Birds of a feather || ARTHDAL CHRONICLES

Chapter 3: Departure

Chapter notes:

This is the first part of the chapter I was supposed to release on the 12th, I decided to cut that chapter into two parts because it was too big and I knew I wouldn't be able to post it on time, so instead of giving you one big chapter late I decided to give you two medium chapters a few days apart. I hope you're not too mad that there is no Saya x Yangcha scene in this one :(

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"So the child we met that day was his son" this new information was a bit hard to swallow for Yangcha. He closed his eyes during a few seconds as the revelation hit him, like a punch to the face. He had pinned to the ground, chained and choked the only heir of his master. He had harmed him ! And he would have ended up killing him if Tagon hadn't stopped him. He clenched his fists and lowered his head, he was angry and ashamed of himself. He had almost destroyed something really precious to Tagon on a simple impulse. He suddenly didn't feel like he was deserving on being by his side. A reaction which didn't go unnoticed by his lord who chuckled once again, albeit this time he didn't sound amused at all, it was more of a bitter laugh.

— I didn't even recognize him myself so how were you supposed to do ?

Yangcha knew he was right but he still felt bad for his past behavior, in any case he should have dealt with the situation way much better. At that time he had let his emotions get the best of him, like a greenhorn. As Tagon's bodyguard he should have been used to people tailing him or trying to attempt to his life, but he had failed, his anger had overcome his mind. Thankfully nowadays things were different, he was much calmer when dealing with those types of situations and he knew he would never do the same mistake again. However it wasn't enough to reassure him as he had another problem to worry about, the consequences of his act: "What if his son resents me ?" He didn't really care about what anyone thought of him in general, but things were different for people like Taealha, Sanwoong or  in this case Tagon's sole heir. No matter how cold his master could be when talking about them Yangcha knew they still held a specific place in his heart. « — Tagon just cannot stop himself from loving people » that was what Taealha had once said to Hae Tuak after having a fight with him. At the time he hadn't understood what she meant by that but after all those years he now agreed with her. Tagon was strong except when it came to the people he loved. It was because he loved them too much that he couldn't discard them away.  "Does he love his son ?"  Yangcha wished he knew the answer but someone like him couldn't understand what "love" is. Instead all he could do was guess, as usual. Tagon had said his son was not as important as Taealha, but he had hesitated before saying so. He didn't believe Tagon's heir could have possibly been more useful than Taealha which meant that his hesitation came from something else. Love. "Is it possible to love someone you have only met once ?" the soldier pondered for a while on the matter before remembering his own encounter with the son of his master. He had hated him right away, so if he could hate someone at the first sight then the contrary surely was possible. "So he does love him" he concluded and realizing this annoyed him a little bit. "It is unfair" said a little voice in the back of his mind but he pushed it away. It was not, it was just how things were supposed to be. He was the dagger and the eyes behind the back of Tagon, nothing more. It wasn't because he wasn't loyal or useful enough it was because he wasn't special enough, between him and the people in the heart of his lord there was an impenetrable wall. He could never give a meaning to Tagon's life like Sawoong did or comfort him whenever he was on the verge of collapsing like Taealha did. All he could do was obey and listen. "But what can his son do for him ?" Yangcha thought about it for a moment then remembered something, Tagon had saved the boy because he was "like him", because he was an Igutu. It still didn't make much sense to the masked warrior but he thought that maybe he couldn't understand because he had never met someone like himself before. He suddenly wondered if things would have been different if he had been able to talk, but even then he wasn't too sure of that. The other Daekan soldiers could talk, they were loyal and useful, and yet Tagon didn't love them. Or at least he didn't love them the way he loved his father or Taealha. If they ever stopped being useful or if they betrayed him he would get rid of them right away. Yangcha thought back to Sanung, the man had been a thorn in Tagon's side for years and yet he was still alive. Yangcha couldn't understand why.  "Love is something quite complicated" he thought to himself and even if he often was curious about it he was glad he couldn't feel it. If he were to love someone he was sure it would only get in the way of Tagon and he needed to remain useful and loyal, or else he would be thrown away.