Episode 516
Chapter 142: The Negotiations (Part 2)
While Joshua had fallen, the ceremony honoring the Black Knight Jane was carried out with solemn grandeur.
The servants stood outside the mausoleum, clutching wreaths to their chests in silent tribute. The guardian knights formed a path to the tomb, holding their swords inverted against their hearts.
Rosa carried Jane’s black helmet like a funeral portrait, with Murakan standing quietly by her side.
Behind them followed the Black Knights, the riders, the elders, the family scribes, the guardians, and the nurses—all clad in black uniforms and mourning attire.
Passing rows of swords planted in the courtyard, deep within the grounds, the mausoleum exuded a heavy metallic scent, like the smell of blood, even before the procession arrived.
The black sword banner fluttered slowly in the cold wind, its sound echoing off the stone walls like a mournful wail. Yet, no one truly wept.
Those who had the right to grieve swallowed their tears; the rest suppressed their emotions. Only the black helmet occasionally caught the light, gleaming faintly in the shadows.
This was a sacred space, reserved for those who had devoted their lives to protecting the family.
For the Black Knights, the mausoleum was the final destination of their pilgrimage. Unless they betrayed the house, they were destined to be laid to rest here.
The deeper one ventured into the tomb, the darker it became.
And the procession gradually thinned. At the entrance, the scribes and stewards halted; midway, the elders stood firm.
By the end, only Rosa, the Black Knights, the riders, and Murakan remained—just faint outlines in the dim light.
Clink.
Rosa gently placed Jane’s helmet into the stone coffin at the center.
“Even if the Garden of Blades crumbles to dust, every stone scattered by the wind, and the world forgets the name Runcandel, this loyalty and honor will never leave this place.”
Murakan laid a wreath made of spiritual energy before Jane’s black helmet.
“Thank you, Jane.”
The coffin was sealed, and after a long while, the procession exited the mausoleum. They left in reverse order, with those who had waited at the front rejoining the line.
As the procession emerged outside, knights standing by raised mourning flags throughout the Garden of Blades.
Thus ended the ceremony to enshrine Jane’s soul, which had lasted from early dawn until noon.
Normally, interment in the mausoleum took over a week, but Rosa and the riders had expedited the process, considering the family’s circumstances.
Jane’s body was missing; a great battle had just taken place; and Joshua, the heir apparent, was imprisoned.
The Garden of Blades was filled with an unusually tense and heavy atmosphere.
“Such a complicated feeling…”
“Indeed.”
Daytona and Heitona stood under the eaves of an outbuilding, smoking to shelter from the sudden rain.
Some of the riders naturally gathered there—not just to avoid the rain or because of the Tonas.
Beyond the eaves, in front of Joshua’s private quarters, a woman knelt.
She was Ilina Runcandel, known to the brothers as Joshua’s wife.
Though married to Joshua, she held no real power and her standing within the family had become ambiguous. She had not attended Jane’s ceremony.
People believed the reason she knelt outside the private quarters was not to honor Jane, but to silently plead for mercy on her husband’s behalf.
“I understand how she feels, but it would have been better if she stayed inside.”
Ran shrugged his shoulders. Vigo nodded.
“There must be a reason Mother allowed her to be like that. Just leave her be. She’ll stop if she realizes it’s useless and that she might die like that.”
Dipus thought Rosa’s decision not to stop Ilina was likely to give even the slightest justification for Joshua’s reinstatement.
Meanwhile, Mew and Anne, who knew Ilina’s true identity, wore indifferent expressions.
Jin focused more on Mew and Anne than on Ilina.
‘The atmosphere has shifted strangely…’
If these were the Mew and Anne he knew, they would be showing signs of anxiety, nervously on edge.
They, like Dipus and himself, probably weren’t confident Joshua would be reinstated.
‘Did Mother tell them Joshua would be restored someday? No, Mother wouldn’t need their help.’
It seemed unlikely that Mew and Anne had some hidden resolve or secret power now, but Jin had a bad feeling.
‘Did they just steel their hearts, or is there something else going on?’
It felt like he was watching not just Mew and Anne, but someone else entirely.
“Ran, Vigo, come here. We need to talk.”
“Us?”
“Yes.”
“What about?”
“Are we just going to let this end like this? Even the lower riders need to band together and take charge of a faction within the family. Otherwise, when someone claims the throne later, we’ll just be purged.”
Mew spoke boldly, even with Jin and Dipus listening.
“Mew, Anne. Who’s going to kill you? No matter which of the remaining senior riders takes the throne, I don’t see that happening.”
“If the youngest takes the throne, I feel like we’ll lose our heads that very day, Dipus.”
“Yeah, you might get beaten to death for always acting defiant toward Mary. The family’s in this state, and you’re still only worried about your own survival? Do your jobs. When will you ever grow up?”
Mew and Anne gave bitter smiles at that.
“…Looks like growing up is out of the question now.”
“Ran, Vigo, if you ever want to talk, come find me in my room.”
After Mew and Anne left, Petro came looking for Jin.
“Young master, the acting head wishes to see you.”
Dipus nodded as if expecting this.
“Go well, Jin.”
“Yes, brother.”
The reason for their reactions was simple.
The ship blueprints and machinery obtained from the Tower Two vault.
Jin had yet to hand them over to Rosa.
Following Petro, Jin made his way to the central training ground, where Rosa awaited. The arena was still under repair after Jin’s declaration as head of the family.
The rain had stopped along the way.
“You’re here.”
“Yes, acting head.”
They exchanged a silent glance.
“Last night, the prophet sent me a message.”
Rosa spoke of the message before mentioning the blueprints or machinery.
‘A message? Didn’t Mother communicate directly with the prophet?’
Mother will never give up the prophet’s power. Bringing down Joshua this time… might have been a warning aimed at the prophet. If Mother’s relationship with the prophet isn’t as close as Joshua’s was, it’s entirely possible.
So you’re saying Mother plans to bind the prophet, pin everything on him later, and reinstate Joshua?
A recent conversation with Dipus.
As Jin had suspected, Rosa did not communicate directly with the prophet. Though she had met him before, she did not know Ilina’s true identity.
It wasn’t due to a lack of ability on Rosa’s part; the prophet’s power was simply that formidable.
“What was the message?”
“That he has a way to perfectly interpret and complete the unfinished blueprints, and build a fleet.”
Though Jin had not yet handed over the items, he had informed Rosa that the blueprints were encrypted with a magical cipher beyond Runcandel’s current technology.
It was natural that the mass-produced ship blueprints couldn’t be decoded or copied by just anyone.
The ‘machine’ they had captured was something they couldn’t even begin to identify.
“He also said he knew the purpose of that machine. Something that could change the course of the coming war…”
“Acting head.”
“Speak.”
“Do you know what catalyzes the prophet’s power?”
“A living human.”
Rosa’s voice held no hint of guilt or shame.
“The infiltration tunnels and burrows you used on this mission, the keys and information from Tower Two—all were obtained by the prophet using humans as material. Prisoners from Ricalton were used.”
The human towers Dipus had witnessed in Ricalton.
Those were the very people the prophet had used as raw material for Joshua’s mission in the Sota Desert.
“I sent one of the family’s Black Knights to Ricalton. But he never returned by the deadline. When I went there myself, all that remained were the bones of what I estimate to be over ten thousand humans. Surely some were innocent.”
Jin had also sent Dipus there, but had yet to receive any word.
The Black Knight who had been in danger of death there was saved by the one Rosa had sent.
“Has the Black Knight still not returned?”
“Yes.”
“Knowing the prophet used humans, why did you send a Black Knight to Ricalton? What were you trying to confirm? Did you not consider the possibility the prophet might harm the Black Knight?”
“I have no reason to answer all your questions. I didn’t call you here for that. If you don’t like my judgment or actions, then break me and prove me wrong. This isn’t like you. If you feel disgusted by me, that only proves you fear me.”
She calmed herself.
As Rosa said, she was not in a position to answer Jin’s doubts.
“I originally planned to use those things through the prophet.”
If Joshua had shown any sign of awakening, Rosa wouldn’t have hesitated for a moment to hand over the blueprints and the machine to the Prophet.
She didn’t fully trust the Prophet, but she was absolutely certain that every action he took was for the sake of Joshua Runcandel.
Anyone who had ever faced that absolute prophecy firsthand couldn’t help but be convinced of it.
“But this time, after suspending Joshua’s qualification as a Rider, my thoughts have changed. I will postpone negotiations with the Prophet. During that time, prove to me that you have a method superior to his.”
Hister.
And Hister’s record magic.
Just as Joshua had predicted when the Riders were given the standing order to find Aria Owlheart, Rosa believed that Jin was already in contact with survivors of Hister.
If it was record magic, then there had to be a way to utilize those artifacts more effectively than the Prophet’s power.
That was why Rosa had summoned Jin.
“If I fail, then the acting head of the family will… hand those things over to the Prophet. Is that what you mean?”
“Yes.”
“Even if I fail, those things won’t fall into the Prophet’s hands, acting head.”
“If you fail and still refuse to give the artifacts to the family, I will take them by force.”
“The family does not pursue ruin or betrayal. To accept and use the Prophet’s power is to cross a line far beyond any limit. You speak as if possessed—like under some kind of curse.”
“You must have learned a lot about our enemies in the Sota Desert, but you’re speaking like a well-fed child. Listen carefully, Jin Runcandel, my youngest son.”
To me, the survival and prosperity of the Runcandel family is the highest value.
Nothing can surpass that value.
“Even if millions of people die in the process, even if the world is destroyed in that desolate struggle and only a handful of Runcandels remain, it means nothing to me.”
“Then my role, as always, is to break you, Mother.”
“I look forward to it.”
Jin turned and left the training grounds.
Rosa stood alone there for a long while after he was gone, lost in thought.