#112

When Cullen returned to the lodging, everyone was already gathered in Ulli’s room, which was the largest. Ulli and Arne were even still in the outfits they had chosen for their disguise. From a distance, they really did look like a married couple.

“Did everyone have a good time?”

Lasano answered.

“We did. I felt like my soul was drying up trying to match Kiyen’s sensitive temper. How will you compensate me for this damage, Cullen?”

Kiyen, with an openly displeased expression, occupied the single bed. His long legs dangled off the side of the bed as he looked at Cullen askance, propping his chin up. Lasano dared to point at him.

“You treated me worse than a slave. I don’t know how you could think of leaving us alone.”

“Wow, I guess we did well to go out.”

Ulli whispered to Arne so that everyone could hear. Cullen placed his longsword down and slowly went to Kiyen. Glancing around, he sat down on the edge of Kiyen’s bed. Kiyen looked up at him with a sharp gaze.

“You’re quite early. I had to restrain myself from killing that High Priest.”

“You know I did my best, right?”

Lasano made an exhausted expression. Arne, sensing the mood, quickly ran to the next room. He was probably going to get something.

“You don’t do anything properly. You can’t even fan properly, and when I asked you to fetch fallen flowers, you brought back weeds.”

Upon hearing this, it seemed like Kiyen didn’t really need those tasks done. It felt like Kiyen had just sent Lasano out because he didn’t like him.

“I can’t go out because I can’t be seen! How could I do something like that!”

As Lasano continued to complain, Cullen leaned towards Kiyen and spoke softly into his ear.

“Were you very bored? I apologize.”

“Next time, don’t even think about going out alone.”

Kiyen said coldly, as if he truly disliked it. His voice was scary, but strangely, he seemed sulky. Was he mistaken?

“I will be sure to stay with you at night.”

Kiyen raised his gaze. His long eyelashes curled softly.

“You should.”

How cute.

Cullen thought so and smiled. As they were close enough for a kiss to not be strange, Ulli interjected.

“Hey, stop the romance and let’s talk about what happened to us.”

“Ulli, you go first.”

Cullen said, still standing close to Kiyen. After a moment of thought, he reached out and touched Kiyen’s fine hair. The long strands scattered softly through his palm. It was soft and silky. Kiyen glanced at him and let him be.

“First, I spent 300 Luna of the money we had.”

Cullen remained silent. The room was quiet for a moment.

“He’s not an informant, but I found someone who tells me similar things, and he was asking a really high price.”

While Ulli was asserting her justification, Arne returned. He entered precisely at the moment those words were spoken, holding a pile of sweets and making excuses. Cullen stared at him.

“I, I tried to tell him it was too expensive…”

When Cullen turned his gaze back to Ulli, she put her hands on her hips and spoke confidently.

“Anyway, I got something out of it, right? I heard it and it doesn’t seem like he just made up nonsense!”

“I hope so. We don’t have much budget left. We still have a long way to go to the East.”

“What kind of royalty is so stingy…”

Ulli muttered within earshot and continued.

“They say many people in black robes have been frequenting Duke Renon’s side for a very long time. Everyone who’s been poking around here has seen them at least once or twice, they appear that often.”

“And he always recruits and trains many knights. They say the knights are treated very well in the Duchy.”

Arne quickly chimed in to emphasize that it was truly necessary information. To think the Imperial Family didn’t know about something so old… It seemed they barely paid attention to anything outside the Imperial Palace and Dragons.

“Does anyone know exactly when this started? Do they wear masks? Did anyone remember their appearance?”

As Cullen showed clear interest, Ulli became more confident, as if to say, ‘See?’

“Of course! I asked.”

“First, everyone said they’d never seen masks, but they all wore robes with black hoods, so no one remembered their appearance. But after the wanted posters went up, the people wearing hoods completely disappeared.”

“The current atmosphere seems to be that anyone whose face can’t be seen is automatically treated as a criminal.”

Cullen slightly furrowed his brow. He still couldn’t figure out exactly what Zarkas wanted.

For now, let’s assume they are aiming for the throne and the Empire, and plan to overthrow the Imperial Palace. If so, are they trying to keep Cullen and his companions here somehow, and in the meantime, capture the Imperial Palace?

But they have Kiyen. Everyone knows Kiyen is stronger than anyone. Why would they put out a bounty to interfere and sacrifice so many people? They wouldn’t have ordered such a thing in the first place, but they must know that if Kiyen manifested in his true form, he could kill everyone in a very short time. Especially Duke Renon.

“I don’t know the timeframe. Everyone said they didn’t know that far.”

“Ah, I heard! I asked the old woman at the stall where I went to buy molasses cookies.”

Kiyen asked about the price.

“How much did you give?”

“2 siluna. But I bought a lot, a whole lot!”

At that, everyone looked at Ulli.

“Couldn’t you have found out for 2 siluna?”

Kiyen made a sharp observation.

“What, Arne? When did you do that behind my back!”

“Ulli-nim wanted to eat something sweet…”

Arne replied steadfastly. Although he couldn’t dare to look at Ulli and was intimidated, he was still confident. Cullen urged him.

“When did it start?”

“It was a very long time ago, around before they became adults. Back then, something big happened in the neighboring duchy and it was resolved, so it was quite chaotic, I heard. It was when the territory was expanding, so even if strangers appeared here and there, everyone just accepted it.”

Cullen squinted. The neighboring duchy would be the Duchy of Jenix.

“Do you know the old woman’s age?”

“I was hit with a cane when I asked.”

Arne said, rubbing his head with a tearful face.

“You went to buy sweets without me and got punished.”

“I was just running an errand… Anyway, she looked at least 60 years old. Maybe older.”

The timing was roughly similar. Kiyen said then.

“Ultimately, the Eastern Army.”

As everyone turned to look, Kiyen continued calmly.

“The Artifact is heading east, and Akesis’s items also flowed from the east. They also said there’s a Dark Island beyond that sea.”

Cullen agreed. The East held Cullen’s worst memories. He had gone to the easternmost edge chasing the traces of black knights then, and lost all his companions. Even though it was etched in his mind, it hadn’t connected until now. Cullen fell silent, then spoke.

“I believe what Kiyen-nim says is correct. I also saw knights in black cloaks in the East. I didn’t see masks, but all sorts of strange Demonic Beasts appeared in that vicinity. I lost my companions while chasing the knights there.”

For the first time, truly the first time, Cullen spoke to others about the loss of his companions. Gael or the mercenaries might have heard rumors, but he had never intended to tell his companions the details.

Though his words were brief, his heart instantly grew heavy. Scenes, unwanted, surged like flames. Precious people dying, Gael who was more fatherly than his father, blood and fire…

His expression vanished. Cullen closed his mouth.

At the mention of losing companions, Arne looked flustered. Ulli also cautiously observed his demeanor. Silence spread for a moment.

Cullen, not knowing how to break such a mood, also kept his mouth shut. Just as he was about to say something, he felt a sensation on his thigh. Startled, he looked down to see Kiyen.

Kiyen had laid his head on Cullen’s thigh. He looked up at Cullen with his pale face. Cullen blinked at the beautiful sight, formed by slender yet sharp lines.

“My condolences.”

Kiyen said in a very dry voice, but it was an unexpected statement. Cullen’s chest tightened. He remembered Gale, and how Kiyen had held his hand whenever he felt shaken, and since then, Cullen had received unspoken comfort from him.

“My condolences, Cullen.”

“We will all be safe, Cullen-nim.”

Arne and Ulli also spoke cautiously then. Lasano added.

“Now that I’m here, it will be fine. I am competent.”

As the atmosphere lightened, Cullen slightly furrowed his brow. It was awkward and embarrassing. The words ‘Thank you’ came out only as lip movements. Kiyen stared at them intently, then shifted his body slightly. Kiyen’s cheek touched Cullen’s thigh. Cullen flinched. It was an overly intimate gesture.

Unaware of Cullen’s feelings, Kiyen comfortably lay down, using him as a pillow, and gestured.

“So, now tell us what you found out.”

“Ah, right. Why did it take so long?”

Ulli quickly chimed in. Cullen nodded with a much lighter heart.

“I didn’t find an informant, but I found a suspicious place. I don’t know exactly who manages it, but it was definitely Zarkas.”

“Why?”

In response to Kiyen’s question, Cullen recalled the green-haired woman.

“It was a place with many skilled individuals. I snuck in and overheard a conversation with someone who seemed to be the leader. It went like this: ‘He will surely know where the third Artifact is, so there isn’t much time. If Lord Yurisis is displeased, then everyone is as good as dead.’”

Cullen watched Lasano as he said this. Especially when the name Yurisis was mentioned.

Kiyen had said it was better to suspect Lasano than to trust him. While Cullen didn’t agree, if Lasano was involved in other matters, he was likely Zarkas. He hoped not, but just in case.

Lasano’s expression remained unchanged. He merely made a sound of acknowledgment and listened intently.

“They know about the Artifact? Then it must be Zarkas. We all heard that word for the first time this time.”

“That’s right. And ‘he’… I think it might be my teacher.”

Arne became serious. Only after hearing Cullen’s words did he seem to realize his teacher was in danger. Kiyen was silent for a moment, then asked.

“Did you see anyone named Yurisis?”

“It didn’t seem like anyone was there.”

“I’ve never heard that name before.”

“Kiyen-nim doesn’t really memorize names, so that might be the case.”

Then Kiyen shook his head.

“That’s impossible. It’s true I don’t pay attention intentionally, but a name that has brushed past me once will remain within me. Moreover, I cannot not know someone with a four-character name.”

Ah.

Something he hadn’t considered suddenly came to mind. A four-character name was permitted only to royalty.