Wolf rubbed his knee with his fingertips, retracing his memory.
Black Weasel’s careless appearance as he drank himself senseless without the slightest concern about pursuers. If there had never been any pursuers to begin with, everything fit.
Wolf glanced sideways at the Red Eagle Prince. The prince seemed to have reached a similar conclusion—his face was restless and uneasy.
“Hey, Silver. I’ve got something to say to you.”
Wolf threw down his card.
“What is it. Go ahead.”
Silver answered lazily without even looking his way.
Wolf cleared his throat and spoke.
“His Highness and I want to leave this place. With your help. The three of us escape together. …The old man probably predicted I’d say something like that as easily as looking into a clear stream, right?”
“Yeah. The Ice-Armored Beast might be an idiot, but even that much is obvious.”
“Right. Here’s what I’m wondering. Even if we give up on your help, His Highness and I could still leave this place. Shake you off, open the door that leads outside, take eight steps, push through the bushes, and cross the cloud bridge—that’s it. So why did the old man leave?”
“Because you can’t open the door.”
It was exactly the answer Wolf expected.
Silver continued speaking as if reading from a book.
“The Ice-Armored Beast locked the door from the outside when leaving. That door is an iron door covered with wood. The Ice-Armored Beast opened and closed it like it was nothing, but in reality even seven or eight grown men pushing together wouldn’t budge it. So? Disappointed?”
“No. Of course I assumed the door would be locked. I just didn’t realize it was iron.”
Unlike Wolf, the Red Eagle Prince hung his head low. Even though the answer had been obvious, he must have secretly hoped for some twist.
“Just pray your mother dies like the Ice-Armored Beast said. If the prince can’t do it, then you do it instead. You’ve never even seen the woman’s face anyway.”
“I feel sorry toward His Highness, but if that truly is the only way, then I’ll have to pray a curse.”
At Wolf’s words, the Red Eagle Prince gave a bitter smile.
“You don’t need to feel sorry for me, Wolf. If my mother dies, it won’t be because of your curse, but because of foolish greed.”
“You hear that, Silver? His Highness is this mature of a person. I’m lucky to have someone like him as my milk brother.”
“Still a lord-and-subject relationship.”
Silver suddenly stood up.
What he did next made Wolf’s eyes widen.
“Silver…?”
Silver ran forward, leaped up in a single motion, and stuck to the cave wall.
Then, shifting positions rapidly, he climbed toward the hole in the ceiling.
His movements were so fast he looked like a squirrel running up a tree.
Wolf scrambled to his feet.
“Silver! What are you doing?! That’s dangerous!”
“It’s not dangerous.”
“But—!”
Wolf stopped himself before finishing the sentence.
Silver was no ordinary boy. If the assistant of a contract killer said something wasn’t dangerous, then it truly wasn’t.
Which meant the real question to ask was something else.
“Silver, you’re trying to go outside right now, aren’t you? Why?”
“To hunt.”
“There’s plenty of food here already.”
“If you don’t know, shut up.”
At that, Wolf closed his mouth. The Red Eagle Prince also nudged his side and signaled with his eyes.
To get food… for me?
While Wolf sat there blankly, Silver had already disappeared outside.
The Red Eagle Prince stared at the pouring sunlight and suddenly spoke in a voice barely audible.
“Wolf. Can you hear me?”
“Huh? Ah—yes.”
“I have something to say. Come closer.”
The Red Eagle Prince crooked a finger at Wolf.
He looked nervous that Silver might overhear their conversation.
“What is it, Your Highness? Silver seems to have gone far away, so don’t worry.”
Wolf leaned his head closer as he spoke in an ant-sized whisper.
The Red Eagle Prince leaned to Wolf’s ear and murmured.
“Silver likes you.”
“…What?”
It felt like a drop of freezing water had suddenly fallen onto the top of his bare foot.
Wolf flinched instinctively.
“He likes you. Silver.”
“W-w-what… all of a sudden…? S-S-Silver d-doesn’t s-seem to hate me, but…”
Damn it, why am I stuttering? And why is my face heating up…?
Would a person’s heart pound like this while listening for the verdict of a lawsuit they’d waited for in anxious suspense for years?
Wolf had felt it himself, vaguely. That Silver might like him too…
But that had only ever been a vague guess, nothing certain.
“When you were talking earlier, Silver only called us ‘you,’ right? Not ‘you guys,’ just ‘you.’ Wolf, you.”
That was something Wolf himself hadn’t even noticed.
“Was that so? But maybe because he’s not fluent in Atanian…”
“No way he’d mix up a simple pronoun like that. Think about it—when I tried talking to him he didn’t even pretend to listen, but the moment you spoke he suddenly turned into a chatterbox. Completely different from when we were butchering meat together. You have no idea how quiet he was back then.”
The corners of Wolf’s mouth kept trying to lift.
He forced all the muscles in his face tight to keep a stiff expression.
Don’t smile…
“Well, draining the blood from cute rabbits and baby goats and cutting them apart probably doesn’t exactly put someone in a chatty mood.”
“No, no. It’s because you talked to him that Silver started talking more. Didn’t you notice? Even while we were riding the ferry, he kept staring straight at you the whole time…”
“He did? But when I asked for a comb, he humiliated me pretty badly. I was so embarrassed.”
“Rough, like a Stol person. The point is, even that rough Silver kept responding to you properly. And he even went out to get food for you. Silver likes you.”
“Do you think so? Really?”
“Yeah. I’m telling you, Silver likes you.”
It felt like pink wine bubbles were flowing through his veins.
The idea that Silver liked him was dizzyingly sweet, and Wolf wanted to keep hearing it.
“You can tell from Silver’s personality. The difference between what he cares about and what he doesn’t is extreme. He likes you, so he saved your life, talks with you, and even goes out to get food for you.”
“But Silver has no reason to like me…”
“Why not? You’re good at fighting.”
“……”
It felt like suddenly getting caught in a downpour.
The mood that had been soaring plummeted instantly.
Wolf stared at the Red Eagle Prince.
“The reason Silver likes me… is because of my fighting skills?”
“Yeah. When you first met, remember how Silver kept asking about your fighting ability? He acknowledged you as a warrior.”
Acknowledged as a warrior.
“I was so distracted earlier I never got to say it, but back then you were really cool, Wolf! I’m proud to have you as my milk brother! You’re my hero! When did you learn to fight like that? Why didn’t you tell me you were good at fighting? Watching martial bouts is my hobby! I heard commoner boys get into things called back-alley fights—maybe you too, Wolf—ahhh!”
The Red Eagle Prince clenched his fists and panted excitedly.
Maybe he was imagining Wolf standing tall with his muscular upper body bare, knocking down a huge back-alley brawler with a single punch—he looked worked up by his own fantasy.
“Of course Silver would recognize that. People from the underworld are supposed to recognize their own kind instantly. Silver must’ve smelled the same scent from you.”
Their own kind.
That was it?
That was the reason Silver liked him?
Well… I guess I can’t think of any other reason either.
But…
Strangely enough, Wolf was suddenly overwhelmed by a miserable, sorrowful feeling.
Something inside him collapsed helplessly, like a sandcastle washed away by the tide.
Wolf slowly sank down to the ground.
“Wolf?”
The Red Eagle Prince hurriedly grabbed his shoulder.
“What’s wrong? Are you dizzy?”
“No, Your Highness. My legs went numb, so I just sat down.”
“That’s not it. There’s another reason, right? …Is it Silver?”
Damn it, the bastard is only sharp about useless things.
With a whatever happens, happens feeling, Wolf laced his fingers together and nodded.
“Did it bother you that Silver likes you? I only meant it as a sign that it’ll be easier to bring Silver onto our side… Maybe I expressed it badly.”
“No, Your Highness! I was happy when you said Silver likes me. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Wolf shook his head vigorously and lifted his face.
The Red Eagle Prince stared down at him in stunned silence.
“Then why…?”
“I can’t fight.”
“Huh?”
The Red Eagle Prince looked completely unable to understand what Wolf meant.