Chapter 29 - Prince Red Riding Hood

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Chapter 29

 

 

Lil stood there, saying nothing, not even blinking, as he watched the remains of his grandmother lowered into the ground.

 

Before Klaus, no one had ever looked Lil in the eyes without fear—except her. His grandmother. Even knowing she was a witch of the succubus line, a being who rightly should have been hunted down—even understanding how deeply her lies ran—he couldn't reconcile that truth with the woman who had always been so kind.

 

It was not her the wolf was burying, he told himself—it was just a creature that wore her face.

 

Back at the castle, he could almost imagine his real grandmother waiting, tears in her eyes, arms outstretched as she cried, "My sweet Lil! You've come back to me safely!"

 

Hair neatly pinned, dressed in crimson gowns that suited her station, never once appearing unkempt, always exuding the graceful fragrance of noble lilies. The same woman who loved hazelnut and apple biscuits more than anything—and who, when Lil baked them himself, had smiled and said, "These are divine. Thank you. Let's share some with my daughter, too."

 

But the "daughter" she spoke of… had long since been devoured.

 

There was no room for sympathy—and yet, her warmth, her scent, still clung to his skin and would not let go.

 

When the wolf finished covering the grave and stamping down the earth, Lil could no longer hold back his tears.

 

He didn't even know why he was crying, or for whom.

 

"…Klaus…"

 

Even though the wolf had told him not to come closer, Lil stepped forward anyway—the hem of his long red cloak dragging behind him, leaving a trail in the snow.

 

Sensing Lil's approach, Klaus gave a full-bodied shake, flinging off as much blood as possible from his bronze and silver coat.

 

"Klaus… uh…"

 

Lil tried to ask if he was hurt—but the words caught in his throat.

 

He wanted to touch him. He extended his hands, still bound in shackles.

 

Up close, Klaus was enormous. His face, his body, all moved in utter silence.

 

Even when those gleaming fangs came close, Lil didn't feel afraid.

 

Those blue eyes—there was no mistaking them. They were Klaus's.

 

"A-ah…"

 

With careful precision, Klaus bit down on the clasp of Lil's manacles and snapped it apart.

 

Though the restraints had been crafted to withstand even brute force without a key, they fell away from his wrists like brittle twigs.

 

"Klaus… thank you."

 

Lil looked down at his hands—and only then noticed the changes. His fingernails had grown, sharpened into claws.

 

With goat-like horns upon his head, and a lizard-like tail sprouting from his waist, he no longer looked human. No longer felt like someone who deserved to touch a sacred beast like Klaus.

 

I shouldn't… I mustn't… he told himself. And yet—he couldn't stop.

 

Unable to hold back, Lil opened his arms and wrapped them around Klaus's neck.

 

"Liladry."

 

Hearing his name spoken the way Klaus always said it… it made it real. He's here. He's himself.

 

Being called Lil was precious to him—but Liladry, in that moment, struck him to the heart.

 

Bronze and silver fur, those beautiful blue eyes—there was no doubt. This was Klaus.

 

"Klaus, I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"

 

There was so much he wanted to say, so many things he wanted to ask—but his thoughts were a storm, and nothing could take shape in the whirlwind.

 

He just held on tight and repeated "I'm sorry" and "Thank you," again and again.

 

He couldn't apologize enough for what his grandmother had done. Couldn't thank Klaus enough for stopping her. His voice trembled with the same words, and only Klaus's name escaped him again and again.

 

"You don't need to apologize. None of this is your fault."

 

"…But she… she was my grandmother."

 

"You don't need to thank me either. If anything, I should be thanking you. I couldn't have done it alone. I'm grateful."

 

"Klaus…"

 

Lil pulled back just a little, wanting to see his face—only for that warm, rough tongue to brush gently across his cheek.

 

A wolf's tongue, like a dog's, could stretch and contract remarkably. What touched Lil's face was only the very tip—shrunk small enough not to harm. Klaus was being careful. Deliberate.

 

Then he lowered his muzzle and gently bumped his forehead against Lil's, as if offering a headbutt.

 

Lil clung to him again. This time, Klaus pressed one large foreleg against Lil's back, almost like an embrace.

 

The licks, the gentle head-bumping, the weight of his leg—it was enough.

 

At last, Lil understood: it was all right to touch him. He hadn't forced this closeness—he'd been accepted.

 

"…Klaus, was I ever… your enemy?"

 

Even as he asked, he feared the answer. If Klaus was a servant of the divine, then surely a creature like him—a demon—was his natural foe.

 

He wanted to believe this was all just a terrible dream, but his body had changed too much for that fantasy. The horns and tail that no human should have whispered to him, You are something unclean. You are a monster.

 

"Not an enemy," Klaus said clearly. "A target. One that needed to be eliminated."

 

"—What?"

 

The words were pronounced with such clarity, and yet Lil's heart struggled to comprehend them. Klaus then ran his tongue around his bloodstained maw, licking away the remnants of battle. It was a very different tongue from the one that had gently caressed Lil's cheek—a tongue bold and broad, capable of delivering a full-grown human straight down his throat.

 

And the fangs—formidable as they were—were not even needed. If he so wished, Klaus could swallow Lil whole without so much as a bite.

 

"When you say 'eliminated'… you mean… killed?"

 

"I'll explain the details later. First, we have to separate the witch's head from her body. To make sure she doesn't resurrect, the brain and heart must be buried in different places, by different means."

 

"Y-Yes… a different method?"

 

"We've already buried the head. The body needs another kind of burial. Just get on."

 

In wolf form, Klaus lowered his back, urging him on with quiet insistence.

 

Lil hesitated, concerned for his injuries. But as he climbed onto Klaus's broad back—broad and strong like a steed—he gasped. One of the wounds he had clearly seen moments ago sealed shut right before his eyes.

 

Perhaps it was to be expected. Klaus was a sacred beast, after all. But to witness such instantaneous healing with his own eyes—it stirred in him the awe of witnessing divine grace.

 

He's everything I'm not. Sacred, pure…

 

Maybe that's why he always seemed hesitant. Maybe that's why he sometimes held back from touching me. Because to love a creature like me—something monstrous—was to sin against God himself. Even a kiss, even a caress… every act must have carried great weight. And yet… he touched me anyway, defying heaven itself.

 

Lil wrapped his arms around Klaus's neck and held on tight as he straddled his back.

 

"You don't need to see this," Klaus said. "Close your eyes."

 

But even if he didn't want to, Lil felt he had to see. He had to witness the end of it all. He narrowed his eyes just enough to glimpse the headless corpse.

 

His body tensed, a shiver of horror crawling over his skin. Klaus must have noticed.

 

"Close them," he said again, this time with a firmer tone.

 

Even when Lil shut his eyes, the scene still played out behind his lids.

 

Carrying Lil on his back, Klaus sank his fangs into the witch's corpse and began to walk, the lifeless body hanging from his jaws.

 

Lil imagined his face—serious, solemn.

 

Even in victory, he didn't think Klaus would wear a triumphant expression.

 

Soon, Klaus's pace quickened, and the night wind began to rush against Lil's face.

 

The breeze that swept across the snow was cold, tinged with the scent of lilies and blood.

 

It's cold, I can tell that much. But it doesn't feel cold. Just like how Grandmother could walk around unclothed, maybe awakening as a demon has changed me in other ways too. But… I can still feel Klaus's warmth. It's comforting. Like the finest fur coat… it feels so good. So good that it almost makes me forget what he's doing. That the thing in his jaws isn't some bundle of cloth, but her corpse. If none of this had happened—if I were just a normal boy with nothing more than unusual red eyes—how wonderful that would've been.

 

Clinging to Klaus's neck, Lil felt the direction of their movement. They were headed north.

 

The great wolf ran fast, Lil's long red cape snapping and flapping behind him in the wind.

 

Eventually, the ground leveled out, the incline softening into flat land, and a small lake came into view.

 

Beyond it, toward the summit, was the watchtower where they had first met.

 

 

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