Ambushed, Part 2
I quickly positioned my sword at my waist. A single opportunity. Failure was not an option.
The two men flinched as they realized no one was behind them. The moment they began to turn their heads back toward me, I kicked off the ground.
My unsheathed blade shot toward the neck of the closer man. A sudden wave of fear washed over me at the thought of taking a human life, but if I hesitated here, I would be the one dying.
Suddenly, the words Isaac had said when I first picked up a sword came to mind.
"A sword exists to cut down your opponent."
Thinking about it now, he probably just said that to look cool, but he must have gone through experiences like this countless times.
If Isaac could do it, there was no reason I couldn't. I gripped the hilt tightly, refusing to waver.
Slash!
I sliced through the first man's neck. I didn't stop there; I poured my remaining strength into the blade. If I didn't take them both out at once, I stood no chance.
The sword swept toward the second man's throat. But perhaps I was a split second too slow.
Clang!
The opponent raised his sword and blocked my strike. The screech of metal clashing against metal rang painfully in my ears. At the same time, the masked man leaped backward to create distance.
"...You cheap bastard."
"Don't make me laugh. You're the ones who tried to gang up on me."
Did they think I'd just stand there and let them kill me?
Shameless bastards.
I kept my expression as calm as possible to hide my anxiety.
So, what do I do now?
Yeolmulhansok was a one-time skill. From here on out, I had to survive a two-on-one situation purely on my own merits.
I couldn't see a hair of Grace; who knew how far she'd been blown away.
It would be great if I could defeat the two in front of me, but if that was impossible, I had to buy time until Grace or Isaac arrived.
Sigh... Let's do this.
I raised the shield bearing the Russell family crest up to my chin and glared at the enemy.
"Do you guys even know who I am before attacking me?"
"A dead man talks too much."
"I just got here today, you know. Are you sure you didn't get the wrong guy?"
"Shut up. We know you were invited to the Imperial Palace."
"Oh... so you targeted me knowing exactly who I am? You've got a loose tongue, don't you?"
"...You little shit."
Falling for my provocation, the man braced himself to charge. Good. Let's see what you've got.
"Now, Isaac!"
"Cut the crap, kid—"
Thwack!
Isaac slammed the pommel of his sword into the back of the masked man's head. The guy collapsed to the floor without even a whimper.
"Nice one, Master!"
Isaac immediately swung his sword at the mage next to him. But the mage, prepared for this, barely managed to dodge the strike and chanted a spell.
"I call upon the power of root and earth..."
⟨ Vine Trap ⟩
Instantly, thick wooden vines erupted from the ground, binding Isaac's feet.
"Ugh! What is this?!"
Isaac's sword sliced uselessly through the air. Seeing him immobilized, the mage immediately turned tail and ran.
"W-what the hell is this?! This isn't what we agreed on! Eek!!"
It was then. Just as the fleeing mage shrieked, a sword came flying out of nowhere with a sharp *whoosh*.
Thwack!
His torso was instantly impaled. The sword, carrying immense momentum, didn't stop there. It flew several meters with the man pinned to it, only stopping when it embedded itself deep into the wall.
The masked mage, pierced right through the center of his body, hung from the wall with his head slumped forward. It was instant death.
"Are you two alright?!"
Grace shouted toward us from a distance.
...Did she just throw a sword from that distance? And actually hit him?
"I-I'm fine. But the young master is bleeding heavily! We need to treat him immediately!"
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"Young master, please don't speak."
At Isaac's words, I reached up and touched my head. My palm came away wet with blood. My entire hand was about to be stained red.
Ah, right. A shard of glass had lodged itself in there earlier.
"Shit..."
I lost consciousness as a wave of dizziness washed over me.
"I am sorry..."
Mercury's voice echoed in my mind through my fading consciousness.
"I will explain everything once it is all over. I only wanted to grant your wish."
What was she sorry for, and what was she going to explain? It was the exact same thing she had said in the temple right before I reincarnated in Ruesellon.
I wanted to say something, but even the voice in my mind wouldn't come out.
"One day, you will surely be grateful. So do not worry too much."
Mercury kept spouting nonsense. If I woke up and asked her about it later, she'd probably just claim she was a mere thought projection again. Damned goddess.
"...master?"
A familiar voice reached my ears.
"Mmm..."
"...Are you awake, young master?"
"Mercury... that bitch..."
"Pardon? Young master, what kind of sleep talk is that?"
Realizing my thoughts had slipped out, I shut my mouth. As I slowly opened my eyes, Isaac's round, bun-like face filled my vision.
"Ah, shit, you scared me."
"Thank goodness, young master! Thank goodness, sob... I almost didn't have the face to see Lord Liam and Lord Oliver."
"Alright, I get it, so please back up a bit."
I pushed away Isaac's tearful face and assessed the situation. Fortunately, I wasn't in the lodging where the battle had taken place. I was lying in a bed inside what looked like an infirmary.
I sat up and checked my condition. Except for my left arm, which had a deep sword cut, the various wounds scattered across my body had completely vanished.
"...Master, where are we?"
"This is the treatment room inside the Imperial Palace. It's been about four hours since you fainted."
Not as much time had passed as I'd feared. I suppose that was a relief.
"The healers here and another Hero candidate treated you."
"I see... Wait, what did you just say?"
For a moment, I doubted my ears.
"Another Hero... treated me...?"
"Yes. Is there a problem?"
I snapped wide awake. A member of Rosemary came to see me while I was unconscious? There was only one likely motive.
"For fuck's sake, who was it?! They didn't try to kill me, did they? You were watching them closely, right?"
"Y-young master, what on earth are you saying...?"
"I asked who it was!"
"...We received help from the Saint among the Hero candidates. I believe she is the youngest daughter of the Saint family."
...It was Choi Seoyeon.
I stared in shock, unable to close my mouth.
"Seeing the urgency of the situation, she rushed over immediately to heal you. She was so kind and polite... I would have no further wishes in life if she became a daughter-in-law of the Russell family."
"Master, I'm sorry, but please shut up."
"C-cough. My apologies."
I felt absolutely terrible.
I received help from Rosemary?
Even if Choi Seoyeon had never insulted me like the other members did, she was still present at the scene of my death.
I couldn't be sure if she had really come just to heal me, or if she had some other hidden agenda.
Watching me sink into my own thoughts, Isaac spoke up hesitantly.
"Um... young master? If you are feeling up to it, shall we head outside? His Imperial Majesty and the knights are waiting."
"What? The Emperor?"
I processed Isaac's words. I suppose it made sense for the Emperor to get involved, considering the palace itself had been breached by enemies.
Checking the clock, I saw it was already four in the morning. Supported by Isaac, I got out of bed.
When we moved to the office inside the palace, the Emperor and several high-ranking officials were waiting for me. The members of Rosemary were there as well.
"You are awake."
As I entered, the Emperor stood up himself and took my hand firmly.
"I am glad you have regained consciousness. I apologize. I am truly ashamed that this happened to a guest of the palace..."
I was secretly surprised to see the Emperor sincerely apologizing to a mere baron's son.
"No, Your Majesty. I wouldn't have been safe either if it weren't for Lady Grace's help."
"Thank you. Once again, you have my apologies. On the honor of the Imperial Palace, we will dedicate everything to ensuring the safety of the Heroes from now on."
Once I took a seat, Eden, the Commander of the Imperial Knights, began briefing us on the situation. The others seemed to have gathered earlier and already received the gist of it.
What I wanted to know most of all right now was the identity of the enemies.
"We have investigated the identities of the deceased, but nothing has been confirmed yet. Naturally, they were not affiliated with the palace."
Eden continued in a grim voice.
"It appears their target was the young master of the Russell family. And as for that... we have not yet found the reason. My apologies."
"Wait a moment. Wasn't one of them knocked unconscious? My escort, Isaac, knocked one out."
"...He committed suicide during interrogation."
"What?"
"It was unexpected on our part as well. He had kept poison in his mouth in preparation for such an event."
Suicide. What would drive them to go that far?
"Of course, the investigation will continue. And from now on, our knights will lay down their lives to protect the Hero candidates, including the young master."
"..."
In the end, the conclusion was that we knew nothing. I had no clue about the enemies' identities or their reasons for targeting me.
The only lead was the conversation I'd had with the masked man.
"...Come to think of it, I heard something from the guy who committed suicide."
"Pardon? What did he say?"
"He knew that I had been summoned to the Imperial Palace. Judging by his tone, I think that's why they targeted me."
"...I see. But the question remains: why target you specifically, young master?"
"Indeed. This is just my speculation, but..."
The members of Rosemary had also been invited to the palace. Yet, I was the only one targeted. If my theory was correct, it was probably...
"Wait, hold on. Why did you even call us here then?"
Ok-ja, who had been listening from the side, spoke up. Eden sounded flustered by her sudden interruption.
"Are you not fellow Hero candidates? Naturally, to understand the situation—"
"How are we the same candidates? That shit... I mean, that person is from a baron's family. Don't speak of us in the same breath."
"What do you mean by that?"
Ok-ja's eyes glared at me. What kind of scheme was she cooking up now?
"You, didn't you go around bragging that you got invited to the palace?"
"...What?"
"It must have been a pretty special opportunity for a baron's family."
She didn't care that we were inside the Imperial Palace; her tone was completely uninhibited. As I let out a dumbfounded chuckle, Eden answered in my stead.
"Lady Ok-ja, what do you mean by that? I believe that is highly disrespectful to Young Master Yeong-sik."
"Wait a moment, Eden. Let's hear her out."
"E-even the Princess..."
"We are trying to find the root of the problem. Let's listen first."
This time, Lee Cheri, who was sitting nearby, chimed in. Eden had no choice but to stop talking at her words. Thanks to that, Ok-ja's expression grew even more triumphant.
"As expected of Unni... I mean, the Princess! Ok, think about it. If you're from a baron's family, you'd definitely want to brag about coming here. It's a chance to grab both money and fame."
"...Are you suggesting the enemies were after money?"
"It's just a guess. But still, you should be careful about broadcasting to the whole world that you were invited."
I wondered what kind of nonsense she was going to spout, but wow. She really was consistent.
Actually, in a way, I felt relieved. I had worried that they might pretend to be nice to me to keep up appearances. If they had done that, I wouldn't have been able to openly antagonize them with a clear conscience.
"Pfft."
I couldn't hold it in and let out a chuckle. Instantly, everyone's eyes, including the members of Rosemary, snapped to me.
I guess I can't help it. I'll have to slightly modify my plan of just quietly scouting them out. I looked straight into the eyes of the arrogant Ok-ja.
"I think you're misunderstanding something."