Chapter 128
Chapter 128: A Dangerous Person
Garnet, the leader of the Black Band, had lived her life keeping one thing in mind: that as long as one sets foot on this earth, not even adults can avoid getting dirty. She had been exposed to the ugly side of humans since childhood. Given that she was the next leader who would direct the Black Band, she adapted so that even stories that might be somewhat harsh for a child could be digested. In fact, when she was young, she lived immersed in misanthropy and distrust. But because she overcame such harsh conditions, she acquired a cold judgment. She judged everything objectively, predicted the future, demonstrated her abilities, and became the best as an information broker.
The conclusion that such a Garnet reached about Ferda was this: He is dangerous. The fiancé of Valdrova. Lord of Hestia Village. The qualities of a great benevolent ruler, grand enough to embrace an evil dragon. Even if they babbled about such things, she knew well what kind of human he was through what she had seen.
—That man will use you until you are no longer useful, then throw you away. Like a dog after finishing a rabbit hunt. He definitely seduced you saying he would help you find your younger sister, right?
—…….
The moment his younger sister was mentioned, the smile disappeared from Jed’s face.
—That is definitely a lie. He is only using the knowledge that only you know to turn it into your collar and control you.
—…….
—Emilia. How do you think he knew that name? It is a name that an uninvolved person could not connect to you even if they spent a lifetime trying.
Emilia. Jed was busy looking for his younger sister, whose life or death was uncertain. The reason he went around seducing women was because he needed money. The reason he needed money was to become a noble. The reason he tried to become a noble was to find out Emilia’s whereabouts.
‘Now that I think about it… it’s somewhat strange.’ Ferda knew that name and had mentioned it. How could that be possible? Doubt spread like an igniting fuse. Did he really do it knowing that the clue about his younger sister was in the Imperial Warehouse? Or was it just a plan to lure him in? Fundamentally, how could he know that Emilia and he were connected?
‘Don’t tell me…’
‘Could he be someone involved in the massacre of the Red-Eyed Tribe?’
‘Is that why Garnet said he is dangerous?’
‘Has he been wearing a mask and manipulating me all this time?’
—Puhut.
At the same time, Valdrova’s laughter was heard. At that laughter, Jed escaped from the sticky swamp of suspicion.
—He is not that kind of human.
—That is the classic pattern of someone who is being scammed, you know.
—I know. Those who are scammed are always ruined that way.
Garnet is the leader of the Black Band. The Black Band’s information is so outstanding that it could be called precognition. However, Jed had observed at his side. Regardless of what kind of human she perceived Ferda to be, he was definitely far from the human Jed knew.
—The moon is beautiful.
—They say today is the day the moon is largest.
Hearing those words, Jed reflexively turned his head and clicked his tongue.
—Wow, what am I supposed to do with this brat…
—What?
—Wait a second. I’ll be right back. Wait here.
Jed ran off quickly somewhere. The conversation continued. Garnet learned that Ferda and Valdrova wanted to dance together. Shortly after, Jed, who had run off somewhere, returned holding something in both hands.
—A violin?
—I asked the orchestra and they said they have a spare one. Take this.
He handed something to Garnet. It was a flute.
—What is this?
—A flute. You know how to play the flute. We have even played together before.
—And?
—Let’s go to the garden and play together.
—…Do you want me to participate too?
—Moonlight, this piece doesn’t feel right played alone. It has to be a duet.
—…….
Garnet was quite surprised inside. Jed had left in the middle so he wouldn’t know, but Valdrova had spoken directly about the Moonlight Step. Did he figure all this out just from that story about the moon being beautiful?
—Did you say we should do it like the Swallows? Let’s check the harmony of back then through music, what do you think?
—…Haa.
Using those words at a time like this. Garnet looked at him with resentment, but Jed only smiled slyly and ignored it. Unable to resist Jed’s smile, Garnet took the flute. Thus, she followed Jed’s intention and they headed to the garden together. Playing a duet of Moonlight, they created the atmosphere. His eyes met Ferda’s. And then, as if he had made up his mind, he asked Valdrova to dance just like that.
They dance. They shone faintly like a beautiful couple under the moonlit night. Even Garnet, who rationally sought information, felt nothing but beauty at that sight.
‘Is this it?’
Seeing them dance, she could understand a little of what Jed saw and what he was sure of. He is cold and does not hesitate to kill. But what is visible right now is a single boy wanting to look good for a single woman.
The performance ended. Ferda and Valdrova separated and took different paths. Jed, looking at that scene with a pleased expression, muttered this:
—If it’s not me, who is going to push that brat’s back? Right?
Jed sighed as if it couldn’t be helped. Garnet, looking at them, opened her mouth.
—Jed.
—Why?
—You really know women well.
—Well, it was a matter where my neck could be cut if I made a wrong move, so I was desperate.
—There is something that not even you know.
—What is that?
Jed turned his head with a sly smile and received the impact. Garnet, under the moonlit night, was sending him a deep gaze. Her golden eyes stared intently at Jed. As if offering some answer, but then she abruptly turned her head away. Jed did not know the intention behind those eyes.
Ferda, having savored the afterglow, tried to return to the banquet hall. He thought he should at least show his face before returning to his room. Then, in the hallway, he unintentionally ran into someone he knew.
—Oh! Greetings! Where have you been, my lord?
It was Malcolm.
—I just went to the garden for a moment, and you?
—I went to the restroom. You went with a woman, how did it go?
—She left.
—Eh? At this hour… isn’t it dangerous?
Ferda blinked at Malcolm’s worried appearance.
—Didn’t you know? She is Grand Duchess Valdrova, to whom you owe loyalty.
—Eh? T-that person is the Red Dragon, Valdrova-nim?! Now that I think about it, she had horns on her head…!
Everyone else realized it, but he was the only one who noticed late. He sighed. From now on, let’s not call this bastard again.
—Did you carry out the mission well?
—Since it was a mission given by the Regent-nim, I did it with all my heart and soul, but I couldn’t finish it completely.
—Why?
—Because I had to dance with Princess Arken…
Ferda was sincerely worried at those words.
—Did you eat something bad?
—No. Everything I ate was delicious, but…
Malcolm’s words trailed off as he scratched the back of his neck. There was no reason for him to lie, but even so, it was hard to believe him blindly. Ferda looked at Malcolm with an expression of pity.
‘He seems to have suffered a lot mentally, one way or another.’
When one is overworked, sometimes auditory and visual hallucinations occur. Malcolm himself knew his words made no sense and awkwardly brushed it off.
—Ah, anyway, is there anything else you would like me to do?
—Mmm…
From the standpoint of not expecting much from Malcolm, there was nothing more to wish for if he could just get through this safely.
—Yes, there is.
But Malcolm would want to feel needed, so he gave him another mission.
—Just give me the order!
—When the Grand Duchess danced, it seems someone cursed her as a murderer, a butcher.
Ferda recalled his conversation with Valdrova and asked him:
—I don’t know if it’s true or not, but is there anyone you have a hunch about regarding who that person might be?
—That kind of person…?
It was practically a difficult question to answer. Since he himself said it might be an auditory hallucination, Ferda would surely be chasing the tail of a ghost. Even so, worried that he might stupidly grab people and interrogate them asking if they had cursed her, Ferda was about to say it was just a joke.
—I know who that person is.
—Sure, that person… what?
Strength entered Ferda’s eyes. Did this bastard just say he knows?
—Repeat that.
—Uh… so, you’re saying I know who cursed the Grand Duchess, whom the Regent spoke of…
—Who actually said such a thing?
Ferda’s face twisted severely. At that sight, Malcolm grew frightened, but answered anyway.
—Yes. Even without that, I was observing several people because the Regent-nim gave me a mission. A very small number, but when I passed by, they said it. Laughing mockingly, asking why a murderer is here.
—…
—They were just muttering to themselves, and I only knew they had to be high-ranking people, but I didn’t know it was Grand Duchess Valdrova…
Ferda felt his mind go blank at those words. Valdrova said she heard auditory hallucinations when she was surrounded by people. He thought it was just due to psychological pressure, and she thought so too and tried to overcome it.
‘Then that means it wasn’t an auditory hallucination.’
In reality, there is someone trying to torment her, for whom the boundary between the virtual and the real is ambiguous.
—If someone heard such words, I…
—Malcolm.
Ferda spat out the two-syllable name. Even Malcolm, the fool, recognized the seriousness of the situation.
—Yes, yes!
—I know you are an exceptionally clumsy bastard. But I value your loyalty more than anyone else’s.
—Th… thank you?
—So I will ask. Can you swear that there is not a single lie in those words?
—How could I lie to the Regent-nim?
—Exactly, I don’t believe you would lie. But if what you just said is true, I cannot stay still any longer.
The thread of Ferda’s reason hung by the tip of a pinky finger. Because he wanted to feel the afterglow of the dance he shared with her, and he did not want to stain this night with blood.
—Right now, I am about to ask the name of that insolent bastard and cut off his head. In other words, that man’s life depends on your answer. So I will ask again.
Ferda asked in an even deeper voice.
—Did you really hear those words clearly with your own ears?
That unsettling voice was enough to make even existing facts seem deniable. But Malcolm did not back down. Even if he is clueless, he is a knight who defends his convictions. A knight must do his best for the entrusted mission, and Malcolm did his best.
—Yes, yes! I heard it clearly!
—Then speak. Who is it.
—Who it was… well.
Malcolm mentioned that name accurately.
The Spring Festival ends before midnight, but music and laughter echoed past midnight. The vigor of young youth burned beneath the chandelier flames, unaware that the moon was tilting. Those who chatted without knowing their alcohol limit naturally passed out drunk and lay scattered throughout the castle. When that happened, the servants who had been closely watching quickly carried them on their backs and handed them over to the servants waiting outside.
Of course, there were those who did not enjoy the nocturnal banquet. In the middle of the night, when the pleasant banquet was in full swing, a procession of departing carriages could be seen here and there in the dense forest. Those with tight schedules because they were in charge of territory management as part of successor training, or those from conservative families who did not even permit staying in another’s castle, did so.
The night is the time of monsters, but it was not a problem for them. Their escorts are the elites representing each family. Protecting the ground by any means was their job.
Kung!
But they cannot block everything. Something flew from the sky toward the carriage.
—Cough, cough…!
—A-an ambush!
—Young Master!
Unlike the ferocious flight, the carriage was only half destroyed. At that speed, the carriage should have been crushed to pieces, and the person inside turned into mush. The wooden wheels were intact; only the roof had been blown away.
There was no time to admire the exquisite skill. They could only recall the information given to them. Regardless, it was an attack aimed at the carriage carrying the young master. And what flew was not a projectile, but a living, breathing creature.
—Crossbowmen! Volley fire!
The elite crossbowmen, ready to fire at any moment, aimed their crossbows at the intruder all at once.
Pshuuung!
The arrows only left the sound of bowstrings so taut they could barely be drawn with both hands. They moved faster than sound, but slower than light. They were split in two by a single blue flash under the moonlit night and fell to the ground.
As expected, the opponent is not an ordinary being. The captain of the escort unsheathed his sword and unleashed his aura.
—Filthy monster bastard! I will dye my blade with your blood… ugh!
He drew his sword, but that was all. The captain of the escort could not move. The captain of the escort himself found it strange. He was a duke’s knight, the top graduate who beat over a hundred talents at the Knight Academy. He had also proven his courage on numerous battlefields, earning the nickname Lightning Tiger. His fighting spirit was full and his martial arts were outstanding.
But soon he understands. No matter what, compared to this existence standing before a god, everything was useless. No matter how high they fly or crawl, they are only outstanding among common people, remaining within human limits. No matter how much courage humans gather, there are things they cannot face.
The existence he is witnessing with his own eyes right now is exactly that.
The forest was dark; beneath the leaves was pitch-black darkness. What is seen in that is the figure of a girl. And a massive silhouette of wings several times larger than that figure. Glowing gray eyes. Heterogeneous, vertical slit eyes.
—Aah…!
Even in the night where the five senses were not accurate, they clearly perceived the existence and gasped it out.
—D-dragon!
The knights who tried to bravely form a formation lost their will to fight and wet themselves. The captain of the escort could barely remain on his feet.
‘If I swing my sword, no, if I show the slightest murderous intent…’
That girl will cut my throat without hesitation.
The figure of the girl did not speak at length. She picked up something inside the wrecked carriage as if it were luggage. It was the young master they were supposed to protect.
Whoong!
And at the same speed with which she flew in, she vanished from there. The entire series of events took less than a minute. The escort failed, and the young master was kidnapped.
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