Chapter 184
Chapter: 184
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 184
>Chapter Title: Penance Tree (1)
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>“Woah, woah, calm down!”
Dasha swiftly backed away while drawing her dagger, and Olivier quickly raised both arms high.
“Even if it is just wishful thinking on my part, we’re not enemies, right?”
Even as she said that, she subtly retreated a couple of steps, as if she had accurately gauged Dasha’s attack range. It was clear at a glance that she was no ordinary fighter.
‘How did I not notice someone like her right by my side?’
Dasha glared sharply at her while aiming the dagger.
“…Since when?”
“No, it’s not! A misunderstanding! Sabrina, I wasn’t spying on you!”
Perhaps to earn her trust, she gave Dasha a cheeky grin. Unfortunately, the lack of eyebrows only made her face look even more eerie.
“I was just throwing it out there on the off chance! I noticed those guys hiding in the woods.”
“…….”
“I really had no idea until now. You’re incredibly good at masking your presence, huh?”
Dasha was the same way.
There had been moments of vague suspicion here and there, but aside from the missing eyebrows, Olivier had seemed like the most normal of the new hires.
“Honestly, I suspected all the others, but I thought you were absolutely not one of them!”
“Why?”
“Come on, isn’t it obvious? I never imagined someone as conspicuous as you would show her face so openly! A Varshai assassin isn’t exactly common!”
Ah. That was exactly why Dasha had quickly ruled Olivier out of suspicion.
Who would have thought an assassin would shave off her eyebrows and strut around. She was sure to leave a deep impression on anyone.
“Plus, think about it. With all the new hires turning out to be spies, wouldn’t you assume at least one of them is a legit employee?”
“…….”
In the end, every single new hire from the capital had been suspicious. The absurdity of it all nearly drew a hollow laugh from her.
At that moment, Olivier, who had been watching Dasha’s reaction, slyly made a proposal.
“Let’s compromise. If we settle this here, one of us is definitely going to die, and the survivor won’t be in great shape either.”
“So what do you suggest?”
“Let’s pretend we didn’t see each other this time. As you’ve probably guessed, this infiltration is totally blown, right? So let’s just go our separate ways!”
The group pursuing the caravan clearly wasn’t approaching with good intentions. If she survived this clash, the Milro merchant lord would prioritize weeding out the remaining new hires.
Her decision was swift.
“…What’s your infiltration objective?”
“‘You think I’d just tell you that easily!’ is what I want to say, but sure, fine. It’d be a problem if our goals clashed anyway.”
Olivier shrugged.
“Let’s keep it friendly. I was just ordered to keep a close eye on the merchant lord. You?”
Dasha couldn’t take her words at face value.
But she figured it was unlikely this woman was targeting Prince Mores.
In that case.
“Our objective is surveillance of the merchant lord as well.”
“Great. Then no issue.”
With that, the two slowly backed away, widening the distance.
Once they judged they were out of throwing weapon range, they stopped and exchanged glances instead of farewell words.
“…….”
“…….”
At that instant.
Feigning a turn, they hurled aura-infused weapons at each other simultaneously!
Thud!
Clang!
The stiletto that grazed past Dasha’s eye pierced the tree right beside her, sending splinters flying.
Likewise, the sharp dagger that nicked Olivier’s nape snapped several branches before embedding slantwise into a tree trunk behind her.
‘Damn it!’
The moment their final attack failed, they yanked out the incoming projectiles and bolted in opposite directions.
Thud thud thud thud!
“Sabrina, youuu! I’ll never forget this! How dare you betray my trust!”
Olivier’s drawn-out shout rang out before quickly fading into the distance.
Dasha dashed through the trees, grinding her teeth.
‘That’s my line! You fake-eyebrow bitch!’
She didn’t know who she worked for, but next time, she’d take her down for sure!
* * *
By then, people in the Milro caravan had begun to notice something amiss.
“Lord Giacomo! An unknown group is approaching from the forest!”
The mercenary captain hired as escort rushed into Giacomo’s tent to report.
“How many?”
“About twenty. They’re unarmed, apparently. Doesn’t seem like the bandits roaming the area.”
Of course, Giacomo already knew their identity. Salos had been ranting in his head since earlier.
[Call me out already! The Dark Church is coming! They’re the only ones who cultivate that cursed demon tree! Let me sweep them all away!]
Ignoring Salos appropriately, Giacomo instructed the mercenary captain.
“I’ll talk to them first. But it could turn violent at any moment, so stay on high alert.”
A large group arriving unannounced surely didn’t bode well.
But the Dark Church and Milro caravan had an implicit trading relationship. There was no gain in clashing, so he planned to talk it out as much as possible.
‘Plus, if things escalate, it might unnecessarily draw the attention of the Wolf Knights.’
If their connection to the Dark Church was ever exposed, he’d have to fully summon Salos to silence them—even the entire Wolf Knight Order and the prince’s entourage traveling with them.
Praying that worst-case scenario wouldn’t happen, Giacomo slowly rose from his seat.
Just as he stepped out of the tent, a group emerged from the distant forest.
They wore tattered black robes, most with gaunt, emaciated bodies on the verge of death. Amid their rigid, withered faces like old tree trunks, only their eyes gleamed fiercely, giving off an eerie aura.
Moreover, their exposed faces and arms were covered in countless scars and wounds.
Evidence of prolonged asceticism. They were followers of the Penance Church.
Murmurs spread.
As the mercenaries drew weapons and grew restless, the group halted right before the campsite.
“We’ve come to see Lord Giacomo of Milro.”
Leading them was a massive woman in a patched-up robe, equally ragged.
Her body was covered in muscle and scars; she looked less like a cleric and more like a thug.
“Long time no see, Parish Head Belinda.”
Giacomo swallowed dryly and spoke.
He’d met her several times for trades, but she always intimidated him.
“What is the meaning of this? I thought we’d built a solid business relationship until now. Was I mistaken?”
The woman scoffed with a fierce scowl.
“Ha, a solid relationship? What bullshit!”
Her menacing vibe heightened the mercenaries’ tension.
“State your business. I don’t want trouble here. The Third Prince’s group and the Wolf Knights are nearby.”
“Whether it turns into trouble depends entirely on your answer.”
“My answer? What do you mean?”
Belinda’s face twisted savagely.
“Look, merchant. We’re ignorant folk hiding in the shadows; we don’t know much about business etiquette.”
“…….”
“But we do know one thing. When you receive goods, you pay the proper price.”
Her words left Giacomo flustered.
“We paid for the [medicine tea] last time, didn’t we?”
“It had to be usable bills of exchange.”
“We arranged for the logistics hub to handle it, didn’t we? Was the payment not made as per the bill?”
Belinda’s cheek twitched at that.
“They demanded to verify identities in detail.”
“Why?”
“How should I know? You would! The branch chief specially instructed to only pay Milro bills to verified persons! Didn’t you say something stupid to him?”
Giacomo’s face went blank with shock.
Branch Chief Schmidt? Why suddenly?
Of course, this was due to Seongjin’s orders, but Giacomo had no way of knowing.
He masked his tension and stroked his goatee.
“Then there’s the Scarpacino family, no? I recall the young lord vouched for the bills. They’d surely cover it for me!”
Before direct trades began, both the church and Milro had transacted through young lord Riccardo. Even now, some items went through his ghost company as intermediary.
But no sooner had he said it than Belinda’s demeanor grew even fiercer.
“Good, perfect! That’s exactly what I wanted to talk about! Why did you attack Riccardo?”
“What……?”
Giacomo was utterly dumbfounded.
“What do you mean?”
“You joking? You attacked the young lord and planted our church insignia! Trying to screw over both him and us, huh?”
“……?!”
“That medal definitely leaked from our facility. Who else but you could pull that off? Now inquisitors are rampaging through our territory even more!”
Of course, this too was Seongjin’s doing.
In any case, unaware of the truth, Giacomo realized things were seriously tangled.
His face paled as he gaped; the parish head’s voice rose further.
“What’s your game? Now that you can run your own operations, you’re dragging the church in to cut ties with us messily?”
Giacomo felt his mind reeling.
Why had things spiraled like this?
Meanwhile, her pressure continued.
“The Archbishop of Penance is furious. If you don’t pay up now, he ordered me to personally deliver this [Penance Tree] to you!”
At her words, several Penance followers stepped forward carrying a massive pot-like vessel.
It was as big as a person’s torso, filled with black soil like a planter, surrounded by sinister multicolored runes.
[Oh no! Stop it from sprouting, Giacomo! That’s the demon realm tree! A cursed seed that devours even souls!]
Salos’s desperate cry echoed in his head then.
‘Stop it from sprouting? How?’
[Never let blood touch that demon seed!]
‘Blood?’
The followers set the pot before Belinda, who drew a small dagger from her bosom and grinned wickedly.
“Now answer, Giacomo. Will you pay up right now?”
“W-Wait! I’ll pay! Just give me a little time…….”
“Time?”
“Yes. I wouldn’t carry that much gold on a trading trip! Once this journey ends, I’ll handle the bills personally in Regina…….”
“Wait until then?”
“Or at least until we reach Sigismund Territory! I’ll scrape the money together somehow!”
The more Giacomo pleaded, the colder her eyes grew.
“…….”
“Please understand?”
She sneered, lips twisting chillingly.
“You filthy heretic scum! I knew I couldn’t trust you lot!”
Slash!
Hot blood sprayed from her tightly gripped dagger hand.
* * *
[Seongjin, I sense something ominous nearby?]
He was meditating before bed when the demon king suddenly called out.
‘Ominous presence?’
[Yeah. The demonic energy is faint, but something’s off.]
Seongjin heightened his senses, but felt nothing unusual.
As he tilted his head.
[Uh? What’s this? Seongjin! Watch out! The demonic energy just……!]
Before he could finish.
Boom!
A massive shockwave rocked the entire carriage.
‘Huh?’
Startled, Seongjin flung open the door and leaped out, just as Marian and Sir Valerie rushed toward him.
“Your Highness! Get to safety first!”
“Sir Marian? What’s going on?”
“I don’t know either! It seems something happened at the Milro caravan!”
Milro caravan?
Sir Valerie added from the side.
“Something’s wrong, Your Highness! Demonic energy exploded suddenly—it feels like a demon was summoned……!”
Right then.
Kreeeeea!
A sharp, eerie screech shattered the chill night air, reverberating far and wide.
Undoubtedly not human—something profane wailing from the depths of hell.
As everyone in the campsite froze in horror.
Kreeeeeea!
The sinister cry echoed again, clearly from the Milro caravan’s direction.
“Lord God……!”
Marian, mouth agape and face ashen, muttered.
“I knew it! No wonder it’d been too quiet these past few days.”
Then, turning to Seongjin—who was curiously perking his ears toward the sound—he asked:
“So, Your Highness, what did you do this time?”
“…What?”
Seongjin panicked at the sudden question.
No! I’m innocent, Sir Marian!
I really didn’t do anything this time! For real!