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“Nathan, Nathan. Get up now.”
“Ugh… five more minutes.”
“I want you to sleep for 5 minutes too, but we have to get off now. We’re almost there!” The train stopped at Elazur Station while Nathan was shaking him to sleep again.
Squeak!
Perhaps there were so many people getting off at this station, and most of the people in the same room rushed down as soon as the train stopped, making the inside feel chilly in an instant. Both men were almost the last to get off after all the people had left.
‘Siiiigh’ Nathan couldn’t resist a constant yawn.
When I checked the time, it was still between dawn and morning. As the day got hotter, the sky was already bright with the sun rising quickly. The two got out of the station in a crowd. Getting out of the station was no big deal. ‘I don’t know where all these people came from, but I know if you look away, you’ll lose your party.’
It was easy to lose people in a crowd.
Elazur was a pretty big city. There were more than five platforms in the train station. Not to mention the inside. It’s so spacious and crowded to the brim. So Nathan was swept away by the crowd heading for another entrance. Arms, back, shoulders, and luggage were hitting against him, and Nathan mixed into the crowd without knowing where he was going and had no choice but to keep moving.
Even if I wanted to go back, I couldn’t, so I was hit here and there for a long time, and when I managed to escape the crowd, I was dropped to a completely different place from the exit I was trying to go.
Nathan stood there still, stunned, with his back on one side of the wall. Looking at the people busily moving in front of him, I thought I had to get out of here, but my feet didn’t fall easily. ‘By the way, where did Hazard go? Wouldn’t you have noticed my absence by now?’ No matter where I looked, I could hardly tell who was who thanks to the various colors of hair. Nathan honestly didn’t even know where to go. ‘I can’t believe I’m lost at this age.’
‘…Wouldn’t it be better to wait here like this?’ With that thought, as his consciousness flowed, the hand that emerged through the crowd quickly caught Nathan.
It was almost after Hazard arrived at the entrance that he realized it wasn’t Nathan who was following him. Surprised, Hazard went back his way through the crowd. There was a small squabble between the people who wanted to go forward and Hazard who wanted to go backward, but he only strode into the crowd with a rough word of excuse. As a result, he heard swearing at him from all over the place.
After all that trouble, Hazard finally found Nathan.
He snatched the tall man leaning against the wall in a daze and held him tightly, hugging his shoulder this time. So the two were able to get out of there quickly.
“I thought I was going to die. Why are there so many people?”
Nathan was already reeling from exhaustion.
‘Isn’t traveling too dangerous for me?’
Nathan had that thought automatically. ‘I want to go back to the academy. I want to lie down on my desk and eat snacks while reading books.’ Looking at Nathan’s daydreaming face, Hazard touched him on the shoulder and led him naturally.
“It’s because it’s a merchant city. Mornings are the busiest in the merchant city. Let’s go. Let’s eat something.”
“I have no appetite.”
Nathan really had no appetite. ‘I didn’t have an appetite for a day or two, but I suffered as soon as I woke up, so I didn’t have an appetite.’ Nathan walked helplessly as Hazard led him and looked around. Elazur was a pretty fancy high street. The road was better maintained than anywhere else, and people’s clothes were luxurious and clean. It was said to be a merchant city but filled with shops I had never seen before. In addition, the traffic of people was also active, as it was a place with Gongjeong Pavilion, and the streets were overflowing with people.
We arrived at the restaurant after walking in a hurry. The two ordered their food. Nathan ordered only simple food, but Hazard ordered a lot of calorie-filled breakfast food and finished it all. Nathan barely ate the soup and only a little bit of what Hazard had offered him to eat. Nathan was careful not to scoop up too much cream soup full of vegetables.
He asked Hazard.
“I think it’s a little late to ask now, but is it really okay for me to come along?”
Nathan asked a long, late question now.
‘I was a little excited at the thought that I would be able to see the case in the original, so I suddenly thought that I made a hasty decision unlike usual.’
After a night, the excitement subsides and Nathan was worried again as reason settles in and cooled his head.
When he heard Nathan’s question, Hazard chewed the piece of meat he had just put in his mouth and snorted.
“I’m a prince. What are they going to do?”
***
“Azar!”
Nathan hid behind Hazard when he saw the dark-blue-haired boy running out screaming from the entrance of the house.
Nathan sighed and leaned his head against Hazard’s back. He closed my tired eyes tightly. It seemed that the throbbing head and twisted insides felt more nauseous by the shouting.
‘Oh, how did this happen?’
Nathan really wanted to faint like this.
The two of them had a quick breakfast early this morning. It was also for a moment that he was amazed and had fun on the first ride. Nathan didn’t know he would get so sick. The carriage and the train were all fine, but it was unfair.
‘I didn’t have acrophobia, but I felt dizzy. Then I felt sick as if I was going to throw up. I had a headache and a cold sweat came out.’
The longer the flight, the more Nathan couldn’t get his act together. Throughout the flight, he lay down with his eyes closed.
In a faint memory, he could feel Hazard worried restlessly next to him, but Nathan suffered in silence without saying anything that was okay as usual. ‘I thought it would be better if I vomited because I felt nauseous, but even that was not easy.’ The nausea continued after the three or four-hour flight.
When they finally got off at Gongjeong, the next one was the carriage. No matter how neat the streets were, they were not as neat as in modern times. The carriage shook violently because of the bumpy road. The already queasy feeling got worse in the carriage. Nathan didn’t even know he was lying on Hazard’s thigh. ‘I would rather curl up and fall asleep.’ He could feel Hazard’s big hand sweeping back the hair that stuck to his forehead, but Nathan couldn’t even say don’t do it.
Time passed and his mind was so distracted he couldn’t bother remembering how to get out of the carriage. He managed to force open his closed eyes and he was already on Hazard’s back.
Yes, Nathan is still on Hazard’s back! A prince who has walked all the way here not only with their luggage but also with a grown man on his back who is about the same height as himself.
Nathan didn’t know when he got off the wagon, he didn’t even know how long he was on this back. The fact covered Nathan’s mind with confusion.
‘Why am I on his back? Since when did this happen? Where is this place?’ Leaving Nathan’s confusion behind, Hazard walked silently.
Just looking away, there was a huge mansion on the open low cliff, I could see the sea around the cliff. It was like a landscape painting. There was only one road to the mansion, so that must be the summer villa.
Nathan thought he had to tell him that he was up now, so he should get off now, but he couldn’t help himself because it was so embarrassing.
‘I don’t know why when I’m with him, I find more and more mouse holes.’
T/N: He’s just embarrassed and wants to hide.
Nathan couldn’t even say anything to Hazard, and the two reached the front of the huge mansion, still on his back. The doorman, who was standing at the front gate of the mansion, found Hazard approaching and rushed into the mansion.
‘That’s how I got to this situation.’
Nathan closed his eyes tightly as if he were asleep. When he closed his eyes, his hearing heightened. It took more time for the gruff Remburton to run right in front of the two people, adding a little exaggeration and three seconds was enough.
“You…!! What have you been doing without contacting me?”
“Wow, calm down, Remi.”
“..What’s that thing you’re hanging from behind your back?”
Nathan’s back seemed to break out in a cold sweat. ‘Even though I didn’t open my eyes, my skin felt numb.’
“I’ll go in and explain, so let’s go in first?”
“You are..!”
Remburton tried to open his mouth again, but there was a clear sign of effort. Maybe he went ahead first, but the heavy footsteps got farther away. Hazard followed Remburton.
He carried Nathan on his back as he walked. Nathan was surprised at the action and hardened himself, but quickly relaxed from his body.
‘I didn’t want Hazard to notice, but… I think I heard a laugh.’
However, Nathan kept pretending to be asleep because he was embarrassed to talk to him now. Hazard’s steps were relentless. He walked around the house without any obstacles as if he had already been there several times. Nathan admired Hazard’s physical strength. Nathan must not be that light, but he didn’t even complain about carrying me. The footsteps of the two trudging feet soon stopped. Actually, Hazard stops first.
It seemed like the late Remburton walked a little longer and stopped in front of Hazard. Squeak came to the door open. Nathan could feel clearly that Hazard was opening the door and entering the room.
Every time he moved, his back muscles moved with him. It felt so vivid to Nathan through the thin fabric. Nathan then had to constantly try not to open his eyes when his body was laid down in a soft place.