Episode 47. Hwaunseok (3)
The next day.
Tina prepared to leave for Gillyfield Arboretum right away. In fact, there wasn’t much to prepare.
All you had to do was put on a pouch that could be easily carried around while transformed into Roinecrow, and put the meteorite inside it.
“Then shall we meet at the Tolois Auction House?”
A quiet empty lot. Rubin’s carriage was parked, and Roinekrow Tina was waving her beak here and there, speaking confidently.
“After planting, be sure to check. If the meteorite doesn’t lift easily when pulled, it means it’s been planted properly.”
“Don’t worry, it’s that simple!”
“…Is it alright, Young Master?”
Kuze asked with an anxious face.
The implication of those words was whether Tina, a member of the Hwan-hyeol tribe, could be left alone like this. In other words, whether Tina herself could be trusted.
Rubin understood correctly, but Tina mistook it for words of concern for her.
“Hey, Kuze! It’s good that you’re worried about your sister, but it’s annoying when you keep ignoring me too.”
“… … .”
“Do you know how safe it is to move to the sky? As long as they’re not bad guys like the Slaughter Squad, there’s no problem.”
That was true.
Aside from Grandbird, there is no monster in the sky that can threaten Roinecrow.
Because the clusters of dark smoke that Roinecrow possesses are linked together like a giant chain, other monsters often avoid them.
“Tina, don’t hesitate and go. You have to move diligently so that you can return on time. Once you enter the Tolois Auction House, then do as I tell you.”
Instead of answering, Tina flapped her large wings as if saluting. Then, she flapped her wings vigorously and rose into the air.
Tina soon becomes a small dot and disappears into the clouds.
“Let’s go too.”
“Are you really going to Tolois?”
When Kuze asked that, he thought of something and spoke again.
“If our final destination is the Tolois Auction House, then we’ll first need to get tickets to the auction house. Tickets vary depending on the season, so right now… … .”
“It’s troll blood at this time of year.”
That was exactly what he was going to say, so Kuze nodded with a slightly surprised expression.
Does the main house teach about the Tolois Auction House? That question crossed my mind. But then I thought about it again and it made sense.
‘Well, it’s one of the best auction houses on the continent. You might know about it. You might have seen it there since it was in the warehouse for a while.’
The Tolois Auction House is different from the typical auction house. Every commercially prosperous city has an auction house, but this was the opposite.
You could say that the city was formed around the auction house.
In fact, even after the completion of the Lilic Empire, the Tolois Auction House remained intact. The imperial family had permitted the Auction House to continue its practices since the Age of War.
However, it is inevitable that a portion of the auction house’s revenue must be donated to the empire.
“We should start by hunting the trolls. There is a monster habitat nearby. The trolls will move at night.”
Kuze said, unfolding the map. Rubin nodded and climbed into the carriage.
“Let’s go, Young Master.”
“huh.”
The carriage began to move forward with a rumble.
An hour passed like that.
Rubin was reading a book in the pouring sunlight when the window between the driver’s seat and the passenger seat was carefully opened.
“master.”
“hmm?”
“Will Lady Tina really return to the Tolois Auction House? No matter how much she loves jewels.”
Rubin closed the book he was reading.
Kuze’s distrust and anxiety towards Tina. When I thought about it, it was not that I couldn’t understand those feelings.
Aren’t they none other than the Hwanhyeol tribe? And since they’re left to act alone like they are now, they must be even more anxious.
“If Tina was going to run away, she would have done so a long time ago.”
“yes?”
“Tina has been free at Gillyfield Arboretum for the past two years.”
Although Rubin has Haneke’s eyes that can see the transformation of the Hwan-hyeol tribe, it is not the shackles on Tina’s ankles. The shackles, if anything, are the promises made to Rubin.
The promise to come back in two years.
To Tina, trust was like a river flowing strongly. Once you fall into it, it is difficult to get out.
Rather, she was the type of person who would surrender her whole body to the current and hold on to her faith no matter what. That was Tina.
There was no way she would betray Rubin.
‘but.’
Rubin’s eyes turned to Kuze. Kuze was a different breed, you could say. His method of gaining trust was completely different from Tina’s.
‘I must reveal my plan. That is the only way to gain Kuze’s loyalty.’
That’s good. The trolls around here tend to become active after midnight, so we’ll have time to talk until then.
* * *
Midnight.
“It seems there is a troll habitat nearby.”
We hid the carriage in the bushes and entered the jungle an hour later.
As Rubin and Kuze made their way through the bushes, they saw traces of trolls. They were the trolls’ footprints and scent left behind in the bushes.
But it would have been past midnight before they started to swarm us.
“Kuje, let’s light a bonfire and wait.”
“Yes, I will prepare it right away.”
Lighting a fire in the middle of the jungle would only attract the attention of monsters and wild beasts, but the two of them didn’t need to worry about it.
The wide-spreading smoke served as a sort of territory marking. Weak animals without an aggressive instinct would wander within the boundaries of the smoke without perceiving anything, but monsters were different.
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The monsters were unable to approach due to their instinctive fear of the dark perimeter.
“… … .”
Knock knock.
The firewood was burning. Two faces were dyed crimson. Rubin was staring at the blazing fire, and Kuze started talking while coughing.
“Your Majesty. This may be a coincidence, but… … .”
This is a story that Kuze must tell.
The only thing Rubin could do for her was to ease her burden.
“Speak comfortably, Kuze.”
“This is a story about you, Tina.”
As expected, it was Tina this time too.
“I know that your decision to choose the Hwanhyeol clan as Roinecrow was not light… but I still don’t understand. No, to be honest, I’m quite worried.”
Rubin grabbed a stick and started to poke at the logs in front of him. Sparks rose into the air and quickly disappeared.
“I know what you’re worried about. It’s because the Emperor is the one who exterminated the Hwanhyeol tribe.”
Kuze nodded hesitantly.
“If it becomes known that the Assassin Swordsman not only spared the Hwanhyeol clan, but also trained them to be assassins… … .”
“Would the Emperor feel betrayed then?”
“Betrayal, maybe… … .”
Rubin shook his head quietly.
“Kuje, the Emperor doesn’t trust the Assassin Swordsman. So he probably doesn’t feel any sense of betrayal.”
“yes?”
Kuze asked again, doubting his ears.
“There is no place for the Assassin Swordsman in the future the Emperor envisions. Clearly.”
At that moment, Kuze felt the anger contained in Rubin’s words. Was this the kind of anger that an eleven-year-old could feel? It was burning so brightly that it now seemed to have turned into a ember.
“Kuje.”
A crackling fire, and a soft voice settling on top of it.
I wish I could tell you everything about the sight of the Assassin Sword Family collapsing, my own death, and the purpose of life I gained through my return.
That couldn’t happen now.
There will come a time when I can reveal everything to Kuzena and Tina.
Still, Rubin knew for sure what value this conversation had.
That’s right, winning Kuze’s heart.
“Let me tell you in advance, I am not the kind of assassin who is loyal to the Emperor. Not since I was born, and never will be.”
To be exact, it was from the moment I was ‘born again’.
Kuze was taken aback when the conversation, which had started out of concern for Tina, took a completely unexpected turn.
A hidden evil intention towards the Emperor!
Of course, not all assassins are truly loyal to the emperor. The target of the assassins’ loyalty, the collateral family, was the assassins themselves and the dark side. Furthermore, the assassins worshipped their ‘roots’.
However, none of them reveals any ill will toward the emperor.
Even if he was the youngest son of the Roinen bloodline, the origin of the Assassin Sword Family, it was something that should not be revealed.
Then, Rubin’s voice rang out again.
“I’m going to be the head of the household, Kuze.”
The head of the Assassin’s Sword Family. That was a dream that anyone born into the Roinen bloodline could naturally have. It was a natural ambition for someone of the main lineage, but what followed was not like that.
“There is only one reason I became the head of the Assassin’s Blade. Now, it is to cut the ties between the Assassin’s Blade and the Emperor.”
“… … !”
Kuze couldn’t bring himself to continue speaking.
It has been about 200 years since the Assassin Swordsman was incorporated into the Empire.
Since about 50 years ago, the relationship between the Imperial Family and the Assassin Family has become more complicated and close due to mixed marriages.
Proof of this is the fact that Emperor Telmach and the current head of the Roinen family are half-siblings.
Of course, this was a fact known only to a very small number of people, so Kuze had not thought of it that far either.
But even if we leave that fact aside, Rubin’s words were shocking enough. The future Rubin was planning. That future meant only one thing.
It was exactly about becoming a traitor.
“Now you know why I chose Tina as Royne Crow, right?”
“The reason you chose me as a Roinenser… Could it be that you are… directed towards the Emperor…?”
“I told you. That unique way of using the dark smoke you had in your head, I said I would make it happen. The method you invented will become the weapon of all assassins.”
And one more thing.
“A weapon aimed at the emperor.”
Knock knock.
The sound of a campfire crackles gently over the brief silence between the two.
Now, in Kuze’s mind, the miserable life he had led before being selected as Rubin’s Roynenser was coming to mind.
The humiliating life that he had to endure as a vassal of the Croquis family. All sorts of moments of contempt.
Kuze’s originality was not accepted, and he was merely ridiculed. As the days of contempt and ridicule continued for so long, it was not difficult to recall such scenes one by one.
At that time, my only goal in life was to escape that hell.
But now?
What are you living for now?
“Kuje. If you are afraid of the Emperor, you may leave me. I will not stop you. No, I will gladly help you in your new future. If you wish, you may also escape the mission of Roinenser… … .”
“No, my lord.”
Kuze’s gaze had changed.
The mixed feelings of worry and doubt about Rubin were now more orderly. What was now in his eyes was confidence in his master who recognized his abilities.
Like Kuze, the fate of an assassin who had been artificially implanted with darkness was simple.
From the moment they were affiliated with the Assassin’s Family, they were vassals of the Assassin’s Family, not citizens of the Empire. That was all they had.
“I guess I worried for nothing.”
Rubin nodded slightly. There is no need for an oath of loyalty or any ceremonial tokens.
They both knew that just as he needed Kuze, Kuze also needed him.
Only at this moment, confidence has been added to that belief.
“If you ever feel unsure about me, just tell me. I’m serious.”
Kuze’s expression lightened significantly.
Instead of answering, he picked up a stick and pointed it at a spot on the ground where the campfire light was well lit. Soon, lines of various kinds began to be drawn on it.
“Okay, then-”
“Have you come up with any new theories?”
Kuze was drawing various equations on the floor in a somewhat messy manner. Rubin, who saw this, also had a smile on his face for the first time in a long while.
“It’s one of dozens of theories I’ve come up with… … .”
The time has come for Kuze to truly show his enthusiasm.
Come to think of it, Kuze was unable to develop his own theory of darkness because of the various situations that had occurred since he started his journey at the Roinen Mansion.
“First, draw a circle… using the floor surface as the starting point… … .”
“The next thing is important. If only we could transform the shape of the dark smoke into a hemisphere centered on the master… … .”
“Finally, for the membrane formation to be maintained smoothly in a hemispherical dark smoke, I expect that a certain density of… … .”
In front of the campfire.
A quiet conversation ensues between a man who envisions a new way to operate a dark room and a boy who has the ability to actually make it happen.
Rubin took each of Kuze’s hypotheses and theories to heart with a serious attitude.
At this moment, they were not just the young master and the nobleman, but literal colleagues and comrades.
