Tap the text to show or hide reading controls.
“I… I was the one who gave that stonemason the, uh, work order.”
“You took a bribe, didn’t you?”
“Ah, yes. B-but, everyone does this.”
The stonemason foreman turned pale and trembled, realizing that the blame might fall on him.
“If Kahsan was able to enter the castle, that means preparations had been made long in advance.”
“Huh?”
“That guy clashed with me last month. Considering the distance from where he appeared back then to here, a large group must have meticulously planned this operation.”
Azadine clicked his tongue.
Given the distance from where Kahsan had last been spotted to the royal castle in Coral Sahar, it was impossible for him to infiltrate alone.
The Korasar Peddler Guild had likely worked inside the palace beforehand, setting things up so he could enter whenever necessary.
However, Azadine’s actions were now under the king’s watchful eye.
If he mentioned or interacted with the Korasar Peddler Guild, it would be tantamount to revealing that they were affiliated with the Messenger Clan.
‘I have to achieve results while keeping Aragasa’s information hidden. This is tricky.’
He needed to conceal what should remain hidden, expose what should be exposed, and ensure only Arael’s faction took the damage. Having to manage all this on the fly was giving Azadine a headache.
Just then, a soldier approached.
“Um, Sir Azadine?”
“Hm?”
“The royal scribe has sent word that His Majesty is summoning you.”
“Got it. Where?”
The place where King Ansethus IV of Korasar had summoned him was the inner courtyard entrance of the royal castle.
But instead of the king, Azadine found Sir Aldoff, the king’s nephew and a Holy Knight, waiting for him.
“Hah. I never thought things would come to this.”
Azadine took in the scene and immediately understood the situation upon seeing the soldier who had summoned him feigning ignorance.
“You soulless heretic. How dare you skulk around, poking into things and wandering inside the royal castle? I will not forgive you.”
“Calm down. Are you out of your mind? You forged a royal order?”
Azadine pressed him for answers, but Sir Aldoff merely scoffed.
“It won’t matter once you’re dead.”
“You idiot. Seriously.”
Azadine looked around.
This Holy Knight, as the king’s nephew, held a high status even within the King’s Church.
Azadine didn’t know why Aldoff was targeting him, but it was clear that someone had manipulated him into doing this.
‘If I ignore this and leave, the one who instigated him will kill him next. And since the last person he met before dying would be me…’
Both Azadine and Aldoff had walked into a trap together.
Yet Aldoff himself was completely oblivious to this fact as he unsheathed his sword.
“As a true descendant of the Yaegas God Tribe, I cannot tolerate a soulless abomination like you! If you are a man, then draw your sword!”
“Why should I? I have no intention of fighting you. And as a Holy Knight, surely you wouldn’t attack an unarmed man….”
At that moment, Aldoff thrust his sword straight at Azadine’s heart.
A Holy Knight attacking an unarmed opponent.
But Azadine simply caught the sword with both hands, twisted it, and effortlessly disarmed him.
“Ack?!”
Aldoff let out a stupid-sounding yelp.
‘So not all royals are strong. Compared to Ject, he’s… actually, this is the weakest Holy Knight I’ve ever met.’
Azadine inspected the sword and smirked. The entire blade was made of Azure Steel, or Blue Steel.
“Making an entire sword out of Azure Steel, which is normally only used in bits for crafting Shadowsteel Blades… This must have cost a fortune.”
“You insolent cur! G-give it back! That sword is….”
“Ah, sure. Here.”
Azadine had been tempted by the Azure Steel blade but returned it to the Holy Knight.
Even for a royal-born Holy Knight, this was a rare treasure.
“Grrr!”
Aldoff trembled in humiliation.
Given his age, this reaction showed just how much privilege he must have been coddled with all his life.
“Wow, to be this old and still act like a spoiled brat.”
“W-what?! Are you mocking me?”
“Yeah. You thought I was complimenting you?”
Azadine shrugged.
“Anyway, you’re not worth my time. Stay put. If you attack me again, I’ll personally rip your manhood off and feed it to the dogs.”
“Wh-what?! Y-you bastard!”
Sir Aldoff, having never experienced such humiliation as royalty, recoiled.
And yet, the way Azadine said it made him truly believe he might actually do it.
Even royals weren’t exempt from the pain of a blow to that area during combat training. Just imagining the agony of having it ripped off made Aldoff shudder in terror.
While Aldoff stood frozen in fear, Azadine turned his attention toward the dense shrubbery of the inner courtyard.
“Enough. Come out. Stop trying to set up pointless traps.”
A young man emerged from the inner courtyard.
It was Sion Ethar.
“Hmph, as expected. You truly live up to your name. You are Arael’s brother, or should I say, Elder Kazas’ disciple?”
Sion Ethar strode forward through the pouring rain and stood before Azadine.
“So you were the one who incited this fool?”
“You shouldn’t say such things when the person in question is right here. For the record, it wasn’t me.”
“‘For the record, it wasn’t me’? So someone from your side was behind it?”
Azadine narrowed his eyes.
“More importantly, Sion, how’s your condition? Feeling better?”
“Ah.”
Azadine’s question caught Sion off guard. He was momentarily stunned by Azadine’s unexpected concern for his condition.
After all, as a fellow member of Aragasa, he had betrayed Azadine. While he had never truly been on Azadine’s side, as a proud member of the Ethar bloodline, his actions were undeniably shameful.
“My condition… well, it’s not great.”
“Then what about my companions? Are they safe?”
“They’re all unharmed. In fact, they’re too full of energy—it’s becoming a problem. But first, I must express my gratitude, Azadine. For sparing Elder Sebali’s life.”
Azadine remained silent.
“Since you treated Elder Sebali with respect, we will ensure that no harm comes to your companions, no matter what. I swear it upon my honor as Sion Ethar.”
“I appreciate that.”
“So, are you really not going to reconsider? It’s not just because you’re Arael’s brother—word has spread that you defeated Elder Sebali. Among the Aragasa, your name commands respect.”
“No matter what you say, I cannot condone summoning beings from the Nether.”
“I see.”
Sion’s expression turned bitter.
— Swoooosh!
The torrential downpour suddenly intensified.
At that moment, Azadine spotted arrows cutting through the cascading rain. Shockingly, they were Shadowsteel Blades.
“Damn it!”
Azadine instinctively drew his Naga Curved Dagger and swung it. But the moment it clashed with the Shadowsteel Blade, the dagger shattered like a brittle biscuit.
The Shadowsteel Blade sliced through the broken weapon and continued toward Azadine. He quickly countered with another weapon—Wendigo’s Dagger—and managed to deflect the attack.
Fortunately, Wendigo’s Dagger didn’t break upon impact, but the sheer force of the clash reverberated through Azadine’s arm. Blood trickled from his palm, which had been torn open by the force.
“What… the hell?!”
“Get down!”
Azadine shoved the clueless Sir Aldoff aside to shield him from the attack.
The deflected Shadowsteel Blade twisted unnaturally mid-air, curling like a living serpent and returning toward them.
Among the Messenger Clan’s magic, the Flowers, Birds, Wind, and Moon techniques, particularly Yellow Crane and White Crane, were already terrifying on their own. When applied to arrows, their piercing power became absurd.
When used on a Shadowsteel Blade, even solid rock would be sliced through like butter.
As another Shadowsteel Blade came whistling toward him, Azadine retrieved another weapon alongside Wendigo’s Dagger—the head of a Guard Captain’s Halberd.
Using only the dagger to block would result in him losing grip due to the impact. To counteract this, he held the halberd head like a tonfa, bracing against the force.
— Clang!
Sparks flew as the Shadowsteel Blade was repelled. Azadine stumbled several steps backward, blood spraying from his wounds.
Even the Guard Captain’s Halberd couldn’t withstand the impact and shattered.
“Tch! I was using that well!”
But at least the Shadowsteel Blade had lost its momentum and fell harmlessly to the ground.
“You not only deflected a Shadowsteel Blade but also protected that fool of a Holy Knight? Impressive. I can’t believe you went through all that trouble just to save an idiot like him.”
Two figures emerged from the storming rain, bows in hand—Nefti and Kahsan.
Both of them nocked another Shadowsteel Blade onto their bowstrings.
“Hmm… Isn’t this a bit much? Expending such valuable Shadowsteel Blades on a so-called failure like me?”
Nefti and Kahsan were both armed with these deadly weapons, and though Sion Ethar hadn’t made a move yet, his skill was undeniable.
Even so, Azadine was confident he could escape alive.
The problem was Sir Aldoff. If he fled now, the Holy Knight would die. Then, his enemies would frame Azadine for the murder, using it as a pretext to sever ties between him and potential allies.
“We can’t kill you since you’re Arael’s brother. We were actually aiming for that idiot of a Holy Knight, but you blocked it.”
“W-wait… Li… Litherua?! How could you…?”
Aldoff paled in horror upon recognizing Nefti.
He had called her Litherua, meaning that Nefti had infiltrated the royal castle disguised as a handmaid.
“T-this can’t be… Litherua! I… I loved you! We even… we even spent the night together!”
“Ahem.”
Kahsan cleared his throat.
“Wait, wait. You actually slept with him? An imperial messenger resorting to seduction?”
Azadine raised an eyebrow.
Nefti waved her hand dismissively.
“That’s ridiculous. Sorry to break it to you, but the one you spent the night with… was Kahsan.”
“What?!”
“Illusions work wonders.”
“No… No way….”
Aldoff turned to Kahsan, who grinned mischievously.
“…….”
Aldoff’s face drained of all color.
“Don’t give up now. If you die, they’ll pin the murder on me!”
“I… I don’t want to live anymore.”
“You idiot! You called the Messenger Clan soulless heretics, didn’t you? That woman is an Aragasa too. She’s one of the same ‘soulless heretics’ you claim to despise!”
“But… I truly loved her…”
“Oh, so you hate men, but it doesn’t matter whether a woman has a soul or not? Seriously, Nefti, what the hell did you do to him?”
“For the record, I didn’t even try that hard to seduce him. He just got carried away by his own delusions.”
Nefti rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed at the insinuation.
“I might have… had a little fun with it.”
Kahsan smirked as he glanced at Nefti.
“Ah.”
Even Sion Ethar seemed taken aback by Kahsan’s words.
“Listen, Aldoff. Run. Now.”
“A-ah….”
“Hurry! If you just make it past this area to where people are gathered, you’ll survive.”
“But as a knight, I can’t just flee….”
“Oh? You had no problem launching a sneak attack on an unarmed man just moments ago. Why the hesitation now?”
“T-that’s…”
Aldoff’s mind spiraled into confusion.
Reading Settings
