RGS Volume 5 Part 21

“I’m sorry. But I asked Sir Kin to contact you, so I thought Mr. Melmond knew.”

The Commander of the Royal Guards, who had been out of it, flinched at the mention of Kin’s name and looked up. To help him come to his senses, Melmond repeated the name loudly.

“Sir Ki ――in?! What are you talking about? I haven’t heard anything from Sir Kin!”

“What? But Sir Kin said he would inform you about me and then head to the palace.”

Abel was taken aback, and Melmond shook his head firmly.

“Absolutely not. He didn’t go to the palace. Sir Ashler is already furious about that matter. Well, all we got was a single letter from Sir Kin, and it was an absurd message instructing him to contact someone named Tom.”

“T-Tom?”

Abel asked in a trembling voice, and Melmond frowned.

“Yes, Tom. Sir Ashler sent a letter, but it was returned! Marquis Yan’s household claimed there was no knight named Tom. Sir Ashler, who rarely gets angry, was livid and swore he wouldn’t let Sir Kin off easily.”

Thud.

The weak-bodied Commander of the Royal Guards finally fainted. Abel, startled, tried to approach him, but Melmond grabbed him again this time.

“Hurry up and explain. Where have you been and what have you been doing all this time?”

“That…”

Abel looked with concern at the Commander of the Royal Guards, who was lying sprawled out in his back, and the butler, who was still unconscious in the corner. However, at Melmond’s urging, explaining what had happened took priority.

The incident how he had nearly died after meeting Erei and then escaped, how he had survived in the forest and coincidentally met Norhox and learned that he was trying to retrieve an object from Marquis Yan, and how he had been searching for that item at the Marquis’ estate all this time. Melmond was furious that Abel had tried to handle everything alone.

“What were you thinking, recklessly stepping forward with such a weak body? What if you collapsed?”

“Oh, my body is fine. But more importantly, I saw the Marquis’ object.”

“What?”

Melmond’s anger was forgotten as his eyes widened.

“S-Saw, you saw it? Where is that object now?”

“It burned up with the Marquis when he died.”

Disappointment immediately filled Melmond’s face.

What’s the point then?

Does that mean there’s no hope now?

However, Abel calmly reassured him.

“It’s okay. There is another item just like it. One that I know of. And you know it too, Melmond.”

“What?! What, what is it?”

Melmond’s breathing became ragged as the excitement that had died down rose again.

What could it be?

Something I’m familiar with?

Is it widely known to the public?

Numerous thoughts flashed through his mind in those few seconds, but he could never have anticipated Abel’s next answer.

“It’s the wooden pendant that my master passed down to me.”

A wooden… pendant?

It was as if he had been hit hard on the back of the head, leaving his mind suddenly blank. Abel, worried that Melmond might not remember, added more detail.

“It’s the wooden pedant that has been passed down from generation to generation to the master. The one with the dragon engraved on it.”

“Ah, I see.”

Melmond, barely able to respond, staggered as if standing was too difficult.

Of course, he knew, he knew all too well!

But how could it be the same as the Marquis’ object?

Huh?!

Then, at that moment, as if something had dawned on Melmond, he exclaimed in shock.

“What! Then it was real?!”

“Pardon? What do you mean?”

“That wooden pendant… My master said it was only passed down to the masters and wouldn’t even let me see it. When I complained about him being stingy over just a wooden pendant, he told me that a dragon had given it to a legendary knight a long time ago, and the knight had passed it down to our sect. Naturally, I thought it was nonsense, but…”

Trailing off, Melmond muttered in shock, ‘Oh my goodness, it wasn’t my master’s delusion.”

But soon, coming back to reality, he grabbed Abel’s arm tightly.

“Wait! Could it be that the wooden pendant is with Norhox? When you died, I tried to retrieve your remains, but Norhox’s people didn’t allow it. I secretly searched your room, but the wooden pendant was gone. Haah, my master and Wiedel cherished it so much that I wanted to make sure it was safe.”

The more Melmond expressed his affection for the wooden pendant, the more its significance grew in Abel’s mind, filling him with a sense of ominousness.

“But is it really with Norhox?”

“…No.”

“Then where is it? Where did you hide it? Ah, I see! You hid it because it’s a precious item of our sect! Well, I remember once begging Wiedel to show it to me, and when I finally touched it, I dropped it on the floor, leaving a tiny scratch like an ant. He was so furious that he wouldn’t let me come near him for months. It was petty, but since it’s the one and only treasure of our sect, I guess he had no choice. I’m still reflecting on that incident.”

Abel couldn’t bring himself to reveal to Melmond, who had spent decades reflecting on a scratch as small as an ant. And now, the wooden pendant had letters carved into it.

“So, where did you hide our precious treasure?”

The more Melmond emphasized “precious,” the darker Abel’s expression grew. Not noticing this, Melmond pressed him further, forcing Abel who had no choice to finally speak up with difficulty.

“I-I didn’t hide it.”

“You didn’t?”

“W-Well, I gave it to the prince.”

“To the prince?”

“…As a gift.”

“Ah, as a gift…”

Thud.

Melmond also joined in fainting.

⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖

In Melmond’s small cabin, which served as a laboratory, a joyful reunion was taking place, but a gloomy atmosphere also filled the air.

“Young master! Oh, our young master has reincarnated again!”

The butler, who had woken up, grabbed Abel and began to weep. Abel tried to explain to him that he hadn’t reincarnated, but the butler, overwhelmed with emotion, didn’t hear him. It would have been nice if someone had helped Abel, but the two others who were sprawled out on the floor seemed to have a hard time coming to their senses to do so.

While Abel had given away the treasure he couldn’t even touch, Melmond consoled himself with the fact that at least the wooden pendant hadn’t fallen into Norhox’s hands. However, the future seemed bleak for the Commander of the Royal Guards, who sat with a hollow expression. Of course, no one paid attention to him.

Melmond approached Abel, who was busy calming the butler and spoke to him.

“We must contact Sir Ashler immediately and ask him to come here.”

A ‘gasp’ was heard, and when they turned their heads, they saw the Commander of the Royal Guards sinking further into despair. Abel nodded but then asked worriedly.

“But was there really no contact from Sir Kin? I’m worried something might have happened to him.”

Nothing had happened. He had simply forgotten. The only one despairing as if he were on the verge of death, worried about Kin’s middle-aged forgetfulness, was the Commander of the Royal Guards.

“Well, Sir Ashler is looking for Sir Kin right now, so we’ll find out soon enough. More importantly, don’t think about anything else. When Sir Ashler arrives, go straight to the palace and only focus on meeting His Majesty.”

“Yes. But there’s one thing that bothers me.”

Abel lowered his gaze, as if in thought, and then repeated the words the Marquis had left him. The rare herb said to be in Truyde’s forest.

“When the Marquis asked if it was an ingredient for the black potion, it bothered me a bit that he didn’t give a clear answer, but it seems important regardless. I think we need to find it.”

Melmond nodded in agreement but then added firmly.

“But you absolutely cannot go. I can’t send you on such a dangerous mission to Truyde’s mansion. A place where you might lose your life… someone else must go.”

“I’ll go!”

A volunteer stepped forward. The three of them turned their heads in surprise to see the Commander of the Royal Guards, eyes wide and fists clenched, shouting.

“I will go to that dangerous place!”

“Commander of the Royal Guards, but that place is the Duke Truyde’s estate, where you could lose your life.”

“Exactly! …so.”

He quickly added honorifics under Melmond’s sharp gaze and pleaded with desperate eyes.

“I’m going because it’s dangerous. So please, let me go. However, in return.”

The Commander of the Royal Guards lowered his voice, demanding something from Melmond.

“You must tell Sir Ashler and Sir Kin that I took a great risk by going there. Do you understand? Since it was a brave act to volunteer for a dangerous task that no one else dared to take on, any minor mistakes should be overlooked.”

It wasn’t that no one else wanted to go. He was just the first to volunteer. Abel was worried about him going alone and tried to stop him, but Melmond quickly nodded. He needed to send that man before Abel could volunteer to go himself.

“Fine. If you bring back the rare herb from Truyde’s estate, I’ll say whatever you want.”

With Melmond’s assurance, a glimmer of hope appeared in the Commander of the Royal Guards’ eyes.

“I’ll uproot every single herb in Truyde’s forest.”

Clenching his fist, he rushed out, determined to become a legendary herbalist. With the matter of the herbs settled, Melmond finally turned to Abel to discuss something important.

“You don’t know the state His Majesty is in, do you?”

Fearing the worst, Abel looked at Melmond with darkened eyes and asked calmly,

“Is he fighting against the King’s Heart?”

“Yes. And in the worst possible way.”

Abel’s eyes wavered, but Melmond continued without pause.

“He sits with them every day at the same table, eating food containing the black potion right in front of their eyes.”

“Why is he doing that?”

“He promised that as long as he stays alive, he will kill one member of the King’s Heart each week. Hah, he’s staking his own life in this fight.”

Abel’s eyes widened in shock, but he quickly regained his composure. Melmond had seen this side of him before, back when Abel’s own life was threatened. In such dire situations, Abel became remarkably calm. Thus, Melmond hesitated to speak further, not wanting to disturb him. Just then, his son’s voice suddenly broke the silence.

“Father!”

The child who opened the door and rushed in shouted in a breathless voice.

“Father, scary people are here looking for you.”

Scary people? Who could that be?

Melmond’s question was soon answered.

“They said they’re from Duke Truyde’s household.”

⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖

As Melmond stepped into the palace where Truyde awaited, he found the situation odd. After twelve years, he entered the palace once again because he was summoned by Truyde. What was strange was how vividly he remembered the long hallway leading to Truyde, despite not having visited it often.

While the small library where he worked every day had become a blur in his memory, this place, which he had only visited a few times, felt familiar as if he had been there just yesterday. Fortunately, the tension and fear he had felt back then were now gone. Inside, Truyde and the priest awaited him, just as before.

“It’s been a long time, Melmond.”

Truyde acknowledged him first, and Melmond lowered his head without saying a word. Then, he felt Truyde’s sharp gaze on him. At first, when he was called, he was worried that Truyde had discovered Abel’s existence, but the question that followed was different. Truyde asked him directly.

“Actually, I’m looking for something. An item that Abel had when he died twelve years ago. I think you might know where it is.”

Melmond, feeling a mix of relief and a chilling sensation in his chest, kept his eyes lowered to hide his emotions as he asked.

“What item are you referring to?”

“Come now, am I that intimidating? If you can’t even look me in the eye, it makes it seem like you’re hiding something, doesn’t it?”

Truyde’s mocking tone was light, but his gaze on his skin was more stinging. Melmond had no choice but to look up at him. Twelve years ago, he wouldn’t have dared to lie to Truyde, but now it was different. The man before him was not a noble figure but an enemy.

“It had been so long since I had seen someone as high as Your Grace that I dared not even look up. What exactly is it that you are looking for?”

Truyde looked at Melmond for a moment as if gauging his thoughts, then answered briefly.

“A wooden pendant with a dragon engraved on it.”

Melmond pretended to think for a moment, then opened his mouth.

“Ah, I know. That wooden pendant. Abel received it from his master. But since Abel’s death, I haven’t seen it. I believe it might be with his remains.

Melmond turned his gaze to the priest and asked slyly.

“Now that I think about it, didn’t you take care of Abel’s remains? Then, you must have it.”

“What? Watch your words. It’s not with me. If I had known it was such a valuable item at the time, I would have…”

“Valuable item? Are you saying the wooden pendant Abel had was valuable?

Melmond sharply picked up on the priest’s slip of the tongue, and the priest’s face showed an alarm. Seeing his expression, it became certain. It was clear that Truyde’s side had realized that the Marquis’ wooden pendant and Abel’s wooden pendant were the same. Melmond wanted to press him further, but Truyde diverted his attention.

“So, you don’t know?”

“Yes. I don’t know where it is.”

This time, he looked Truyde straight in the eye as he answered. Truyde stared at him with suspicion for a moment before ordering him to leave. Truyde watched Melmond turn and leave the room, muttering to himself.

“Does he really not know?”

If so, where is that wooden pendant?

Abel’s master gave it to him, so it’s unlikely he would have kept it on him and suddenly thrown it away somewhere, thus, he must have given it to someone…

At that moment, Truyde’s eyes suddenly narrowed. He had forgotten.

Who was the last person Abel had met?

Could it have been the emperor?

“Summon Norhox to the Regas Palace immediately.”

If it was really the emperor who had it, he needed someone to gain his favor.

It was time to make use of Norhox’s Regas.