Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Can You Get Engaged to Me?
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“Is it all gold?”
“Check for yourself.”
At Clavis’s question, Lin silently stepped aside. The priests opened the sacks. Gold and jewels spilled out. It was a sight that would have made the nobles left in the Main Palace drool and roll their eyes in greed.
Having confirmed the spoils, Clavis turned his gaze to the north.
“Now all that’s left is the Northern forces.”
At Clavis’s mention, the marquis’s heart sank.
“What did the north bring?”
“……The north followed the trail of the vanguard and reached the castle of the King Who Swallowed the First Cry.”
“And?”
“We fought a long battle and watched the castle crumble. So we conducted a search for five days.”
“I asked what you brought back, Sir Rubel.”
As the marquis’s explanation dragged on, Clavis pressed him with a smile. Caught in the cold prodding, the marquis had no choice but to confess.
“……We brought nothing. All that lay before us was a black swamp. We stayed around the castle the whole time but never encountered the Eastern Knights, nor did we see the Southern Duke’s proxy enter the castle.”
“Hmm, the stories don’t match. Is someone lying?”
Clavis tossed out the bait with a sly grin. The marquis knew it was a trap but had to bite.
“I’d like to verify the heart brought by the Southern Duke’s proxy.”
It was hard enough to believe Lena had returned unharmed, but even harder to accept that he had brought back the king’s heart. So the marquis demanded proof, and Clavis readily nodded.
“If you insist.”
At the cardinal’s permission, a priest emerged carrying something wrapped in silk. But atop it was no heart—only a small seal ring, engraved not with a gem but with strange letters.
“This is……”
“The king’s heart that Lady Lena brought back.”
As the marquis stared in bewilderment, Clavis explained. It left the marquis utterly exasperated. He had half-worried they might try passing off a horse’s heart, but a ring instead of even that?
“You’re saying this is the heart?”
“Sir Rubel, have you not read His Majesty’s biography properly?”
The cardinal teased with a laugh, and the marquis suddenly recalled a passage from Nihil’s biography.
—From his torn body fell a very small heart.
—The King Who Swallowed the First Cry slipped his heart onto his finger and fled.
There was such a passage, yes. But wasn’t it just a fabricated tale? A ring as the heart—such absurd nonsense turning out to be true. The marquis was on the verge of rage.
“……Even if the king’s heart is a ring, we need to confirm it’s this one.”
“Fine. Then we’ll show it to His Majesty. He’ll know.”
As the marquis clung stubbornly, the cardinal feigned reluctance and sent off the priests. The priests returned soon after from the emperor, but in their hands was no longer the seal ring—instead, a silver key.
The returning priest handed the key to the cardinal and said,
“His Majesty confirmed it is the heart. He praised the bearer, saying it was well retrieved, and ordered this key given to the one who brought the heart.”
The final nail in the coffin made the marquis’s face harden rigidly. Clavis mocked him as if to say that settled it, while Rubid glared at the marquis as if ready to devour him.
“Then it’s decided. Head to the Main Palace and sound the victory proclamation. In the name of the south and Lady Lena.”
With the emperor’s judgment and the cardinal’s declaration, the first expedition ended, and a heaven-shaking cry echoed through the entire imperial palace.
The expedition’s outcome took everyone by surprise. It shattered predictions and upended common sense, breeding countless suspicions. Yet Lena Rubel—knight of the emperor and proxy of the Southern Duke—smiled innocently amid the swirling doubts, as if utterly oblivious.
***
On the night the tomb was first conquered, shadows gathered once more by the imperial palace lake. They had both been too busy to meet the night before the expedition. For Lena, it had been two days since seeing Lin. But for Lin, who had spent over ten days in the tomb, it was different. Unlike Lena, who seemed the same as always, he appeared somehow restless. And that anxiety revealed itself the moment he saw her.
“Can I touch you?”
Lena’s gaze turned icy at Lin’s abrupt words. But without explanation, he continued.
“I heard you died.”
“Who would say such a horrible thing?”
“I really thought you were dead.”
Lena laughed it off lightly, but Lin’s voice remained grave. She could no longer smile.
“Were you that shocked?”
Lena asked, gazing at his pale face. Lin met her eyes and nodded silently. In truth, he only realized his own shock as he nodded. When he reunited with Deka in the tomb, Lin learned of Lena’s death through him. They said the marquis had pushed her from the ramparts. Lady Lena had saved the falling marquis, only for him to push her to her death in return. Deka didn’t know Lena but mourned her passing and raged at the marquis nonetheless. But Lin felt no such ordinary emotions. All he felt was an inexplicable turmoil. Amid the dizziness, he tried linking Lena and death in his mind. But the words refused to settle, drifting endlessly in his head. When they returned in disarray and he saw the marquis, something surged within him. And upon spotting Lena, his heart plummeted instead. He remained in that state until nightfall. Lin hadn’t grasped the nature of these churning emotions. But through Lena’s words, he finally understood: he had been greatly shocked by news of her.
Lena read his expression carefully, gauged his feelings, and teased playfully.
“If you need confirmation to feel at ease, how should we do it?”
To check if someone lived, one usually listened to their heartbeat. But Lin couldn’t bring himself to, so he compromised quietly.
“……Hand.”
“Here, my hand.”
Lena held out her palm upward. Lin hesitated, then gently placed his hand atop hers. At the shape evoking some memory, Lena smiled and asked,
“Do you know how to read palms by any chance?”
Lin gave a feeble smile and quietly gripped her hand with his overlaid one. They had walked together often, but this was their first time holding hands. And Lena’s hand, surprisingly, was very small. Lin curled his fingers around hers, then slowly moved his thumb. It traced her palm lines down to her wrist, where it wrapped gently. Feeling her pulse at the wrist—it was proof Lena lived. Confirming her warmth, Lin asked,
“What happened?”
“Tell me your story first.”
Lena turned the question back calmly. Their hands still clasped.
“You’ll have to tell yours in front of everyone anyway. So right now, I want to hear yours.”
Since exchanging glances among the wraiths, neither knew the other’s path. Especially Lena, who was curious how Lin had interpreted her advice.
“I thought you ignored me when I saw the number of knights.”
“It was too vague to follow blindly.”
When she asked, Lin answered straightforwardly.
“For matters tied to survival, safeguards were needed.”
“Safeguards.”
“……Out of caution.”
“Safeguards were needed.”
“Yeah.”
“Safeguards……”
“Let it go, please……”
As Lena relentlessly teased him over the safeguards, Lin writhed in embarrassment. Only after his face changed did she laugh, apologize, and let him continue, cursing his past words.
……
Lena had declared that only she could conquer the castle of the King Who Swallowed the First Cry. In exchange, she told Lin the location of the treasure. Once she conquered it, the castle would crumble, so he should dig through afterward and claim the treasure. Lin followed her words, figuring he had nothing to lose. Indeed, before a day passed, the castle fell, revealing a cave-like underground passage beneath. Descending it took three grueling days, and hauling out the treasures within took a week. While posing as grave robbers, they ate only salt as Lena instructed. For comparison, some knights were given dry rations. The difference showed in the results. Those who took salt felt no fatigue. They didn’t sleep, didn’t crave water. Those who ate rations needed rest, sleep, water—and excreted as much as they consumed. The salt-eaters shed such nuisances. In efficiency, it was superior, but hardly ideal. Under the endless red sky, tireless bodies forgot time. A strange lethargy enveloped them, a gentle suffocation. Lin had to steel his mind repeatedly to avoid sinking into it. In the end, the Eastern forces returned with immense wealth. The credit for conquering the castle went wholly to the south, but this preserved the Easterners’ face.
“Going through it, I understand everything you said. I still don’t know how you knew, though.”
Lin gazed at the small hand in his.
Then, with a faint smile, he asked,
“No point asking this, right?”
Lena answered with a smile of her own. Lin nodded as if he’d expected it.
“Anyway, thanks to you, I got big help.”
The expedition’s result was ideal. But Lin acknowledged it not after its end, but after confirming Lena’s survival. Reflecting on his heart, he thanked her.
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
Even her reply was curt. Lin appreciated that too, but felt mere thanks insufficient. Changing his tone, he spoke again.
“So I have a proposal.”
“A proposal?”
“I want to form an alliance.”
“An alliance……”
“I want to formally cooperate for conquering the tomb. As lord of the east.”
Lena’s eyes widened at the unexpected words. She pondered his statement with a puzzled look, then tilted her head and replied.
“I appreciate the offer, but isn’t our current subtle help enough?”
“Subtle isn’t enough.”
“Enough for whom?”
“For both of us.”
Lena smiled awkwardly at his answer.
“Well, I wonder if I’d even need help from the east.”
Lena didn’t mince words deliberately. She knew far more about the tomb than others and the value of her secrets. She liked Lin plenty, but had no intent to share them for free. Tipping him off about the first expedition had been mere whim. So she drew a line gently, but Lin didn’t back down.
“Not much in the tomb. But outside, it’d be different.”
Not only unyielding, he continued as if prepared.
“The imperial palace is a battlefield rivaling the tomb. You’re up against the north’s real power, and the Southern Duke lacks strength. The Southern Knights aren’t worth mentioning.”
Lin listed Lena’s weaknesses one by one in an uncharacteristically firm voice. Startled by his resolve, Lena feigned surprise. But Lin pulled her hand closer and whispered,
“So no matter how you shine in the tomb, outside you’re just an outsider.”
“……Isn’t that the same for you?”
“I have forces.”
“Even so……”
“The one non-mainstream that can stand against the empire’s mainstream.”
His voice was low and insinuating, sinking into her skin.
“So, do you really think you’d gain nothing from the east?”
Lin threw her earlier words back at her. But his sounded far more insolent and provocative. Lena blinked, then laughed.
“Of course it’d help, but is it a fair trade?”
“Feels unfair?”
“Not exactly unfair, just……do we need it?”
“Right, you’re someone who can manage alone.”
Lin accepted her point meekly, then added,
“But that doesn’t mean alone is best. If it were, you wouldn’t have done that first meeting with the knights.”
His words were flawlessly accurate. Lena fell silent. As she did, Lin tugged her hand gently and whispered,
“Truth is, I need your help. And I want to help you just as much.”
His softly pressing touch felt cozy.
“I don’t want to just watch you do it alone.”
His quietly probing voice was sweet.
“Let me fight alongside you.”
Lena gazed quietly at Lin’s face, now a step closer than before.
‘What’s this……’
She hid her fluster, but it was considerable. His subtly pleading demeanor felt unfamiliar. She’d thought him a purely gentle puppy, yet here he was scheming and pressing forward slyly. Stay like this, and she’d be swept along. That thought sparked her defiance. Lin didn’t know yet, but Lena hated losing the initiative. After a moment’s thought, she spoke carefully.
“Are you sincere about wanting to help me?”
“Dead serious.”
“Then how far would you help?”
“Whatever you want, I’ll give the best answer.”
Her eyes narrowed at his kind yet cool reply. The best answer, huh. His voice promised indulgence, but his words left an escape. Typical. Thinking him a real scoundrel, Lena continued.
“Then……”
“Then?”
Lin echoed like an afterthought. So Lena smiled her sweetest smile and whispered in her gentlest voice,
“Can you get engaged to me?”