◈ Episode 277: Owner of the Imperial Castle (2)
The woman on the pavilion was like a work of art made with only the material of beauty.
Silver hair that seemed to be made by weaving moonlight threads.
Braided bun hair that is braided and tied up.
Clean skin without a single blemish and features that show no blemishes.
The overflowing beauty that could not flow down had such a weight that even famous painters would not dare to try to paint it.
She was wearing a dress made of only two colors, gold and silver, symbolizing the sun and moon, and even that splendor barely supported her nobility.
To that extent, she was beautiful and had a huge presence that was difficult to describe in words.
Even the sight of him sitting still and sipping black tea gave off a charisma that was difficult to describe.
“Princess. We have brought guests as you instructed.”
When Pasius opened his mouth, his gaze, which had been gazing at one side of the garden, turned this way.
His amber-like eyes were not fixed on the one who had called him, but on Ludger, who had followed him over his shoulder.
“Did you come?”
A beautiful yet powerful voice.
It was a familiar voice I hadn’t heard in 7 years.
1st Princess Eileen von Exillion.
Called the next emperor in effect, she stared at Ludger with an emotionless gaze.
A normal person would have naturally lowered his head, feeling burdened by those eyes.
But Rudger did not avoid that gaze.
Rather, they faced Eileen from the front and stared at her.
A weak smile appeared on Eileen’s face, who was overcome by boredom and boredom.
“You got it right. Good work, Sir Pasius.”
“I was just following orders.”
“So I give you one more command here. I want to have a conversation with Izai alone, so step back a bit.”
Pasius was taken aback by the words, but remembered the word ‘command’ and immediately bowed his head.
“Yes, I understand.”
Pasius turned back the way he had come and disappeared in the clearing.
Left alone, Ludger stared at Eileen, who was still sitting on the observation deck.
“What are you doing? not coming up.”
“… … .”
Realizing that he couldn’t avoid it since he came this far, Ludger headed to the observatory where Eileen was sitting.
Tring-ting! Tiriling—!
Every time I walked up the marble steps, I heard the beautiful keyboard sound.
Magic was engraved into this marble itself, and it was designed so that sweet music resonated just by stepping on it.
It was truly a space created for the tallest.
The observatory was not that high. Rudger climbed the stairs and casually sat down in the empty chair across from Eileen.
“It’s also cheeky. I didn’t ask you to sit down yet.”
“Isn’t that what you called for?”
“Hoo. Don’t you know who I am?”
“Aren’t you Eileen von Exsilion 1st Princess?”
“Even knowing that, instead of lowering your head, you even face it proudly. As expected, he is a man full of spirit.”
Eileen smiled like she was having fun.
It was a beautiful smile that would instantly captivate any man, but Rudger did not fall for it.
“I heard you called me.”
“Yes.”
“May I ask why?”
Rudger asked directly, as he had no taste for roundabout words.
Eileen’s eyes toward Ludger showed interest, as if she hadn’t expected that he would hit right up like this.
“Reason. Do you have to tell me?”
Words with many meanings.
But Rudger was not swayed by it.
“If you don’t tell me why, no one will know.”
“The world calls you a genius, but is it difficult to understand even with the intellect of a genius?”
“I don’t consider myself a genius. That’s why I don’t know what the princess’s intentions are.”
Words that come without a moment’s hesitation.
It wasn’t something like humility to simply lower one’s rank, but it was something that could come out because he really thought that way.
“Well, if you’re curious about it that much, let me know. As for the reason, it’s not that grandiose. It was just because I wanted to meet the rumored man in person while Seorn’s teachers visited the imperial palace.”
“Are you talking about rumors?”
“okay. I am also very interested in the magic world. The same goes for Ceorn. It’s lacking, but it’s also where my lovely little brother goes.”
Rudger’s one eyebrow twitched as if he hadn’t expected to mention the third princess of Erendir.
“But I heard a lot of the name of one poisonous person in my ears. There is a person who created source code magic, studied coordinate designation magic, and even succeeded in research on increasing the amount of magic discharge.”
After saying that, 1st Princess Aileen added an afterword.
“Oh, and did you say that he even became the head of Ceorn’s planning department?”
“You knew everything.”
“It’s something you have to know. Because everyone is talking loudly. It’s just that other people will soon forget this, but I don’t.”
don’t forget
Ludger’s eyes narrowed at the strange heat he felt from Eileen’s words.
“You seem to have a pretty good memory.”
——————
faqwiki.us
Join our Discord for new chapter updates!
https://discord.com/invite/xr7SxG5T6V
——————
“okay. I like it so much that I get rid of it. I remember what happened seven years ago as vividly as it did last night.”
“… … .”
“Where do you remember? I have especially many eyes to see and ears to hear. That’s why I often hear news that others don’t know.”
“It is nothing special. All high-ranking people call those people one by one.”
“yes. But I’m different from those people. Their eyes and ears are only their own courtyard, but this one sees a little farther.”
Eileen took another sip of the tea.
Rudger also naturally drank black tea.
“Among them, I hear a lot of strange stories that others don’t know about. Are you curious?”
Rudger’s expression didn’t change even though his eyes seemed to be looking right through us.
“I’m not really curious.”
“It’s strange that other people don’t care so much about what I’m eager to hear. Or is it because I don’t need to know?”
“What do you mean you don’t need to know?”
“What, nothing. Just the identity of a great hunter, a criminal of the century, an elusive phantom thief, and a legendary mercenary.”
Eileen grinned at Ludger, probably not even thinking about hiding it anymore.
That figure seemed to be asking if he would keep going until the end no matter where he went.
“… … .”
Rudger silently savored the taste of the tea, then quietly set the cup on the table.
In a peaceful landscape with chirping birds and warm sunlight.
Rudger quietly opened his mouth.
“You forgot one thing.”
“What do you mean?”
“I did some detective work in the middle. It didn’t last that long, but I got a lot of recognition among people.”
“Hoo. You didn’t know that.”
“If you search for Eugène François Vidocque, you will find some data.”
“Do you have any other advice?”
“I just don’t know if he’s a magic teacher in Seorn.”
“Ahahaha!”
At those words, 1st Princess Aileen grabbed her stomach and laughed.
It wasn’t like a princess, but even that was beautiful.
“Now you don’t even think about hiding it!”
“I just know that there’s no use in hiding it in front of someone you already know.”
“Then why don’t you throw away that respect too? I don’t think he’s a man who can wear manners in seven years.”
“Now that I am a teacher at the Magic Academy, I am being polite in front of the person who might become the next emperor.”
“It’s not something that might happen, but it’s actually emperor.”
“The person who ran away wearing a hood in an alley has become clear.”
“Isn’t the shadow that used to tear people to death better than being polite?”
The two did not even try to hide their true feelings from each other.
Eileen, smiling as if having fun with a grim gaze, asked Ludger.
“So what happened to this imperial family? Did you come because you finally had the heart to serve me again?”
“I didn’t come here to see you. I came on business, but you called me.”
“You say you’re respectful, but you’re doing it very ambiguously. Why don’t you just speak casually?”
“If necessary, I can call you extremely high. Do you want to order with the authority of the princess?”
At those words, Eileen shook her hand.
“It happened. If I had followed him anyway, I wouldn’t have run away that day.”
“Is that why you followed me?”
“Because I was curious. Why did the first-class contributor who made the next emperor refuse even that high position and suddenly disappear?”
“I am not emperor yet.”
“It will be soon. So why did you run away?”
“Because power and fame are not what I want.”
“It’s quite famous now for that kind of thing, right?”
“It is different now that I am active as a teacher Ludgar Celisi.”
To be honest, I didn’t think I would become this famous at first, and after that, I’d rather use the fame.
Rudger didn’t bother to explain it to the person in front of him.
She is beautiful, but that is why she is a woman with deadly poison.
She was not to be shown anything that might be a weakness.
It seems like it’s too late now that we already know what’s going on here.
“Are you responsible for what happened recently in Ledervelk? No, that’s right. If it’s something that Sir Terina doesn’t know about, it won’t come to mind unless it’s you.”
“That’s an undeserved evaluation.”
Rudger asked softly as he said that.
“Since when? What you noticed about me.”
“My chess piece in Ledervelk keeps moving forward. It’s been a while since then, but I caught on. That should have been common.”
“You’re the only one who calls Ho Kuk-kyung his chess piece.”
“So it is the pinnacle of this country.”
It was a word that could come out because there was no doubt about his ability and power.
And what made it even worse was that even Rudger could not dispute that brazen declaration.
“So, what happened to the man who once acted as a shadow dagger in the imperial family?”
“Didn’t you tell me? He said he was visiting on a business level as a lead teacher.”
“It is a lie. Others may be fooled, but I cannot be fooled. It must have been for some purpose.”
Eileen’s point was correct.
But no matter how well he knew it, there was no reason for Rudger to tell him why.
“Are you looking for something?”
“… … .”
Rudger glared at Eileen when asked if he was looking for it.
“I guess I got it right.”
“Looks like you already know it, but you’re deliberately trying it out.”
“Not already. I had to work quite hard to figure this out. It had to be done secretly so that others would not find out, so I guess I had a hard time.”
The word effort may sound like an empty word, but Rudger, who knew Eileen, was surprised that she used such a word.
If a person who only praised his talent even if he died soon brought out the word hard work, he meant it from the bottom of his heart.
“I wonder what efforts you made.”
“Nothing. I bought all the art from the Kunst Auction House that was released in the underworld. entire. Not even a single thing left.”
Ah, Eileen corrected her words.
“It’s not ‘none’. You forgot one.”
“… … .”
“With the help of Luke, I found out the list of items to be auctioned at the Kunst Auction House. And when I compared it to the list I retrieved, it was just one thing missing.”
“… … .”
“But it is really strange. It doesn’t have any special ability, and it’s just that pieces of unknown purpose are disappearing.”
the woman in front of you.
The person he faced when he first used a false identity seven years ago.
He knew more than anyone else.
How many valuables did you get from robbing the Kunst Auction House?
It was even siphoned off through all sorts of different routes, not sold in the same place, but divided and disposed of over time.
Even so, Eileen persistently retrieved all of them.
by one’s own abilities.
It’s crazy to be honest.
However, that crazy thing, Princess Eileen, did it.
‘This is true.’
At this point, I didn’t even think about getting angry.
To be honest, it even put my mind at ease.
Because there is no need to create lies on the spot or do annoying things to measure the other person’s intentions in order to hide it.
If you look at it, isn’t it a really suitable partner to have a frank conversation without wearing a mask.
“Well, it’s nothing. It’s just a collection for my personal hobby.”
It was Eileen who read the intention in Ludger’s eyes as well.
‘under. It’s so much fun.’
Do you think this side has caught a number of weaknesses?
It’s been 7 years.
For seven years, without forgetting, he persistently tracked and gathered information.
Thought he had managed to gain an advantage, the man showed no signs of panic.
Rather, he is looking at this side with a challenging gaze.
No, it’s not a challenging gaze.
‘I’m waiting for a challenge.’
Eileen couldn’t help but feel ashamed of herself.
Even though it should be this side to get all the information, occupy the high ground and look down.
Rather, it was because Ludger was looking down this way.
“From the looks of it, the princess must have a lot of limbs.”
“yes.”
“It must have been the one who sent the Lieutenant General at the festival of Seorn, the magic festival. He probably deliberately asked me to contact him to add confidence to his speculation.”
At those words, Eileen shuddered.
She immediately regained her composure and stared at Ludger with narrow eyes.
“… … Whoa. Did you notice that too?”
“How can I not know that the other person went over as if he didn’t know the strangeness of this side at all? Thanks to you, I also got an outline.”
“is it. It seems that it was not the privilege of only one side to be able to compare the opponent in the process.”
“I will tell you, it is useless to try to captivate me through weakness. I just need to disappear like I did again.”
“What if I try to suppress you here by force? This is my territory. If you just call, more than 3 master-level strongmen can come running.”
“Are you going to do it?”
“Do you think you can’t?”
“Then do it.”
There was no worry or fear in Rudger’s voice.
Those words did not contain the conviction that this side would not be able to call the Royal Guard.
Quite the opposite.
The Royal Guard, the Imperial Family Guardian Knights, the Imperial Palace Wizards, and even the Royal Guard.
“I’m not really recommending it.”
Even if he summoned all of them, this man said this because he had the confidence to fight against all of them.
“I will leave the choice to the princess.”
Eyes as blue as sapphire stared at Eileen.
“Like that day seven years ago.”
