After discovering Lee Hwan’s trail at a small inn in the mountainous wilderness, Lucian changed his target to the silver-haired man. He thought that if even half of what the innkeeper said was true, the man would stand out somehow.
Following the silver-haired man’s movements wasn’t easy. He always chose remote paths. Yet, it only strengthened Lucian’s conviction.
‘They are together.’
Gritting his teeth, Lucian spurred himself on. Anxiety took away his fatigue. Running at a considerable speed, he was able to enter the city of Sankonia City by evening.
The city was in turmoil. Lucian soon understood why.
A thief had broken in six days ago and stolen relics. Several soldiers and priest were murdered in the process.
The Sankonia City thrives on its relics and cathedral. With those gone and people dying, it was natural for the whole city to be in turmoil.
“I think Alexander might have taken it.”
Lucian looked at the map and said. Then, standing behind him, Weibang asked.
“Do you have any particular reason to be so sure?”
“Shouldn’t there be a reason for the messenger of God to take the belongings of God? Everything must have a purpose.”
Lucian replied nonchalantly and dismissed Weibang. As Weibang left, the expression vanished from Lucian’s face as he was left alone.
Lee Hwan was an easily approachable person, distinct from the expression that was gradually disappearing. He had a naturally kind-hearted disposition and, having received quality education for a long time, he held upright values typical of a well-educated person.
The royal family delved into this aspect of his character, and it was a great success. Lee Hwan, without any blame or responsibility, wielded weapons and threw himself for the sake of this world and the empire.
He was upright, kind, and steadfast. His brown eyes reflected only purity, a characteristic of someone raised seeing only clean things. Whenever Lee Hwan looked at himself with those eyes, Lucian felt a twist in his gut.
At the same time, on one hand, he was relieved. With eyes that could see through him like that, he could immediately tell if he had other thoughts.
However, now Lucian couldn’t grasp what Lee Hwan was thinking at all. It made Lucian uneasy.
The next morning, Lucian obtained the information he desired. It was about the whereabouts of the silver-haired man.
“He stayed at the cathedral’s guesthouse for four days before leaving. There are records of him leaving the city as well.”
“What about his companions?”
“It seems he was accompanied by one man who appears to be a pilgrim. His name is Martang, a commoner from the Yellow Plains.”
“Martang. Investigate him separately. We will depart immediately.”
Lucian rose from his seat. His crimson lips of determination were unwavering.
***
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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“Ugh…!”
Lee Hwan groaned softly. It seemed that the ground beneath his feet was unstable, and he ended up slipping and falling. Desperately, he reached out and grabbed onto anything within reach. Judging by the rough texture against his palm, it seemed like he had grabbed onto a tree branch or something similar.
This moment of danger wasn’t the first. A few minutes ago, a broken branch swept past where Lee Hwan had been. If Absalom hadn’t pulled him away, he would have likely been hit on the back of the head. Before that, in a muddy pile, he almost fell backward.
They needed to find a place to rest quickly. As Lee Hwan considered searching for a sturdy tree, thunder rumbled in his ears. Shortly after, lightning streaked across the sky. Even under a tree was risky in this situation. Lee Hwan, annoyed by his soaked and drooping bangs, brushed them aside.
“Lee Hwan! Over here!”
Absalom shouted from a short distance away. His gestures indicated that he had found something promising. Lee Hwan quickly made his way towards him. As they approached, a roughly hewn cave came into view. Lee Hwan leaped into it without hesitation.
As the relentless rain that had been lashing their bodies ceased, it finally seemed like they could catch a break. Lee Hwan let out a long sigh of relief. Thankfully, his bag was waterproof, which was a stroke of luck. He took out a towel, dried his soaked body, and changed his clothes. In the midst of this, Absalom, who had also been stealing the moisture from his body, spoke up.
“I forgot that storms hit around this time every year. I’m sorry, Lee Hwan.”
“It’s not your fault that there’s a storm. Or did you summon it?”
“No, of course not… but…”
“Then what’s the problem?”
Lee Hwan retorted bluntly and sank to the ground. A chill ran down his spine. It was the moment when he rummaged through his belongings, feeling shivery all over.
“Just sitting here makes you cold. Come over here.”
Absalom, who had spread out a blanket on the ground, called out to Lee Hwan. As Lee Hwan hesitated for a moment, Absalom added,
“If you sit here and cover yourself with blanket, you’ll feel warmer.”
The cold prompted Lee Hwan to act. He took out a blanket from his bag and stood up, reducing the short distance in an instant. Sitting beside Absalom, he unfolded the blanket, covering both of their shoulders.
“I-I’m okay though…”
The increasingly hesitant tone reflected Absalom’s feelings. He lowered his head and remained silent. Silence settled inside the cave.
Even a downpour that chills one to the bone when directly exposed becomes a comforting lullaby when it doesn’t reach you. Moreover, there was a warm aura nearby. Lee Hwan’s body leaned slowly toward the warmth.
Tap.
A light sound of something gently settling on his ear was heard. Somehow, it felt warm around his cheek. In this place right now, there was only one thing this warm. As he pondered this, his mind suddenly cleared.
Lee Hwan straightened up and discreetly glanced sideways. At that moment, Absalom also turned to look at Lee Hwan, so the gazes of the two met exactly.
Lee Hwan wanted to turn his head. However, for some reason, he couldn’t. Memories of a past, awkward night in the forest came flooding back. It was similar to this moment.
The warm eyes, the frozen fingers, the smooth hair.
When his name was called, a powerful wave of emotions swept through him, almost dizzyingly intense. His lips, lightly brushed, were just as tenderly fragrant as if they were red fruits.
“Is this cold…a little too much…for you?”
Absalom, his cheeks flushed, said something. Lee Hwan, who had unconsciously fixed his gaze on Absalom’s lips, was startled. He couldn’t remember what was just said. His bewildered lips moved aimlessly.
“Y-yes.”
“Come over here. No, I’ll come to you.”
Absalom immediately moved closer. The slight distance between them disappeared. His hand gently rested on Lee Hwan’s shoulder. Warmth transferred where they touched.
“Isn’t it much warmer when we sit close like this?”
Finally, Lee Hwan could understand what Absalom had said. Now, pushing him away would seem strange. Moreover, Absalom’s warmth felt irresistibly tempting to Lee Hwan in his current state.
Suddenly, he remembered a similar incident from before.
It was not long ago that he experienced a similar situation. At that time, Lee Hwan was alone in the barracks. As he listened to the sounds of knights beyond the leather, complex emotions surged within him. So, he left the barracks and headed to a secluded place.
He spent eight years with the Funeer Knights. Despite considering them as betrayers, he harbored no feelings of revenge towards them.
At that time, he was angry at himself for being like that and didn’t admit the nature of that feeling. Now that some time has passed and his emotions have settled a bit, he can look back on what he turned away from.
The name of the emotion he finally admitted to was loneliness.
At that moment, Absalom appeared. He took off his cloak and draped it over Lee Hwan. The warmth lingering in the cloak and the arm that reached across the shoulders felt warm enough to make the skin tingle.
Because of that, Lee Hwan wanted to flee from there. He couldn’t accept the fact that Absalom’s warmth touched the chilly loneliness he had felt until then. It meant that Lee Hwan had starved for connection, even if it meant clinging to Absalom to some extent.
Now Absalom is offering the same posture and warmth as back then. Lee Hwan felt the warmth slowly spreading over his chilly body. Like a spider extending its web from the center outward, the gradually spreading warmth was simply welcoming.
There was certainly a time when he even resisted being touched. When did that change? Lee Hwan traced back his journey.
Was it when struggling through the rain yesterday? Honestly, nothing comes to mind from that time.
Entering the mountains? It didn’t seem much different from now.
Almost kissed in an unnamed forest… Lee Hwan closed his eyes tightly. His body temperature rose noticeably, even to himself.
‘Before that. It was before that.’
I skipped the journey unnecessarily and now I feel embarrassed about it.
When we stopped by the farm to get food. That’s when the farmer’s daughter shyly glanced at Absalom. Despite being the main focus, Absalom discreetly pulled me behind him. It wasn’t the first or second time it happened, but that day stood out oddly clear. Yet, it didn’t seem like that was it either.
As I delved deeper into memory, a barn came to mind. It was where Absalom showed a slight understanding toward me.
‘Just that? Was it just that?’
I unintentionally sighed, feeling Absalom’s unease. Irritated for no reason, Lee Hwan moved closer to him. Absalom stiffened up. Lee Hwan lightly nudged Absalom’s thigh and said,
“Why are you so tense?”
“Uh… Lee Hwan is an idiot.”
A voice with a clear tone of pouting was heard. As the words trailed off, something lightly settled on Lee Hwan’s head. Judging by the sound of flowing silk, it seemed to be Absalom’s head.
Wrapped in warmth, Lee Hwan’s body relaxed involuntarily. Sleep found him once more.
“I’m glad you suggested we talk beforehand,” Lee Hwan murmured. His voice carried an unmistakable drowsiness.
“If we had kept carrying it around, it would’ve been a burden. We probably wouldn’t have been able to bring it into this cave either. You were right, we did the right thing.”
The hand around Lee Hwan’s shoulders tightened. As a result, the distance between the two of them closed a bit more, but Lee Hwan didn’t notice.
“It seems like we’ll have to walk for a while longer, but is that okay with you?”
“Well, um…”
Lee Hwan’s voice trailed off abruptly. Upon hearing it, Absalom chuckled softly.
“You can sleep if you’re tired. After all, this rain isn’t going to stop anytime soon.”
Lew Hwan didn’t resist those words. As if questioning when he had last struggled to sleep beside Absalom, his eyes closed.
This comfort needed to be approached cautiously. Yet, his heart followed Absalom’s warmth as Lee Hwan found himself resting his face against Absalom’s shoulder without realizing it. A shiver passed where their skin met.
Struggling to lift his heavy eyelids, Lee Hwan looked at Absalom. His flushed cheeks and wandering pupils tickled Lee Hwan’s heart. Was even that expression a lie? Lee Hwan couldn’t bring himself to think so.
Perhaps it was because of that once-held belief, or maybe it was just the drowsiness, but Lee Hwan kept having different thoughts. For instance, speculation or hope that Absalom’s past actions might not have all been lies—
It was around the time when his mind was becoming fuzzy. Something soft touched his forehead. It hesitated before withdrawing. Lee Hwan felt regret at the fleeting warmth it left behind.
It occurred to him that perhaps on the day he had escaped from the barracks, Absalom had pulled the first thread of the spider’s web and attached it to Lee Hwan’s body.
TL/N: Oh no, Lee Hwan has slowly started falling in love (灬º‿º灬)♡ ATRHIO is back, guys! Finally, after 2 months (´＿｀｡) huhuhu. I’m sorry for not noticing it on Discord and here; real life has been busy lately. I’m sorry. Updates will be regular every Saturday, once a week again!
Thank you for chapter 😊
🥰❤️
And don’t worry about pause. As long as you don’t drop story: I’m happy and can wait 😊
aw thank you so much❤️
Nie mogę się doczekać następnego rozdziału 💗💗💗 Thanks for the new chapter 🫶
Thanks very much for the chapter. Welcome