RGS Volume 5 Part 18

“Because I look too formidable. If they had tried to eliminate us first, they would have risked getting killed themselves, so they had no choice but to leave us alone.”

“……”

Abel fell silent for a different reason. However, he soon came to his senses and remembered something important.

“Ah! Do you think they killed the Marquis too?”

Abel asked, unable to believe it, but the Commander of the Royal Guards frowned and shook his head.

“No, I don’t think so. If they wanted to know where the item was hidden, they would have to keep the Marquis alive… Hey! Wait!”

However, ignoring the Commander of the Royal Guards’ words, Abel started running towards the mansion. He had to meet the Marquis before the people who set the fire capture him and tell him the truth.

It must not be taken away!

The loud voice ringing from within him prevented Abel from hearing the Commander of the Royal Guards’ voice trying to stop him.

All Abel could think about was getting to the Marquis before anyone else. At the very least, he had to prevent the others from reaching him. But the mansion was already emitting smoke in every hole, making it difficult to enter. Even just getting close made him cough and struggle to breathe.

However, that wasn’t the real problem. Suddenly, there were people standing around the mansion, covering their mouths with clothes and holding torches. They seemed to have just escaped out of the mansion, shouting at each other.

“D*mn it, the Marquis isn’t on this side either! You two, go check over there!”

The man who seemed to be the leader pointed with his hand, sending two men running to the opposite side of the building. Distracted by the smoke and the search for the Marquis, they failed to notice Abel hiding nearby.

“F*ck, we need to capture him alive! There are things we need to hear from him, so search every corner thoroughly! He must have been injured and won’t have gotten far! Hurry!”

Soon, with the sound of hurried footsteps, the torches scattered in all directions. When someone turned toward Abel, he quickly hid nearby. Luckily, Abel was pressed tightly against the building, so they didn’t notice him and passed by. His eyes stung so much that he could barely keep them open.

Just inhaling the smoke for a moment made him feel suffocated, and a cough that wanted to erupt stuck in his throat. However, Abel tried not to make any sound, bending his upper body and moving closer to the building. He headed towards the place where the knights had been searching for the Marquis just a moment ago.

According to them, he was injured and couldn’t have gone far. However, he wasn’t found nearby, which seemed to make them flustered. They decided to widen their search area, but Abel thought differently. When looking for something, the place you first think of is often the right place. It’s just that the urgency to find something can narrow one’s field of vision.

Abel was familiar with this blind spot very well. When he ran around the forest with his master and hunted, patience and the practice of not forgetting that blind spot were always important. Thus, Abel headed straight to the place they had given up on without hesitation.

Inside the mansion, the sound of objects engulfed in flames collapsing to the ground continuously echoed. The flames peeking out its red tongue through the broken windows, and it was so hot that Abel pulled his robe over his head and lowered his body to the ground, almost crawling. He could not see ahead of him because of the smoke and darkness, so all he could rely on was his hearing.

Since the torchbearers are gone, if the Marquis was really hiding, he would definitely let out a cough he had been suppressing. Abel focused intently on catching any small sounds. How long had he been walking?

Just as he couldn’t hold it any longer and was about to run out of the smoke, it happened.

“Ugh.”

He heard a faint groan. Abel quickly quickened his pace and ran towards the sound. It didn’t take many steps before he spotted something moving in the darkness. The Marquis, who had fallen to the ground, was struggling to get out from under a fallen window frame.

“Don’t move. I’ll remove the window frame first.”

Abel, who had spoken, struggled to push the window frame trapping the Marquis to the side. The Marquis, who might have been surprised by Abel’s sudden appearance, seemed too out of it to respond, only groaning in pain. Above him, Abel let out a groan himself as he tried to move the window frame even slightly. However, it seemed to be caught on something, and the frame, which was taller than a person, refused to budge.

“Please, just a little.”

Muttering to himself, he mustered all his strength and finally, the window frame slid to the side. Soon after, a scolding followed.

“I told you it was dangerous!”

The Commander of the Royal Guards, who shouted in a low voice, looked genuinely angry. However, Abel, coughing, focused first on the Marquis lying on the ground.

“Cough, it’s the Marquis. We need to move him quickly before others come.”

“Step aside.”

The Commander of the Royal Guards lifted the Marquis from the ground and slung him over his shoulder, quickly surveying their surroundings. He soon decided on a direction and led the way.

This way. Follow me closely.”

“Ugh, cough… argh!”

As he moved, the Marquis, who had been coughing, suddenly cried out in pain and dropped his head once again. Blood was still flowing from the deep wound on his side. The flesh had split open as if he had been stabbed with a sword, and Abel tore his clothes to stop the bleeding.

Beside him, the Commander of the Royal Guards, breathing heavily as if standing guard, kept a close watch on the surroundings. Though they had moved away from the group with torches, they were still within the Marquis’ estate, thus, it was still dangerous. However, they couldn’t move the bleeding Marquis any further. There were things they needed to hear from the Marquis, who was groaning as if he might die at any moment.

“Get a hold of yourself. Tell us where you’ve hidden the item your family has kept secret for generations.”

At the mention of something hidden for generations, the Marquis faintly opened his eyes and looked up at Abel. Then, as if refusing to listen, he closed his eyes again. However, when Abel’s next question followed, the Marquis’ eyes opened twice as wide.

“Tell me. Under which tree is it hidden?”

“H-how do you know about that?!”

His face, already pale from his injuries, turned ashen as if he had seen a ghost.

“Who are you? Who told you?!”

“No one told me. I figured it out myself. From which numbered tree is it, starting from your window?”

Though Abel asked again, the Marquis could only mutter in disbelief.

“That, that can’t be. No one, none of the people who have infiltrated my house over all those years, figured it out. And you found out? Who on earth are you?”

“The one most desperate.”

In a low voice, Abel added to the Marquis.

“I was desperate enough not to miss a single word anyone said.”

The astonished Marquis looked at him with disbelief. The other person around him had a similar look of shock. The Commander of the Royal Guards was simply puzzled as to why such words were coming from Sir Kin’s servant. Meanwhile, Abel asked again.

“There’s no time now. Before Duke Truyde who burned down your mansion gets his hands on your secret or destroys it.”

“Truyde? Tr-Truyde, you say?! Ugh… *cough*, huff!”

The Marquis, who had stood up from his seat, screamed again in pain and bent over. However, he held Abel’s arm tightly and maintained a sitting position without lying down.

“Did Truyde really burn down my mansion and attack?”

The answer to this question was thrown by the Commander of the Royal Guards.

“That’s right. It’s pathetic that you didn’t even know that Truyde had taken control of all of your knights. You dare defy His Majesty without even being able to control your own household. It’s ridiculous.”

Although there was contempt in his words, the Marquis was too shocked to even think of getting angry. He stared into space, gritting his teeth as if deep in thought.

“Norhox was right. Truyde, you b*stard, you schemed to prevent me from handing over the object to Norhox.”

Norhox’s words were indeed true. Truyde had chosen the Marquis as the next victim. He had schemed to ensure that the Marquis wouldn’t trust Norhox until the end. Even kindly killing him a day earlier, saving the emperor the trouble of delivering the gift.

“So, this was the unexpected gift, Truyde?”

Muttering as if asking himself, the Marquis turned his trembling eyes back to Abel.

“W-Who are you? Are you on Truyde’s side, pretending to help me just to steal the object for Truyde?”

When Abel shook his head, the Marquis immediately added.

“Then did Norhox send you?”

Abel hesitated and looked up at the Commander of the Royal Guards. Would revealing their allegiance to the emperor provoke the Marquis further? Abel worried about the possible negative outcome, but the Commander of the Royal Guards, who had read Abel’s worries resolved the issue for him.

“No. We’re from a completely different side.”

“A completely different side? What do you mean by that? Could it be? Could it be, then…?”

The Marquis repeated “Could it be?” several times before finally opening his mouth.

“Did H-His Majesty send you?”

“In a way. We are doing this for His Majesty.”

Thud.

The Marquis’ arm, which had been holding onto Abel, fell limply to the ground. Seeing the suddenly dazed expression on the Marquis’ face, Abel grew anxious. Should they have pretended to be on Norhox’s side, another King’s Heart? However, his worries were soon pushed aside by another issue.

The flames, which had only been visible near the mansion, suddenly started rising in various places. The knights had set the entire garden on fire. The Marquis’ eyes darkened as he realized their intention. If they couldn’t find it, they intended to burn everything down.

“Why are they suddenly setting the garden on fire?”

Did they also know that the object was in the garden?

At Abel’s questioning gaze, the Commander of the Royal Guards frowned.

“That may be so. Perhaps, they were trying to lure the Marquis out.”

“I found it!”

A loud shout interrupted the Commander of the Royal Guards’ words. As all three turned their heads, four knights with torches quickly approached. They must have found the Marquis while setting the fire, and their eyes gleamed with greed.

“It’s the Marquis! Haha— the reward is mine!”

The knight, unable to contain his laughter, perhaps because there was a bounty on the Marquis, approached with his sword along with the others., When the Commander of the Royal Guards blocked their path, they seemed to recognize him and twisted their lips in a sneer.

“Well, who do we have here? Isn’t it Garasu? Hehehe―”

[T/N: The name “Garasu” in Korean (가라수) can be phonetically similar to the Korean word for “glass” (유리, pronounced “yuri”). This similarity might be used to mock the character, suggesting he is fragile or easily broken like glass. The knights’ laughter indicates they are belittling him, playing on the double meaning of the name.]

As he taunted, the other knights also wore mocking expressions. The Commander of the Royal Guards tried to eliminate them regardless, but he stopped his actions due to their endless taunting.

“Well, well, we meet again because we spared you. Who was the one who bet that guy would escape?”

The Commander of the Royal Guards, realizing they had used him for a bet, asked in a low voice.

“You dared to make a bet about me?”

At this, the knight suddenly grabbed his stomach and started laughing.

“Hahaha— ‘dared,’ he says, ‘dared.’ Well, with a fancy name like Garasu, I suppose you’d naturally use such words. Hey, do you know why we kept you alive?”

The knight, struggling to suppress his laughter, waved his sword in front of the Commander of the Royal Guards.

“It was because of your name. Your name was so funny that none of us could kill you without laughing. Now you get it, Garasu? Hehehe—”

As he couldn’t hold back his laughter, the knights behind him also started laughing as if it was contagious, their shoulders shaking. What was surprising was that the Commander of the Royal Guards, watching them, slowly raised the corners of his mouth.

However, to Abel’s eyes, it seemed that he was angrier than ever. Even despite his following words.

“I can tolerate being laughed at, but I can’t forgive you for mocking that name. That sacred name that I dare derived from his own name.”

With that, the Commander of the Royal Guards drew his sword for the sacred alias. Abel, startled by the sudden turn of events, turned his head to look at the Commander of the Royal Guards when he felt a tug on his arm. Turning his head back, he heard the Marquis whispering.

“In the middle of the Truyde family’s forest, there is a stone building. Inside it is the tomb of Truyde’s ancestor, who made the black potion. And around the stone building, rare herbs grow, which Truyde said play a crucial role in making the black potion. However, when I asked if they were the main ingredient, he didn’t give me a clear answer.”

Abel held his breath, taking in every word the Marquis said. His heart pounded.

Is this information really about the black potion?

As he repeated the information to himself to ensure he wouldn’t forget it, the Marquis continued in an even smaller voice.

“That’s all. I can’t say more. Not as long as I’m a King’s Heart.”

What did that mean? However, before he could even put his thoughts into words, the Marquis suddenly pushed him away and started running. Abel couldn’t understand where the dying man got such strength, but the Marquis, almost stumbling, quickly disappeared into the darkness. He was heading towards the garden in front of the mansion.

Abel, who had fallen on his back, belatedly got up and started chasing after him, but the Marquis was already far ahead. And the ones most surprised by the sudden movement of the two were the knights, who were busy mocking the Commander of the Royal Guards.

Where the hell are they going?

The knights, who had been busy mocking the Commander of the Royal Guards, glared as if their prey had been snatched away. They had been caught off guard. As they hurried to chase after him, they encountered an obstacle. Garasu silently blocked their path, ready to swing his sword.

“D*mn it, move while I’m still speaking nicely,”

Thud.

The knight who was shouting fell to the ground with his chest slashed open. Only then did the knights, who were about to ignore the Commander of the Royal Guards and run, turn back with surprised eyes.

“It’s better if you don’t step forward,”

The second knight couldn’t finish his sentence either. In the blink of an eye, he too fell to the ground, his neck severed. The remaining knights, who lost two colleagues in an instant, frowned.

Those fools. Where did they put their minds to get taken down so easily?

The two knights, silently cursing their fallen comrades, glanced at each other and charged at the same time. They believed that they would win because they would not let their guard down. However, it had nothing to do with letting their guard down. After a few clashes of swords, their hands trembled with their difference in strength.

Their opponent was someone they should never have mocked.