HHLP Chapter 14

Chapter 14. Time for Confession

 

It had long been said that the forest was a place where beings other than humans gather.

Witches. Demons. Werewolves. Such wicked creatures.

The reason why people never ventured deep into the forest beyond the village was precisely because of these dangers.

Though they never appeared in the bright light of day, their existence was passed down from mouth to mouth, along with the occasional evidence said to be their traces.

Ladish did not fully believe in these legends, yet he did not think such tales could arise from nothing either.

So, before speaking, he signaled his companions and tensed his body, ready to draw his sword at any moment.

He fully expected that, once its identity was exposed, the monster before him would pounce immediately.

However, what came instead was a voice dripping with exasperation.

“Stop talking nonsense and follow me.”

Then, without hesitation, the woman turned her back and began walking away.

Ladish stood frozen in place, momentarily stunned. The sudden release of tension made one of his arms tingle.

Before he knew it, the pack of wolves that had been surrounding them had also disappeared.

“What are you doing?”

She was already more than twenty paces ahead when she turned back and shouted.

“My Lord, what should we do?”

His men, having unknowingly formed a tight circle around him, now looked at Ladish, waiting for his decision.

They looked exhausted from their relentless search and the ominous trek through the forest at night.

“…Ah, well, for now, we follow her.”

After all, it was just one woman. Even if she led them straight into a band of thieves, they had knights among them—handling such enemies would not be a problem.

Prioritizing his weary men’s rest, Ladish decided to follow the mysterious woman.

They walked for a long while through the dense forest. Trees stretched endlessly around them, and finding an open space suitable for resting seemed impossible.

‘Where is she leading us?’

Unease crept into him as he continued to follow only the sight of her back.

His men needed a clearing and a source of water. Though they had walked for quite some time, the forest remained thick with towering trees.

Perhaps sensing his growing doubt, the woman ahead finally spoke.

“I’ll take you to the village.”

It was a relief. They had no intention of continuing the search through the night, and at this point, Ladish doubted that the prince was even in this forest.

Still, just to confirm, he asked, “Do you live in this forest?”

“Yeah.”

Her casual response caught him off guard, but since he was still unsure whether she was even human, he let it slide.

“Have you seen any strangers in the forest recently?”

“There have been several.”

She spoke as if it were a common occurrence.

“Have you seen someone with blonde hair among them?”

“Blonde?”

The woman suddenly halted and turned to face him.

Ladish’s hopes lifted at her reaction, and he eagerly began to describe further, grasping at straws.

“Yes, golden yellow hair, blue eyes… He’s about this tall.”

He gestured with his hand to indicate a height. However, as soon as he did, she lost interest and turned away again.

“No idea.”

“…Ah.”

‘Another dead end.’

A sigh of resignation escaped him, and his steps felt heavier.

A knight who failed to protect his lord carried the weight of that failure in his every movement.

At that moment—

“Ar?”

A voice he knew all too well rang out.

“Why are you here?”

“I was worried when you didn’t return for so long…”

“I told you it’s dangerous out here.”

The woman hurried toward the speaker.

Ladish barely registered their conversation. He was frozen in place, his head slowly lifting as realization set in.

“Your Highness!”

 

***

 

Leon stared at his cousin, who stood before him.

The golden eyes praised by artists gleamed brighter than ever as Ladish poured out his emotions, expressing both his relief and the struggles he had endured searching for him.

Only after he had finished his outpouring and regained his composure did he ask the question Leon had been dreading.

“Your Highness, why are you here…? If we had known you were in the royal domain next to the Viscount’s lands, we would have come immediately to fetch you.”

His ever-loyal cousin now tilted his head in confusion, puzzled as to why no message had been sent.

Leon had no excuse.

Truthfully, ending up in Ar’s forest had been a complete accident.

He had come to the Viscount’s territory under his sister’s orders, hoping to persuade the nobleman.

When Viscount Silium invited him on a hunt, Leon had accepted, intending to use the opportunity to discuss matters with him.

However, from the very start, the hunt had felt suspicious. His attendants, who had accompanied him all the way to the estate, did not appear in the hunting grounds that morning.

Then, midway through the forest, the Viscount suddenly remembered some ‘urgent matter’ and hurried back to his manor.

Leon had tolerated these obvious schemes only because he wished to relay his sister’s message to the Viscount. But with the man gone, there was no point in staying.

‘So the Viscount had already abandoned neutrality.’

Leon decided he would report this to his sister and was preparing to leave when the Viscount’s knights hastily tried to stop him.

“Y-Your Highness! Wouldn’t you like to see a white wolf? A massive one was spotted recently!”

“Yes! It’s said to be as big as a bear!”

The knights tried desperately to distract him.

Leon’s mother, the Queen, was the eldest daughter of the House of Lavere, whose sigil was the wolf. She had always adored wolves.

A white wolf, though? Such a rare sight, typically only found in the far north. Even so, he had no interest in their obvious attempt to stall him.

As he turned to leave, the knights became even more desperate. Their leader subtly signaled the others, seemingly ready to take more drastic measures.

At that moment…

“There! Over there!”

One of them gasped, pointing beyond the underbrush.

Yellow eyes gleamed at them from the darkness.

“A wolf!”

“And it’s actually white!”

“Amazing… It’s enormous!”

Even the knights, who had just been boasting about a ‘massive white wolf,’ were stunned.

They had never expected such a creature to actually exist in the area.

As the group stood in shock, the white wolf turned away, uninterested in them, and began to leave.

And before anyone could stop him…

Leon chased after it.

He was not even sure why. He had never been particularly fond of hunting.

Yet, at that moment, it felt as if something beyond his control was pulling him forward.

The Viscount’s knights desperately chased the Prince.

Riding through the rough mountain paths was no easy task, and those who were not skilled in horsemanship tripped over tree roots and fell.

Many soldiers had already been left far behind, having lost their horses along the way.

By the time they crossed the mountain, only a few knights remained by Leon’s side. They gasped for breath, barely managing to catch up with the prince, who had momentarily halted his horse.

From the beginning, their orders from the viscount had been to lure the prince into a prepared pitfall while he was engrossed in hunting, ensuring he suffered an injury.

If fortune favored them and he ended up crippled, it would be a lifelong disgrace.

The viscount intended to justify the incident by claiming the prince had recklessly pursued dangerous prey and injured himself out of youthful folly.

A pitfall in the forest was nothing unusual, and as long as they could avoid being directly implicated in harming a royal, the noble viscount would not face severe consequences.

The risk was small compared to the sweet reward of success. The first prince had promised the viscount a duchy. Of course, he did not entirely trust the words of a man who had yet to claim the throne.

But he trusted the person behind him.

Meanwhile, the viscount’s knights found themselves in a dilemma. Unlike the viscount’s domain, where they had meticulously memorized the locations of traps, this forest was unfamiliar. They had no clear way to execute their plan.

The lead knight made a hasty decision.

Already burdened with the weight of harming a noble-born prince, and now unsettled by the unforeseen circumstances, he chose to act quickly. He quietly signaled his subordinate,

‘On the count of three, strike the prince’s horse.’

All they needed was an ‘accident’ severe enough to cripple the prince. A fall from a horse was a plausible hunting mishap.

His subordinate tightened his grip on a dagger, ready to throw it at the horse’s leg the moment the signal was given.

‘One.’

The prince, oblivious to the plotting behind him, continued leading the chase.

‘Two.’

The knight swallowed nervously, eyes locked on the target.

“Three. Now!”

But at that very moment, the prince vanished.

“What the—?”

“He’s gone!”

The knights frantically circled the area, searching for any sign of him.

“He was right there! What happened?”

“We were watching him the whole time—he disappeared right off his horse!”

“Stay focused! He couldn’t have gone far. Spread out and search the area!”

As the knights rushed off in confusion, a shadow dropped silently from the trees.

Brushing leaves from his golden hair, Leon looked down at the thin cord wrapped around his wrist.

“Mother always protects me.”

What he held in his hand was an artifact woven from an elf’s hair, braided with a special knot.

Elves, born of the forest, possessed an uncanny ability to blend into nature.

The remarkable thing was that even after death, parts of their bodies retained some of their magical properties.

A braid of an elf’s hair granted the wearer the ability to vanish in the forest. A tongue of an elf could silence all sounds within its reach.

Leon’s grandmother had once captured a hunter notorious for hunting elves for such artifacts. In return for her mercy in releasing the captured elves, they gifted her several enchanted items.

Among them, the queen had passed down a few to Leon.

Tightening the artifact around his wrist once more, he quietly followed the knights, determined to uncover their true intentions.

And that was when he met his fate.

From the beginning, Leon had never intended to stay in the cottage for so long.

After recklessly chasing the white wolf deep into the forest, he had lost his bearings. Unable to determine where he was, he had planned to seek the help of a local hunter who knew the land well.

At first, his plan had been simple: find out which noble’s land this forest belonged to.

If the territory was held by an enemy faction, he would conceal his presence and secretly send a coded message to his men for a rescue mission.

If it was friendly, he would reveal himself, seek aid from the local lord, and return home.

Later, he learned that this land was part of his own estate. That revelation had made things even simpler—he could have just traveled to the nearest village, entered his own castle, and used his resources to return safely.

But Leon didn’t do any of that.

Why?

Was it because she was the first person to ever approach him with such sincerity?

Or was it because of those enchanting eyes, filled with warmth and trust?

Perhaps it was the sweet voice he had longed to hear all his life.

No one had ever looked at him with such unguarded affection before.

Having grown up in a court where every word was calculated and every gaze masked an ulterior motive, her pure honesty was devastatingly irresistible.

Anyone who received her love would be powerless against it.

To him, everything about her was special.

When he was with Ar, it felt as if he had never truly seen or heard the world before.

Walking through the forest with her was like discovering nature for the first time.

Reading by her side made words feel newly magical.

Sharing a meal with her turned food into an unexpected delight.

Dancing with her made him appreciate the beauty of art itself.

And when she touched him…

The world was intoxicatingly sweet.

At first, he had planned to stay just for one more day.

Then, one day became another.

Then, a few more.

Then, just until his men found him.

Each time, he justified it to himself.

But eventually, the day came when he could no longer avoid the truth.

“Ar, I have something to tell you.”