Chapter 153
Episode 51. Yona Runcandel (2)
Jin quietly met Yona’s gaze.
‘In my past life… did Yona noona often come looking for me?’
He couldn’t quite recall when he first received those two intertwined green roses before his reincarnation. Was it when he was twenty? Or maybe twenty-two?
From around that time, someone would leave at least one pair of intertwined green roses in Jin’s room every month without fail.
‘I used to wonder who on earth kept leaving those roses and why…’
At first, the curiosity lingered, but it didn’t take long for it to fade. Jin’s days were filled with hellish training sessions ending in failure and despair, repeated over and over.
There was no room for such trivial curiosities. In his past life, despite training twice as hard as others, he only became a first-class knight at twenty-five.
Even if someone secretly left green roses in his room for years, he didn’t have the luxury to find it strange. On particularly frustrating days, he’d even tear the roses out of their vase in anger.
Gradually, Jin stopped feeling anything at all when he saw the green roses regularly placed in his room.
And on the day he was finally expelled from the Garden of Swords, he absentmindedly reached into the pocket of his robe—and found a green rose there.
—Ha ha.
He remembered laughing bitterly at that. He had wanted to keep that last green rose safe, but after leaving Runcandel and living like a wreck, he lost it somewhere. Whether it was during a robbery or a brief adventure with his magic teacher, he couldn’t pinpoint when exactly.
Jin took the green rose with a slight tremble in his hand.
“Twisting them like this… I guess the green roses do have their charm, just like you said, noona.”
“Right? I only give them to people I really like. Hehe.”
Thank you.
He wanted to say that, but his throat tightened so much he couldn’t speak.
‘For years, without a single word…’
There was only one reason Yona had done that in their past life. If she openly showed interest, the other siblings would never have left the youngest alone.
Yona had always hovered around Jin. Whether it was her own game or genuine affection, she always gave him flowers.
Except for Gilly, no one else.
Not a single person in Runcandel had paid him any attention during those dark times.
“What’s wrong?”
Jin shook his head, holding back the surge of emotions.
“I take back what I said about us not having enough memories or bonds to call it a deep sibling relationship.”
“Really!?”
“Yes. And this time, I’m the one who should be paying attention to you, noona.”
From now on, Yona was no longer an ambiguous figure to Jin.
“Hee!”
They sat perched on the cliff, talking through the night.
Like ordinary siblings reunited after a long time, their chatter about trivial things stretched until morning.
“…So you even tried to kill the Nameless King? Just because he scolded you? Unbelievable.”
“Yeah, I was fourteen. I got caught by Owl and was locked in solitary for days, writing reflections. I tried twice more after that, but failed each time.”
“Truly worthy of being called the King of Assassins. Even if your skills don’t quite match up to noona’s.”
“Now, I think I could pull it off if I pushed myself. Hehe. By the way, how did you get the Silver Dragon’s Claw?”
“Before that—if I didn’t have it, would you have killed me?”
“Fifty-fifty!”
“Too bad. If you’d said yes, I might have introduced you to the Silver Dragon someday.”
“Hah, no way. I want to meet the Silver Dragon too. Are you close?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll kill you. I’ll pluck out those claws and use them myself.”
“I’ve told you many times already, please cut some slack for the comrades who’ve shared life and death with me. They could all be friends with you, noona.”
“Hehehe. But Jin, you really aren’t scared of me. Except for Father and Owl, I think you’re the first person I’ve talked to this comfortably.”
“Noona, I think you’d suit running a flower shop better than being an assassin. Maybe after you retire, you should consider it.”
“A flower shop?”
“Probably wouldn’t make much money. I’d cover your living expenses… It wouldn’t be a bad hobby or livelihood. You seem to have plenty of time now, so start learning about flowers whenever you can.”
“A flower shop!”
“Of course, no killing customers.”
“Got it.”
“Well, I should probably go see the Nameless King soon. I have to leave Samil tomorrow, so I need to collect my reward.”
Yona’s expression darkened immediately.
“Where are you going? If you go, you’ll be kill—”
“Stop, stop, enough.”
“Hee.”
“I’ll give you my address exclusively. Write to me. If I’m sure you won’t kill my comrades, I’ll invite you. But if you tell the others my address—”
“Never. Absolutely not. Oh! I almost forgot, I have a mission today!”
“A mission? The top assassin forgets that? Hurry up and go.”
“See you later!”
Yona dashed down the hill at a frantic pace, and Jin chuckled softly watching her back.
He twisted a few green roses together and slowly made his way toward the Nameless Hall.
Unlike last night, the streets were crowded with Samil cadets. And the difference was that whenever they passed Jin, they bowed respectfully.
That was thanks to the Nameless King classifying Jin as the ‘Nameless’s benefactor of ten years.’ If he wanted, Jin could live comfortably in the heart of Samil for a decade.
Jin caught a ride on a cadet-driven carriage to the Nameless Hall. The assassins there greeted him with the same respectful bows as the cadets, but no one tried to stop him.
“You’re here.”
As soon as he reached the inner quarters of the Nameless Hall, Owl greeted him. The assassins standing nearby silently disappeared somewhere.
“Yes.”
“Looks like you spent the whole night catching up with Yona. Even though you knew I was waiting.”
It wasn’t a scolding tone. Owl’s lips even curved into a gentle smile.
Though he used Yona as a tool and relied on her as the head of the Nameless, his affection as a mentor was genuine.
So he couldn’t help but be proud of Jin for spending the night with Yona—and for bringing the Silver Dragon’s Claw, a rare treasure.
“You’re reckless and have caused huge financial damage to the Nameless, but I do like you.”
“Just so you know, I have no intention of joining the Nameless after I qualify as a trainee.”
“Haha, even the Vice Lord is eyeing you, but I won’t get involved. You’re aiming for something bigger anyway.”
Something bigger.
The head of the Runcandel family.
Most people didn’t believe the youngest of Runcandel, now a trainee, could ever become head. After all, he had twelve formidable older siblings above him.
But absolute warriors like Luna, Owl, and Thalaris believed it was possible. Once you saw Jin in action, you’d know it wasn’t impossible.
“…What you requested three days ago is ready to be carried out.”
The first day Owl came to Jin, Jin had asked for one reward in exchange for saving Veradin and Dante.
—Since I’m risking my life, I hope to receive some reward, but only if I successfully assist the Nameless King.
“Though you didn’t always follow my orders, you saved both of them and brought the Silver Dragon’s Claw, so I agreed. Seeing all three of them together gave me a headache.”
“I didn’t know you liked to show off.”
“Are you getting familiar enough with me to speak so freely because you’re close with Yona?”
“I just wanted to be closer to you, Owl. I think it’s better if noona stays here instead of returning to the main family, maybe even opens a flower shop on my land someday.”
Owl’s eyes gleamed immediately.
While other Runcandel siblings only thought of exploiting Yona to use the Nameless, Jin was the opposite.
Not only that, but he even hinted he wouldn’t use Yona as the family’s assassin. It didn’t seem like empty words, so Owl couldn’t help but grow curious again.
“That’s something Yona would like to hear. But your family won’t let her go.”
“I’ll give her a reason not to return to the main family anytime soon.”
“Oh? Can you take responsibility for that? You’re just a trainee.”
“Of course. I can delay Yona noona’s return by at least five years.”
Though he hadn’t gotten it yet, Jin planned to ask Yona for the Mandokju soon.
He wanted to give his youngest noona a good gift and build enough trust so he wouldn’t feel guilty receiving it.
If he got the Mandokju, Owl could confront Siron like in Jin’s past life—after all, a pureblood Runcandel had stolen the Mandokju, so he’d ask to delay Yona’s return.
“Five years, huh? You must have heard something from Yona overnight.”
“In return, the King will help me only once when I need it. Not as Jin Runcandel, but as Jin Gray.”
“Fine. If you keep your word this time like before, I’ll do it. You’ve already tricked me twice, so I’m sure you have a plan.”
“Then I’ll be leaving Samil. I’ll take Dante and Veradin with me, so you won’t have to worry about us anymore starting today.”
As Jin bowed politely and turned away, Owl lit a cigarette.
“But are you really sure about this? Your plan, I mean.”
“Absolutely.”
“I say that because I think the number might be higher than you expect. It’s going to cause quite a stir. You might even get caught up in the fallout.”
Jin smiled knowingly.
“I doubt that will happen. I’m just casting my net without much thought and happened to catch a big one.”
Meanwhile, Dante and Veradin were still sprawled across the bed, snoring loudly.
Snore, puff… snore, puff! Veradin was even scratching his belly vigorously.
Sleeping without a care in the world.
Jin shrugged, slipped his hands into his pockets, and casually tossed the green rose he’d twisted earlier onto their faces.
But then, something unfamiliar brushed against his fingers inside his pocket.
A stick?
A pitch-black stick. Jin’s pupils dilated in shock as he stared at the object in his hand.
It’s the Man-Dok-Ju!
Yona had slipped it in there.
But when? The question was answered the moment he reached into his other pocket and pulled out a letter.
—Your birthday was a few days ago, wasn’t it? So consider this a birthday gift. Just because you’ve awakened your mind’s eye doesn’t mean you can let your guard down. That’s how people like me catch you off guard.
If you consume the Man-Dok-Ju and fully awaken your mind’s eye, there’s no assassin in the world who can kill you alone. Even I find it difficult.
I’ve threatened your life more times than I can count while you’ve been here, so I thought I’d give you one life as a gift.
Belated happy birthday, my dear youngest. Oh, and the whole “mission” thing? That was a lie!
The reason Yona suddenly started talking about a mission in the flower garden this morning was to secretly get the Man-Dok-Ju past the Nameless King.
And at that very moment—
“What… what is this?!”
Joshua’s knights, spying on Jin, were utterly stunned.