Episode 133
Chapter 43: Those Who Harbor Poison (Part 1)
Hyupester United Nations, Joshua’s secret villa.
With his back turned to ten knights clad in black robes, Joshua looked down at two kneeling figures.
Kuzan Marius and Beris Marius.
Their eyes still red and swollen from tears, they waited anxiously for Joshua’s response.
“So… Taimun has disowned you, hasn’t she?”
“Yes…”
“Joshua, we’ll do anything. Please, just once, change Mother’s heart. Without her, we’re nothing…”
As Beris crawled toward Joshua, still on her knees, pleading desperately, the guardian knights trampled on her shoulder.
“Do not approach His Grace recklessly.”
Beris whispered apologies like a madwoman before breaking down in tears, while Kuzan swallowed a heavy sigh, his heart shattered.
“Beris, Mother never behaved like this in front of Joshua. Don’t forget that this disgrace could dishonor her. Stop crying and pull yourself together.”
At Kuzan’s sharp voice, Beris stilled her breath.
Just as the knights roughly dragged Beris back to her place, Joshua raised a hand to stop them.
“That’s enough. Leave them be. You have to understand—my knights are on edge right now.”
“Sniff… Thank you, thank you, Joshua.”
Joshua forced a bitter smile and met their eyes.
‘Calling themselves her children when they’re not even true kin. They don’t realize that to the late Taimun, they were nothing but hunting dogs. Seeing them in person is almost laughable.’
Yet Joshua had long coveted these ridiculous fools.
Taimun had treated them like mere tools, but Joshua valued their ‘loyalty’ highly.
‘Good dogs are easy to find. But dogs willing to set themselves on fire at my command? Those are rare.’
Beris and Kuzan fit that description perfectly. They were dogs who would carry out painful suicide missions without hesitation if ordered—and they had the skills to back it up.
The problem was their loyalty was to Taimun, not to Joshua. While Taimun was Joshua’s subordinate, Kuzan and Beris were not.
They worked solely for Taimun. Even when they helped Joshua, it was only under her orders.
‘Taimun was the same. If she had been ordered to harm Luna, she would have betrayed me.’
Taimun’s true loyalty was to Luna; Kuzan and Beris’s was to Taimun.
Joshua had never liked this. Especially since Taimun knew many of his secrets but never gave him full loyalty—she was someone he would have to eliminate eventually.
And now, the opportunity had come.
To remove Taimun and turn these pitiful hunting dogs into truly his own.
“Kuzan, Beris.”
“Yes, Joshua.”
“Unfortunately, I cannot grant your request.”
“Ah…”
“And judging by your arrival here, you still don’t know the news. You said Taimun disowned you in haste?”
“That’s right. We’ve never failed Mother’s orders before, but to be cast aside for a single failure…”
“That’s not it.”
“What?”
“…I understand how much your mother cared for you. She did not disown you out of disappointment.”
“Please, explain.”
Kuzan’s voice trembled, and Beris clung to Joshua’s ankle, her eyes shaking like someone having a seizure.
“Mother… then why?”
Joshua shook his head and continued.
“Taimun was… killed. By that mysterious sword-wielding warrior you fought. More precisely, her life was taken by that man’s guardian dragon—the black dragon.”
“No, no, that can’t be. Mother, really…”
“Taimun sent an urgent plea for help, so I dispatched five of my execution knights. Even they all died fighting the black dragon, and the reinforcements nearly met the same fate.”
Beris collapsed, convulsing as if about to faint, and thick tears of blood streamed from Kuzan’s eyes.
They couldn’t doubt Joshua’s words. To them, he was their mother’s lord and a steadfast protector.
“Was Mother’s final moment… peaceful?”
“I can only hope so. No, I must be honest with you. She died resisting so fiercely that no body was left behind.”
“Who is that swordsman… Joshua?”
“We’re investigating, but still unknown. Taimun knew. The moment you faced the Solderet contractor, she realized she wouldn’t survive. She must have wanted to save you, expecting you to come to me after being disowned.”
“Why would he kill Mother instead of us?”
“Who knows… He was investigating your family name, so there must have been some grudge with Taimun. It seems he met you when her guardian dragon was absent, but his true target was always Taimun.”
“He hid his face, but he didn’t look old. I can’t imagine what grudge he’d have against Mother.”
“Maybe he lost his family to her in the past. Then he made a contract with Solderet, gained power, and came for revenge… That’s my guess. We’ll keep digging.”
Kuzan bowed his head. When his shoulders began to shake, Joshua embraced him.
By then, Beris was completely unconscious, trembling in convulsions.
“We will find him and kill him… immediately!”
“You’re not ready for him now. You fought evenly only because the guardian dragon was absent. With the black dragon present, you’d be slaughtered. Do you think Taimun cut ties with you for no reason?”
Kuzan couldn’t answer.
“Wait with me. I have a debt to repay to the one who killed Taimun and my knights. Once it’s revealed that there’s a Solderet contractor involved, the G-PL will move too. They’ll either try to recruit him or kill him.”
“No one else. Not even the G-PL.”
Kuzan gritted his teeth and added,
“No one but Beris and me has the right to take his life.”
Joshua suppressed a smile and met his gaze.
“Good. I’ll help you settle that grudge.”
“…For now, we’ll take our leave. Please give us some time to gather ourselves.”
“Of course. But don’t be too late. I worry you might lose yourselves to him as well.”
As the two left the villa, Joshua pulled a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. The glow highlighted his thick eyebrows and sharp nose.
“Joshua, are you sure this is wise? If they start spouting nonsense somewhere or rush into revenge…”
“Ha. Don’t worry. Instilling blind obsession is the best way to handle hunting dogs. They’ll be back soon, full of venom.”
As the smoke curled around him, Joshua thought of the sister who was sure to come soon.
‘No matter how much that old hunting dog spilled before dying, it doesn’t matter. If Luna and the youngest attack me without evidence or cause, it’s actually a blessing. In the end, everything will go according to my plan.’
CRASH!
Luna’s punch shattered the massive iron gate into splinters.
“What are you doing, First Knight?!”
Inside the mansion, the Runcandel guardian knights drew their swords and blocked her path.
Over a hundred knights lay unconscious on the floor behind Luna—those who had tried to stop her.
“Is Joshua here?”
“Calm down first! Why are you doing this? If you come any further inside, we’ll have no choice but to take it as a declaration of war!”
“Just answer my question. Is Joshua here or not?”
“Even if the Second Knight is here, we won’t open the way. This is beyond the code of Runcandel, even for a rank war.”
Heh.
Luna strode forward and grabbed the knight’s neck. Though not impossibly fast, the knights were overwhelmed by her presence and dared not resist.
“Code? Joshua’s knights should never utter that word again. If you want to stop me, swing your swords and fight. I won’t punish you afterward.”
At once, the knights charged, blades flashing.
Luna didn’t dodge. She threw the knight she held aside and continued toward the main building.
CLANG! SCREECH!
Seven blades scraped and bounced off her body, forcing the knights to stagger back involuntarily.
Any further attacks would end the same, and they were barely able to avoid shards of aura flickering around Luna.
“Welcome, sister.”
At that moment, Joshua appeared in the central hall, having been watching from outside.
Once again, behind him stood ten knights clad in black robes.
“Looks like you’re scared out of your wits, Joshua. I didn’t expect you’d have all the Black Knights on standby.”
“Since you’re this furious, sister, I thought some extra protection was necessary. What brings you here?”
“Pfft…”
Suddenly, Luna burst out laughing.
“Did you really think I came to kill you over what you did? With such a small mind, you embarrass me more than anything. I’m starting to think this visit was pointless.”
Joshua smiled faintly.
And Luna knew better than anyone that was the exact expression her younger brother made when he was trying to hide his humiliation.
“Well now, to have knocked out all my knights and still say that… It seems you’re upset about something, sister. As your brother, I can overlook it this time. But come back when you’re thinking straight.”
No matter who Luna was, she couldn’t take on all ten Black Knights at once.
So Joshua hoped she would immediately swing the Krantel strapped to her back. He didn’t intend to kill her, but he wanted to use this incident as leverage to manipulate her power for his own ends.
‘If sister strikes me now, mother will have a reason to control her directly. Until I become head of the family, she has to stay alive. She needs to keep Zple’s influence in check.’
The sword that guards the family.
Joshua still believed it was necessary.
And he was filled with anticipation. Though it wasn’t a one-on-one duel, this was the first chance he’d had to humiliate Luna.
Everything was going according to plan.
Just as Joshua was about to provoke her again—
“Brother. Even if you’re a worthless piece of trash, you’re still my blood and the family’s second heir. That’s why I came today—to warn you, with all the love I have.”
Luna spoke with genuine sincerity, her eyes filled with pity for Joshua.
“When that child returns to the family, you won’t stand a chance. So I advise you—run before it’s too late.”
Turning sharply, Luna took a few steps, then stopped and laughed again.
“Is this sister’s back so easy to stab? Even after bringing all the Black Knights. Honestly, you haven’t changed a bit since you were a kid.”
And so, Luna left the mansion, stepping over the fallen knights who had tried to protect Joshua.
A smile never left Joshua’s lips—the smile of someone suppressing his humiliation.