RGS Vol 4 Part 11

“Huh? Oh, I was climbing the mountain behind the dormitory for early morning exercise and accidentally found some rare precious herbs. I was so excited that I dug them up, but then I got lost in the d*mn fog and ran into you.”

The man, scared, explained in detail without being asked and trailed off at the end. He noticed Abel, who was in Karas’s arms, and blinked. Then his expression subtly changed.

“Did you perhaps call for me?”

He raised the herb in his hand and his eyes sparkled as if amazed.

“I’m here to get this herb that can revive someone whose heart has stopped.”

Herb? Karas’ eyes narrowed in response to the man’s words. However, the man, who was already examining Abel closely, did not notice and hastily added.

“Seeing that he still has some color left in his complexion, it’s fortunate we’re not too late. We should hurry.”

As the man took a step closer, Karas asked again.

“Who are you?”

“Me? Hahaha, you’re asking about me. You’ll be surprised when you hear it. Hehe, if I were to explain about myself, I’m 35 years old, but I still look like I’m in my early 20s. Not only that, but I’m also famous for having the best personality around here. How good is my personality, you ask? Well, let me tell you…”

The man, who looked exactly his age, grinned proudly as he introduced himself.

“I even became friends with a guy everyone calls a complete scumbag.”

“Shut up.”

“Ah, okay, shut up…”

The man laughed at Karas’ order and complained resentfully.

“But you asked.”

However, he quickly regained his senses after seeing Karas’s fierce glare. Knowing there was someone in urgent need, the man offered the herb he was holding.

“Feed him quickly.”

“….”

When Karas only looked at him suspiciously, the man, feeling frustrated, simply placed the herb in front of Karas.

“You called me because of this, didn’t you? You hurry up.”

“I didn’t call you.”

“Right. You didn’t call me, huh? Wasn’t it you who called me in the fog? I definitely heard something. Oh! Then it must be a ghost!”

The man had a knack for making light of any serious situation.

“No wonder, my feet have been feeling heavy lately! It must be a ghost sitting on my shoulders!”

It’s just weight gain.

“And could this be why women have been avoiding me lately?!”

They always did. However, the middle-aged bachelor who believed he looked young failed to realize the reality. Instead, he seized the opportunity to blame every little thing on the ghost.

“Come to think of it, last night’s dinner was unusually tasteless. I had a heavy lunch yesterday! I thought it was the landlady’s way of kicking me out, but it turns out the ghost has dulled my taste buds!”

The man’s face, which had been spouting nonsense to the point of seeming crazy, was now painted with fear. He had climbed the dark mountain at dawn, accidentally discovered a rare herb, got excited while digging it up, and then suddenly got caught in the fog. In the midst of this, he met someone who needed the herb, but he forgot all about this incredible coincidence and was now completely immersed in his own ghost stories.

“Oh, so that’s why I, a perfect human, haven’t been able to get married yet! This d*mn ghost. Why would it cling to a perfect human like me, who even became friends with a guy with a terrible personality?”

The man continued to accuse the ghost of everything until he stopped abruptly when he saw Karas move. Karas had put the man’s herb in his mouth and was chewing it thoroughly. Then, he bowed his head and passed the chewed herb into Abel’s mouth. He held Abel’s jaw, pressing and massaging it to make him swallow.

Karas divided the herb into several pieces until he had fed Abel the entire herb. The man seemed to be quietly watching without interfering, but his eyes were filled with curiosity as he observed the two. Then, as if he suddenly remembered something, he looked around at the fog that still surrounded them. The dense white fog was so thick that it seemed like he could scoop up a lump of it if he tried to move it with his hand.

It was a fog that was rarely seen, however, the man looked around with familiar eyes and then turned his gaze back to Karas. Karas, having finished feeding Abel, was now waiting for a reaction. Seeing Karas looking down at Abel without moving, the man smiled softly.

“You must care about him a lot.”

Though Karas didn’t respond, the man didn’t mind and continued. If he’s someone he cared so much, then…

“Is he your younger brother?”

Karas looked up with cold eyes. The man flinched at his gaze and asked again.

“Ah, is the sick one the older brother, and you’re the younger?”

“Shut up.”

The man took a step back at the second warning, but he didn’t forget to mutter quietly.

“How much did he steal from his older brother to grow so big?”

“You.”

“Oh, of course, the youngest is always the biggest in any family. Haha, um, why are you glaring at me?”

The man asked, shrugging his shoulders, but Karas knew that the other person was not afraid of him at all. There was no fear in his eyes from the very beginning. He was just as calm as a quiet lake. Even when he spat out such absurd words, it was the same. Karas asked the same question for the third time.

“Who are you?”

“Haha, if I may say so, I’m 35 years old, but…”

“I asked who you are.“

At the low voice, the man finally dropped his foolish expression. He looked at Karas and answered calmly, unlike before.

“You wouldn’t know even if I told you. Isn’t it enough to know just one thing? No matter how strange this coincidence is, I am the person you need.”

Strangely, Karas did not refute those words. Instead, his eyes narrowed as if asking how he knew that. Karas knew that he had created the fog with his power. He also instinctively knew that the man who emerged from beyond it was someone he needed, even if he was a guy like this. Unlike Karas’ glaring eyes, the man didn’t pay attention and lowered his eyes at Abel.

“The herb he ate is a poisonous plant that would kill an ordinary person, but for someone with a heart condition, it’s like a miracle drug. If given immediately to someone whose heart has stopped, it can bring them back to life. It’s just that it’s too difficult to obtain. The environment where the herb grows is unique, you see.”

He muttered casually as if explaining, and smiled slightly, changing the atmosphere.

“But there are also people who are incredibly lucky. Since the one you cherish has taken the herb, he will soon wake up. Well, after waking up, there will be some aftereffects like feeling his heart burning for a while, but there’s no need to worry about that because he will become stronger than anyone else after the pain.”

The man, who had been speaking with certainty, suddenly chuckled and muttered.

“For example, he could outrun a wild boar and win?”

“When?”

“Huh? Well, as soon as he wakes up.”

“When?”

Only then did the man finally realize that there was no change in Abel and panicked.

“Huh? He should wake up as soon as he takes the herb, right? Hey, did you put it in his mouth instead of his throat?”

Karas reached out with one hand and grabbed the sword nearby. The man flinched, his shoulders trembling as he held out his hands.

“Wait a minute! He, He’s about to wake up soon. Count to three, and he will wake up. Look, one, two, three!”

“…”

“Haha, I counted too quickly. This time, I’m sure. One—two—three————ah, ah!”

After the intense countdown that was almost as long as 30, silence returned. Abel was still motionless, but it wasn’t entirely true that nothing had awakened. Karas’ murderous intent had awakened. The man, truly flustered, quickly opened his mouth to Karas.

“No, really, if you wait just a bit more, he will…huh?”

The man suddenly realized something while speaking and suddenly widened his eyes. Then, as if shocked, he muttered.

“It must not have been the herb.”

“….”

“What should we do?”

Karas immediately gave him the answer.

Swish.

In an instant, he laid Abel on the ground, stood up, and approached the man with his sword drawn. Karas’ eyes coldly shone with unmistakable murderous intent that anyone could see. He raised his arm as if to cut the man’s throat in one stroke.

“Die.”

“Ugh! Hey, little brother! Let’s talk about this! Aaaah!”

The man’s scream echoed faintly through the forest as he fled into the fog. Karas disappeared into the fog as he chased after him, and silence returned. But that silence didn’t last long.

Wiggle.

Just as Abel’s fingers seemed to move, a breath was exhaled as if it burst out of his mouth.

“*Cough*!”

His chest slowly began to rise, and soon, stable breathing followed. Then, after a while, his eyelids slowly lifted, revealing clear green eyes.

                                                                         ⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖            

Is Abel alive? Where did the emperor take him?

Though dawn had arrived after spending a day at the camp where the emperor’s army have stayed, Melmond’s worries, which had kept him up all night, did not subside. If he had known this would happen, he should have told him to prepare himself little by little. Even he might have had a heart attack knowing the child he raised had grown into the King of Slaughter. Let alone the weak Abel.

“Phew.”

As he let out a sigh for the umpteenth time, Nani, who was also tending to the butler with him, offered comfort.

“Young Master Abel will be fine. There’s no way heaven would take away someone so beautiful.”

“Well, I hope so, but his condition is not good, haah.”

Along with another sigh, Melmond’s shoulders slumped. Seeing this, Nani looked at him sympathetically, placed a hand on his shoulder, and asked cautiously.

“No. He will come back alive and well. Do you want to bet?”

“……”

“I’ll bet my next month’s salary.”

Nani’s comfort had an effect. Melmond straightened his hunched shoulders and stared at Nani. Nani’s intention to make the other person unconsciously bet was revealed in his trembling voice when he mentioned “salary.” However, he did not lose hope and asked again.

“I’ll bet a year’s worth of my future salary that he comes back alive. What about you, Melmond?”

“I’ll bet my entire fortune that he doesn’t.”

Nani’s eyes lit up with excitement at the thought of reclaiming his home. He confirmed in a trembling voice,

“A-Are you serious?”

“Of course. I’m willing to bet my entire fortune that he dies.”

“I’m sorry.”

“If you understand, get lost.”

This time, Nani shoulders slumped as he squatted at the entrance of the tent. As soon as he moved away, Melmond let out another worried sigh. Nani, feeling sorry, tried to give hope again and opened his mouth.

“He really will come back alive. Miracles do happen, you know. Who knows? Maybe he found some miraculous herb that can revive the dead.”

“A miraculous herb?”

Nani, who had a wide range of knowledge, explained when Melmond asked as if he had never heard of it before.

“Yes, they say such an herb exists. It can even make a stopped heart, beat again.”

“Really? Where does it grow?”

At Melmond’s urgent question, Nani opened his mouth as he tried to recall his memory.

“Ah, um…”

“Where?”

“Well, it’s supposed to be in a very rare place. Where was it again?”

The downside of having broad but shallow knowledge became apparent. Melmond felt all his energy drain and pointed outside with his hand.

“Could you just get lost?”

                                                                         ⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖            

Where am I?

Abel lifted his heavy-feeling body and looked around. However, all he could see was a fog so dense it was hard to see an inch ahead. Strangely, there was no fog in the small space where Abel was. It seemed as if the fog was shielding this space like a barrier.

He stared blankly at the fog, trying to recall why he had collapsed.

Ah, come to think of it, after finding out that Karas was the prince, I ran into the forest… Oh no! The prince!

Abel quickly looked around again. It made sense that he was still in the forest, but where was the prince?

Moreover, the light of dawn was already filling the surroundings, piercing through the fog. It was clear that this meant he had been lying in the forest all night. Abel immediately realized the situation.

The prince must have left me because I was a nuisance.

Given that he had been abandoned before when he first met Karas, he felt both familiar and yet saddened by it.

He could have at least covered me with some leaves. He was so kind and cute when he was young.

As the realization of Karas’ identity sank in him again, Abel down under the tree next to him. Quietly, he called out to him.

“Prince.”

Snap.

As if in response to Abel’s call, there was a sound in the fog. Someone emerged from the fog, and it was Karas, who rarely cursed.

“F*ck, that little rat.”

For the first time in his life, Karas missed his target and walked onto the field with a fierce look in his eyes, only to meet someone’s gaze. Clear green eyes looked up at him in surprise. And he even spoke to him.

“Oh?! Your, Your Highness Karas! You didn’t abandon me after all!”

Abel stood up, looking at Karas frozen in place. It was clear that his good nature from his childhood still remained. He still had a pure and kind heart somewhere inside, despite his intimidating appearance. Abel’s heart swelled as if he had heard a promise from a wayward son who had come to his senses. And then, unable to contain his joy, Abel approached Karas and grabbed his hand.