“I’m fine. Thanks to you.”
“...”
Ren answered briefly. Then he lifted the eyes he had lowered as if in thought and smiled faintly. It was a smile that vanished as fast as lightning. But it was enough to shake Peruan’s soul as if he had been struck by it. A smile that flashed brightly enough to split the night sky, leaving a long afterimage behind.
“I don’t think I should ever joke, even by accident, from now on.”
His voice was tightly hoarse.
“Why?”
Ren was not curious, but he asked out of politeness.
“...It feels as if every joke has turned into the ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) truth. Though of course, I was sincere.”
Ren raised one eyebrow.
“What are you trying to say?”
“What I am trying to say is...”
Peruan narrowed his eyes. Yes. There was something he wanted to say to Ren.
“It seems I have been caught completely in the trap that is you.”
“...”
Ren made a face like he had bitten into an astringent persimmon. That expression slowly changed, and soon became pitying.
Peruan did not care what kind of gaze it was. As long as Ren’s eyes stayed on him.
Ren ignored Peruan, whose smiles came far too easily, and watched the stage.
“Son. I am your father—!”
“Father. Do not forgive me. All of this is for the prosperity of our house and this village.”
The ringing voices sounded as if they were shouting right beside them.
People covered in the blood of their families faced one another.
The silver blades were so drenched in blood that their original color could no longer be seen. Blood dripped down the swords, adding to the tension. It looked like real blood.
Swords struck down toward each other without the slightest hesitation. Clang, clang! The blades flashed as they clashed, and in the end, one sword pierced a human body.
The victor was the son.
The father had been killed by the son for whom he had slaughtered his family and tried to send fleeing to another village.
The son proudly gathered the blood of his father, the last surviving member of his family, into a bucket.
Carrying that bucket, he met the last survivor of another village. The two exchanged buckets, and the blood filling them...
“Ugh.”
Peruan stroked Ren’s back.
Watching them drink with their mouths and upper bodies smeared in blood was hard to bear, even as a play.
Ren frowned, but he did not look away.
That’s Blood Festival? What kind of script is that?
He did not want to insult the effort that had gone into writing it, but it was truly disgusting.
Family doing that to family...
Remembering Coco saying she had no family she could trust made him feel filthy.
Are all nobles like that?
Ren glared at Peruan for no real reason, then turned his head when Peruan winked at him.
‘When the play ends...’
The slave auction would start again.
Could he find Cedric?
He glared at the stage intently. Then a suspicious light entered his eyes.
“What is that...?”
“Is something wrong? My yo—”
Ughhh!
Ren shuddered and glared at Peruan.
He had forgotten what he had even been thinking.
“Stop calling me yours! My ears are going to grow calluses!”
The way he kept calling him “mine,” “mine” in that damp voice was so greasy it made him want to die. And he hadn’t even eaten anything!
“Then, my dear? My dear sounds softer! Ah, I call Tom that, so from now on, I will use ‘my dear’ only for you—no, for my dear.”
Good heavens. He said he hated “mine,” and now it was “my dear”? That was even worse. He was only going to use it for him?! Spare him!
Ren’s scowling face should not have been visible beneath the hood, but perhaps sensing his dislike, the man pretended to ponder deeply. A faint smile flickered at his lips and vanished.
Watching Ren’s reaction, Peruan opened his mouth cautiously.
“Then what should I call you? My master? Little master?”
“Can you just not call me anything?”
Ren asked with a serious face. He even added that he would be truly grateful if Peruan did that.
Peruan looked terribly wounded. His eyes grew even wetter than before. As if he might burst into tears at any moment.
“How could I do that? I will likely spend my entire life yearning for you and calling you.”
“...”
“Please. Allow me to call you, my dear.”
His face was so serious he looked ready to drop to his knees.
Ah, he already had...
Consistently insane.
Ren wriggled his hand. In it were the gifts from the old apothecary and Coco, but the firm sensation of Peruan holding his hand still seemed to linger there. His hand had been smooth, without a single callus or scar, yet it had been firm... dependable. Thanks to that, Ren’s nails had survived today... and thanks to that, they had found his belongings and freed him from the pain.
‘Hasn’t he helped me more than enough?’
Even if there was some ulterior motive mixed in.
It should be all right to tell him his name, at least.
He was different from someone like Mine. At least... he did not hide that he was crazy!
Whatever. Who cares! Let it happen! It didn’t seem like this argument was going to end anyway!
“Ren.”
“Ren?”
“If you’re going to call me something, call me by my name. Don’t call me by weird, greasy names. I hate hearing them.”
But why was he embarrassed over something like this? Ren’s voice grew smaller and smaller.
“Ren...”
Peruan murmured Ren’s name as if savoring it.
His wavering gaze settled into stillness. In the purple eyes visible through his lashes, there was clear desire and rapture that could not be hidden no matter how he tried.
Ren, whose eyes were hidden by the hood, could not see it.
He was only embarrassed by the heated voice.
It was just. A name.
“Ren... What a truly good name. It sounds so lovely to hear and to say. Ren. I’ll call you Ren. Thank you for telling me your name. It is an honor.”
As Peruan continued speaking, slowly shaking his head with an expression of deep emotion, he slid Ren’s hood back before Ren could avoid it and smiled while meeting his eyes. The smile, fresh and sparkling, had something as clear as autumn sunlight, and Ren lost his words for a moment.
‘He’s crazy with clear eyes.’
Ren sensed it. He had already been feeling it every moment, but Peruan was definitely out of his mind somewhere!
“Ah, more importantly. What startled you earlier, Ren?”
“I don’t know. I forgot.”
“Oh dear. It was because of me, wasn’t it? What should I do? I’m truly sorry. I suppose we have no choice but to eat some delicious dessert once this is over, Ren. It cannot be helped.”
‘What is he even talking about?’
Ren let Peruan’s words pass with a dubious expression.
He considered asking whether there would even be time to eat dessert once this was over, then let it go.
What was the point of snapping at him for no reason?
Ren remembered Coco telling him to live a little more smoothly.
But seriously, what had he been looking at?
“Prosperity, flourishing, and abundance upon this land—!”
The two men covered in blood threw their buckets to the ground, shattering them, then raised both hands high into the sky.
Even though they wore masks, emotion came through so clearly in their voices and movements that it gave him chills. Their possessed appearance was frightening.
Could someone try doing theater as a hobby?
As Ren thought that blankly, a glimmer caught his eye.
What he had seen in passing earlier had been this same small cluster of light.
‘What is that?’
Ren leaned forward because he wanted to see the light more closely. Watching him, Peruan quietly took his hand. Since this was the hand he had already held tightly before, Ren clasped it back without resistance. Peruan forced strength into the corners of his mouth before they could collapse.
Ren, on the other hand, was too focused on the masked person to care whether Peruan held his hand or not.
‘It looks like something is spreading...’
Something unknown, yet shaped like letters, seemed to be spreading over the mask.
As he stared at it, trying to interpret those letters, people poured onto the stage.
Those holding the banners of each family were dragging out children whose hands had been tied.
“What...?”
Among them was a familiar head of red hair.
“Cedric? Cedric—!”
When Ren sprang to his feet and shouted, eyes focused on him.
“Ced...! Mm!”
“Shh. Ren, I respect and love you, but for now, follow my lead. I’m truly sorry for covering your mouth. But Ren, if you draw attention, you and your friend will only be in danger.”
Peruan persuaded him in a low voice.
Ren stared at the stage with wide-open eyes.
Had he seen wrong? Had he seen properly? Ren persistently searched for the red hair. His heart pounded. His head spun from the mixture of relief and worry.
He had not seen wrong.
Among those dragged out was Cedric. Cedric, who had taken care of him!
Cedric looked around. Had he heard Ren’s shout? Cedric whipped his head around, and their eyes seemed to meet. Cedric moved his lips, saying something, but Ren could not understand it properly.
Ren struggled, telling him to let go, but even if Peruan had a slender build, he was an adult man. Ren had no way to overpower that grip.
Then the masks began to glow brightly. It was different from Luman’s light. If Luman’s light was warm and gentle, the light coming from those masks was... somehow evil. Goosebumps rose along his back, and a bad premonition came over him. The fine hairs on his body stood on end, and his hair bristled.
‘Something’s wrong!’
The light of the letters stretching from the masks spread in a circle and seemed to grow brighter and brighter.
Ren lifted his head. Peruan held him close, tense all over.
Do you know? Or can you not see it?!
Let go. Let me go!
The more Ren thrashed, the stronger the arms around him became. The worry in Peruan’s eyes was not fake, but Ren felt as if he was going insane.
Look at that! Why is everyone so calm?!
Seriously, is that really just part of the play too?!
The lights stretching out from the masks gathered into one radiance at the center. The ball of light, about the size of a child’s fist, grew larger and larger.
Ren’s struggling intensified.
“Ren. Ren, calm down. You said Cedric, yes? I will save everyone captured here, including him. Even if I must offer my life. So calm down. If you step forward now, Ren, you will get hurt. I cannot overlook that.”
“Mmm!”
That’s not what I mean! I’m not trying to run down onto the stage—!
Those things are strange!
Shrrk. Thud.
Those playing the heads of the families drew their swords. Scabbards rolled across the stage floor. The blades flashed viciously beneath the dark magic lamps. The light reflected off the edges stung his eyes.
What came next happened in an instant.
Fshhk! Paaaah!
Blood. Blood sprayed like a fountain. Surging blood and tearing screams. The person whose artery had been cut fell face-first to the floor without even managing to scream, and those waiting their turn screamed and fainted.
Blood and urine and screams ran wild across the stage.
The people dragged out were struck down by swords one after another, and the stage floor grew soaked with blood.
The actions continued.
A silent hush filled the audience. The servants carrying alcohol and the wealthy nobles watching all closed their mouths.
The one who broke the silence was Peruan.
“Ren. I will cover your eyes. The play is truly realistic...”
Peruan, who had been speaking, closed his mouth. He had finally realized something was wrong too.
Stab. Stab. Silent swords and pouring blood.
The slaves were being butchered like livestock.
This was not a play. Those were real swords, and that was real blood.
A scene of slaughter had opened before them.
