Chapter 6
The fog that had risen at dawn still clung to the streets, soaking them long after the sun had climbed high in the sky. It was a strange sensation to be surrounded by bright daylight yet see no farther than a few meters. The excited laughter of children exploring beyond the fog drifted over to him.
Enya appeared at the hunter’s cabin, cutting through the thick morning fog.
She closed the door, took off her hood, and hung it on the wall.
For the past few days, she had been taking care of the housework at Tarmin’s place.
“Apples were cheap, so I bought some.”
She set down the basket of apples, tied on the white apron hanging nearby, and disappeared into the kitchen.
Enya came back from the kitchen with a plate and a fruit knife, then looked glum when she saw what Tarmin was holding.
“You really….”
“You know what happens if you don’t want to.”
Enya squeezed her eyes shut, then walked over to Tarmin, who was sitting at the living-room table, and offered her neck.
Rather than refuse, she gathered her hair up to make the collar easier to fasten.
He smiled smugly at her obedient attitude.
She was completely used to it now.
…I hadn’t started this prank to get her used to it, had I?
To be honest, teasing her was a little fun, but it wasn’t doing him much good. It was an unintended result.
His plan to make Enya surrender by forcing her to do embarrassing things had gone awry because of her unexpectedly stubborn streak.
Even after being tormented this much, she still wouldn’t tell him what her illness was, only making him more curious.
With mixed feelings, Tarmin brought the dog collar to Enya’s neck.
When she lifted her hair, the snow-white neck it had hidden was revealed.
It was the nape he’d seen before when wiping away her sweat.
Without thinking, he traced the soft, smooth curve of her neck with his index finger. It was nothing like a man’s neck.
Enya jumped in surprise and hunched her shoulders.
She hunched so far that his hand got caught and he couldn’t move it.
“Ngh… What are you doing? It tickles.”
“Uh, no, there was something on you. Relax your shoulders a little.”
Enya relaxed her shoulders.
Pretending to brush off some dust, he stroked her smooth neck a few more times for no reason, then fastened the collar.
The red leather collar fit snugly around her neck, leaving no gap.
Enya felt the silver buckle that secured the collar, then sat down and began peeling an apple.
When he’d first put the collar on her, she’d said it was hard to breathe and uncomfortable, and her left hand wouldn’t leave her neck as she touched the spot where it pressed against her. Now she was completely used to it, peeling the apple with brisk, practiced strokes.
He’d forced the collar on her to get the answer he wanted, but at this rate, there was no point to it.
To make one final attempt, he asked Enya,
“You really aren’t going to tell me?”
“Now that I’ve come this far, I can’t give up.”
Her strange determination made him sigh. It might be impossible to hear the explanation from her own lips.
That left him with one conclusion: he’d have to ask someone else.
The companions who had stayed with Enya to the end were likely to know how she’d wound up in this state.
He thought over the names of former companions he might still be able to contact.
The first companions to come to mind were the witch, followed by the handsome prince.
He had no idea where the witch was, and he wondered whether a letter would even reach the prince in a foreign land.
Unlike Tarmin, his companions had all been distinctive characters. They hadn’t all stayed together to the end, but he was still curious how they were doing.
Just as he thought he should at least write a letter once his hand had healed, Enya, who had peeled an apple and set it on a plate, said,
“Lord Tarmin?”
Lord? The strange form of address made him turn and look at her. Enya was watching him.
Enya was smiling faintly.
“Would it be all right if I tried some apple?”
“Huh? No, you peeled it. Why are you asking me….”
“Would you permit my worthless self to taste the apple I clumsily peeled?”
A shiver ran down Tarmin’s spine.
Oh, she was really mad.
He remembered what had happened at the Werewolf Tavern, when someone had messed with her food.
He spoke to Enya, trembling slightly.
“Eat. No, please, go ahead.”
“Thank you so much for granting me permission.”
Enya smiled coldly and brought the apple to her mouth.
She chewed for a moment, then swallowed. Her throat bobbed beneath the leather collar.
Enya let out a gasp.
“Ugh, haah… Do you know what it feels like when a collar presses against your throat and hurts as you swallow food?”
“No….”
“You mean you didn’t know? Oh, you were only interested in tormenting me.”
“….”
Alarm bells went off in his head.
“Enya. I honestly didn’t know. If it’s uncomfortable to eat, should I loosen the collar? No, I’ll just take it off.”
By then, Enya had already peeled a second apple and piled the slices on the plate.
She kept smiling as she answered.
“No? I’m fine. I’ll keep wearing it. We promised I wouldn’t take it off, didn’t we?”
“The promise wasn’t that you wouldn’t take it off. I mean, if you told me about your illness—”
“At first it was tight and uncomfortable—so uncomfortable it made me cry. But I’ve gotten used to it now, and it’s not so bad. In fact, I kind of want Taal to try it, too.”
He was wrong.
One wrong move and he’d be dead.
It felt like an arrow had just grazed past the side of his head.
His gaze fell on the apple peels Enya had cut.
They were so strangely thin and cleanly sliced that it was hard to call them clumsy.
It was the work of someone precise and delicate, with no fear of handling a knife.
She brought another slice of apple to her mouth.
“…Once Taal’s hand is all healed.”
The juice-smeared fruit knife in her hand glinted.
Once it’s healed, then what? Was she telling him to just wait and see? She was scary enough that he wished she’d finish the sentence.
Tarmin looked at his childhood friend, who was holding a blade.
Though she had an adorable face and wore an apron, Enya had once been a hero.
A genius who could wield even heavier, more complicated weapons with ease.
A hero born with a thousand talents.
Unlike Tarmin, who was always laid up sick whenever he entered a trial, Enya had been chosen by the gods.
He wondered how he could appease her.
Surely she wouldn’t do anything with the knife, would she?
Even setting aside that frightening possibility, what was he supposed to do about this predicament?
The collar was only making her angrier, so he needed to come up with another plan.
Tarmin headed for the storeroom.
**
A commander who had failed to defend his castle decided to go through with a dangerous gamble.
Enya saw what Tarmin was holding and cried out in shock.
“Is that…?”
Tarmin grinned broadly, holding a leather leash. A ring was attached to the end of the red strap so it could be hooked onto something.
“You enjoyed the apples, so now it’s time for a walk, right?”
“What’s that leash?”
“My father’s.”
“Your father again… Is that… Could it possibly be…?”
“I’m going to put it around your neck.”
“You lunatic!”
It was a gamble to minimize the damage by fighting fire with fire.
Tarmin hurried Enya along, thrusting the leash toward her.
“Come on, stick out your neck. I’ll attach it.”
“No, not this.”
“What do you mean, not this? Like I said, if you don’t want to, all you have to do is tell me what illness you have.”
“I… can’t tell you.”
He reached for the collar around Enya’s neck.
After struggling to move her hands away from her neck, he managed to attach the leash to the collar’s ring.
Leaving Enya standing there in a daze, he backed away, letting out more of the leash.
He reached the door and tugged on the leash.
“Ngh.”
He’d tugged only slightly, but Enya groaned and was pulled along.
Enya clutched the leash attached to her neck, but she didn’t even try to resist by force.
Perhaps because she was still wearing the white apron she’d put on to peel apples, she looked even more pitiful.
“Hey, if you don’t get moving, the fog will clear and people will see you better.”
“You awful— ngh.”
He moved a little farther away, then tugged again.
After stepping outside, he tugged again.
At last, pulled along by the leash, Enya reached the cabin entrance and grabbed onto the doorway.
Clinging to the doorframe, Enya desperately held on.
Each time he gave the leash a firm tug, Enya resisted with little grunts, until at last she opened her mouth, eyes brimming with tears.
“Taaal….”
“What?”
“I’m sorry. I was wrong.”
“What did you do wrong?”
“I can’t tell you what illness it is, ngh. I know you’re really disappointed. Later, when I’m ready, I’ll explain. …When it’s just the two of us, you can do whatever you want, but outside, I—sob—I can’t tell you. I’m sorry. Please don’t hate me….”
She couldn’t go outside.
But she couldn’t tell him about her illness, either.
She wasn’t sure she could bear having her only friend hate her, or watching him change because of her.
Tarmin listened quietly to Enya, then walked over to her.
As he approached, Enya flinched and closed her eyes.
He reached for her neck and undid her collar.
Once her neck was free, he spoke to Enya, who was staring blankly, unable to make sense of what was happening.
“I was just kidding.”
“Huh?”
He resented Enya for not telling him.
What secret could be so terrible that she couldn’t tell him?
He’d thought they were friends, yet even though she had a life-threatening illness, she hadn’t said a word to him.
Resenting her for that, he’d ended up tormenting Enya when she was already weakened.
If she couldn’t tell him even after all this, there was no point in continuing.
Enya must have been the one suffering most, but he’d only taken out his frustration on her.
“I really wasn’t going to take you outside. Taking a woman for a walk with a leash around her neck? I’d get beaten to death. Sigona would tear me to shreds. Guys like Gale might envy me, though.”
Enya’s strength gave out, and she slid down to the floor.
Tarmin bowed his head.
“I won’t ask anymore. You can tell me later, or not at all if you don’t want to. I’m sorry I tormented you.”
“…You bastard.”
“Sorry. So, let’s save putting the leash on you for when it’s just the two of us—just kidding, ngh!"
Enya stood up and kicked Tarmin.
This time, it didn’t hurt that much.