Chapter 87: Entrance!

    Ruel felt something falling behind him.

    Whoosh!

    Cassion’s dagger was lodged into the wall in the corner of the carriage.

    Blood dripped down.

    “...Cassion.”

    Ruel frowned, taking off the cloth that covered his face.

    Then he covered Leo’s eyes before straightening his tousled hair.

    “The carriage is dirty.”

    “Aris will clean it up in a minute.”

    “What about the body?”

    Instead of answering, Cassion covered himself once more with a cloth and stabbed a dagger behind him.

    The pure white cloth was stained red.

    Cassion said naturally.

    “Ah, did I tell you that there wasn’t only one person in the carriage?”

    “No.”

    “Don’t worry, my men will take care of the bodies.”

    “...you knew?”

    “I didn’t want to bother you.”

    “That’s why you kept encouraging me to sleep?”

    Cassion smiled undisturbed.

    “There’s that, but it’s also what Ruel-nim needs, isn’t it? I will call Aris for a moment.”

    Knock. Knock.

    The carriage stopped when Cassion knocked on the carriage wall.

    Immediately, Ganien clung to the carriage door and asked, “What’s the matter?”

    Cassion went down the carriage and explained the present situation to Ganien, and soon Aris came into the carriage.

    —Aris...

    Leo looked at Aris with a tearful face.

    It didn’t get on Ruel’s clothes, but the carriage walls were covered with blood.

    “...I’ll clean it up in a minute.”

    Aris quickly recited a spell.

    Cassion spoke to Aris, who chanted the spell.

    “Listen as you do, Aris. The enemy sent an assassin. I cannot leave Ruel’s side, so watch out for any more possible assassins.”

    “I’ll be careful.”

    Ruel inhaled Breath.

    A smooth journey seemed to be a word that didn’t fit him.

    “Can you catch them?”

    At Ruel’s words, Cassion shook his head.

    “They’re not half-hearted. A forced confession won’t work and their tongue is firm. I’d rather just kill them. Even if their arms are cut off, they will bite Ruel’s neck with their teeth.”

    “...okay.”

    Ruel calmed Leo while watching Aris use magic.

    ***

    “Ah, how irritating!”

    Noah stopped peeling the vegetables and threw them aside.

    All the knights are eating, but why is it that only he can’t eat?

    Rustle.

    Feeling murderous intent, Noah instinctively looked back.

    It was Aris.

    “Shit, I thought it was a Cassion.”

    “Pick it up.”

    “What?”

    “These are the ingredients Ruel-nim will eat.”

    “That’s nice after being well-fed you’re bored and want to come and pick a fight with me?”

    “It’s what Cassion told me to do.”

    Noah’s eyes flickered anxiously for a moment.

    Eventually, Noah picked up the thrown ingredients again, washed them clean in the flowing stream, and placed them in the basket.

    “That’s enough....”

    Aris drew his sword and swung it at Noah.

    Swing.

    As soon as he hit something, a drop of blood fell next to Noah.

    Aris rolled his eyes in a hurry.

    “It’s the enemy.”

    “Y, you’re crazy!”

    He had swung without hesitation.

    That guy must be crazy.

    “One gold coin per enemy head.”

    As soon as he came to his senses at the words that were music to his ears, Noah put aura in his bracelet.

    ‘Crazy, one gold coin per neck!’

    Unlike his days as a hunter, when he always prepared thoroughly, there was not much he could prepare for as Ruel’s servant.

    In order to keep up with the unpredicatable flow, they needed weapons and magical devices that allowed them to fight at any time even when they were not ready for battle.

    Noah brought a bracelet that can store weapons from the royal treasury and a bow that turns Aura into arrows.

    ‘As expected, I was good in resisting the other temptations and bringing this.’

    He was confident in removing traces as good as any assassin.

    Noah entered the forest, in his wake not a single grass blade moved with not a rustle to be heard.

    ***

    “...hah.”

    Aris caught his breath and gripped his sword tightly.

    It was Cassion’s order to come get Noah, but because Ruel’s only official escort was himself, he expected that if he left, separating from everyone else, he would surely become a target for the enemy.

    “Aris, you’re in charge of Noah. I already told Noah, so don’t worry and look forward.”

    He had said when Aris was departing from the carriage where Ruel was.

    Only then did he fully understand why Ruel decided to pick up Noah.

    Aris took a deep breath in calmly.

    Thanks to the earrings, the natural mana was faintly visible.

    He could distinguish between the hidden enemies.

    “Your descent is a mace, and what you embrace is....”

    The enemy would not allow Aris to cast a spell uninterrupted and promptly swung a sword at Aris’ neck.

    “That’s as far as I can go to see you off.”

    Ganien pointed to the bridge towering over the waves.

    It was the end of Cyronian.

    “Yes.”

    Ruel said calmly.

    “You can rest assured that the wizards brought this time were chosen by His Majesty. They’ll freeze the waves like before, and you’ll be able to cross comfortably.”

    Ruel was relieved that Huswen had chosen to bring them.

    There were several raids on the way here, but no black-blooded men had made an appearance.

    That fact didn’t bother him.

    “Thank you for escorting and seeing me off so far, and I hope you get back safely.”

    “Don’t worry. Because I heard the weakness of the black-blooded man from Cassion.”

    In response to Ganien’s answer, Cassion smirked and said.

    “It won’t be that easy if you do it?”

    “It’s strange that I can’t do it even though you did it.”

    “Yes, do your best.”

    Ganien tried to swallow his anger at Cassion’s sarcastic remarks.

    As it was a farewell ceremony for Ruel, we had to maintain our composure.

    Ganien spoke as brightly as he could.

    “I’ll contact you as soon as information comes out, whether it’s the information the nobles have revealed or the black water.”

    “I will contact you if I have any information on the Red Ash.”

    “Well, see you next time.”

    “Yes.”

    The door closed after a calm goodbye.

    Ruel laid himself down again.

    It will take time for the waves to freeze.

    He closed his eyes only to open them and see Leo.

    —Are we going back to our home now?

    “Yes, I must go back.”

    —Yay! Go back. This body is best at home!

    Leo jumped in place.

    Instead of biting Breath, Ruel looked at the little mongrels attached to his body with a chilling expression.

    “When did they come again?”

    —They said they came because the smell was good.

    “I’m going crazy.”

    While the carriage door was open for a while, the fuzz balls decided to make a visit.

    He didn’t know when the smell that attracted the spirits would disappear, he didn’t know how many would show up in the future.

    “I’m glad I can’t see them.”

    Cassion laughed with relief.

    “You’d freak out if you saw it. I already have six of them attached to me.”

    Cassion’s expression hardened as he listened to Ruel.

    “So when are those spirits going back?”

    Ruel asked Leo.

    —I don’t know. They said they wanted to stay for a while. You don’t have to worry because this body has firmly stated that this side of Ruel is taken by this body.

    “...okay.”

    It doesn’t matter if you can’t get rid of it, it doesn’t harm you and you don’t have to play with it like Leo.

    “Cough, cough.”

    Ruel grabbed his stomach from the pain that occurred after coughing.

    The fuzzballs rushed in and sat huddled on Ruel’s belly.

    ‘What are you doing?’

    Leo perked his ears when Ruel frowned, questioning the mongrels’ behavior.

    Soon they smiled walking near Ruel’s face.

    —In return for allowing the spirits to stay without evicting them, they have offered to erase what should not exist in this world.

    “...what?”

    —They’ve said there is something in your wound that should not exist in this world. This body doesn’t know what it is, but this body knows removing it will heal Ruel!

    Leo’s tail wagged pleasantly.

    ‘Somehow it didn’t get better.’

    When the Great One stabbed himself, he was sure to imbue him with some power or curse.

    “Ruel-nim attracts so many different things. Fortunately, there are good directions as a result.”

    “Hand me the medicine.”

    By the time Cassion handed over the medicine to Ruel, the carriage set out.

    “Are you okay with getting seasick?”

    “I’m just going to lie down.”

    “Does it hurt a lot?”

    “The welcome ceremony will be held on the day I arrive at the palace?”

    Judging from the way Ruel avoided the question, it looked like he was in pain again.

    Cassion answered Ruel’s question, pretending not to know.

    “Yes, it will be held simply in consideration of your condition.”

    “Damn it, does it mean that it will be done whether I’m sick or not?”

    “Isn’t that the nobility of the royal family?”

    “... damn it.”

    Ruel bit Breath irritably.

    “The second prince earnestly requested His Highness to shorten the welcoming ceremony, which was supposed to last for three days, into one day.”

    He knew but couldn’t help the irritation that arose.

    ‘I want to go home and rest.’

    The stopped carriage moved again.

    The waves look frozen.

    Leo suddenly clung close to the window and saw the frozen sea.

    —Ruel, this body wants to swim in the sea someday.

    “Later. Maybe we can swim in the lake next time.”

    Leo immediately ran to Ruel and wagged his tail.

    —Really? Going to the lake? Before that, it was beautiful with stars! This body wants to swim in a lake of stars!

    “Yes, Lake Prina is very beautiful.”

    —Very well, this body will swim there.

    Ruel also closed his eyes for a moment, drawing time to spend in Lake Prina.

    ‘I’ll go one day. I’m not lying.’