My advancing foot sank deep into the mud.

    I put my hand onto a tree trunk to support my tired body. When Leonhard looked back, I nodded to let him know that I was alright. 

    He warned us beforehand that the road will be narrow and difficult.

    Thanks to the dead leaves that littered the forest, it was somewhat easier to traverse. However, it was still no easy task because of the high moisture in the soil. Furthermore, the path wasn't used often and was typically blocked by numerous branches and vines. If Leonhard wasn't the one in front paving the path for us, it would have been nearly impossible to even advance forward. 

    Perhaps since not much sunlight came through the foliage, the heat inside the forest was no worse than what we had expected. The air was humid and it stickily wrapped around us. It was like drowning in lukewarm water. Even if I took a deep breath, it was still suffocating. Often times, the discomfort multiplied when noisy insects flew near my ears.

    A drop of sweat dripped down from my forehead and was about to enter my eye, so I wiped it away with the back of my hand. 

    Since coming to the Kingdom of Wind I had been touring around with the intention to get used to travelling. But intention had stayed as mere 'intention.' It seems that I still haven't grown up past being a naive kid in the end.

    I spat out my self-loathing thoughts with a deep sigh. 

    I consider myself quite strong, but if I'm like this, how is that skinny Nacht doing? 

    Looking back over my shoulder, I caught a glimpse of Nacht's hair.

    His eyes were fixed downwards as he silently walked. Nacht wasn't making any sounds and his eyes were completely hollow. Unless my mind was playing tricks on me, I'd say his face was as white as a sheet as well. 

“Nacht, are you alright?” 

    He looked up to me dead in the eye once I called out to him.

    ‘Can't you tell whether I'm alright just by looking at the state I'm in? Don't talk to me and make me waste my strength.'

    Nacht never opened his mouth but his eyes said it all. After being glared at like that, I gave up and faced forward again. 

    I was about to walk alongside him, but I stopped myself. Maybe I was afraid of hurting his feelings.

    Nacht, who had always complained about the weather being too hot the whole trip, had remained silent since we left, possibly because he understood the responsibility he had brought upon himself.

    He was trying his hardest not to be a burden, and there was nothing I could do to help without seeming pretentious. 

    As I trotted along quietly, Leonhard suddenly halted his feet.

    He also signalled for us to stop and bowed his head before going ahead by himself before coming back a few minutes later. 

“It's the rendezvous point but there are no guards present.” 

    As Leonhard said, we walked a bit further on to join up with the main road, but there was no sign of anyone around. It seemed the guards were only placed near the forest entrance.

    Do they just don't care, or are they hiding something? Or perhaps they don't want to go near the forest as much as possible.

    There's a high chance it's the latter. There were no signs of any villagers anywhere within our vicinity. It was eerily empty. But it was clear there was something in this forest. 

    There was not a single soul to be found no matter how far we journeyed.

    The lack of footprints on the muddy road meant that no one had pa.s.sed through here in the last few days. After some time, we reached an opening and Leonhard came to a stop. 

“Let's take a break here,” Leonhard announced after a quick survey of the area.

    Following his example, I sat on a thick tree trunk that fell, but Nacht shook his head. 

“If I sit down now, somehow, I'm scared I won't be able to stand back up again.” 

    Leonhard didn't try to force him to sit but instead handed him a canteen. Nacht heavily gulped down the water before letting out a deep sigh.

    Nacht shut his eyes and faced the clouds for a few seconds. Once he finished recuperating, he finally opened his eyes again.

“Sir Olsen, may I ask you something?” 

“Yes, as long as I can help.” 

“Are there any chances of a landslide in this area? I know I'm being ignorant of my own country, but I'd like to hear your thoughts on this.” 

“‘No' is what I'd like to say, but the possibility remains low.” Said Leonhard. 

    We had pa.s.sed through the area with the highest risk of a landslide long ago, apparently. It was the place where the path narrowed right near a big slope, but at our current whereabouts, the ground was almost flat. Despite the occasional old broken tree or some thick roots on our path, it is still possible to travel through. If we suppose the same applies to the path ahead, then… 

“What Philipp said about the road being blocked by a landslide was probably a lie, huh.” Nacht nodded and muttered to himself.

    What was speculation up until now had turned into clear conviction. 

“The story that they're hiding the sick is making more sense by the second.” Nacht laughed.

    However, that laugh showed anything but happiness. Deep wrinkles gathered between his brows as his tired eyes burned with rage. 

“I can understand that isolating the sick is a necessary measure to prevent the disease from spreading. But what is the meaning of this?! Throwing the people into the forest when they won't even bother to bring them supplies! Are they waiting for them to die off?! Discarding human life like throwing away used papers, is that what a person with power should be doing?!” 

    Nacht slammed his fist into the tree, taking his anger out on it. A bird on the treetop flew away as the branch swayed. 

“Nacht, please calm down.” 

    Although there's n.o.body around, it's still not a good idea to make any loud noises.

    As I stood, Nacht replied, “I'm sorry.” No, I'm the one that should apologise. I knew full well that he cared much for his people, but to not even let him express his anger…

“Throwing a tantrum changes absolutely nothing. I should understand that much. It seems I'm still an immature brat, after all.” 

    Nacht sneered at himself.

    But Leonhard shook his head in refusal. 

“The extent of your wrath just shows how much you love the people. As you are now, you will surely become a good ruler.” 

“I'm hardly anything that wonderful.” 

    His anger for his citizens made it seem as if he was the one who had been wronged instead. Even I thought that was a truly rare quality to have. When the people talked about him, I could see their pride and affection pouring out. Nacht, who loved the people and was equally loved by them, would definitely make a good king. It's a pity that he himself didn't feel that way, though. 

“I couldn't even control my own feelings, and instead, I acted like a whiny brat… I envy you two for being able to keep calm all the time.” 

    As he looked at us with eyes of respect and envy, Leonhard simply returned a puzzled gaze. His long, sharp eyes blinked a few times in confusion.

    What a peculiar reaction. I thought Leonhard of all people would be able to conjure up a smooth response. Moving us all with his utmost humility, something along the lines of 'Your words are wasted on me,'… or so I thought.

    Betraying my expectations, Leonhard lowered his brows and floated a wry smile. 

“I am not that respectable of a man worthy enough to receive those words. Of course, I do my best to keep calm, but there are also times when I do get upset.” 

“You too?” 

    Leonhard nodded as a reply to the stunned Nacht. At first, I thought it was just him being humble again, but judging from his pained expression, it didn't seem like it was a lie.

    However, it was still hard to believe. The Leonhard that I knew always kept his cool all the time. What kind of situation could lead this man to lose his composure, I wonder? 

“It's the same for anyone who cares for someone important to them.” 

    Leonhard let slip a soft mutter. 

    Come to think of it, he said that he had sighed in front of the king. Was that related to what he was saying just now? 

    Nacht was a little happy to see that the 'perfect Leonhard' was more similar to him than he had originally thought, but my mind was struck with something else. Somehow, my heart shrunk at his expression the moment he said 'someone important.' It was surprising for this man to refer to one specific person as ‘important' at all. I'm sure he's-

    I lightly shook my head to disperse the unsettling feelings in my heart. 

TN: Donate me money. All proceedings go towards a dakimakura. 

EN1: lmao Nacht's ideal man is Leon…also, Nacht is a good boy. He's sweet (in his own way). Also, I completely understood Johan and Nacht this chapter, they were literally dying as they were going up the mountain. That's me right there.

EN2: I'm taking bets now on whether or not Johan will go full yandere by the end of TO. Also Nacht, ily. Such a compa.s.sionate soul~ *sniff*

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