Michel Sieron!

The moment he heard that name, 299’s black eyes widened. Seeing this, Michel was certain.

[It’s you.] […….] [The Homunculus that the Gypsies made.]

In that moment, 299 thought.

If I stay here, I will die at the hands of Michel, the man I was ordered to kill.

The reason 299 had infiltrated the Solzeleon Empire that day was none other than to kill Michel Sieron, who had come out to support the Hopgrand Reformation.

Half of 299 was a beast. And the beast, more than anyone, clung desperately to life, fighting instinctively to avoid death. Not by thinking rationally for a way out, but mindlessly. However, 299 didn’t run.

‘Why?’

That thought filled his mind.

‘I’m still alive.’

In this critical situation, he still held onto a piece of candy in his hand, instead of the usual dagger. If he threw away the candy to grasp the dagger for the sake of survival, would that really be living?

‘Am I alive, or is it just my body?’

Because of this thought, in the end, 299 didn’t run away. And Michel was not the sort to miss such an opportunity.

[Catch him!]

They even called in knights who were searching elsewhere to surround 299. In the process, 299 dropped the candy.

[Ah, uh!]

While being forced to kneel and having his head jerked back, 299 fiercely struggled. The candy rolled on the dirt floor. Knights stomped on it as they moved. Eventually, it shattered, crushed under the foot of a passerby.

[Ugh, ugh……]

299 cried. Even when his shoulders were torn by beasts or when he underwent experiments, 299, who had never shed a tear, cried for the first time then.

Michel’s eyes widened at the sight. Michel looked at where 299’s gaze was fixed. The candy he had given him lay shattered and scattered.

[……Surely not.]

For a moment, Michel’s face clouded. He looked again at 299, whose face seemed far too young, almost as if he was merely ten years old. Moreover, what was revealed from under the hood taken off by the knights was an arm full of bruising and red pinpricks.

[There’s much to ask. Just make sure he doesn’t commit suicide!]

In the end, Michel stopped a knight about to execute 299 on the spot.

That night, 299’s beast-like acute hearing picked up a conversation between Michel and someone else from beyond the prison.

[He’s not human. He’s a beast and an enemy. How many of our allies do you think have suffered because of him? You said he should be executed immediately too!] [I did at first. But now I know he’s just a child.] [Michel, the one you’ve been after all this time is 299. And now what? You want to reform him?] [I know! But… a child mesmerized by mere candy wouldn’t know what he’s doing. He’s just doing as told.] [That’s your guess. And even if he’s young, he knows he’s committing murder. He’s not worth keeping alive.]

Someone strongly argued against Michel, insisting that 299 should not be kept alive, and left. No response came from Michel.

A few days later.

Something rolled toward the tortured 299. Lying on the floor and taking shallow breaths, 299 smelled a familiar and desperate sweetness. It was candy wrapped in paper. Lifting his dim black eyes, he saw Michel.

[It’s herbal candy. Once you eat that……]

Michel tossed a key. 299, lacking the strength to even twitch a finger, simply stared.

[Go.]

Michel said so and turned to leave. His departing figure, devoid of any regret, was deeply imprinted in 299’s eyes.

[Stupid child, why didn’t you leave?]

Just before Michel was executed for helping a prisoner escape, 299 fought off the knights trying to kill Michel.

299 fought despite suffering mortal wounds, but he didn’t kill any of the knights who were trying to kill him. As if only to protect Michel.
Not long after, rumors spread that Division Commander Michel Sieron of Eloniac 2nd Division had picked up Homunculus and enlisted him into Eloniac, under the name Ivan Biljeck.

Ivan never had any confusion.

The moment he saw Michel, who was kneeling and in danger of dying, not regretting saving Ivan, he instinctively knew. He knew he would love that man and that he would come to love him.

‘I’m half a beast.’

Ivan wanted to build a home with Michel. He wanted to spend a lifetime together, sharing their lives. He wanted to have a child and live together in harmony.

Even though he was young and unlearned, he couldn’t ignore his instincts as half a beast. And because human blood was also mixed, he knew to call this instinct love.

But Ivan’s love was rugged. Apart from the two’s age, there was a twenty-year difference that couldn’t be overcome, even if heaven and earth were flipped.

It was the same for others, even the puppeteers who suck children’s snot money were saving their words.

Ivan’s lips twisted coldly. Michel didn’t know.

Cats are animals that clearly distinguish their territory and humans. They’re cruel and instinctual animals, capable of even breaking the most cherished items in front of their owners.

‘If only you had saved me.’

So someone might call Ivan ungrateful or disrespectful. But that’s ultimately others’ perspective. To Ivan, only Michel was important.

‘I have to take responsibility, Michel.’

He knew it’s futile. He knew there’s nothing good to gain from this. But that wasn’t Ivan’s character.

Ivan looked at the actor, then walked away slowly.

“Ah, well, just sleep for ten nights and it’ll be fine.”

As children began to whine and cry for an immediate answer, the actor hesitated. Ivan approached the actor and forcibly took the puppet.

“Hey, hey! What are you doing?”

The startled actor tried to stop Ivan, but to no avail. Ivan skillfully moved the stick and string, manipulating the paper dolls as he continued the story.

“The child said, ‘Knight, I want only you.'”

Children immediately glued their eyes to the unfolding story, and soon enough were clapping and sitting down. Ivan dodged the actor who tried to snatch back the paper doll and continued his performance.

“The knight said, ‘The love you’ve shown me has melted my heart.'”

As the story continued, Ivan’s face twisted painfully, but his voice brightened. Even the parents of the confused children started shedding tears because the knight’s love for the child was so sincere.

“And so, the knight and the child lived happily ever after.”

“Woah!”

Children jumped up from their seats to clap. Even the adults behind them clapped. The actor looked at Ivan, dumbfounded, as if he realized something.

“Thank you for enjoying it.”

Ivan opened his arms wide as if he were truly an actor on stage, then bowed. He returned the doll to the astonished actor.

“Here it is.”

He tapped the actor’s shoulder once and walked past him. He scanned the crowd with his dark pupils; the one he was looking for was not in sight.

“Where did he go?”

Earlier, he had moved on a whim, thinking he should conclude the puppet show story with his own hands. It was almost like an animal’s instinct. But now when he searched with reason, Yuric was nowhere to be found.

‘He’s not around here, for now.’
Had he seen that I was going to the puppet show and decided to head there on his own? But Yurik wasn’t at the bookstore, where we were supposed to meet today.

‘Did I pass him by?’

Wondering if he was waiting for Ivan and looking around, that’s when it happened. Something caught his eye.

‘That is.’

He rushed to pick it up; it was the handkerchief Benjamin had used to tie the bouquet he gave to Yurik. Yet, Yurik was nowhere to be found nearby.

“……Could it be.”

Ivan’s face paled. Blinded by love, he had failed to fulfill his responsibilities.