RTTFW CH 3.1

The thing Ent brought in the greatest quantity for his journey was neither food nor clothing, but books.

Izel was so curious about when Ent had developed such a love for books. Watching Ent stuff his bag, enchanted with a weight-reduction spell, as if he intended to pack every book from his own bookshelf, Izel felt the words “Do you really plan to read all that on the journey?” rise to his lips, but he couldn’t bring himself to say them.

Since Izel had begun serving Ent, he had never once seen him read a book. Secretly, he had even suspected Ent might be illiterate, but he dismissed the thought upon remembering that reading had been a hobby of his when he was very young.

“… You’ll get motion sickness.”
“Ah, it’s fine. Actually, looking at books keeps the motion sickness away.”

Ent had already read more than half of the many books he’d brought along for this short journey. Why had he suddenly started studying like this, when he’d never even touched the books sitting on his shelf before?

Even more baffling was that Ent seemed to actually enjoy studying, something he’d always hated so much.

Izel silently turned his head away. It wasn’t something he could figure out by worrying about it alone.

The recent lack of rain had left the ground fairly even.

Wanting to blend in as much as possible and appear like a commoner, Ent had chosen the most shabby and unassuming carriage from the family’s fleet. But even so, it was still a Harbilta family carriage. The sturdy, well-balanced carriage, combined with Paladin’s steady driving, meant Ent had never really felt travel sickness.

“And Paladin is such a skilled driver…”

Just as Ent finished speaking…

Thud!

“Ugh, yikes!”

The smoothly running carriage suddenly slammed to a halt, causing Ent to drop the book he was holding and tumble forward. Fortunately, before his head hit the edge of the carriage seat, Izel caught him, preventing injury.

Ent quickly shouted toward the window facing the driver’s seat, “What is it? What’s going on? Are you okay, Paladin?”

Putting aside the shock of the sudden stop, he needed to figure out what was happening outside. This was the first time the skilled coachman, Paladin, had ever slammed on the brakes like this.

‘Bandits? Or a monster attack?’

Either possibility was enough to make anyone tense.

Ent frowned slightly at Paladin’s lack of response. Why isn’t he saying anything? He knew it was unlikely, but what if Paladin was already in a state where he couldn’t respond?

Seeing Izel standing in front of him as if protecting him, peering out the window, Ent bit his lip hard.

Haa.

Taking a small, deep breath, Ent repeated to himself, ‘I am Ent Harbilta.’

He was not that foolish Park Jaeyoon. He was Ent Harbilta, the second son of the Harbilta family. It wasn’t just the servants who were meant to protect him; he was a legitimate member of the family who also had to protect the servants.

Just as Ent, tense with anxiety, was about to call out to Paladin again, Paladin spoke, “Young master, it’s just that…”

Hearing Paladin’s reply from outside, Ent’s deeply tense face relaxed. His voice didn’t sound injured, nor did his tone suggest an urgent, dangerous situation.

At least it wasn’t bandits or a monster attack.

“Then what is it?”
“That…”

Then what could possibly be worth making Paladin slam on the brakes? Ent opened the window facing the driver’s seat. Paladin was looking down below with an expression that seemed somehow awkward.

Wondering what was down there, Ent turned his head to where Paladin’s gaze was fixed and caught a glimpse of a small, grayish lump beneath the shadows.

‘What is that?’

As Ent tilted his head, seemingly unable to identify it, Paladin scratched the back of his head and replied.

“Um, I think I hit an animal.”
“… Huh?”

For a moment, Ent didn’t understand the words, but soon realized the pale, small lump he’d seen was some kind of animal. Ent Harbilta, who had consistently loved animals throughout his life as Park Jaeyoon, gaped.

“… You hit a beast? An animal?”
“Yes…”
“With the carriage?”
“Probably.”

Before Izel could stop him, Ent flung open the carriage door. The thought of hitting an adorable baby animal made Ent’s head go completely blank.

“That’s unthinkable.”

‘… Why is he so shocked? Isn’t it a common occurrence when crossing mountain ranges by carriage?’

But Izel couldn’t bring himself to say such a harsh thing to Ent, who seemed so deeply shocked. Ent hurriedly got out of the carriage, leaving Izel staring intently at him behind.

Whatever else, a cute baby animal must not be harmed.

‘Damn it.’

Ent reached out his hand with an anxious expression. It was the first time in ages he felt like cursing. From behind Ent, who was sprawled on the ground, came Paladin’s flustered voice.

“M-Master? I’ll take a look.”
“No.”

Paladin tried to stop Ent, but despite his protests, Ent crawled under the carriage and carefully picked up the gray furry bundle.

For the first time in ages, Ent felt like he was returning to the mindset he had when he lived as Park Jaeyoon. What had his dream been back then? For someone to love him? To escape his family? No. He had had a simple yet grand dream: to spend his entire life with one very beloved pet.

‘Damn it…’

Of course, dreams aside, Ent had never once stroked an animal with his own hands during his Jaeyoon days. After all, Jaeyoon’s home didn’t keep pets, and even when he happened to encounter a dog or cat on the street, he’d only watch them with his eyes, hesitant to touch them, wondering if it was okay to lay hands on them. It was only natural.

“It’s still alive.”

The furry bundle he held in both hands was still breathing. The body Ent clutched was incredibly warm and soft. Ent felt relieved, and at the same time, he was overcome with emotion at the thought that he was touching this adorable animal.

When it was under the carriage, it had looked like a small puppy, but actually holding it in both hands, it was quite large – big enough that he had to wrap both arms around it completely. Dusty and lacking its usual sheen, yet still soft fur, ears, and tail.

‘An incredibly cute puppy…!’

Good heavens, a puppy. It wasn’t the right thing to say while tending to an injured pup, but Ent couldn’t stop his heart from racing.

It had some weight to it, and his arms were starting to ache, but he couldn’t bring himself to put this little life down on the ground. Soon, Izel approached, holding out his hands as if to say, “Hand it over.”

Ent felt a strange reluctance to give it up, but he obediently handed the puppy over to Izel. After all, whatever Izel did would surely be better than what he could do.

“… It doesn’t seem like it was hit by the carriage.”

Leaving behind Ent, whose foolish expression was on a whole different level from anything he’d seen before, Izel examined the furry bundle that looked like a small puppy from all angles.

There were many wounds here and there, but none were from being hit by a carriage. There were cuts and injuries, and claws that were torn to shreds, some broken or missing entirely. The gash on its back, in particular, looked old, yet blood still seeped from it.

‘Looks like it escaped from someone who was abusing it.’

“Izel, what do you think?”

Izel probably wouldn’t know about this sort of thing, but the Ent trusted his jack-of-all-trades servant Izel regardless.

Izel glanced at Ent. His expression kept softening, and the way he kept stealing glances at this gray furball was filled with excitement. Izel was even wondering when his young master had started liking puppies so much.

‘Should I tell him the truth?’

Ent, who had been fidgeting restlessly, urged Izel for an answer with a “Huh?”

“Hmm, well… I think…”

“This guy… I think he might have been abused by someone?”
“What?”
“Oh my, look at that broken claw. How much it must have hurt. Looks like it ran away with all its might.”
“What did you say…?”

While Izel pondered how best to phrase it, the clueless Paladin blurted out everything he saw without thinking. Ent froze, his hands flailing as if struck by a great shock.

“… Abuse?”

Ent quietly approached the puppy. Only then did the injuries become visible to Ent’s eyes. The small body bore cuts and scrapes all over, looking deliberately inflicted.

It was fortunate that Ent’s carriage hadn’t hit the puppy, but Ent felt no relief whatsoever.

‘… Oh dear.’

He hated seeing the puppy hurt, but if it was due to someone’s abuse, he couldn’t bear it at all. Ent reached out to him, then pulled his hand back. He’d thought the wounds were severe to begin with, but knowing they were from abuse made him hesitate even more to touch him.

Why on earth would anyone abuse this little one? What possible reason could there be to abuse and torment this small puppy? Ent clicked his tongue at the unpleasant memories surfacing.

It was not a pleasant thought.

To be abused at such a young age, to flee in desperation. And to do so with every ounce of strength. It was a truly unpleasant thought. It meant he hadn’t received the protection he deserved at an age when he should have been protected.

‘He must have run to survive.’

He must have tried to survive. To survive by any means necessary.

Unwelcome memories flashed through his mind as he gazed down at the small creature gasping for breath in the palm of his hand.

‘A sense of kinship, I suppose.’

He bit his lips hard, tasting bitterness.

Still, the one silver lining was this: both he and this little one were alive because they’d clung desperately to life.

Ent lifted his head and looked at the Izel.

He couldn’t just walk past another who’d fought so hard to survive.