Episode 321
Episode 98. Not Prey (Part 2)
A private treatment room in the center of Geomhwangseong.
“Oh dear, my grandson! Has he still not woken up? Someone, tell me—when will he open his eyes? Surely he won’t lie there forever, will he!?”
“His pulse and temperature are very stable, Lord Gaju. He will definitely wake soon, so please don’t worry.”
“Dante, Dante! How much pain did my grandson endure…!”
Unaware that Ron was humoring his feigned illness, Dante continued pretending to be unconscious.
“My heart is breaking…! This grandfather will be back soon. When you wake, let’s go eat your favorite royal Dragon King Soup. I’ll tell His Majesty to have the imperial chef ready.”
As Ron sniffled, Dante felt a strange thrill mixed with guilt for deceiving his grandfather.
Ron saw right through his grandson’s act and barely held back a smile.
Creak.
About ten minutes after Ron left, Jin entered the treatment room. At the same time, Dante groaned, pretending to wake.
“Ugh…”
“Lord So Gaju, are you coming to?”
“It’s been a while since I fainted… How long have I been out?”
“About thirty minutes.”
“Not too long, thank goodness. Ah, Paul Gray Mick. You showed a worrying side. You all should step outside for a moment. I need to speak with this friend alone.”
As the doctors left, Dante’s face broke into a wide grin.
“Did you fall for it too?”
“No.”
“As expected, you’re not so easy to fool. Jin! How was my acting? Pretty good, right? Ha ha! By now, Grandfather must know how much I care for you. I’m sure he promised you three hundred million gold coins. No, maybe even five hundred million!”
Dante’s voice rose with excitement.
“I was worried, though. Would Grandfather really approve of you being friends with Hailan and Runkandel? But in the end, he’s on my side. If I want to protect you, Grandfather will protect you too…”
Dante stopped mid-sentence, watching Jin’s expression.
Jin’s face had gone pale, his eyes vacant and half-lost.
“J-Jin? What’s wrong?”
“I’ve been completely stripped….”
“W-What?”
“Stripped of everything, by your grandfather.”
“Is that true?”
“It is.”
Even hearing it firsthand, Dante couldn’t believe it.
That devil of a friend had been robbed of everything by someone? No matter how formidable Grandfather was, he couldn’t imagine Jin being on the losing end.
“Uh, um, well… I’m sorry. I never thought it would come to this. Grandfather isn’t that kind of man.”
“No, you don’t have to apologize. I was careless. Hah, you have a good grandfather.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
Jin let out a small, bitter laugh.
“Actually, I didn’t lose everything. I signed a memorandum handing over some ancient porcelain and millennia-old iron… but I learned just how powerful Hailan’s intelligence network really is.”
The Black Knight assassination mission was top secret.
For Jin to know what reward he received meant someone close to Ron and Yeon among the riders had leaked information.
‘Whoever it is, they wouldn’t betray Runkandel. Probably someone indebted to Lord Ron, providing info just once. If there was a spy, Ron wouldn’t be so confident.’
In fact, Jin felt this was a blessing in disguise.
He could find out who among the riders gave Ron the info and use that to his advantage.
He also learned what kind of man Ron Hailan was.
A model lord who never let his guard down, never sacrificed his or Hailan’s interests.
Yet a kind, warm grandfather willing to give more than his life for his grandson.
‘In that sense, Lord Ron already holds my greatest weakness.’
Just being Dante’s closest friend meant Ron couldn’t treat Jin carelessly. After all, Dante had risked his life to save Jin.
‘Taking the porcelain and iron was a warning. A message: don’t ever think of using me through Dante.’
To Jin, that wasn’t a warning from a position of strength.
It felt more like a bluff from someone who had been forced to pawn something precious.
So even after losing to Ron, Jin didn’t feel he had lost much.
‘What Lord Ron took today can be recovered. The real problem is losing a source of funds for now.’
He’d have to work harder than expected to raise money.
“Jin, for now, I’ll try to raise as much money as possible within the limits Grandfather allows. I feel bad for causing trouble instead of helping.”
“It’s okay. Don’t worry about money. I can find it elsewhere.”
“Is that possible?”
“I’ll make it possible. By the way, I met Veradin on the mission.”
“…In Ventica, the disputed region of the Mila Kingdom where Runkandel and Zipple recently clashed?”
Dante’s expression darkened further. Jin and Veradin meeting on a mission could only mean one thing: they were there to kill each other.
“Yes.”
“How was Lord Veradin?”
“I don’t think he’s himself. Beyond memory manipulation, his mind isn’t intact. He didn’t recognize me and even attacked.”
Jin recounted the day’s events. Dante’s face remained grim throughout.
“…I can only imagine how devastated Lord Veradin will be when he regains his senses.”
“He probably isn’t a war-crazed man every day. The newsletters sometimes mention him attending banquets and public events normally.”
“I want to save him.”
“Me too. But we have to wait. Until the right moment comes.”
“Jin.”
“Yes?”
Hesitating, Dante glanced between Jin and the floor.
“If, say, Lord Veradin is beyond saving. If he can never return to who he was, and can only live as a puppet for Zipple… what would you do?”
Though he asked, he didn’t expect an answer he liked. He thought Jin would say, “Then we have to give up,” or “Killing him is the only way.”
Still, he asked to confirm. Maybe Jin felt the same way he did.
“I’ll find a way.”
Jin’s answer made Dante look up.
“Really!?”
“Then it must be true. I gain nothing by giving up on him. He’s my friend, after all.”
“Jin! I’m deeply moved!”
“So tell Lord Ron, I’m not as cunning as he thinks.”
“Now that Grandfather knows about you and me, I’ll be able to speak more freely about you.”
“Good, good. I should get going soon.”
“Already? How about dinner and a drink before you go?”
“With someone who just fainted from anemia?”
“That was all an act.”
“Fine. Invite me to the next banquet. And maybe send an invitation to Veradin, just in case.”
“Will do!”
That night, back in Tikan.
Jin once again realized just how much Ron Hailan cherished his ‘one and only’ grandson (though Dante also had siblings).
“Master Jin! What kind of magic did you work?”
Until this morning, Tikan had felt like a house of mourning. Now, it was the exact opposite—a festive atmosphere.
“Lord Kashimir?”
“You truly are Tikan’s lucky charm. Almost every noble house in Bimant, except the royal family, is rushing to bring money and goods.”
Jin smiled wryly.
‘Dante, that lucky rascal.’
That was Ron’s assessment of him.
A scrappy kid who, if he lost one thing, would take two or more in return.
Without a doubt, Ron’s greatest love and pride was his grandson. But separately,
Among his grandson’s peers, Jin was clearly the best—strength, insight, strategy, courage, even magic.
So Ron decided it was better to leave Jin’s wings intact rather than clip them halfway. It wouldn’t benefit his grandson otherwise.
It was a calculation made purely for his grandson’s sake.
“It’s a windfall! We’ve actually upgraded to more solid business partners than before!”
Kashimir was practically dancing.
‘Lord Ron made an excellent decision. He didn’t just give money—he solved the root problem.’
Almost every noble house in Bimant, except the royal family, wanted to trade with Tikan.
This wasn’t just good news for Tikan’s economy. It meant Jin and Kashimir wouldn’t have to constantly watch Runkandel’s every move when running Tikan.
Of course, they’d have to watch Ron and Hailan instead, so some autonomy was lost.
But from Jin’s perspective, if Tikan had to fight for full independence against either Runkandel or Hailan,
The latter was clearly the lesser burden. Runkandel was a far stronger house.
“If all the noble houses that came today become business partners, we won’t need to look for money anymore.”
Jin shook his head at that.
“But wouldn’t it be better to have more money rather than less?”
“Of course! I just got word that Confucius’s guests will be arriving soon. Ah! Look, it seems Jet is bringing them in now.”
Looking out the window, they saw a large figure following Jet.
Clad in a robe with the hood pulled up, the figure approached the mansion with a strangely awkward gait, as if something was off.
“My lord! I’ve brought them!” Jet announced loudly as he threw the door wide open.
Up close, the robed giant looked even bigger—his frame so unusual it hardly seemed human.
Jin shrugged as he caught sight of the golden eyes sparkling beneath the hood.
“You guys can disguise others flawlessly, but this is the best you could do?”
“Hey, isn’t this pretty impressive!?”
With a swift motion—
The robe slipped off, revealing a mass of fur barely reaching Jin’s waist. The giant was actually a member of the Gold Snow tribe, a fusion of four beings acting as one human.
“Impressive, huh? Long time no see, Peng.”
“Oh, come on. You’re going to embarrass me like that? We’re not those poor cave dwellers anymore. If you’re going to say it, call me Peng—the number one leader of the Golden Peng troupe, Jin Runkandel of the 12th Runkandel squad.”