At that moment, the enemy emerged from the shadows. They wore helmets and armor devoid of any insignia, likely to conceal their identity.

But Leehwan recognized them immediately.

“Charles is serious.”

They were imperial knights—elite ones at that.

Leehwan clenched his teeth.

At some point, the rain of arrows ceased. Almost simultaneously, the knights closed in, surrounding him from all sides.

Without hesitation, the attack began.

A heavy sword came crashing down toward Leehwan’s head. He dodged and countered in one fluid motion. His blade struck true, crumpling the knight’s breastplate and forcing him to retreat.

But Leehwan couldn’t pursue him.

Another knight lunged forward, a spear thrusting toward his side.

Leehwan barely managed to block it. For a brief moment, their weapons locked, the metal screeching against metal.

The knight, pushed back, sneered.

“Seems like your skills have dulled a bit. Or did you get hurt somewhere?”

Instead of answering, Leehwan swung his sword at the knight’s neck.

The chainmail couldn’t withstand his strength. The links dug into flesh before snapping apart. The knight let out a horrific scream and toppled from his horse.

Leehwan urged his own steed forward—then trampled him without hesitation.

Fifteen heavily armored knights remained. If this dragged on, it would be endless.

There was no telling when the rest of the knights waiting near the ruins would join the fray.

And Absalom was here.

As Leehwan swung his sword, his gaze flickered toward Absalom. He had stopped at a distance, just as Leehwan had instructed. His lips were tightly pressed together, his expression caught between frustration and the verge of tears.

Leehwan couldn’t help but smile slightly.

That’s when it happened.

“Where are you looking?”

A searing pain shot through his side. Turning his head, he saw familiar eyes.

“Sir Brack.”

He was a strong candidate for the next captain of the imperial knights. With a towering build and overwhelming strength, he favored heavy weapons.

But brute force alone was meaningless against Leehwan.

Leehwan seized Brack’s wrist and twisted.

A sickening crack echoed through the battlefield. No matter how strong Brack was, he couldn’t match Leehwan—someone beyond human.

Brack barely had time to register the pain before Leehwan kicked his horse.

As the knight tumbled to the ground, Leehwan spoke.

“I’ll take this as a souvenir.”

Leehwan let Charles’s words fade into the background as he pulled out the morning star embedded in his side. It was a weapon made of iron, with spikes fixed to a heavy mace head. Though its spiked appearance had earned it the pretty name morning star, meaning “bright star,” there was nothing better for dealing with armored soldiers.

Indeed, the morning star was a threatening weapon. Knights fell from their horses with broken limbs. But they were also elites among elites. Leehwan quickly grew exhausted facing knights who skillfully struck before retreating. His physical condition, far from normal, was his greatest disadvantage.

A long spear pierced Leehwan’s shoulder. Swallowing a groan, he grabbed the spear. Made entirely of iron, it couldn’t be broken. He considered throwing a sword instead.

The flow of air shifted—an unnatural, almost repulsive current. Instinctively, Leehwan turned to look at Absalom.

“Ab—”

“It’s okay.”

Absalom spoke softly. Despite the distance, his voice sounded as if it were right beside Leehwan. The friendly tone carried an eerie undertone.

“I won’t kill them.”

The spear embedded in Leehwan’s shoulder vanished without a trace. Startled by the sudden emptiness in his grip, he turned his gaze.

A fierce stream of water engulfed the knights. Moving as if alive, it seized them and slammed them to the ground. Then, shifting direction, it covered their mouths and noses.

The water disappeared only after the knights had collapsed. Leehwan turned to Absalom.

“If I knew it would turn out like this, I should’ve just spoken up earlier.”

Absalom’s tone remained friendly. But just because he spoke casually didn’t mean everything was fine.

Leehwan reached out a bloodied hand toward him. For a brief moment, hesitation flickered across Absalom’s face.

“Come here.”

The tone wasn’t particularly gentle. But it seemed enough for Absalom, who quickly urged his horse forward.

Soon, their hands were firmly intertwined. Absalom whispered.

“Just bear with it a little.”

The air shook once more. Leehwan watched in awe as the bleeding stopped, new flesh grew, and his skin smoothed over.

Absalom stroked the spot where Leehwan had been injured several times, as if he believed that doing so could erase even the pain Leehwan had already felt.

Leehwan stopped him and said, “It’s fine. You already healed me.”

“But what if there are still wounds…”

At that moment, the sound of approaching hooves echoed. Leehwan quickly moved, hiding Absalom behind him. His grip on the morning star tightened instinctively.

The newcomers were those who had been watching the situation from a distance. Among them was Lucien. He stepped closer than the others and locked eyes with Leehwan.

“Sir Leehwan.”

The name sounded almost like Leehwan. As the echo faded, Absalom grabbed Leehwan’s shoulder. Leehwan patted his hand in return.

If this had been before the regression, he might have been moved by just this much. But now, Leehwan had a lover who called him by his real name.

“Don’t call me that. That’s a name only he can use.” His cold tone made Lucien’s face twitch with anxiety.

“You said the name Alexander wasn’t yours. So I searched for your original name…”

“I meant don’t call me at all. Looks like you had someone dig through some documents. Too bad.”

Lucien bit his lip and shifted his gaze from Leehwan to Absalom. A venomous glint ignited in his green eyes. And yet, with that very look, he smiled brightly.

“You’re really hooked, huh? But do you even know what that is?”

Lucien pointed at Absalom as he said “that.” Leehwan frowned.

“That?”

“Yeah, that. What’s so strange? It’s just…”

Malice twisted his pretty face. Lucien grinned widely.

“A dragon—a monster.”

Leehwan narrowed his eyes. Thinking he didn’t believe him, Lucien continued.

“Oh, you didn’t know? That was magic earlier. Humans can’t use magic. Only monsters can…”

“I know.”

A venomous snake. That was how Lucien appeared to Leehwan now. To think he had once loved and cherished someone like that.

Leehwan spoke, his voice laced with horror.

“I know. So what?”

Thud.

Something fragrant brushed against Leehwan’s shoulder. Long silver hair cascaded softly over him.

Reaching back, Leehwan offered his hand to Absalom. Without hesitation, Absalom placed his hand on top.

“Wh-when… when did you know…?”

Leehwan ignored Lucien’s stuttering. Looking past him, he spotted five knights. Among them was Wibaeng, along with four others from the Imperial Knights.

His gaze settled on one particularly familiar face—Bernard Bünell. Vice-Captain of the Imperial Knights. The man who had taught Leehwan how to wield a sword when he first picked one up.

“Setting an ambush here means you predicted we’d pass through.”

There were six holy relics in total, according to the information Absalom had provided. Leehwan had three. The remaining relics were in the Imperial Palace of the Pierenniac Empire, the papal court of the Iella Church, and an island—his and Absalom’s current destination.

The last relic was the easiest to obtain. But if they had already figured out Leehwan’s goal and knew the relic’s location, the Imperial family might have taken action.