/
Luisen spread the map to confirm his surroundings. The entrance to the forest lay a short distance from the north gate of the castle. He ran a finger down the road that stretched from that point.
“Here, the left path leads to Dubless?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Luisen pointed to some foothills directly opposite Dubless, to the right side of the forest.
“And this way lies Carlton’s barracks?”
“Yes, that’s right. That’s the front gate of the battle. It’s opposite the way we’re going. We can escape safely without being involved in the fighting.”
“So you say it’s on the right…”
“No, no, the left side. We have to go towards the left, right?”
Ruger looked at Luisen with pitiful eyes, insisting that he was confused.
‘Does he think I’m a fool?!’
Tears threatened to fall, but he stayed quiet. There was something more important than that right now. It’s better for Ruger to have this misconception now.
“Let’s go. We’re leaving.”
“Yes! You’ve made a wise choice! Excellent decision! As expected of my duke, so bold and decisive!”
Ruger’s expression lightened. He gleefully handed Luisen a black robe and offered his useless flattery. Luisen frowned. In the past, he had enjoyed such flattery, but now he felt bad.
What is this insincere brown-nosing? He couldn’t believe he used to be pacified with such obvious compliments.
He stopped Ruger’s flattery while speaking ill of his past self.
“Stop it, we need to get going.”
Luisen tightly rolled up the map.
“Uh? I can hold the map….” Ruger offered.
“It’s fine. I’ll take the lead in the woods. Just follow me.”
Ruger seemed puzzled–it was natural for the servant to lead with the map and for the master to follow. However, he thought nothing more of it… Luisen was originally a capricious man, and Ruger thought his master was too transparent to have any schemes. He never imagined there would be a plan other than to go to Dubless.
“Dubless will be safe. Carlton won’t be able to follow us there!”
Ruger led the way with laughter and joy. Even if Luisen were to take the lead in the forest, Ruger had to guide them to the place where the horses and money were hidden.
Looking at his light-hearted back, Luisen thought to himself, ‘I’m sorry to lie to you, Ruger. But, this time you won’t die because of me. This is for the best.’
Of course, Luisen had no intent of running to Dubless. Why would he run when that was what he regretted in the first place? He was not very smart, but he wasn’t foolish enough to step onto an obviously hellish path.
****
As soon as they slipped out of the fortress door, the entrance to the forest stretched out before them. In the night, the forest seemed like a huge monster. An inky darkness of unimaginable depth enveloped it wholly. From the back, the sounds of the battle could be heard; from the front, crickets chirped. In the midst of all of that, a strange silence weighed upon Luisen’s shoulders.
It was common knowledge that the forest at night was dangerous. And, apart from common sense, Luisen was afraid of the forest. He had entered the woods many times to forage for food after getting chased out of the cities.
Every visit was a crisis of death. How fierce the wild animals were…and how numerous the monsters were… The traps set up to hunt them were also incredibly dangerous. He almost lost his ankle once when he got caught in one of those traps. He even ate toadstools while blind with hunger.
It was almost laudable that he was even still alive.
Ever since he was young, he was told to be careful of his weak body, but he may have actually been unexpectedly tough.
‘Eugh…’ Luisen tried to relax with trivial musings, but it didn’t work. The endless darkness itself was an entity that overwhelmed people.
‘It feels like my death knight will soon arrive…’
According to the legends, deep in the forest where moonlight couldn’t penetrate, a solitary headless knight roamed. He was once the most honorable knight, but he was corrupted and became depraved. He betrayed his master and violated the sacred knights’ vow. He was said to have been sentenced to death, hung by his neck on the walls of the castle and dumped deep in the woods. Now, he was said to reap the souls of the guilty who wandered into the forest.
During his wandering and delusional days, whenever Luisen attempted to find some peace in the forest, he would hear the thundering sounds of horses’ hooves. The death knight would appear at the corners of his eyes, from the darkness–an envoy from heaven to punish him.
He was not allowed to rest.
They say if you were caught, your body would be torn apart and scattered in the fields and meadows and your soul would be locked away and tormented forever. Like an insidious shadow, the knight sat in the darkness and whispered to Luisen, ‘Run away, run far far away.’
Luisen’s mouth was dry with fear. Though he no longer clearly saw those delusions, he still felt that someone was watching him, hidden. The wind caressing his neck was cold like a blade.
‘No, no no. There’s no way that the knight of legend exists in this world.’
Of course, the knight of death was just a fictional being. The knight who chased Luisen persistently was just one of the many delusions Luisen’s consciousness had created. After meeting the saint and facing his own mistakes, the knight seemed to have disappeared.
Looking back, Luisen only saw Ruger’s blank face. There were only two of them, him and Ruger…
‘That’s right. It’s just an illusion.’
Luisen, after much internal struggle, shook off his fear and stepped into the woods.
*****
Luisen and Ruger walked silently. As they went, the road became narrower and the overgrowth of plant life climbed up to their knees. The old, long-standing trees were thick and dense, and darkness filled the gaps between the trunks. The two were hidden from the softly shining moonlight by their dense branches.
‘Ah, I think there’s something in front of me.’
Luisen walked forward step by step, even as he felt like he was about to cry. The lamp he was holding was enough to see the immediate area around his feet, but the flame was too small and weak to conquer the forest at night. A sudden wind shook the foliage. Luisen hunched his shoulders in terror.
‘Ugh…I’m scared to death.’
Luisen was still making steady headway, but what was scary was undeniably. He glanced at Ruger–he was silently following his master without a word. It would have been a lot less terrifying if he was spouting his usual inane conversations.
“My duke.”
“Huh? U-uh, yeah?”
“Are you sure we’re on the right track?”
“Yeah, we’re where we’re supposed to be.”
Luisen evaded Ruger’s true question. It wasn’t as if his aide was originally from Anies anyway. He was born and raised in the capital until he followed Luisen here; how would he know the surrounding geography well?
However, Ruger suddenly stopped.
“Why is my lord lying?”
At his unexpected words, Luisen felt like his heart was about to fall through his stomach. Quick-witted Jerk!! He was always clumsy when Luisen needed him but sharp at times like this! Ruger looked at Luisen with a frigid expression…enough to make Luisen wonder if this was the same servant who had simpered and begged him to run away.
“You’re going the opposite way.”
“N-no, I’m not?” Luisen stuttered. Damn it. He lamented his atrocious acting skills and non-existent wit.
“As expected,” Ruger said. “I thought something was weird. My cowardly duke choosing to lead the way with a map and a lamp? The road was so bumpy, and yet you didn’t get annoyed with me once? My lord definitely had another plan.”
“That’s…”
“Why are we headed towards Carlton’s barracks? Do you want to die?”
“We’re not dying! Why would I die?”
“Then what are you doing? Are you going to surrender and beg for your life?”
“……” Luisen’s silence affirmed all that was said.
“Are you serious? My lord, have you gone crazy?” Ruger couldn’t believe what he heard.
‘Yeah… I guess I seem crazy. It’ll look as if I’m putting my own head in the lion’s mouth.’
“Crazy. Absolutely mad. “No wonder he was so obedient about leaving. Damn.”
“I’m sorry I deceived you…but don’t worry. I have an idea.”
“My duke thought of something? You’ve lived without thinking so far!”
“…That’s a bit too much.”
It was a disrespectful remark, but Luisen couldn’t refute it. Ruger was someone who had been by his side all throughout his good-for-nothing trash days. Furthermore, Ruger was someone who died while helping Luisen escape… He was not in a position to yell at Ruger.
“It’s fine. It’s my fault for letting my lord lead. Let’s at least turn back now.”
“No, I have to meet Carlton. If you want to go to Dubless, I’ll give you the map. You can go on your own.”
“I can’t do that! How could I abandon my duke for safety, alone? You must go with me.”
“You can go alone.”
Ruger’s loyalty shined through, but Luisen’s heart was firm.
“I will force my lord to come with me, if it comes down to it.” Ruger inched closer, holding a fist. He was prepared to use physical force if his master wouldn’t listen.
“Hey! This is mutiny!” Luisen stepped back.
“It can’t be helped. If I don’t take you back to Dubless territory, I’ll die anyway.”
“Get a hold of yourself! Don’t be too scared… Just trust me?”
“I’d rather believe in our ‘fuzzy’ 1 than in you, my duke!”
“Hey! Fuzzy is my dog! That’s too much, really. Were you really such a brash person?”
""
It seemed persuasion was impossible. Luisen made a split-second decision, throwing the map and lamp into Ruger’s arms. When Ruger faltered at the new weight, Luisen turned and ran.
“I’m sorry!”
TN: thanks for joining me for these two chapters! Next up: The ML, finally O.O
Footnotes
Literal translation: Bokshil — furry…but I figure furry means something different in the English language haha