Chapter 11: The Servant Named Myeong

“I’ll treasure it. So, Wolf-nim, may I keep it?”

“Do whatever you want.”

“If you don’t like it, please tell me. I’ll give it up.”

Myeong spoke softly as he carefully tucked the aquatic plant against his chest. A cold chill still clung to it, making his chest cold, but Myeong didn’t take it back out.

“I gave you the ice flower, so you have to repay me.”

“Yes. What can I do for you?”

“Let’s see. Should I ask you to catch a bear because I want its hide? Or perhaps I want to move a mountain, so I’ll have you carry away all the snow.”

Faced with I-gyeol stroking his red lips while saying such frightening things, Myeong trembled for a moment.

‘How am I supposed to catch a bear? How could I possibly clear away all the snow covering this vast land?’

As the wolf listed impossible tasks one after another, Myeong’s heart grew heavy, already afraid that he would disappoint him.

Myeong stood quietly and waited for I-gyeol to finish speaking. Although his body trembled and his vision had grown hazy, as though he might collapse at any moment, he showed nothing.

“Hey.”

“…”

“Hey!”

“Yes!”

When I-gyeol suddenly shouted, Myeong flinched and answered.

“Are you making such a fuss just because you dipped yourself in the lake once?”

“No, I’m not.”

Myeong had thought his body felt heavy because his heart was heavy, but the icy winter wind was making his mind grow increasingly hazy.

‘What if he realizes how weak I am?’

Myeong vigorously shook his head. He was probably the only spring servant in the winter lands. For the sake of the God of Spring, he couldn’t afford to look weak.

Myeong straightened his small shoulders and stood upright.

“Tsk, tsk.”

I-gyeol clicked his tongue. It was obvious that the cold had nearly numbed the boy’s mind. In the northern land, where the nights were long, the power of darkness was stronger than that of light.

The cold energy frozen throughout the land was the exact opposite of the warm energy of spring, making this a deadly environment for a servant of spring.

“I want the shoes of a camellia fairy.”

“A camellia fairy?”

“That’s right. You’re a servant of spring, so you must be familiar with flowers. Read the energy of the camellia and bring me its shoes.”

‘That should make us even.’

I-gyeol turned around and began walking slowly. Myeong followed behind him. His unsteady steps fluttered like a butterfly dancing in the air.

“What is that?”

“What?”

“The camellia fairy. I’ve never heard of it.”

“You’re a servant of spring and you don’t know the camellia fairy?”

“…I’m sorry.”

Myeong had only asked because he didn’t know, but he gained nothing from the question. His spirits dampened, and he lowered his head. I-gyeol’s long robe brushed softly over the snow without leaving so much as a mark.

“Come to think of it, I haven’t even heard your name. How rude of you not to introduce yourself.”

The fact that I-gyeol himself hadn’t introduced his name was much the same, but only now did he ask Myeong for his.

Myeong held his breath before hurriedly exhaling again.

“My name?”

“Did you think I was asking for mine?”

“…Do I really have to tell you?”

“Oh, look at this. I personally went out of my way to ask your name, and instead of thanking me, you’re asking me that?”

As I-gyeol’s voice gradually rose, as though offended that Myeong dared ignore him, Myeong quickly shook his head and explained.

“No, no. That’s not what I meant. Thank you. My name is…”

“What is it?”

I-gyeol knew that Spring personally bestowed names upon his servants.

‘How precious could a name be for him to act like this?’

He clicked his tongue at the unexpected stubbornness.

“My name is Myeong.”

Myeong (無名).

Back when he had only lived in the land of spring, his name had been painful, but he had never been ashamed of it. Myeong squeezed his eyes shut and forced the name from his lips.

‘If only I could pick up a name somewhere, I’d pick one up and hide it behind my back.’

“Huh…”

“…”

“Hurry up and follow me. We need to find those shoes.”

Rather than asking what his name meant or why he had been given such a name, I-gyeol merely swallowed a hollow laugh. Then he urged the motionless Myeong to hurry.

Myeong hid his aching heart and smiled faintly.

****

Because night came early in the winter kingdom, darkness quickly settled over the snow. Myeong was trembling so violently that he looked as though he might die at any moment, so I-gyeol had no choice but to enter a nearby ice cave and settle down.

“Th-thank you…”

“…”

His mouth had nearly frozen, causing his pronunciation to slur. Myeong hugged himself tightly with both arms and thanked the wolf.

I-gyeol sat leaning against the cave wall, glaring at Myeong, who was small enough to fit in the palm of his hand, and snorted.

Something felt wrong.

Now that the king had awakened, his servants should have come running immediately. Yet his own servants hadn’t shown even the slightest trace of themselves, while he was stuck guarding some pointless servant of spring.

After sitting under I-gyeol’s frost-cold gaze for quite some time, Myeong soon began nodding off. He had expended far too much energy.

I-gyeol sensed Myeong’s rapidly diminishing strength.

‘At this rate, he won’t make it through tomorrow afternoon.’

I-gyeol repeatedly combed his long hair with his fingers, twisted it around, and rubbed the strands between his fingertips before letting out a deep sigh.

‘A spring scent so faint it was difficult to detect. A tiny body and the appearance of a mangy puppy.’

He certainly seemed like an abandoned servant, yet he had somehow made it all the way to the winter wolf’s cave alone despite possessing such faint energy.

I-gyeol had been angry when he heard about the ice flower and had teased him without thinking, but the more he thought about it, the stranger the situation seemed.

‘Spring is the season that loves his servants the most. And yet he gave his servant a name like that? Even if he has declined, I’ve never seen a servant with energy this weak. He’ll die within a day or two even if no one touches him. If he disappears before spring returns, then only winter will remain. What would Mago think? Is this part of his plan as well?’

It had been a long time since the scales had tipped, yet I-gyeol still couldn’t understand Mago’s intentions.

‘Was it only this young servant who had been abandoned, or everyone?’

His familiar boredom and weariness followed him like a shadow, never losing its way.

And at that moment…

Thud.

Myeong collapsed face-first onto the floor.

I-gyeol emerged from his thoughts and looked at Myeong, who was sleeping soundly.

He remembered the gloomy expression Myeong had worn when giving his name.

‘He hasn’t even been born that long, yet he already has the face of someone who’s lost his way.’

But that didn’t mean I-gyeol felt sorry for the little servant or pitied him.

‘It’s nothing more than curiosity. I’m merely interested in why Spring, who cherishes his servants so much, gave him a name like that.’

I-gyeol frowned, then soon gave up and transformed into a wolf.

‘I can’t kill him. At the very least, I should show him a little mercy.’

He wrapped Myeong in his thick tail, and even in his sleep, Myeong instinctively burrowed toward the warmth.

‘I’ll tease him a little until we get those shoes. Then I’ll find out why his name is such a ridiculous thing. That’s all.’

I-gyeol watched Myeong sleep peacefully with lowered eyes.

And he did not take his eyes off him until dawn.

****

Myeong opened his eyes inside a bundle of soft fur. It was fluffy and wonderfully plush, and because it felt so good, Myeong unconsciously rubbed his face against it and acted spoiled.

“Don’t you dare, when you haven’t even washed your face.”

“Oh! You’re awake?”

‘The wolf-nim gave me his tail.’

Myeong sprang upright and bowed his head in thanks.

Thanks to him, Myeong had been able to sleep without even realizing how cold it was. In fact, he almost felt a little warm.

“Thank you so much. Your fur is so soft. It’s even nicer than the feathers of the Vermilion Bird.”

With a lingering touch, Myeong gently stroked the fur on the wolf’s tail.

As though responding to his touch, the tail swayed softly.

“You’ve touched the Vermilion Bird’s feathers?”

“Of course. I used to take care of it, too.”

Myeong proudly boasted that he had cared for divine beasts without being afraid of them.

‘That’s why I wasn’t scared even when I first met such a huge wolf.’

When the wolf had opened his mouth as though he intended to eat him, Myeong had been a little frightened, but he had no intention of telling the wolf that.

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