TEB Ch 39

“The king has already left his seat.” 

Sigrid sat in the vacant seat of the king after giving his short toast. This was because he was the representative of the king, who had lost his successor, the crown prince, due to Count Vasil’s treason. 

“Anyway, the throne will soon be inherited.” 

Liev smiled at Sigrid before shifting his gaze away from him. He then locked eyes with Renard and asked, “Isn’t that correct? I left the banquet early, using fatigue as an excuse, and before he knew it, Renard was following Liev.

“Now, what…” 

At that moment, Liev turned around to confront Renard. Before the sentence could finish, the excited Renard, who had already lost control, grabbed Liev and asked, 

“I heard from the members, were you worried because my return was delayed? They said you were even mad at Reinhart too!” 

His excited face was bright, as if it didn’t matter to him whether Liev was upset or not. Liev tried to escape from Renard, but he had already grabbed his wrist. 

“It’s n-nothing like that. I just asked because the schedule changed. It’s uncomfortable to just wait around when the planned schedule is delayed day by day.” 

But no matter how hard he tried to control his voice, he couldn’t stop what had already been spilled. Renard pushed forward with even more confidence. 

“Lie.” 

“It’s not a lie.” 

Even though he knew it was an obvious excuse, he couldn’t help it. Despite saying he wasn’t interested and didn’t care, his face was flushed red with embarrassment. He couldn’t help but feel impatient, he knew he was the problem, but the words were stuck in his heart. The unspoken words lingered in his heart. 

“Enough. Do you know how many people have suffered because of your forced actions?” 

In the end, Liev chose to hurt Renard again. They had moved away from the palace, and they were close to the noise from the waiting carriages near the place, so they couldn’t be near the people who were still in the banquet hall. As the nobles gathered at the palace to witness the appointment ceremony were still inside the banquet hall, so they were able to have a conversation with only the two of them, Liev shot his words as if he had been waiting. Then, Renard responded with a dissatisfied expression that quickly spread. 

“It can’t be helped. If I don’t do this, you’ll just keep hiding it, so it’s Liev’s fault.” 

Liev was at a loss for words. Then he looked at his lonely face instead of avoiding it and couldn’t think of anything to say, and his mind went blank. Why does he keep making that hurt expression? His heart tightened at the sight of the scar on his forearm that caught his eye. 

There were so many things Liev wanted to say if he met Renard again, but when he actually saw his face, he was speechless. “I’m sorry for hurting you, I didn’t mean to do that.” The moment he asked if it hurt, it felt like everything would fall apart. Separating Renard from himself was an unavoidable choice, and he had prepared himself to be resentful and hateful for it. 

But why couldn’t he do what he wanted? It was frustrating and pathetic that he didn’t want to give up the possibility of turning this relationship around if he wanted to. 

“Sorry,” if only one word could be forgiven for the scars he inflicted ten years ago. Only then, without realizing it, did he feel like he would have hoped that Sigrid’s words, which had been dismissed as nonsense, might be true. Liev barely regained his composure and asked, 

“So, what are you going to do? Are you going to keep me confined in your private residence and pretend to be a dragon that has kidnapped a hostage?” 

As Liev frowned and raised his head, Renard unexpectedly replied with a confident voice, 

“No, I’ve prepared something better than that!” 

Then he took something out of his sleeve and held it out in front of Liev. It was a note written in messy writing using a quill pen.

[Things to do when you meet Liev] 

[1. Look down from the top of Luchrech Mountain]. 

[2. Go see Lake Paehton] 

[3. Eat cake at the White Hat Bakery]. 

[4. See the sparkling sand on Welwyn Beach]. 

“…….”

No matter how you looked at it, it seemed more like a normal bucket list than something prepared to torment someone. Liev looked at the note, and Renard, in turn, had a shocked expression. 

“Are you serious? Do you think such things would torment me?” 

Is this really an intelligence issue? Maybe something went wrong in his brain when I left him in the forest? Liev was shocked and lost for words again. He looked at Renard with a worried expression. However, Renard responded without showing any signs of relenting. 

“Yes. You said you hated being with me so much that it was horrible. Then it’ll be painful to be with me, no matter what I do.” 

Liev was so confused by the fact that Renard seemed logically confident about his words. Liev was confused. Just then, Renard added another word to Liev. 

“So, from now on, I’ll keep tormenting you again and again to make Liev tell the truth.” 

At that moment, as if something had pierced deep into his heart, Liev’s face flushed. Liev tried to control his trembling voice and spoke back. 

“What nonsense are you talking about? What truth do I have to show? This is not tormenting at all. 

Before Liev could finish his sentence, Renard interjected. As if he wouldn’t even give a liar a chance to make excuses. 

“No? It must be tormenting. You keep lying to me.” 

“What?” 

“Don’t you remember what I said? I know everything about what Liev is thinking. Whether you’re sad, happy, lying, or telling the truth.” 

There were times like that. There was a time when he complained that he smelled the scent of a liar. It was also true that Renard had accurately hit the mark on his true feelings.

In an instant, Liev felt his heart tighten at the possibility that crossed his mind. No, that couldn’t be true. If that were the case, Renard wouldn’t have let him go so easily back then. Liev asked in desperate denial. 

“Then, why didn’t you follow me that day?” 

If he had known that all the barbed words he spat out to hurt him were lies, maybe he wouldn’t have given up so easily. Why? Unable to suppress his confusing emotions, Renard opened his mouth in response to Liev’s question. 

“Because Liev didn’t want me to follow him. So, I waited patiently. I waited and waited, but Liev didn’t come, so I came to find him! But Liev keeps lying.” 

As he looked down again with a very resentful expression, Liev felt an itch deep in his bones and wanted to escape somewhere. 

However, where to? There was no place in this world where he could escape the gaze of the being closest to a god, freely soaring through the vast expanse of the sky. Even if such a place existed, Liev, in his current state, could never hide himself. 

He felt embarrassed, as if covered in hives. Everything he thought he had successfully avoided until now, and the fact that his true feelings were exposed. He waited because Liev didn’t want Renard to follow him, and he came out again to find him. His mind was blank as to how to accept this. He thought he had lived for quite a long time, as both Suhyuk and Liev had, but he had never experienced anything like this. 

“I, I…” 

I also didn’t want to part with you either. If only I had the ability to protect you, I would never have left you alone there. What I couldn’t tell him was already a wound that had already turned into a long scar. Yet, it was an unavoidable situation. Though he tried to see the old scars as memories of the past, he felt resentful and greedy for why he was shaking me like this again. 

I also wanted to be by your side. Just like your other great colleagues, I wanted to be a part of the team that could help you. Liev wanted to say this but barely held back his breath.

“I don’t know! Because you keep saying strange things, I don’t know what to say.” 

The only words he could utter were words of resentment. Why was he shaking like this when he had just gathered his feelings? I want to be by your side and witness you doing amazing things that he cannot do. Even though he didn’t ask for an answer, Renard smiled and answered. 

“Then just be honest. Say, I like Renard.”

Such a ridiculous confession was something he had never heard in his entire life.