“Like I said before, you really need to be careful around that man. One wrong move and things could turn dangerous again.”
Wolf paused. The Red Eagle Prince leaned close and whispered into Wolf’s ear.
“He said he’s staying here for a month. When they weren’t in the room, I opened the food crates. Even at a glance, there wasn’t enough for four people. You were never part of the calculation in the first place.”
“…It seems the harsh trials we’ve endured have transformed Your Highness into a cold strategist. But why were you rummaging through the food supplies?”
“Well… a hunch? The way that man kept staring at you while you slept felt… off. Once I saw the food reserves, it all made sense.”
The Red Eagle Prince was sharper than expected. Perhaps it was natural. After all, the prince had been raised in the Lebanon court since infancy—both as a future royal consort and as a hostage.
Wolf organized the thoughts and spoke.
“Your Highness, then why do we have to stay here for an entire month?”
“That part he didn’t explain. I’m curious too.”
“Alright. From now on, we have to move like one body. People can look at the same thing and think completely differently. Let’s watch that man and Silver carefully and share any information we notice.”
Wolf finished the tray and stood.
In a disaster situation, the first thing to confirm was the terrain.
“There’s a spring in the cave, right? Let’s head that way.”
* * *
“Wha—! What is this…?!”
The moment Wolf stepped out into the cave, the mouth dropped open.
This looks nothing like the illustrations in fairy tales!
“Your Highness, this looks like a palace ballroom. No—this is even more extravagant.”
“Right? The ceiling of the Lebanon palace ballroom is made from that same ore. It’s called ‘Ar.’ It only shines in darkness. Apparently it’s so common in Stol that they treat it like gravel.”
“Wow. That’s disappointing. I was hoping for bats hanging everywhere.”
There were also mountains of firewood piled inside the cave.
Aside from the disappointing meals, the hideout’s facilities rivaled a palace. At this point, Black Weasel felt like a museum filled with nothing but worn-out shoes.
The drunken fool who had been slamming liquor and shouting nonsense looked sloppy. Yet the cave itself was organized with precision.
What was this contradiction?
No… don’t get lost.
There had to be a reason behind Black Weasel’s contradictory behavior. Information only Black Weasel—and perhaps Silver—knew.
We need that information too.
Still, the towering piles of chopped firewood were astonishing. There was no way Black Weasel had done such labor personally.
He must have forced Silver, the slave, to do it.
For the first time, Wolf truly felt the weight of Silver’s status.
When Silver spoke Stol with Black Weasel or drank with him, the two had seemed strangely equal. But that had only been a misunderstanding.
Unlike Atania, Stol was infamous for treating slaves brutally.
Wolf imagined Silver struggling to split firewood while Black Weasel lounged nearby with an arm behind the head, doing nothing.
A dull ache pressed against Wolf’s chest.
Poor Silver.
At the same time, a strange thought surfaced.
What if I helped Silver escape?
Right! I could take Silver back to Atania and open a bakery together.
Wolf tucked that thought away in the corner of the mind.
Right now, survival—for both the Red Eagle Prince and Wolf—came first.
Wolf leaned close and whispered.
“Your Highness. Does Stol have a Lebanon embassy?”
The Red Eagle Prince flinched slightly, then nodded immediately. The prince seemed to understand exactly what Wolf was thinking.
For more than two thousand years, Atania had never unified into a single empire.
There were more than thirty small kingdoms, and if one counted city-states, more than seventy nations in total. Naturally, every country maintained embassies in the others.
It was common knowledge that when politicians fled overseas, the first place they sought was an embassy.
The Red Eagle Prince spoke quietly.
“The Lebanon embassy is in Stol’s capital. Though I’m not sure my mother would respect international law.”
Under international law, embassies were inviolable territory.
Wolf shook the head.
“Unless it’s someone from the Stol royal family, a tribal chief wouldn’t dare storm another country’s embassy. The real problem is how we shake that man off.”
The plan was simple.
Endure the month here. Leave the cave later. Wait for an opportunity and escape. Then request protection for the Red Eagle Prince at the Lebanon embassy.
That was Wolf’s plan.
It was the only strategy that could be squeezed out of the current situation—and the odds of success were painfully low.
To tilt such a hopeless situation even slightly in their favor…
Silver is the key.
Wolf and the Red Eagle Prince knew nothing about Stol’s geography and had no money. They desperately needed help.
If Silver could be drawn in, they could also escape Black Weasel’s pursuit.
To a contract killer, a capable assistant was like arms and legs. Without Silver, Black Weasel would effectively lose one leg.
“Wolf, you were thinking the same thing, weren’t you?”
The Red Eagle Prince poked Wolf in the side and mouthed the word “Silver.”
Wolf nodded firmly.
“Your Highness, we work well together. For now… we should encourage that man to lower his guard. He already thinks we’re fools, but we need him to underestimate us even more.”
“I’ll play the coward. I’m naturally timid anyway. What about you?”
“I’ll think about my role a little more. But first…”
Wolf stopped walking and listened.
The cave was quiet.
“Didn’t they say they were practicing gladiator combat? Sound should echo loudly in a cave like this…”
“Maybe they went to the hot spring.”
“The hot spring?”
When Wolf asked, the Red Eagle Prince pointed deeper into the cave.
“If you go farther, there’s a fairly large stream. Silver and I butchered the meat there. But warm steam kept drifting in from somewhere. The only place that could produce steam like that is a hot spring, right? They probably finished sparring and went to wash up.”
“Ah…”
Wolf flipped through the mental Great Encyclopedia of Stol.
“Stol has many rivers, lakes, and hot springs. Because of this, bathing culture is well developed.”
An opportunity!
“Your Highness, let’s go to the hot spring. Right now.”
“Why?”
“Why else? We should bathe with them. Your Highness must come too.”
“Me too?”
The Red Eagle Prince looked startled.
“Um, Wolf… I’ve always bathed alone. Even if attendants helped…”
“Ah, that’s because you grew up in a palace. Your Highness, men lower their guard when they soak in a bath or splash around naked in a river. There’s even a saying that stripping naked helps people become friends faster.”
The Red Eagle Prince’s expression changed.
“…Alright. What should I do?”
“Sit across from that man and watch his expression carefully. Come on.”
Wolf pushed the Red Eagle Prince forward.
Following the warm air deeper inside, they soon found the hot spring.
It was large enough to fit ten people comfortably.
Through the hazy steam, Silver’s back appeared. A towel was wrapped around the waist as Silver sat on a rock.
Across the water, Black Weasel leaned against the rocks with both arms draped over them, soaking up to the chest.
The arms and shoulders were grotesquely muscular, covered with strange tattoos. It almost looked as if a god had carved a human face into a boulder, scribbled random markings across it, and breathed life into it.
Now that Wolf looked closely, the man had actually seemed much gentler when wrapped in the wolf pelt.
“How did you find this place?”
Black Weasel looked the two over.
Silver glanced back as well.
Without thinking, Wolf’s eyes drifted over Silver.
Wet hair brushed back from the forehead. Skin smooth and pale like freshly kneaded dough. A lean body threaded with subtle muscle. One arm resting casually across the thigh. A drop of wine syrup on a white cookie—that was how the chest looked. Geometric tattoos ran from the side of the ribs to the waist like a constellation.
Wolf’s heart pounded.
Wait… did I just look Silver over from head to toe?
That’s almost like…
Like…
This isn’t the problem! My damn crotch!
Wolf quickly checked in panic.
Fortunately, despite the suspicious way the eyes had scanned Silver’s body, the lower half remained calmly pointed downward.
A man’s true feelings are revealed by the lower half.
Feeling relieved, Wolf dismissed the suspicion entirely and bowed slightly.
“We were exploring the cave and followed the warm breeze here. This place is amazing! If it’s alright… could we join you?”
“Doesn’t matter. Prince, rinse off over there first, then get in here. See that spot?”
Black Weasel jerked the chin toward the side.
Next to the hot spring were wooden water tubs, stacks of towels, and even soap.
After so long without it, the sight of such civilized tools nearly moved Wolf to tears.
“In that case, Your Highness, allow me to assist you.”