Dry Drowning

Chapter 32

The world where Ian lived before was an era where he was exposed to media everywhere without having to look for it. It was quite an amazing experience that people’s favorite cliche, regardless of East and West, unfolded in front of his eyes.

Of course, it wasn’t because it was his first time. Humans are always exposed to unreasonable situations in their lives. In particular, where Ian was, it seemed to imply all of it. There were many people who took lessons from the violence without cause, the environment where one had to trample on others to survive, and that at the very least, good intentions turn into malice.

So, what surprised Ian was the selection of this location.

He was always on the side of the perpetrator, not the side of aid.

He had seen people begging for help, but it was very rare to be asked to help. It was only natural that he didn’t even pay attention to that kind of person in the first place. He never thought there was justification for violence, but he never felt angry about it either. Being beaten and being hit has become as natural as breathing to him, so there could not be a proper moral sense.

In the first place, is this a situation that I should be in?

If you fix the man who spat out frivolous lines, rescue the broken Shyu, and set an example so that it never happened again, it might be quite similar to an ending that people want.

“…….”

Unfortunately, however, Ian had no intention of doing so.

They know each other’s names, and they’ve seen each other often, but that was no reason to help. In the first place, he couldn’t figure out what he would get by cutting the man’s head. Originally, Ian didn’t kill anyone except for the ones he was commissioned to do. Even if he was in a situation where he’s being beaten.

He had to kill someone again anyway. He just didn’t want to increase the number even when he went out, but he didn’t have any beliefs.

To standby is another sin, but the word is not reachable to those whose hands are already red. Bang! Even though he placed a bullet in someone’s forehead, he couldn’t tell whether it was a person or an animal that he was shooting. He felt like he was paralyzed in the corner of his head all the time. In the end, he couldn’t tell the difference between the living and dead.

My brother looked at me and said nothing.

[T/N: For additional information, it is said “Hyung” so that means the brother is the older brother of Ian.]

He may have been contemplating whether to throw me away or not.

“What are you doing? You would save him nicely, won’t you, prince?”

Ian escaped from the past, waking up with Kyle’s voice that approached him. Looking ahead at the gaze still focused on him, Shyu and his eyes met.

Now he even laughs because his hair, which is held tightly, does not hurt. It seemed that his hobby was to show off when he was not good enough.

He’s not crying. He’s smiling. Why should I help?

And I am not even a prince in the first place.

Ian didn’t even know where the real prince had gone. They said he stopped breathing in the carriage and came back to life, so maybe he was already dead by then.

Even though Kyle encouraged him from the side, Ian eventually turned his head without taking any action. Some showed disappointment as they rechecked the luggage that had been fixed on Bella’s back as if they had seen nothing.

“I thought we’d see them fight.”

“I know.”

There were still many knights who did not believe that Ian had killed a person. When they dispersed with a face of disappointment that they had missed, a fun sight, the man, who had been arguing the most, also looked as if he was losing steam.

In fact, Ian had never participated in the training even though he has been at the training ground for more than a month. He joined the Knights because he liked the horses, and he sat elegantly next to them, who sweated all day long, trained, jotting down with a pen.

Seriously, can he hold a sword properly with that wrist that looks like it would break if you tap it?

He was already like a white and fine-looking beauty. If it wasn’t for the fountain incident, there was an elegant atmosphere to believe even the fact that he didn’t know how to put water on his hands.

So, they can’t imagine him fighting while rolling on the dirt floor at all.

“You have no guts.”

The man, who was looking at Ian with his tongue clenched, lowered his gaze. Unlike before, he couldn’t see Shyu’s expression because he was lowering his head. That’s how he chased him around like that. Since the first day, if an opportunity arises, Shyu would often disappear somewhere. At first, that man thought Shyu confined himself somewhere as usual, but soon he heard rumors that he was clinging to that Rox guy.

It was news that could never be heard nicely in the ears of a man from the north.

It was Turk’s daily routine to hit Shyu when he was bored, so he beat him whenever he stood out. He warned him to not find someone to rely on, but the guy, who showed tenacity at the strangest places, didn’t care. The thought that he was running to Ian’s place again, made his blood pressure rise. He had a knack for whipping when it was not enough to hold his breath.

But look at that.

He does turn a blind eye when necessary.

[T/N: Talking about Ian most probably.]

Cowardice was the ethnicity of the Rox. Now they could see the setting of fire to the village and slaughtering numerous imperial people by asking help from Hyer.

[T/N: Probably, the people of Rox were cowardly people, as we have read before that Rox people take care of themselves very much with delicacy. And maybe they asked help from Hyer, for the expedition most probably. But it resulted in setting fire to the village, slaughtering numerous imperial people.]

He was thick-skinned. Everyone poured out their anger, saying it was ridiculous. Of course, they believed that he would refuse immediately, but contrary to their thought, Grand Duke Hyer accepted the offer without much consideration.

It was ridiculous. Although the knights could not dare protest, the people of the Northern Empire, who still remember the day vividly, expressed great antipathy to the Grand Duke’s decision. Of course, they couldn’t express it directly as they were afraid that it would stop the expedition….

[T/N: So maybe, this expedition is very important for everyone in the North, that’s why they were scared it would stop the expedition.]

“Darnit.”

He remembered that moment again, and pushed his gripped blond hair roughly. The small body fell helplessly onto the floor. Although it was slow, the one who wakes up quickly like a roly poly is somehow still lying down.

[T/N: Shyu probably used to get up as soon as he fell down, but this time he was still lying on the floor, and didn’t get up as quickly as before.]

Well, he must have been very disappointed as he pretended not to know.

[T/N: I don’t know who’s disappointment is being talked about here as there is no name mentioned, but I think they are talking about Shyu. Shyu was probably disappointed that Ian pretended not to know him, and was probably heartbroken, so he didn’t get up as quickly as before.]

The man who kicked the jerky pouch in front of him walked towards his horse as a sign to get a hold of himself.

And with Schwartz and Claude, who appeared shortly afterwards, the chaotic atmosphere was corrected.

“The weather sure is nice today.”

Schwartz opened his mouth as he looked towards the knights forming a line. Some burst into laughter as if they had heard something very funny from him.

What’s funny about the great weather?

Ian, who was standing at the front, turned his head curiously. He soon agreed. Well, there’s plenty of reasons. Living is not fun here, so everything could be funny or it could be a popular humor code here.

“Everyone knows what day it is. We’ll be back in three days, or maybe a few weeks. I’m sure each of you prepared thoroughly.”

“Yes!”

“All right, Claude, explain the route.”

When Schwartz, who smiled coolly, winked, Claude, who was standing one step behind, stepped forward as if he was waiting. As he lifted the large scroll he was holding high, the leather strap was released and a map with several marks appeared.

….It’s all forest?!

Even when Ian saw it from the window, he thought there was no end to the trees, but the forest marked on the map was much wider than expected. This place was not so narrow either, but the mansion in the middle was marked almost like a dot.

“The expedition will be heading straight north. We’ll split the search group into five, and we’re going further than usual. I’m sure you all remember that the last expedition yielded nothing.”

The one marked with a red line looked like a moving line. Ian, who could see the map more closely because he was in front of him, nodded while listening to Claude’s explanation. It was worth spending weeks on the expedition.

If we go straight north, we can reach the end…

“…..?”

Come to think of it, what is this?

Moving his gaze to the edge of the map, Ian soon noticed something strange. It was because he found a fairly thick black line encircling the entire forest.

He thought it was simply a sign of the entire forest, but it was a little different from that. Slowly following the mark, Ian finally found the head of the snake at the top.

He couldn’t figure out why the snake appeared here, so he looked into it a little more closely. As soon as Ian realized that what the open-mouthed snake was biting was his own tail, he understood that the thick black line surrounding the entire forest was the snake’s torso.

[T/N: So basically it denotes that there is a REALLY large snake encircling the WHOLE forest. That’s scary… I hate snakes… (•‿•)]

“…. Until then, Yubel, you’re in charge. And there’s also one person left.”

Claude, who was organizing the search team, paused for a moment after explaining the rest of the route without hesitation. Ian, who was distracted by the map, looked up at the surroundings that became quiet for a moment.

Everyone is looking this way.

He didn’t know why they were looking at him like this again, so he kept his mouth shut, but the answer came from somewhere else.

“Is there anything to worry about?”

It was a voice that they heard quite often now. As they took a step back reflexively, they saw Logan standing next to Ian.

“The Duke shall be with me.”

ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ

T/N: Sorry for so many T/N and late updates. •́ ‿ ,•̀ I got even busier after my exams ended when I thought I would be more free…(´；ω；｀) And also… I feel bad for Shyu…ಥ‿ಥ

And for those who haven’t see the cute chibi merchandise of Dry Drowning, here it is ( ꈍᴗꈍ)