Chapter 155

“Haha.”

A weak laugh escaped me.
This was absurd.

‘Why me, of all people?’

Was there really no one else he could drag into this?
It wasn’t as though I was the greatest threat to the Heaven Rebelling Society.
If anything, Gal So-ye was the real problem.

‘A predetermined sequence.’

I suddenly remembered what Gal So-ye had said yesterday.
Just as she had predicted, the Sun Wheel Unit Commander confessed within the expected timeframe.
How had she known when it would happen?

‘Surely Gal So-ye didn’t arrange this?’

She might have been trying to use him somehow.
Maybe she had even maneuvered him into naming me.

‘No. If that were the case, she would’ve warned me yesterday.’

After thinking for a moment, I shook my head.
I wasn’t going to find the answer without asking the man himself.

“What should we do, Young Lord?”

Im Yeon asked.
Her expression was so tense that I actually chuckled.

“No need to look like that. It’s nothing serious.”
“But it may tarnish your reputation, Young Lord.”
“That much is true. We’ll stop by the Strategist’s Office later. The Sun Wheel Unit Commander is being held there.”
“Understood, Young Lord.”

Training was the more urgent matter right now.
If I was late or skipped it, who knew what the Heavenly Demon would put me through next?
This time he had made me climb up a waterfall. Next time he might tell me to crawl down a cliff backward.
Going down was much harder than going up, too.

‘But before that.’

I went to the Hidden Cloud Pavilion’s storage room.
I pushed the door open and found Flying Swallow inside.

“Sleep well?”
“Of course. Thanks to your warm hospitality.”

Flying Swallow shrugged and looked around.
There were no spare rooms in the Hidden Cloud Pavilion, so I had made her sleep here.

I hadn’t assigned anyone to watch her.
If she truly wanted to, she could have escaped whenever she pleased, but I was certain she wouldn’t.

I smiled.

“Shouldn’t a thief be grateful just to sleep somewhere with a roof?”
“Thieves have standards about where they sleep too, you know? Anyway, I’m shocked.”
“By what?”
“I heard you were the one behind the Sun Wheel Unit Commander. I heard everything they were saying outside.”

She wore an innocent expression.
She was teasing me.
So I answered in kind.

“Apparently, I picked up a loose-lipped subordinate without even realizing it.”
“That’s why you need a good eye for people.”
“Whatever. You got a good night’s rest, so now it’s time to work.”
“A good night’s rest?! Do you have no conscience?”
“Nope. Just like you.”
“Hmph. You want me to find the Ink Scholar, right?”
“Yeah.”
“It won’t be easy. Even if he’s at one of the bases, I doubt his scent will carry all the way outside.”
“You’re already laying the groundwork to squeeze more pages out of me.”
“Was it that obvious?”

Flying Swallow grinned and continued.

“I need some things. New tools, clothes, and face powder.”
“What do you need face powder for?”
“You think everyone in the Heaven Rebelling Society is a man?”
“Ah.”
“Give me money. I need to buy disguise materials.”
“How much?”
“Ten taels of silver.”
“Use your own money. I’ll give you five more characters from the manual.”

Flying Swallow stared at me as though I were some kind of beggar.
I pretended not to notice.

“Keep that manual safe. If you lose it, I won’t let you off.”

With that, Flying Swallow slipped straight out through the storage-room window.
Seeing her use a window when there was a perfectly good door, she really was a born thief.

‘Guess I should head out too.’

I climbed into the carriage, turning various thoughts over in my head.

“Huuh. I barely survived.”

Training was over.
The Heavenly Demon was exactly the same as always.
As though nothing happening in the Demon Cult mattered to him in the slightest, he worked me half to death.
As a result, I sprawled across the carriage like seafood left out in the heat.

Im Yeon asked worriedly,

“Will you be visiting the Strategist’s Office?”
“I have to.”
“……Understood.”

This wasn’t something I could put off just because my body hurt.
Just as Im Yeon had said that morning, if I stayed silent, suspicion would begin to spread.

-Come on, what kind of nonsense is that? There’s no way Seventh Young Lord would do something like that.

A rumor that started like that would turn into:

-He wouldn’t, right?
-I don’t know. If he’s staying quiet without responding, maybe……?

Little by little, like poison eating away at the body, it would harden into accepted fact.

‘And I’m curious.’

The Sun Wheel Unit Commander’s claim was nonsense.
The logic fell apart under even the slightest scrutiny.
And yet he had deliberately dragged me into it.
Why?

‘He has to be after something.’

I had time until Flying Swallow returned anyway.
Going there myself to find out didn’t seem like a bad idea.

I took the carriage to the Strategist’s Office.
There, a familiar face was waiting at the entrance.
Yang Woo-yeon.
A strategist I had been seeing quite often lately.

“I have been waiting for you, Seventh Young Lord.”
“For me?”
“The Grand Strategist said that given Seventh Young Lord’s temperament, you would certainly visit sometime today, and instructed me to receive you with proper courtesy.”

I was inwardly impressed.
As expected of Gal So-ye.
She was naturally intelligent, but apparently she had also gotten a decent read on me as a person.

“Lead the way.”
“This way.”

Yang Woo-yeon took the lead.
We walked down a corridor I had never seen before.

“Where are we going?”
“Fallen Crimson Pond.”
“Ah.”

Deep within the Strategist’s Office,
there was a place where criminals, or those suspected of crimes, were interrogated before the Disciplinary Court or Demon Inquisition Court became involved.
I had never had any reason to come here before, but here I was in this life.

Tak.
Yang Woo-yeon stopped in front of an iron door.

“Your guard will have to wait here.”

I looked back at Im Yeon.
I expected her to insist on coming with me, but surprisingly, she nodded without protest.
Probably because of the nature of the place.

“If anything dangerous happens, please call for me loudly, Young Lord.”
“I will.”

Leaving Im Yeon behind, I stepped through the iron door. Another iron door stood beyond it.
Unlike the one I had just passed through, this one was enormous, with doors opening from both sides.
Yang Woo-yeon said,

“The Sun Wheel Unit Commander is inside. Nothing said within can be heard from outside, so please speak freely.”
“Thank you.”

The two martial artists guarding the iron door opened it together.
Beyond it was a narrow chamber surrounded by cold white stone walls.
The Sun Wheel Unit Commander sat inside, his upper body bound with yellow leather straps engraved with unusual patterns.

“You have come, Seventh Young Lord.”

The Sun Wheel Unit Commander greeted me respectfully.
It was as though he were receiving his own master.

I sat across from him and looked him over.
Despite what must have been harsh interrogation, he looked perfectly fine.

“My loyal subordinate, suffering such hardship!”
“…….”
“What kind of treatment is this? They could at least treat you better.”

I settled in facing the Sun Wheel Unit Commander.
He bowed his head deeply.

“My apologies. I failed to properly carry out Seventh Young Lord’s order.”
“And what order was that?”
“The matter at Twin Phoenix Inn. You ordered me to hide the person who posted the proclamations, but ultimately I failed.”
“Ah, that order?”
“……Yes. The order Seventh Young Lord issued through a secret letter. I never imagined you were a lackey of the Heaven Rebelling Society.”
“Why would I serve as those bastards’ lackey? What would I possibly gain from it?”

The Sun Wheel Unit Commander’s eyes sharpened.
He spoke through clenched words.

“That is precisely what I wish to know. Why did you do it?”

Well, look at this.
I gave a faint smile.

“No one outside can hear us anyway. Let’s stop wasting each other’s time and get to the point.”
“Unlike Seventh Young Lord, time is one thing I have in abundance.”

The Sun Wheel Unit Commander smiled just as I did.

“Is that so? Your head will be coming off soon enough.”
“Life and death come to everyone.”
“Why did you drag me into this?”
“I do not know.”
“You named me as the one behind you without even knowing why? Does that make any sense?”
“I see no reason why it should not.”
“It’s complete nonsense. Who would believe a confession that suddenly claims I’m with the Heaven Rebelling Society?”
“Whether they believe it or not is no concern of mine.”

He was utterly detached.
I folded my arms and quietly studied him.

If the Sun Wheel Unit Commander was an internal collaborator with the Heaven Rebelling Society, the natural thing would have been to deny everything to the end.
Instead, he had dragged me into it.

Why?
Was he trying to reduce his punishment by claiming Seventh Young Lord was responsible and he himself knew nothing?
No.
That didn’t seem like enough to explain it.

‘And he gave in too easily.’

How long had he even been under interrogation before confessing?

‘Wait.’

A predetermined sequence.
Suddenly, I had an idea what that meant.

“Don’t tell me even getting exposed was part of the plan?”

The Sun Wheel Unit Commander’s shoulders stiffened.
Thinking back, some of his actions had been strangely sloppy.
At the Return-to-Origin Pavilion, he had looked visibly anxious, then sent Sun Wheel Unit members after Flying Swallow that very same day.
Of course, perhaps he simply hadn’t expected to be caught.
But now it seemed that being exposed had never mattered.
If he could send Flying Swallow far away without being exposed, he could simply remain in his position. If he was exposed, he could drag me down with him.
But why?

“Because I’m a thorn in your side and you wanted to hurt me?”

I had ruined their attack, Lord Yong had died at the Golden Resonance Vault, and I had even taken the Defeated-Spirit Paste.
It was plausible enough.

“…….”

The Sun Wheel Unit Commander didn’t answer.
I quickly shook my head.

‘That can’t be the main reason.’

If they merely wanted to hurt me, they could have come up with a better method.
They could have fabricated a mountain of evidence and reported me to the Demon Inquisition Court.
But perhaps the reason he had deliberately confessed like this was because they wanted the matter to grow.
Countless eyes were now fixed on the Sun Wheel Unit Commander’s words.

‘Think. What happens if I’m branded as part of the Heaven Rebelling Society?’

The Heaven Rebelling Society wasn’t the only group that saw me as a thorn in its side.
From the Elder Council Lord to the Seven Demonic Houses.
There was no shortage of people who disliked me.

Born on the streets.
A reputation gained far too quickly.
The youngest disciple supposedly favored by the Heavenly Demon.
And my brazen habit of disrupting the established order.

Not a single part of that would sit well with them.
So how would they react if someone framed me?

‘They’d try to drag me down.’

They would come at me like wild dogs that had found prey.
They would say I had always been suspicious, demand a thorough investigation into my ties with the Heaven Rebelling Society, insist I was unworthy of being a Little Demon.
They would throw every justification they could find at me and strut around triumphantly.

But would I simply sit there and take it?
I would push back loudly, and then the Cult would be flooded with turmoil day after day.
Especially now that I had a fair number of people on my side.

“You’re using me as a tool to deepen the conflict inside the Cult.”
“……!”
“You knew that if you threw in a spark, plenty of people would fan the flames. There are more than enough people who hate me.”

The Sun Wheel Unit Commander said nothing.
But his wavering eyes and stiff expression said everything.

“I doubt I’m the only tool the Heaven Rebelling Society is using. What are you really after?”
“……I know nothing.”
“I figured you’d say that.”

I stood up without hesitation.
I had learned everything I could from this man.

I turned toward the door.
A voice came from behind me.

“This false reign will soon come to an end.”

I stopped and looked back.
The Sun Wheel Unit Commander’s eyes had changed.
The uncertainty from moments ago was gone, replaced by something burning fiercely within them.
Something I had seen often in my previous life.
The eyes of a fanatic.

“This is only the beginning. The Divine Cult will descend into terrible chaos, and Seventh Young Lord will vanish within it like dust. But my name will be remembered as a cornerstone of the new age.”

I stared at the Sun Wheel Unit Commander for a moment.
Then I snorted and left him with one final remark.

“You’re seriously delusional.”

Yang Woo-yeon, standing in exactly the same posture as when I had entered, asked,

“Did your conversation go well?”
“Well enough.”
“I will escort you out.”

We started walking.
Yang Woo-yeon guided me from half a step ahead.
As we walked down the corridor, Yang Woo-yeon spoke.

“There is something I must tell you, Young Lord.”
“What is it?”
“We have received reports that the Seven Demonic Houses are making a move.”

I looked curiously at Yang Woo-yeon’s back.
Was this something Gal So-ye had instructed Yang Woo-yeon to tell me as well?
Yang Woo-yeon continued.

“The Radiant Moon Jin Family is taking the lead in drafting a joint petition.”
“Damn, they move fast. I assume it’s going to denounce me?”
“That is what we expect.”

Those bastards were as persistent as cockroaches.
I found myself thinking there had been a reason Gal So-ye had torn the Seven Demonic Houses apart in my previous life.

‘This time, I’ll make sure to contribute plenty.’

“Thanks for the information.”
“You honor me.”

After we passed through another iron door, Im Yeon immediately hurried over.

“Young Lord, did anything happen?”
“Of course not. Let’s head back to the Hidden Cloud Pavilion.”

I climbed into the carriage and stared out the window, lost in thought.
What was the Heaven Rebelling Society truly after?

‘The Ink Scholar should know.’

I had to find him.
Only then would the threads begin to unravel.
The same went for my questions about the Heavenly Demon’s future.

Several days passed.
As expected, the Seven Demonic Houses came after me aggressively.
Day after day, they clamored for an investigation into me based on the Sun Wheel Unit Commander’s confession.
Just as Yang Woo-yeon had said, the Radiant Moon Jin Family led the charge, with several other families joining them.

Perhaps all the effort I had put in until now was finally paying off.
Fortunately, the general opinion among the Cult members showed no sign of believing it.
Apparently, most simply laughed it off as nonsense.

‘How long will that last?’

Even an absurd claim gained strength if repeated often enough.
The longer the Seven Demonic Houses kept at it, the more suspicious looks would eventually turn my way.

‘Well, all of this will be solved once I find the Ink Scholar.’

I thought of Flying Swallow.
I hadn’t seen so much as the tip of her nose since she left the storage room.
I told myself no news was good news, but inwardly, I hoped she would produce results as quickly as possible.
That was how badly I wanted to meet the Ink Scholar.

Speak of the devil.
That night, I sensed someone beyond the window.
At the same time, an unfamiliar face suddenly appeared from the darkness outside.
It was a pale-faced beauty.
Her energy hadn’t changed, so I immediately knew it was Flying Swallow.

“Don’t move an inch!”

Just as she was about to come inside, I raised a hand to stop her.

“What’s wrong? It’s me, the Divine Thief of This Age.”
“I know.”
“Then what’s the problem? Are you shocked because I got too pretty? I’m naturally beautiful, you know.”
“Not enough to shock me.”
“Then are you saying a thief isn’t even allowed into your room?”
“One wrong step and you’ll cross the Sanzu River. There’s an absolute formation laid out in here.”

Flying Swallow flinched.

“That was close. Little Demons have things like that in their residences too?”

It wasn’t exactly because I was a Little Demon, but I didn’t bother correcting her.
Flying Swallow asked playfully,

“You were worried, weren’t you? That I might’ve just run away.”
“Not at all.”
“You trusted me?”
“I trusted a thief’s greed.”
“Thanks for the compliment. Hehe.”

I asked Flying Swallow,

“Did you find him?”
“What do you think?”

The corner of her mouth curled upward.
Mine rose with it.