Episode 131
Chapter 42. Taimun Marius (4)
Thirty-five years ago.
The day Taimun became Luna Kandel’s wet nurse, she truly understood what ‘real power’ meant for the first time.
It was almost laughable—those influential figures from Delki, who had treated her and her siblings like dogs or worse, couldn’t even dare to look down on her. The sight made her want to vomit.
Her life had shifted to an entirely different plane from the days she’d lived as less than livestock in the Sacrifice of the Moon.
“Some people have all the luck. Some grow up as orphans, treated worse than animals, while I was born the first child of the Luna Kandel family.”
Looking at the newborn Luna, Taimun thought this—not out of envy or jealousy, but simply acknowledging the vast gulf between their worlds. She was genuinely grateful to be Luna’s wet nurse.
More than anything, Taimun was amazed at how warm a newborn could be.
Back in the Sacrifice of the Moon, every infant she’d held was cold and stiff—lifeless corpses.
That warmth—something she’d never even imagined—captivated her heart faster than she could believe.
Before she knew it, Taimun was pouring genuine affection into Luna.
“Well, she is pretty cute.”
One year, two, three… five.
Watching Luna grow strong and healthy was moving every day.
But with nearly every year came new pureblood Lunakandels—Luna’s rivals—and Siron and Rosa, who hoped for competition between Luna and them.
These thoughts made Taimun restless.
“There shouldn’t be a problem. The head of the family said only Miss Luna inherited nearly all of his qualities. In the end, the next head will be my lady.”
True to that hope, Luna had drawn attention even before leaving the Storm Castle. Once she entered the main house and began her formal training, everyone’s expectations rested squarely on her.
“Today, I fought and won against the entire beginner class, wet nurse. Even Luntia and Joshua can’t beat me, even if they team up.”
“Well done, Miss. Keep it up…”
“But sometimes, I don’t feel great about it. I just like swords, not competition. Everyone gets gloomy when they lose to me. Maybe I should let them win sometimes.”
At the time, Taimun thought it was just the innocent heart of a child. Even if such thoughts were sinful in Lunakandel, she couldn’t treat Luna like the orphans from the Sacrifice of the Moon.
Taimun’s certainty about Luna grew when she turned thirteen.
“Don’t get in my sight, Joshua. Next time, it won’t end like this.”
“Luntia, don’t sit at the same table as me, or I’ll kill you.”
“Is that the best you can do? You’ll never even come close to my shadow.”
Gone was the warmth; Luna was walking the path of Lunakandel’s ruthless heir.
But it was just adolescence.
Exhausted by the family’s infighting, Luna endured a long, dark puberty. Siron, Rosa, and even Taimun mistook this for Luna’s true nature—and were satisfied.
Especially Taimun.
She wanted to borrow Luna’s power—the future head of Lunakandel—to erase all her miserable memories. As the head’s wet nurse, she longed to wield that immense power and take revenge on the world.
After over twenty years of abuse in Delki, Taimun’s heart was inevitably scarred.
“Once my lady becomes head, I will erase the Delki royal family from this world…”
If Luna grew up as she was, it was entirely possible.
“I heard you annihilated the elite mages of Ziphl in Bayles this time? Congratulations, Miss! That’s 37 consecutive successful missions since becoming a rider. You’re pulling even further ahead of your siblings. The head was very pleased.”
“Wet nurse, this might sound strange, but I’m so tired. I just… I want to be left alone. Father, mother, siblings…”
“What? What do you mean, Miss? Is something wrong?”
“You’re on my side, right? No matter what I look like or where I stand.”
“Of course, I am always your…”
“I will never become the head of this miserable family.”
At nineteen, Luna’s adolescence ended.
And Taimun had never once seen Luna break a promise she made to herself.
“Are you serious, Miss? Think carefully. You were born with the greatest qualities since the head. You’re saying you’ll waste that power? If not you, then who can lead Lunakandel?”
“Someone among my siblings will become head instead. I think Dipus or Mary would be fine. Father, mother, and the elders will throw a fit, but wet nurse, please be on my side. Oh, the siblings will be happy.”
“Miss…”
“And I don’t intend to waste my power. I will grow stronger. While my siblings fight among themselves, I will become the strongest sword protecting the family and prove I’m different.”
“Ah…”
“Besides, I need a change of pace. Want to go see the youngest? For some reason, just seeing him calms me. Maybe because he’s a baby?”
“Ha, ha. Even if you go, you’ll only see him sleeping from afar. Is that really enough?”
“Yes, it soothes me. My senses are sharp—you can almost feel his soft breathing through the air. Ah, I wish I could hold him just once.”
That day, Luna found a new dream, and Taimun’s dream shattered.
Luna immediately renounced her right to succeed as head and wandered the world, earning the name White Whale.
The noble white whale of legend.
“Was I just a starving predator lurking near that whale?”
Emptiness, disappointment.
And the guilt of feeling such emotions toward her lady—emotions she dared not admit.
As Taimun struggled with these feelings day by day, Luna’s siblings began their ‘hunt.’
Was it hatred born from frustration at never surpassing the towering wall that was Luna? Or was it reckless cruelty born from the belief that Luna would never kill them?
Or was it simply the nature of Lunakandel’s hierarchy wars?
Their relentless drive to attack, push aside, and kill Luna’s people was so intense that even Taimun, who had endured countless intrigues in the Sacrifice of the Moon, found it unbearable.
“Don’t tell the lady. She would be heartbroken. I am her wet nurse…”
“Does the lady have no idea this is happening? Or is she pretending not to know?”
“If the lady hadn’t given up the throne, would this have happened?”
To survive, Taimun raised hunting dogs. By then, there was no room in her heart for revenge against the Delki royal family—only confusion.
“Should I tell the lady now? The hunting dogs are growing too slowly. At this rate, I won’t last much longer. And the lady won’t be able to endure it.”
As expected, Luna was soon captured.
While Luna was away training at the main house, Lunakandel’s guardian knights seized Taimun and dragged her to the underground prison.
“Taimun Marius, the greatest assassin and instructor from the Sacrifice of the Moon. How about sharing your skills and loyalty with me? I can give you what you want.”
“I have no intention of betraying my lady. Kill me.”
“You speak words you don’t mean. I see the anger and joy inside you, barely held back.”
There, Taimun heard a voice of salvation.
Recalling that moment, Taimun’s eyes darkened.
“Still, I love my lady. Though I have caused her pain now, it was because I stood by her side from that day that she has remained unharmed until now.”
She sighed deeply.
“…It must be a great shock. At least until I die, or even after I’m gone, I hoped my lady would never learn these truths.”
“Wet nurse.”
“Whatever the reason, it is true that I secretly raised mercenaries and that they turned their blades against the young masters. Even if not by my order, my subordinates attacking pureblood Lunakandel is the gravest of crimes.”
“Wet nurse.”
“I do not intend to avoid paying for my sins. Therefore, I have already confessed my crimes to the main house myself.”
As she said this and rose to her feet—
Clack, clack, clack…
Footsteps echoed outside the door.
Execution knights—the enforcers who punish those who break Lunakandel’s laws—had come in response to Taimun’s call.
“She had already prepared before my sister and I arrived. Though she speaks politely, Taimun is confident she will survive the family trial. If we had been any later, we wouldn’t have had a chance to question her.”
While calculating how Jin would respond, Luna struggled to stand, her legs trembling.
“If possible, please have the lady herself take me to the main house. I want to die by her hand.”
Taimun stopped in front of Luna.
“Wet nurse, don’t go. Stay and talk with me a little longer, okay?”
“I have already committed a crime once. If I refuse the family’s execution I requested, I will be committing an unforgivable sin again.”
“Don’t go. Please. Just stop. I will face them myself.”
“I must go, Miss.”
Taimun took a step forward again, passing right by Luna. Luna, unable to bring herself to look back, struggled to hold back her tears.
Jin grabbed Taimun’s shoulder.
“Taimun Marius.”
“Yes, youngest master.”
“I don’t know who’s behind you. But there aren’t many with enough power to save you at the family trial.”
“You still doubt me, don’t you?”
“No, it’s no longer doubt. I’m certain now. Judging by your actions, you’re deeply involved with my curse.”
“No matter what you think, that’s for the family to decide…”
“Let me give you some advice. Do you really think your master will save you? After showing such weaknesses to me and my sister? If you follow them, you will die.”
“That’s a strange thing to say. Except for Miss Luna, no one stands behind me. Death or torture—I’m not afraid to pay for my sins.”
“Oh? You seem that way. But for someone who’s ready to die, you sure talk a lot.”
For a moment, Taimun stared quietly at Jin, then shook his head.
“I won’t say anything at the trial that could cause trouble for you, Master Jin. That’s the least I can do for the lady.”
Clank, screech!
The mansion gates swung open, revealing five execution knights. At the same time, Jin activated Multa’s rune, masking her face.
As Taimun approached them, both Jin and Taimun had their own thoughts.
If Taimun dies, it’ll be harder to investigate the curse. Before they finish transporting him to the main house, I have to convince my sister to attack the execution knights and secure him again.
Heh, clever fellow. Yes, they might cast me out. But even if that happens, the fact that the young master uses magic and has communicated with Solderet—that information will save me.
Just as Taimun calmly held out both hands, signaling his willingness to be bound, Jin caught a glimpse of a dagger slipping from the gauntlet of one execution knight to her left.
They hadn’t come to escort Taimun to the main house.
They weren’t here to transport him to the trial at all—they intended to kill him right here! No, these weren’t execution knights summoned by Taimun, but disguised assassins!
They came to eliminate him.
“Sis!”
Jin shouted as she dashed forward.
An assassin aimed for the back of Taimun’s neck. Jin drew her dagger almost simultaneously, ready to parry the assassin’s blade with a throwing knife.
And then—
Swish!
Moving at the speed of light, Luna was already cutting down the throats of the other assassins who had started to strike at Taimun.