Lucian's Shadow
Lucian never stepped forward himself, as usual. He sat perched on a rock, quietly watching. He enjoyed the way the group that followed him moved on his behalf.
The one who usually took the lead in tormenting Warren was Glover, who could be called Lucian's right-hand man. Though he was a commoner like Warren, Glover walked around with his nose in the air, confident that Lucian had his back.
“Grab him.”
Glover had the others pin Warren from both sides while he stood face-to-face with him. One corner of Glover’s mouth curled up. This was his favorite time.
“When you go out… you should… say you’re going out!”
Thud! Thud!
Glover spat out each word between brutal punches to Warren’s stomach. Though he had experienced it countless times, the pain never became familiar. Warren clutched his belly and collapsed to his knees. He clenched his teeth, swallowing back the groans that threatened to escape.
Glover followed up with a vicious kick to the crouched Warren. The impact sent Warren sprawling onto the ground.
“Hey, look at this. The bastard went out and brought back something good.”
One of the guys rummaging through Warren’s bag spoke up. The sound of coins clinking made even Warren turn his head.
‘That’s…!’
In the boy’s hand was a small pouch—neither too big nor too small. It was filled with money. Watching another thug shake it around, Warren felt his blood run cold.
It was an incredibly precious item. Not because it was the largest sum he had ever touched. Inside that pouch were the grateful hearts of people who cared for him. The blacksmith uncle’s recognition of his skill and Kael’s encouragement that had given him courage—they were all contained within it. He could not let that be taken.
“If we split this, it’ll be a decent amount.”
The thugs ignored the fallen Warren, too busy peering into the pouch. At the same time, they kept glancing at Lucian to read his mood. Lucian simply smiled without adding a single word. Glover and the rest took that as permission.
“You can’t have that!”
Warren shouted as he charged at them. He shoved the boy holding the pouch aside and snatched it back.
“What the—! This bastard.”
“Stomp him!”
Warren curled up on the ground, clutching the money pouch tightly. Merciless kicks rained down on his limbs, his back, but he protected the pouch as if it were more precious than his own body.
It was a familiar scene. They beat him, and Warren took the hits.
‘I can’t just keep taking this.’
But today was a little different. The light in Warren’s eyes had changed. No one could see it because his head was bowed, but a new resolve burned in his gaze.
Until now, he had only endured helplessly. Excluding Lucian, there were five of them. Warren had always been intimidated by their numbers.
‘You don’t know until you try.’
Kael’s words came back to him. They had trampled him because they trusted in their numbers. But Warren knew he could win one-on-one against any single member of the gang. The only one he couldn’t beat even in a fair fight was Lucian, the leader of the pack.
“This guy’s being stubborn today.”
“Did he eat something weird outside?”
The gang grew slightly uneasy as Warren continued to endure and huddle instead of giving up like he usually did. The moment their kicks paused—
“Yaaah!”
Warren sprang up with a roar and lunged at Glover. In an instant, he tackled him to the ground and swung his fists wildly.
Thud! Thud!
“Ugh…!”
The rest of the gang grabbed Warren from behind, but he stubbornly kept hammering his fists into Glover’s face.
Step. Step.
At that moment, Lucian, who had been silently watching, walked over.
“That’s a lot of money.”
Lucian picked up the pouch that had fallen to the ground and muttered.
“Give it back!”
Lucian. The opponent Warren had never once defeated since their first spar after entering the academy. Yet Warren charged at him anyway. The item was precious enough to make him forget his fear, even if only for a moment.
Thud!
Lucian’s brutal kick sent him crumpling forward helplessly.
Lucian crouched down, lowering his posture. He dangled the money pouch lightly beside Warren’s face as he lay sprawled at his feet.
“You should size up your opponent before you rush in.”
“Give… it back.”
“Where did you get this much money? You didn’t steal it, did you?”
“It’s not like that…”
Before Warren could finish, Lucian stood back up.
“Get him on his feet.”
He nodded at the boys nearby. Two of them approached, grabbed Warren from both sides, and hauled him upright. Even as he staggered, Warren gathered his courage and met Lucian’s eyes.
Lucian was a full head taller, so Warren had to look up. While he might not fear the others, deep terror still lingered when it came to Lucian. It wasn’t something he could shake off overnight. The fear wrapping around his body slowly dragged Warren’s gaze downward, bit by bit.
“If you admit you stole it, I might let you off easy today.”
Warren’s eyes widened at Lucian’s next words. Admit he stole it? There was no greater insult. The faces of Kael and the blacksmith uncle flashed through his mind again.
“Of course, if you say you stole it, we friends should share it, right?”
Lucian glanced at his followers, then smiled down at Warren.
Friends? Could this really be called friendship?
“What do you say?”
Lucian’s question fell over Warren’s head. Warren had never been greedy for money from the start. He had even planned to give all of it to Kael, who had worked harder for it. But Kael had graciously left the entire pouch to him. It was practically a gift from Kael. That made it all the more impossible to lose.
If it had been money he earned alone, he might have given up and pretended it never existed. But when he thought of the time he had spent with Kael, he simply could not let it go.
“No.”
Though his voice was small, Warren stated his will clearly.
Lucian’s smiling face twisted.
Wham—!
With a heavy thud, Warren’s body tumbled across the ground. The sound of coins scattering followed right after. The other boys watching were startled and turned to Lucian. He had swung the money pouch like a club and smashed it into Warren’s face.
Warren, sprawled on the ground, thought for a second that he had lost consciousness. Everything went black in an instant. By the time he realized it, he was already face-down, and the metallic taste of blood filled his mouth. Through blurry eyes, he saw the coins scattered on the ground and finally understood what had happened. A tremendous wave of pain hit the entire left side of his face a beat later.
“Stomp him.”
Lucian tossed the torn, empty pouch aside and spoke casually. Then, as if nothing had happened, he strolled back to the rock where he had first been sitting and perched on it again.
“You’re dead today, you son of a bitch.”
Glover, blood trickling from his split lip, stood up panting. He cracked his knuckles with a loud pop, his eyes blazing with fury as if he would devour Warren at any moment. The rest of the gang, who had been stunned by Lucian’s rare personal intervention, snapped out of it and followed Glover’s lead. A few even sneaked coins into their pockets while pretending to approach Warren.
“How dare a piece of trash like you…! To me!”
Glover kicked Warren with each broken sentence. The others joined in. Warren groaned under kicks that were far more vicious than before. Even so, his clenched fist held tightly onto a few of the coins that had fallen. His fist did not open until the beating was finally over.
“Since it’s something Sir Lucian gave us, drink it gratefully.”
Once his anger was spent, Glover poured a mouthful of healing potion into Warren’s mouth. It wasn’t an act of mercy from Lucian’s group. They were simply covering up the wounds on his face so no one would know what had happened to him. They always did this whenever the injuries were too obvious.
After Lucian’s gang left, Warren finally opened the fist he had kept clenched the entire time. Three small coins sparkled even in the moonlight. Looking around, he saw a few more coins they hadn’t picked up still lying on the ground. Warren crawled over and gathered them into his hand. Even then, they barely filled one palm.
After enduring all that pain, this was all he had managed to protect.
Drip. Drip.
Hot tears fell silently to the ground. Though every inch of his body ached and he had no strength left, he clenched both fists tightly.
‘I have to become stronger.’
Though almost none of the precious thing he tried to protect remained—
‘I will become stronger. Like Kael.’
Warren had not been broken yet.