Episode 130
Chapter 42. Taimun Marius (3)
“So, Taimun abandoned those two, huh.”
“Yes, my lord. I confirmed it myself. What should we do?”
“Deal with it.”
Taimun was still staying at her villa in central Hupester. She had sent all the servants who managed the estate away. Alone in the vast mansion, she sat by the dining table.
In front of her was a cup of black tea—the kind she often drank with Luna. Her fingers touched the cup calmly.
Taimun sat quietly, lost in thought.
‘Berris, Kuzan. That person won’t let them live, not after Jin’s identity was exposed.’
Her prized hunting dogs, raised personally—the best sacrifices to the moon.
An 8-star mage and a knight. Letting go of such talent was a painful loss, but Taimun reasoned that hunting dogs could always be retrained and remade.
‘It just takes time. With brainwashing and physical modification, you can create as many hunting dogs as you want. Those two will be dealt with by that person’s assassination squad. I’ll wait for Miss Luna and find out how the young master Jin uncovered clues about me.’
Jin had fought Berris and Kuzan while investigating ‘Marius.’
What kind of chain of events had led to that? Taimun couldn’t even guess.
Fifteen years ago, when Jin was just one year old, Taimun had cursed him under that person’s orders.
For some reason, the curse had failed, but she thought there was no way anyone could trace it back to her—no witnesses, no evidence.
‘Did the mage who cast the curse leak information? Either way, I’ll get answers when I meet Miss Luna and young master Jin in person.’
After all, kind-hearted Luna could never kill her.
Recalling that absolute truth once more, Taimun lifted her teacup.
Clink…!
Before she could finish organizing her thoughts, the mansion’s front gate opened.
It was Jin and Luna.
“You’ve come, Miss. And young master Jin.”
“Nanny.”
Step, step, step…
The two approached Taimun slowly.
‘They act like they expected us. They must have some backup.’
Jin felt a strange unease.
Taimun looked directly at Luna, but Luna’s reddened eyes darted nervously, unsure where to focus.
Then Luna met Taimun’s gaze squarely.
“I’ll be direct. Do you know Berris Marius and Kuzan Marius?”
“I do, Miss.”
“Why were you secretly raising subordinates behind my back? And why did your servants keep clashing with the youngest sibling? I heard someone named Tagan Marius said strange things to Jin before he died. What’s going on…?”
She had promised herself to stay calm and ask carefully, but Luna’s voice trembled with anger.
“…What strange things did he say? My subordinates’ clashes with young master Jin were not by my orders. Did you come here assuming from the start that I tried to kill him?”
“Even if you didn’t order it directly, your servants attacked a pureblood Runkandel—the youngest sibling! So what’s with this attitude now?”
“If you intend to punish me for that, I will accept it, Miss. I was also troubled after hearing from Kuzan and Berris, and was waiting for you.”
“Answer me first—why were you raising assassins behind my back?”
“Please summon me to the family tribunal. I will explain everything in detail then.”
Jin shook his head.
“Wait, Taimun. I get that you have some kind of ace up your sleeve, but I won’t tolerate you disrespecting my sister. And unrelated? You killed the survivors of the Moon’s Sacrifice as soon as I started investigating the Marius name.”
“I believe young master Jin is mistaken.”
“Is that so? I hope it’s just a misunderstanding. I still want to believe you have nothing to do with the ‘Widow of Blades.’ Tagan Marius told me a lot before he died. And so did Den Marius, who was rescued.”
Jin deliberately mentioned the curse’s name—‘Widow of Blades’—a name unknown to Luna, Gili, Murakan, and the others.
Taimun flinched and looked at Jin.
“Why? Is it strange that I know about something that happened when I was one? I am a contractee of a god. Though I don’t remember, the god I contracted with remembers what happened in the Cradle of the Storm Castle.”
It was a lie. Jin had never heard Solderet’s voice even once since before his reincarnation.
But Taimun couldn’t bring herself to think it was a lie.
‘So that’s it… young master Jin was chosen by Solderet from the start. The mage didn’t leak the information—it was the god who revealed it. Then from the moment he first met Miss Luna at the Storm Castle, he was already searching for the culprit.’
Jin’s presence here was no coincidence. His visit to Tagan Marius in Akin was because he had already put Taimun on the suspect list.
Confident in that, Taimun swallowed a smile.
Coming this far was impressive, but Jin still lacked the ‘smoking gun’ to pin the crime on her.
‘Tagan and Den know nothing concrete about the curse. Jin is telling shallow lies. Circumstantially, he can’t do anything to me.’
On the other hand, Jin was full of weaknesses—his use of magic, his contract with Solderet, and the many laws he broke as a prospective knight.
Taimun knew all of this.
“I see, young master Jin. It’s surprising that you are a contractee of a god, especially as a Runkandel… But what does that have to do with me? Are you saying I ordered that curse? This is the first I’m hearing of it.”
“Well, we’ll find out in time.”
“I will cooperate fully with the family tribunal.”
Before Luna could respond, Jin stepped forward.
“Family tribunal? You’re mistaken, Taimun. Since you keep bringing it up, I guess you have quite a few allies in the main family. But you’ll be interrogated in my personal quarters.”
Taimun narrowed her eyes.
“Does a prospective knight like you have that kind of authority? Miss, that’s overstepping. If you intend to punish me, you must do it yourself. Once the family tribunal begins, I will keep quiet about you coming here to find me…”
“Nanny.”
Luna bit her lip and glared at Taimun.
“Yes, Miss.”
“I… I feel like you’re not the person I knew. And I can’t understand your behavior right now.”
“I don’t understand you either, Miss. It’s true my subordinates clashed with young master Jin by chance, but to suspect me—someone who has served you all her life—this much?”
“That’s because you were raising assassins…”
“I’m sorry for hiding that from you. But I raised them only to protect myself.”
“What?”
“Do you know how many enemies Miss Luna has in the family? Because of that, I faced death threats every day. You probably didn’t know.”
“What are you saying? How dare anyone try to kill the first knight of Runkandel, with my eyes wide open?”
“…Miss, you really don’t know anything.”
“Stop playing games and speak plainly. Nanny, my chest feels like it’s about to burst.”
“Miss, look closely. The servants who managed your room rarely lasted a full year before being replaced. Except for me, the nanny, the people serving you changed every year.”
It was true.
It wasn’t unusual for servants of pureblood Runkandel to be replaced—promotions to butler or scribe, or reassignment to other duties.
But in Luna’s case, the turnover was unusually frequent.
“Why was that?”
“Well…”
“Have you ever shown any interest in them? You never asked me about it, just assumed people changed. This has been going on since your adolescence.”
“What are you trying to say?”
Luna shook her head in confusion, and Jin quietly took her trembling hand.
He had already guessed what Taimun was about to say.
“They were all murdered, Miss. By your other siblings. While you paid them no mind! That’s why the staff kept changing.”
Luna’s pupils dilated.
“Even though you have the greatest power, you always kept your distance, so you didn’t know what happened to your people. But your people lived under constant threat of death just for being near you.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this?”
“Because I knew you would be heartbroken and saddened. Your siblings harassed your people instead of attacking you directly. Isn’t it impossible for them to kill you?”
“That’s nonsense! If you had told me even once, do you think I would have just stood by? Nanny, do you really not know me? Even knowing this, you thought I would just turn a blind eye?”
“…I didn’t tell you because I know you better than anyone else.”
“Bullshit!”
As Luna shouted, a faint tremor rippled through the mansion, and the teacup before Taimun clinked softly, swirling in place.
“Could the young lady really… could she have killed her own servants, her own brothers? The one who inherited the strongest bloodline, yet was too afraid to kill or subdue her siblings and stepped away from the throne war.”
Luna, who had been approaching Taimun, suddenly stopped in her tracks.
“Answer me, young lady. How would you have taken your revenge? For your people, could you have killed your own brothers? Or would you have just writhed in agony, unable to do anything at all?”
“I—”
“Maybe your heart would have shattered. I, your nanny, know better than anyone how fragile your heart truly is. And yet, do you think you could have held me accountable for that?”
Taimun grasped the trembling teacup, forcing a bitter smile.
“From the moment you stepped away from the brutal war for the throne of Runcandel, your people became nothing more than prey. You should never have given up the throne of Runcandel.”