Chapter 441
Episode 127: To the Black King’s Order (2)

“Hmm? Tomorrow already? Why don’t you stay a little longer and play with our daughter?”

“Mother! Am I a child? Why do you keep saying strange things as you please…?”

When Siris shot a sharp glare, Talaris cleared her throat awkwardly. It was rare for Siris to speak so sharply.

“Hmm, well! I was just joking, but doesn’t that make me a bit embarrassed?”

“And to prevent something like today from happening again, Jin should find reinforcements as soon as possible. Your mother can’t always be there to protect Tikan.”

“That’s true, Lady Siris.”

When Jin responded, Siris’s eyebrows twitched in a subtle way.

“I’m not saying I don’t want that. We’re allies, so protecting each other is natural. But neither your mother nor I can always be on standby at the Hidden Palace, so we need other measures.”

Just as Siris said, this incident made it even clearer: they had to find forces to protect Tikan as quickly as possible.

‘We can’t always be this lucky.’

That there was no damage except to equipment and facilities during Luton and the Exiles’ attack was almost a miracle.

Of course, it was also thanks to Jin and his comrades’ constant vigilance against enemy intrusions. If Talaris had been even a little late or absent, they wouldn’t have been able to defend so perfectly.

Future enemies would surely calculate whether the transit gates were open before attacking, just like Luton did.

‘Runcandel still can’t launch a direct attack, but more enemies like the Elders will start bringing in outside forces to strike us.’

Then there were Kinzello, Ziphl, and Biment.

At least Kinzello had maintained a somewhat friendly stance, so it was unlikely he’d suddenly turn against Jin.

‘I don’t like that fact, but from the perspective of my comrades’ safety, it’s not bad.’

On the other hand, Ziphl and Biment were a completely different story.

They could strike Tikan at any time without warning. After all, Tikan had effectively abandoned its long-held neutrality as a “Free City.”

‘Especially Biment among the two must see Tikan as a thorn in their side.’

The Emperor—the unpleasant encounter with him came to mind. He hinted that he had hidden power and proposed an alliance, but Jin coldly refused.

Moreover, since Tikan was the city of the exiled prince Kashimir, the Emperor could attack it at any time.

‘It’s possible my enemies within Runcandel and the Emperor might form a temporary alliance.’

Several days had passed since the Exile’s death, but there was still no change between the Elders, Rosa, and Joshua.

‘The leash is in Mother’s hands. Either some deal is going on between her and the Elders, or she hasn’t yet decided what punishment to impose on them.’

It was a dilemma for Rosa as well.

If she struck the Elders, it would be an admission that she had purged the Executioners long ago.

She could claim the justification that the Black Sword Society had failed to properly purge the Executioners who committed treason, but given the family’s atmosphere, that argument wouldn’t hold much weight.

Yet letting it slide was too big an issue.

Whether justified or not, the Elders had failed to properly carry out the acting head’s orders decades ago.

In the end, Rosa had to punish the Elders somehow.

If the punishment was too harsh, there would be strong backlash; if too lenient, the acting head’s authority would be undermined.

‘The former could cause the Elders to completely break with Joshua, the latter would violate the family’s code.’

Jorden had his own ambitions but was publicly close to Joshua’s faction.

Rosa was pushing the image of Joshua as an outstanding next head who controlled both the Black Knights and the Elders.

Now, with the threatening rivals of the 12th and 3rd cohorts emerging, losing the Elders’ support would be a painful blow.

‘Even if Mother holds the leash, the Elders have more options. Those old men could side with Brother Diffus, Mary, or Sister Runtia, or even betray Runcandel and ally with outside forces.’

In other words, the Garden of Swords was entering a new phase because of this crisis.

In the rapidly shifting situation, the most important thing was victory.

And for victory, the safety of their own side always came first.

“From now on, let’s station two of the Seven Blades of the Hidden Palace—Ryu and Hiten—here.”

Talaris’s eyes widened. She hadn’t expected Siris to suggest something so radical.

Clap, clap!

Talaris applauded, pleased that the relationship between the two had progressed, and Luton, wary of her gaze, followed suit.

Even the small beastmen clapped along, and Murakan joined in, though only Jin and Siris didn’t understand why.

“Thank you for your consideration, Lady Siris.”

“Yes. I think I’ll rest now.”

As Siris stood, Talaris nudged Murakan’s side.

“Hehe, what do you think, handsome brother? Wouldn’t it be a big problem if our son-in-law married someone else later?”

“Are you threatening the kid now?”

“Not exactly. Anyway, tomorrow, right? The Black King’s Order leader said he’d meet you?”

“I plan to visit first. There’s a peculiar person I need to inquire about on their side.”

“A peculiar person?”

“A new mercenary named Zephyrin. Murakan and Quikantel suspect she might be a demon dragon.”

Following Kinzello, the master, Smarion Prochi sealed beneath the Ghost Corps, the Emperor who proposed an alliance after going a bit mad, and the demon dragon now…

“Times have changed. In my youth, such strange beings didn’t run rampant. And your greatest enemy, the 2nd cohort, is said to have a prophet or something with them? The end times, truly.”

Talaris shrugged wearily.

She had heard most of the information Jin had recently gathered.

“Among them, I have some idea about Smarion Prochi.”

“An idea?”

“The power of chaos.”

“What is that?”

Jin’s eyes narrowed.

“It’s a strange force that occasionally appears in the world. Like your little sister, Yona Runcandel, who’s possessed by it.”

—Haven’t you ever thought it’s unfair?

—What? That I’m the only one watching over you? Like I said earlier, when you bathe or go to the bathroom…

—Not that. You’ve been treated like a murderous doll all your life, haven’t you? Even as a pureblood Runcandel, that’s an absurd and terrible thing.

—Is that so bad?

—It is.

—Has the youngest ever killed anyone?

—It’s not about that.

—Hehe, I was born this way. So there’s no need to be sad.

—What do you mean, “born this way”…?

Naturally, memories of conversations with Yona during their trainee days surfaced.

Since then, she had never honestly told him what innate power she possessed, only vaguely saying she had secrets even from the youngest.

“Not only Yona but also Margiela of the Ibliano family and Bubar of Kinzello have unusual powers. Does that mean the power of chaos?”

“Yes. It can be innate or acquired. I don’t know the details, but one thing’s certain: those who possess that power can be consumed by chaos at any time.”

“Consumed? You mean…”

Smarion Prochi sealed at the lowest level flashed through his mind.

“It means turning into a monster like Smarion Prochi. I’ve faced people who were tainted by chaos and changed in my youth.”

At that moment, Talaris paused, memories she didn’t want to recall resurfacing bitterly.

After suppressing those painful memories for a while, she spoke again.

“On the other hand, I’ve also seen people who resisted chaos and ended their lives beautifully. From my experience, whether someone becomes a monster seems related to their willpower and the extent of chaos they possess.”

“Lady Talaris.”

“Speak.”

“Could it be that my father is also connected to that power of chaos?”

That was a secret known to only a few.

Talaris hadn’t intended to say that much, but now she decided there was no need to deny it.

“Yes. Siron has been fighting that power for a long time. How did you know?”

“I overheard a conversation between Father and Smarion Prochi from Sir Lata and inferred it.”

Jin’s heart grew heavy.

He had already suspected Siron shared the same problem as Smarion from the moment he first saw Smarion in the Valley of the Wailing.

But he never imagined it wasn’t just Siron and Smarion.

‘Yona and Father too… could they suddenly become monsters one day?!’

Just imagining his sister and father turning into monsters tore his heart apart.

Judging by their immense power, the chaos they possessed was surely not small.

It was clear they were on a different level from Bubar or Margiela.

“Siron’s power is acquired, Yona’s is innate. That’s what your father told me.”

“Is that why Father is so obsessed with the Black Sea?”

“Yes. But even as a friend, Siron hasn’t told me everything about his chaos, so there’s nothing more I can say.”

“This is enough.”

“The important thing is that the Smarion Proch must be eliminated. Once chaos takes hold of someone, it only grows stronger.”

The sealed power of Smarion was becoming increasingly potent. They had to get rid of it before it became something beyond control.

“By the way, handsome brother, you don’t seem to know much about the power of chaos? You’d think you’d be the one who understands it best. Why this power disrupts the Inse, where it originates from—do you know anything about it?”

All eyes turned to Murakan. He shook his head as if unsure.

“No idea. Maybe it’s been erased from my memory. Or maybe I never knew in the first place. I don’t even want to look at it… but I guess it’s something I should ask my sister about.”

With a frustrated sigh, Murakan continued.

“Kid, before we meet that Black King Commander or whoever, let’s stop by and see that troublemaker for a moment.”