Chapter 85
July, when the sun blazed.
The sunlight beating down on his skin was harsh, but the wind blowing from the deepest part of the canyon was cool.
Sweat beads on Aidan’s forehead, heated from riding so fiercely just moments ago, were scattered by the breeze.
Behind him, Heikinen chased after, panting.
“Your Highness. You are going too fast.”
Heikinen was Aidan’s right arm; when going out to the battlefield, he always stood a step behind the Grand Duke Aidan.
No matter how rough the mountainous terrain, no matter how fierce the battle, he moved like Aidan’s shadow—but today, he could hardly catch up.
The Grand Duke glanced coldly, his eyes barely tolerating Heikinen who clung to him.
The wavy hair that had slightly hid his straight forehead had been roughly cut by Aidan himself with a sharp knife some time ago, saying it interfered with his vision.
The style was coarse and rugged, yet it suited Aidan’s sculpted face.
No—rather, it made his features even more distinct.
Below the short hair, his black eyes shone bright, his nose arched straight, his lips pressed firmly closed; he was like a marble statue fashioned by a master sculptor into an image of Apollo.
Even I, who have served him so closely for so long, am occasionally entranced by his appearance.
While Heikinen tried to steady his breathing, lost in unnecessary thoughts, Aidan opened his mouth.
“Do you not want to return home quickly?”
His brows drew together. In the voice that asked so, there lay a deep shadow.
“It’s already been a month.”
The Duchy of Sief had spent the past year in calm and peace.
All wars had ended, and the surrounding nations either were swallowed up or made peace treaties with Sief due to Sief’s overwhelming military power.
There was no more venturing out to battle.
But Aidan never let his guard down.
He knew that the reason peace could be maintained now was because Sief’s national power was strong—and that if he relaxed even slightly, war could break out again at any time.
So for a month he had moved along Sief’s borders, training the personal guard, while also inspecting the garrisoned armies.
Naturally, it was exhausting.
Because most of Sief’s borders lay in rugged mountainous areas, they could not prepare proper meals or sleeping arrangements, and the training was grueling.
Even Heikinen, who was familiar with the battlefield, sometimes uttered sounds of pain.
But for Aidan to say he wanted to return to the capital, to the palace, so soon was unexpected.
Heikinen’s eyes widened in surprise.
Of course, Heikinen, and all the guards, longed for life in the comfort of home, but the man before him was not merely human.
It was Aidan.
Aidan Dubois.
A man called a tyrant by surrounding nations, rumored to catch wolves with his bare hands and eat their raw flesh.
Of course, Heikinen, who had watched him most closely from long ago, knew those rumors were false.
Yet he had seen things beyond those rumors.
Aidan never wavered even in harsh environments or terrifying extremes; if there was no bed, he would lay his cloak on hard earth and sleep; if a fallen tree blocked their path, he would lift it with both arms and throw it aside, a display of monstrous strength.
Because of that, he always thought training was inconsequential.
No—at times, Heikinen suspected Aidan perhaps even derived some pleasure from such painful circumstances; he was ever composed, tranquil.
But today, there was impatience etched on the Grand Duke’s face.
Ordinarily Heikinen never questioned the Duke’s words, but today he felt he wanted to say something.
“I—don’t particularly care. There’s no one waiting for me even if I return.”
Heikinen had lost his parents early, and was not married yet.
He wanted nothing more than to lie down in his own comfortable bed, but that was all.
“The Grand Duke looks impatient today.”
Aidan’s lips twitched slightly.
“You speak too much.”
Heikinen quickly added, “I’m sorry.”
I don’t know by what courage he said such things.
He braced himself for a reprimand, but Aidan seemed to consider even the time to issue one too precious:
“Let’s return quickly.”
Discussion
0 CommentsReactions
No comments yet.