* * *
Realizing that Hesia’s gaze had fallen on his scar, Ian, who had been staring at the night sky, lowered his eyes.
He traced the scar on his neck a couple of times before offering a faint smile.
“Were you looking at my scar? Don’t worry. I didn’t get it from doing anything strange.”
“Can I ask how you got it?”
“It just… happened.”
Ian’s tone was gentle but firm, making it clear that he didn’t want to elaborate.
Understanding his reluctance, Hesia didn’t press further and turned his head forward again.
The moonlit desert shimmered like pearls.
If he lifted his gaze, the sky was full of stars, and all around him, the landscape looked as if it were scattered with countless tiny pearls.
“Do you see this view all the time?”
“Not every day, but often enough.”
“Then, are you used to it?”
“Hmm, I don’t know about the others, but personally… I don’t think this is the kind of beauty one ever truly gets used to.”
Though his words were light, there was a subtle elegance in the way he whispered them.
Ian scooped up a handful of sand, letting it slip through his fingers as he watched it fall like a fleeting moment of beauty.
As he observed the grains disappear, he lifted his head and met Hesia’s eyes.
“Isn’t it beautiful? I think getting used to sights like this would be more difficult, don’t you think, young master?”
“…Young master? Where did that come from?”
“You never told me your name. Young master suits you, don’t you think?”
Hesia, caught off guard by Ian’s playful tone, momentarily lost his words before shaking his head.
“You do realize you’re quite frivolous, don’t you?”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“Why are you asking me? If I say it is, are you going to start acting all serious?”
His exasperation was obvious, making Ian chuckle quietly.
Hesia’s expression turned slightly complicated as he realized Ian was teasing him.
“But you, young master, you suddenly started talking a lot to me. Can’t sleep and feeling bored? If that’s the case, I’ll keep you company for a bit, but don’t expect me to indulge your whining.”
“Whining? I’m not going to whine, so stop making things up. What do you even take me for?”
“Well, since you snuck out here just to chatter, I thought you might be a baby. Babies fuss a lot when they’re sleepy.”
“Oh, come on!”
Hesia had spent his life learning to speak with grace and dignity, always maintaining an air of nobility.
Yet, the frustration made his old speech habits slip out unintentionally.
It felt as if he had been pulled back into his past conversations with Vivisian, and for a brief moment, he hesitated.
Most people treated Hesia with utmost respect as the heir to the principality.
That made Ian’s casual attitude unfamiliar—though, to be fair, no one had ever spoken to him quite like this before.
No one except Vivisian, who had once been kind to ‘Sia.’
There was something both unfamiliar and nostalgic about Ian.
“Why don’t you come with me?”
That must have been why.
Without even thinking, Hesia voiced the words he had never been able to say to Vivisian.
At the unexpected offer, Ian, who had been watching the sand slip through his fingers, lifted his head.
He parted his lips slightly as if tasting the words before a soft smile curved his lips.
“Do you like me?”
“No, it’s not that. It’s just… I see someone I miss in you.”
“Did you love them?”
Ian’s voice was laced with curiosity, but Hesia couldn’t answer so easily.
Yes or no. It was a simple question with only two possible answers.
And yet, he hesitated, lost in thought.
Ian wasn’t asking about a fleeting crush or casual fondness.
He meant the kind of love where one would willingly give up a lifetime, tear off half of their soul for another—a kind of madness.
Hesia had never been particularly fond of love. It was the most fleeting, meaningless thing a person could possess—something intangible, existing only because people believed in it.
Maybe it was because of his past, where everything he had was taken from him, but Hesia only believed in what he could see.
Love was something distant, elusive.
Even Mujin had never known about the moments he had shared with Vivisian.
To everyone else, it was just a coincidence that they had met and grown close.
Only the two of them had known the truth.
As he recalled those hidden memories, Hesia slowly blinked. It was a question he had never stopped to consider before.
A question that now weighed on his tongue like an unsolvable riddle.
“Love…”
If someone asked whether he had loved, he would have said he didn’t know.
But if someone asked whether he had liked them, he could have said yes.
Then, was this love, affection, or something else entirely?
The question circled endlessly in his mind without a clear answer.
As he pondered deeply, dawn broke over the horizon.
Ian, like a teacher who had given a student an impossible riddle, simply waited in silence.
Sleep still clouded Hesia’s eyes as he absentmindedly watched the world brighten around him.
Then, he turned his head.
The cloak Ian must have draped over him slipped off his shoulders with the movement.
He glanced down at the fabric resting on the pale morning sand and murmured softly.
“…Maybe.”
Beneath the deep hood, his face held an unmistakable loneliness—an expression shaped by longing itself.
Ian, watching him quietly, whispered as if to console him.
“You must have liked him a lot.”
“Yeah. A lot… really, a lot…”
Hesia’s voice was small, almost resigned.
Seeing him like that, Ian let out a quiet sigh, as if troubled.
After a moment, he raised his voice just slightly, like an adult trying to distract a sulking child.
“Since I seem to have accidentally touched a nerve, I’ll tell you a secret in return.”
“…A secret?”
Curious, Hesia instinctively perked up, his voice reflecting his interest.
Ian, seeing how quickly he had shifted, let out an amused chuckle.
“Yeah, a secret.”
“What is it?”
“Ian isn’t my real name. I have another one.”
For mercenaries, using a fake name was common.
But admitting it openly was not.
People had reasons for hiding their identities, and it wasn’t something they shared with someone they had just met.
But just as Hesia had felt drawn to Ian, Ian had also taken a liking to Hesia.
And since they would be traveling together for a while longer, he didn’t want to leave him sulking.
Hesia, who had been deep in thought, suddenly blurted out,
“Wait… You’re not using a fake name because you’re a criminal, are you? That would be a bit of a problem.”
“…Hah.”
Ian ran a hand over his face in exasperation.
Of all the responses, that’s what he got? What kind of cheeky young master was this?
Ian sighed as if he were at his wit’s end, but despite himself, he was laughing.
The first day in the desert passed, and with it, the second day began.
✽ ✽ ✽
Time flowed ceaselessly, like sand dunes swept away by the wind.
For the first three days, nothing out of the ordinary happened.
There was a moment when Hesia nearly tumbled down a sand hill, and in an attempt to catch him, Ian ended up rolling down with him—but since neither of them got hurt, it wasn’t a big deal.
However, just when it seemed like the desert tour would come to a quiet end, an incident occurred.
It happened while Hesia was momentarily separated from Ian.
A group of slave traders spotted him alone and marked him as their target.
Of course, Ian, who had been keeping an eye on Hesia the entire time, immediately rushed in, preventing him from facing them alone.
Out of nowhere, Ian appeared, striking away the tranquilizer gun aimed at Hesia.
Feeling the familiar presence blocking his front, Hesia unknowingly released the tension that had built up in his body.
“Ian, there are a lot of them. Be careful not to get hurt!”
Hesia called out, his voice tinged with slight urgency.
Ian glanced back at him and, upon seeing his face revealed beneath the disheveled robe, raised an eyebrow.
“You’re a cat, young master? Since you came all the way to the desert alone, I thought you were a brave little dog. This is exactly why cats shouldn’t be let out for walks…”
“…What?”
Hesia, who had been unconsciously panting from the rush of past memories, momentarily froze.
The absurdity of Ian’s words shattered the unpleasant thoughts crowding his mind in an instant.
He looked at him as if asking, ‘Is this bastard messing with me right now?’
But before he could voice his disbelief, Ian smoothly drew his sword with an elegant motion and whispered with quiet affection.
“Don’t be nervous. As long as I’m here, nothing will happen to you. That’s why I’m by your side, isn’t it? You look just like a pampered house cat out on a little adventure—if you come back home injured, imagine how worried your caretaker would be. Don’t you think?”
‘So breathe properly.’
Ian murmured in a calm tone, as if the armed slave traders in front of them didn’t exist, gently pushing Hesia a little further back.
* * *
