#113

Since it was a name format he had no contact with before entering the palace, he hadn’t thought about it for a moment. Kiyen said with a displeased expression.

“This person is likely the central figure.”

Ulli also asked, surprised.

“If it’s a four-character name, then yes, it is. Only royalty can have such a name…?”

Cullen nodded. It could be a surname, but whatever it was, it meant there had to be nobles and royalty with such surnames or names.

“But Cullen-nim, your name is also two characters. Perhaps it’s not necessarily royalty?”

Arne offered a different opinion. Silence fell at his words. Regardless of his identity, his name implied rebellion. It meant he was using an unauthorized four-character name.

However, there was nothing more they could find out here.

“For now, it’s highly probable that someone named Yurisis is in this city. They seemed to want a quick report. And if this is Zarkas’s base, it’s only natural.”

“Will my teacher be safe? What if they are being tortured…”

Arne, starting to grasp the reality, asked with a pale face. Cullen remained silent. It was highly probable they were being tortured.

But considering that, unlike Zarkas’s atrocities, the village where Ruena was located had relatively few casualties… it was ambiguous.

“Why were you so complacent until now?”

Ulli asked with genuine curiosity.

“My teacher had a strange power to calm people. Even when my teacher spoke the truth in the Exion territory, the nobles didn’t touch him. So I couldn’t imagine him being harmed.”

Arne dropped the molasses cookies he was holding. With a face that wouldn’t be strange if he started crying any moment, he sat down on the floor. Lasano, who had been standing with his arms crossed, slightly winced and awkwardly patted Arne’s shoulder.

“Since we don’t know how the situation will unfold, it would be best to move once it’s late tonight.”

“That’s typical Cullen-style decisiveness.”

Ulli, making a joke, asked.

“What are you going to do? Just charge in?”

Cullen shook his head. If he intended to solve it that way, there would have been no need to hide in the first place. If attacked, important individuals would surely flee. It would be better to follow from behind.

“It would be better to follow the person I discovered earlier. If we clash with force, there’s a high chance they’ll move Arne’s teacher.”

“That sounds good.”

Cullen looked at Arne. Unfortunately, since he was not a combat-effective asset, he had to stay here.

“Arne-nim, it would be best for you to stay and guard this place.”

“I suppose that’s for the best…”

Arne, making a sad face, suddenly exclaimed ‘Ah!’ and stood up. He then rummaged through his bag and took out a small glass ornament. It was made of glass with a shining moon intricately carved, clearly the work of a craftsman.

“My teacher gave this to me. If anyone doubts me, show them this.”

“Thank you.”

Cullen carefully accepted it and then spoke to Lasano.

“Lasano, it would be best for you to stay here too. While your healing power is needed, you can’t hide your presence, can you?”

“Well…”

Lasano shrugged and smiled.

“If they use Akesis’s power, I am the only one who can use the goddess’s power right now.”

That was true. As Cullen hesitated, Ulli stepped forward.

“Maybe I can go with you, keeping a distance behind? There’s a small lizard. We can use it to communicate from afar.”

Cullen looked back at Kiyen. He was hesitant to bring Lasano along, given the suspicious circumstances. Kiyen stared at Lasano with deep blue eyes, then nodded.

“Let’s do that.”

“Great. Then let’s get ready quickly.”

Ulli, speaking cheerfully, said she needed to change and ushered the others out. As he returned to his room, Cullen observed Lasano. His face, as he accepted the molasses cookies Arne offered, was smiling as usual.

Except for Arne, the rest of the group arrived at the place Cullen had infiltrated. Light was on in the top floor of the salon, but it seemed they were closed for the night, as the other floors were dark and the doors were locked tight. The entire street was quiet.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen such a fancy place.”

Ulli gazed at the building with a bitter voice. Strictly speaking, she must have lived a more lavish and noble life than Cullen, who had only lived in harsh environments. It was a foundation built on her mother’s sacrifice, but still.

“There’s a basement.”

Kiyen said, surveying the building.

“Have you been here before?”

Lasano asked slyly.

“I feel a presence. As you said, it seems there are people with decent skills.”

“Do we need to split up now?”

Cullen nodded.

“I will go ahead and scout, then contact you. It would be best for you to enter then.”

“Understood. High Priest, you can be quiet, right?”

“I’ll consider it.”

After seeing Ulli and Lasano take their positions, they scaled the wall. As they moved towards the staff entrance of the salon where Cullen had first infiltrated, Kiyen gestured.

“The basement can be accessed through another route.”

Kiyen headed towards a garden overgrown with trees. A small warehouse, where materials and food were piled, was visible. It was dark, and nothing could be seen. Kiyen nodded with his chin.

“A sound is leaking from over there.”

If he could detect a sound that Cullen couldn’t hear, how far could Kiyen actually hear? It momentarily puzzled him whether this was possible if he willed it, or if he had simply overlooked all the whispers he had heard from others until now.

But this was not the time to ask that.

“Is that so? We should go and check.”

Cullen trusted Kiyen. Without a word, he headed towards the warehouse.

Cullen approached cautiously to avoid stepping on flowers. Strangely, Kiyen passed through the garden silently, without stepping on any flowers, even without looking down.

The warehouse was locked with a surprisingly flimsy bolt. It seemed unlikely that a secret passage would be finished this way, but Cullen carefully opened the door. Upon entering, he smelled the coolness of a neglected space and the scent of dried provisions. Several liquor barrels were also stacked there.

“If it’s a building preserved from a long time ago, it usually…”

Kiyen headed towards where the wine barrels were stacked. With a light gesture, the heavy wine barrels were pushed aside. Then, a very small, square gap caught his eye. As he slowly approached it, a slight breeze blew from the square gap. The air was not just different, but much warmer.

“There will be spaces like this. It’s highly likely that secret passages are laid out beneath the territory.”

Cullen asked at the plausible statement.

“Is the Imperial Palace like that too?”

“That’s for you to know. I don’t have many memories of moving around that place. Not since the time I spent with Carias.”

Was he referring to the time Kiyen cast Magic on the entire palace for Larkan? The atmosphere grew awkward.

He wanted to say something to comfort him, but given the situation, he decided to examine the square gap further. He drew his sword and inserted the blade into the gap. With a bit of force, the wooden plank opened easily.

A ladder was visible beneath the opened plank. Light was spreading from somewhere far off. This clearly meant a passage lay below. It was a place dug out of the stone ground. Kiyen glanced at it, then looked in the direction of Duke Renon’s castle.

“It definitely seems to connect to the castle.”

“No surprise there.”

Cullen sheathed his sword and tapped the ladder with the heel of his boot. It felt solid, not very old. That meant it was a place frequented and maintained by people.

Sensing no presence nearby, Cullen quietly descended the ladder. As he came down into the dim passage, Kiyen followed. As he was about to set foot on the ground, Cullen extended his hand. It was an instinctive gesture.

Kiyen stared at it, then, with a face that seemed not to understand, took his hand. As he grasped warm, soft fingers, his heart was colored with the same warmth. It felt good.

“What is this?”

Kiyen asked, as if to say, “What are you doing?” Cullen replied.

“I did it in case you had trouble coming down.”

“You……”

Kiyen frowned slightly, but without letting go of his hand, he fully descended. Standing before him, he looked down at Cullen and said.

“Do you know that I am incomparably stronger than you?”

“Yes.”

“I cannot comprehend your small mind.”

With that, Kiyen started walking ahead. Holding Kiyen’s hand, they walked through the dark passage. There was a smell of kerosene, and torches were placed here and there. They walked through the long, winding passage for over thirty minutes. After walking that far, sounds began to be heard from a distance. Light also started to leak out. Approaching to a distance where they wouldn’t be detected, they peered inside and saw iron bars. It looked like an underground prison.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen a place like this.”

Cullen had also never been to an underground prison before. There was a stone chamber blocked by chilling iron bars, and the smell of blood emanated from somewhere. Bracing himself against the moss-covered bricks, Cullen stepped further inside. Then, he heard voices. The voices of middle-aged men.

“Isn’t this old man one of those monsters the higher-ups use? He just won’t die?”

“Exactly. The other day, Tito cut his skin like fish flesh, but it healed right up.”

The content made his brow furrow. He turned to check Kiyen’s face, but fortunately or unfortunately, his expression was indifferent.

“We can’t kill him, and he doesn’t talk no matter what we do to him, so how are we supposed to find out?”

Ptooey, a spitting sound was heard. The gruff voices didn’t sound like knights.

“Is the shift change in two hours? Is it Tito then?”

“Yeah. He’ll probably be drinking at the tavern.”

“Another day of bleeding profusely, I suppose.”

Someone clicked their tongue, and the sound of footsteps gradually receded. If the shift change is in two hours, would it be better to take advantage of that gap? It might be the time when security is most lax. The moment he thought that, a voice was heard from beyond the distant iron bars.

“Where lamentations echo… a distinguished guest has arrived.”

The raspy, grating voice was aged. Just hearing it, one could feel how tired and tormented he was. Even without seeing his face, Cullen felt he knew who it was. Kiyen replied.

“How did you know I was here? Humans cannot sense me.”

Then, the cackling laughter stopped, and a coughing sound was heard for a while. After a period of coughing, the old man spoke.

“I am not an ordinary human. As you just… heard…”

Kiyen headed inside. Cullen nervously scanned their surroundings, but the guards were nowhere to be seen, as they had already moved quite far. Hurrying after him, Cullen also stood before the dim prison.

There was an old man in a wretched state. The old man’s face was revealed under the faint torchlight. The first thing he encountered was his dull, brown eyes. The eyes were unnaturally fixed forward and did not move.

“You are……”

Kiyen looked down at him and closed his mouth. The white-haired old man then smiled.

“Can you feel it, faintly, being blessed by the goddess?”

“What do you mean?”

Cullen stepped forward. The old man then turned his head unnaturally. It felt as if his face moved belatedly, following the direction of the sound. He stared at Cullen’s direction for a long time, then chuckled, “Ho ho.”

“Indeed. It’s unlikely the Dragon would come here alone. It seems the time has come.”

With that, the old man stood up. His robe, stained and darkened to a deep red, fluttered. He stood up unsteadily, then bowed and knelt.

“I greet one of the goddess’s bloodline.”

The old man then uttered an unexpected phrase.

“I am Ruena, once a High Priest who served her.”