Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Insult to Superiors
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With a clatter, the knight tumbled once more.
"Damn it!"
He'd lost count of how many times it had happened. The Southern Knight, sprawled pathetically on the ground again, pounded the floor in impotent rage.
"Get a grip."
A calm voice drifted down from above the thrashing knight. At the weary tone, he hauled himself back up. At the end of his blazing glare, Lena spoke.
"If you're going to slack on discipline, at least show some spirit."
Provoked, the knight let out a roar and charged. It was just another repeat in an endless cycle. . . . It had taken less than ten minutes for Lena's first meeting with the Southern Knights to devolve into this.
One knight had insulted her first, and Lena had fired back with a taunt, turning the hook into a full provocation. The knight had lunged first, as if he'd been waiting for it, reaching to grab her. He had no idea then that he'd soon be rolling across the floor at the same speed.
Lena twisted away from his grasp and casually hooked his foot. The knight, who had barreled in recklessly, went flying in a spectacular sprawl.
The same thing happened again and again. After several rounds, the knight hit the ground once more and bellowed in fury. It was enough to drive anyone mad. He could've crushed her bones if he just got his hands on her, but Lena dodged like a sparrow, nimble and teasing.
"Apologize now. That takes courage too."
Gritting his teeth at her suggestion, the knight rose again. As he planted his feet, a strange pain shot through his knee. Glancing down, he saw blood seeping through his white uniform trousers. His knee must have finally split open from scraping the marble floor so many times.
The sight of blood turned the knight's eyes red with rage.
"You little bi—"
His eyes rolled back as he shot to his feet. At the same moment, the sharp ring of steel echoed.
"H-Hey!"
The watching knights cried out in alarm. But the knight, sword now drawn, ignored them and charged at Lena.
"You're dead!"
***
Lin sat at his desk, lost in thought. The paper before him was dotted with dark ink blots, traces of his prolonged deliberation.
*What do I do?*
The Eastern Duke's face was etched with worry since returning from the inspection of the tomb.
Lin twirled his pen, recalling the events at Do-um Palace a few hours earlier.
—You got back quick. How far did you go?
When Lin returned from the tomb, Clavice had greeted him like that. It felt terribly awkward to Lin.
Calming his excited report, Lin asked the Eastern knight.
—How long was I gone?
—About fifteen minutes.
The knight answered dutifully. But to Lin, it was absurd. He'd crossed the rift, checked the black wasteland and the castle in the tomb firsthand. Wraiths had suddenly poured out, forcing him to take a long detour instead of heading straight back to the castle. That had taken at least three or four hours—yet only fifteen minutes?
Lin looked up skeptically. The sky beyond the gaping ceiling was still brightly blue, mocking his doubt.
*Is the difference in time flow real?*
Clavice had said time doesn't pass inside that rift. It was true. And having confirmed it himself, the Eastern Duke had no choice but to brood.
*Can't use conventional methods.*
Conventional methods. Marching an army in, smashing the gates, and plundering. Lin muttered it absently, then felt disgust at himself. Pondering how to conquer an enemy stronghold. Even if it was the land of wraiths, the act itself was repugnantly vile.
But he had no right to refuse, no time for sentiment.
*Can't move the army.*
Lin refocused and pondered. The rift at Do-um Palace was only as wide as a small gate. They'd have to line up single file to pass, and without controlling the time difference inside and out, the first ones in could be abandoned in the tomb. If wraiths attacked or supplies ran out in the meantime, it'd be like marching into the grave on their own feet.
*Send an elite few?*
He considered the alternative reluctantly, but it wasn't the answer. The wraiths' castle had no gates. Smashing those high walls with a small elite force was impossible. No matter how he racked his brain, no clever solution emerged.
That was when Lin suffered alone amid stacked obstacles.
"Your Grace, Cardinal Clavice has invited you to dinner."
*What now?* Lin swallowed the complaint rising in his throat at the news from his secretary, Deka.
"Who all?"
"Your Grace the Eastern Duke, Prince Rubid, and Lady Lena, proxy for the South. Just those three."
"Only those who went to the tomb directly."
That meant there was something to discuss. *What the hell?* Lin found everything about Clavice utterly loathsome, but he didn't refuse the invitation. Already sidelined from information, he couldn't miss this chance. He waved a hand in acknowledgment, but Deka hesitated instead of leaving. Then, as if resolving something, he added cautiously.
"And there's separate news."
"What?"
"A Southern Knight swung his sword at Lady Lena."
Lin's fatigue-heavy eyes widened suddenly. Seeing the rare shock on Lin's face, Deka continued calmly.
"A minor scuffle at the first meeting, and one knight suddenly went berserk... He's said to be badly hurt because of it."
"The South's proxy?"
"No..."
Lin, asking urgently, furrowed his brow. Deka continued, a bit flustered.
"The knight who swung at Lady Lena was brutally beaten by her and is now in critical condition."
"Beaten?"
"Yes, beaten."
Lin blankly repeated the word.
*No way. Really?*
Lin couldn't readily believe Deka. Of course, Lena Rubel was a lady capable of half-killing someone. But she was also one who kept to common sense and boundaries. And on first meeting, she'd savagely beaten her own knight to the brink of death? The Lena Lin knew wasn't that foolish.
"Where'd you hear this?"
"It's circulating among the palace servants."
"Verified?"
"Not fully confirmed, but the meeting's bad atmosphere and one knight being carried out midway are facts."
So not complete rumor.
*That knight order was uneasy since yesterday.*
Lin clicked his tongue unwittingly. Then, as habit, he gazed out the window. He'd already done so much today, yet the sky was cruelly still bright. He'd have to wait longer for night.***
At that moment, Lena was being teased.
"The start of reign of terror?"
"Reign of terror..."
"I heard you smashed a Southern Knight, Young Lady. Threw dirt like a coward, then whacked him with a blunt weapon—pow pow!"
"Urgh..."
At Uni's lively punches, Lena smiled awkwardly, embarrassed.
Lena had botched the meeting and returned to her room. Greeting her was Uni, already privy to the rumors. Uni sparkled with eyes, spinning tales that weren't even true, leaving Lena quite embarrassed.
"The imperial palace spreads rumors fast, and exaggerates just as quick."
"Exaggerates?"
"Yes. It was indoors, so no dirt, and I don't favor blunt weapons."
"True, you prefer blades, Young Lady."
"Uni, shh."
"Yes, shh."
Uni, chattering excitedly, obediently shut her mouth. But her eyes still sparkled with curiosity. Lena sighed and explained.
"The knights hated me from the start, one lunged, so I just tripped him. That's it."
The meeting was a total failure. The Southern Knights hadn't welcomed her any more than the palace socialites. And like that Rubid scum at the ball, the knights had one utterly ill-mannered brute. A rare piece of trash, but even so, Lena hadn't struck or kicked him wantonly. Keeping her role as proxy commander, she'd merely induced him to crash on his own.
Even after he drew his sword, it was the same. In the end, he'd charged ferociously and fallen just as hard, suffering a concussion. Then passed out. That was the extent of the commotion, and that was the end.
At Lena's confession, Uni blinked in a daze.
"I thought you'd really lost it and gone wild, Young Lady."
"No way..."
"The rumors are scarier than the truth."
"And spread too fast."
"Someone must've spread them on purpose."
Lena smiled bitterly at Uni's words. Things were turning oddly, but she doubted it.
"The Old Man will nag me over this."
"No way, he'd have the shame not to."
"The Old Man has none of that."
Lena burst out laughing at Uni's harsh assessment. Uni seemed to have taken a liking to tormenting the Southern Duke. Feeling oddly refreshed, Lena said lightly.
"Then before the nagging, I should find a way to get friendly with the knights."
"Good idea. But first, something to do, Young Lady."
"Something?"
"The cardinal invited you to dinner. Tonight."
The unexpected news wiped the smile from Lena's face.
"What'd he say?"
"To the heroes who'll conquer the tomb, he has urgent words, so attend without fail."
"Not just me, then."
Lena muttered in slight relief. Sensing something off, Uni eyed her.
"What's wrong?"
Lena mulled silently, then murmured like a soliloquy.
"It really took forever to get here. Everything happened, every moment a crisis."
The world had been mercilessly harsh to an abandoned little girl. Lena had been thrown into it unprepared, crossing life and death to arrive here.
"And just when I barely made it back, the one who shoved me into a grave stares at me approvingly. What to do?"
Lena muttered and smiled. A sneer at Clavice. Much time had passed, but Lena still remembered clearly how he'd treated her when she was young and powerless. His brazen approach irked her. She fell silent to calm the stir deep in her heart.
Uni watched quietly, then advised gravely as Lena sighed.
"Just kill him outright, Young Lady."
"Should I?"
"Plan carefully, though. He's a cardinal."
"Sound advice."
Lena burst laughing again at the wicked coaxing. Uni, who'd shouted cheekily, grinned broadly too. As expected, Lena couldn't outdo Uni.
As Lena laughed freely, Uni asked back.
"So, the dinner invite?"
"Have to go. Hear what he says."
Lena smiled brightly, as always.***
Lena's smile persisted at the dinner. But its edge was starkly different from before Uni.
"What if the South leads the vanguard for the first expedition?"
Clavice said lightly before the meal, like proposing a game.
"Lead the North and East from the front, Lady Lena."
It sounded like a request, but it was effectively an order.
—Someone must've spread them on purpose.
Uni’s words flashed suddenly. So Lena bit her lip and smiled silently.
Even a maid knew of the Southern Knights' insult to superiors; the cardinal couldn't be ignorant. He surely knew they could barely join the expedition, let alone lead. So the purpose of summoning her for this was obvious.
This proposal was clearly a trap aimed at her.