#154

As soon as Lasano’s name was spoken, Ulli drew Pantel. She glared at Lasano with clear hostility in her eyes. Arne, on the other hand, slowly got to his feet, looking back and forth between the two with an uncertain expression.

“What business do you have showing your face here?”

Ulli spoke directly. Her tone was similar to before, but her voice clearly conveyed that she no longer trusted him. Cullen also stepped forward silently, drawing his sword.

Lasano, who had revealed himself from the darkness, laughed at Ulli’s words. Apart from his crooked red eyes and pale skin, he looked like a being cloaked in darkness.

“I just happened to be on the same path as you. You can skip the thanks.”

Ulli seemed speechless at his brazen demeanor, unchanged from the past. I saw her bite her lip and grip the hand holding Pantel tightly. Cullen stared at him calmly and opened his mouth.

“What is your business? Didn’t you already take what you wanted?”

Lasano fell silent for a moment at Cullen’s dry voice. Instead, he turned his gaze and looked at Arne, who was staring at him. After a moment of silence, he pushed the stones floating in the air near Arne away with red power.

Cullen watched this too. It was a power he hadn’t seen before. It was different from the Magic Arne had used before. Moreover, he had lost all the goddess’s favor. It wouldn’t be his inherent power.

It must be related to Zarkas.

The name that naturally came to mind with Lasano brought a bitter taste to my mouth. His remaining feelings were incredibly complex.

However, Kiyen might have ended up in this situation because of his choice. Cullen had no desire to forgive him. It was slightly different from hating him. He simply didn’t want to understand his choices in any way.

He was no longer a comrade. Relationships shattered by betrayal don’t easily recover. He didn’t want to waste his emotions on someone who wasn’t a comrade.

“I just ran into you while I was on my business. As I said, I took what I wanted… so I have no other business. However, there is something I want to tell you. Meeting like this is also fate.”

Lasano slowly let his smile fade. His face, devoid of a smile, looked somewhat haggard. It was the face of someone shadowed by despair and misfortune.

“Stop with the nonsense and get lost if you don’t want to die. I’m not killing you right now because I owe you for saving my life before.”

Arne tugged at her robe, pleading.

“Ulli, just a moment… let’s hear what Lasano-nim wants to say.”

“What is there to say? An apology? You should have done that from the start instead of spouting such nonsense the moment we met. If you had any conscience, you would have done it long ago. No, you shouldn’t have betrayed us in the first place!”

Cullen let Ulli vent her rage. It was her way of releasing her emotions, different from his own.

“If an apology would have changed anything, I would have offered it. However, I do not wish for you to forgive me. You may continue to hate me, but please listen to my words.”

“Is this how someone who asks for forgiveness behaves?”

Ulli scoffed, uncharacteristically, and Arne looked at them with a sad face. She raised her voice in the emotional argument born from their deepening rift. Cullen surveyed their surroundings and decided to calm her down for now.

What was important now was not being noticed by the Demonic Beasts and discerning Lasano’s intentions. He had no intention of trusting him, but there was no harm in hearing his reason for approaching.

“As Ulli said, I admit I owe you. I will hear your business. However, after you speak, disappear from my sight immediately. Otherwise…”

Cullen let his words trail off. He was prepared for friction, even if he didn’t kill him. Lasano smiled again at his words. It was a mask-like expression.

“People don’t change easily.”

Lasano whispered with a voice full of weariness, then turned his gaze towards the Imperial Palace.

“What I have to say concerns Kiyen-nim and the sword. It concerns your objective. Kiyen-nim returned to the Imperial Palace a few days ago. It would be best to settle everything today, before his orders are forced upon him again. Since Lord Cullen has arrived…”

At Kiyen’s name, Cullen reacted without a moment’s hesitation. His eyes widened, and he instantly exuded killing intent, approaching Lasano. It was Lasano, of all people, daring to speak of Kiyen that ignited his emotions. He held his drawn sword directly to Lasano’s throat and murmured low.

“What did you just say?”

Lasano didn’t dodge at all. With the sword at his throat, he met Cullen’s gaze with a smile. Arne rushed over and grabbed Cullen.

“Lord Cullen, please don’t do anything you’ll regret. Please, just listen to his story…”

“Arne, he’s a traitor! He deserves to die! Don’t you know that Kia’s death and our scattering are all because of this man’s choices?”

Ulli, her eyes reddening, snapped at Arne. Arne, instead of being intimidated by her intensity, spoke calmly.

“I’m not saying we should forgive Lasano-nim for making those choices. But he was our comrade. He must have had a reason. At least, let’s hear that reason… and do what’s important first. Neither Ulli-nim nor Cullen-nim are people who enjoy killing others.”

Lasano’s smile completely crumbled at Arne’s words. With a stern expression, he raised a hand and rubbed his lips, then spoke in a voice that sounded angry.

“Arne, aren’t you angry at all?”

Lasano murmured, as if he couldn’t understand Arne. Then Arne turned to the group and shook his head.

“You are all precious to me. Rather than being hurt and harboring hatred, forgiving is… at least for me, it feels better.”

Having said that, Arne pleaded with Cullen.

“Please, just endure until Lasano-nim finishes speaking. It’s likely that Lasano-nim here knows more about Kiyen-nim’s situation right now.”

Cullen forcibly suppressed the anger that had surged within him. Arne was right. Seeing Arne acting more rationally than usual, Cullen slightly lowered his sword. However, he maintained his guard.

“Stop mixing in nonsense and get to the point.”

Lasano turned his gaze, which had been on Arne for a long time, to meet Cullen’s eyes. His slightly upward gaze held guilt.

“First… the sword I stole did not fulfill the role Zarkas desired. The leader was furious about that fact. It was because of her that Kiyen-nim was forced to do such things. Iris wanted to kill Kiyen-nim, but the sword could not cut through anything. That drove Iris mad. So, she came up with this method. This insane idea of burning the world alike.”

Cullen clenched his fists at Lasano’s words. As Kiyen’s name was mentioned again, Lasano quickly continued, as if to stop Cullen from expressing his anger.

“Kihelene-nim refused at first. But due to Iris threatening her with Yurisis, she made the choice to burn the mountain range, as you can see. And now that Kiyen-nim has returned, Iris will surely pressure Kihelene again.”

“Wait, wait. Kihelene is the Crown Prince, no, the Princess, right? Then why is that Yurisis guy coming up here? Why would the Princess yield to a threat involving Zarkas?”

Lasano wore a bitter expression. Cullen’s mind flashed back to the words he left before departing. He had spoken of Yurisis’s abilities, adding that he might be someone he knew.

His mind became a tangled mess. Countless figures flashed through his thoughts. And then Cullen recalled Yurisis’s green eyes. The strange sense of déjà vu he felt while looking into those eyes returned—

“Could it be…”

As Cullen murmured, Lasano nodded.

“Yurisis lived most of his life under the name and face of Silfir Exion. He is the only person Kihelene-nim has left to rely on, the one she loves.”

Lasano’s words hit Cullen’s head like a hammer. Cullen recalled Silfir, whom he had encountered countless times. From the moment he first met him in the palace, to his appearance in the Exion Territory to sort things out, and then to the serious situation where he spoke about the qualifications of an Emperor.

Confusion and anger surged simultaneously. Even knowing Lasano had betrayed him, the thought that he had been deceived from the very beginning reignited his fury.

“What on earth did I and Kihelene do to you?”

Cullen whispered, gritting his teeth.

He had thought for a long time. On the way here, with every gust of cold wind that ruffled his hair, Cullen resented Kihelene.

Once it was certain that Kiyen was indeed burning the land, he decided he would never forgive Kihelene, no matter the reason. Perhaps it was because he felt betrayed by her, who called herself a Monarch.

But at the same time, he knew how much Kihelene cherished and relied on Silfir.

Cullen had not been raised as a ruler. From the perspective of a mere human, he could somewhat understand the conflict she had faced. He couldn’t easily assume, as it wasn’t his own situation, but would anyone stand by and watch the person they loved die before their eyes?

Few people can judge rationally when their mother, father, and sibling are dying. Kihelene, in particular, was far from that kind of malice and cruelty. Cullen could not forgive Yurisis for creating this situation that led her to make the wrong choice, nor Lasano for knowing it from the start and standing by.

“You said you detest bystanders, Lasano. But in my eyes, you are no different from a bystander. Did you speak those words while acting just like those you detest the most? This is the result of the deception you prepared from the beginning, watching me and Kiyen-nim by my side. Are you satisfied?”

Cullen suppressed his seething voice, gesturing to the ruined surroundings. Lasano listened silently, his expressionless face unchanged.

“You should be ashamed, Lasano. You have no right to curse or judge others.”

At the sincere denunciation, Lasano nodded.

“Yes, that’s right. I am a bystander. Shamefully, I was blinded by hatred. Everyone in Zarkas is like that. But… I know what the worst is. Neither Yurisis nor I wanted anyone unrelated to the Jenix incident to die. We just wanted to kill the goddess.”

Cullen threw Lasano’s words back at him.

“Ignorance does not justify what you have done.”

Lasano squinted and said,

“You cut straight to the heart of it.”

“If that’s all you came to tell me, it’s enough. Now, disappear from my sight. I never want to see you again.”

Cullen stepped back, fearing he would do something he would regret if he looked at his face any longer. Arne could not speak further either. Lasano watched Cullen retreat and shook his head.

“There is something I have yet to tell you.”

“I don’t want to hear it.”

Despite the firm refusal, Lasano spoke his piece.

“I will help you find the sword and guide you to Kiyen-nim.”

Cullen, who had been about to turn away without hesitation, finally paused. Ulli also blinked. Lasano, with a serious face, continued with words tinged with faint urgency.

“Inside the Imperial Palace, Iris has subordinates directly under her command. Two ordinary humans and one swordsman with an artifact cannot break through. Regardless of how skilled Cullen-nim is, the power of the artifact will be difficult to contend with. Moreover, if you move like this, crawling to avoid the eyes of Demonic Beasts, you will be too late. There isn’t much time left until Iris awakens.”

Cullen tightened his grip on the sword’s hilt. There were still many situations he had not grasped. The fact that there wasn’t much time left until Iris awakened, the current state of Zarkas, and what to do about Kihelene and Kiyen…

For Cullen, who had been outside the Imperial Palace, he needed eyes to grasp the situation.

“I don’t trust you.”

“That’s right. Are you going to betray us again after saying that?”

Ulli agreed. Arne, unable to deny it, also shut her mouth tightly.

“Don’t we have any other choice? If you wish, take a gamble. If you continue like this, Kiyen-nim will witness another massacre she doesn’t want…”

At the word “massacre,” Cullen grabbed Lasano by the collar.

“Don’t utter such words!”

Arne rushed over to stop Cullen, overwhelmed by his rough demeanor.

“Cullen-nim…!”

“It’s alright, Arne.”

Lasano gestured to Arne and, with his collar still gripped, met Cullen’s eyes.

“So, listen to me. I am not asking for forgiveness now. As you said, I made a choice, and I intend to pay the price for that choice. If you save only Kihelene-nim when you save Kiyen-nim, Yurisis and I will remain and kill everyone, including Iris.”