The Unexpected Invitation
“Anyway… there’s a limit to how thoughtlessly you can run your mouth.”
That damn mouth of hers.
Raven had no idea what his master would think upon hearing it. From the brief moment they had faced each other, he suspected the man would simply feel guilty, so it probably wouldn’t become a serious problem…
‘But did he actually hear it?’
Hwan glanced toward his master.
The man stood there, eyes fixed solely on his disciple as though nothing else in the world mattered.
While Hwan studied Raven’s mood, Liv—who had been perched on Raven’s arm, one hand resting on his shoulder—blinked, trying to parse the meaning of the words.
“Injured…?”
Her master was hurt? Wasn’t that monster blood? He had moved so normally that she’d assumed it was nothing serious…
…Wait. Now that she thought about it, his back had felt damp when he carried her.
“Master!”
So all of this was because of his wounds?!
Only now realizing the true nature of the blood soaking her hands, Liv’s face went pale as she cried out.
“Put me down!”
“Careful, you’ll fall.”
Who cared about falling right now?!
A drop from this height would only hurt a little—she wouldn’t die. What mattered was his condition. Carrying a grown adult in this state? Was he insane?
Liv stared at him in disbelief as he carefully lowered her, then immediately spun him around to examine his back. Rowina and Altare’s not-quite-sparring continued nearby, but it was nothing new, so she paid it no mind.
“This is…”
Her face twisted as she took in the horrific wounds.
“…You just offered your back, didn’t you? And not once—multiple wounds of the same kind, all in the same place…”
“I’m fine.”
“It was Rowina, wasn’t it?”
“……”
A single wound could be dismissed as something sustained in battle, regardless of type. But when another was layered on top… well, it wasn’t entirely impossible.
How many wounds were now piled on her master’s back? Even an ordinary person wouldn’t end up like this unless they had thrashed and resisted. Which meant he had simply offered himself up.
Liv glared at Rowina.
“If that brat had challenged you to a fight, you would’ve subdued her before these wounds appeared, so it wasn’t that…”
“……”
“She went berserk, didn’t she?”
That was why his back looked like this.
Rowina’s berserk episodes were a unique subject that would never be absent from the journal where her master jotted down whatever came to mind.
Instead of knocking his foolish disciple unconscious, he always calmed her by offering his own blood. So this time, too, he must have refrained from resisting so she could see the blood—resulting in this.
‘Even though she knows how to control it.’
Whether from the pettiness she felt toward Rowina for deliberately going berserk, irritation surged within her.
A hand landed lightly on her head.
“Rowina.”
Raven, who had been gently soothing Liv with practiced ease, turned his head and called to his third disciple, who was still bristling with irritation. Rowina, who had been growling at Altare, immediately looked at him.
“Instead of standing there, how about we spar? It’s been a while.”
“!”
Rowina’s eyes widened.
Her mouth, which had been about to blurt out an immediate agreement, snapped shut as something occurred to her. Her orange eyes rolled as she took in Raven’s blood-soaked clothes.
She alternated between the garments that clearly revealed his serious injuries and his face, which smiled as though nothing were wrong, her lips moving soundlessly. Just as she was about to speak—
“I believe treatment should come first, Father.”
“……”
“Even I would be hurt if you made that face.”
Deceiver had appeared at some point.
A clear question—why are you here?—was written across Raven’s distorted expression. Finding it rather amusing, Deceiver chuckled and shook the herb pouch in his hand.
“I heard Master had headed for the Gate, so I came. If you closed it yourself, you must have been injured.”
Of course, he hadn’t expected the wounds to be this severe.
“Seeing as there are injuries that don’t look like they came from the Gate…”
His somewhat chilly gaze flicked toward Rowina.
She, who couldn’t possibly miss the blatant look directed at her, merely shrugged as if to say, So what? Deceiver’s eye twitched at her insolent attitude, but upon noticing Raven’s gaze fixed on him, he let out a long sigh and finished his sentence.
“It seems I came at the right time.”
“……”
“Give it here.”
The man would stubbornly hold out until he achieved his goal. He wasn’t someone who could be dealt with through force, so it would be best to take the herbs as quickly as possible and send him away.
Raven reached for the pouch in Deceiver’s hand. Deceiver lifted it high, dodging his grasp, then grinned brightly under the sharp glare aimed at him.
“There’s something I must give you first.”
“What is it.”
“An invitation.”
“An invitation…?”
An invitation, out of nowhere—what was he plotting this time?
Raven eyed the item in his hand warily, but Deceiver paid no heed. After handing invitations to his siblings, he extended one to Raven as well.
It was an action based on the assumption that if he offered the invitation to their father alone, the man would discard it without even looking.
“There will be a banquet at the imperial palace soon. It’s been a long time—why not attend?”
Originally, it had been scheduled for a month or two later, but once the association presidents had made contact with their father, there was no longer any reason to delay. He had pressured the Emperor to move it up.
“Since it’s been so long, it will be quite grand.”
Because he had ordered it to be held on a large scale.
“Envoys from other nations will likely be sent for diplomatic purposes as well.”
It was the first official imperial event in nearly nine years, and he had instructed that invitations be sent to foreign countries as well.
The Republic would definitely receive one. Whether their response was positive or negative, they would likely attend to gauge the situation.
Esperanes… it would be nice if they came, but it couldn’t be helped if they didn’t. The probability they would stay away was high.
‘Their half-god makes even me uncomfortable.’
Whether they came or not, he had no desire to provoke them, so he let it go.
In any case, he had arranged for outsiders to freely enter and exit the banquet for his father’s sake. In other words, whether it was the Emperor or some other faction’s fools, he had personally created the perfect stage for them to scheme behind the scenes.
In fact, the Emperor had already begun to move. Deceiver recalled the report he had received from Stigma.
‘He made contact with Aurell.’
It had nothing to do with their father, so he had only half-listened.
There was no need to keep watch. Whatever one insect did with another insect, the result would be the same. And even if they joined forces, could that feeble human Emperor wield that hand effectively? The half-god smiled derisively.
‘If Father weren’t someone so easily forgotten, there would have been no need to receive even such pointless reports.’
The reason he had placed surveillance in the first place was to pressure the Emperor.
The only reports of value to him were those concerning his father.
If possible, he would have preferred to receive only that information, but since the other party was human and thus inevitably forgot “Raven,” it was better to receive all reports unconditionally.
‘Does Father know how many inconveniences I’m enduring for his sake?’
Even though he detested troublesome matters, he had gone this far.
“There will be many people, and it will be quite splendid.”
So he hoped his father would come.
He turned his eyes to his siblings and smiled faintly. His father wasn’t the only one he needed to persuade.
“It will be enjoyable.”
They had to come so that their father would as well.
Turning his body slightly so it wouldn’t be visible from Raven’s line of sight, he formed a circle with his index finger and thumb, then spread two fingers.
It meant he would pay twice the amount he had provided last time.
Hwan, who saw it, smiled and tucked the invitation into his robes. Liv narrowed her eyes with interest and examined her invitation closely. Altare silently slipped his into his pocket, yet couldn’t hide the incredulous look he directed at Deceiver.
And for good reason.
‘The very person who had been the cause of no events being held at the imperial palace all this time.’
The Emperor hadn’t been able to hold banquets because he had to watch the half-god’s mood. For nine whole years, at that.
Now they knew the reason was that he couldn’t find their master, but back then, they had wondered why his personality had become so broken.
And yet he could so casually say “since it’s been a long time.”
Altare had been about to say something when Rowina, who had been alternating glances between Raven and the invitation, suddenly spoke up.
“Master.”
“Hm?”
“Teach me how to dance.”
Every gaze except Raven’s turned to Rowina in disbelief.
“I’m not very good at dancing. I want to dance impressively at the banquet too.”
She had been an excellent dancer.
She had attended various events as association president—there was no way she couldn’t dance. Especially in the early days before she had secured her position, she had been looked down upon for the smallest things, so she had gritted her teeth and mastered it.
“Hm? Master~.”
It was truly a ridiculous act.
But Raven, who had no way of knowing the truth, wore a troubled expression as he pondered for a moment before giving a conditional answer.
“As long as you don’t ask for anything more.”
Such as demanding he attend the banquet with her as a partner in exchange for learning well.
He didn’t particularly like places of social exchange. Or rather, he liked them while also avoiding them.
Even if he conversed with countless people and built connections like any ordinary person who was remembered normally, the moment he turned away, most of them would forget him, like a dream in the middle of the night. It was quite a suffocating experience.
The exchange itself was enjoyable, but the aftermath left one feeling so lonely it made one shudder.
“Got it.”
Rowina, who had been studying him, nodded calmly.
“Just teach me to dance.”
“……Alright.”
Raven agreed readily.
Rowina’s face brightened at having received the answer she wanted—it was rather cute. So when she rushed forward and threw herself into his arms, he caught her with a smile.
“Master…! Let’s get married after all!”
“Cough!”
“I’ll make you happy. I have a lot of money.”
“No, child……”
He expressed his reluctance at the marriage proposal that followed.
[Guardian Spirit ??? says he is fine—]