Ren let out a deep breath and smiled through his tear-soaked face.

Good thing you didn’t promise me, brother. You wouldn’t have been able to keep it anyway.

Promises really are... better left unmade.

Still sprawled on the floor, Ren stared at the last sparks fading away, then struggled to push himself upright. His whole body was drenched, and he shivered from the chill. After sitting there motionless for a while, he picked up the piece of paper that had fallen to the floor and stared at it for a long time.

Once he had rested a little, his body almost felt refreshed, as if he had never had an attack at all. But he knew that wouldn’t last long either. Quietly, Ren packed his things. He carefully gathered up the flowerpot he had left by the window and the bundle he had just rummaged through. The things he had bought in the village came into view. They weren’t much. Along with snacks, there were small gifts meant for his brother and Jepeto.

Leave them behind. They’ll just weigh me down. All of it.

Ren placed Luman’s belongings and the things he had bought near Jepeto’s luggage so Jepeto would find them.

Rattle.

After closing the window, Ren walked over to Jepeto’s bed.

He looked down at the quietly sleeping young man and moved his lips.

“Thank you.”

He thought he finally understood Jepeto’s sincerity now, the sincerity of someone who had understood his sickness better than anyone and kept asking if he was all right.

“Ugh.”

What was that?

Something felt as though it were about to come back to him, but it vanished at once, leaving only a headache behind.

“Mmm.” 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Jepeto smacked his lips and shifted in his sleep.

If it were him, he would probably stop Ren. He was kind, so he would do everything he could to bring him safely to the capital. He would make sure he took his medicine on time and tend to the wounds on his chest and shoulder so they wouldn’t get worse.

But even Jepeto wouldn’t know that none of that was necessary for Ren anymore.

Without lingering, Ren turned his back.

He shut the room door, locked it with the key, then shoved the key through the gap beneath the door.

Now that even the fireworks were over, the village was quiet. It was as if there had never been a festival at all, as if everything had vanished like smoke scattering in the air.

Even though his ears still felt muffled with the echoes of cheering.

Ren slowly went down the stairs.

When he reached the first floor, a few drunk people were still there.

For all how silent it had felt, as though time itself had stopped, people were still trickling in one by one.

“This year’s fireworks were incredible. Hic!”

“Whew. Must’ve cost them a pretty penny to buy all that.”

A few eyes turned briefly toward Ren as he came down carrying his luggage, then drifted away again. Travelers leaving in the middle of the night weren’t exactly uncommon.

“Buurp.” After letting out a huge belch, one of the men spoke.

“Whew. Speaking of which, I hear the border region’s been noisy lately?”

“They say they’re searching for something.”

“Hm? Searching for what?”

“How should I know? Personally, I’m betting it’s a beauty.”

“Oh, come on. Since when does His Majesty go chasing pretty faces?”

The conversation was stupid and trivial.

“Heh heh. What man doesn’t like a beauty? Commoner or king, we’re all the same kind of creature below the belt—”

“Good grief! You’re asking for trouble. Keep your voice down! What if someone hears you?”

“In a tiny village like this, who’s gonna hear?”

“Didn’t you see earlier? A whole pack of knights came into this inn—something about Heroes or whatever!”

“Hm?”

The flushed drunk lifted his head and looked around.

“There’s nobody here now.”

“They all came in at dinner. Looks like they’re staying at another inn, but still. I saw them come in here with my own two eyes!”

“What would they be here for? Maybe the rumor that they’re really searching for something is true.”

The men lowered their voices.

“If there really is unrest near the border, maybe they’re looking for some kind of weapon?”

“A weapon? What for? When they’ve got Heroes, what would they need something like that for?”

“Heroes, my ass! Haven’t they already outlived their usefulness? It’s been ages since they swept away all the statues and nonsense too. These days, when you say ‘Hero,’ more people ask, ‘What’s that?’ And for good reason. Don’t they say Heroes die young?”

“So that’s why they’re searching for weapons?”

“Well, what does the kingdom have that’s so special besides Heroes? If not weapons, maybe they’re looking for jewels that can be turned into weapons.”

“Mister, mind if I listen too?”

“Well, look who it is! I thought you said you were leaving today, but you’re still here! Heh, is that a new one?”

The man pointed at the other man’s cloak. Smiling sheepishly, the man spoke.

“I’m just heading out now. But what do you mean the kingdom’s searching for weapons?”

“Ah, I can see why that would interest you. Sit down a second. What I mean is...”

The men’s voices brushed past Ren’s ears in a blur. As the long-haired man with the sword on his back sat down at the table and briefly glanced at Ren on his way out, the man who had been explaining with grave importance and flying spit smacked the back of his hand as if telling him to pay attention.

The busy innkeeper watched Ren’s retreating back and tilted his head.

***

“It’s cold.”

Ren’s words scattered into the empty air.

He hadn’t thought he felt cold lately. Not while traveling through the night, not even while moving around at dawn. But tonight felt especially cold. Maybe it was because there was no one beside him.

Come to think of it, there was no one near the inn.

Neither Geloman, his brother’s fellow Hero, nor Charles, his attendant, was anywhere to be seen.

They had said they would bring him safely to the capital, and yet they didn’t even know he was leaving.

Maybe, somewhere deep down, they had wanted him to disappear like this all along.

Where am I supposed to go?

Ren stopped blankly in front of the inn.

He had nowhere to go, and nowhere he wanted to go.

I actually came out here, and there’s not even a single place for me to go. Pathetic.

“Home...”

He didn’t want to go back home. The old apothecary was there, but that was all. He couldn’t become family. If Ren went back, life would probably turn into what it had been before. A little warmth, a little happiness, and then being alone in the shack again, waiting for his brother to come back someday, never knowing when... a life made of nothing but waiting. Ren knew too {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} much now to endure on that alone.

The illness would keep eating away at him. The candle that had lit his heart with the single hope of waiting for Temar, the flame that had kept the sickness at bay, had already gone out. There was no longer any fire left to light the darkness inside him or drive the illness back. Ren would remember those few happy days, pity himself, and start resenting the fact that he had fallen sick. His heart would rot away like that, and eventually the illness would swallow his life too.

Whoooosh.

A cold wind blew through, making the hem of Ren’s robe flap. The icy air snaking through his oversized sleeves seemed to chill him to the bone. Shivering, Ren hunched in on himself.

Don’t think. Just go wherever your feet take you. Anywhere.

Thinking he had never known having nowhere to go could hurt this much, Ren started walking.

First, he had to get out of this village.

He had no intention of going back the way he had come, so for now Ren decided to walk in the direction of the capital.

As he was leaving the village, armored men appeared in front of him.

Startled without meaning to, Ren clenched the hand hidden inside his robe.

They were knights who had come with Geloman.

What if they recognize me? I don’t want to go back...

Ren’s steps gradually slowed. His lips felt dry, and his breathing began to turn unsteady.

“Even if it’s a large village, it’s small compared to a city or the capital.”

“Well, the population alone is completely different.”

“But do you really think this mission is necessary?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I just mean, at that age, isn’t he capable of coming to the capital on his own? If it’s a privilege granted for the Hero’s sake, of course we have to obey, but still...”

The knights’ voices drew closer and closer.

Forcing his legs to move even as they slowed, Ren ended up passing right by them. One of the knights noticed him, faltered as if to look at him more closely, then simply turned his head away and kept going.

Ren slowly turned to look back.

The knights disappeared around the corner.

“...”

Night had settled over the village, and even the faint bustle left behind after the festival would soon sink away too. Then the village would go back to its usual quiet, peaceful routine.

It would be the same with anything.

Even if someone disappeared, everyday life was not so easily broken.

“Ah. You idiot, Ren.”

A loneliness as empty as the wind, and disappointment left behind like a burn scar.

Had he still been holding on to even a little hope?

Had he dreamed of reuniting with his brother in the capital?

Ren realized there really had been a small hope left in his heart.

When he passed the knights Geloman had brought, why had his feet tensed and hesitated without him realizing it? Why had his steps slowed?

It wasn’t just nerves.

He had wanted them to stop him.

He had run out because he couldn’t stand the pain anymore, but now he had nowhere to go, nowhere he knew, and all he felt was blank confusion. So he had wanted someone—anyone—to catch him and take him along.

Pathetic. Powerless.

So this is what I am. Useless, incapable of doing anything on my own. A burden no one knows what to do with.

Maybe I should’ve clung to my brother. Begged him not to go, begged him to stay with me just this once, said it was my last request.

But there was no way I could’ve kept that up to the very end. And even if I had, brother... the Hero Temar... would still have thrown me away and left in the end.

Ren blankly lifted his head.

The sky was clear without a shred of shame, and the stars glittered as if they might come pouring down.

***

“Sir Kelton!”

The knights saluted the armored man approaching from another direction. Kelton glanced toward where they had turned and spoke.

“What is it?”

“Ah, it’s just that the person who passed by a moment ago caught my eye for some reason.”

“Was there something unusual about him?”

Kelton looked at the knight who had answered. The knight recalled the person he had just passed. A slender build that wasn’t remarkable in the slightest, and a small bundle in his hand, came to mind.

“No, sir. Probably just one of the people leaving now that the festival’s over.”

“Probably.”

The knights looked back one more time, then headed toward their lodging.

“What about Lord Geloman?”

Kelton narrowed his eyes and scanned the area.

“I heard His Highness summoned him. More importantly, Sir Kelton... do we really have to escort Lord Temar’s younger brother ourselves?”

The knight cautiously brought up the conversation they had been having.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Well, even if he’s a minor, he’s not a child. I was just thinking he should be able to make it to the capital on his own. He’s not alone, and it’s not that far. I’m wondering if there’s any need to waste manpower on it.”

“You know one thing and not the next.”

“Sir?”

The knights who had been on the verge of voicing their agreement shut their mouths.