For You In The Cage - Chapter 34

Episode 34: Hunting (VII)

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“I will return to the territory soon. Are things ready?”

“Do not worry. We did as instructed.”

“How about the troops near the hunting ground?”

“Roana is in command.”

Although there were the drawbacks of being noisy and chatty, Roana Orcard was an outstanding wizard. She was also one of the few who could wield magic and swords together. She wouldn’t ruin an important operation.

Yulif nodded.

“Don’t slow down until the very end. Go unnoticed.”

“Yes. I will also pass it on to Lord Roana.”

“You may go.”

After his lieutenant greeted him politely, he got on his horse and left.

Yulif pressed his trembling temple and turned towards Canaren.

There were many who participated in the hunt, but no one spoke to or approached Canaren. They just gave off sticky eyes full of curiosity. Like they were spying on a chance to put their hands on her.

The interest that was poured into a woman of the Hwira tribe, who was favored by the emperor and the duke, was an obvious kind.

Among so many people, she was alone. Yulif’s heart pounded as he had left her like that. It was unavoidable, but it shouldn’t have been. So he spoke in the softest voice he could muster.

“Is it boring? If it’s okay, we can even watch the sunset in a quiet place…”

Yulif did not finish his speech.

There was no Canaren.

The watch he had given her was left in the empty seat that she had just been sitting on.

He didn’t tell Canaren, but the watch contained a tracking spell in addition to all sorts of protection spells.

He told her that she should always carry it no matter what, and never throw it away. However, she threw away the watch twice, and eventually, left his side and ran away.

He didn’t want anything else, so please just stay by his side. All he really wanted was that.

He didn’t even dare to ask for love. Neither in his last life nor in this life; she seemed unwilling to grant his request easily.

Yulif picked up the watch and held it tight. His face was frozen colder than a cold surface.

He found the pressed marks on the grass without difficulty, and followed the traces to chase Canaren.

*******

“The Duke of Rubius?”

“The last time I saw him, he was talking over there…”

“If it’s the Duke, he just walked into the woods alone a little while ago. He seemed to be looking for something.”

“Alone?”

Deltinus threw a dagger and fell into thought.

Canaren was nowhere to be seen, and Yulif disappeared alone. Like someone looking for something.

Soon his eyes flashed with an ominous glint mixed with madness. His eyes lit up, bright red in the light of the sunset that dyed the sky red.

“It’s time for some real hunting.”

“But, Your Majesty, night hunting is too dangerous.”

“Blood had splattered all over, beasts would be more ferocious. It would be better to reopen tomorrow morning.”

“Ah, it’s okay. The thing I want to catch isn’t something who gets agitated by the smell of animal blood.”

“Still, the visibility is narrow at night, so it’s hard to react if you’re attacked…”

“No need to worry about his fatal weakness.”

Deltinus licked his dry lips. There was a faint taste of blood in his mouth.

He remembered the location of a small lake in the woods he had passed while hunting wolves. Although he lost the wolf, there would be no greater joy than when he catches the one he has wanted to catch all his life.

“There is one weakness that only I know.”

*******

“Put out your wings. Right now.”

In the hunting ground, the Hwira woman who was thrown into the tent of Deltinus trembled on the floor. Deltinus poured a drink into his glass, not even giving the slightest bit of attention to her.

After a while, a Hwira woman opened her mouth. Her voice cracked in extreme fear.

“Spare me, save me… Please spare my life…!”

“Did I ever say I was going to kill you? I hate stupid people who can’t understand my words. I’ll say it one more time. Take out your wings and show it to me.”

Deltinus’ imperial language was fluent and articulate, but it was too fast for a terrified woman to understand. She barely understood the words, ‘Put out your wings.’

The woman took out her wings that had been hurriedly hidden and spread them out. A few white feathers flew out of her wings, fluttering in the air.

Deltinus tilted his glass with one hand and grabbed a feather with the other.

“Hmm.”

He approached the woman who was sitting on the floor. Her face and body looked pretty good, but that was it.

The woman had a pair of wings, and luckily it was pure white. Deltinus roughly estimated its size by eyeballing it. It’s a little small, but he was not going to look at it properly anyway.

He licked his tongue as he looked at the woman from her head to her toes. Her looks, voice, wings, none of which was better than Canaren.

Even so, it was really strange. She also had wings from the same Hwira clan, and she was even terrified, so why couldn’t he feel the endless lust that sprang up when he looked at Canaren for this woman?

Deltinus put aside his anguish about his own tastes. Then he grabbed the woman’s brown hair, curled it with one hand, and lifted her up.

“Ahh!”

“I have a question for you.”

“What, what, say anything! I’ll answer anything I know!”

“What would happen if one from the Hwira tribe didn’t have wings? Die?”

“Oh, no. We wouldn’t die. But if I can’t fly, the things I can do are greatly reduced…”

“Then it will be fine. You will not die.”

Deltinus climbed on top of her and squeezed her shoulders to subdue her. A dagger with special magic cut through her delicate skin and cut her bones.

“…Aaaaah!”

The woman let out her screams and struggled in pain. She tried to get out somehow, raising her nails and scratching the floor, but Deltinus’s touch was merciless.

By the time her right wing was ripped off, the woman was half-fainted.

Deltinus looked at her torn off wings.

Leaving blood stains would be more effective in destroying Yulif’s reason.

Deltinus, who had a fishier smile than the smell of blood filling the tent, wiped his bloody hands and the dagger handle on a clean cloth.

“Ugh… uh… ack!”

“Yes, yes. The scream is quite audible.”

“Aaaah! Stop it, please!”

“It’s all for you. It’s better to not have both than to have one useless. Isn’t it?”

Deltinus chuckled as he cut off the woman’s left wing. The eerie sound of her bones snapping was drowned out by Deltinus’ laughter.

The woman lost her mind as she screamed at her until her throat was sore.

Deltinus looked at the pair of torn wings with satisfaction and drank the remaining alcohol from the glass at once.

A very good bait for hunting was completed.

He tied her wings with string, carried them on his shoulders, and left the tent. Drops of blood dripped from her wings, leaving red marks on the road.

–

6. Save Me

‘Where the hell did you go, Canaren?’

Yulif stopped in place to catch his breath. He wandered around, scattering his magic in all directions, and soon reached the limit. But it wasn’t just the use of magical powers that caused his heart to ache.

Both his body and his soul could not accept her absence. They had been in the same room for less than a month, and he took it for granted that she was by his side.

If only Canaren had taken his watch, he would have found her by now.

Magic was not as powerful as people thought. There were many things that were impossible even for Yulif, who had surpassed humans. The wizard looked omnipotent because of the amount of time and preparation spent for that moment.

He gave up trying to resent Canaren for throwing away the watch in a cold way out of frustration.

Canaren was not at fault. It was all his fault.

If he had explained it properly to her. If only he had explained what he was thinking and persuaded her to go along with the plans he had.

If he did, Canaren wouldn’t have been afraid of him. Would she understand him? Would she have been willing to give up her freedom and remain with him? And she…

He vowed to change, but he was still standing still. It was funny to see him floundering in fear.

Yulif placed a hand on his chest, which was tightening painfully, and closed his eyes. A bitter smile crept up on his lips.

‘If I could, I would have done it sooner.’

He committed an unforgivable sin. Not being able to tell Canaren anything was one of the many punishments for that crime. The price he must bear alone.

But there were no regrets. No matter how many times he went back, he would make the same choice.

The pain subsided slightly. Yulif slowly opened his eyes. A blue light flashed in his eyes. It was a characteristic that came out when mana was released.

Soon, a foreign energy caught his sight. It’s hard to be sure, but at least it was certain that it wasn’t a forest beast. The energy was felt a little deeper inside.

Yulif headed towards it without hesitation.