Regas Vol 4. Chapter 18

To make him suffer in the middle of the flas. Following Erei’s order, the two remaining soldiers dragged Abel to a pillar. Abel had no intention of using force to push them away and escape, but the strength holding him felt insurmountable even if he tried with all his might.

However, what worried him more than the desperate thought of possibly dying was the information he obtained through Erei.

What could Norhox and Truyde possibly know?

Could they possibly know about his existence?

But how? No, it seed like they didn’t know about his reincarnation.

However, his thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a chilling sensation he felt on his thigh. Abel realized that chill ca from soone’s hand which was groping him. Only then did he notice he was rely leaning against the pillar, not tied to it yet. And the two soldiers were touching him and looking down at him sinisterly. Their eyes were filled with blatant greed that even a naive child could understand.

“Why didn’t I see you when I ca here?”

“Yeah, I’ve never seen you before either. With this appearance, you would have caught my eye at a glance even from a distance.”

Without waiting for anyone to say who would go first, the two moved their hands to touch Abel’s body. The sight of his body being exposed due to the clothes sticking to him because of the dampness stimulated those who saw it. Abel twisted his body, but this reaction only made the two n’s eyes shine even brighter.

“Wow, how is your skin so soft?”

“Yeah, as expected of a Regas, they’re different. It’s really a sha to kill you. Ah, such a waste.”

The sound of the soldiers licking their lips sent goosebumps through Abel. He wanted to shout for them to get away imdiately, but he swallowed those words like a bitter dicine. Not only that, but he also restrained his hands from pushing them away, simply clenching his fists and stopped. Instead, what ca out of his mouth was an opposite proposal.

“If you think it’s a waste, then go ahead.”

Although the exact words of what to do did not co out, the two soldiers showed a reaction.

When one of them asked, Abel only looked up at him with a calm gaze that didn’t match the situation.

“If you’re going to kill anyway, do whatever you want first and then get rid of .”

“What?”

“Do you think you’ll have another chance in your lifeti to possess the emperor’s Regas?”

The dry, calm question made the both of them pause.

To possess the Emperor’s Regas?

His dazzling appearance alone was already provocative, but his words aroused their desires even more. It was indeed sothing they dared not covet. However, one of the soldiers imdiately shook his head.

“I see you’re trying to use your head to escape...”

“Are you afraid I’ll run away? You’re afraid you wouldn’t be able to catch .”

Though his words were provocative, his slow, calm voice actually cald the mood of the two soldiers. They exchanged glances, seemingly understanding each other, and accepted Abel’s words.

“There’s no way a small, weak guy like you could escape. But your words are suspicious. Why would you offer yourself to us?”

“Because it’s a waste.”

Abel lowered his green eyes and looked at the other unconscious Regas’.

“To just die like this.”

Overwheld by guilt for being unable to save anyone, he couldn’t die without trying to do sothing. Abel sincerely believed that, murmuring as if to himself. His words continued.

“I need to make use of the advantages of this body.”

Until now, he had only been frustrated by his weak body and had never thought that his appearance could have any advantages. He regretted it even more because he never considered appearance as a strength in his past life. However, the soldiers listened to Abel’s words and had interpreted it differently.

Did he an that he wanted to enjoy himself before dying?

“But I don’t like it here. Please take outside.”

There was no seductive elent in his tone, but the soldiers were entirely won over. The firm voice coming from the fairy-like appearance sounded even more dignified, like an untouchable existence. That’s why they greedily wanted to possess that body. The two made up their minds and grabbed Abel’s arms, pulling him away from the pillar. Then one of them roughly stripped off the white robe which is the only clothing Abel was wearing.

“But just in case, we have to take your clothes off so you can’t escape.”

The white clothes thrown by the soldier fluttered through the air and fell onto a Regas, who was nearby. The clothes covering his face shimred like a veil.

****

Ashler looked worried as he followed Nani into the quarters. Seeing Nani coming to find him at such a late hour, it must be sothing urgent. Sure enough, as soon as he appeared, lmond, who was in a state of panic, quickly spoke up.

“Sir Ashler! S-sothing terrible has happened!”

Clearly flustered, lmond grabbed Ashler’s arm and stamred.

“I-I made a mistake. I gave it to Sir Ashler without checking.”

“Sir lmond, calm down. Please tell what happened, slowly.”

Ashler tried to calm the pale-faced lmond. Following Ashler’s words, lmond took a deep breath and was about to speak slowly when soone else interrupted suddenly.

“No! It was my mistake! I, I didn’t tell Mr. lmond beforehand. Ugh!”

The butler who shouted loudly put his hand on his bandaged chest and looked in pain. Fortunately, lmond and the butler had a loyal servant. Nani quickly went over and supported him. Ashler, wondering what on earth had happened as to why they were so apologetic, asked lmond.

“What happened?”

“That, that dicine.”

What dicine?

However, before asking, lmond explained sothing else with a nervous gesture.

“The butler, who woke up thanks to Sir Kin, suddenly realized that the dicine was missing and asked where it was. Then he suddenly rembered.”

So which dicine?

The repeated question couldn’t co out again this ti. As if on cue, as soon as lmond finished speaking, the butler shouted through his pain.

“Sob, I’m sorry. I didn’t consider it important enough to tell you. You haven’t used that dicine yet, have you?!”

So which dicine is it?

Ashler suppressed his rising irritation. And though he wasn’t pleased, he looked at the one who could explain. You explain it, he thought, looking at Nani, who, as perceptive as ever, quickly began to speak.

“The butler rembered sothing he heard from Lord Abel. There is an important dicine for Abel, but it is such a strong dicine that can only be taken two or three tis a year. So, if you take it at short intervals, it becos a deadly poison. However, Lord Abel took that dicine when he was with His Majesty. And Sir lmond didn’t know about it.”

This ti, Nani’s words were easy to understand. Although he didn’t explain what kind of dicine it was, Ashler already felt uneasy.

“Surely, it’s not that dicine.”

It’s not a brown bottle, is it?

“It’s the brown bottle!”

“......”

“Sir Ashler, do you still have that dicine? You, you didn’t already give it to Abel, did you? Yes?”

He did. He had taken it from Kin and given it to Abel right away. Ashler, shocked, couldn’t respond. Seeing his expression, lmond’s face gradually turned even paler.

“Ah! Just as I feared.”

Thud.

As lmond staggered back, the butler stood up straight.

“Just as I feared?! So, so you’re saying that our Young Master might die after taking that dicine?! Ugh!”

The butler, clutching his chest, was in no condition to speak about others. However, driven by the resolve that he couldn’t watch his Young Master die even if he himself were about to die, he grabbed Nani and stood up.

“I must go see the Young Master. Sniff, it’s all my fault. I must go to the Young Master as soon as possible.”

As the butler stepped forward with tears streaming down his face, lmond also urged Ashler to see him imdiately. When even lmond, who deliberately avoided going near Abel to avoid catching the attention of Norhox’s eyes, insisted—Ashler had no choice but to lead them quietly to where Abel was staying. It was late at night, so they probably wouldn’t be caught by Norhox’s dogs.

However, this worry was in vain. When they had just stepped outside, they heard shouts from a distance. Following the shouts, what ca into view was flas rising high in the distant sky. Although everyone was startled by the sudden fire, they did not stop walking. No one thought that this fire had anything to do with Abel. Even when they saw Abel’s empty quarters.

****

Every ti his skin rubbed against the coarse sack covering his head, it hurt. However, Abel, without making any sound, endured the pain on the horse like a piece of luggage. They seed scared of being caught by Norhox, moving to a place far away from the camp.

Even before they got off their horses, the two soldiers were already excited, and upon their arrival, they even had a small argunt about who would take Abel first. Especially when Abel erged from the sack and revealed his bare white body, their voices grew louder. In the darkness illuminated only by a single small lamp, Abel’s naked body captivated the two n’s eyes like a jewel.

Furthermore, Abel was not ashad of being naked. He had decided to use his beautiful appearance, but he seed unaware of anything beyond that and was more focused on looking around. Seeing his natural movents, as if he had been naked from the beginning, made the soldiers more eager.

“Hey, f*ck it, I’m first.”

One soldier who couldn’t hold back approached Abel, unfastening his pants. Then, another soldier who was about to place the lamp on the ground glared and pulled Abel toward him.

“Don’t bullsh*t. I had already claid him as mine as soon as I saw him.”

While the soldiers fought childishly above his head, Abel looked around the area illuminated by the lamp. He should have felt desperate to escape, but strangely, he wasn’t scared. The last thing he saw before the sack was placed over his head was the quarters where smoke and flas were rising. The two soldiers had set fire to the quarters from a distance as they laughed and made jokes.

“The beggar emperor’s army will rush there thinking it’s the sll of at. Hehe.”

He didn’t feel much sympathy or sorrow. He had no ti to think as he endured the shaking on the horse. Moreover, he couldn’t afford to pity those people who were burned when he couldn’t even help them. Just until recently, he had felt miserable for days when Karas had wiped out the family of the fake who impersonated the 1st Battalion Commander.

The sight of people dying before his eyes could not be erased from his mind imdiately. However, now he understands. What mattered was not the sympathy he felt toward them. It was the guilt for his powerless self, who wasn’t strong enough and couldn’t do anything. He must not gloss over it, claiming there was nothing he could do.

Otherwise, he would not grow. If he got used to cruelty, sympathy would eventually disappear within him. Therefore, what needed to change was himself—to be capable of doing sothing. Although now he couldn’t even take care of himself. Perhaps the realization after witnessing such a horrifying scene provided him with calmness instead of fear.

If it weren’t so, he wouldn’t have been able to find what he needed even after looking around. The breeze blowing through the forest made his skin crawl with goosebumps. He shrank his arms from the cold but didn’t miss the leaves occasionally falling nearby due to the wind.

It was the end of sumr, so the dayti sun was still warm. However, the temperature dropped at night. The wind passing through the forest, as if announcing the arrival of autumn, was colder than ever before, carrying the leaves that had hung heavily on the trees all sumr. The leaves brought by the wind hit Abel’s body and fell to the ground.

Most of these leaves were thin and elongated like feathers. At first glance, it resembled commonly seen dawn redwood leaves. Raising his eyes to check, he saw trees towering high like the palace walls nearby. It was hard to gauge the height in the darkness, but he could tell the black shadows extended quite high.

Ah, so it’s not dawn redwood. Dawn redwoods don’t grow that tall. Then, it might be a bald cypress, which is commonly seen in wetlands. Abel rembered that there was a large lake near the capital.

Is it nearby?

But more important than guessing the surrounding geography was the fact that the trees were bald cypresses. If they were bald cypresses, they would certainly be helpful. The possibility of escaping from their hands has increased. Abel had already provoked them with the intention of running away.

‘Are you afraid I’ll run away? You’re afraid you wouldn’t be able to catch .’

At these words, the soldiers laughed and mocked Abel. It was truly fortunate that they were so careless. Abel knew too. His opponents were far more physically superior than he was, so there would be a significant difference in their running speed. With his weak body that could barely run without his heart stopping, he would obviously be caught.

However, fortunately, there was no moonlight to illuminate the ground today. The world was dark, with even the starlight blocked due to the clouds hiding the moon, which had not shown its cold face even once. If the soldier’s small lamp went out, wouldn’t he be able to escape a bit further in the darkness?

And there was also the bald cypress forest. This would further increase his chances of not getting caught. At least to the lake. Abel fixed his gaze on one spot. To get to where the bald cypresses were, he would have to pass through other trees. With the small lamp barely illuminating the empty space, he couldn’t see into the forest.

However, Abel gazed intently at the °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° shapes and positions of the trees, which appeared as darker shadows within the darkness, as if imprinting them into his mind. Moving through the forest on a night without the moon is a very dangerous task. Even Abel, who had spent almost his entire life in forests and mountains, rarely went outside on nights without light.

Even a person with a keen sense of direction would hesitate when it gets dark, to the point where they can barely rember a new path. Thus, when there was a need to go to a forest without moonlight, he completely morized the path with his body before moving. Rembering only with the mind is not helpful. The feet that step on the ground and the whole body that perceives the obstacles in front must rember the path.

Perhaps this mory will also be incomplete. Still, this was the best he could do for now. He simply rembered the escape route in his mind. Next to him, the fight seed to have ended as one of the soldiers roughly shoved Abel’s body to the ground. His pants were already undone, with his genitals protruding into the air.

“Lie down. Lift your buttocks quickly.”