Trying so hard to make the wolves mere hunting dogs, weapons without will…

But Sol seemed to have decided not to keep up such pretenses anymore.

Even the loose leash Sol held on Regan could not overcome his madness and anxiety.

“I should have killed you when you were a puppy. You’re finally trying to devour me.”

It didn’t make sense that he would say such things after falsely accusing Regan of killing San, but in any case, Regan could read Sol’s obsession in his words.

Regan tapped his fingers on the sword hilt.

“The strange thing is that Sol was convinced I would kill him.”

He’s not a dragon mentioned in legends, nor does he have prophetic powers… but Sol acted as if he had clearly seen such a future.

Those hate-filled eyes that glared at him ominously, shooting words at him in a tone that definitively judged Regan as his future murderer.

As the leader of the Sun’s Wolf Squad and Sol’s general, having faced countless others, Regan could tell. It wasn’t the kind of thing one could fake.

Sol’s gaze was that of someone who had clearly seen his own death and its perpetrator with his own eyes, and it was not a grudge of just a day or two.

‘Perhaps he’s thought that I would be his downfall for a very long time.’

Like the white death that eventually comes like fate to outstanding heroes.

Whatever the case, Regan was dragged away by Sol, subjected to hardship, and while being transported to prison, he barely managed to escape when surveillance became lax.

And then he was hunted by the wolf pack that had originally belonged to his dead clan, the Fenril, and was subsequently filled with his subordinates.

By the Sun’s Wolf Squad, whose emblem was engraved on the tip of the sword Regan was now holding.

It was a ridiculous situation.

After hearing the entire series of past events, Haniel became less talkative.

“…I see.”

It was a grim story.

A king who contributed to the death of his family, treason, and false accusations. Isn’t that too heavy and terrible for one person to experience?

She couldn’t help but feel heavy-hearted as well.

Perhaps… now that she’d heard the story, she had a guess. She placed her hand on Regan’s arm and asked:

“Could it be… is that why you initially said you would spend your mating season alone?”

“…Yes. Because if I involved you, it was clear that you would be in danger.”

‘To think he had such circumstances…’

Feeling pangs of guilt, Haniel scratched her cheek and inwardly chastised herself.

She felt uncomfortable at the thought that her impatient probing about Regan not talking about himself must have been painful for him.

But Regan didn’t seem to mind about that. Rather, he took Haniel’s hand with a dejected face like a cowed dog.

“But in the end, it turned out like this. I should have told you sooner—it’s my fault.”

“Regan.”

“If you condemn this as deception, I will accept it willingly.”

A dog with its ears laid back.

Despite the situation, that’s what Haniel thought when she looked at Regan.

Like a puppy that had accidentally bitten its owner’s hand and was now completely cowed…

Haniel dropped her head and clenched her teeth. Rift, trackers, Soleil, Regan… status window. Calculations on how to overcome this situation became tangled in her head, but the conclusion was the same.

She had been chased by a bear, fallen into a hole, and trembled violently… no, actually, she was still scared, but now was the time to pull herself together.

Because nothing would be resolved by just staying still.

“Haah… for now… for now, I understand.”

“Haniel?”

She firmly grasped Regan’s hand that completely covered hers.

“We’ll find a way to get through this somehow.”

Haniel raised her head and met Regan’s eyes.

Lee Haneul, Haniel, is a person who struggles to find a way out even when falling into the abyss. Because she had to keep thinking of herself as such a person, Haniel kept reminding herself again and again.

Even if she rolls around miserably and looks ridiculous, she will somehow manage to do it. That’s how it will be.

Haniel spoke to Regan, who was blankly staring at her, in a deliberately firm voice.

“Really. And, I told you I would take responsibility for you, didn’t I?”

Regan was indeed a son of a b*tch. But regardless, he was Haniel’s dog.

What had entered her home, what was in her hands—Haniel would never let go, come what may, this wolf of hers.

“You are my wolf. My wolf that I brought into my territory. I never let go of what’s mine.”

“……”

“Once you’ve entered my territory, your problems become my problems too.”

Haniel nodded as if reminding herself.

“First, we need to get out of this Rift. And then, let’s half-kill those who are chasing you, no, us. What do you think?”

‘Us’.

At that word, Regan’s blue eyes widened.

“I, am……”

He moved his dry lips.

He didn’t know what to say. What to do…

…In truth, Regan didn’t consider his past in Soleil to be entirely painful. That’s how it had been.

In this world, everyone lives with that degree of pain.

Wrongful death is something to be briefly sympathized with, and the annihilation of an entire family is also unfortunate… but these are not uncommon events and are soon forgotten.

Like leaves covering the forest floor, the trivial grief and misfortune of old fallen leaves are hidden by the new pain that continues to pile up, rotting away and disappearing like that.

Still, among such fallen leaves, Regan was relatively fortunate.

Although all members of his family had died without even their bodies being found, and he lived a life where he was treated like a weapon while begging Sol for his position… didn’t Regan have the right as the only sword left to Sol? So with that nominal name and sturdy body, he had enjoyed luxuries too good for a mere fallen leaf.

Even if he moved and was handled by someone else’s will rather than his own, that too was unavoidable.

Isn’t that how the world works, not going as one wishes? His dissatisfaction and the treatment he received were completely separate issues… that’s what Regan had thought.

That it’s natural for everything in this world to be dark.

The only path he knew was the one shown by Sol, even if his feet would burn.

That’s why he hadn’t realized until now that he had been in twilight.

And now, for the first time in his life, bright sunlight was shining at his feet.

Not a small, dim sun illuminating a narrow path… but warm, bright sunlight that could embrace him as he was…

Regan’s eyelids trembled.

Those golden eyes seemed like the sun, brightly illuminating him who had always been in the shadows, drying him thoroughly.

The sun rising in the middle of the noon sky. The golden gaze that clearly illuminated him, revealing even the inner thoughts he had hidden and the fragments he had diligently concealed because they were considered ugly.

Regan only moved his lips like someone who had forgotten how to speak in the face of Haniel’s gaze.

Because it felt like no words could properly explain the emotion he was feeling…

It would be frustrating that a man as big as a mountain couldn’t give a proper answer and was in such a state, but Haniel patiently waited without rushing his response.

Regan looked at Haniel through his eyelashes and fell silent at the sudden realization that came to him.

Had there ever been such a being in his life?

Both he and she would be equally despairing after falling into the Rift, so how could she be like this?

Haniel was infinitely weak and small, but it was inexplicable why she appeared so large at this moment.

His heart felt like it would burst.

‘Perhaps…’

The reason why he had continued to fall, and even after falling, had continued to run, even with broken feet.

Someone might laugh at his fall and sympathize with his plight of being chased to this kind of forest…

But Regan thought that perhaps, the reason he had continued this sluggish life until now was for this very moment.

For this moment of hearing those words Haniel just said. And for this moment of holding hands with her…

Something felt like it was swelling, tickling and aching inside his chest.