Chapter 233
“!!”
Duke Huam’s eyes widened in shock.
Everyone else from the Venomous Marka who had been listening to the conversation shared the same stunned reaction.
“What are you saying? You intend to resolve this entire crisis on your own?”
“Yes, I can.”
“Of course, we all know you’re capable, but that’s a bit…”
Duke Huam trailed off, clearly struggling to accept such a bold claim.
It was a natural response.
At that moment, a middle-aged woman standing nearby spoke up.
“There’s no need to hear more, Master of the House. Kid, stop spouting nonsense and contact the elders of your family.”
Chris shifted his gaze.
The woman’s face was half-covered in scars from burns.
He recognized her.
“Leona the Venomous. Another heavyweight of the Venomous Marka.”
She was a top-tier poison user of the seventh rank.
She was responsible for the border with Gold Cross.
“Not exactly someone I bear a grudge against.”
Unlike the greedy Yohen, Leona was a model Ma-in, a figure worthy of respect.
But then—
“Nonsense, you say? Are you prepared to take responsibility for those words you just uttered?”
“!!”
Leona’s expression stiffened.
Chris glanced briefly at Duke Huam, silently asking him to watch closely, then continued.
“Why no answer? I asked if you’re willing to take responsibility for your words.”
Everyone in the room swallowed hard.
No matter how much Chris was the heir of another house, Leona was not someone to be treated lightly.
Compared to the Dark Marka, she was a figure on par with the Marquis of Shupen.
Leona shook her head in disbelief.
“Kid, this isn’t your playground. Take your tantrums home.”
“How rude. I am currently representing the Dark Marka. Should I take your words as an insult directed at the Dark Marka?”
Leona snapped her mouth shut.
Indeed, her earlier remarks had been out of line.
“Hah. Fine, I apologize. You were spouting nonsense, and it got under my skin. I’ll apologize properly, so go ahead and contact your elders.”
“I’ve already spoken with the main house. I will handle this matter myself.”
“That’s absurd.”
Leona’s frown deepened.
“If you don’t trust me, how about a wager?”
“A wager?”
“Whether I can resolve this issue or not. If I fail to do so within ten days, the Dark Marka will fully support the Venomous Marka.”
Chris looked Leona straight in the eye.
“On the other hand, if I succeed, you will take responsibility for the insults you just hurled.”
“Responsibility?”
“As a Ma-in of the Venomous Marka, you will swear to fully cooperate with the Dark Marka’s affairs from now on.”
Leona scowled.
As a Ma-in of the Venomous Marka, that meant becoming a pro-Dark Marka faction within her own house.
“Fine. If you truly resolve this, I will formally apologize and swear that the Dark Marka will cooperate with any of the Venomous Marka’s endeavors, as long as they cause no harm.”
Chris inwardly cheered at her response.
“Good. Just as I intended.”
Chris’s goal, as he had said many times, was to secure the loyalty of the Venomous Marka.
To do that, he had to settle scores with certain key figures first.
Leona was one of them, and this matter had just made it easy.
He looked at Duke Huam.
“As you heard, give me ten days. If I fail, I will request support from the main house.”
Duke Huam had no choice but to nod.
“Do you really think you can do it?”
“Of course. In ten days, Your Highness will see the head of Lion King Maximus hanging from the city walls.”
“!!”
Everyone’s faces showed disbelief—not just that the war would be stopped, but that the enemy’s ruler would be beheaded.
Chris smiled confidently, as if to say he could easily pull it off.
“However, this won’t come free. You should prepare for a steep price.”
Naturally, Chris intended to squeeze every possible reward from this.
Duke Huam looked dazed at Chris’s sly smile.
A chill ran down his spine.
Though Duke Huam was curious about Chris’s exact plan, Chris didn’t reveal it.
“There’s no way I can share it.”
Chris left the fortress and rode out alone.
Surprisingly, he was unaccompanied.
Melin, Alos, and Mari were not with him.
There was a reason.
After riding for a long while, Chris stopped in a deserted forest.
“Get off.”
Unexpectedly, a figure appeared from the woods.
“…Do I look like a stray dog to come running just because you call?”
Despite her neat appearance, her face was twisted into a scowl, as if she’d just chewed on something foul.
It was Ruina!
“Good to see you.”
“…Not really.”
“Still, thanks to me, you’ve gained tremendous benefits so far. Ungrateful, aren’t you?”
“Eek! How can you say that! Have you already forgotten what I went through because of you last time?!”
For context, during the Poison Rock conflict, Ruina had been forced by Chris to fabricate evidence and was later dragged before the Blue Stream Demon King for interrogation.
“That was your own carelessness. Who told you to get caught?”
“Ugh! That’s no excuse! If I ever have to deal with you again, I’ll lose my mind!”
“I was planning to offer you distribution rights for the Medicinal Lineage’s drugs if you helped with this.”
“I don’t need that! Wait—Medicinal Lineage’s drugs? How do you have those?”
“Ah, I have my reasons.”
“Oh ho ho. The one who got burned is the fool here. The Duke’s son is so wise, always reliable as a partner.”
“Didn’t you just say you’d lose your mind if you had to deal with me again?”
“That reckless mouth of yours, always spouting nonsense. Fine, fine, I’ll punish you. Since I’m losing my mind, please call me Ruina.”
Chris chuckled at Ruina’s usual antics and looked away.
Behind a tree stood another figure.
“Long time no see. How have you been?”
Chris smiled warmly.
“Evan.”
At the call, a chiseled, handsome face emerged.
It was Evan the Hero!
“He’s gotten stronger. Already sixth rank?”
An astonishing pace.
“He was always the continent’s finest sword prodigy, and now, blessed by the Constellation with the Sword Star, his talent rivals mine.”
But Evan’s reaction was odd.
He just stared at Chris silently, without a word.
Intently.
Chris shrugged, puzzled.
“Lost for words seeing your master again after so long?”
For context, Evan and Chris still maintained a master-servant relationship.
“If you missed me, be honest.”
Chris teased Evan with a grin.
But Evan’s response was unexpected.
“Yeah.”
“…Huh?”
“Good to see you.”
“…Oh? Oh? Okay.”
Chris looked sheepish.
This wasn’t the reaction he’d expected.
“I thought you’d be more prickly.”
But quite the opposite.
“I’ve been hearing about you all this time. As always, why are you so reckless?”
“……”
“You’re at it again. Trying to stop this war alone? Are you out of your mind? You’re not desperate to die, are you?”
He was even scolding him!
“…This isn’t like you.”
Chris cleared his throat.
Evan, despite his heroic image, had a rough past and a prickly personality, so this was unexpected.
“Has your personality changed? Doesn’t seem like it.”
If anything, after living on the run, he looked even more hardened.
From the side, Chris heard Ruina muttering quietly.
“Sir Evan is scary to me, but what’s so great about that bad demon?”
“What did you say?”
“Hohoho, the Duke’s son said your presence is so impressive. Loyalty, loyalty, loyalty!”
Anyway, back to business.
“What’s the situation at Gold Cross exactly?”
“As you know, the Kalburn Kingdom caused trouble. That so-called Lion King is nothing but a cat. I always knew that damn feline would cause problems.”
“You know the Lion King?”
“Of course. He’s been ruthlessly extorting money from our guild.”
Ruina followed Chris despite her complaints because he always delivered solid rewards.
She often put herself in difficult situations for Chris but was always compensated beyond expectations.
But there were plenty of leeches in the world who took power without giving anything back.
Lion King Maximus was a prime example.
“Who’s leading the Medicinal Lineage now?”
“Miselle, the Saint of Medicine.”
A well-known figure.
One of the current representatives of the Medicinal Lineage.
“She was supposed to be the next head of the Medicinal Lineage, but I don’t understand why she did this.”
“Probably has her own agenda.”
Chris had a rough idea.
“So what will you do? Are you really going to stop this alone?”
“Not alone. You’re coming too. We’ll act together.”
Act together.
At that unsettling prospect, Ruina’s face twisted into a scowl.
Until now, she had only supported from behind the scenes; she’d never moved alongside Chris.
“Oh ho ho, what a joke. What skill do I have to dare move with the Duke’s son?”
“Ruina, your role is the most important.”
“…What? No way.”
Ruina grimaced.
All the hardships she’d endured because of Chris flashed through her mind.
“What kind of trouble are you planning to put me through this time? No way!”
“Ah, this time it won’t be hard work.”
“Like I’m supposed to believe that?!”
“The distribution rights for the Medicinal Lineage’s drugs.”
“You think I’m crazy about money?! Well, yeah, I am! But—ugh! Throwing bait like that just makes it impossible to resist!”
“We’re planning to distribute Uiseon Myungga’s medicine on a continental scale. I intended to entrust it to your guild. If you don’t want it, I’ll have to find another.”
“Oh ho ho, what do you need me to do? I’m ready to roll over like a puppy—just say the word, and I’m all in! Loyal as ever! Wait, Sir Evan! What’s with that pitying look? Everything you’re living off right now? That’s all my money!”
Evan quickly averted his gaze, clearly not wanting to engage.
Unlike when dealing with Chris, his demeanor was cold and distant.
Ruina huffed, then turned to Chris with a serious look.
“Promise me it won’t be like last time—no unnecessary hardships, okay?”
“Yeah, no hardships this time.”
“Promise me!”
“I swear.”
Of course, Chris kept a thought to himself.
“No hardships, sure. But my life might be on the line. Well, I’ll make sure I don’t die, so it should be fine.”
Chris spoke up.
“First, we head to Uiseon Myungga.”
“…How are we supposed to get to Uiseon Myungga? I don’t even know where Taebongsan is.”
Taebongsan, where Uiseon Myungga was located, lay within the White Mountain Range to the west of Gold Cross.
The problem was that this White Mountain Range was a vast expanse covered in eternal snow.
It was so well hidden that no outsider knew its exact location.