RGS Volume 5 Part 19

Why did the Marquis run into danger himself?

His movements running through the middle of the garden quickly caught the attention of other knights searching nearby. As someone shouted, footsteps gathered towards the Marquis. However, he seemed indifferent as he stopped in front of a tree, blood still flowing from his side.

It was a tree that Abel had not yet checked, with branches already catching fire and bright flames pouring down like rain on the ground. Naturally, those flames also fell upon the Marquis as he approached the tree. However, he didn’t care even as hot branches fell behind his back.

He just knelt down near the tree’s roots and began digging desperately to the ground with his bare hands. With the entire tree ablaze and nearby trees also catching fire, the knights could not easily approach him even after seeing him. There were only a few loud shouts among the knights.

Moments later, he pulled out a small iron box with his bloodied hands. It was slightly larger than the palm of his hand. The Marquis clutched it tightly and collapsed to the ground. His voice, rough and strained, burst out loud enough for everyone to hear.

“Ha, hah, it mustn’t be handed over to the emperor!”

Abel held his breath in despair and sorrow upon hearing those words. The Marquis had run into the flames, despite his condition, to keep that object from being taken by the emperor’s allies.

How could this be?

Truyde, another King’s Heart, had betrayed and tried to kill the Marquis to destroy that very object.

However, the Marquis chose his enemy rather than handing it to the emperor until the very end. As evidence, he used the ring he was wearing like a key to open the box and took something out inside it. At that moment, Abel could clearly see his expression.

The flames that had fallen on his body were burning his clothes and flesh, but he let the fire consume him while holding out his hand. And he allowed the item in his hand to burn with him. Only one emotion was visible on his face.

The satisfaction of fulfilling his duty as a King’s Heart. However, it wasn’t because of this that Abel’s heart sank to the ground. He saw the item in the Marquis’ hand, about to be engulfed in flames. Something the size of a palm.

Thud.

A deafening sound that drowned out all other noises filled his ears. The Commander of the Royal Guards, who had already eliminated all the knights, was about to run out towards the burning Marquis. No, he was looking at the object that was about to be engulfed in flames.

On the other side, someone was approaching the Marquis in a hurry, following the continuous shouts. Seeing this, the Commander of the Royal Guards grew more anxious and gritted his teeth. However, someone held him back. The Commander of the Royal Guards turned to Abel with a desperate face and shouted.

“No! Isn’t that the object in the Marquis’ hand? We need to take even a piece of it!”

And when he tried to step forward again, a stronger force pulled him back. The Commander of the Royal Guards, unable to understand, turned his fierce gaze and noticed Abel’s expression. In a daze from the shock, he muttered very softly.

“…There is.”

Though he barely understood the words, the Commander of the Royal Guards couldn’t grasp their meaning. He was about to ask what Abel meant, but this time, he spoke more clearly.

“That thing, there is another one.”

“What? What, what do you mean? Do you know what that object is?”

“Yes,” Abel answered blankly, then added.

“I also know where it is.”

“Where?”

Only then did Abel turn his eyes, filled with confusion.

“With His Majesty.”

⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖

Flip.

The sound of pages turning echoed through the night air after a long time. The owner of the sound sat motionless like a doll with dazed eyes, but upon closer inspection, there was movement in his body. His hand. He was habitually turning something in his hand. It was a small wooden pendant with a dragon engraved on it, and on the back, there were faintly scribbled characters that seemed to have been written by hand.

Eppel.

⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖

A black piece of charcoal. However, about a quarter of it remained unburned. Truyde, holding it in his hand, couldn’t take his eyes off it with a mixture of disbelief and amazement.

Just a piece of wood?

And yet, this was supposed to be the magical tool that could reveal the secret of the black potion?

He felt a bitter laugh welling up inside him.

Who would have guessed it was something so insignificant?

Even his ancestors and he himself had gone to great lengths to find it, only for it to turn out to be a worthless piece of wood. Moreover, its magic could only be activated by one person. Though it had now become a useless object, he still felt a twinge of regret.

He was genuinely curious whether this wooden pendant truly held some magic. It had prevented his family from seizing power within the King’s Heart for so long. Under the plausible pretext that the five families shared power equally, the Truyde family had been sacrificed. Despite possessing the most crucial object, the black potion.

It felt like a troublesome tooth had been pulled out, yet something was still bothering him. An old wooden pendant and a dragon engraving.

Why did it feel so familiar, as if he had heard of it somewhere before?

Truyde struggled to recall his faint memories, but nothing came to mind.

If it was this hard to remember, it must have been from a long time ago. Perhaps it was something he had overheard from someone or read in a document he had dismissed as unimportant without much thought.

Where on earth was it?

A wooden pendant engraved with a dragon.

A wooden pendant that had been associated with the royal family for generations.

The one associated with the royal family are the Regas’.

Regas?

Truyde narrowed his eyes and gave an order to a nearby subordinate.

“Bring the priest.”

As soon as the subordinate left, Truyde’s gaze shifted to the knight who had been waiting.

“The Marquis’ last words were ‘It mustn’t be handed over to the emperor,’ correct?”

“Yes.”  The knight who had been planted in the Marquis’ household replied.

“And yet you brought this without even thinking to investigate further?”

The knight lowered his head, eyes filled with tension.

“If I’ve made a mistake, please forgive me.”

He apologized without even knowing what his mistake was, but Truyde, deep in thought, kept his gaze on the object in his hand.

Why would the Marquis say such a thing?

Moreover, why would he come out of hiding just to burn it?

The reason he couldn’t laugh off this situation was because of this. The Marquis’ actions were unsettling.

Truyde considered possible reasons as to why the Marquis had no choice but to act like that. Even if injured and hiding, as long as he was alive, he could retrieve the item later and take revenge on him. However, choosing to destroy the object instead of letting his greatest enemy have it meant he had faced an even greater threat.

‘It mustn’t be handed over to the emperor.’

Truyde’s eyes narrowed at that moment.

So, the one sent by the emperor was hiding there.

This meant the emperor already knew the Marquis’ secret.

But why didn’t the emperor’s men stop the Marquis from burning the object?

The knight in front of him had at least brought back the charred remains for money.

Shouldn’t the Emperor’s men have been more desperate to retrieve the object?

“Who survived in the Marquis’ mansion?”

The knight swallowed nervously and answered in an anxious voice.

“A newly recruited knight and his servant.”

“I thought I ordered for everyone to be eliminated.”

The knight bowed his head in shame. Who would have known that he would eliminate the four knights and escape? He was simply considered a pretentious fool with a funny name. While the knight awaited Truyde’s decision in fear, an order came.

“Find him. And uncover his true identity.”

Seizing the opportunity to make up for his mistake, the knight hurriedly went outside, and the subordinate who had left earlier returned just in time.

“The priest?”

“He is wandering around the mansion, so you should be able to see him soon. And.”

The subordinate handed the letter he was holding to Truyde, wondering if it was another order.

“A letter has arrived from the Duchess.”

Truyde received the letter with an unusual frowning expression and tore it roughly. The woman, who should be quietly raising a child and living her life, had already sent him the fourth letter this month.  At first, he wondered what was going on, but the contents were just whining and complaints about wanting to see him, wanting to enjoy a social life befitting her position as the Duchess, and so on.

At first, her uncharacteristic behavior was so bewildering that he thought she had lost her mind, but now he was just angry. Naturally, Truyde had ignored her. With the internal conflict among the King’s Hearts and the emperor’s return to the palace giving him enough headaches, Truyde tore up the letter without even bothering to read its contents.

“From now on, do not bring me any more letters from this woman.”

As the subordinate nodded, Truyde turned his thoughts back to the wooden pendant and issued another command. If something even slightly bothered him, he needed to investigate it thoroughly.

“Bring me all the documents of the record keeper who was in charge of the Prince’s Palace twelve years ago.”

⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖

The Commander of the Royal Guards wanted to forcibly shut his mouth. Otherwise, he felt like he would bombard him with countless questions.

How do you know about the Marquis’ object?

And how do you know that there is another one with His Majesty?

He was just a knight’s servant.

He could have overlooked it if he said that he happened to see the emperor while he was a servant of Sir Kin and that he happened to see the emperor with that object. However, the problem was his shocked face.

Why on earth was he so surprised?

Since yesterday, he seemed completely out of it.

When the Commander of the Royal Guards led him out of the Marquis’ mansion, he had only followed him like a doll. Even when they stayed at an inn for a while and rented a carriage in the morning, his condition didn’t improve. All he did was mention a street in the capital and ask to be taken there.

His dazed and weak voice prevented him from asking further questions, but it kept bothering him, so he found himself continuously staring at him. At first, he was just curious, but now he was worried. When their destination was not far away, the Commander of the Royal Guards couldn’t hold back and called out to him.

“Lylie.”

After calling several times, his dazed green eyes met his gaze. However, he still seemed out of it.

“Are you alright?”

“…Yes?”

You’re not alright.

He couldn’t even understand what he was saying. The Commander of the Royal Guards, with concern on his face, spoke the words slowly as if talking to a child.

“Lylie. Are you. Hurt?”

Fortunately, this time, he understood and shook his head. However, Abel’s face was pale, and he looked weak. How could anyone believe he wasn’t hurt with that kind of expression?

As the Commander of the Royal Guards was looking at him worriedly, the carriage jolted violently with a sudden clatter. This caused Abel, who had been lost in thought, to be thrown forward momentarily. The Commander of the Royal Guards, sitting across from him, quickly grabbed his shoulder and asked.

“Are you alright…?”

He was about to repeat the same question again, but the last words disappeared from his mouth. Abel’s face was very close when he raised his head. So close that if he breathed, the other person would feel it.

Thump.

Even though the carriage hadn’t jolted again, the Commander of the Royal Guards heard a loud sound in his ears, just like before. He didn’t even realize it was the sound of his own heartbeat. He was captivated as if falling into the green eyes so close to him. Fortunately, this time, Abel had regained his senses.

“Thank you for catching me.”

“Huh?”

The Commander of the Royal Guards, lost in Abel’s face, didn’t even notice him squirming trying to get away. He just couldn’t take his eyes off of him.

Thump, thump, thump.

His heart was now openly pounding like a drum. Only one thought occupied the Commander of the Royal Guards’ mind.

His face looks more beautiful each time I see it.

And now, facing him so closely, he felt the urge to get even closer and touch those red lips…

“Commander of the Royal Guards, are you alright?”

A voice as beautiful as birdsong called to him.

Ah, was his voice always this sweet?

The Commander of the Royal Guards felt his heart swell with excitement with this new discovery.

“Huh?”

He responded absentmindedly, his gaze now fixed on Abel’s lips.

Gulp.

A warm sensation spread through his chest, making it tingle. He felt as if his body and mind were floating on a cloud, bathed in beautiful sunlight. However, in reality, he was breathing heavily through his nose, staring at Abel with a lustful expression as if he would devour him. Having lost his mind from a single touch, he now needed only one person. Coincidentally, that person was mentioned by Abel.

“As expected, it seems the Commander of the Royal Guards is worried about Sir Kin.”

“Yes, Sir Kin… Sir Kin!”