Chapter 102
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 102
Chapter Title: Royal Palace (5)
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“Anyway, that's how the rewards will be handled, so keep that in mind. Three days from now, follow the guide to receive them. Eternity wouldn't welcome tedious procedures, so we'll skip those. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.”
The conversation was moving at such a breakneck pace that I felt utterly bewildered.
Naturally, doubts about the reward's scale left me no choice but to speak up.
“Ah... Your Majesty, I do have a question. It's about the reward—I'm a bit puzzled after hearing the details.”
“Hm... Just to check, you didn't hear anything from Secretary Rayhakter?”
“Pardon...?”
His words prompted me to rack my brain, but I had no recollection of Rayhakter mentioning the rewards.
“No... I wasn't informed about the rewards.”
Hearing my response, the king pressed a hand to his forehead, squeezed his eyes shut, and let out a deep sigh.
“Hoo... That guy again...!”
“......”
Confused and at a loss, my companions and I just stared as the king slowly explained.
“It seems... the message didn't get through properly. As for the rewards, we originally planned to give you one item from the treasure vault.”
Originally?
“However... after the lawless spy hunt last time and discussions with the Myth Clan's master this time, we decided to offer more.”
I was taken aback by the king's words. I couldn't fathom why the Myth Clan was suddenly popping up here.
Seo Yu-ju seemed equally baffled.
“...The Myth Clan?”
“Hm...”
To her question, the king made a slightly awkward face before speaking.
“I can't go into details, but the Myth Clan recently did something helpful for the palace. That said, their master insisted all the credit goes to Eternity Clan's Lee Yun-seong.”
...Yeon-noona? What the hell did she do?
I was completely in the dark about what Yeon-noona had done for the palace and why it was credited to me.
“The Myth Clan's master is staying at the palace right now, so he'll have a guide take him somewhere after this meeting.”
“...Your Majesty, where is Yun-seong headed? What on earth...”
“Sorry, Eternity Clan's master—this is something I can't share with you. It's not top secret, but it's still confidential and tied to matters involving the Myth Clan's master, who specifically requested to see him alone.”
I was stunned, but Seo Yu-ju looked even more flabbergasted.
She held back since her conversation partner was the king, but I could tell she was anxious about some undisclosed matter involving me.
“That wraps up our talk, so let's end it here. Thank you all for resolving this incident.”
As soon as the audience with the king ended and we stepped out, Seo Yu-ju approached me.
“Yun-seong, what the heck is going on? What's with the Myth Clan...”
But a maid's words cut her off.
“Lee Yun-seong, I'll guide you. Please follow me.”
“W-wait a moment. I need to talk to Yun-seong...”
“Yu-ju, I'll explain after. I don't know the full story myself—I need to go find out.”
“Ah...”
I was just as clueless about how this was unfolding, so I had nothing to tell her.
The maid led me to another guest room, in a different wing from where we were staying.
“Enter here. Once you've spoken fully with the person inside, let me know, and I'll guide you to your destination.”
“Ah... Yes. Thank you.”
Creeeak—
“Long time no see.”
“...Myth Clan Master.”
Inside, Yun Yeon sat in a chair.
“Why so formal again? Call me noona, like I told you. You did it fine last time.”
“...Got it. Anyway... why are you at the palace, Yeon-noona?”
“Straight to business? I'm a little hurt.”
“Cut the joking—what's going on? I'm pretty confused here.”
“Hm... Honestly, I'm sorry to you. I should've consulted you first, but I ended up coming to the palace before we could talk.”
“About what...”
“Sit down first. I'll explain slowly.”
“...Okay.”
I sat as she suggested, and she continued.
“You probably got some generous rewards, right? My influence played a part in that.”
“...The spy hunt—you told the king?”
Earlier, during our talk, the king had mentioned the lawless spy capture as a reason for extra rewards.
The announcement credited the Myth Clan. If the king knows, that means Yeon-noona informed him.
“Yeah, I did.”
“...Why?”
“I figured... it's about time Eternity Clan stepped into the spotlight.”
“Ah...”
“It was my personal call, of course... but don't you think it's time to show some power? I know you're cautious, but this was my only chance to credit your side. Once I claimed it as my achievement to the king, I couldn't take it back.”
“...I get it. But something feels off. Just the spy thing warrant extra rewards? Sure, lawless scum could turn the kingdom into Eastern Alliance territory, so I understand the palace's stance, but strictly speaking, the lawless are outsiders' business.”
From the kingdom's view, lawless issues naturally mattered. But they were made up of foreigners, so at root, it was tangled with outsider problems.
In other words, the palace had no real obligation to boost rewards over that.
“Right. That's not the only reason. It had some impact, but not decisive.”
“Then...”
“The key was Sharis.”
“Ah... No way...?”
“Sharis is locked in the palace dungeon right now. Get it now?”
Only then did the full picture click.
Yeon-noona uncovered and captured Sharis. With the palace's help...
“The info came from our deal, and I considered claiming it as my merit at first, but that felt wrong.”
“.....”
“Myth Clan and Eternity are allies, right? That deal where I promised one favor basically became meaningless after the alliance.”
We'd traded Sharis's info before allying with Myth Clan.
Alliance meant mutual aid in crises was expected, nullifying that prior favor for me.
Yeon-noona knew that and shifted the credit here.
Not all of it, but close to half—enough that the palace had to reward me or my clan too.
“I get it. I felt like something was weird... so that's the backstory.”
“That's how it went. Oh, and I called you here alone because... well, your unique trait uncovered it...”
“Thanks for considering that.”
“No problem... Anyway, Sharis is a native, and since she's one, the palace is pursuing her group. They couldn't not reward you or me.”
“...What about Sharis? If she's in the dungeon... have they finished interrogating her?”
“Ah... Well...”
“....?”
“I don't even know how to put this. She spilled everything before they could interrogate her... We need to verify, but both I and the palace were floored.”
“....She spilled everything just like that?”
Her words left me dumbfounded. Even if Sharis had quit her activities, confessing pre-interrogation was bizarre.
“Felt like total resignation. Anyway, you need to come to the dungeon with me since you're involved.”
...Dungeon. Didn't expect this.
When I sold Sharis's info to Yeon-noona, I'd hoped she'd handle her personally, but not like this—tying into the palace.
The king drawing a line with Seo Yu-ju was likely due to Sharis's group. Per Yeon-noona, the palace was watching them closely.
“...One thing I'm curious about.”
“What?”
“The Border Marquis? If Sharis is caught, he'd know too.”
“Of course. That's why he's at the palace now.”
“Ha...”
It felt like things were snowballing.
What kind of mess is this...
I'd thought it'd end with clean rewards, but everything was twisting strangely.
“Don't worry too much. Things got complicated, sure, but if you play it right, it's a win. No one from the palace or marquis will blame you.”
“...True. That's not my worry. I just... planned to grab the rewards and head home clean.”
She scratched her head, looking sheepish.
“Hm... Did I overstep?”
Her face showed genuine apology. She'd meant to help, but sensed my annoyance.
“...No. Like you said, I was planning to step up anyway. Just... the suddenness is tiring.”
“Good, then. Oh yeah, I heard you pulled off a big one this time.”
“......”
Having stayed at the palace, word had reached her ears.
She grinned mischievously.
“Nabbed a drug trafficker, huh? Impressive skills. Handling the shadows too.”
“....You know my trait. All thanks to it.”
“Even good abilities depend on the user, right?”
Her praise made me want to change the subject.
Conveniently, I had a question for her.
“...Anyway, thinking about it—you're from the Eastern Alliance, right?”
“Yeah. Why?”
My sudden pivot puzzled her.
She doesn't know the drug ring ties to the Eastern Alliance yet?
I'd planned to ask her or Wei Ho-yeon anyway.
“Do you... know a woman named Yanagiya Riki?”