Episode 23

“The ones from the capital lack perseverance, don’t they?”

Derga frowned deeply as he climbed the stairs to his office. It seemed all the time and effort the aide had put in had been wiped from his memory. The butler gave a helpless smile.

“That’s right. To quit so suddenly like this…”

“Is there a scholar from Bariel University among the Bratz?”

“I’ll look into it. If not, we’ll have to recruit someone from elsewhere.”

What a hassle. Where else could they find someone from Bariel University willing to teach for such a low wage?

Maybe freezing his salary for years was a mistake. If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve raised it a bit to keep him interested. Well, he said he was leaving for research abroad, so it wasn’t about the money.

“Will it be expensive?”

“Most likely. We’ll probably have to pay at least ten times the tuition we’ve been paying. But whether anyone will accept is another matter…”

Damn it! Derga stomped his foot in frustration. Just as he was about to reach his office, he suddenly remembered the aide who hadn’t shown his face all day.

“Is the aide still asleep?”

“He went to bed early this morning, so he must be exhausted.”

“What a miserable fate. Wake him up and send him home.”

Creak.

Derga hesitated as he opened the door. The butler’s puzzled look didn’t matter. Something was off about the aide’s usually picture-perfect appearance.

“…What the hell?”

It wasn’t just his imagination. The aide was sprawled face-up on the floor, papers scattered and slightly disheveled. The butler who followed behind gasped, covering his mouth in shock.

“My goodness! Is he alright?”

While the butler checked on the aide, Derga immediately opened a drawer and inspected the secret safe inside, confirming the seal and valuables were untouched.

“Master! Should I call a doctor?”

“…Is he dead?”

Derga’s voice was sharp as a blade. Seeing him collapsed in front of the desk, only one grim possibility came to mind—like the previous butler, caught in a rat trap.

“He’s still breathing.”

“Call a doctor. And as soon as he wakes, report to me immediately. Put someone on guard so he can’t escape.”

“Yes, sir. Hey! Who’s there?”

“What’s going on?”

Chaos erupted. As the servants rushed in to move the aide, Derga thoroughly inspected the office. Fortunately, nothing was missing or altered.

Maybe because there was no damage, his mind cleared—but then a surge of betrayal welled up inside him.

“…How dare he!”

“Oh, master, you shouldn’t say that!”

“How did I take you in, only for you to do this to me?”

Smack!

Derga struck the unconscious aide’s face, releasing his pent-up anger.

Meanwhile, back in the annex, Beric bit into an apple and asked casually,

“Sounds noisy. Did they find out?”

The servants, who had been relaxing, were all summoned and rushed to the main building. A carriage crossed the garden—surely the doctor was inside. Ian leaned against the window, watching with interest.

“They found out. The aide was inside.”

“He’s screwed. His head’s on the chopping block now.”

“Scared?”

“If I die like this, I’m the only one getting drained.”

Not entirely wrong. Ian laughed at Beric’s words.

Ian snapped the wooden key in two and handed Beric a small pouch. Inside was a rolled-up letter of recommendation.

“Burn the key outside without anyone noticing. And this must be delivered directly to Lord Molin. You know the address, right?”

The final instructions. Beric tucked it into his chest and nodded.

“Deliver it to Lord Molin, get the gold coins, and on the way back, stop by home to tell Philia.”

“Excellent.”

The message was for Philia, Ian’s birth mother.

It was time. Once she was ready to disappear without a trace, only Ian would know her whereabouts through Beric. Crossing the border would be no problem now.

“Let’s train properly from tomorrow.”

“If we complete the mission safely.”

“Alright. Don’t back out later.”

His expression said he’d do whatever it took to finish the job. Ian tossed him an apple with a smile.

“See you tomorrow.”

Creak.

The horse had left.

Now all that was left was to watch how the other side would respond. Come to think of it, being caught by the aide wasn’t entirely bad.

“Even if we secured everything, there might be something we missed in the rush. Derga would have noticed. He’d turn his attention to the aide.”

If the aide woke and testified, it would open a new phase—but whether Derga would believe him was another matter. While the count maintained his position, he would reach his own conclusion, one that wouldn’t change no matter what.

Knock knock.

Ian turned his head.

“Ian, may I come in?”

“Oh, teacher.”

The teacher entered, sweating profusely. Talking with Derga must have drained him. The tension between an employer who didn’t want to lose him and an employee who wanted to quit was clear.

“Did you have a good talk with your father?”

“Y-yes…”

“I’m sorry to hear today’s your last lesson. Thank you for all your excellent teaching. As a token of appreciation, I prepared a small gift.”

Ian feigned nonchalance and pulled out a folded paper stamped with the Bratz seal—a pass.

The teacher sighed in relief and wiped his face repeatedly.

“Ah, thank goodness.”

“Don’t you like it?”

“No, it’s just… when you looked at me earlier, you should’ve smiled! I thought something was wrong and nearly had a heart attack.”

The teacher clutched the pass like a lifeline.

“Go to Blaster and continue your great research. Few may care, but people like you are the ones who change the world.”

Ian sincerely encouraged him. The lifelong scholarship he’d built would become the foundation of Bariel—and someday, the driving force behind Ian himself.

The teacher hesitated, then rummaged through his bag.

“This is the material you asked for.”

A map of the great desert and predicted weather patterns. It included detailed notes on oasis locations and the elevation of sand dunes.

“Based on the dates you mentioned, there’s a high chance of a sandstorm forming around here in the northeast. We don’t know the exact route of the Chillyo tribe, but hopefully, they’ll avoid it.”

The daily temperature swings were extreme—like a furnace by day and an icebox by night. Ian sighed, imagining the hardships ahead.

“You don’t look too happy.”

“I feel like quitting everything.”

“But it’s still a place where people live.”

Was that a response to his earlier encouragement? Ian carefully folded the paper and put it in a drawer.

“Are you leaving today?”

“Yes. I can’t wait a moment longer.”

Ian extended his hand to mark their final meeting. The teacher hesitated, then grasped it. They exchanged smiles, wishing each other luck.

“Oh, before you go—”

“Yes?”

The teacher looked like he had one more thing to say.

Ian pulled out the letter from the Chillyo tribe he’d copied from Derga’s office yesterday. It was a transcription of scattered words rather than full sentences.

“Could you help me translate this?”

The teacher studied the paper, then tilted his head.

“Who comes after the female chief?”

He read it aloud but seemed puzzled. Ian was just as confused.

Still, since it was kept in the secret safe, it was definitely an important letter.

---

“Did you hear?”

“You mean about the aide? Man, that’s scary.”

“Yeah. I heard it happened before, too.”

“You never really know what’s in a person’s heart. It’s shocking.”

The mansion was in turmoil. The butler tried to keep order, but it was no easy task. Whenever two or more servants gathered, the aide’s incident was the hot topic.

“…So, he still hasn’t woken up?”

“No, young master.”

Ian left the chattering servants behind and asked Hayna, who was holding a coat beside him. Behind her, Beric was trailing, carrying a heavy sandbag.

“The count won’t send him home and locked the inner office. There are guards in the hallway and one at the door. Servants aren’t allowed near.”

Hayna whispered what she’d overheard. Since Ian had poured all his magic into the aide, it was no wonder he couldn’t get up easily. Hayna’s curiosity was obvious.

“How did you do it?”

She wanted to know how Ian had knocked the aide out like that. Unaware Ian was a magic user, she was practically twisting with curiosity.

“Here. Take this.”

“Whoa! Gold coins!”

Instead of answering, Ian handed her a pouch of gold coins. Beric had brought them, proof that the letter of recommendation had been delivered to Molin.

“This is your fee and the carpenter’s. Make sure they get it.”

“That’s too much. Wow.”

“Really? Then give me change.”

“No, no. Don’t be silly.”

A polite refusal. Hayna smiled and bit a coin with her front teeth, then quickly pocketed it and stepped back as if nothing had happened.

“Beric, come quickly.”

“But we’re supposed to be training properly…”

“What if this isn’t proper? Should I add more weight?”

“…Shut up.”

“You’re impatient, so this method suits you. We’ll increase your limits little by little. Let’s do two more laps, then pick up the sword.”

“You really lucked out with your master!”

“Thanks for the compliment. I’ve found some capable hands myself.”

Beric shot Ian a fierce glare, then struggled to take a step forward. With no tutoring sessions to worry about now, he could focus entirely on training all day. Derga hadn’t left his office since yesterday’s incident either.

Then, suddenly—

Clop, clop!

Hoofbeats echoed from the main gate. Ian wondered if the doctor had returned, but something about the noise felt off. He stood silently beneath the tree, eyes fixed on the approaching sound.

“Ah.”

At first, he thought it might be a black horse, but no.

It was a kusile—the essential mode of transport for crossing the desert. A creature somewhere between a horse and a camel, the kusile was the signature companion of the Cheollyeo tribe. Which meant—

“Who’s that?” Hana asked.

Ian hesitated before answering.

Mounted atop the saddles were proud warriors, their faces painted with red pigment, adorned with golden ornaments that marked their presence unmistakably. They were none other than—

“The Cheollyeo tribe.”