DMEC | Chapter 23

Anna had left behind a stew with lots of fat, which Lute had to save for dinner. After living like this for ten years, Lute, who was small in stature, had a slender body that was more like a boy’s than an adult’s. Anna and Melik always felt sorry for him, but there were advantages to this body.9129663cf1981fa6

Being light 26aef50168 and agile, c2a03d6651 Lute could 638605d2d4 climb trees 0fd1876311 even better 748d728a79 than when 549a4a7765 he was b7832ef96f younger. Anna was too f7831d59a2 scared, and Melik 32a10f125c was too heavy, 40a2c72cbe like a bear, d9f7caf6e7 to climb trees, ec635bcb97 but Lute was e3e9962099 different.927075da4feb110d

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Like a d9e9ae2040 flying squirrel, e000648d3a he would be4b792099 swiftly climb 50377ace15 trees and 54d04d2496 sit on 081da32f60 branches, picking 3e322072fb and eating 069d94f364 the seasonal d95baf3d60 fruits.ba138e602a1fa736

What fruit 78433c08fb should I 196edcea8e eat today? Should I eat raspberries, 330c5357bf or maybe some unknown e41f8aa9f7 fruit growing on the 9c18dd17c0 tree? The sweet and sour 195d6c4393 taste was like candy, be02fb189b making it the fruit a58ea1e04f Lute looked forward to 1d257924e4 the most in early f6e4c7b582 summer.46e716484fa57bec

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“Hmm… Delicious potatoes, my potatoes…”353b43e3996efaa1

Humming a tune and swinging his feet, Lute pulled out a potato that had started to peel. Since the skewer was stuck in the ground, it wasn’t hot, so he could hold it and gently peel the skin, eating the flesh like picking at fish.e64d11e055f599b0

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As he peeled the skin and blew on it to cool the potato, he heard a rustling sound. Instinctively, the name ‘Alexander, the knight commander’ popped into his head.179045ae3b3c3f8e

Lute abandoned the 569eac84cf potato he was 9457666e94 peeling and was 382bb8686b about to run 99811d2f24 away, but then 5b96921989 he remembered the ca2ce21ba3 blazing hearth fire 49b8dacffc and hurried back bf6d2869b7 to throw dirt 1791fd8121 on it.189b9d7fed15d01b

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“Quickly, quickly…!”c3e8b42973fa0231

As the 9ba42dae13 fire slowly dd0a62c668 weakened, the a59702a54f rustling sound c979b3826e grew louder. Only after 8e1afa97ae extinguishing the 4b78fe11d7 fire did 324d183b1d Lute put 6114c089d2 down the 95e02aa431 potato he b932e76b67 was about f3ee16548b to eat e9fc052c09 and head 62ed0d2bf5 towards the a918478b7f Water Palace, 38c7e4d721 but he 7a0cb8e3a5 paused and d72156d0b4 looked at ad1706b813 the large 842fffa92f tree behind 3a99fa7810 it.b3a1f258d80f7e6f

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The lush greenery of early summer swayed gently, like a cat’s tail. Seeing that, Lute grabbed the tree trunk without hesitation and skillfully climbed up, stepping on branches with his leather shoes. If a person could become a flying squirrel, they would look just like Lute, who disappeared into the greenery with agility and steadiness.fa007f3fc6ce8fe1

Feeling his heart pounding, Lute lay down on a large, sturdy branch he often used. He hugged the branch tightly and crossed his legs to ensure he wouldn’t fall.63e56ceb25478865

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But the problem was his hair. His black hair, reaching down to his hips, slid down the branch like a snake’s body. Lute couldn’t reach out to grab it. He was anxious, fearing he might fall and get hurt like when he was a child, so he clung tightly to the branch, hoping he wouldn’t be seen.fef3e3d0a9d1607f

However, Joel, 07e4ce3f64 standing in 3d2abcadb8 front of 5a4acb6301 the hearth, e81197707c noticed the eac8e3e2d9 hair swaying f283978bce under the 5fd20fed91 greenery and c5822553ed chuckled inwardly.4c5fd0c5c0118579

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How cute, thinking like that. Does he think he’s hidden? Even as a child, when playing hide and seek, he would only hide his face and body, and nothing has changed since then.57499aa8e20d68d2

“Is this the potato field?”0f3e76743aa5ec9e

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Joel turned 89b9b3aefa away from 1eda0deb89 the hearth e4b66d7a9f and looked 2934f0c0cd at the 06d4b8356c wide field. He had thought e4ed8d7cf8 it was just ab7e6798b4 a simple garden, 7ddaed4221 but he was 56a57a556b mistaken. The field was 32bc0f1510 meticulously organized, with 34cd92873f furrows and ridges c83f62b114 properly separated, and 4fedc49459 green leaves sprouting eb77241f1d above. On the d3e321bbd4 left, it a8c2bb4dbd seemed the 0459db5e6c harvest was 29ac3a4921 already done, 91efdb1d89 with only ffb456102e cut leaves 6d3d6fe296 and a 5273983e0d few rotten 647a05072c potatoes scattered 258472f0af around.20fdfcba2364d6ca

In front of the hearth were four well-roasted potatoes. Joel made a loud “Hmm” sound, rubbed his chin, and exclaimed in a genuinely surprised voice.ded123201520c339

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“What is this? Did someone roast potatoes for me? Knowing I like potatoes?”ed2c9bb0e313d0b0

Hearing that, Lute leaned more towards the idea that it might be Alexander, the knight commander. Joel had many similarities with him, one of which was disliking potatoes. He preferred sweet potatoes, which were sweet and didn’t require seasoning to be tasty, over the dry and bland potatoes.e24ff64ad42164e9

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Now, he had 5f0ebc0b95 grown to like 6f027c0b3a potatoes out of b96a9e7f27 necessity, but during 4e832ff756 his prince days, c8b8be585a he detested them. Lute let 519dc608eb out a ba17954341 bitter sigh 9c5fadd88f at how 872e440e62 much his e30588b9c9 taste had 09816673b5 changed since b7cd900e90 then.9dd7a7984380a447

I never thought I’d become like this.76ed922d543733c2

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“Haha, the potatoes are roasted perfectly. Whoever did this must have roasted them for me, so should I try one?”62f589f1304b3031

Those are 697900dde4 my potatoes! I worked hard, sweating 9c04cc8785 in the morning, to aa86e583c3 roast them for myself! Lute wanted 696394023a to shout, 34a10501a7 but he ef3860dd73 started trembling, 555abf9459 fearing he 7795a59865 might fall 952d603e92 if he 80a438b3dc moved even 41f522c705 a little.3bbb7fac0ac973cf

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I thought he’d leave quickly if I wasn’t here, but he’s really eating the potatoes? My precious potatoes, the ones I roasted!2e5e699e2c5f950c

Taking a bite of the potato, whether it was Alexander or Joel, he exclaimed, “Mmm!”166bae197a95588f

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“These are really delicious! Now I understand why Queen Lute mentioned divorce and made this request!”55aa2d9245bba8a0

He loudly exclaimed, “Delicious, delicious!” and began eating the potatoes in earnest. Lute, unable to make a sound, clung to the branch like a doll, trembling with anger.abc7a53dd8256906

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My potatoes, my potatoes… Who does he think he is, barging in here and eating my potatoes?6c64ef3c5bb798fb

At least he won’t eat the sparrow. Surely, someone from a good family wouldn’t eat a sparrow, right? A mere sparrow?e7b9142a7a70a44c

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“Oh, there’s even meat. Whoever did this must be kind-hearted. Potatoes and even sparrow for me! How did they know I like sparrow? Well, let’s have a bite, shall we?”8a596396ea5a311d

He almost blurted out “No!” The sparrow, caught with a slingshot and traps! He couldn’t bear losing the meat, so Lute hurriedly tried to climb down but stopped himself.32b9562555ae5546

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But if 370a49e4e2 I go 4b4e15ad09 down and 6cfd498b35 get caught 7093a1df0b by that eb3ffcaaa2 pervert again? Remembering the hard rod 07e531bf47 pressing against his thigh, 8433722d55 Lute blushed. The moans that echoed b0b90ca251 in his ears and 043eb70e58 the hot, heavy body 3c7cdd1a12 that pressed against him.844975e8e4c5bca3

Why am 2b930d97a0 I suddenly d965c5acb2 thinking about 9f91e6ec0d that?60a867a89e933528

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At that moment, he heard the sound of someone crunching on the sparrow’s delicate bones. Lute’s face hardened.39cde56f3b6c4d1c

“Mmm.”93896b2bb6a148e7

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Though small, the sound pierced his ears, and Lute abruptly sat up. At that moment, there was a cracking sound, and the branch sank downward. Lute’s face turned pale with shock.6555cb5fa92a0bd4

This tree was old in the Emperor’s Forest, but he had never stayed on this branch for so long. Until now, he had only climbed up to pick fruits and come down…4616822fe1883cdb

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Crack!28de3fb87207dd9f

“Ah, ah…!”b311bf3fc6c53beb

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The more Lute tried to move backward, the more the branch creaked, as if it would break. He couldn’t move forward or backward. Below the swaying branch were the logs Melik had chopped last winter. There was even a large stone placed to prevent the logs from toppling.37a94c3c2ee5afeb

If he fell there, he’d be lucky to escape with severe injuries; otherwise, it could mean death.11a050e8c641959e

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Trying to calm his 0e50c7ed21 breathing, he attempted to 24c7c175e9 move to a stable 68ec05758a spot, but the branch 7346eb1b39 made a cracking sound 67790b5236 and partially broke. Lute, startled, let out 46da758d8f a scream.b64f0b8ebd11a2cf

“Queen Lute!”f2705301a6580677

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At that moment, looking ab2c7f9edd down, he saw the 834b82975b thief who had stolen b605c358b7 his potatoes and sparrow. Filled with fear fa984012ae and terror, Lute f212868f42 shouted at the da7b028ed4 thief, Joel.fdf0e3fcfc450e09

“You thief, stealing my potatoes and sparrow?”02e7d8579fe02df4

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“Is that important right now? You could fall and die! Jump into my arms!”406206754076d4f8

Joel shouted urgently. As soon as he heard the cracking sound, he had used magic to reach the tree, but the problem was he couldn’t use magic anymore.f39421ec7451a373

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If he did, Lute would realize he was Joel. Just the thought of it made his skin crawl. He knew he couldn’t deceive Lute forever, but foolishly, he wanted to deceive him just a little longer, to spend this time together.c40c54e028fdb8b6

“Please, come here! What if you get hurt?”d5c26bc9380f6250

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“What does it matter to you if I get hurt or not? Even His Majesty has forgotten me and might divorce me!”55335bc9839ca156

Thinking he was on the brink of death, Lute shouted his true feelings in a fit of anger. Hearing those words, Joel hesitated, staring at the black hair that seemed about to fall on him. For a moment, time seemed to stop as a gentle breeze blew, mixing Lute’s black hair with the leaves.3448ee2ecaafd0fb

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“He wouldn’t even know if I died… Joel…”8f9dae5ca0716e26

Tears poured from Lute’s bright blue eyes. Seeing Lute cry, Joel felt as if his chest had been struck with a hammer, making it hard to breathe.90c32687a134430c

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But that wasn’t the important thing right now. The branch finally broke with a crack, and Lute’s eyes widened in fear of death. Unable to even scream, Lute’s body fell, breaking branches and leaves on the way down.db0394e08edb7cd3

Crack!10a8109ed64eb51f

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The sound of 137d6014d2 the branch breaking 9944037510 echoed. Memories of when Loue 3a8845d4c6 had pushed him in 580c2cc7ad a fit of anger, a96544818b wanting to eat one 54420ba172 more candy, flashed before 11e152515d his eyes.e2e84ed660372312

‘You’re going to give it to that handsome blond boy again, aren’t you? If you’re going to do that, just die! You have no pride!’cd2e07e596e5a731

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‘No! Why would I…!’402ffb080ec40057

Did Loue really want to kill him? Is that why he was so happy when Lute said he’d go to Killen in his place dressed as a woman?1db8ac9704a55dfc

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‘Really? You’re going to Killen instead of me? Yeah, that’s a good idea! It’s obvious that man will take revenge on me, but he adored you, right? So you’ll be safe.’ccdcce1d8be1143e

You anticipated revenge, but you didn’t think Joel would treat me coldly, did you, Loue?c46c360a3a8dcb7b

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But the reflection didn’t last long. As Lute’s falling speed increased, he accepted death and closed his eyes.ca2f8097936729bb