Chapter 128: Taimun Marius (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 128: Taimun Marius (1)
In the Huphester Alliance, crimes committed with magic carried enhanced penalties. Serial murder using high-level magic, in particular, was considered one of the gravest offenses.
And so, recognizing the gravity of the situation, the Prince had personally led his knights to pursue the suspects.
Let the noble be the first to face danger. This was one of the core values instilled by the current King, who had emerged victorious in the civil war against the Royal Faction twenty years prior.
“I am the Third Prince of Delki, Laika Delki! Everyone, drop your weapons!”
Having spotted Kuzan and Beris, the Prince shouted his command.
Damn it, of all times…! I was just about to finish him off!
Kuzan’s glare darted between Jin and the Prince’s knights. Jin remained in a combat stance, but he was gasping for breath, barely conscious.
Behind Kuzan, Beris was convulsing from the effects of mana backflow, completely unaware that the knights were even there.
Kuzan gritted his teeth.
I will find you and kill you, no matter what!
The moment Kuzan turned and scooped Beris into his arms, the archers opened fire. At the same time, the knights rushed toward Jin, tackling him and pinning him to the ground.
Even as he fell, Jin couldn't manage so much as a groan. His entire body was numb; he could no longer feel pain.
Leaping from his horse, Laika strode over and pulled back Jin’s hood.
What? This boy is surely…!?
Jin Runcandel.
It was a face he remembered clearly from the Runcandel banquet last year. Laika gasped, his eyes widening as he recognized the boy’s features.
“The culprits… are those two…” Jin whispered, squeezing out the last of his strength.
Laika glanced back hurriedly and saw Kuzan fleeing with Beris in his arms. Despite the archers’ volley, the man had already put a significant distance between them.
“Capture them! And healers, treat this man immediately!”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
* * *
Jin bolted upright, frantically scanning his surroundings.
“Are you awake?”
It was Laika.
“This is my villa, Young Master. Considering your… situation, I chose a secluded place where people wouldn’t visit. You’ve been out for three hours.”
“Three hours?”
“Consider yourself lucky to be alive. The healers said the poison in your system is something even an 8-star warrior would struggle to endure. If you weren’t a Runcandel, you would likely be dead.”
Kuzan and Beris.
They were the strongest opponents Jin had ever faced in a two-on-one fight. Surviving Kuzan’s poison was, quite literally, a miracle.
If Laika had been even a moment later, Jin would not have escaped death.
“What happened to them?”
“They got away. I don’t know how you managed to injure that monster, but even wounded and carrying the woman, he managed to lose all my knights.”
As far as Laika knew, Jin was a 5-star. On the other hand, Kuzan was an opponent his knights couldn't handle even when wounded.
Even if Young Master Jin’s skills reached 6-star after the recent announcements, it should be impossible for him to go toe-to-toe with that man.
Because of this, the Prince suspected someone else must have been at the scene.
“First, I must offer my thanks, Prince Laika.”
“It is only natural for the knights of Huphester to rescue a Runcandel in peril. Even if you are a reserve flagbearer…”
“If you’re thinking of informing the main house about this…”
Jin met Laika’s gaze.
“Ah, I have no intention of doing that. I have a feeling I’d be killed if I did. You haven’t been a reserve flagbearer for long, yet it seems you’ve already built quite a formidable following, Young Master.”
“Pardon?”
“As soon as we brought your unconscious self here, some incredibly powerful individuals began scouring Eastern Delki as if searching for a lost needle. I felt that if I acted carelessly just because you’re a reserve flagbearer, my head might end up on a platter.”
Jin didn't answer, offering only an awkward smile.
Were my comrades from Tikan looking for me? For Prince Laika to take such a humble stance… I feel terrible for both my comrades and the Prince.
“I apologize, Prince Laika. I’ve caused you trouble.”
“Not at all, Young Master. Considering the circumstances, I will keep this matter strictly confidential.”
The true masters of the Huphester Alliance were the Runcandels.
Even if Laika was royalty, he could never stand on higher ground than Jin.
“In exchange, please grant me one favor once you become an official flagbearer. I believe I’ve earned at least that much, haven’t I? I saved your life and handled this with the utmost discretion.”
From his tone, Jin could read Laika’s mind.
The reason he wasn't trying to use Jin’s predicament against him wasn't just because he feared the powerful people searching for Jin.
“There is something you want from me. Speak, Prince Laika.”
“When you become a flagbearer, please dispatch more Guardian Knights to our Delki Kingdom. And please return a small portion of the shares the Runcandels hold in the Delki gold mines.”
At that, Jin smiled.
“You’ve appraised my life quite cheaply. When I become a flagbearer, I will return all shares of the Delki gold mines owned by the Runcandels. I will also dispatch double the current number of Guardian Knights. Give me a piece of paper; I will put it in writing.”
Prince Laika’s eyes sparkled.
“C-can you really… do that much for me?”
“In the future, there will be nothing in Huphester that I cannot do.”
After Jin finished writing the contract and left the villa, Laika couldn't help but shudder with joy for a long time.
What a windfall! Thanks to a serial killer, I’ve made a proper connection with the rising star of the Runcandels. To think he’d even write a contract like this… Heaven must be looking down on our Delki!
* * *
“Young Master!”
“Kid!”
Gilly, Murakan, and the rest of his comrades jumped up to greet the returning Jin.
“How long has it been since that chaos in Colon? How can you scare me like this again, Young Master! If something were to happen to you… For the hours until your safety was confirmed, this nanny felt like she was in hell.”
“What were you thinking, fighting an 8-star knight and a mage alone? Are you getting so strong so fast that you've lost all sense of fear? I heard that if it weren't for the Prince of Delki, you would've died.”
“Young Master, you don’t know how worried everyone was. As soon as Jet returned alone, even Lady Quicantel went to Delki in disguise to search for you.”
At the mention of Quicantel taking action, Jin immediately understood why Laika had said he felt like he’d be killed if he tried to threaten him.
“I'm sorry, everyone. I won't do it again. But I felt that if I lost Den there, I would never find information about Taimun. Besides, it seemed impossible to escape from them.”
“Aigo, aigo! My lord! You've returned!”
Jet’s face was so swollen from the beating he’d taken for abandoning Jin that it made the perfectly fine Jin feel embarrassed just looking at him.
“Jet, I assume you managed to secure Den?”
“My lord, I completed your order, determined to get that man to Tikan even if it cost me my life. Den and his daughter are safe! I secured them at the risk of my own life!”
“Well done!”
Jin shouted, grabbing Jet’s shoulder. After all that trouble, if Jet had lost or failed to protect Den, everything would have been for naught.
“No matter how much I explained that fleeing was an order… Ugh, they beat me so much!”
“Yes, yes. You worked hard. Did Den Marius say anything while I was away?”
“Nothing, Young Master,” Casimir replied. “He said he wouldn’t say a word until you arrived. And I apologize. My intelligence was lacking, and I failed to realize there were twelve Mariuses, nearly putting you in grave danger…”
“Don't say that, Sir Casimir. Please bring Den to me.”
A moment later, Den was brought in. He couldn't even meet Jin’s eyes, while everyone else glared at him as if they wanted to kill him.
“Now. No more long explanations are needed, Den Marius. I nearly lost my life trying to save you and your daughter. It's your turn to pay up.”
“D-did Beris and Kuzan… die?”
“They didn't. What on earth are they? Unlike your other brothers, they were the real deal.”
Den, who had been trembling, met Jin’s eyes as if he had made up his mind.
“…Beris and Kuzan are hounds who continued to receive training, unlike us, even after the Moon's Sacrifice was shut down.”
“Who trained them?”
“Taimun Marius… the one currently serving as a nanny in the Runcandel main house. She raised them personally.”
Gilly gasped, covering her mouth.
She knew nothing of the details regarding the curse, but the fact that Taimun had raised Kuzan and Beris was shocking enough.
According to Den, the ones who attacked Jin were Taimun’s subordinates. And it was absolutely unthinkable for a vassal of the Runcandels—or their subordinates—to attack a Runcandel.
It was high treason.
If the family found out, not only Taimun but everyone even slightly associated with her would be purged. Even other Runcandel servants who were merely close to her would be killed, down to the last person.
“So, ‘that person.’ Your other brother, Tagan Marius, also mentioned ‘that person.’ I assume that person is Taimun?”
“Tagan… Was he also eliminated by Beris and Kuzan like our other brothers? I haven't heard from him in a long time, not since he left Delki.”
“No. I killed Tagan.”
“Pardon…?”
“Tagan went by the name Alu. Before he died by my hand, he said ‘that person’ had failed once but would eventually kill me. But Den Marius, my name is Jin Runcandel.”
“Ah…”
“If the person Tagan spoke of is also Taimun, it means she was trying to kill a Runcandel.”
This time, Jet’s eyes went wide. He had only just learned that Jin was a Runcandel.
My lord was a Ru-Runcandel? He almost blurted it out but fortunately managed to keep his mouth shut.
“W-wait a moment. Did Tagan really say that before he died?”
“Yes. That's why I traced his past, which led me to the name Marius and the Moon's Sacrifice. And when I went looking for you all, you were being murdered by Beris and Kuzan. You were just lucky I found you before they could finish the job.”
As Jin explained the chain of events in detail, Den’s breathing hitched, his face a mask of confusion.
“…Now I understand a little. Why Beris and Kuzan were eliminating our brothers. About fifteen years ago, when Tagan was leaving Delki, he told me something.”
Jin’s eyes glinted with interest.
“What did he say?”
“He said Lady Taimun had made some kind of deal with a high-ranking member of the Runcandel Clan. He told me to be careful because if things went wrong, all the brothers might die. He probably told me out of some lingering affection.”
“Did you hear what that deal was?”
“I didn't hear the details. After the Moon's Sacrifice was closed, the rest of us, including me, were already like discarded pawns. Only Tagan would occasionally take the young Kuzan and Beris to meet Lady Taimun.”
“According to you, Tagan was Taimun’s right hand, then? At least during that period.”
“Yes… that's correct.”
There was no more information to be gained from Den.
Now, it was time to meet Taimun Marius.