RGS Vol 6 Part 22

At the throat-tearing shout, Truyde’s subordinate glared and turned his head.

“Shut up!”

With those words, he picked up the sword he had dropped in surprise. However, this time, a voice shouted from the other side.

“Don’t harm him! If you do, I won’t come out!”

Paused.

Truyde’s subordinate frowned and turned back towards Abel. Now fully illuminated by the fire, Abel stood just outside the border of the burnt forest. Pointing at the butler and Nani, he made a demand.

“Release them.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. If you don’t come out… Wait, just wait!”

As Abel turned to leave, Truyde’s subordinate, now panicked, shouted, and Abel turned back, repeating the same words.

“Release them safely first.”

Truyde’s subordinate glanced at the butler and Nani, contemplating. The person they needed was Abel. They could pretend to release the two he used as bait and then order the soldiers to capture them again.

“Fine. Release them.”

With a distorted face, Truyde’s subordinate gestured to the soldiers, who then untied the butler and Nani. As soon as they were freed, the butler helped Nani to his feet. Abel, confirming that both of them were standing, spoke again.

“Give them weapons.”

“What? That’s ridiculous, I—fine! Wait!”

Truyde’s subordinate, seeing Abel turning back to the forest, stopped him. He then turned to the soldier with an even deeper scowl.

The quick-witted soldier swiftly handed the weapons to the butler and Nani. As soon as they received them, another demand came.

“Give them food, too.”

“Throw them some bread!”

“Give them some clean outer clothes too.”

“D*mn it, someone give them your outer clothes!”

“Give them gold coins as well.”

“What? Wait! D*mn it. Hey, take this!”

With a distorted face, Truyde’s subordinate pulled a pouch of money from his coat and threw it at Nani. As Nani, bewildered, caught it dazedly, Truyde’s subordinate clenched his teeth and asked Abel.

“Is there anything else you need?”

“Hmm, an accessory for the waist?”

“…Are you just asking for random things?”

“No, I’m not.”

Truyde’s subordinate’s face was already on the verge of exploding, but he forcibly suppressed his anger and turned his gaze away. Normally, to prevent the string from the belt to come undone, a heavy accessory would be attached to the end of it, so he looked around at a nearby soldier.

“You. Remove that accessory from your string….”

Just as he was about to give the order, Abel’s voice interrupted him.

“Hey, that one’s no good. Something else.”

“Don’t be ridiculous! Then come out and choose it yourself! Come out right now!”

When Truyde’s subordinate finally exploded in rage, two soldiers next to him had to hold him back. Abel watched his outburst and bowed his head apologetically

“I’m sorry. Then let’s go with this accessory.”

As he said that, he untied the one that was tied to his waist and threw it toward the front of the butler. Truyde’s subordinate and the soldiers frowned in surprise at his overly polite apology.

Of course, no one was more surprised than the butler and Nani, who had been watching this situation unfold since a while ago. Abel pointed to the object that had fallen in front of the butler, while Truyde’s subordinate remained frozen.

“It’s nothing special, but it’s useful enough, so take it. And once I make sure you safely escape first, I’ll come out.”

He finally mentioned he was going to come out, however, there was someone who stopped him. Nani, with a shocked face, voiced his resentment towards Abel.

“Go back! Hurry and hide in the forest! Coming out here is unthinkable! We told you to only not to think about us and just think about your own safety!”

Nani’s voice, echoing through the air, seemed to envelop Abel, who stood alone. However, Abel just scratched his head and smiled awkwardly.

“No matter how much I think about it, hiding hurts my pride too much.”

⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖

The battlefield.

Especially the one when he fought the king of the last enemy country. The words he heard from Norhox, who had taken the black potion, was simply astonishing.

When on earth did the emperor create another Regas?

An emperor with two Regas’.

It was something that would be hard to believe unless it involved reincarnation. However, this one fact alone seemed to make everything that had happened make sense. It explained why the emperor had ordered to gather around the blond-haired and green-eyed Regas’. He had thought it was merely to provoke him by taking away beautiful young men of his preference, but it wasn’t the case.

The emperor might have been trying to hide the real one among the fakes. In that sense, he had easily agreed to frame Melmond for treason in the library and left Ashler as his bodyguard. Everything was all Karas’ scheme to avoid his eyes.

“You young brat dared to scheme so much.”

The more he thought about it, the more detestable the emperor seemed. Just as Truyde had predicted, the emperor closed his eyes and collapsed as soon as he drank a large amount of the black potion. Though he was still breathing, he wouldn’t wake up even after tomorrow.

Nor the day after that.

The emperor would never wake up.

Even if by some chance he did open his eyes, Truyde planned to slit his throat, so it didn’t matter. He could kill him right now, but he was waiting until tomorrow as a duty of the last remaining loyal subject. After all, he needed to thoroughly mock the emperor who had been so confident about the betting game’s outcome, only to collapse like a fool without being able to use any power.

So now, the emperor was no longer the focus of Truyde’s thoughts. Instead, it was Melmond’s servant. After realizing he was the real Regas, he felt a heat gather below at the mere thought of him.

Would embracing him finally quench the thirst that no one else could satisfy?

Feeling good just with anticipation, Truyde was prepared to wait as long as it took. He had fled into the forest. Even though there was a possibility that he might never come out of there, Truyde wasn’t anxious. Because he had a method no one else knew.

Knock, knock.

With a knock, a soldier entered Truyde’s quarters, where he had stayed in the Palace late at night. Still panting as if he had run all the way, he then reported something that was completely unexpected.

“The one who escaped into the Dragon’s Forest has come out on his own.”

For the first time that day, Truyde revealed a silent smile, baring his teeth.

Yes, finally, everything was falling into place.

⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖

‘There’s no way Sir Ashler could have collapsed.’

Nani, who had initially escaped from the forest to hide, ran back to the forest entrance despite the butler’s attempts to stop him. The butler had even led all Truyde’s soldiers, who were chasing them, to ensure their safety. Only after a long time did the butler emerge from hiding and head towards the library with his trembling legs.

‘Seek help from Sir Ashler. I couldn’t inform His Majesty as I was captured. Be sure to meet His Majesty with Sir Ashler. I will shake off all the soldiers and find out where Lord Abel is being taken.’

How could he seek help from someone who had been lying motionless before he arrived?

The butler told Nani about Ashler being beaten by Truyde’s subordinates, but Nani, instead of being concerned, only pushed the butler’s back, saying it was nothing serious. He said Ashler wasn’t someone who would groan over such a beating.

However, he was beaten so badly he couldn’t help but limp along. As he headed to the library, the butler was filled with worries about Abel.

Where could they have taken the Young Master?

It was too late for them to have taken him outside the palace.

Should he search for his Young Master instead of going to the library like Nani?

Lost in thought, the butler soon found himself where he could see the library, so, he quickly hid behind the wall.

Even if Ashler had woken up, as Nani said, there were soldiers guarding the library, so how could he get in and ask for help?

No, would he even be able to get help?

Despairing thoughts weighed the butler down like chains. After crouching behind the wall for a while, he finally mustered up the courage to rise halfway and move forward again. It was only a few steps, but it was enough. The library’s main entrance was wide open.

Could they have all been captured?

In his shock, the butler ran towards the library, not noticing that there were no soldiers standing guard around the library. To be exact, there were no living soldiers. The corpses of the soldiers, shrouded in darkness, still bled fresh red blood as if they had not been dead for long.

However, even as the butler reached the open library door, he didn’t have time to notice them. Inside the unlit library, the sound of someone’s heavy breathing echoed loudly.

“Hah, haa.”

W-Who?

As the butler stopped walking, unable to go further, a figure whose shadow was faintly visible approached him. Just as the terrified butler was about to flee, a loud noise and flames suddenly lit up inside the library. The butler then saw the mangled corpses scattered on the floor of the library where he had once lived happily just moments ago.

“Where… where is he?”

A cracked voice accompanied by a torch approached the butler. A face so swollen and bloodied that his appearance was unrecognizable opened his mouth once again. Astonished, the butler heard Ashler repeat the same question.

“Where is Abel?”

⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖

Bang!

The door closed forcefully, followed by the sound of it locking from the outside. Abel rubbed his wrists, which had been bound with ropes until just a moment ago, and looked around the ornately decorated room. He could never have imagined ending up here.

The Regas Palace.

Does this mean they know I am the real Regas?

It was already late at night, almost dawn, but the place felt empty and desolate from the moment he entered. It seemed true that all the Regas’ had been driven into the Dragon’s Forest. It seemed that even the servants who were supposed to have greeted him had fled, leaving only Abel and the soldiers who had come to guard him.

Abel’s gaze wandered around the interior until it landed on the large bed situated in the middle of the room. The bed, in a lavishly decorated room, particularly stood out, covered in red. The red curtains and bedding embroidered with gold thread were almost blinding.

To be confined in a bedroom rather than a reception room. Coming to the Regas Palace itself was strange, but seeing this room made it clear. It wasn’t just that the one who captured him intended to possess him. It was an expression of self-assuredness, proclaiming themselves as the emperor.

Gulp.

Swallowing hard, Abel took a deep breath to suppress his fear. In fact, he didn’t have a grand plan. Initially, he intended to use the wooden pendant to uncover the Truyde household’s secrets and use them to blackmail him, but that plan was no longer viable. Thus, he had no choice but to rely only on what he saw in the forest. He only hoped it would pique Truyde’s interest.

Creak.

The soft sound of the door opening echoed like a drum in the room. Before Abel could turn his tense face, a leisurely voice reached him first.

“Tell me. How exactly did you seduce the emperor?”

Though it was the familiar voice of Truyde, the sound echoing through the large room made it seem like someone else. Perhaps because of this, Abel couldn’t immediately turn his tense body and hesitated as he turned around.

“I don’t know.”

Abel tried to respond calmly, making an effort to face the other person. Truyde didn’t seem to expect a perfect answer anyway, as he only twisted the corner of his lips instead of pressing further.

“Well, with that appearance, the emperor must have been intrigued even without your seduction.”

Though he spoke of the emperor, the greedy look in Truyde’s eyes as he stared at Abel sounded as if he was talking about himself. Even with Abel’s black hair, his attractive appearance was captivating enough. Seeing him in person, right before his eyes made his interest turn into heat, and his lower abdomen was already getting hot. If this was the evidence of the curse, it was an astonishingly fitting excitement.

“Still, I thought the emperor couldn’t forget the previous Regas.”

Click, clack.

He walked as he slowly scanned Abel’s entire body.

“You must have something in common with that guy. Did Melmond, who sent you tell you some secrets about him that we didn’t know about?”

Click, clack.

“So, did you deceive the emperor? Saying you’re Abel’s reincarnation.”

As the sound of Truyde’s footsteps echoing inside stopped, Abel swallowed nervously. He looked at Truyde who had stopped nearby and shook his head.

“I didn’t deceive him. You can think whatever you want, but I really have been reincarnated.”

Truyde tilted his head to the side, smiling as if he found it fascinating.

“Sure, it’s your freedom to claim that. After all, surviving the Dragon’s Forest proves that you are the real Regas. Now then, Abel. Why did you come out of there on your own? If you had stayed hidden, you could have bought some time without getting caught.”

“No, I couldn’t have bought any time in there.”

Abel looked into the space for a moment as if thinking, then answered honestly.

“I came out and faced the Duke like this because it’s the only way to stop you, even if just a little.”

Truyde let out a hollow laugh as if he were surprised by the unexpected answer.

Was he a fool or crazy?

“Stop me? Don’t you realize that’s only possible if the odds are in your favor after you’ve stopped me?”

As soon as he asked the question, Truyde immediately let out an exclamation, “Ahh—” Seeing the green eyes calmly staring back at him, he understood the answer.

He was waiting for someone to help him like a fool.

“Interesting. Do you think someone will come to save you if I hold you here for a while? Ashler? His inept subordinates? Or perhaps…”

Trailing off, Truyde’s smile vanished as he spoke coldly.

“The emperor?”

Clack.

Taking a step closer, he reached out and he ran his hand through Abel’s hair. Though his gesture was gentle, his voice was sharp.

“You fool. The emperor will never wake up again. Intoxicated by the black potion, he’s nothing but a dying man, his life on the verge of extinguishing. Do you think that childish idiot, who drank poison on my few words of provocation, will come to save you? A man who can’t even save himself?”

Truyde spat out his words as the hand that grabbed Abel’s hair tightened.

“He can’t save you. Not 12 years ago, and not now.”

Truyde’s grip forced Abel’s head back, but he swallowed his groan. Trying to remain calm, he opened his mouth.

“It doesn’t matter. I didn’t expect anyone to come save me.”

“What?”

Truyde’s grip loosened with the question. Abel lowered his head uncomfortably and took a deep breath.

“I wanted to help the others. To buy them time to escape and gather their strength by delaying the Duke, even if just for a little while.”

“How do you plan to stop me for such a long time? What power do you have…?”

Truyde’s mocking tone faltered as if he had realized something. He released the grip on his hand and took a step back.

“You know the curse of our family. Loving the king’s Regas.”

Truyde turned his gaze away, twisting his lips as if all of his questions had finally been answered. He understood why the emperor had rushed to the library to stop him. To hide Abel from his eyes. Truyde turned his eyes away and reached out his hand. Then he gently stroked Abel’s black hair once again.

“This is dyed.”

“…”

“You tried to deceive my eyes. It’s originally blonde, isn’t it? Hmm?”

With this affectionate question, Truyde’s hand tightened on Abel’s hair. The force of his grip caused Abel’s head to tilt back, and he swallowed a small groan. However, Truyde’s eyes lit even brighter as he saw Abel’s pained expression.

“Tell me. Did you get captured on purpose, believing that I would fall in love with you? Thinking that I would be foolish enough to be captivated by you at first sight. Is that it? Hmm?”

Truyde pulled Abel’s head back further when he didn’t answer. Only then did Abel’s mouth finally open.