For You In The Cage

Episode 41: Save Me (VII)

Canaren knew it when Yulif talked about ‘that person’. Affectionate and earnest eyes, the trembling in his voice that could not be completely covered up by bluntness, and the effort he made to learn the language to communicate with that person.

‘Oh, I see. I forgot for a while. Why is Yulif protecting me from the emperor? Why is he willing to take on the hassle?’

Everything was for that person. Not for her.

She touched the meaning behind the words of Yulif that he couldn’t make her happy, but could make her unhappy.

Yulif knew.

It was not fundamentally for Canaren, so he knew that Canaren couldn’t be happy.

How cruel. Canaren knew that, even if Roana didn’t say it.

“Uh…… Did I go too far? I’m sorry. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen the Lord like this…… I guess I’m too excited. I apologize.”

Roana looked at Canaren’s rapidly darkening face. Canaren shook her head helplessly and rubbed her arms with the foam.

“Don’t put your feelings on me.”

Why did those words come to mind? Canaren didn’t even know why she felt sad.

‘I’d rather be ashamed.’

She bit her lips out of habit. Like a bubble that washed away cleanly, she thought, all emotions should be washed away.

*******

It had been about an hour since Roana came out of the tent.

Canaren’s face, which had been despondent since the end of her bath, showed no sign of opening up. Roana was fidgety the whole time; she felt like if she touched Canaren, Canaren would burst into tears.

Canaren ate about half a bowl of watery soup and fell asleep like a dead person. She didn’t cry because she didn’t even have the strength to cry. It was fortunate for Roana.

If Canaren had cried, Roana would have died at the hands of Yulif. And in a very miserable state.

“Ah, what did I do wrong…?”

“Mistake?”

“Gah!!!!”

At the sound of his voice in the darkness, Roana grabbed her chest.

Yulif, who had naturally melted into the darkness, was staring at her. She couldn’t see him, but she could feel his sharp gaze piercing into her naked eyes.

“Would it be better if I died of a heart attack?”

“What about Canaren?”

“Are you sure it doesn’t matter that your subordinate almost died?”

“Don’t make me ask three times. What about Canaren?”

“She fell asleep. She ate about half a bowl of soup.”

“She should have eaten more.”

“She didn’t look very well. If I had recommended more, she would have pretended. She’s not very good at saying no.”

‘If you’re worried about that,you should feed her directly.’

While answering sincerely, Roana grumbled to herself.

Yulif was speechless. It was an ambiguous response whether it was positive or negative.

Not good. Roana’s intuition exclaimed; she had worked under him for a long time. It told her that she should get out of here quickly.

“If you don’t have any more orders, I’ll get going……”

“You left something out of the report.”

“Haha! I have no idea what the Lord is talking about!”

“Mistake.”

He heard it all. It’s trouble.

Cold sweat ran down her back. Roana furiously rolled her mind and eyes.

She didn’t want to die yet. There were many things she wanted to achieve as a wizard, she had never had a proper relationship, and she had a mountain of food she hadn’t yet eaten. Although she might not be as good as her superiors, she had been called a genius since she was young, and she did not want to die miserably in her early twenties from rolling over.

However, no matter how hard she thought about it, there was no way out.

The biggest problem was that she didn’t even know what the mistake was. She was sure the lady didn’t feel bad at first…….

“I’ll be honest with you, so please don’t be angry. Of course, you can’t kill me either.”

“I’ll listen to it for now.

“That is… I don’t know either.”

One of Yulif’s eyebrows twitched. Roana added hastily for her flickering life.

“It’s not an excuse, it’s true! By the time she was taking a bath, she seemed to be in a good mood, but she suddenly became sad. I asked a few times and she only shook her head. What do you have to say to that, huh!”

“There must be a reason why she suddenly became depressed. Think of it.”

“So I don’t know that… Ha. I really want to know too. What mistake have I made?”

Roana facepalmed after hitting her chest. She lowered her hand as she pondered over her words to Canaren.

“If…”

Roana’s swaying eyes turned to Yulif.

“Did I hurt her feelings because I spoke ill of the lord so openly? I said, ‘He’s fine on the outside but his personality is weird.’”

Yulif’s brow furrowed. Oh, that wasn’t it? Then…

“Because I cursed the lord, saying he’ll die screaming?”

“Screaming death?”

“Or because he’s someone who will live hard and die alone until the end of the world…?”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

His head was throbbing. When dealing with Roana, he always met with this. Yulif, if possible, didn’t want to have a long conversation with Roana.

His hand was pressed against his temples to subdue his headache as Roana cautiously tried to say something.

“If not…”

“Stop. I don’t need to hear any more.”

“You were the one who asked first.”

“Because I never thought we would have such a conversation. And all your guesses are wrong.”

“Yes? Why? Don’t you think it was reasonable in its own way?”

“The premise was wrong. Canaren and I are not like that.”

‘What is this dull lord talking about now?’

Roana looked at Yulif with such eyes. It was like looking at trash.

Yulif said with a face asking if he should explain this.

“It’s not like you think.”

“Then what is the relationship?”

The question that came straight back was quite sharp.

Well. What is their relationship? He never seriously thought about it. He only cared about protecting Canaren and not hurting her. He wondered how he could build her a perfect future.

The time given to him was not long. Even he was tight-lipped about what he had to do.

The biggest reason was that Yulif was not confident about the future he envisioned. So, the current relationship didn’t mean much. It was wiser to solve the problems that arise than to try to define a relationship that would not last.

After all, it’s only a fleeting relationship. It was a relationship that would fade and be forgotten as time passes.

Like the childhood that Canaren had forgotten.

“You said you wanted to escort Canaren.” 

So Yulif changed the topic. Roana expressed her displeasure by squinting her eyes, but in the end she couldn’t beat Yulif.

“I remember. I also thought the lord ate my words.”

“Do it.”

“Really?”

Yulif nodded his head. After all, if he leaves the Imperial Palace and goes back to his territory, he would need people attached to her. He had a lot of work to do when he returned to his territory. It would be difficult to be alone with Canaren. Roana was in many ways better suited than him.

And above all else.

“She was not afraid. That is enough.”

“Um.”

Roana was truly astounded and her nose was stuffed.

Whether it snowed or rained or the sun rose, he only worried about Canaren. Yet he’s saying they’re not in a relationship?

‘You don’t have any relationship with Canaren even though you’re so concerned and interested?’

It was news that would make everyone who knew Yulif fall backwards.

“If there’s nothing more, I’ll leave.”

“Who is the lord?”

Yulif sighed. ‘Don’t bother me, get lost.’ There seemed to be a hallucination.

Roana greeted roughly and glanced behind her as she went to her own abode. She saw a black shadow standing tall like a sentry at the entrance to the tent.

She was dumbfounded again.

“If that’s not the case, all the people in this world who are like that are dead.”

Roana rubbed her mouth.

‘Even Miss Canaren didn’t seem to dislike Yulif… But what do I know.’

She left the unanswered questions behind. When she escorted Canaren, it was something she would naturally come to know.

The first night at the hunting grounds passed.

*******

The scheduled hunting was three days.

The imperial nobles tried to please Deltinus by encouraging him to schedule a little more generously because it was a hunt after a long time. Deltinus likes to hunt, so they must have thought he would be pleased if they said that.

But Yulif was sure that Deltinus wouldn’t extend the schedule.

The end of the bet promised by the secret oath of the blue snake was approaching. Deltinus would not win the bet. He pretended to accept it on the surface and must have tried all sorts of ways to take Canaren from behind.

In that sense, for Deltinus, the hunting ground was an inappropriate place to end a bet. Away from the Imperial Palace, the farther away from the capital, the less the emperor’s influence.

The reason that Deltinus was able to deal with Yulif was the power and oath of the absolute majority. It was difficult for him to completely subdue Yulif even with that. So, surely, Deltinus will try to end the bet in the Imperial Palace. The unusually short hunting period was evidence of that.

And as Yulif thought, Deltinus did not extend his hunting period.

‘The next two days.’

Yulif, sitting in his chair, tilted his chin and closed his eyes.

He originally intended to see the end here instead of going back to the Imperial Palace. It was his plan to block the way back to the Imperial Palace with a landslide or whatever, and to return to his territory with Canaren after finishing the bet. The soldiers gathered from his manor were secretly planted around the hunting ground, and Roana, who was to go down to his manor, came to the hunting ground as a base to support the plan.

But now that he was free to use his magic, he didn’t need to be bound by the plan.

Yulif checked the flow of his magic once again. It was smooth with no clogs or kinks. Even his health was better than before the return.

It was said that Carnaren sang a song to help him heal. Yulif believed half of her words.

It was clear that Canaren did something, but he doubted that it was really just a ‘song’’. Because his symptoms weren’t the kind that could simply be solved by helping him heal.

Anyway, it worked, and he was happy to be able to use magic thanks to Canaren.

She was steadily moving forward. In her own strength, towards the freedom and future she dreams of.

The part entrusted to Yulif was to lay a solid road under her feet.

‘I’d rather go back to the Imperial Palace.’

Deltinus’ movement was unusual. Deep-rooted hatred for Yulif and the possessive desire to acquire Canaren were added; evidence that his obsession grew stronger.

Perhaps when the hunt ends and he returns to the Imperial Palace, another trap would greet him.

Yulif was not afraid. The methods that Deltinus could use were limited. After he pretends to know nothing and returns to the Imperial Palace, he may be able to shatter Deltinus’ expectations.

“Lord, this is Roana Orcard.”

Yulif lowered his head.

From today, Roana has been assigned to escort Canaren. They would eat together, and if Canaren lacked anything, Roana would take care of it. He even urged Roana to have conversations with Canaren because it might be boring. Roana was not a simple escort, but also a servant. Roana told him not to worry, rather, she smiled meaningfully.

She must have a lot of work to do, but she came early in the morning. An ominous feeling flashed across.

“What happened…”

Yulif, who went out of the tent, was a little surprised. Behind Roana was Canaren, looking down at the floor. She continued to lick her lips, and Roana sent him a look that was as if she was asking for her help.

“Hey, you’ve come all the way here, so why don’t you tell him in person?”

Canaren shook her head and took a stance of running away.

“All right! Don’t go!”

Roana grabbed her hastily and grinned at her.

“Miss Canaren said that she doesn’t want to eat alone. And, the lord doesn’t eat well when he’s alone, right? I brought her here because I thought it would be nice to eat together.”

「……No. I didn’t know this…… I’ll go back. I’m sorry.」

Roana didn’t know the Hwira language. So she looked at Canaren’s expression.

Roana thought it would get better if Canaren saw Yulif, so she misled her with all kinds of words, but it got worse rather than better. Seeing Canaren with eyes that seemed to want to disappear from the world, Roana was anxious.

She couldn’t. This was the moment when she was about to carefully pull Canaren’s arm because she wanted to retreat and plan the next step.

“Yes.”

“Ahaha, I’m sorry. I’m in charge of Miss Canaren’s meal… Yes?”

“Eat together. It’s still early. How about it?”

Roana’s eyes widened like they would pop out.

Yulif stared at Roana’s hand that was holding onto Canaren’s arm, and then mercilessly removed it.

Roana covered her mouth with both hands just before she was about to let out her screams.

“It’s a nice day, so let’s eat outside.”

「Anywhere…… It does not matter.」

Yulif reached his hand out. Canaren hesitated and eventually dodged the hand, moving instead to Yulif’s side.

Roana watched. She saw strength in the lips of Yulif, who was always cold. And the regret that was buried in his eyes as he moved his hands away.

Roana fiercely wondered if she was still dreaming in her morning sleep.