Chapter 11 - Prince Red Riding Hood

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At Klaus's cold words, Lil looked up at him with tears welling in his eyes.

 

He couldn't say what he wanted—just looked at him, lips pressed tightly, pleading silently.

 

He knew his face looked pitiful, full of yearning, but he couldn't stop himself.

 

"Klaus... my body... feels strange..."

 

Struggling to speak, Lil was gently wiped clean with a cloth Klaus retrieved from beneath his cloak.

 

The touch was soft, but even Lil knew it signified the end.

 

He would no longer be licked or teased, and at that realization, tears spilled down his cheeks.

 

Even though he knew he shouldn't, even if it made him look pathetic, he couldn't stop craving. He looked at Klaus with even more longing.

 

"A sinful prince, lusting for a man with such a shameless body, tempting another man... Don't tell anyone about me. Come see me again."

 

"..."

 

Not only had he been called shameless—something akin to being lewd—but sinful as well. Lil was struck by guilt, belatedly overwhelmed.

 

He was shaken to realize that he hadn't even felt that what he did with Klaus was wrong.

 

God does not permit relations between men... It is a wicked act, no different than coupling with beasts. And yet—what had he been enjoying just now?

 

He had thought the woodsmen, who tried to violate a man, were sinful.

 

He had thought even being violated would drag him into sin. And yet, he had indulged in Klaus's touch.

 

The woodsmen and he were both sinners. Only Klaus, who had stopped himself, perhaps had not betrayed God.

 

"I—I'll go... I'm a prince, after all... someday, I will be king. I mustn't commit sins. I have a duty to be good and act responsibly. I can still turn back, right? If I sincerely repent, God will forgive me, won't He?"

 

"Who knows..."

 

The smile Klaus gave him in response held a devilish charm.

 

Lil had heard that demons appear in forms humans find beautiful, in order to corrupt them. Though their true form is that of a horned beast, they can look like angels from religious paintings or goddesses from myth.

 

If that were true, then he must not let himself fall for Klaus.

 

"Farewell. I won't speak of you to anyone, so don't worry."

 

Afraid of descending into damnation, Lil hurried down from the bed.

 

It seemed the woodsmen had intended to sell his clothes—his garments, even his shoes, remained undamaged, and some had even been folded.

 

Feeling Klaus's gaze on his back, Lil put on his undergarments and dressed himself without help.

 

Normally, maids would assist him. Fastening buttons and tying boot laces proved a challenge, but with no one else there, he had no choice.

 

"Thank you... truly... for saving me."

 

I won't see him again. I won't come here again—he felt he should say that clearly, but the words wouldn't come.

 

Because he had looked into Klaus's eyes again.

 

Those sapphire eyes were just too beautiful. It was hard to believe this man was a devil in disguise.

 

He looked more noble than any royal or aristocrat, and stronger than the mightiest soldiers. How could he avoid someone like that?

 

***

 

Leaving behind the wine and carrying the now-empty basket, Lil departed the watchtower.

 

For the first time in his life, he saw the Strawberry Snow from the outside.

 

The softly pink-tinged snow stretched endlessly, like a broad ribbon dyed in blush, painting the world in delicate hues.

 

Though the trees of the forest seemed to interrupt its line, the snow in fact connected seamlessly, not even allowing the smallest of gaps—surrounding the entirety of Vallcent's inhabited lands like a divine enclosure.

 

Lil stepped into the ring of color, this vivid snow that looked as though it had fallen straight from the heavens.

 

This sacred snow marked the boundary of the protective barrier. He would have preferred not to defile it with his boots—if he could, he would have leapt clear over it. But up close, the band of snow was far wider than it appeared from a distance. So wide, in fact, that no human—no matter how strong or determined—could ever hope to cross it in a single bound.

 

Though… Klaus might be able to do it.

 

Lil paused atop the faintly blushing snow, picturing Klaus's exceptional physique.

 

Looking back on the path he had come, he could see the outline of the watchtower rising through the trees, its steps clearly visible.

 

The sun slanted across the scene in the west, glinting off the lake beyond the tower, turning its surface into a mirror.

 

The reflected light momentarily dazzled him, but as the glare faded, the structure's shape and the door became clear.

 

Lil had shut the door when he left—but now, it was unmistakably open. And there, at the top of the steps, stood Klaus, arms crossed, leaning against the doorframe, watching him.

 

Klaus…!

 

He was standing there, as if to make sure Lil safely crossed the barrier.

 

Feeling touched by his concern after everything that had happened, Lil lifted a hand and waved his thanks.

 

At this distance, he couldn't make out Klaus's expression, let alone whether he was speaking. But somehow, it felt like he was saying, "Don't dawdle—get home safe."

 

Or maybe… if he was saying something, perhaps it was: "Come see me again."

 

He had, after all, told Lil exactly that. So it wasn't impossible.

 

And if Lil were to take him up on that invitation, he might one day seek that pleasure and commit that sin… surrendering to heat, to his forbidden desires, and once again be called impure.

 

If that day came, would Klaus embrace him? Would he press a kiss even deeper than today's—lose himself in passion and become the kind of wicked man befitting a boy like him?

 

My heart… it's so loud I can barely stand it. I want to turn back right now.

 

No, he mustn't. He told himself firmly, You mustn't. Turning away from Klaus, Lil continued forward.

 

He walked across the sacred band of Strawberry Snow and returned to the road that led to the castle.

 

And as he glanced back once more, something mysterious occurred.

 

The footprints he had left in the pale red snow began to vanish—one by one, in the exact order he had made them.

 

Is this… the barrier's power? A cleansing effect? My footprints remain on the white snow, from the watchtower to here… but the ones on the Strawberry Snow disappear completely. It's as if I never touched it at all—as if I leapt over it entirely.

 

Though to the eye it appeared no more than faintly red-tinted snow laced with frostweed, this was indeed the barrier meant to repel magic-infused wolves. Lil had felt nothing extraordinary as he passed through it, but its power was real—alive, even—constantly shifting to protect Vallcent.

 

A miraculous and truly sacred barrier… but if the Wolf King were to attack in earnest, it's said it could be breached. If offering a sacrifice on the night of the full moon is what upholds the treaty of non-aggression, then the tradition must continue. To abandon it and make enemies of the Wolf King and his kin… that would be far too reckless.

 

As he witnessed the barrier's power for the first time, Lil thought back to the woodcutter brothers and their desperate plea.

 

He understood well that it would be best to end the custom of sacrifices entirely. But such a hope felt unrealistic. The only viable step forward was to change the drawing of lots into a system where only volunteers were considered.

 

"Those born into privilege must shoulder the burdens that come with it," Grandmother had told me. That I was able to hear the cries of those suffering in silence, here in this forest… that must also be divine guidance.

 

Resolving not to fall prey to temptation, Lil pressed onward, carrying his duty close to his heart.

 

As he passed through the snow-covered woods, the soil of the carriage path began to peek through, and only then did his shoulders finally relax.

 

After all, it had only been moments ago that, inside the very bounds of the barrier—in a tranquil flower meadow, no less—he had been attacked by his own people. So this place could hardly be called safe… and yet, it still felt like a sanctuary.

 

It's all right… No one at the castle knows what happened to me. I'll keep my promise and say nothing of the woodcutter brothers. I'll say I overheard children in town whispering rumors… about people who died as sacrifices or were persecuted for refusing. That the sorrow I felt compelled me to suggest moving toward a volunteer system. That'll be enough.

 

As he walked beneath the crimson sky of sunset, Lil glanced down at the clothes beneath his red cloak.

 

There was a bit of dust, a few marks, but nothing suspicious enough for the maids to question.

 

Though he had sinned and lost control before another man… now, wrapped once more in his princely composure, he looked like the same Lil as always—unchanged.

 

 

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