"Is it your hobby to torture people?"
"No, wait, what?"
"His hands are all cut up."
Following Ylma's gaze, I stop at the unfortunate man's hands.
They are all cut up, as if someone had repeatedly run a knife over them.
By my Mother, you ask about his wounded hands, but you just split him in half!
Saying that would mean ending up like him.
"In my defense, he tried to take my axe."
Yes, the "Ownerless Axe" isn't named that for no reason.
*Thud!*
Ignoring the corpse and the pool of blood on the ground, I think of all the problems María will tackle tomorrow.
Ylma, who was preparing to give me a lecture, stopped dead.
"Someone just went out to the forest, heading north," she said.
"I'll take care of it."
The perfect excuse to end this conversation.
I set off and began to retrace my steps. On the way back, I left an open-mouthed Owen staring at the bloody scene.
I climbed up to my room, crossed to the terrace, jumped the backyard, and the wall.
"What is that?" someone on the wall said.
"Quick, call Duran!" another followed.
If I want to catch the rat, I'll have to pick up the pace.
It didn't take long to reach the forest, and I paused to scan the area for clues.
"Even if they have a head start, they won't get far."
The difference between the one who escapes and the one who hunts in a forest is that the hunter has a clear path and can put all their effort into catching the prey. And whoever took this path didn't have time to cover their tracks.
Following the footprints and the traces of bark and broken branches, I estimate I'll catch up with them shortly.
.
.
.
.
Everything was fine until yesterday. Until the arrival of the Marquis.
After Marquis Blackend's arrival, things started to go downhill. The same day of the banquet, all the documents I had hidden disappeared.
In them was important information about the fortress and its personnel. By chance, I also found documents of other spies, where I could deduce where they were from and who they were talking to.
However, now I realize that it might not have been a coincidence. The places where I hid my documents and those of the other spies were difficult to access or infrequently visited.
But now I see that these might have been predicted and prepared by the Marquis's information unit.
My other job was also to closely follow my lord's daughter, Avidia. In my papers, there was a letter in case I was discovered, but seeing that since yesterday they have been hunting spies, they don't intend to leave anyone alive.
The moon is waxing, so the darkness will help me escape this. I can even feel more relief now that I'm close to the river.
*Foliage!*
Just when I was about to leave the dense forest, I looked back and there I saw it.
The shadow of a demon emerged from nowhere, swinging its weapon over its head toward me.
By instinct and reflex, my right arm came between the blade and my neck.
"Argh!"
My hand burns, the pain spread through my arm like hundreds of ants.
I rolled several times and ended up under the faint moonlight while my assailant remained under the darkness of the forest.
I tried to stand up, but the crucial absence and the strange sensation of something missing prevented me from doing so.
Looking at my left arm, I see that half of my forearm is missing.
"Uaaah! Wait!"
I extended my remaining hand in a sign of surrender.
With a quick glance, I see his feet touch the light and think: He's human, he can be negotiated with!
"Don't kill me, I'm the guard of Avidia, daughter of my lord Cnadd."
"I know," he spoke.
"Really? Then-"
Taking a slight step forward, the face of my assailant came into view.
"Marquis Blackend-!"
In a blink, the sensation of my body's weight vanished, and slowly my consciousness faded.
Looking at the expressionless face of the Marquis, I saw a hint of sadness.
.
.
.
.
The birds are singing.
After finishing what I just did, I walked back, and it took longer than necessary.
As winter is near, the sun hasn't risen yet.
Upon leaving the dense forest, a pajama-clad Ylma and María, along with the soldiers and a robust Duran, awaited me at the wall.
"I'm back, let me up."
The black fortress only had two entrances: South (town) and West (military precinct). The north led to the forest and river, while the East would have the sea within hours.
To enter, they threw me a rope ladder. I grabbed the rope and climbed.
The soldiers were nervous. Seeing María with a broom in hand and Duran with his sword in the same place with their usual expressions is something they wouldn't want to experience if I were them.
"Is everything okay?"
Duran asked, holding his emblematic sword as big as him. His sword with seven needles coming out of its blade was infamous during the Ventini attack.
"Yes, I just went for a walk."
"You're wet, were you in the river?"
María held a broom tightly in one hand and a candelabrum in the other.
"If you keep looking at me like that, I'll freeze to death, María." I said.
"Here. We need to talk."
Ylma handed me a blanket. Did she know I was in the river?
Suppressing the urge to shiver, I asked her.
"Can't it wait until tomorrow?"
"This can't wait another day." she said while glaring at me.
Seriously, I don't know what the insistence is, and she even came without warning.
Accepting her demands, I approached her.
Ylma grabbed me, intertwining our arms. I could even feel her… assets touching… let's follow Ylma calmly.
I passed by a grumpy María and the soldiers.
During the walk, no one spoke, inside the fortress, everyone dispersed.
Ylma led me to the stairs, and we climbed up.
"Ylma, the dining room is down the stairs."
"This is something private, Leo."
Following the hurried Ylma, we walked to the end of the corridor and ended up in front of a guest room.
"Ylma, hmm, I know we haven't seen each other in six years. But this isn't-"
*Open!*
She dragged me without giving me time inside, without letting go we stood near her bed. I was about to show my displeasure and stopped dead.
There lying in the big bed, I saw something impressive that left me speechless.
His shiny olive skin, his beautiful black curly hair resting on his temple, chubby cheeks like those of a newborn. His weak breathing and his chest rising and falling confirmed that he was still alive.
In the bed was me sleeping. Smaller, young, and handsome. But, was it me? Am I seeing right?
Definitely, he is smaller than me, he even looks like a child.
"His name is Aeron."
"What?"
Aeron?
"He's 5 years old."
"Wait, what?"
5 years?
"His birthday is January 11th."
"I understand, no, wait, wait."
I don't understand anything.
"He's our son."
"Son?"
What did she say?
Without answering my question, the blushing Ylma looked away.
OH MY MOTHER WHAT IS HAPPENING!
Do I have a son, me!? The Marquis Blackend has a son!?
No no no no. Calm down, my heart is racing.
"You owe him 5 gifts. He has been asking about you all the time."
"…."
Who am I? Where am I? Where am I going?
With a strong pinch, Ylma brought me back to reality.
I honestly couldn't believe what I was hearing and seeing.
"Are you a man, right? Then take responsibility."
"No, I mean yes, but when?"
"It was before the civil war. Shortly before Cendrick sent you to Rome."
Ah, the civil war. Yes, Ylma was one of those who didn't participate in the civil war. So it makes sense that I didn't see her after that.
"I thought fairies couldn't have- Ow, ow, ow. Sorry, I understand."
"Don't think I'll let you off for that comment."
*Move!*
The smaller version of me is waking up.
Squeezing his delicate eyelids and yawning lazily, Aeron woke up.
His long eyelashes shining softly over his brown eyes. His small nose and lips, his olive skin, and his voice as harmonious as Ylma's.
"Mama…"
His cute eyes rested on me. A current passed through my body, and a sense of connection was established.
"Papa?"
"Ah!"
A small groan escaped from me.