Chapter 21
‘It’s a lie. The knights I know aren’t like this.’
I couldn’t help but feel my vision blur as I watched the knights, unable to properly mount the Wyverns, sliding off. The Wyverns weren’t even thrashing about; they were just sitting still.
‘Why do those knights keep slipping?’
A few knights had managed to mount them, but that was all. They were completely frozen stiff, sitting upright, and it didn’t seem like they could possibly swing their weapons while up there.
“It seems like becoming Dragon Knights will be difficult with this, doesn’t it?”
Rideon had approached me at some point as I looked down at the training grounds. Rumors about the knights riding Wyverns must have spread widely throughout the mansion, as many people besides Rideon had gathered around the training grounds. Even El, who usually didn’t seem interested in such gossip, was quietly watching the knights from a corner.
“How about sending the Wyverns to the Royal Knight Order? It seems like we could make better use of them.”
The Royal Knight Order was, as the name suggests, composed of the kingdom’s finest knights. They would surely be able to perfectly realize the image of the Dragon Knights I had in mind.
“Your Highness, you are too greedy. Shouldn’t you be satisfied with getting the Wyvern bones?”
“Well. Human greed has no end, you know.”
“That’s not something to be proud of, Your Highness.”
As I retorted to Rideon’s subtly teasing words, I suddenly realized something strange.
“Your Highness, since when did we become the kind of relationship where we exchange banter like this?”
“Perhaps since I became indebted to you?”
“And why does that become a reason to tease me?”
“Debts can only exist between close acquaintances.”
“I don’t particularly want to be that kind of relationship, so please repay your debt quickly.”
“And ‘get lost out of my sight quickly’?”
“How grateful I am that Your Highness is so perceptive.”
Rideon burst out laughing at my words. It was a loud, cheerful laugh.
At the Prince’s sudden laughter, the eyes of the people watching the knights instantly turned and focused on him. Watching him command such presence, drawing everyone’s attention in an instant, I realized anew. Even though he was nothing but a bothersome, insignificant fish to me, this guy was actually the Prince whom everyone in the kingdom looked up to.
“You’ve really become a completely different person, Ibrida Oberon.”
Finishing his laugh, Rideon took an envelope from his pocket.
“Take it.”
“What is this?”
“You told me to repay my debt, didn’t you?”
“Is it money?”
In response to my question, Rideon gestured with a nod for me to take it and check. Feeling suspicious, I took the envelope and checked its contents. Inside was a cheque with no amount specified.
‘Is this the blank cheque I’ve only heard about?’
To boldly hand over a blank cheque required both substantial guts and wealth. Naturally, Rideon belonged to the class that possessed both.
“What makes you think I won’t write an outrageous amount?”
“You don’t seem like the type to write an absurd amount.”
Our relationship used to be as hostile as cats and dogs. No matter how I looked at it, this kind of trust didn’t suit us.
“Since when did you trust me so much?”
Feeling astonished, I snorted. Rideon’s face turned serious.
“That day we first met in Erel, you asked me. Whether I was the type who didn’t believe in the reformation of villains.”
‘Did I say that?’
As I had been spouting any nonsense to win the argument with Rideon that day, I didn’t remember the exact conversation.
“It seems I did. I firmly believed that people don’t change easily. But seeing it with my own eyes like this, I can’t help but believe it.”
Rideon’s eyes scrutinized me thoroughly. His gaze swept over my eyes, nose, and mouth in turn, then returned to my eyes.
“Won’t you return to the royal capital?”
“Is that something I can decide?”
As someone who had caused a major scandal, my whereabouts weren’t my own decision. Ibrida’s return to the royal capital depended entirely on the Duke’s decision.
“Indeed. It wouldn’t be easy. Considering the public opinion in the royal capital, and the Duke’s wrath is no small matter either.”
Rideon seemed convinced by my answer. However, he added another opinion.
“But I have a feeling I’ll see you in the royal capital again.”
“I’m not sure. Whether such a thing will happen…”
The Duke would never summon me back to the royal capital. Thinking of the original story’s flow, that was the case.
“Will Your Highness and your party be leaving for the royal capital now?”
Rideon nodded in response.
“We depart in three days. I hear they’re holding a festival tomorrow for the hardworking knights.”
“I’m not sure if it’s the right situation for a festival…”
Seeing the Frost Knight Order members still struggling with the Wyverns, I let out an involuntary sigh.
‘At this rate, they won’t even become Dragon Attendants虜, let alone Dragon Knights.’
Some other method was needed. Seeing my serious expression, Rideon offered some advice.
“Wouldn’t it be good to enjoy the festival? Erel’s festival is quite different from the royal capital’s. I thought that after having some fun, other ideas might come to mind.”
“You seem to know Erel’s festival well?”
“They always hold the festival around the time the subjugation unit returns. I’ve been to Erel as the subjugation unit leader several times before.”
“I see. I should go out with Emma then. I’m curious about the festival too. And Your Highness’s advice seems quite reasonable.”
“Normally, at times like this, one usually invites the person who told them about the festival to go together, don’t they?”
“That’s true, but we’re not that kind of relationship, are we?”
“I agree with that statement.”
Rideon laughed and took a step back.
“Then this will be our last goodbye, Lady Oberon.”
“I hope you achieve what you desire. After all, I even gave you a gift.”
“Do you know what I desire?”
“The Princes I’ve known usually all desire similar things.”
The royal authority. If he couldn’t seize it, Rideon would die just like in the original story. He was the person who knew that future of his better than anyone.
‘I’m not really interested in the power struggle for the throne…’
But if the gift I gave could be of even small help in preventing this man from dying easily, that seemed somewhat satisfying.
‘As comrades in a “death ending,” helping each other this much is possible, right?’
“I’ll gratefully accept your farewell.”
Rideon gave his final greeting and turned away. This would likely be my last interaction with him, just as he said.
“Ah, Lady Oberon.”
Rideon, who was walking away, suddenly turned back as if he had just remembered something. As I tilted my head in puzzlement, he pointed to the cheque in my hand.
“That cheque.”
“What about it? Did you change your mind about the blank cheque after all?”
“No. That cheque was issued by the Royal Central Bank, so you must exchange it there.”
Just as he said, the cheque was clearly stamped with the seal of the Royal Central Bank.
‘Huh? The Royal Central Bank?’
An ominous feeling brushed the back of my neck.
“Your Highness, as far as I know, the Royal Central Bank is…”
“Located in the royal capital.”
“Then if I don’t go to the royal capital…”
“You won’t be able to cash that cheque.”
‘Damn it.’
If I didn’t go to the royal capital, this was just a meaningless piece of paper.
‘His Highness gave me a piece of paper trash.’
* * *
“A letter from the Eoreunmani.”
Rideon narrowed his eyes at the old man presenting the letter before him.
He was an old man with shabby attire and a bent back, but he couldn’t be taken lightly. This was an old man who had secretly entered the Erel mansion where the Royal Knight Order was stationed without causing any commotion.
It would have been right to immediately call for people and execute the intruder, but Rideon did not do so. He had discerned the man’s identity from his words.
‘Eoreunmani’ was originally slang among mountain-foraging gatherers. They called the most experienced gatherer among them ‘Eoreunmani’.
However, in the back alleys, the term held a slightly different meaning. The information guild members who tightly controlled the underworld liked to metaphorically refer to themselves as gatherers collecting information, using much of their language.
‘Maeni’, meaning gatherer, referred to a guild member. ‘Gobunseong’, meaning mountain range, referred to the guild. So, for the information guild members, ‘Eoreunmani’ referred to their leader, the head of the information guild, Luke.
As he received the letter, Rideon asked the old man,
“Did the Eoreunmani have any separate message for me?”
“No, he did not.”
“That can’t be. There must have been a separate message.”
“No, sir. I was clearly told only to deliver the letter.”
“The way you say that tells me you are not the person sent by the Eoreunmani.”
Rideon snorted and drew his sword.
“You must be someone who intercepted the letter midway.”
Rideon pressed the blade against the old man’s neck.
“What are you talking about, sir?”
The old man, greatly flustered by the blade pressing so close it seemed it would cut his throat at any moment, waved his hands in denial.
“I am truly the Maeni sent by the Eoreunmani!”
“If you were a true Maeni, you wouldn’t not know the code word delivered along with the letter. If you are a real Maeni, give me the code word.”
“Code word? There’s no such thi…”
“Code word.”
Rideon said coldly, pressing the blade closer to the neck. As a thin line of blood appeared on the nicked skin, the old man straightened his bent back and lightly stepped back. It was a nimble movement that a hunchbacked old man could never mimic.
The old man, now standing straight with his back unbent, was very tall. His physique was also quite robust, to the point where it was hard to believe he had just appeared as a frail old man.
“Hey! Since when did our Gobunseong have a code word?”
The voice that flowed out, full of complaint, was also that of a young man, not an old man. Even after witnessing this astonishing transformation, Rideon simply sheathed his sword indifferently. Annoyed by his nonchalant attitude, the young man disguised as an old man frowned.
“You knew it was me. Since when did you figure it out?”
“From the moment you entered here and handed me the letter.”
“What? How? My disguise was perfect.”
The young man in the old man’s disguise asked while examining himself. Rideon shrugged his shoulders lightly and opened the envelope he had been given. Inside was just a single blank piece of white paper with nothing written on it.
“The letter was too thin. The contents couldn’t have been contained on just one piece of paper like this, and it was even less likely to be a message meant to be delivered orally to someone else. So I had no choice but to think you came in person, Luke.”
“You figured it out just by looking at the envelope? That’s cheating, Rideon Jeraint.”
“On the contrary, it means your disguise was perfect, so take it as a compliment.”
“Everyone already knows my disguise skills are perfect. Even I know that.”
It was a rather arrogant response, but Luke’s disguise skills were worthy of it. It was a well-known fact throughout the kingdom that Luke, the head of the information guild, was a master of disguise. Those wary of him naturally kept their eyes peeled and watched the people around them, but penetrating his perfect disguises was as difficult as plucking stars from the sky.
A person who changed his appearance as needed, regardless of age—from youth to old age—or gender. He didn’t just imitate the outward appearance but also replicated the person’s habits and speech patterns perfectly. Even for those keenly on edge, detecting his disguise was tremendously difficult.
“So, saying my disguise is perfect isn’t particularly a pleasant compliment. Being completely fooled is the true compliment.”
Luke grumbled and threw off the mask he had been wearing on his face. The mask, created through a special manufacturing process, looked like real human skin.
“But to get caught just because of an envelope…”
Luke glared at the envelope as if frustrated.
“What if I had actually put all the information on just one piece of paper?”
“Then I would have become a rude and unreasonable person who harassed an old man.”
“…Is that all?”
“What else could there be? You seem to be looking down on me quite a bit, but I am the Prince of this country. The world won’t turn upside down just because I threatened one old man.”
“Ah, yes, yes. Of course. You are the Prince of this country, unlike a lowly person like me. Even though you’re huddled down, not knowing when you might die.”
Rideon remained unperturbed even by the heavily sarcastic remark.
“Well, that’s not entirely wrong.”
Feeling absurd at the lukewarm reaction, Luke let out a sigh and slouched into a chair. To an outsider, it looked as if Luke was the prince and Rideon was his servant. But both Luke and Rideon acted as if the situation were perfectly natural, with no one pointing it out.
“So, what’s the answer you brought yourself?”
Rideon asked Luke. After his conversation with Ibrida, he had sent a letter requesting Luke’s help. He asked who was trying to drive a wedge between Erel and Ocal, and if there was any information on how to tame Wyverns.
‘I expected it to take about a week.’
Luke had arrived in Erel exactly two days later. Rideon thought he must have underestimated the information guild’s efficiency. Of course, that thought crumbled in less than a minute.
“Answer? The Maeni are working hard to find it.”
“…You mean you haven’t found the answer yet? Both things?”
“Of course. You sent the letter just two days ago and already expect an answer? Aren’t you too impatient?”
Luke clicked his tongue at Rideon as if he were looking at a very troublesome person. With a look that said, “You, with such an impatient personality, what use are you?” Rideon, who had been unflappable no matter what Luke did, flared up for the first time.
“I said I expected about a week. But since you came in person, I thought you must have found the answer already. Otherwise, why would you come all the way to this northern countryside village?”
“How disappointing. Are we only a relationship where we meet to exchange answers? Should I not come here if I don’t have an answer? Was our friendship only that much?”
Luke looked at Rideon with a hurt, sullen expression. Of course, Rideon knew it was Luke’s poor acting, having found a pretext to tease him.
“You, who loves华丽 and bustle, came to this northern countryside village with nothing, just to see little old me?”
Rideon snorted.
“Our friendship isn’t that great. If you’re not here to deliver an answer, why did you come here?”
Realizing his acting wasn’t working, Luke smacked his lips regretfully and shrugged his shoulders.
“What always moves me is interest. Something quite interesting happened here, didn’t it?”
“Interesting thing?”
“The Wyverns. I hear knights are riding Wyverns to fight?”
“They’re not at that level yet.”
“Well… the idea and the attempt itself are interesting, aren’t they? Until now, we only thought about killing Wyverns, we never thought about taming and utilizing them.”
Luke was a person whose profession was gathering all sorts of information from the world. Hearing such interesting news would naturally have piqued his interest.
“So I came to see. Because I heard that woman tamed the Wyverns.”
“Just to watch?”
“Then I wouldn’t be the Eoreunmani of Gobunseong.”
Luke stood up from his seat, smiling meaningfully.
“Starting tomorrow, I won’t be in this form. Not even you will be able to recognize me, no matter what.”
