Hunting dogs barked energetically here and there. Squires and grooms bustled about, inspecting the horses and tying quivers and water skins to the saddles. As the hazy morning mist that had settled over the forest began to clear, the dew clinging to the tall grass sparkled brilliantly under the rising sun.

It was absolute perfect weather for a hunting tournament.

Amidst the occasional sound of horns blowing, likely the band practicing, nobles and knights gathered at the entrance of the forest, chatting with acquaintances and waiting for the tournament to officially begin. Once the King arrived in his hunting gear and declared the start, this forest would transform into a grand hunting ground for the rest of the day.

“I hope they don’t venture too deep. It’s a real pain when people go too far into the mountains and get lost.”

“Doubt it. Everyone knows that if you go deep enough into the mountains, you might run into a tiger. They’ll value their lives enough to be careful. Over half of them will probably be satisfied with catching two or three foxes and turn right back around anyway.”

Guard Squad Leader Simon muttered as he surveyed the area, satisfied that preparations were mostly complete.

The annual hunting tournament was a massive festival for the royals and nobles. For the royal guards, today’s duty was to set everything up beforehand, keep the grounds orderly, and clean up the mess afterward so the esteemed guests could enjoy themselves without a care in the world. Of course, the guards technically ‘participated’ in the hunt on paper, but their true duty was strictly ‘babysitting the Royals.’

During this short, tedious window where preparations were finished and everyone was just waiting for the event to begin, Brick – who had been working non-stop since dawn – took advantage of the break to quickly scarf down a sandwich.

“I’m just worried some idiot will get a burst of liquid courage and try to show off to earn some merit,” Brick mumbled through a mouthful of food.

“If they’re the type to act like an idiot just to earn some merit, they probably aren’t someone of high status anyway, so we don’t have to worry too much about them, right?”

“I guess you’re right…… Wh-what’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that? The sandwich is gone.”

Having chewed his sandwich two or three times before swallowing it practically whole, Brick flinched as he noticed a piercing gaze burning into the side of his head. Isaac, who had also been helping with the preparations since dawn, was staring at him intently.

“Do you want a cookie or someth——”

“If you achieve a feat in the hunting tournament, do you get to see the King’s treasure vault? If so, how great of a feat does it have to be?”

Just as Brick was wiping breadcrumbs from his mouth, looking slightly apologetic, Isaac abruptly asked the question. Simon and Brick stared at him in silence for a moment.

“A feat? You? Since when do you care about things like that? Weren’t you the one always preaching about being content with a quiet, peaceful life of poverty?”

“I was wondering why you brat’s been so quiet and lost in thought this whole time. Is that seriously what you were thinking about?”

Simon and Brick took turns staring at Isaac as if he had grown a second head, their tones full of disbelief. Isaac clamped his mouth shut and looked away evasively.

In the far corner of the field, where the hounds and horses were waiting for the hunt to begin, a few cats were playing in the grass. One was bounding after a butterfly, while two others were playfully teasing a dog. Isaac stared gloomily at the pitch-black felines.

“Wait, why are there cats roaming around here? It’s dangerous. Once the hunt starts, they might get trampled by the horses……”

Brick, a known animal lover, muttered worriedly beside him. Isaac shot Brick an incredulous glare out of the corner of his eye but quietly turned his head back.

‘As if those little monsters would ever get trampled by a horse.’ Despite making absolutely sure the doors and windows were locked tight, he had woken up before dawn to find those three little brats playing right next to his pillow. He had grabbed them, tied them up thoroughly with rope, hung them inside his wardrobe, locked the wardrobe, locked his door, and left. Yet here they were, playing in the field, having arrived even before he did.

“So? How great of a feat do you need to achieve to even get a glimpse of that treasure vault?” Isaac pressed.

“Who knows. Even so, doing something impressive in a hunting tournament probably wouldn’t be nearly enough. Honestly, there just aren’t that many opportunities to achieve a massive feat these days…… Ah, wait! Actually, there was a huge one that blew up just recently! The Roberni incident!”

Scratching his head, Simon suddenly snapped his fingers. The moment he did, Brick grabbed his hand, saying, “Hey, hey.”

“It’s not the Roberni incident. You should call it the murder of Lord Leon.”

“Ah, right, right. The murder of Lord Leon.”

Simon muttered, looking toward a black ribbon tied to the tip of a spear carried by a passing knight of the Grand Duke’s household.

Not too long ago, Lord Leon, the second son of the Grand Duke, had been found dead in an alleyway within the capital. The discovery had thrown not only the royal palace but the entire city into an uproar.

As for Lord Leon, he had been notoriously close with Roberni and often hung around his faction. Considering he was found dead alongside Roberni’s biological younger brother, and judging by the method of murder, it was widely assumed that Leon had been caught in the crossfire of the mysterious assailant who had been hunting down Roberni’s faction recently, becoming unintended collateral damage.

The Grand Duke’s fury over losing his second son pierced the heavens, and he placed an astronomical bounty on the killer’s head. The King also publicly declared that whoever brought in the criminal who committed the high treason of murdering a member of the extended royal family would be richly rewarded.

“By Lord Leon, do you mean that insufferable bastard? The utterly ill-mannered, worthless piece of trash? I bet there are more than a few commoners secretly throwing feasts to celebrate his death.”

“Regardless, he’s still royalty. The King’s nephew. Whoever catches that killer is guaranteed a fat bounty and a high-ranking position…… and, if they’re lucky, maybe even a tour of the treasure vault?”

“But come on, Roberni’s been tearing the city apart trying to find this guy and hasn’t found a single trace. You really think he’s going to get caught easily now?”

“True, but besides that, I can’t really think of any other feat worthy of seeing the King’s treasure vault…”

“…… Is there really actual treasure inside that vault?”

‘And not just some garbage like a run-down tinderbox perfectly sized for locking up three rotten cats?’ Isaac unknowingly mumbled his doubts aloud.

“Yeah. Speak of the devil, someone who’s actually been inside is walking this way. Vice-Captain!”

Brick shouted loudly, waving at Vice-Captain Brown, who was passing by in the distance. Brown, who had been patrolling the area to check for any lacking preparations, walked over.

“Why are you slackers standing around? Are all the preparations finished?”

“You’ve been looking around, you should know. We’ve been working non-stop since dawn, there’s absolutely nothing missing. We even set up the refreshments for the Royals who are going to inevitably sneak back early from the hunt to enjoy some tea time. More importantly, Vice-Captain, you’ve been inside, right? The King’s treasure vault.”

It was unheard of for a regular guard to speak so casually to the Vice-Captain of the Royal Guard, but Brick was Brown’s biological younger brother. Moreover, while Brown was a strict perfectionist when it came to work, Brick was incredibly lazy and hated working more than anything. Since Brown was the one who had practically dragged Brick out of bed at dawn and worked him to the bone, the high-and-mighty Vice-Captain simply raised an eyebrow at the cheeky guard’s sudden question and answered obediently without complaint.

“His Majesty’s treasure vault? Yes, I have. Has it been seven years already……?”

Seven years ago, after successfully subjugating the Lord of Hilsen, who had been secretly plotting treason, Brown and the current Guard Captain, Abe, returned to the capital, received massive praise, and were given grand rewards.

“Why do you ask all of a sudden?”

“What was it like?”

Completely ignoring the question and demanding answers instead, Brick pressed on. Once again, Brown didn’t complain. Staring off into the distance, he spoke.

“It was incredible. Gold, silver, jewels, and all sorts of bizarre and mystical treasures…… A bean that supposedly grows a tree reaching the heavens, golden thread hair from a giant living in the land of the rising sun, a jeweled carriage that turns into a pumpkin at midnight, and so on. The room was so massive, yet it was so packed with treasure there was barely room to step. You couldn’t even tell what everything was. We were told to pick whatever we wanted, and it was genuinely dizzying.”

As Brown narrowed his eyes, clearly mesmerized by the memory even now, Isaac abruptly asked:

“What did you pick, Vice-Captain?”

“A golden pig.”

“……”

Caught entirely off guard by the incredibly mundane answer, Isaac clamped his mouth shut. Brown offered him some solemn advice.

“You can’t pick anything too grand. The King’s eyes will get terrifyingly sharp. You have to read the room.”

“At the time, Captain Abe was clueless enough to pick a golden calf, got demoted to the provinces, and only managed to return last year,” Brown muttered.

Speechless for a moment, Isaac finally sighed and mumbled:

“So you have to take down a provincial lord plotting treason just to achieve a feat worthy of entering that vault?”

“Well…… treason isn’t exactly something that happens every day. Nor is it something that succeeds easily. I did hear that seventeen years ago, someone who wiped out a secret gathering of over a dozen witches got to go inside and walked out carrying a golden urn, but…”

“…… That doesn’t exactly sound like an easy mission either.”

“Of course not. It’s the King’s treasure vault for a reason. Ah, right. The Roberni incident blew up recently. That might actually have enough weight to it.”

Hearing the Vice-Captain mention it too, Isaac realized the incident really was a massive deal. Beside him, Brick corrected him again: “Hey, hey. ‘The murder of Lord Leon.’” Officially, it was ‘the murder of Lord Leon,’ but everyone knew it was just an extension of the mysterious assailant hunting down Roberni’s faction.

“But do you really think that would be easy? Anyone capable of pulling that off is no ordinary thug. They’re probably even worse than Roberni in his prime. But why the sudden interest? You want some treasure too? What is it that you want?”

Brown looked at Isaac curiously, as if this was completely out of character. “No, it’s nothing,” Isaac mumbled evasively.

Setting everything else aside, if the King’s eyes turned terrifyingly sharp over someone picking a mere lump of gold, choosing a genuinely rare and powerful magical artifact would probably land him in a dungeon rather than just getting him demoted. Which meant, even if he somehow managed the impossible mission and got inside the vault, if he picked an immensely powerful treasure like the tinderbox, it might all be for nothing…… ‘If that’s the case, maybe I should just give up on the tinderbox and figure out a different way……’ Isaac pondered.

“OUCH!!”

Suddenly, a black beast darted past him like lightning, viciously digging its claws into his calf as it went. The black beast, chasing after a fluttering butterfly, rolled its massive eyes and threw a sidelong glance at Isaac as it ran by. Right behind it, the other two dashed past, trampling directly over the top of Isaac’s foot.

“Whoa, that startled me. What should we do about those cats? They’re so young, it’ll be dangerous once the hunt starts. We should probably move them somewhere else before they get trampled by a horse’s hoo—”

“Let them get trampled!!”

Isaac inadvertently snapped at Brick, who was speaking out of genuine concern. As a result, Isaac received cold, judgmental stares from everyone present, their eyes clearly saying, ‘What a heartless, cruel bastard……’ Isaac felt it was incredibly unfair.

Just as Isaac was about to roll up his sleeves to grab those little monsters and chuck them as far away as possible, the sound of trumpets echoed in the distance. It was the signal that the King was approaching.

Instantly, the area became a flurry of activity, and the relaxed atmosphere grew tense. Vice-Captain Brown and the other loitering guards quickly returned to their posts, and Isaac did the same, taking his position along the path the royal family would travel and keeping a sharp eye on the surroundings.

In the distance, the procession approached, led by the royal escorts. Following behind the majestic, sharp-eyed escorts were the King and Queen, riding horses adorned in lavish tack, offering generous smiles to the people lining the path.

The King, with his round jawline and plump belly, was a benevolent ruler beloved by his subjects, much like the gentle and affectionate Queen. Assuming you didn’t pick a golden calf from his treasure vault, he was undoubtedly a deeply generous and tolerant man to his subordinates. Looking entirely too peaceful for a man heading into a hunt, the King was accompanied by the gracefully aging Queen, followed by the direct members of the royal family. Having surrendered half of their days to wizards to escape the agonizing curse, the royals looked lethargic, as if they hadn’t fully woken from their sleep. Among them, one man stood out starkly.

It was Kyan.

Following the procession with a face that looked as though everything in the world was profoundly, agonizingly tedious, he also looked lethargic, but his aura was distinctly different from the sleepy haze of the others. He was the one who had chosen to endure the agonizing curse in its entirety rather than surrender half his time to a wizard.

Just as Isaac purposefully averted his gaze from the passing Prince, a cat that had somehow sneaked up to Isaac’s feet began gnawing on his shoelaces until they came undone. Isaac quickly crouched down behind the guards in front of him. Keeping his head down as he tied his shoe, Isaac watched out of the corner of his eye as the hooves of the Prince’s horse clopped away into the distance. Then, he locked eyes with three cats sitting in a neat row right in front of his nose, staring blankly up at him.

“…… What are you looking at.”

「Looking at gum.」

“…… …… ……”

‘Where did these cats even learn such an outdated, ancient joke…..?’ Isaac shook his head, falling into deep distress. Where the hell am I supposed to lock these guys up so they actually stay put?

「I think he’s having useless thoughts again, don’t you?」

「That implies he’s ever had a thought that wasn’t useless.」

「True. By the way, that handsome guy who rode past looking like he was bored to death with everything in the world, that’s the guy we saw on the night of the new moon, right? Seeing him in the sunlight, he really is a spectacular specimen.」

「Of course he is. He’s the most beautiful person in the country. You think I’d just bring any random person?」

「We definitely have an eye for people, that’s for sure.」

“——You miserable little furballs, just because you have mouths doesn’t mean you can…..!”

‘You dragged the absolute greatest disaster in the entire world right into my lap, and now you’re bragging about it?!’ Unable to listen to their nonsense any longer, Isaac flared up in anger and reached for the scruff of the cat’s neck, but his hand grasped nothing but empty air. The three cats had already taken a nimble step back, sitting in a neat row once more and staring at Isaac with slightly narrowed, massive eyes.

Isaac buried his face in his knees, waited a long time for the heat in his head to drop by even a single degree, and finally muttered as if groaning in pain.

“…… Let’s just say what’s done is done. That curse the royal family has…… is there really no way to break it?”

「Of course there is. There are about three ways.」

Hearing the cat with the largest eyes answer casually while licking its front paw, Isaac’s eyes widened.

“Really? What are they?!”

「The witch who cast the curse can lift it, they can live in a land completely devoid of witches, or they can use the tinderbox.」

“…… Which means……”

「Which means you just have to find the tinderbox. See? How easy is that?」

“Yeah, so easy it brings tears to my eyes.”

Isaac grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it directly at them. Having taken a speck or two of dust to the face, the cats hissed and began spitting curses at him. Ignoring them entirely, Isaac slumped like a man who had fallen into the abyss and buried his face in his knees again.

Whatever side effects that damn flint had, ever since that night, he had started hearing the voices of these big-eyed monsters even when he was completely awake. Thanks to that, he felt like he was either going to die of anger, die of stress, or just die in general very soon. ‘I’m going to die this way or that way anyway……’

“So you’re saying that without that damn tinderbox, there is no other way for me to survive.”

Isaac muttered. He could feel the cats practically cheering in victory beside him, but he didn’t even look at them, simply tossing another handful of dirt in their direction.

He had to get his hands on that tinderbox somehow. Not only because he had to face the Prince every new moon, but because he wouldn’t be able to survive the endless nagging of these little monsters.….. Besides,

——It can even turn a half-witch into a pureblood witch. You can become a pureblood witch too. You can board the Crescent Moon–Silver Boat and cross over to the Land of the Dark Moon.

Those words refused to leave his ears.

He had never once thought about wanting to become a witch, and even now, he didn’t necessarily feel a burning desire to become one or to go to the Land of the Dark Moon. But for some reason, those words were carved into his heart and wouldn’t fade. Had he unknowingly been wishing for it all along?

Regardless of his motivations, the answer was the tinderbox. If he just found that, everything would be solved.

He could negotiate with the Prince, telling him he would break the curse if he let him go. Then Isaac could leisurely cross over to the Land of the Dark Moo—…… …… ‘Should I? It’s kind of a shame to leave the land I was born and raised in.’

「I think he’s having entirely useless worries again, don’t you?」

「He hasn’t even found the tinderbox yet, and he’s already drinking kimchi soup first*……」

(**김칫국만 벌컥벌컥: Drinking kimchi soup first—a Korean idiom that refers to jumping the gun or getting ahead of yourself by assuming something will succeed before it actually does.)

「Wait, what is ‘kimchi soup’?」

「Ah, that’s a dish from a country far to the east……」Just as Isaac went to firmly step on the tails of the chattering cats, a tail sharply smacked his ankle instead.

Meanwhile, in the distance, the King was giving a grand speech about the upcoming hunt, declaring today a day for his lords’ bravery to shine, but also warning them to be careful of unforeseen accidents. The moment that speech ended, the hunt would officially begin.

“The mysterious assailant of Roberni’s faction……”

A mutter slipped from Isaac’s lips like a sigh, quickly scattering into the air.

No matter how hard he thought about it, he didn’t think he could possibly reel in a catch that massive, but right now, it seemed to be the only straw he could even pretend to grasp at.

But realistically, he’d probably have to risk his life for that too. Wouldn’t it be safer to just get his blood sucked once a month? Either way, he was a precious painkiller; it wasn’t like the Prince would actually kill him. No, but still……

“Aishh, why is my life so unbelievably twisted…..?”

Lost in a maze of impossible choices, Isaac tore at his hair once again.

The King’s speech ended, and the sound of trumpets echoed majestically into the sky. Simultaneously, a thunderous roar of cheers erupted from the crowd.

The hunting tournament had begun.

Nobles and knights from various families formed groups, large and small, and spurred their horses forward. The pounding of countless hooves echoed as the magnificent steeds scattered into the dense forest.

The royal guards became busy as well. Everyone scrambled to their assigned posts to fulfill their duties. Isaac, who had been assigned to the medical squad, also headed toward his designated area, walking shoulder-to-shoulder with a few colleagues in his team.

“Praying today ends without any incidents.”

“Amen.”

Amen, amen. The voices reciting the prayer out of habit sounded entirely relaxed.

In an event like a hunting tournament, where accidents could happen at any moment, the medical squad was the position most likely to catch stray fire. On the other hand, if nothing happened, it was the easiest job in the world. Since court wizards accompanied the esteemed VIPs participating in the hunt, the chances of a major disaster occurring were almost zero.

Isaac followed at a distance behind the participants who had entered the forest first. He would leisurely stroll through the woods, and if he found someone who had gotten scraped or bumped, he would apply some ointment. If someone looked seriously injured, he just had to escort them out of the forest and hand them over to the wizards. Occasionally, if he stumbled upon a group in the middle of a hunt, he might help drive the prey toward them, or hand a spare water skin to someone who had run out. It was practically just a lighthearted stroll through the woods, acting as a minor assistant.

Time must have passed quite a bit while he was doing this. A long horn blast echoed from afar. It was the signal for lunchtime.

Those who had ventured deep into the forest would likely stop where they were to eat, while those near the entrance would return to the massive tents set up in the fields to dine before resuming the hunt in the afternoon.

Isaac also stepped out of the shade of the forest and headed toward the guards’ barracks. Several colleagues were already lined up to receive their food rations.

“You’re back. Anything happen?”

“What could possibly happen? What about your side? Anything happen?”

“Nothing happened, aside from the fact that my absolute most hated food—peas—are in both the stew and the croquettes.”

“Really? Let me help you with that.”

Isaac, sitting next to the grumbling Hoden with his tray, swiftly reached over with his fork. However, despite complaining about them, Hoden quickly pulled his tray away just before Isaac’s fork could pierce the croquette. Isaac clicked his tongue in disappointment and moved his fork to the croquette on his own tray.

“Looks like this year will end without any issues, just like always. There are plenty of mid-to-high level wizards on standby, so nothing major could happen even if it tried.”

“True. Though there are an unusually large number of wizards here this year. I swear, the moment Prince Kyan makes an appearance, they swarm like a pack of dogs. They say every wizard alive wants to make a pact with him.”

“Well, I’ve heard that the amount of magic a wizard can wield is heavily dependent on the power of the person they make a pact with.”

Isaac mumbled, munching on his croquette. ‘Power’ in this context didn’t just mean physical strength; it referred to an innate, latent energy within a person. And apparently, the Prince possessed a terrifying, fathomless amount of that energy—a level that had never been seen in the past and likely never would be again in the future.

‘…… Who cares. I shouldn’t pay attention, I shouldn’t think about it, and I should stay as far, far away from him as humanly possible.’

Isaac, shaking his head to clear the thought, buried his face in his tray. He must have looked incredibly pathetic, because Hoden threw a few sidelong glances at him before tossing his own croquette onto Isaac’s tray, saying, “Were you really that hungry?”

By the time Isaac rapidly cleared his tray and successfully managed to banish the terrifying figure from his mind, the Guard Captain and Vice-Captain entered the barracks. Looking around at the eating guards, they asked the squad leaders, “Derek, anything to report?”, “Simon, how were things on your end?” Their expressions were entirely peaceful. It was obvious they expected to hear that nothing had happened.

“Hmm. The medical squad assigned to the southern forest seems relatively unoccupied. We could have probably reassigned a few of them elsewhere.”

“But it’s not like any other area is severely understaffed, right?”

“True.”

“This year’s tournament is very relaxed and pleasant.”

Listening to the Captain and Vice-Captain’s satisfied conversation, Isaac – who was part of the southern forest medical squad – perked his ears up, wondering if his assignment would change for the afternoon. It seemed he would just be allowed to maintain his relaxed post.

Having polished off his tray, Isaac patted his full stomach contentedly and stood up. There was still some time left before the lunch break ended.

“Hey there, Isaac. You look like you’re in a good mood. Was the food good?”

“Yes, Captain. The food was good, the weather is perfect, and the duty is relaxed. I couldn’t ask for a better day.”

Exchanging a pleasant greeting with the Captain, Isaac turned to leave the barracks, thinking that a quick nap would make the day absolutely perfect.

But at that exact moment, the sound of running footsteps echoed from outside. A guard covered head-to-toe in dirt and dust burst into the barracks, looking entirely panicked. It was one of the guards assigned to the western forest.

Just as Isaac realized he hadn’t seen the guys from the western forest around, the guard shouted with a desperate, frantic expression:

“The Prince has disappeared in the forest! We need to launch a search party immediately! Please send emergency rations, medical supplies, and additional search personnel!”

“The Prince has disappeared?! Which one?!”

The Captain’s face changed instantly as he shouted back. A tense, heavy atmosphere immediately blanketed the barracks.

“It is Prince Kyan.”

And the flow of that tense atmosphere stopped dead.

A bizarre silence hung in the air for a long moment.

“…… Right, well, even if it is him…… if he’s disappeared, we still have to send a search party…… Hey, hurry up and pack the supplies.”

The Captain instructed, his voice suddenly sounding lethargic and entirely devoid of its previous urgency.

The western forest was denser and more treacherous than any of the surrounding woods. If someone had gone missing there, it was naturally a cause for deep concern. Furthermore, if the missing person was royalty, they were supposed to mobilize every available guard immediately to search. But apparently, that protocol depended heavily on who went missing.

“No, but it’s genuinely strange! He vanished into thin air! Without leaving a single trace…..!”

The guard, who had been looking like he’d seen a ghost since he ran in, stammered in bewilderment, but his words scattered uselessly into the air.

“He’s practically a ghost anyway. You think someone like him is going to leave a trail while hunting?”

“But, but…… it was exactly as if the shadows of the forest swallowed him whole in an instant…”

“I understand. I will send plenty of reinforcements. Let’s see… Right. Didn’t you say the southern forest squad had some manpower to spare?”

The Captain looked around. In that instant, Isaac felt a sudden, sharp prickle at the back of his neck. He quickly hunched his shoulders and stealthily sidestepped toward the exit, but he was a second too late.

“Olsen, Rauder, Chico, Selvero, Etvas, and…… right, Isaac too. That should be enough for now. The men I just called, join the western reinforcement team for the afternoon.”

“I dun wanna!”

Just as he was about to step over the threshold of the barracks, an invisible hand grabbed him firmly by the scruff of his neck, and the words tumbled out of Isaac’s mouth before he could stop them. It was such a reflexive, panicked response that his pronunciation even slipped.

Only after finding himself face-to-face with the Captain—who was staring at him with wide, incredulous eyes—did Isaac realize his mistake.

“What do you mean, you don’t wanna?! Get moving!”

Isaac received a solid knock on the head* and was saddled with the assignment anyway.

(*알밤은 알밤대로 얻어맞고: Getting chestnuts knocked against your head—literally ‘chestnuts hitting chestnuts‘, a Korean idiom meaning to get flicked on the forehead or lightly smacked on the head.)