WLWES 9

The brown-haired knight approached Rio and grabbed his arm, pulling him closer. Rio stumbled and collided with the knight’s shoulder. The impact made him dizzy, causing his body to go limp. Just as he was about to sit down, the grey-haired knight grabbed his other arm and pulled him upright.

“Whoa, hang in there. We’re just about to head to a nearby inn now.”

“No…” Rio whimpered

“No? Then what, huh? You okay with us doing it right here?”

“Coward…”

“What was that?”

Smack! A sharp echo resonated through the empty street. Rio felt a jolt run through his body as his cheek stung and began to grow warm. It was at that moment he realized he had been hit. Yet, Rio didn’t flinch as he couldn’t muster any strength in his body. He bit his lip and glared angrily at the gray-haired knight.

“You’re giving me a nasty look, huh? It doesn’t matter. I’ll have tears streaming from those eyes soon enough.”

“Wh… o’s gonna… cry…?”

The knight gripped Rio firmly by the chin, causing his face to twist in pain. Despite this, Rio showed no fear, as his anger about what was about to happen to him overshadowed any anxiety he might have felt.

 “Hey,” the gray-haired knight said, nodding to his brown-haired companion, suggesting what to do next. The two knights positioned themselves on either side of Rio, holding him up by his arms as they began to carry him away from the restaurant.

Rio struggled to escape their grip with all his strength, but it was futile.

This is bad. If they take me to an inn like this, they’ll probably rape me. I’m not proud of it, but I’m still a virgin. I always thought my first time would be with someone I love. I’d rather die than be used by men whose names I don’t even know. And to make things worse, they’re both knights.

Rio had been in dangerous situations before, but he had never been drugged. He had always managed to escape because he could simply run away. However, now he was utterly unable to move, making him completely unable to flee. If only he could move his fingers, he could use magic to escape.

“Fuck…. let go…” Rio stammered

“There’s no point in resisting. You can’t even put up a fight. It’s okay, don’t worry. We will help you feel good soon enough.”

Rio was frustrated and bit his lip.

What is the Wolf Lord doing? He should train his subordinates better. Isn’t he supposed to be so intimidating that just one glare from him makes them tremble? He definitely needs to use that glare on his subordinates more.

He was angry not only at the knight in front of him but also at the Wolf Lord for letting it get to this point.

The gray-haired knight reached for the door when they arrived at the inn. Rio took this chance to fight back and kicked the knight’s leg with all his might. However, the kick was so weak it felt more like a light tap than a kick. This seemed to aggravate the gray-haired knight, who promptly punched Rio in the stomach, causing him to double over. The knight then stepped on Rio’s back, leaving him gasping for breath.

“Ugh…”

“Your feet seem to have some bad habits, huh? Looks like I need to teach you a lesson.”

Damnit… You’re the one who has bad habits with their feet. Get your foot off of me, Rio thought angrily to himself.

Rio was frustrated and scratched his fingers hard against the brick ground. He was yanked by his hair from behind and forced to look up. When he glared at the grey-haired man, the man’s eyes narrowed.

“A lowly commoner like you. You think you can look at a knight like that, huh? I’ll fuck you thoroughly and dump you in the forest and feed you to the monsters.”

As he listened to the vile knight’s words, Rio realized that his fingers were hurting. He had unconsciously scratched the ground in anger. He got excited as he realized that he could use magic again, but he wasn’t quite sure how to go about it just yet.

Rio quietly looked around and noticed a large tree with lush leaves nearby. Perhaps he could use the leaves to blind the knight. He exhaled softly and was about to move his finger when a low voice called out from behind him, “Wait.”

Rio froze, and the two knights turned to look behind them.

“What do you want? We’re busy here.”

“What are you so busy with? Rape and kidnapping? I don’t care what your plan is, just hand that boy over.”

“Hah, how dare you. This is my friend, you know!” the gray-haired knight snarled back.

“Oh? Is that how it is, Rio?”

Hearing a familiar voice, Rio slowly turned around. He answered the question by sluggishly shaking his head slowly from side to side, as that was all the strength he could muster.

“Were you drugged? You look a little pale.”

This time, Rio nodded. The tall man standing before him, wearing a black cloak with a hood, extended his hand toward Rio and said, “Come on.”

However, before Rio could reach out and grab the hand, the knights attacked the cloaked man. The man swiftly dodged their strikes and kicked both knights hard in the back.

“Damn it! What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” the gray-haired knight said while gasping for air.

“How vulgar,” the cloaked man said under his breath before continuing. “This land has no need for your kind,” he said, raising his voice and signaling with his hand to someone hiding in the shadows of the forest.

Three figures adorned in similar cloaks and hoods emerged from the darkness and swiftly bound the two knights with rope. Despite their attempts to scream, the knights were gagged and unable to make any sound.

The three figures bowed slightly to the man before vanishing into the shadows with the knights in tow.

Rio felt a wave of relief wash over him, so intense that he nearly lost consciousness.

“Hey…. you okay?… No, you’re clearly not. Rio, where is your inn?”

“….It really is.. Gideon… Thank you”

“You can thank me later. Now, where is your inn?” Gideon asked quickly.

Barely holding onto consciousness, Rio told him in a halting voice that it was the small house beyond the restaurant around the corner.

When he confirmed this, Gideon nodded and said, “I understand.” Rio let out a sigh of relief and closed his eyes.

Then, Rio began to dream. He knew it was a dream because his mother was there.

In the small village where his family had lived. Rio’s father had passed away before he could even remember, and he could only vaguely recall his face. His mother was kind for the most part, but when it came to teaching him how to use magic, she was strict. That was because magic could be used for evil. While it made life easier, she firmly instructed him to avoid using it unless absolutely necessary and to never let others see him using it. If people find out he can use magic, certain people might try to exploit him. She also explained that the reason their clan had dwindled so much over time was because bad people had kidnapped them to use their powers. Because of this, she repeatedly instructed him to refrain from using magic unless he was protecting someone important to him.

A loud thud abruptly woke Rio. For a moment, he had no idea where he was and just stared blankly at the ceiling. Then came the sound from earlier, followed by a voice shouting, “Hey, get off me!” which made him slowly lift his head and widen his eyes.

In the room, Gideon was being chased by An, and was running around the room to get away from her. The thumping sound that had startled Rio was Gideon’s boots stomping across the floor as he fled.

“An, stop it,” Rio called out to An.

“Rio, what’s up with this dog?”

“It’s my friend. Just watch. Come here, An.”

Rio slowly got up and got off the bed. An ran up to Rio’s feet and rubbed against them. He picked up the small dog, went over to the bed, sat down, and placed her on his lap. Rio looked up at Gideon and smiled.

“Hehe, are you scared of dogs, Gideon?”

“I’m not scared! I was just trying to get away from it because it kept chasing me.”

“Huh… that’s unusual.”

“What do you mean?”

“This puppy doesn’t like anyone but me. I think An might have taken a liking to you, Gideon.”

“Woof!” An cried out and turned to face Gideon.

Gideon stepped back from Rio and An, grimacing as he did so. He cleared his throat and rested his chin on his fist.

“Hmmm, by the way, how are you feeling?”

“Feeling?… Oh, that’s right. Gideon, thank you for helping me.”

Rio bowed deeply in appreciation. He was surprised to see Gideon there but glad he came. He was truly grateful.

As Rio thanked him, Gideon furrowed his cold-looking eyes ever so slightly.

“I actually live in this state. I heard rumors that a hard-working boy was at that restaurant, so I came to check it out, thinking it might be you.”

“Ohh. You wanted to see me? I mean, how did you know it was me even though I changed my hair color?”

Gideon approached the bed and stretched out his arm. He picked up a strand of Rio’s hair and lifted it up.

“It looks like my hair. Suits you quite well.”

“Thanks… But, the answer to my question?”

“Oh, you asked how I knew. There are many people with red eyes, but no one has red eyes as beautiful as yours. I noticed right away.”

“That’s… thanks,” Rio mumbled as he bowed his head.

Rio often received compliments on his golden hair and red eyes, but he dismissed them as mere polite gestures. However, when Gideon expressed admiration without pretense, it felt genuinely special. This made Rio feel embarrassed, which was unusual for him.

“By the way, why did you dye your hair?” Gideon asked.

Gideon lowered his hand but hesitated for a moment before stroking An’s head. An closed her eyes and let out a content snuffle, clearly enjoying it.

Rio hesitated a little but figured there was no point in lying. Gideon would see through it anyway. So he decided to tell the truth.

He explained how, in the neighboring province, he had somehow become a wanted person and nearly got caught. That’s why he dyed his hair to get through the checkpoint unnoticed. He added that he had no idea why he was wanted in the first place and that he hadn’t done anything illegal.