Shadowless Night

ld… save your energy.”

 

“You only have to go a little further.
Sir Raymond will support you.
Walk just a little bit more.
Just a little bit more.”

 

Desperation reflected in Ricardis’s cracked voice.
Hale shook his head.
At first, he thought it was a small wound, but he soon realized the pain that secretly penetrated his body.
That death is imminent.
He couldn’t drag them down any further than this.
The assassins will still be approaching this very moment.

 

“I… will leave this road and walk elsewhere, creating a trail.”

 

Ricardis bit his lip tightly.
Hale was a knight who had survived Vista’s hunting competition and had been an escort by his side for a long time.
So foolishly… So fleetingly… How easy is it for a person to die? Hale bent his knee with difficulty and kissed the tip of Ricardis’ dirty boot.

 

“And so, may the light of Idelavhim dwell in Your Highness’ path… I earnestly wish you well.”

 

Hale gave Rosaline a worried look, “Please take good care of the prince, Sir Rosaline.” 

 

It was a harsh voice as if blood had clogged his throat.
Rosaline saluted, and he smiled faintly and walked away.
The misty forest quickly swallowed up a person’s figure. 

 

“… Move.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Yes.”

 

Rosaline ran again, looking in the direction where Hale had disappeared.
She began to feel pain in the wound on her shoulder.
But an intense rage ran wildly through her head so that she couldn’t even care about the pain anymore.

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***

 

Darkness fell in the forest.
On a muddy dirt road that dragged down one’s feet, in constantly pouring rain, and with bodies tired from not being able to rest or eat properly, they moved for hours in these harsh conditions.
They were so exhausted that they couldn’t even speak, so they decided to sit down and rest for a while.
Rosaline luckily found a little hidden cave.
Judging by the smell of animals, they presumed that it was a house of something.
It was a cave carved deep into the rocks where even the faint moonlight did not penetrate.
Ricardis took off his cloak, laid it aside, and sat down.

 

“It will be difficult to find traces of us in this darkness.
You should get some sleep, Your Highness.”

 

“Yes.
You too, get some rest.
We’ll have to move again after a while.”

 

  

His voice sounded tired.
Rosaline looked at him for a moment, then filled the canister with rainwater running down the cavern wall.
In the meantime, the remaining knights checked their respective pockets for food.

 

“Your Highness.
Here.
Jerky.”

 

Ricardis followed her voice and shifted his gaze, but all he could see was darkness.
It was not easy to distinguish between individual forms in a cave where a fire was not lit.
Ricardis’ gaze did not reach her, and it still wandered around. 

 

‘Why are you doing that? Oh.
Humans cannot see well in the dark.’ Rosaline secretly nodded her head in the dark.

 

Ricardis trembled at the taste of the savory meat as Rosaline shoved it into his mouth.
He was bewildered for a while, but he didn’t curse at her action.
Ricardis struggled to chew and swallow the jerky, and almost immediately, a sweet treat entered his mouth.
He had an ominous feeling that if he let Rosaline continue, he would become like a baby bird fed by the mother bird.

 

“…Can’t you just put it in my hand, Sir?”

 

“Ah.
Alright.”

 

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Rosaline took Ricardis’ hand and handed him the jerky and canteen, and Ricardis gulped down the water.
He was so thirsty after running around all day.

 

He leaned against the wall of the cave and closed his eyes.
There was no difference between opening or closing his eyes as it was all dark all around.
In his ears, he heard the sound of the three escorts sharing food. Crunch.
Crunch. There was the sound of cookies breaking in their mouth.
It was an everyday sound that did not fit the current situation, which caused his body to relax and his beating heart to calm down.
Ricardis fell asleep while hearing those sounds.

 

At dawn, after the rain had stopped, the sky began to take on a blue color.
Ricardis sensed the faint light shining on his eyelids and opened his eyes. 

 

“…Heuk!”

 

Ricardis took a deep breath.
Rosaline, with her eyes closed, came into view.
Her flowing hair was lightly tickling his face.
Ricardis felt the warmth wrapped around the back of his head, and he started sweating profusely.
He wondered, ‘Am I lying on her thighs right now?’ As Ricardis understood the situation, he was astonished. ‘This… crazy.
I- I must be crazy right now.’

 

He got up carefully so that Rosaline wouldn’t wake up.
However, despite his desperate efforts, she opened her eyes as if she had been waiting.
Then she glanced at the entrance to the cave and turned her gaze back to Ricardis. 

 

“Did you sleep well?”

 

Ricardis was still cursing his brain. ‘No matter how tired you are, how could you not notice that you’ve been touching someone else’s body!’

 

“I know we’ve been moving all day, but, this… What a stupid thing to do!”

 

“It’s okay, I’m alright.”

 

Rosaline jumped up and stretched with a gentle movement as if to prove what she was saying.

 

“When you were sleeping on the floor, I first tried to use my arm as a pillow, but I changed it because I thought it would be softer to sleep on my legs.
Do you not like it?”