The waves lapped gently against the side of the rotting wooden boat, creating a steady lullaby that soothed those exhausted from their flight.
Eric lay curled on the damp wooden floor. He was dreaming.
In the dream, there was no sea, no pursuit. There was only the wet darkness of the North Rivan Cathedral. He saw Sinhara lying beneath him, but this time, the boy did not bite his lip in endurance. Sin was smiling—a seductive and inviting smile that Eric had never seen in reality.
Sin's slender hands wrapped around his neck, pulling him down deeper.
"Eric..." Sin's voice in the dream was as sweet as honey mixed with poison. "Show me how much you want me..."
Hot breath. Frantic friction. Eric felt the blood in his body boiling. He let out a low growl in his throat, thrusting into that illusory warmth, releasing all the suppression, the desires, and the fear of loss.
A burst of pleasure exploded, jerking him out of the dream.
"Hah... hah..."
Eric snapped his eyes open and sat up.
His chest heaved violently. Cold sweat poured down his forehead, mixing with the saltiness of the sea breeze. But worse than that, he felt a shameful, sticky wetness beneath his rough cloth trousers.
He had experienced a nocturnal emission. In the middle of a smuggling boat. In front of the others.
The sense of humiliation turned Eric's face as red as a ripe fruit. He hurried to pull his cloak over his lap to hide his lower body, his eyes darting around to see if anyone had discovered his weakness.
Ardyn was at the helm in the back.
At the stern, only Sin and the black cat remained.
Sin sat directly opposite Eric, less than two meters away. Under the flickering oil lamp hanging from the mast, Sin sat cross-legged, holding a notebook, but his dark eyes were not on the pages.
He was staring directly at Eric's crotch.
There was no embarrassment. No mocking smirk. His gaze was flat, intrusive, and emotionless, like he was observing a lab specimen under a microscope.
"I..." Eric stammered, his throat dry. He wanted to explain, to sink into the ground, to do anything to break this bizarre silence.
Sin blinked and closed his notebook.
"Heart rate increased to 120. Pupils dilated. Respiration rapid," Sin said, his voice as steady as if he were reading a report. "Testosterone levels spiked due to prolonged combat stress and neural suppression. Your body just performed a natural 'release valve' mechanism to maintain homeostasis."
He paused for a moment, tilting his head to look at Eric's bright red face.
"It is a normal biological response for a male, Knight. You do not need to be ashamed. Data shows that 85% of soldiers experience this after major battles."
Eric was stunned into silence.
He gripped the edge of his cloak, his knuckles white. He would have preferred if Sin had laughed at him. He would have preferred if Sin had called him a pervert.
But no. Sin viewed his desire—the intense feelings he had for the boy, which had entered his very dreams—as a "biological mechanism." Like a machine that needed an oil change.
The Red Memory Orb in Eric's breast pocket suddenly felt as heavy as a boulder.
"You... don't feel anything?" Eric asked, his voice thick and wounded.
Sin raised an eyebrow, looking genuinely confused. "Feel what? I have no physiological needs at this moment. And according to calculations, we need to save energy for—"
"Land!"
Ardyn's deep shout cut through the awkward conversation.
Eric turned away sharply, quickly standing up (still holding his cloak for cover) to head to the side of the boat, escaping Sin's soulless gaze.
On the horizon, a strip of dark land appeared in the early morning fog.
Sin stood up and walked quickly to the front. He narrowed his eyes at the rising sun, then at the vegetation along the shore. The tall cypress trees typical of the cold North did not appear. Instead, there were white cliffs and low-growing conifers.
The wind blew from the Northeast.
Sin's expression darkened.
He spun around, lunging toward the helm, grabbing the collar of Ardyn's fur coat.
"You're going the wrong way!" Sin snapped. "This is the Northeast border. The territory of the Kingdom of Valdor. Coreheim is to the Northwest!"
Ardyn brushed Sin's hand away, still holding the wheel tight. He spat into the sea.
"I know where I'm going, kid. I'm not blind."
"Then why are you steering toward a neighboring country?" Sin questioned, his voice sharp. "We need to go to the Capital to save Lady Sil. Every hour that passes, she loses more of her memory!"
"Go back to die?" Ardyn turned, glaring at Sin with his only good eye. "Do you think you can just walk through the gates of Coreheim? Valerius has activated the Great Barrier. Anyone without a Royal magic seal who steps within 10 miles of the capital will be burned to ash."
Sin froze. The Great Barrier? Had he activated it so soon?
"So..." Ardyn continued, his voice lowering. "We are stopping at the Aethelgard Academy of Magic in Valdor. There are mages there with 'International Travel Passes.' We're going to 'borrow' one to pass through the barrier."
"That takes too much time!" Sin argued, his logical brain calculating the risks. "A detour adds 3 days. Breaking into Aethelgard is a 70% risk. Since I have the dungeon map, we can take the sewers—"
"The sewers are blocked too, you idiot!" Ardyn shouted. "I swore to Lady Sil that I would keep you ALIVE. I'm not steering this boat into a death trap."
"I don't need your protection! Turn the ship around!"
Sin lunged, trying to snatch the wheel from Ardyn.
"Let go!"
Ardyn, with the strength of a seasoned warrior, easily brushed Sin aside. He grabbed Sin's hands, twisted them behind his back, and pinned him against the mast.
"It hurts!" Sin hissed. His shoulder joints felt like they were about to pop.
"Listen to me!" Ardyn roared into Sin's face. "You have a smart head, but your battlefield experience is zero! Don't make me tie you up!"
Eric, having finished adjusting his clothes, saw the scuffle and ran over.
"Ardyn! Let him go!" Eric shouted, his hand on the hilt of his sword.
But before Eric could intervene...
KHESHHHH!
A piercing hiss echoed from the roof of the helm cabin.
The black cat Celles, who had been watching in silence, suddenly bristled his tail. Seeing his master in pain, his gold eyes flashed with a wild fire.
He lunged downward.
In mid-air, a burst of black smoke exploded, covering the animal. The small body of the cat twisted and elongated. Bones cracked and snapped.
THUD.
A figure landed on the deck, ramming his shoulder hard into Ardyn's chest, making the large general stumble back three steps and release Sin.
Eric stood frozen, his eyes wide in shock.
Standing in front of Sin was no longer a small black cat. It was a youth.
A youth with healthy, dark skin and messy black hair falling over his shoulders. And he was... completely naked.
Celles's body was lean and agile like a leopard, without a single scrap of clothing. On his head, black cat ears were pressed back threateningly. A long tail flicked behind his back, lashing the air.
Celles bared his fangs, growling in his throat like a wild beast, his bare arms spread wide to shield Sin behind him.
"Do... not... touch... Sin..."
Celles spoke the human tongue with difficulty, his voice hoarse and broken, but full of killing intent.
Ardyn rubbed his chest and looked at the naked "boy" in front of him, then smirked: "Well, well, the kitten knows how to scratch."
But Eric was not laughing.
He looked at Celles. He looked at the naked, balanced, and vibrant body of the beast-kin youth. Then he watched how Sin hurriedly took off his own outer cloak and wrapped it tenderly around Celles, his hand sliding over Celles's bare shoulder to comfort him.
"Easy, Celles. It's okay. He is an ally," Sin said softly, his tone much warmer than when he spoke to Eric.
Celles turned, nuzzling his head into the hollow of Sin's neck, his bare arms hugging Sin's waist tightly, sniffing his master's scent possessively.
A freezing chill ran down Eric's spine. It wasn't from the sea wind.
It was jealousy.
A toxic, dark thought took root in his mind, fed by his earlier self-pity and hurt.
So that's how it is.
Eric clenched his fist.
He doesn't need memories of me. He doesn't need my love. Because he has "this" by his side. A familiar that can turn into a human, always absolutely loyal, always by his side, and...
He watched Celles's hips pressed tight against Sin.
...can satisfy him at any time without needing a troublesome knight like me?
The boat shuddered as it hit the white sands of the Aethelgard coast.
"We're here," Ardyn announced, breaking the stifling atmosphere.
Sin patted Celles's back, signaling him to turn back into a cat (to avoid attention), but his eyes were still full of worry as he looked at a red mark on Celles's shoulder from the impact.
He did not notice Eric standing a few steps away, his face darkened, his gaze toward Sin and Celles full of distance and coldness.
The Red Orb in Eric's pocket seemed to turn cold as well.
The crack between them, already deep, had now grown wider.