~Chapter 18~
It was probably the Crown Prince who noticed Laniel Estella’s disappearance first.
If those two had some sort of overly dramatic relationship, he definitely would’ve gone looking for her.
I mean, who else would? She ran away from her own noble family and had no ties to anyone except a magic workshop in the capital.
Obviously, her relationship with the Crown Prince was an unofficial affair—nothing good could come from the public finding out.
If his master had really been close to the Crown Prince, then yeah… no doubt he was looking for Laniel Estella on the Crown Prince’s orders.
And we all know how that ended.
The master died.
And his only student? Accidentally triggered a huge mess.
Turns out, the Crown Prince had an illegitimate child—an awakened one, no less.
If the worst-case scenario is true and the master was killed by the Bessiel cult, then it makes sense they were the ones who approached the coachman.
They even made sure Roen Estella didn’t notice.
Like that monster-luring artifact hanging from the coachman’s pocket.
“…”
Jin quietly crushed the artifact with his foot, scowling.
Truth is, no one was closer to his master than him.
So if the cult had gotten a trace of his master, he was probably next on their hit list.
Roen Estella was out looking for her nephew in disguise, and Jin had been trying to figure out who killed his master.
Things just got messy.
Of course, if Roen Estella wanted to play it safe, she could just cancel his contract and hire someone else.
It had already been ten years since Laniel Estella disappeared.
No one would believe the Estella family suddenly decided to go chasing after the Crown Prince’s unknown illegitimate kid.
Especially not the youngest daughter of the family—at marriageable age and not exactly free to go running around.
But Jin knew better.
Whoever was after him clearly thought his master left him with some secret info or mission.
Which… wasn’t true at all.
Honestly, it was like he’d jumped straight into lava for no reason.
Why he even bothered getting involved in this crazy mess—he couldn’t say.
“Ahem, can your brothers be trusted?”
Jin quickly changed the subject.
Roen Estella’s face scrunched like she’d bitten into a lemon, but he didn’t care.
One thing was clear: this woman knew more than she was letting on.
He wasn’t sure how she found out all this, but either way, it gave him enough reason to stick close to her.
She wasn’t even that good at lying.
Regular folks might not notice, but Jin? He’d lived in this kind of world long enough to spot a made-up story a mile away.
He just didn’t press because she clearly didn’t want to share.
“Well… I’d say they’re… fine, I guess.”
Jin answered vaguely and frowned.
Rumor had it the Estella brothers didn’t care about power.
If they had, they wouldn’t have stayed overseas despite being nobles.
By now, they should’ve returned to the Empire and started political careers.
The poor Estella Count was probably stressed out of his mind.
His kids had no ambition at all.
Roen Estella seemed like the type to marry some rich commoner or a lower-ranking noble, but the Count likely had a very different plan.
On the other hand, his two sons were already middle-aged and still living abroad.
Clearly, they intended to stay there.
Even as a Count, he probably couldn’t force them back—especially since they were male nobles with stable lives elsewhere.
So the Count’s only option might be to marry off his one remaining child well and somehow get closer to Prince Endamion.
“Are you thinking of sending your nephew overseas?”
The Estellas were still a major noble family.
Everyone knew the Crown Prince had no real support or future.
He was only made heir because the current emperor insisted on it.
No one else backed him—he was the son of the first empress who’d long since died.
It was only logical that the nobles would side with the second prince instead.
Especially since the new empress was from that powerful Duke Lawson family.
“Ugh… even though that family’s got nothing to do with me anymore, just thinking about them pisses me off,” Jin thought, his expression twisting.
“…Not a bad idea though.”
Just then, Roen Estella suddenly turned to him.
Her light blue eyes sparkled with a sharpness he hadn’t seen before.
“I might actually consider that option.”
What? Was she serious?
Did she even realize that once people found out her nephew was the Crown Prince’s awakened illegitimate child, there’d be no ‘quiet’ life ever again?
“Haha, well… staying positive is always a good thing, I guess.”
Jin forced a smile behind her.
But from what he’d gathered so far…
He was in deeper trouble than he’d thought.
First, his master had been far more involved with the Crown Prince’s faction than expected—a faction that was practically on the chopping block.
Second, the Bessiel cult likely had something to do with the master’s death.
Third, they’d now turned their attention to him.
Ridiculous.
It wasn’t like Prince Endamion or a rival guild was after him—it was a cult.
Honestly, if Lawson had just tried to erase him, he would’ve at least understood.
“I hope we can find your nephew quickly.”
Jin smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
They probably thought his master had hidden the Crown Prince’s son and handed him over to Jin.
What the hell did they even plan to do with an awakened one, going this far to find him?
“Your nephew must be waiting eagerly, after all.”
Jin couldn’t help but smile coldly.
The whole situation played out clearly in his head.
Sometimes in the mercenary world, you’d run into these hopeless dreamers.
Like a beggar dreaming of becoming the richest merchant after finding a floating box at sea,Or an illegitimate kid from a brothel dreaming of revenge.
Stuff like that.
“Maybe they think they can change the national religion by finding an awakened one…”
He wanted to laugh but couldn’t.
“He doesn’t even know I exist—what would he be waiting for?”
Roen Estella muttered dully.
Jin narrowed his eyes at her.
“Bessiel cult or not, I have to find that child. I just have to.”
She gripped the reins tighter.
“To be honest, the moment you take him in, your life will never be the same again,”
Jin said.
“I don’t know what you’re planning, but realistically, you can’t hide an awakened one forever. Think about it. Just one royal awakened could destroy an entire continent. That’s how the first emperor conquered the whole land 500 years ago.”
Then, for the first time, her polished noble tone broke.
“Stop testing me to see how much more I’ll put up with.”
It was like an actress finally dropping the mask on stage.
“You really think I don’t know anything, just because I’ve been living in a bubble? It’s obvious the Bessiel cult is planning to use my nephew to mess with the Empire’s balance of power. What do you think would happen if I ignored him?”
Her tension seemed to suddenly drain.
“He’d hate me for life. He’d hate our whole family. For never once trying to save his mother. For leaving him in an orphanage where he was abused, holding onto some dumb hope that maybe, just maybe, his mom’s family would come for him one day.”
Her words made Jin feel like he’d been punched in the throat.
Everything she said hit him hard—like a slap to the back of the head.
