Chapter 202
A gentle, youthful face glanced up at me. Perhaps Margon had been telling the truth when he said Milo was shy, because just meeting my eyes for a moment made his cheeks flush.
I wanted to talk with him a little more, but the situation wouldn’t allow it. I looked up at the still-quiet main building and spoke to Margon.
“Margon, take Milo and run to the forest first. We’ll follow later.”
“What? What are you talking about, Lord Ceryl!”
Margon immediately raised his voice and moved closer to me. I heard the crackle of flames flaring from Varen, so I quickly shoved Margon’s forehead away.
After warning him to lower his voice, I gave Margon the order again.
“This place is about to become dangerous. Varen and I still have something left to do. So get out first.”
“Dangerous? Then that’s all the more reason I should stay by your side and protect you.”
At my rebuke, Margon whispered, but there was nothing he could do about the natural boom of his voice. I lifted my index finger to my lips, signaling for him to be quiet.
Margon stubbornly insisted on staying beside me, his emotions plain on his face. But I had already made my decision.
If we were going to be surrounded according to the future a Dravergh had seen, a battle would definitely break out. If I couldn’t fight as an equal force beside Varen, then at the very least, I couldn’t be a burden around his ankles.
The battle that had broken out at the rebel base not long ago. If I hadn’t been caught by the bug back then, things would have been much easier for Varen.
The same went for what happened at sea yesterday. In order to protect the boat we were on, Varen had struggled alone while being swept up in the storm. Even though, if he’d been alone, he could have escaped easily.
After experiencing similar things several times, I reached one conclusion.
“The fewer people Varen has to protect, the better it is for him. So both of you, go to the forest.”
“The only one I protect is you, Ceryl.”
Varen, who had been listening silently with his arms crossed, suddenly cut in. He tilted his head crookedly, looking as if he truly couldn’t understand.
Margon, used to Varen’s reactions, only stared at me with a stubborn expression. On the other hand, Milo, terrified, glanced around while watching the adults’ faces.
Margon was a swordsman capable of protecting himself, so he was a companion who could move with us even in danger.
But Milo was someone who absolutely had to be protected. I couldn’t send him into the forest alone, and I couldn’t move while taking a child with me.
I had planned to evacuate the two of them first and then abduct Phiren. But as time slipped away in this unnecessary argument, this plan, too, was beginning to go wrong.
Frustrated, I shoved Margon’s shoulder roughly and said,
“Please, Margon. It’s dangerous for Milo. Take the kid and go first.”
“The person this house is most dangerous for is you, Lord Ceryl. And you’re telling me to run away first?”
“Just listen to me. I don’t have time to explain at length—”
I couldn’t finish speaking and stopped dead.
I whipped my head around to look at Varen. He stood with his arms crossed, staring toward the forest with a bored expression.
“Ceryl, it’s already too late.”
“...This is driving me insane.”
Until just moments ago, I hadn’t sensed anything, but in an instant, I felt the presence of dozens of people.
Damn it. I kept getting caught by this blasted stealth magic. Cold sweat formed automatically at the killing intent I sensed so close by.
I hurried to Varen’s side and pulled Milo behind my back. Then I swallowed dryly and stared at the dark forest, where there was still no visible movement.
At my changed reaction, Margon tensed as well. He drew his longsword from his waist and guarded every direction.
Milo, dragged out in the middle of the night without even knowing what was happening, trembled. I reached behind me and patted his arm.
Then, without taking my eyes off the forest, I whispered low to Varen.
“Varen, please, Milo too...”
“I’ll protect him. Don’t worry.”
At the answer, completely different from what I’d expected, I glanced up at Varen. He continued without the slightest change in expression.
“He’s the blond one’s younger sibling, isn’t he?”
“...Really? You’re really going to protect him because he’s Leobin’s younger sibling?”
“As if.”
At my blank question, Varen let out a deep sigh, as if I were pathetic. Even so, his voice was filled with tenderness.
“You were sad for a long time because of the blond one.”
“.......”
“If his younger sibling dies, you’ll be sad for a long time again.”
His words made me feel strangely embarrassed. I had heard him say he loved me dozens of times, but this felt different.
But there was no time to enjoy that sweetness. The night wind passed through the forest, teasing the leaves, and carried the threadlike voices of the humans hiding there.
They weren’t sounds they had spoken aloud, but formless emotions and intentions were drawn inside my head.
Instinctively, I grabbed Varen’s hand. If I could, I wanted to send him behind me too.
“Varen, those humans are aiming for you.”
“I see.”
There were roughly thirty soldiers armed and still hidden. They were strengthening their resolve to secure the dragon that had finally fallen into their hands, no matter what.
I ground my teeth in tension and muttered,
“Damn it. How did they know a dragon came here?”
“Who knows. The mage of this estate must be skilled too.”
“Haa... Varen, should we fly away even now? Can you do it?”
“I can. But there’s a human you want to abduct, isn’t there?”
“Does that matter? You’re in danger.”
What I felt from the humans wasn’t simple hostility. A clear murderous intent vibrated from the forest.
Phiren had spent his whole life aiming for a Dravergh’s heart. There was no way he would peacefully let go of a dragon who had walked into his house on his own.
The self-loathing that I had, in the end, led Varen into a trap tightened my grip on his hand.
Then Varen tilted his head and looked straight at me.
“Ceryl, why exactly do you not trust me?”
Frustration clouded Varen’s face, as if asking whether I really thought he couldn’t subdue a few humans.
The anxiety I felt wasn’t because I distrusted Varen. My heart was burning because I was afraid he might be put in danger because of me.
Before I could explain that, I sensed the humans move. Varen and I turned our heads toward the forest at the same time.
I heard grass snapping under human feet and sand crunching. It was a noise no ordinary hearing would have picked up.
I could feel dozens of people killing their presence as they tightened the encirclement. The moment I thought they were a highly trained group, vague silhouettes emerged from the darkness.
Gray shirts and the symbols engraved on their left forearms.
At the sight that provoked my trauma, I grabbed my own hair without realizing it.
“Oh, fuck, seriously! Why are dragon hunters here!”
The sight of the dragon hunters attacking Varen was still vivid.
The harpoon embedded in the wing of the enormous golden dragon, and Varen being bound with ropes and dragged down to the ground.
Just the appearance of the dragon hunters made my blood run cold. And when I saw the dozens of crossbows aimed at us, my mind went blank.
They were targeting Varen, but the only one who could respond to their attack was Varen himself.
What could I do to help? I hit my head again and again as it tried to turn stupid, then looked up at Varen urgently.
“Varen, you can kill them all!”
“You told me not to kill them.”
“That was before I knew they were dragon hunters. Uh, if you want to set a fire, you can!”
All I could do was pull Varen’s safety pin.
Compared to Varen being put in danger because of his promise to me, the deaths of people whose names and faces I didn’t know were a hundred, a thousand times better.
After worrying for nothing, I decisively released the dragon’s shackles. But Varen only glanced down at me with a somehow sullen expression.
“Ceryl, you don’t trust me. You think I can’t subdue them.”
“What are you talking about in this situation?”
“To be honest, subduing them without killing them is troublesome. But...”
While Varen was showing that useless pride, the sound of crossbows being drawn taut rang out.
Then around thirty dragon hunters fired their crossbows at once. There was no signal, but they moved as one body and began the attack.
A harsh metallic sound cutting through the wind rushed in from every direction. It was so fast there wasn’t even time to scream.
Instinctively, I squeezed my eyes shut and hunched my neck. Without realizing it, I pressed close behind Varen’s back, the safest place there was.
“.......”
But the dozens of crossbow bolts never reached their target. They stopped dead in midair while cutting across the empty space, then fell to the ground moments later with a clatter.
At the scene that unfolded in only a few seconds, I looked around in a daze. Margon and Milo, apparently startled by the sudden attack as well, were pressed close behind Varen’s back too.
“How laughable. Trying to catch a Dravergh with toys like that.”
Varen spoke in a voice full of contempt. He stood with relaxed confidence, arms crossed, his already broad shoulders spread even wider.
Then he lifted his chin as high as he could, showing off his confidence. At that angle, I almost wondered if he was going to start looking at the night sky.