The Lord led his robust figure and stood in front of Leon, bouncing energetically. He shamelessly clasped his hands together, rubbing them vigorously.
“Last time, I was quite rude. I tried to come see you a long time ago, but the royal family’s reply arrived late. As you know, this place is quite remote, isn’t it?”
As the conversation turned to the royal palace, the gaze of the people shifted unanimously towards Leon. If things continued like this, everyone would undoubtedly know his identity by the end of the day. That was something he absolutely despised.
“My Lord. I apologize, but I think there might be a misunderstanding. I am not the person you are looking for.”
“What?”
the lord widened his eyes, then firmly grabbed Leon’s hand, wiping his palm clean.
“What are you talking about? I confirmed with the palace! You are the great…!”
“My Lord!”
Leon half-shouted, not stopping at just holding the lord’s hand; he gripped it forcefully.
“You’ve misunderstood. Misunderstood, I say.”
Almost as if he were about to break his fingers, he squeezed strongly, and finally, the lord caught on to the meaning. He made a surprised “Ah” sound and then nodded exaggeratedly.
“Ah… Yes. That’s right. I misunderstood. Hahaha!”
Demis, standing right next to them, thought he heard Leon grinding his teeth.
“Yes. Since we don’t need anything like a reward, please leave.”
“We can’t do that! The brave wolf and the wolf’s master saved our young man, Jaejae!”
“…It’s Jackie.”
“Oh, it’s Jack. So, where’s Jack? Jack, Jack!”
The real Jack, who turned eight this year, hesitated and looked at Jackie. The Lord, who had made the mistake, discovered the child and approached him. Then, he exaggeratedly sobbed and hugged Jack.
“An orphaned child alone in the mountains! How terrifying it must have been!”
Jackie, the actual victim, desperately avoided watching this farce, and Leon rolled his eyes into the air. When the crying lord stood up, Leon regretted not breaking his legs properly.
“Every year, I invite the person who received the Brave Village Resident award to Winderton Castle. Did you know?”
It was a lame excuse. Everyone was convinced that it was an excuse thought up just a second ago. Regardless, the lord absentmindedly stroked his chin and stared piercingly at Leon as if trying to see through him.
“Of course, you will come and brighten up the place, right? You can even bring the wolf!”
“…I’m sorry, but we have a sick grandmother to take care of at home…”
“Oh no! Your filial piety runs deep; it’s truly bringing tears to my eyes. I’ll send a doctor!”
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.
The corner of Leon’s mouth, which was forced up, twitched. He wanted to tell him to stop talking nonsense and reveal his true intentions, but there were too many eyes watching.
Leon loved the peaceful life of the cabin in the woods. Although he revealed his identity to the lord for unavoidable reasons, he absolutely did not want to be known as the ‘Red Hero’.
“No need to decline. I’ll send an invitation soon, so be sure to come to Winderton Castle.”
the lord winked slyly. The potato soup he had for lunch splattered.
“All right, then. That’s enough.”
People bowed and remained silent until the lord completely left, but as soon as he left, they buzzed like a swarm of bees. Leon, anticipating the predictable barrage of questions, quickly retreated and was caught by Demis.
“It worked out well, Leon.”
“What? What do you mean?”
“The silver wolf. The lord is very interested in animals, so he must know something.”
Even if the lord had mastered the truth of the universe, Leon didn’t want to meet him.
“Haha. Yes, that worked out well. Grandma and the wolf are waiting, so I’ll be leaving now.”
Stiffly muttering to himself, Leon swiftly darted down the path like an arrow. It was only after running to a secluded area that he could gather his thoughts.
Revealing his identity to the lord was an unavoidable choice. Breaking the lord’s ribs and legs, leaving him crippled, was not a viable solution. If Leon had disappeared suddenly, it would have raised suspicions, and he needed a safety net to prevent any unwanted visits. He had thought that by intimidating the lord, he wouldn’t dare to come, but it turned out to be a miscalculation.
“Back already?”
Grandma peeked through the laundry hanging on the clothesline.
“I need to properly shake it out. Is everything fine with the lord?”
“Mm.”
As Leon answered with a drawn-out tone, the wolf hopped over, still limping a bit on its hind legs, but the wounds from a while ago had completely healed. Except for the absence of fur on the scarred areas, there was no trace left.
Growl.
As if protesting Leon’s solo outing, the wolf whimpered and raised its front paw into the air. Understanding what it wanted, Leon crouched in front of the wolf and gently stroked its head. The wolf extended its pink tongue and happily panted.
“Grandma?”
“What is it, you rascal?”
“Isn’t it strange how quickly the wolf recovered?”
“Maybe it’s a magical wolf.”
The answer was nonchalant. Leon stared intently into the wolf’s clear blue eyes as if expecting the answer to be written there. However, those innocent and clear eyes revealed nothing.
“The lord is quite interested in animals; he must know something.”
“Ah, I don’t know.”
Leon stood up, stretching his knees, and took the towel from Grandma.
“I’ll take this. Grandma, take a rest.”
***
The carriage rattled throughout the narrow road. The wolf, without any sign of discomfort, sat on the carriage floor, placing its head on Leon’s thigh and savoring the touch that gently caressed. Leon wasn’t bothered by the rattling; there was something else that made him uncomfortable.
“I apologize for the shaky carriage. Oh, at that time, I didn’t recognize you as the hero.”
The butler, who had come with the lord last time, sat across from them, constantly shaking his legs without a break. Yet, his curious gaze couldn’t be restrained.
A youth with ash-colored hair and no visible muscle, claiming to be a legendary hero, was apparently quite fascinating. Leon, fixating his gaze outside the window, didn’t bother to respond.
“It’s alright; don’t worry about it.”
“Feel free to speak comfortably, Hero.”
“I’m comfortable like this.”
“Haha, then speak as you’re comfortable. Of course.”
At this point, Leon just wanted to arrive at Winderton Castle quickly. He wondered if he should have used Adnaid to warp directly, as before.
“Um, Hero.”
The butler ran his hand through his graying hair.
“Have you ever heard of the ‘Treasure of Winderton’? Of course, you haven’t! A noble soul like you, hiding away from the world’s dust in seclusion!”
It was clear that the butler had decided not to give Leon a chance to speak. Whether it was because of his mood or not, even the wolf glared at him with contempt. Nevertheless, the butler lowered his voice, aiming for a dramatic effect.
“Don’t you want to know what the treasure of our territory is?”
“…Yes.”
“I knew you’d be curious!”
Leon had actually answered that he wasn’t interested.
“When we arrive at the castle, you’ll get to meet Winderton’s treasure. To describe them, it’s as sweet as sugar, mockingly beautiful enough to tease the world! After all, isn’t it a common occurrence for beauties to follow heroes?”
“….”
“We arrived just in time!”
To prevent the butler from making more noise, Leon slammed the carriage door shut. The wolf, apparently disliking the butler’s chatter, leaped down with its uncomfortable hind leg and stood next to him.
The carriage had stopped in front of Winderton Castle, a place Leon had ‘visited’ once before. Although the once towering castle walls were now reduced to rubble, the pointed turrets, watchtowers, and the elegant gray main building with a central courtyard retained their grandeur.
The lord, framed against the backdrop of the colossal castle, rushed towards Leon.
“You’re finally here!”
As if meeting a savior of life, he tightly grabbed Leon’s hand, effusively shaking it. Whether it was nerves or something else, even his handshake was moist. As he was contemplating to quickly remove his hand, something suddenly tapped him.
Kiiing.
The wolf, who sat quietly with the leash in his mouth, touched Leon again with the tip of his nose.
“My lord, I need to hold the leash.”
“Oh no, a leash! There’s no need to hold it! If it’s the hero’s wolf, it should roam freely anywhere in the castle!”
Grrrr.
The wolf exposed its sharp teeth, retracting its ears and revealing a hostile expression. The lord quickly released Leon’s hand.
“Well, as the hero wishes.”
Leon wiped the lord’s sweat from his hand on his thigh before firmly grabbing the leash. Although he didn’t think the wolf would attack anyone, seeing the lord and the butler both tense, it seemed prudent to have a good grip on the leash.
“Anyway, I’m sincerely delighted that you’ve come. There is someone I wanted to introduce to the hero.”
While walking towards the castle with Leon trailing behind, the lord continuously turned back to look at him. With the lord in front and the butler behind, Leon felt somewhat surrounded. As they entered the courtyard, full of flowering trees, Leon made eye contact with a man standing under an almond tree.
He stood under the almond tree, exuding a sweet fragrance as the wind gently rustled its leaves. The wolf, licking its black nose, observed the man under the flower shade.
“Oh, you’ve already seen him!”
Standing out so conspicuously, how could anyone miss it?
“What a remarkable coincidence! No, should I call it fate?”
The lord shamelessly declared as he confidently walked towards the man. Then, with a bright smile, he turned to Leon.
“Our pride in Winderton, right away, my adopted son!”
The butler who approached smiled meaningfully and nodded his head slowly. Then he lowered his voice as if he was giving some great information.
“He’s currently of marriageable age.”
Leon clasped his hands and shyly raised his eyebrows, looking at the man with lowered eyes. A ‘casual’ encounter under the blooming almond tree.
So, this was the purpose.
Suddenly, the leash in his hand was pulled. The once docile wolf advanced forward, teeth bared, the leash taut.
Get lost, all you other males. This one is my female.
<This one is my female> <<I’m a man>> <This one is my male>thanks for the chapter😍
ur welcomee~😆💛
The whole fated meeting act had me like ಠ_ಠ
You go wolf, keep the nasty people away from our baby Leon!
Thanks for the chapter!
ur welcomeeee<3333333
The Wolfie is so cute and also “this is one of my female” awwwwww ✨