Chapter 98
Chapter 98
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 98
Chapter Title: Crows' Nest
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“There’s something there that Iura would take an interest in.”
Lin’s voice carried a strangely heavy tone. Lena hesitated before asking in return.
“What’s there?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know what it is, or how to even explain it.”
It was something he had discovered back when he was still a boy, fighting alone against the wraiths of the West. ‘They’ were deep in the forest. Human in form but not human, too bizarre to even call wraiths. Lin thought that if they truly were the dead, they were closer to ghosts than wraiths.
“Either way, it’ll catch Iura’s attention. Since he entered the forest today, he’ll find it within a few days.”
“So the goal was to lure the Northern Duke there from the start.”
Lin nodded silently at Lena’s words. To him, Iura coming to the West was a bigger problem than wraiths pouring out. But once he discovered them in the forest, even the great Iura would be thrown into confusion. And the Crows’ true secret would remain forever hidden.
“The Northern Duke is dangerous. Unlike his little brother.”
As he spoke, Lin put the crow mask back on, fiddling with it. Once his face was hidden, Lena asked in surprise.
“Where are you going?”
“I saw the Northern Duke enter the forest, so I’m preparing to head back.”
Lin was currently missing. To return, he needed to let the Eastern Knights spot him at the right moment. It was a tricky task, so he had to hurry and prepare.
“Wait a second.”
Lena realized he was about to leave and grabbed him.
“You don’t have to do that.”
“Hm?”
“Since things have turned out like this, wouldn’t it be better if I ‘found’ you?”
The crow’s beak tilted slightly at Lena’s suggestion. He was pondering it.
“Of course, but…”
Lena’s words made sense, but Lin couldn’t agree right away. He didn’t want to drag her into this blatant treason. As he hesitated, Lena pressed harder.
“I need to talk to the Northern Duke anyway. So let’s just say I found you.”
She insisted again, and Lin couldn’t bring himself to refuse. Once he finally nodded, Lena secretly let out a sigh of relief. She hadn’t shown it, but she didn’t want to part from Lin again. Even after confirming he was safe, sending him off like this would leave her anxious until his return. Having grabbed him on impulse, Lena was inwardly flustered by her own actions. While she stood there awkwardly, Lin was lost in thought.
“But if you find me too soon, it’ll look suspicious.”
“Right…”
Still wearing the crow mask, Lin pondered when to return, how to appear, and various other details. Then, as if he’d decided something, he looked at Lena and asked.
“We’ve got some time. Want to go somewhere?”
“Where?”
Lena asked at the unexpected invitation. Lin laughed. Only his lips were visible beneath the crow mask, but Lena could tell. It was the brightest smile he’d shown so far.
. . .
A short while later, there were two crows. Lena wore the same mask as Lin and looked down at herself awkwardly.
“No need to show off your imperial uniform.”
Lin explained as he fastened her cloak. Then he took out some rouge and carefully applied it to her lips with his pinky finger.
“I didn’t know you were good at makeup too.”
Lena stared in disbelief at his unexpected skill, and Lin grinned. He seemed a bit excited, and he was. He was happy that Lena had accepted his secret. Once the disguise was complete, Lena and Lin descended from the spire. The wraiths of the King with Many Hearts gathered around them.
“It’s fine. They’re under my control.”
Lena tensed reflexively, but Lin reassured her. As he said, the snakes didn’t act ferocious as usual; they simply slithered around them. One even had a bag slung around its neck.
“Is this your Authority, Mr. Lin?”
Lin nodded readily at her question. Past Eastern Dukes had thoroughly hidden the true nature of the power granted by the Emperor. The reason was that the ability to manipulate others like puppets could inspire fear and suspicion, and the conditions for activating it were stringent. The Eastern Duke’s Authority worked through blood. They could dominate those who drank their blood and sustain their own lives by drinking others’. If it became known, it would lead to endless suspicion beyond mere headaches, so the Eastern Dukes had wisely kept it secret.
“But why are they all snakes?”
“They’re quiet and easy to move.”
Lin answered as Lena eyed the reptilian wraiths.
“And easier to control.”
In truth, the snakes accepted Lin’s dominion unlike other wraiths. Lately, Lin had grown suspicious of that fact. He suspected a connection between the Eastern Authority and the King with Many Hearts.
“…I see.”
Lena nodded hesitantly. She seemed like she wanted to say something but held back. Soon, the two mounted their horses together. Protected by the snakes, they galloped out of the city. Lena, masked as a crow, rode while lost in thought. She’d thought she’d been through it all, but this felt surreal anew. The sky was still bright and blue, yet the city beyond was dyed red from the massive rift, with an army of wraiths at one end and the imperial army at the other. Outsiders still lived amid it all, and Lena Rubel had come searching for her fiancé bearing every burden. Overwhelmed, Lena buried her face in Lin’s back as he rode ahead, pretending to know nothing. She’d given too much of her heart. Her excuse of wanting to help because he was a good person was just that now—an excuse. Of course, she had cherished people before Lin. Uni, whom she wanted to leave everything to before departing; the Southern Duke, whom she’d grown fond of despite everything; even her little brother, who occasionally tugged at her heart—they all mattered to Lena. But her feelings for them differed in quality from those for Lin. It wasn’t just that he was someone she could fall for. He had come searching for her, descending into the Abyss, and in doing so, shattered one of her firm convictions. The belief that the world would never help her, so she had to achieve everything alone on her own—it had been shaken by him. When Lin vanished amid that, Lena felt fear and despair together. Upon reuniting, relief gave way to anger. She wanted to yell at him for being so selfish, for never considering her thoughts. But Lena couldn’t voice it. Because what she had to do soon was exactly the same.
—I don’t know everything you do, miss. But I know you’re always planning to leave.
—Can’t we just live happily together?
—Me and Mr. Lin, and even Old Man if you want to include him. Once all the dangerous stuff is over, can’t we?
Uni’s voice suddenly came to mind. The bold girl, always so dignified, had eyed her warily while saying that. What had she replied then? Lena regretted brushing it off lightly. She was beginning to doubt her own way, which she’d believed was the right path without question.
. . .
Lena and Lin galloped far beyond the ruined city. Just as she wondered how much farther, a dense forest came into view.
“No way, is this it?”
Lena asked in surprise, staring at the forest. It looked ordinary. The problem was its location. It was very close to the rift.
“Yeah. This is the place.”
“Isn’t it too close?”
Lena glanced back at the rift as she spoke. The terrain was higher, but the swarming wraiths were visible at a glance—it was that near. If they came charging, there’d be no fighting back; they’d have to flee first.
“The Empire is more dangerous to us than the wraiths.”
Lin replied calmly, and Lena quickly agreed. The two crows entered the forest. After another hour weaving through the paths, a clearing appeared amid the thick trees and underbrush. It was a village.
‘That’s…’
Lena gazed in astonishment at the unfamiliar houses built in the forest. The people who had come here three years ago had made a village amid the trees.
“Ah!”
A human voice came from beyond the bushes. Almost simultaneously, a boy with a bow dashed out, parting the foliage. He looked about Engy’s age, with black hair and eyes like Lin’s. The boy recognized Lin in his crow mask, then spotted Lena beside him and jumped in shock, shouting something loudly. Lena felt a bit flustered.
‘I don’t understand a word.’
She couldn’t make out the boy’s language at all. As she stood there blankly, Lin placed a hand on the boy’s head and replied. An unfamiliar language flowed from Lin’s mouth too, filling Lena with a strange sense of alienation.
‘First time seeing it. Lin speaking another language…’
But it was probably his native tongue. As Lena watched in fascination and novelty, the boy finished talking to Lin and strode ahead confidently. Lin gestured for her to follow, so Lena walked beside him and whispered.
“What was that about?”
“He asked why we split up suddenly, so I told him to be quiet.”
Lena stared at Lin in disbelief. He smiled with his unusually red lips. As they pushed through the forest path to the village entrance, the boy shouted again. Children playing in the yard spotted Lena and Lin and came running with cheers. Like the boy before, they chattered at the crow-clad Lena. Lin didn’t treat the surrounding children warmly. He seemed awkward rather than cold. Undeterred, they swarmed the crows, hugging, clinging, or poking with sticks. Then a woman scolded them sharply, and they scattered like they’d never been there. Amid the chaos of children gathering like clouds and vanishing like mist, villagers began emerging to greet the crows. Lena stood cautiously beside Lin, observing them. As he’d said, there were women and men. Children and elderly with graying hair. Some wore common imperial attire, others unfamiliar garments fastened with knots instead of buttons. They welcomed Lin but also eyed him warily. The welcoming ones approached with chatter; the wary ones watched from afar. Several girls eyed the small crow who’d appeared with the big one. Lena edged closer to Lin, glaring back at those girls.
“What’s this? Bringing someone along. A woman?”
The woman who’d scolded earlier asked in the Eastern tongue. Lin nodded in response. A silent man in a crow mask could seem eerie and unsettling, but she treated him like a neighborhood lad and pressed.
“What’s your relationship?”
Lin pondered her question. He wondered himself. What were they now? Officially allies, but that was public. Privately, they’d long passed friends, yet calling her a lover was premature. Lost in thought, Lin glanced at Lena, seeing her beak pointed at one side. Following her gaze, he belatedly noticed her staring down the local girls. Looking between them, Lin declared firmly in the Eastern tongue.
“My fiancée.”