RGS Volume 5 Part 5

Suddenly.

Kin, who had stopped in his tracks, doubted his own eyes.

No, why is that guy here?

Without realizing it, Kin tightened his grip on his sword. Even though he knew the other person was an ally, it was an inevitable reaction.

“Sir Kin! So, it was really your horse after all!”

The man standing next to the horse shouted in delight. He approached Kin, clenching his fist in joy at guessing right.

“Why on earth did you disappear and make everyone worry? And why did you leave your horse here?”

He was spouting out words rapidly, but then he noticed that there was someone behind Kin. He looked at Abel with wary eyes and asked sharply.

“Sir Kin. Who is the person behind you?”

Kin helplessly sighed and reluctantly turned to Abel.

“This person.”

“…This person?”

The man’s eyebrows rose. Kin’s clenched jaw twitched.

What should he say?

For a moment, he was at a loss for words, but Abel quickly stepped forward.

“I am Sir Kin’s servant.”

“Ah, I see. So you took your servant with you as well. But, hey, you there!”

Suddenly, he shouted and glared at Abel.

“A servant making Sir Kin carry the torch? How dare you not let him hold it himself…!”

“Shut up!”

Kin stepped in front of him, shouting louder.

“Who dares to tell whom to hold or not hold a torch?!”

“You said he’s a servant.”

“……”

“Isn’t he?”

“……Yes.”

Kin reluctantly answered with a hardened face, and the man cast a suspicious look.

“Then why won’t you let him carry the torch?”

An awkward silence followed. Kin, with a furrowed brow, and Abel, looking flustered, stared at each other before Kin finally spoke.

“Ahem, that’s because I like to carry the light myself.”

“Sir Kin does?”

He didn’t let go of his suspicious gaze, however, Kin instead gave him a stern look and raised his chin.

“Yes. I do.”

Is there a problem? At the threatening look as if saying those words, the man flinched and took a step back. Only then did Kin let out a sigh of relief and ask the question he had intended to ask when they first met. Towards this person whose mere existence was ominous.

“More importantly, why did the Commander of the Royal Guards come looking for me?”

⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖

Disperse the army.

It was clear that this was an order even Ashler hadn’t anticipated. Norhox was the first to look at Ashler inside the tent, which was shrouded in silence. Then, seeing the wavering in his eyes, he turned his gaze back to Karas.

Why? It seemed like a decision made by him alone.

Why?

Of course, he didn’t believe that Karas had done this because he trusted the King’s Heart, as he said himself. There must be some ulterior motive.

Norhox felt unease rather than joy at the fact that he had achieved his purpose here too easily. Seeing Ashler answering belatedly that he would obey the order didn’t make him feel any better. However, there was no time to worry further. Karas’ strange behavior has not ended yet.

“Then, should we find another culprit now?”

Norhox didn’t immediately understand what he meant by asking about another culprit. Fortunately, Karas kindly reminded him.

“The one who burned my Regas to death.”

Norhox paused.

He had completely forgotten about the fire at the Regas quarters. Thus, he didn’t immediately sense the coldness contained in the words “my Regas.”

Since his original intention was to keep the war profiteer in check, there was no reason to push the blame on the traitors now that the purpose of dispersing the army had been achieved. Norhox quickly thought it over.

What if he were to blame the war profiteer as he originally planned?

While Norhox was finishing his brief thought, Karas tilted his head to the side, waiting for an answer.

“Your Majesty, the fire seems to be more of an accident due to poor management rather than the work of the traitors. The Regas often use a type of oil that easily catches fire, so small fires occasionally occur. Therefore, if you are to punish someone, I believe it would be appropriate to punish those responsible for the poor management.”

Honestly, it was unlikely that Karas would agree with him again.

Karas still believed the war profiteer was on his side. And there was also Ashler glaring at Norhox as if he were ready to jump in and accuse him of changing his words multiple times. However, this time too, his expectations were off.

“I see. The oil caught fire.”

Karas agreed just as easily this time as well.

Does he really trust me?

As Norhox doubted, Karas ordered Ashler to bring the war profiteer responsible. Then, he looked at Norhox and asked.

“Does the oil catch fire that easily?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

It’s oil, of course, it does.

Such a foolish question for someone who’s not a child.

Norhox thought as he inwardly sneered, but then an order came.

“Prove it. Then I’ll believe you.”

Norhox barely managed to keep his eyes from frowning. To prove something as obvious as the sun rising in the east. However, Karas pressed Norhox as if he was serious.

“Do you have the oil?”

“Yes, I have it.”

As soon as Norhox answered in confusion, Karas turned around and went outside. Norhox followed after him, frowning, but even when they arrived in front of his quarters, his frown didn’t disappear. By this point, he began to suspect that Karas was not just curious, but actually a fool.

Karas, who stopped in front of the quarters, ordered Norhox to bring the oil. As Norhox sent one of his men into the quarters, he heard a commotion behind him. Turning his head, he saw the war profiteer running towards them in a panic. With a sense of unease, Norhox asked Karas.

“Your Majesty, if you still don’t believe me…”

“I believe you.”

Following the short response, Karas added something more. However, Norhox had already turned his head away from Karas, letting his words pass in one ear and out the other. It was at that moment. A different sound overshadowed Karas’ words and the surrounding noise. It was a scream filled with pain that tore through the air as if to rip everyone’s eardrums.

“Aaargh!”

The subordinate who had been holding the oil staggered, screaming. However, no one approached him. Instead, they backed away. Suddenly, flames erupted from the oil as if it would engulf his entire body. The flames soared higher than a person in an instant, completely enveloping Norhox’s subordinate.

Still alive, the subordinate, engulfed in flames, screamed for help. His horrific screams paralyzed those who were watching. There was no time to wonder how he had caught fire. Soon, something happened that made everyone doubt their own eyes.

The flames engulfing the subordinate began to spread across the ground from him. At first, it was just a few strands, but in the blink of an eye, dozens of those strands spread out, climbing onto anyone in its path.

“Ugh! F-fire!”

“Everyone, get away!”

The surroundings turned into chaos, and the soldiers started running to avoid the flames that chased them as if it were alive. They pushed and tripped over each other in an attempt to survive. Screams and shouts mixed with the heat of the flames, fueling the chaos. The flames spread in all directions faster than anyone trying to escape.

And then, it captured the targeted humans, trapping them within itself and turning them into black ashes. In a place filled with the smell of burning flesh and intense heat, Norhox took a step back in astonishment. Then he noticed something strange. Ashler was not moving among the people burning in the fire.

Why wasn’t he running away?

At that moment, Norhox’s eyes widened. He quickly checked the people burning in the fire. The only ones dying were Norhox’s subordinates.

Could it be, could it be that Ashler was behind this?

Enraged, he glared at Ashler again, but soon realized Ashler was unaware of the surrounding chaos.

With sunken eyes, he was biting his lip and was watching someone. And then Norhox belatedly realized there was someone he should have checked first. He looked towards where Ashler’s gaze was fixed and found Karas standing amidst the smoke.

Noticing Norhox’s gaze, Karas slowly turned his head. For a moment, Norhox felt his eyes narrow like a snake’s, but as if it were an illusion, the afterimage soon disappeared. Instead, Karas’ indifferent voice captured all of his attention.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

At those inexplicable words, Norhox’s expression distorted into a menacing one. These words connected with the question from Karas that he had dismissed as childish and foolish a moment ago.

‘Is there a lot of oil in the palace too?’

⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖

The new quarters were dirty and smelled bad. Of course, for the emperor’s army, there were no tears or blood stains, so they were considered as good as new. The emperor’s quarters were not much different from this place. However, to Norhox, it was as disgusting as entering a garbage dump.

No, it was the first time he felt so disgusted, so he had been gritting his teeth the whole time thinking about other matters in order to forget it. Of the entourage that had arrived with Norhox, flaunting their splendid banners, fewer than ten survived. Besides Norhox, those who survived were those who had been far from the site of the incident.

However, those who survived were still trembling with fear. Knowing that only Norhox’s subordinates had died, they were terrified that they might be next and constantly surveyed their surroundings. Only Norhox glared at the air with a murderous look. In his mind, a single suspicion had been stuck like a stake since earlier.

―The emperor was not poisoned.

If the emperor had killed Norhox’s subordinates by burning them to death, then there could be no reason other than that. The dragon’s power that was passed down through the emperor’s bloodline.

It was known that the power had diminished over time, so the power that Karas had shown might have been close to a miracle.

However, this was not the case for Norhox. This was not a miracle, but rather a mistake. Because the real purpose of the black potion was not only to control the emperor’s mind but also to neutralize the dragon’s power.

Especially if one drank the black potion before becoming an adult, their power would almost disappear. Thus, from a young age, the kings were soaked in the black potion, unable to even check their own abilities, and easily became their slaves. There had never been a failure.

Even after drinking it a few times, its addictiveness made it impossible to stay clear-headed, so he never suspected that Karas wasn’t drinking the potion. It was complacency in trusting the black potion too much.

When on earth did he start to get rid of his addiction?

Since the war started? But how?

Then suddenly a thought occurred to him.

What if he wasn’t addicted from the beginning?

What if his avoidance of the palace was not for the sake of war but instead to buy time?

Even after thinking of the question, he couldn’t come up with a suitable answer.

If he had such power and was not poisoned, wouldn’t he have fought the King’s Heart directly instead of rallying supporters through war?

What was he waiting for…?

Wait, waiting?

In an instant, Norhox’s eyes darkened. The emperor was 20 years old. Although he was already an adult in terms of age, there was another occasion long known as the second coming of adulthood. It was called the Dragon’s Day. It was believed that one truly became an adult by receiving the dragon’s blessing on that day.

What if this was the day he had been waiting for?

Could it be, that was it?!

The absurdly simple answer almost made Norhox laugh. The reason Karas had wandered far, avoiding the King’s Heart’s eyes, was very simple. So simple that even a child could figure it out with a little thought. Since he inherited the dragon’s blood, the moment he would achieve his true abilities was on that day. Until then, his power wasn’t complete.

D*mn it, that’s why he waited silently. To build up his strength.

You little rat!

⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖

Screech.

Norhox stood up. His face was no longer filled with anger. With a cold, chilling gaze, he turned and called a subordinate nearby. He quickly wrote two short letters, handed them to his subordinate, and ordered in a low voice.

“You must deliver these by tomorrow morning without anyone noticing.”

As the subordinate left, Norhox sat back in his chair and stared into the empty space as he had done before. If today’s incident was the emperor’s declaration of war, as the King’s Heart, he had no choice but to accept it willingly. He would soon realize that he had boasted of his power too quickly.

There was still a month left until Dragon’s Day. Before then, he had to make sure to pour the black potion into the emperor’s

mouth.

Let’s see if he can still play with fire then.

Norhox clenched his teeth once more.

T/N: Hmm. I sense some foreboding here.