Episode 123
Chapter 39: The Unexpectedly Useful Jet Rolls In (Part 2)
“By the way, how did you even find out that our guys have been digging into Alu lately?”
“That’s because the Chilsaekjo came to see me, Lord Kashimir. Apparently, they classified me as a Tesing remnant.”
“Hmm, Lord Kashimir, what do you think? I don’t see any harm in accepting Jet as a Chilsaekjo operative.”
“If the Master says so, then I’ll comply. Seems like the kid’s got some skills—he even managed to decrypt our team’s coded messages. Someone fetch the membership papers.”
A servant dashed off and soon returned with the Chilsaekjo induction documents.
It was nearly fifty pages long—a hefty tome. Over ninety percent of it was devoted to confidentiality clauses and stern warnings about the consequences of breaking them.
Jet didn’t even bother reading through it all; he just quickly scribbled his signature.
“I’ll carefully review the main prohibitions later, Master!”
“Chilsaekjo operatives don’t call me ‘Master.’ From now on, address me as Lord Kashimir or Sir, Jet. You’ll undergo a probation period before being assigned as a rookie to Intelligence Team 3.”
“Yes, sir! I pledge my life in service to Lord Kashimir, the Chilsaekjo, and Your Grace!”
This was the moment Jet finally had a real job for the first time in his life.
It was a huge stroke of luck. Though this time he was fast-tracked due to Jin’s special recommendation, becoming a full-fledged Chilsaekjo member is normally even harder than joining the Bimont Investigation Unit.
“Well then, we’ll postpone your training for now. First, let’s answer the Master’s question about that spider-handed Alu’s past. If it turns out to be nothing, your induction will be canceled.”
Rubbing his hands together, Jet began to recount what he knew about Alu.
Spider-Handed Alu.
He was born in the Delki Kingdom, part of the Hupester Federation, and as a boy, he once passed the Runkandel Cadet Exam.
Back then, he went by the name Tagan Marius—not Alu.
That was the real name of the man whose records had been erased from the world: Spider-Handed Alu.
“Alu is a far more dangerous figure than me. Rumor has it he has connections all the way over in Runkandel, and that’s probably true. And the underground auctions…”
Jet had said this when he first took Jin to Tesing’s underground auction house.
Jet’s knowledge that Alu might have ties to Runkandel came from this background.
Only Tesing’s top brass and a few of their trusted underlings knew this—people who could even share drinks with Alu.
But until now, the Chilsaekjo hadn’t been able to uncover Alu’s real name or hometown, not even Jet.
After the ‘Tesing Collapse Incident,’ all surviving Tesing leaders were either captured and killed or tortured by Ziphl.
They had even been tricked by the ‘Veradin Impostor’ and secretly trafficked ancient spellbooks and artifacts behind Ziphl’s back. It was inevitable.
In other words, aside from Jet, no one with deep ties to the shadow organization Tesing remained alive. That’s why the Chilsaekjo struggled so much with intelligence gathering.
“Jet brought us some pretty valuable intel. We now know the real name and hometown of a man the entire Chilsaekjo has been chasing for ages… This will be a great turning point in our information hunt.”
“Tagan Marius, huh? Marius, Marius… That name sounds familiar somehow…”
“Master?”
“Yes, it does ring a bell.”
“Since he took the Runkandel Cadet Exam, perhaps you saw the name in some related documents?”
“Alu took that exam about twenty years ago—before I was even born. Those records are probably buried deep in the archives. And you can’t access them until you become a cadet yourself.”
While Jin repeated the name Marius in frustration, Gilly brought over some tea.
“Marius, Marius…”
“Oh? Young Master, why that name?”
“Ah, Spider-Handed Alu’s real name is Tagan Marius, and it just sounds familiar.”
“Ha ha, Young Master, that’s the surname of Lady Luna’s nanny, Lady Taimun. It’s not a common name, but it’s not unheard of either. No wonder it sounds familiar to you.”
Jin froze mid-motion as he accepted the tea.
“…Right, Taimun’s surname was Marius. Taimun Marius. Wait, Gilly, do you happen to know where Lady Taimun is from?”
“Lady Taimun? Let me see… Ah! Delki. She’s from Delki. Now that you mention it, I remember when you were very young, you often sent specialty goods from Delki to Stormhold.”
Jin and Kashimir exchanged a long look.
“Master, could it be…?”
“Why do you ask, both of you?”
“Tagan Marius. Spider-Handed Alu is also from the Delki Kingdom.”
“What?”
“Maybe Alu is related to Lady Taimun. In fact, the chances are quite high. And Alu once took the Runkandel Cadet Entrance Exam.”
Gilly’s mouth opened slightly in surprise.
“That’s strange. And he actually took the cadet exam? When was that?”
“1776. Jet says it was exactly twenty years ago.”
“If I recall correctly, the Delki Kingdom was in the throes of a brutal civil war then. Everyone who could wield a sword was on the battlefield. Even princes and princesses fought. For a commoner to take the Runkandel Cadet Exam at that time…”
“Oh, I remember now. Back then, Delki was split between the King’s faction and the Prince’s faction, locked in civil war. News outlets were full of reports on their conflict, and Runkandel declared it would support whichever side won.”
Kashimir nodded, recalling those days. Twenty years ago, as a prince of Bimont, he had closely followed international affairs.
Even those uninterested in politics knew about Delki’s civil war—it was a major event, especially since it took place on Runkandel’s soil.
“If Alu from Delki really took the cadet exam during that chaotic time, Lady Taimun, who was already a nanny in Runkandel, must have had a hand in it.”
“Exactly. Delki was completely closed off during the war. No outsiders could enter, and no Delki natives could leave until the war ended.”
In Runkandel, a ‘nanny’ wasn’t just a caretaker like in noble families elsewhere.
They wielded immense power within their houses, influencing major decisions based on the prestige of the pureblood Runkandel family they served.
In that sense, Lady Taimun’s influence back then was greater than most purebloods. Everyone pointed to fifteen-year-old Luna as the next head of the family.
Even Siron subtly promoted Luna as the heir in public.
“If Alu is truly related to Lady Taimun…”
Could it be that the one who cursed me with the ‘Widow of Blades’ curse was none other than Lady Luna herself…?
Jin swallowed the thought, but the memory of his last conversation with Alu flashed through his mind again.
“You can’t stop her anyway.”
“What?”
“Even if you failed then…”
Was the ‘her’ Alu mentioned actually Luna? If not for that final conversation, Jin would never have entertained such a thought.
His pulse quickened.
“Could it be that Luna visiting Stormhold on my ninth birthday… was because I wasn’t cursed?”
In his previous life, Luna never came to Stormhold. Even after leaving, Jin was always treated like trash, while Luna was admired by all. They rarely crossed paths.
Of course, Luna never showed any interest in him either.
Jin had only ever lamented from afar why he couldn’t inherit even half of his sister’s talent with the blade.
“So then, the things Luna did after leaving Stormhold—training me, saving my life multiple times—was that because she realized I was immune to the curse and changed her approach?”
As the thought crossed his mind, Jin shook his head in alarm.
“What am I thinking? I only found a possible blood relation between Taimun and Alu. Even if they are related, and it somehow ties to my curse, Luna wouldn’t know.”
He felt foolish for doubting Luna.
But the uneasy feeling lingered. Luna’s behavior and attitude in this life were so different from the last it was almost like she was a different person.
His miserable past life, his cold family.
When he was cast out of the family, all he got was ridicule, finger-pointing, or indifference—even from his siblings, including Luna.
Those memories weighed heavily on Jin’s heart.
“…I need to verify this first. Whether Alu is truly related to Taimun, why a cadet exam passer like Alu ended up as a crime boss in Akin, who’s behind them, and what their ultimate goal is.”
“Wouldn’t it be fastest to ask Miss Luna herself? Maybe send her a letter.”
Gilly had no idea that Jin had once been exposed to the ‘Widow of the Bladed Edge’ when he was just a year old. In fact, none of Jin’s comrades knew about it.
“No, that could put Luna in an awkward position. If they’re blood relatives, then I’d basically be exposing Nurse Taimun’s corruption.”
“Oh, that’s true. Since the eldest lady holds Nurse Taimun in such high regard, it’s probably better to let minor issues slide.”
“Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking. If Nurse Taimun’s misdeeds ever came to light within the family, even if Luna stayed quiet, the others wouldn’t. Joshua, Mu, and Lady Anne would tear her apart like rabid dogs.”
The best outcome would be this:
Taimun only involved Alu in the cadet exam because she hated seeing her own blood treated like expendable war fodder.
Alu passed, but for some reason wandered aimlessly until he found his true calling in Akin.
No curses involved—just a bit of ordinary corruption on Taimun’s part.
Jin could have let it go.
“First, send the Seven-Colored Bird operatives to Delki. If they pick up any useful intel, I’ll take action myself.”
“Understood, Your Highness.”