<Chapter 23>

He had inherited the title of duke at just thirteen, but his first time climbing the barrier to face the monsters had been at the tender age of ten.

Despite his genius-level swordsmanship and monstrous strength that defied common sense, he was still a child back then.

The ones who placed that young boy on the barrier were his parents.

The late Duke and Duchess sent him up there to kill him. And as if that wasn’t enough, they ordered someone to push Temenos beyond the barrier.

Falling off the barrier, Temenos had no chance to escape and was buried beneath a swarm of monsters.

Everyone who witnessed the scene assumed he was dead.

But Temenos returned alive a week later.

Born with the body of a demigod, he was scorned as a monster by his parents. When they saw him return drenched in the blood of monsters, they trembled in fear.

“Y-you monster…! You’re just like the creatures beyond the barrier! Get out of here! Get out of my sight!”

The reason Temenos had survived was because he was a monster—or so the late Duke and Duchess, along with many others, believed.

But that wasn’t true.

The real reason the young Temenos had been able to survive was because of the boy standing before him now.

Fifteen years ago, when he barely managed to escape the monsters and stumbled into the Black Forest, he thought he was truly going to die.

Surrounded by beasts, his heart sank as death loomed.

Then, stepping in front of him and shielding him from the creatures, Ferry appeared.

With his jet-black hair and dark eyes as deep as the night, Ferry looked exactly as he did now.

His expression was blank as he methodically slaughtered the monsters. Watching him, the young Temenos naturally assumed Ferry was an adult.

But as the years passed—one, two years—Temenos noticed something odd. While he grew taller and older, Ferry’s appearance remained unchanged. It wasn’t until they stood eye to eye that he realized the truth.

What he had once mistaken for an adult’s features looked closer to someone sixteen or seventeen. At most, maybe eighteen.

And since Ferry hadn’t aged since their first meeting, his true age was a mystery. Even when Temenos asked, Ferry would simply shake his head, seemingly clueless about his own age.

Never growing older, not even knowing his own age… It wouldn’t have been surprising if the Great Temple had labeled Ferry a heretic.

But there were no temples or priests in the Winstein Duchy.

Even if there had been, Temenos wouldn’t have reported Ferry.

Ferry had saved him countless times—from the winter of his eleventh year, to the winter of his twelfth.

If Ferry had grown and aged like others, Temenos would have long since brought him to the ducal estate, giving him a title, a home, and any wealth he desired.

But remaining forever in the body of a boy would draw too much attention.

Fearing the risk of persecution as a heretic, Temenos kept his meetings with Ferry private.

“Pick anything you want. I’ll give you whatever you desire.”

In secret, he had taken Ferry to Winstein’s treasury to repay him. Ferry chose a whistle that made no sound.

No, to be exact, it was a whistle that only Ferry, and a monster like him, could hear.

Discovering that only the two of them could hear its sound, Temenos handed it over, telling Ferry to call for him anytime he needed help.

But Ferry never asked him for anything.

Whenever Temenos heard the whistle’s sound and went to meet him, Ferry would simply hand him something like a stone fragment, calling it a gift.

Even that stopped three years ago.

Knowing Ferry’s strength—capable of wiping out a horde of monsters—Temenos hadn’t worried.

He had only wondered if Ferry had left him for good… but it seemed that wasn’t the case.

“What did you bring me this time?”

Temenos assumed Ferry had come to give him another gift.

As if to confirm his assumption, Ferry extended a clenched fist toward him.

Temenos instinctively held out his palm. But when he saw what Ferry placed in his hand, his expression froze.

It was the whistle Ferry had once taken.

Even though it was the only way to summon him, Ferry was now returning it to Temenos.

“……What’s the meaning of this?”

Temenos’ voice trembled as he questioned Ferry.

Unable to speak, Ferry simply stared at him with his usual quiet demeanor.

Frustrated, Temenos shoved the whistle back into Ferry’s hand, only for Ferry to return it to him once more.

“You’re saying… you won’t come to me anymore?”

Temenos’ voice quivered. For the first time, a flicker of discomfort crossed Ferry’s otherwise blank face.

In the end, Ferry nodded.

All strength drained from Temenos’ shoulders.

“I see… so even you…”

Born with the body of a demigod, Temenos had been scorned and abused by his own parents.

Though there were a few who remained loyal to him, who could say for sure they didn’t harbor disgust for him beneath their loyalty?

Ferry was the only one who stayed by his side with no ulterior motives.

Even when they first met, Temenos had lost his mask, revealing his scaly face and reptilian eyes.

Yet Ferry had saved him, fed him, and led him home.

For the first time in his life, Temenos had tasted kindness.

There had even been a fleeting moment when he wondered: Were the late Duke and Duchess truly my family? Or was Ferry my real family instead…?

Suddenly, Inosensia’s words struck him like lightning.

“The thing is, do you have someone close among the people who were injured at the accident site today?”

“Not just someone close, but someone really, really close. Someone you’re so close to that if they die, you’d lose all reason and fall into despair.”

‘Close enough to make me lose all reason…’

Temenos numbly repeated Inosensia’s words in his head.

In his daze, Ferry leaned forward, peering into his face.

It seemed he thought Temenos was crying.

Squatting down, Ferry tilted his head left and right, trying to get a better look.

Though his face remained as emotionless as ever, Temenos could tell he was concerned.

Once Ferry confirmed that Temenos wasn’t crying, he straightened up and pulled something from his pocket.

It was a stone fragment.

Temenos didn’t even glance at it.

Instead, he stared blankly at Ferry’s face and spoke.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

Ferry shook his head.

“Are you sick?”

Again, Ferry shook his head.

Temenos couldn’t tell if he felt relief or disappointment.

“Then… you’re not about to die, are you? Is that why you won’t come to me anymore…?”

Ferry’s eyes widened slightly.

And that was it. He didn’t shake his head this time.

The sight of Ferry standing silently without even the smallest movement made Temenos’ chest tighten.

Dying? Without even repaying him for saving my life…?

“As long as they’re breathing, I can heal them completely. If you find anyone injured, report to me immediately!”

“……Follow me right now!”

Grabbing Ferry’s wrist, Temenos turned abruptly.

It had been Temenos’ decision to keep Ferry’s existence hidden from the outside world.

Remembering that, Ferry tried to shake him off as Temenos dragged him toward the estate. But weakened as he was, he couldn’t overcome Temenos’ monstrous strength, especially since Temenos was using his powerful left hand.

Thanks to that, Temenos managed to take Ferry exactly where he wanted:

The annex where Inosensia was staying.
 

<To be continued>

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