Chapter 139
Chapter 139
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 139
>Chapter Title: Today, Even with a Mouth
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After all the talk had wrapped up.
On the ruins of Flick Mountain.
Sion sat before the empty campfire, silently staring into the flickering flames.
Aster and his group had long since descended the mountain.
“……”
After gazing at the fire with burning eyes for a long while, Sion suddenly spoke.
“……What do you think?”
“About what, exactly?”
“About Decullan being involved in the fall of the Empir House.”
“That’s……”
Zeke trailed off, gathering his thoughts.
In truth, the fall of the Empir House remained shrouded in suspicion even now.
What kind of family was the Empir House?
They were proudly the top among Lortel’s vassal families.
Yet, that mighty house had crumbled overnight, so to speak.
The patriarch’s illness, the young patriarch’s sudden death. The bloodline members dying one after another until they lost their center and scattered.
It was too vicious to chalk up to coincidence.
“There have been suspicions raised multiple times…… Though not pointing to Decullan specifically—just that there must have been some schemer behind it.”
“So Decullan was never named?”
“Yes. And without solid evidence……”
“Nothing changes?”
“……Yes.”
Zeke bowed his head apologetically. But Sion seemed to think differently.
“Why wouldn’t there be evidence? We’ve got the Eight Elders.”
“But……! That’s not confirmed yet either.”
“Even without the Eight Elders, it’s not like there are zero ways.”
“You don’t mean……”
Zeke’s voice trembled at Sion’s words, sensing an inexplicable unease.
“You’re not thinking of actually trying what they suggested, are you?”
“……And if I am?”
“It could be a divide-and-conquer ploy.”
“Hmm.”
Sion said no more, falling silent again.
Crackle, pop.
A quiet hush settled by the dying campfire. Against that backdrop, Sion recalled the earlier conversation.
- There’s no evidence right now that Decullan was involved in Empir’s fall. The Eight Elders? Same story. No way he’d leave that kind of info behind, and even if he did, we wouldn’t find it.
Which meant no pretext.
And Decullan were snakes who twisted that “pretext” to their liking.
Probe clumsily, and you might end up the one in trouble.
But that mysterious mage had laid it out.
- First, announce it publicly. ‘We’ve uncovered the schemer behind Empir.’ But don’t target ‘Decullan’ right away.
- What’s the point?
- Just announcing it does nothing. You have to back it up with action. So……
Show them ‘I know it’s you’ without giving them room to argue?
He’d even kindly given examples.
- Plenty of ways. Move troops…… Nah, too blatant. Better idea—how about this?
- ……Send the Ten Swords on a stroll through Decullan territory? Ha!
Clever indeed.
More direct than troops, but the Ten Swords were still ‘individuals.’
Their power rivaled legions, but technically, they weren’t an army.
The perfect way to suppress Decullan backlash while applying pressure.
And what else had he said?
“Even that alone will make Decullan flinch and squirm……”
Sion murmured softly when Zeke cut in.
“Too sloppy.”
“Sloppy?”
“Yes. Decullan are meticulous. For them to fall for such a probing move……”
“Impossible?”
“Yes.”
Sion nodded at Zeke’s firm reply.
Right, he had a point.
“Decullan are meticulous…… and of course, they wouldn’t leave a trail. But Zeke.”
“Yes, Young Patriarch.”
Zeke listened intently.
“Didn’t you hear? Precisely because they’re so meticulous, stepping out like this forces their hand.”
“That’s……”
“And we’re Lortel, after all. If Decullan twists pretext like snakes, we follow it straight and true. But……”
Sion paused to collect his thoughts before continuing.
“If we move so directly, what do you think Decullan will make of it? Can they just stand there smugly with arms crossed? I don’t think so.”
Decullan would panic.
Lortel moving in earnest meant they had the pretext for it.
This was……
Lortel.
The reputation built by a house of knights.
“Unlike Decullan, we’ve stuck to our principles, so it’s worth a shot.”
“……”
Zeke had no rebuttal.
He couldn’t—Sion was right.
Lortel, who followed duty and pretext with dogged honor unlike other noble houses.
Who in the world would question Lortel’s steps?
‘No—even if the whole world did, Decullan couldn’t.’
So how would they react?
Easy to predict.
‘Given Decullan’s nature…… They’d first punish those involved back then.’
Root out the traitors.
But if no clear guilt surfaced…… They’d turn outward.
Wondering if they’d missed something.
What exactly did Lortel know?
Still, Zeke had one lingering doubt.
“I get it—you shake Decullan to find evidence. But if none turns up……”
“My face gets red, end of story. What do we lose? We’re not singling out Decullan anyway.”
“But…… Isn’t it unproven that Decullan were the schemers behind Empir’s fall?”
“Of course we won’t move rashly. We’ll do our own digging first.”
“Digging……”
“We’ve got the Eight Elders, don’t we?”
Zeke was speechless at the Young Patriarch’s flippant tone.
A Young Patriarch’s dignity carried weight beyond a commoner’s—and this felt utterly irresponsible by comparison!
But Sion hadn’t revealed everything to Zeke.
‘You don’t know this, but…… Fabricating evidence isn’t Decullan’s exclusive trick.’
An honorable knightly house? Hardly pure.
Decullan’s villainy was just more vile and hidden, but every noble house harbored filthy sewers.
Lortel, Blandoga, Dinai, Doranpega—all the same.
What set Lortel apart was one thing.
‘……All the sins are borne by the bloodline.’
They didn’t dirty their hands directly, but every choice and consequence fell solely on the bloodline.
The sacred duty of those born to Lortel’s noblest lineage.
A fact even the Ten Swords didn’t know.
Some among them might, but not heaven-sent warriors like the Third Sword.
Anyway.
‘If we decide to strike…… We strike. That’s it.’
Even in the worst case—Empir’s fall not being Decullan—they didn’t care.
Decullan colluding with the Eight Elders was fact, and once resolved, they’d tie it together somehow.
And moreover……
Sion turned to Zeke, who gaped in bewilderment.
“I don’t buy the divide-and-conquer angle either.”
“……?”
Zeke blinked in unfamiliar surprise at Sion’s conviction.
Bizarre.
The Young Patriarch…… trusting a mage, a breed he despised?
‘Did he see something I missed?’
“Curious, huh?”
“Yes, why do you think that……”
“Hmm. Not really logical, funnily enough. Just……”
Sion narrowed his eyes, sifting through memories.
His gaze swept where Aster had sat moments ago.
How to describe Aster’s eyes, lit by the campfire?
“Malice.”
“Pardon?”
“Thick malice. Deep…… sticky malice.”
Sion had felt it clearly.
The dark, profound malice in those eyes. Directed straight at Decullan.
More convincing than any proof, it gave Sion ironclad faith.
‘But this……’
Mid-thought, Sion burst out laughing. “Pfft!”
“……Young Patriarch?”
“Hah, hahaha. No, it’s just funny.”
“What’s so amusing……”
“Think about it. That mage’s plan. Doesn’t it scream ‘someone specific’?”
“‘Someone specific’……”
“One group comes to mind. The snakiest, most insidious. Still not ringing a bell?”
“……?”
“Decullan. Decullan.”
“……Ah.”
Zeke finally got it and let out a quiet sigh.
Hearing it laid out, the Young Patriarch was spot on.
The scheme—twisting circumstance, trends, pretext to their taste…… It matched Decullan perfectly!
That’s why Sion laughed.
“Imagine. Decullan hoisted by their own petard.”
“……Ah.”
“Isn’t that hilarious alone? Think—Decullan’s temperament. Even without proof, would they let it slide?”
“……They’d purge every suspicious element.”
“Right. Just shaking them has value.”
Decullan, undone by their own methods, carving out their own flesh.
How could he not laugh at the vivid image!
Sion threw his head back, laughing long and loud, echoing across Flick Mountain.
‘Well, that’s assuming Decullan were behind Empir’s fall……’
If that mage was right, it’d be a riot.
After the laughter subsided.
“First, check the location on this note.”
Sion handed Zeke the paper from Aster.
[Kuhullon Territory, Rizn Smithy, Underground Warehouse.]
- The smithy owner doesn’t know about the underground warehouse. Find and secure it discreetly.
Where the magic armor Kallium was hidden.
“How long?”
“Our house knights dispatched to Kuhullon are there now.”
“If we hurry, before dawn?”
“Yes.”
“Do it. Once confirmed, prepare to hand over the Infinite Chain. Empir needs checking, but Kallium alone covers the Chain’s price.”
“……Yes, understood.”
“And the Decullan deal……”
The trade deadline loomed.
In this mess, cancellation was inevitable.
But delay or cancel outright? Would Decullan just nod meekly?
No—they’d poke around.
‘First…… Consult Father.’
“Alright, up we go.”
Sion rose, thoughts settled.
The campfire had died down.
Unlike the weakly flickering flames, Sion’s eyes blazed brighter than ever.
‘Opening salvo…… Right, the Eight Elders.’
Plausible pretext.
Punishing the traitor who colluded with Decullan to topple Empir.
That’s how it’d be framed. Not framing—truth, or made so.
But the cold glint in his eyes faded soon enough.
Sion froze mid-step. Zeke spoke up.
“Not going?”
“Uh…… Need some more air.”
“……?”
“Go ahead. I’ll follow.”
He was still confined—couldn’t enter the main gate with Zeke.
Nor reveal the secret passage here.
“……Young Patriarch?”
Sion coughed awkwardly at Zeke’s narrowed gaze.
Thoroughly awkward.
* * *
Meanwhile, back at the inn, Aster faced his own awkward mess.
“You scheming bastard.”
“……”
Shine’s eyes blazed red. Sharp.
“You scheming bastard. Are your ears clogged?”
The fierce aura made even guiltless Parun avert his eyes, but Aster closed his calmly.
“My ears aren’t clogged. Ears aren’t food.”
“Then is that loose mouth finally shut?”
“……No. It’s not, or we wouldn’t be talking.”
“Then your brain’s gone rotten for sure.”
“…….”
Aster, ever quick with retorts, had none this time.
Instead, he mumbled in a creeping whisper.
“……If I say I straight-up forgot, will you buy it?”
“Forgot? You? Forget something? You, obsessive, petty, and timid—do you ever forget anything?”
He did.
He remembered grudges obsessively, but not favors.
But Aster couldn’t voice that.
Because……
What he’d forgotten was, in a way, a favor from Shine. Forgetting the payback.
So, what exactly?
“……The Sword God’s Tomb! Didn’t I tell you over and over? My goal this trip was the Sword God’s Tomb!”
Right—the Sword God’s Tomb.
Shine’s sole reason for joining the Lortel trip!
Aster had blanked on it until the Young Patriarch chat ended.
Ten mouths wouldn’t help.
He’d be no human if he had words.
Aster clamped his lips, then opened them.
“But you didn’t really do much……”
“What, you fucker?”
“……Never mind. Sorry.”
Today, even with a mouth, he had nothing to say.