Translator: Wan ED/PR: Fan
Chapter 94. Taking a step back, only to step on the enemy
Sharp gazes directed at him.
Blood splattered, and pain coiled in him endlessly.
Where did hyung go?
Someone grabbed him, then they rode a horse, and after smoke swept over him, he no longer saw hyung.
He was thrown into a very small room.
First, both of his legs were broken.
‘… Save me.’
He had to pray.
He didn’t know if it was a dream or reality.
Deep darkness surged. When he opened his eyes, people were glaring at him.
‘Save me.’
He continued to beg.
To save him.
‘Dad.’
Tears no longer come out.
Only blood continued to drip — it hurt like his head was melting.
‘… Hyung.’
Blood kept seeping out of him, to the point where he thought he would die.
‘Noona…!’
He kept calling their names one after another, but no one came.
No one.
Little child.
At that moment, someone called out to him.
At that voice, the tears that he didn’t shed for a long time burst out.
‘Please save me.’
Pitiful child. When night comes, all the pain will disappear. I’ll stay by your side until that moment. I’ll sing you a lullaby so you can go to the heavens without worry.
He instinctively turned his head to the place where the voice came from.
You… see me?
With his vision dyed red, he didn’t know what color it was.
Even so, a dim figure stretched out its hand — he kept wriggling his fingers.
‘Please save me…!”
Suddenly, a cold sensation touched his fingertips.
But it was the warmest thing in the world.
‘… Please, save me. I don’t want to hurt anymore.’
You really see me? You don’t have our blessing.
‘Please.’
Okay. You may be a vessel anyway.
The dim figure softly stroked his head.
And whispered kindly.
Then I’ll help you achieve your wish.
***
“… Lucion. Did you have a hard night?”
Novio looked at Lucion’s haggard face and frowned.
[Lord Lucion’s complexion is quite bad today.]
Even Bethel, who just returned to the mansion, couldn’t help her surprise at Lucion’s morose complexion.
“Yes. A little bit.”
Lucion struggled to show a smile.
He had a nightmare after a really long time.
He thought that perhaps he dreamed that dream because Novio and Carson were leaving the mansion for the first time.
The memory he didn’t want to remember, being dragged to the Neavera Kingdom.
‘… Vessel.’
It may have been a simple dream he created on his own, but he heard the word ‘vessel’ again.
“Did you perhaps have a nightmare?”
Novio asked worriedly.
“Please don’t worry. It’s already in the past.”
Lucion smiled to reassure him.
“Father.”
“Yeah, Lucion.”
“I’m also Cronia. I’ll protect this place now, so no one thinks that Father and Hyung-nim are away.”
Novio looked full of pride at Lucion’s reply.
The child that was so small and feeble was gradually growing up.
He truly loved and was filled with pride seeing it.
“Okay. Lucion, you’re Cronia, so I trust you will do well. But don’t overdo it. Cronia can’t be protected alone.”
“Of course.”
Lucion firmly replied.
Novio called Anthony.
“Anthony.”
“Yes, Lord-nim.”
“I’ll leave it in your hands.”
“Yes, please don’t worry. I’ll assist Young Master to the best of my ability.”
Anthony bowed his head with a smiling face.
“Lucion.”
Carson called out to Lucion.
“I’ll be fine. I’ll try to use everything.”
Carson lightly patted Lucion’s shoulder.
“Alright. Do so.”
“Father, Hyung-nim.”
Lucion put strength in his voice and called the two people.
From the standpoint of someone who always escaped, it was his first time seeing them off.
He already had a strangely faint feeling.
He knew that the two people were powerful, but everyone had just one life.
Knowing this fact, Lucion gave them his brightest smile, so Novio and Carson could travel with light hearts.
“Please trust me and have a safe journey.”
Even after Novio and Carson became distant, Lucion stared for a while and then called out to Anthony.
“Anthony.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“Bring me the patrol list to deal with uninvited guests that can come at any time.”
Though no one found out yet, the two central figures of Cronia were absent.
Wouldn’t he be anxious?
Even if he couldn’t do the work of two people, he at least had to do the work of 1.5 people.
“Young Master.”
Anthony carefully called out to Lucion.
“Yeah.”
“I’ll have it done, but how about you take a nap? Your complexion doesn’t look good.”
“I’ll sleep after I do the things I have to do, so don’t worry.”
Since Novio was so meticulous, there wasn’t anything to fix.
But because he had to fill up the gap created by Novio and Carson, he had to try to match them.
***
Bethel was looking at the setting sun when she saw Russell climb the mansion rooftop and asked:
[Lord Lucion?]
[He is sleeping with Latta.]
[That’s good. He had a face like he didn’t sleep properly for an entire night. I was anxious that he would faint.]
[So you avoided Lucion the entire day and came here?]
Russell giggled as he asked, and Bethel replied with slight embarrassment.
[Right. I felt like he would go to where the assassins he decided to obtain are if I was there, so I stealthily left. I feel like it was a wise choice.]
[Speaking of Lucion. I guess he remembered a bad thing because of a dream.]
[Remember you say…]
[Yeah. Bethel, when you made a contract with Lucion, you saw that, right?]
Russell swept back his hair, as he erased his smile.
[Are you upset?]
At Bethel’s question, Russell nodded without a hesitation.
[Yeah. But since Lucion already overcame it, I believe he will shake it off again. In the first place, the first steps are the hardest, right?]
[Sometimes. In very rare cases, people can’t overcome the second and the third time and fail. However, even if it happens to Lord Lucion, I believe that you, as his master, will support him.]
[… What are you trying to find out with it?]
When Russell looked at her with a gaze filled with suspicion, Bethel smiled pleasantly.
[You can ask me anything, too.]
[Speak without regret and after thinking well. I’m a pretty straight talker.]
[I’m fine.]
[Then — do you regret your contract with Lucion?]
[Regret?]
The corners of Bethel’s mouth rose.
[No. Rather, I wish I met Lord Lucion sooner. How much better it would have been if I could have protected Lord Lucion when I was still alive? I keep having such thoughts. So, you can say I’m enjoying myself immensely.]
[I’m glad. Lucion said he wants to be happy, so how much better it would be if everyone around him is also happy?]
[That’s what Lord Lucion wants?]
Bethel asked as if it was unexpected.
Wasn’t it pretty simple?
[Yeah.]
At Russell’s answer, Bethel blinked, making a decision in a moment.
[Then, Russell.]
Following the atmosphere, Bethel asked about something she was most curious about.
[Why did you take Lord Lucion as your disciple?]
[Naturally, because…]
Russell, who was excited to praise his disciple, shut his mouth with a stiff expression.
He had no memory of it.
[Russell…?]
Seeing Russell stiffen without saying anything, Bethel hesitated, as if she asked about something she shouldn’t.
Russell suddenly grabbed his hair.
‘…. It’s not just once. Again? I don’t remember again?’
How did he come to Cronia?
It was true that Lucion had an outstanding willpower, but the real reason he chose Lucion disappeared.
***
Gulp, gulp.
Lucion drank the water Hyum offered him in one gulp and wiped his mouth.
“So what happened after that?”
Lucion remembered that he fainted after he saw the strange black orb the Death Knight took out.
“Russell-nim hit the Death Knight really hard, Darkness rushed over, and the Death Knight kept saying that he didn’t do anything, bringing up the contract with Russell-nim.”
‘Aha.’
Lucion figured out that the Death Knight and Russell knew each other from the beginning.
He decided to ask Russell when he came. He called Hyum and Latta.
“Hyum. Latta.”
“Yes.”
— Ye!
Latta, who was busy chasing a ball, stopped in place and replied.
“Did you see that strange black orb the Death Knight took out?”
“I saw it. Frankly, I have a short gap in my memory from that moment.”
Hyum’s expression darkened.
— Latta is the same. When Latta came back to her senses, Lucion fainted, so she was very surprised!
“Besides that, I also have something I have to tell Young Master.”
Hyum hesitated and then said.
“Speak.”
“… I had what You call a ‘dream’ for the first time.”
“Dream?”
Hyum could go without sleeping, but it wasn’t good.
He used to quietly stare out the window, watching the moon and stars.
He especially liked the sight of the rising morning sun.
“Yes. I slept for only a moment yesterday, and had a dream.”
“Did the sleep come suddenly? I mean the feeling of your body being heavy and your eyes forcibly closing.”
“How did You know?”
Hyum’s eyes widened.
— Uh! Latta had the same thing yesterday!
Latta was startled.
— But Latta didn’t dream yesterday. Latta usually dreams a lot.
He didn’t know anything about that dream, but that strange black orb the Death Knight had had an influence on him, Hyum and Latta.
“What do you dream about, Hyum?”
“I’m not sure if I should call it a dream. A finger pointed at me, said ‘guide’, then a plate appeared, and something started to stack upon it.”
He paused for a moment when ‘guide’ appeared, but when a plate appeared, he felt a chill.
‘What is the relation between a guide and a plate?’
Lucion couldn’t interpret that dream at all.
Anyway, it was clear there was some influence.
“Master-nim.”
Lucion called out to Russell.
[Yeah, Lucion.]
Russell descended from the ceiling.
[Your face looks much better after a nap.]
“Yes. I feel fine. What about Bethel? I didn’t see her the whole day.”
[I’m here.]
Bethel also descended from the ceiling after Russell and smiled awkwardly.
“I have something I want to ask first, Master-nim.”
Without any anger, Lucion spoke up calmly.
[That’s right. I know that Death Knight.]
Russell plainly confessed.
He thought that he would naturally find out, as Hyum wouldn’t lie to Lucion.
[Sorry.]
Russell didn’t make any excuses as to why he deceived Lucion.
[I’m also sorry, Lord Lucion.]
Bethel apologized.
It seemed that the two already knew the Death Knight.
Lucion wasn’t angry.
He also was deceiving Russell, so he couldn’t say anything about it.
“Who is that Death Knight? Who is he that Master-nim made a contract with him?”
[I don’t know his identity, but he considers it his mission to kill warlocks.]
“Did You perhaps see the black orb that the Death Knight has?”
[Black orb? … No. My eyes were elsewhere, so I didn’t see it.]
“Then do You know where that Death Knight is?”
Russell pointed to the ground.
[He lives here.]
“…!”
It was extremely close, and Lucion couldn’t be more happy.
‘Good. Then…’
[But he isn’t here right now. I don’t know where he went.]
“Is that so?”
Lucion showed disappointment, but knowing the base of the Death Knight, he had a lot of opportunities to ask him.
Putting aside the problem that he couldn’t do anything about for now, Lucion thought about what he could do right now.
“Bethel. Did you find the assassins that are worth hiring? As you know, being an assassin isn’t exactly a prestigious profession.”
Lucion was worried exactly about this.
Even if they appeared in the novel, how strong they were and if they could be taken into the organization, the novel wasn’t so precise.
In the first place, the assassin couldn’t be famous.
If the person who secretly killed people was famous, it was not an assassin but a swordsman, right?
[I found them.]
But Bethel showed a very satisfying result.
As expected of a ghost, her search speed was extraordinary.
[Like Lord Lucion wanted, I found a group that had a weakness.]
“Are they perhaps assassins who are starving without money?”
Lucion asked with a smile.
When employed, the assassins usually got their jobs through so-called ‘stepping stones’.
Those places were made to protect the employees and assassins, but now they became synonymous with power-tripping and bullying because the employees won’t hire assassins without a stepping stone.
But there were exceptions to everything.
There was a movement of assassins trying to get employees on their own because of the tyranny of stepping stones.
[Right. It looks like they established an organization not a long time ago. I guess they’re trying to get an employee without a stepping stone.]
“Perfect.”
Lucion stood up from bed right away.
“Where are they?”
Bethel’s eyes rolled around.
[I thought you could rest for at least a day. The Ratmen just got to Chepplan’s mansion yesterday.]
Didn’t he take the Chepplans’ mansion yesterday afternoon, and then at dawn he chased down the butler, who sold his information?
If he goes to the place with the assassins today, the schedule would be really tight.
“It’s fine. I will do it as quickly as possible. I can rest after that.”
If he wanted a strong organization, he needed people who would kill the traitors and people who would steal information immediately.
“Guide me, Bethel.”
[Yeah. Bethel, whatever you say will be useless.]
Russell smirked.
He already saw firm will in Lucion’s eyes.
[The Ratmen will need time to investigate the six branches. And… Lucion.]
Russell called to Lucion as if he thought of something good.
[You have to open Shaella’s letter before that.]
*~*~*
Translator’s note: I’m going to be honest, I don’t understand plates either, and I’m not sure if I translate them correctly as plates.
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