Episode 10
Yeah, I must have misheard. Asking the same thing twice could be rude, so Becky tried phrasing it differently.
“You two are lovers, right?”
“We’re not such a simple relationship.”
“Then what are you?”
“Partners in fate.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?”
“It’s different. Lovers can break up. But partners in fate can’t.”
What is easier to change than love? The bond between Nancy and Borhard was tied together by something stickier than love.
Desire.
He could fulfill her desires, and she could make his come true. As long as they had something to gain from one another, they would remain together.
Of course, even in a firm relationship, confirmation was necessary.
“Since we’re on the subject, shall we test it?”
“Pardon?”
“To see how much you’ll tolerate from Nancy. Didn’t Your Highness say you despise dancing?”
“……”
“Your heart must be racing, isn’t it exciting?”
To dare provoke a royal—she had some nerve. If this had been a wager, Becky would have bet that the Fourth Prince would punish her.
But to her surprise, she was dead wrong. The prince not only liked it, he even gave her a reward.
“If Your Highness hadn’t been pleased, Nancy would’ve been disappointed.”
“How could I dislike it?”
“If she had hurt you, she wouldn’t have told you.”
“Told me what?”
“The constellations are beginning to leave their orbits. A new age must be coming.”
“Let’s discuss it inside.”
As the two of them disappeared warmly together, Becky was left confused. Was their relationship normal—or utterly abnormal?
“Time to head back.”
With the troublesome matter roughly settled, Haska prepared to return to the cave. He intended to slip out at dawn. Having to line up and be sent off as a group was bothersome, and besides, he needed to avoid the steward who was surely searching for him.
Most likely, it was because of the way he had frightened the human during the banquet. The steward’s conscience probably pricked him for not stopping it at the time.
The steward’s admonitions, offered even at the risk of his own neck, were more than Haska cared to deal with. The man talked too much.
“What did I even do? Did I threaten him, did I hit him?”
Don’t be picky. Don’t cry. Those were the only two things he had said. Telling a scrawny human to eat a balanced diet shouldn’t have been a problem, and…
Was it bad for a human to hold back tears? Could it cause eye disease, or even blindness?
“……”
If he had blinded a mute child, then he’d have no excuse. But Haska did have one justification.
Those bright golden eyes glistening with tears. Making those eyes weep felt like a crime worse than any atrocity. He had spilled blood countless times without batting an eye, yet somehow his conscience had twinged. So he had tried intimidation.
‘So small and fragile… I’ve no idea how to deal with it.’
If being close would only cause harm, then better to keep his distance.
Like a beast used to facing things head-on, but now fleeing, he left the castle. He was just about to pass through the gates when—
Thud-thud-thud! The sound of bare feet pounding the ground reached him. He turned to see a tiny doll-like figure charging toward him headlong.
“A human?”
Even in the dark and at that distance, eyes that could see a hundred leagues would not be mistaken. Waving her arms wildly, barefoot, running straight toward him—it was unmistakably the undergrown human. She wasn’t blind after all; she ran straight without stumbling.
And then, no sooner had he confirmed she was fine, than—
“Uuuuuaaah!”
The human let out a strange cry as she ran. Like a crazed foal, making him wonder if something was wrong with her head.
But the odd behavior didn’t end there. Upon reaching him, the little human suddenly grabbed his wrist. To touch him without permission—what audacity! Haska was left speechless.
“Aaahh.”
“Let go. Won’t you let go?”
He could easily shake her off. But he wasn’t sure how much force to use. Then she clung even tighter to his wrist, hanging on, and spoke with clumsy words.
“What? Don’t go?”
“Hhhnn, hhhhnnn.”
“You’re saying something terrible will happen if I leave?”
Her drowsy face, messy with sleep, bobbed up and down. Even through her sleepy eyes, stubbornness shone.
Then, pressing herself against his leg so tightly her cheeks squished, Staría clung as if she would never let go.
‘So she really did eat as she was told.’
He thought fleetingly that the child was obedient, but quickly returned to puzzling over why she clung like a leech. First, he needed to pry her off.
“If you keep holding on, you’ll be the one in trouble.”
Even when he flared his aura to intimidate her, she only trembled but would not release him.
He wanted to throw her aside. But even a light push would send her flying into the river. Fetching her back from there would be bothersome.
Force usually solved his problems, but this time, Haska had no choice but to try something unfamiliar—persuasion.
“Let go, and we’ll talk.”
“Uwoo-oo.”
“You’ll just bolt the moment you let go, won’t you?”
Despite her round, naive face, her instincts were sharp. Sighing, Haska asked:
“Fine. Then tell me your reason.”
“Oouuhh.”
“Don’t just say no, give me a reason. Why? Is the cave going to collapse or something?”
“……”
Did he hit the mark? The human, who had been shrieking nonsense, suddenly fell silent, lips pursed.
Was it when she first learned to walk? Or when she fell from a tree? Or when she spat out broccoli?
Staría couldn’t recall exactly, but she often had dreams. Some were nonsense, but others came true with eerie precision. When events she dreamt of unfolded in reality, it felt so strange and amusing that she bragged about it everywhere.
But no one believed her rambling, illogical stories. That only made her chatter more—until her mother dragged her away and put an end to it.
Her mother had sternly instructed her:
‘Never talk about your dreams carelessly. Bad luck clings to them. Especially, never tell the person who appeared in your dream. If you do, misfortune will befall them. Be careful—very careful. Understand?’
She’d heard the warning so often it was drilled into her. That’s why Staría couldn’t tell Haska what she had seen—that pale foot trapped beneath a heap of fallen rocks. All she could do was cling to him to stop him from going.
But then—
“Don’t just say no, give me a reason. Why? Is the cave going to collapse or something?”
Of course! A master of mind reading!
Not only did he understand her nonsense, he could even read her thoughts.
“That cave’s been around for 2,500 years. If it were going to collapse, it would’ve done so long ago.”
“Aaaoo?”
But isn’t it about time it did collapse, after being around that long?
“You’re slandering a perfectly fine cave.”
Haska pushed her forehead with his finger, exasperated.
“Even if there’s a landslide, I’d be fine.”
But you could still get hurt!
“I’d heal quickly.”
But it would still hurt…
Answering her clumsy words one by one, Haska suddenly chuckled. Realizing he was earnestly conversing with a child who only reached his thigh—what absurdity was this?
“This has nothing to do with you. Stop meddling and go back to sleep.”
But Staría wasn’t one to give up easily. Even with her mutism, she got her point across.
Why doesn’t it concern me? I could become your bride one day, couldn’t I?
“Wuuuhh? Aaahhh?”
So she knew his foul temper, and instead of running, she confronted him…
Haska truly wanted to cut her open and examine how swollen this little human’s courage was.
“You’re not even afraid of me?”
Saying she wasn’t afraid would be a lie.
Knowing he’d see through it, Staría shook her head honestly. She shook it vigorously—very afraid.
“And yet, you still want to be my bride? Why?”
Thump. Her heart raced.
Wasn’t that question exactly like the one asked before a marriage vow?
