Episode 45
Chapter 18. An Unexpected Variable (3)
“What the hell are you two even doing?!”
Smack! Smack!
Luna struck the two women hard across their cheeks. The force of a nine-star knight’s palm was no joke. The sharp slaps were almost drowned out by the heavy cracking sound that followed.
Thud!
At the same moment, the two women slammed into the stone wall, trembling violently.
They were Mew and Ann. The moment they were hit, they raised their auras to shield themselves, but a gush of red blood still spilled from their throats.
“You’re sending the kid to the Ziphl lands? Mew, she’s ten years younger than you! Are you out of your mind?”
Luna had just returned from the Garden of Swords, where she’d been handling some personal matters. Upon arrival, she immediately summoned her two younger sisters, who had assigned Jin his mission.
The sisters didn’t dare even meet their eldest sister’s gaze.
To them, Luna wasn’t just the oldest sibling—sometimes, she was more terrifying than their father.
“Get up.”
The two staggered to their feet. They were, after all, siblings like Jin—family. Seeing them bow their heads stirred a pang of sympathy in Luna, but today she was determined to make her warning clear.
“Why did you do it?”
Mew and Ann kept their heads bowed, silent for a long moment.
It wasn’t because they had no answer. They resented their eldest sister for asking, knowing full well that sending Jin to Colon was part of the hierarchy war.
“…Luna, you’re not really asking because you don’t know, are you?”
Luna scoffed at Mew’s hesitant words.
“If you really didn’t know, what would you say? Are you seriously telling me that the family’s knights have started a hierarchy war with the youngest, who’s still in the intermediate class?”
The two sisters shivered, unable to respond.
They were ashamed. The hierarchy war in Runcandel was a long-standing tradition, but for knights to fight those who weren’t knights was a mismatch.
Knights fought knights; non-knights fought non-knights.
That was the unspoken rule of the Runcandel hierarchy war. Not a strict law, but recently, Mew and Ann had clearly crossed the line.
Luna glared at them for a moment before speaking again. The mocking smile on her face had vanished, replaced by a cold, sharp edge.
“Shame on you. You’re supposed to be the family’s knights, but you’ve become a disgrace even to me.”
“Sis!”
The sisters snapped back simultaneously, but Luna ignored them, smiling instead.
“What? Does my words sting? Don’t like being laughed at? Too proud to admit you’re just knights?”
“You, who usually don’t care about the family’s hierarchy squabbles, what right do you have to say this…?”
“If you had even managed to beat the youngest, I wouldn’t be saying all this.”
“…What did you say?”
Mew and Ann’s eyes widened.
“You’ve already lost to the youngest. She succeeded in the Colon ruins mission. Jin just returned a moment ago and went to report to Mother. I met her on the way back and confirmed it myself.”
The two women bit their lips hard.
“Now you understand why I said you’re a disgrace? In the end, you two ended up giving wings to the youngest. I wonder if there’s ever been a case in Runcandel’s history where knights trying to suppress the lowest-ranked ended up like this.”
Luna’s taunts continued, but the sisters remained silent, their ears burning with shame. The humiliation was unbearable. And beneath it all, fear stirred.
For the time being, they wouldn’t dare challenge Jin recklessly. Their plan to crush the youngest before she grew had failed.
Mew and Ann knew they couldn’t win if they fought after Jin’s growth was complete.
That left only one thing: the youngest’s revenge, which would begin in a few years. The thought sent chills down their spines.
With blank faces, the two turned to leave.
Before they exited the room, Luna added one last warning.
“From what I’ve seen, the youngest isn’t exactly a merciful child. You’d better be careful from now on.”
“…Is there still more to mock, sis?”
A bitter smile spread across Luna’s lips.
“No, this is sincere. I’m worried about you two. Even if it feels like we’re drifting apart, you’re still my sisters.”
Mew and Ann said nothing and left. Watching them go, Luna let out a deep sigh.
Click.
A teacup was placed on the desk where Luna sat. It was her nanny, Taimun, who had brought it from the other room.
“Ah, nanny. Thank you.”
“Hoho, I thought the girls had hit puberty the moment you came back, judging by how you walloped them.”
“Puberty at my age? What nonsense…”
“Your puberty must have been something spectacular. Anyway, I’m worried about Mew and Ann. Knowing the youngest’s personality, she’ll never forget this.”
“Even you don’t think they stand a chance against Jin, do you?”
“Hmm, in about five years, they won’t even be able to face her in a formal duel. If you think about it that way, Mew and Ann have less than five years left.”
“Don’t say such terrible things. They’re family, after all. The thought of the youngest growing up and killing them… it’s terrifying. By the way, nanny, did you find out anything about what I asked last time?”
‘What I asked last time’ referred to identifying the sibling who tried to assassinate Jin inside the Storm Fortress. More precisely, it was a curse, not an assassination, but Luna didn’t know that.
Also, Luna mistakenly thought the assassination attempt happened when Jin was around five or six, not one year old, since Jin never mentioned memories from when she was one.
“Yes. For starters, Mew and Ann, who you just hit, are not suspects. They weren’t knights at the time but in the intermediate class, so there was no point investigating them.”
“Hmm… that makes sense. It’s definitely not Mary or Yona. And the Tona siblings are out too.”
“Then the remaining suspects are Joshua, Dipus, Ran, Lord Vigo, and Lady Runtia. We can’t investigate the others recklessly.”
“Right. Joshua, Dipus, and Runtia have solid backing. Investigating them carelessly would only cause headaches.”
“Shall we look into Ran and Lord Vigo first?”
Luna tapped her desk thoughtfully with her finger.
“No. It’s better to watch for now. If we stir things up on mere suspicion, it’ll only cause trouble for you, nanny.”
“Good thinking. Although there was an assassination attempt in the Storm Fortress, Lord Jin is growing up well, so there’s no need to worry too much.”
“Whoever the culprit is, they now know I’m watching over Jin, so they won’t move recklessly. Anyway, thank you for your hard work, nanny.”
“Not at all. Shall I prepare dinner?”
“Yes. And some wine too. The usual.”
Rosa had many questions for her youngest son, who had once again completed his mission, but she kept them to herself.
Mamit and the Colon ruins—everyone had thought the mission would fail, but the youngest had pulled it off spectacularly.
Whether it was luck or the help of some outside ally was unknown.
But Rosa was now convinced it was the latter.
‘There’s definitely someone exceptional by the youngest’s side. And he’s using that to complete his missions.’
Relying on someone else’s help to complete a mission was against the unspoken rules. The only support allowed when a mission was too difficult was from the family.
Rosa decided not to interrogate or blame him.
Soon, influential figures from all over would come to the Garden of Swords to see the youngest. It was a banquet hosted by Siron, and the guest of honor was the youngest.
Even if he had secretly received help from an ally, it was a blessing he had returned alive.
Reprimands could wait until evidence was gathered and the right moment came.
“Well done. Skip the report to the knights for now. Rest well today. I’ll inform them.”
“Thank you, Mother.”
As Rosa left the main house, she felt eyes on her from all directions. The cadets looked at her with admiration, the guardian knights with surprise, and the knights with contempt.
‘Mother and the others will probably assume I succeeded with someone else’s help.’
Whatever.
Jin had no intention of clearing up the misunderstanding anytime soon. The fact that he was a demon swordmaster contracted to Solderet could be revealed once he had enough power.
As soon as he returned to his room, Gilly embraced him. Her moist eyes brushed against his cheek, and Jin realized just how worried she had been.
“I’m fine, Gilly. I’m strong now. Soon, you won’t be able to beat me either.”
“If anything happened to you, my lady, I would have given my life to take revenge on those girls.”
“Oh, strawberry pie, why so fierce? You’re too hot-headed. Isn’t it better to keep things peaceful?”
“By the way, Gilly, wait a moment. Murakan, look at this.”
Jin pulled out the heart of a living golem from a glass vial he had brought.
“A living golem’s heart. You’re lucky. It’s still intact, so it’s a failed model. Did you find it in the Colon ruins?”
“Suddenly, two warehouse guards turned into monsters and attacked me. No matter where I cut, they regenerated, but when I stabbed their hearts, this came out.”
As Jin explained, Gilly’s face turned pale, and Murakan calmly explained what living golems and forbidden magic were.
‘Last time it was a grave giant, and now a living golem? Those Ziphl bastards…’
What on earth are they up to?
Murakan shook his head.
“Anyway, if what you say is true, then this is definitely a Zipl creation. The Colon Ruins are on Zipl’s territory, after all.”
“Exactly.”
“Let’s find some time soon to go back there together. I want to see for myself what’s really going on and ask those guys directly.”
Though the idea of returning because of the bio-golems made him uneasy, going with Murakan would be far safer than the last mission.
‘If things go well, maybe then I can take the chance to look for the mirror or the spring of magic. Either way, if something else happens there, Zipl would have to keep it hidden because of the forbidden magic.’
Jin nodded in agreement.