Chapter 18

It was cold but it was warm enough to warm up his frozen hands. Ian watched the steam scattering like a haze in the air, and then lowered his gaze.

The small hand holding the cup was covered with wounds.

He was staring at the swollen wrist, which was shaking so much that even the little water left in the cup was poured.

“………”

When Ian turned his head silently, his sparkling eyes turned towards him as if he had been waiting. The original him, which looked quite cute, was nowhere near as the face with bruises did not look good even with empty words. One cheek was swollen, the corner of the eye was torn, and overall, it was a mess, but he still smiled. He looked like a fool, but it seemed like he was asking if it was okay.

There’s nothing to not be okay.

This wasn’t even that much of an injury.

It’s not a matter of life or death, there was no cut anywhere, it was just a matter that his hands were cold. Ian didn’t understand what was amazing about it. His smiling face, his limp leg, and sneaking back to his opponent was all pathetic and silly.

Whether he knew Ian’s thoughts or not, Shyu was excited to the fullest. Since there were no more words telling him to go, he smiled helplessly with the spirit of a puppy shaking his tail. He suddenly looked down at the cup he was holding.

This was the amount he could secretly bring out.

It was water that knights could use as much as they wanted, but if it got into Turk’s ear, they’d get in trouble again.

However, he didn’t think all of his hands had warmed up, so Shyu, who had been thinking hard, soon lowered his head and blew his breath.

His pale fingertips flinched at the feeling of tickling, but Shyu, who had already made up his mind, clenched his lips diligently.

Phoo.

[T/N: This the sound of the little boy blowing on Ian’s fingers.]

This couldn’t be warmed by something like this. Still, he blew his breath hard over his hand, and Ian watched for a while.

I tried not to get entangled with this type of person as much as possible.

**Because keeping on being deceived and losing out is the way….

**To die the fastest.

[**T/N: These two sentences are kinda hard to translate, and are kinda hard to make meaningful, even though I tried what I could.]

“Hehe.”

The child with his raised head smiled like a fool. He hurried to get up. Holding the cup skillfully and beckoning around seemed to mean to wait here.

The child, who hesitated several times, limped and ran near the doorway, where he had disappeared earlier. Perhaps he thought it was too hot for Ian so he was getting water again.

Ian, who had been looking at the completely disappeared back for some time, turned his head. Not far away, the clothes the child brought this morning were scattered. If he takes it like this, he’ll get beaten up again today. He may not be able to walk tomorrow.

“……..”

It was still none of his business.

Ian reached the same conclusion a few days ago, moved silently and bowed his back.

The clothes that fell on the floor were picked up one by one, and the wooden board of the child that drowned in the fountain was also taken out and fixed.

After a while, Shyu rushed over and was confused when he saw his cleanly rinsed laundry.

Shyu, who was blinking his eyes, raised his head. Ian finished his duty for the day. Without looking at this side, he was organizing the surroundings.

“Ah, wu.”

[T/N: As he cannot speak, what he is saying are coming out as just some sounds.]

Shyu, who hurriedly approached his side as he was going to go away, as usual he held out his rumbling glass. Only then did Ian turn his head and look at him silently, and he moved his mouth eagerly.

‘Laundry, thank you for doing it for me.’

He spoke with his mouth open as wide as possible, but he didn’t if he understood. It was around the time when Ian, who looked at him quietly without nodding or ignoring him, was considered strange.

Shoot!

With a loud sound, the water quickly soared into the air.

The quiet fountain began to move.

The water once again soared high in front of the eyes of Ian and Shyu, who turned their heads as if they were unexpectedly attacked. The cloudy steam is scattered over the cold air. When he stretched out his arms and put his fingertips on them, the warm temperature soaked his skin.

“Wah! Wa!”

Shyu, who saw this for the first time in his life, opened his eyes wide and exclaimed. According to Ian, the stream of water was changing its shape from time to time rather than just spurting out. It was quite good to see.

He thought it was broken because it was left unmaintained.

The warm water pouring over the white snowy garden was just like a hot spring.

Unlike Ian, who was a little far away because his body melted just by looking at it, Shyu went closer. What’s interesting was that the child, who stretched out his arms and floundered,

Splash!

Falling into the fountain with this sound was probably predictable.

“Ugh!”

If it was the usual ice water, it would have caused a heart attack. However, the child fell into the warm water and shook his head like a wet puppy.

Silly. 

He smiled broadly when their eyes met, probably because he couldn’t see the shape of Ian’s mouth.

The time for dinner was approaching.

“My my, I’m seeing this again after 20 years.”

Ed burst into laughter at the spectacular view that was clearly seen through the window. He could see people gathering one by one at the eastern entrance who noticed the unexpected event. It was a sight that had never been seen since the death of the previous Grand Duke. It was surprising to those who had just entered the mansion.

Ed turned his head around in the noisy atmosphere.

Logan, who was still looking through the window, was actually distracted by something else.

It had already been an hour. Ed, who was following the gaze of his master who was looking out of the window without even moving, was soon able to find the figure of someone he had expected.

It was an office located right in front of the eastern fountain. The distance was quite far, so it was blurry, but he could barely tell the difference because he knew Ian was present at the fountain every single day for the entire week.

However, Logan was carefully scrutinizing it as if appreciating what was in front of him. The vertically divided pupils narrowed down, reminiscent of a different act.

“What about Schwartz?”

Despite the sudden name of the knight general, Ed opened his mouth as if he had been waiting.

“He’ll recover and return to the unit tomorrow. I was worried that the skin would continue to necrosis due to the symptoms of infection, but I was glad that holy water worked well.”

Schwartz, who seriously injured his arm during the last expedition, has been absent from all events so far because his wound did not heal. The skin, which began necrosis as if it were infected with something, poured out blood and pain every day, and even the doctor in the mansion sweated quite a bit.

Fortunately, the holy water was a good fit. Thanks to Logan, who approved the use, Schwartz was able to soak his arms in its precious holy water every day. Even the nobles of the royal capital found it difficult to obtain. Schwartz was reluctant to use it at first, but also shut his mouth when he saw that his wound had improved noticeably.

“Tell him to stop by after dinner.”

At this time, Logan’s intention to find him could be seen. Instead of answering by bowing his head slightly, Ed decided to ask a presumptuous question.

“Is it because of Ian?”

At those words, his gaze, which hadn’t yet got away from the window, moved slowly. The old butler showed no sign of trembling, even though he was face to face with Logan whose expression was as low as an ebb.

Edward Hilter was one of the few people in this mansion that Logan did not kill. It wasn’t just because he was born and raised here as a child and spent all his moments together.

If death could be put off just by spending time together, all those who passed the three positions would have been alive.

“At most, it can be fixed, but it would be meaningless.”

The sunset spread across Logan’s cheek, gently tilting his head. It was a very picturesque scene in harmony with the light mixed with soft and scarlet colours.

On that day, it was not he who treated Ian’s hands and feet, who collapsed and moved to the mansion. Red, blue, torn wounds were common and severe. However, what is certain was that the situation was not so urgent that Logan had to resort to his own efforts.

Ed was determined to give it meaning.

“What do you mean?”

Not interested in what the old butler was thinking inside, Logan tapped the window with his fingers. Ed, who was looking around wondering what he was talking about, soon noticed that the subject was not an object but a person.

“Ah, he’s a kid brought from the forest by the Knights a few years ago. It looked like he was abandoned in the village because he couldn’t speak. At first, he belonged to the knights, but…. It’s about remediation.”

“……….”

In fact, it wasn’t even collected enough, but no backstory was added. Ed opened his mouth as if he had just remembered what he was thinking. It was because he remembered Ailee’s words that he encountered before entering the office.

“The people in the underground prison…”

“Kill them.”

It wasn’t even before the question was over that Logan cut off the conversation with a monotonous tone in an instant. He didn’t persist, as it didn’t matter for everything was already expected.

Opportunities shine brightest when they are unique.

If you don’t open your mouth, you don’t have to open it forever.

Logan, who was staring down at the child crawling out of the fountain, soon turned to the endless black forest.

As if he had heard something.

“I need a hound.”

“……..”

“It should smell and hear well. I hope you don’t exaggerate or play tricks.”

Nothing was found in this expedition. Logan’s eyes slowly fell down as he tapped on the window once more, saying he* was getting tricky. He noticed that his* presence was like a ghost, so he needed a dog faster than him*.

[*T/N: Logan was most probably talking about Ian.]

“I don’t think I’ll exaggerate…”

Ian’s black hair was most vivid on the clear white snowfield. Logan followed Ian, who left earlier than usual, after finishing all his work.

Then how about this?

Watching at his back disappearing out the front door, the low murmur he uttered was close to a monologue. Logan didn’t know why that man rushed bare-footed to protect him. The way he grabbed the knife and the exact timing of aiming for the vital point was all neat, making it obvious that he was well trained.

Logan was sure he* can smell good too. There was no doubt that he heard it well, seeing that he noticed the slaughter approaching quietly and killed him like a miracle. The bright yellow eyes shone as if they were choosing high-quality objects. Then…

[*T/N: In the whole above paragraph Logan is talking about Ian. Probably, comparing Ian to a Hound or a hunting dog(ㆁωㆁ)]

“I wonder to what extent the hair can grow.”

[T/N: Don’t quite understand, but I am guessing it’s a proverb meaning, Logan wants to see to what extent Ian can go or like how much capability does Ian have. He is probably comparing Ian with growing hair.]

Logan was curious about that now.

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