C381 - Who Is the Real Runcandel? (1)
Due to the complete collapse of Baria's central transfer gate, Jin could only make his way to Calon at night with great difficulty.
"Young Master Jin...!"
Hastily, the first to rush over was Butler Petro.
After Mary publicly discussed the contents regarding Temar's tomb at the meeting, Petro had been waiting every day for Jin's return at Hufester's central transfer gate.
Ten days had already passed since the meeting.
During those ten days, Petro's concern for Jin had almost given him a heart attack.
"As expected, I knew you would be the first to come looking for me."
While Petro sweated profusely, Jin smiled calmly.
However, due to the fact that he had gone through a fierce battle, Jin's appearance seemed quite worn out to Petro.
"Why do you look injured? Hey! Call the medical team immediately and bring a warm towel!"
"I don't need the medical team."
"Young Master, what's with that large sack?"
"Oh, this."
Swoosh!
Jin tossed the robe he had been carrying over his shoulder onto the ground like a sack.
Petro's face immediately changed upon reflexively checking what was inside the sack.
"Is she... Isn't she Fey Proch from the Spirit Evil Fortress?"
Inside the sack was Fey, still unconscious, with her limbs tied up.
"She's a hostage for negotiation."
The reason Jin kept Fey alive was that her value as a hostage was extremely high. Killing her would only increase the Spirit Evil Fortress's resentment, but keeping her alive could prove useful.
"The Spirit Evil Fortress Assassins attacked you, Young Master?"
Petro clenched his fists and looked at Fey.
"Yes. Lata Proch sent his sister and ten assassins after me. And as you can see, I captured that woman, Fey, in the process."
"...It's the Council of Elders."
Petro immediately deduced the client.
At this moment, there were no others besides the Council of Elders who would have commissioned the Spirit Evil Fortress Assassins.
Jin nodded.
"Even before Lady Mary revealed the information she received from the Young Master, I had a feeling the Council of Elders would do something later. I didn't expect things to escalate so quickly, and I couldn't prepare for it. I apologize."
"Are you saying you couldn't prepare? Is Gilly okay?"
Petro's expression darkened quickly when Gilly's name was mentioned.
"She's currently under arrest."
There was a brief flash of killing intent in Jin's eyes.
But he quickly regained his composure.
"Where is she? She can't be in a dungeon, can she? If she were, Murakan wouldn't have stayed quiet."
"When the arrest order came, Murakan-nim destroyed a part of the Garden of Swords. The Guardian Knights worked hard to contain him."
"Has any separate action been taken against Murakan?"
"No, Murakan-nim has not been punished."
Despite damaging part of the Garden of Swords and having more information about Jin than anyone else, Murakan had not faced any consequences.
"It could have been an irreversible situation if Gilly hadn't stopped Murakan-nim."
Being considered the 'Guardian of the Family for a long time,' the Family had its limits when it came to courtesy.
If he had crossed that line, even someone like Murakan might not have emerged unscathed.
"It's a blessing in disguise."
"And I've heard that Gilly is detained in one of the Council of Elders' secret hideouts. The Chief of the Civil Guard has promised humane treatment, so you don't have to worry too much."
Gilly was detained due to her involvement with Jin in the search for Temar's tomb. Additionally, as Jin's nanny, she knew more about him than anyone, so it was natural for the Council of Elders to interrogate her. Information about the 'Tomb of Temar' was sensitive enough to provoke a significant reaction from Runcandel.
"It's a relief that Murakan wasn't in the Wantaramo Forest. It was a wise decision to leave him behind in the Family. With him nearby, no one could have treated Gilly lightly. Although it would have been dangerous if he had gone too far."
Furthermore, Tellot, Chief of the Civil Guard, had taken good care of Gilly. While preventing Gilly's arrest was an exaggeration, he had tried to be as considerate as possible to Jin.
"I have a lot of work to do when I get back."
Jin wiped the bloodstains from his face with the towel brought by a servant. It was time to get some fresh bloodstains.
"Let's go."
He traveled to the Garden of Swords in the steel carriage. The other Guardian Knights at the transfer gate quickly headed to the Garden of Swords, reporting Jin's return.
Clank...!
The sound of the gate chain being lifted at the entrance of the Garden of Swords was particularly loud. As expected, the Garden of Swords had an unusual atmosphere from the entrance.
Hundreds of Guardian Knights stood threateningly, with members of the Council of Elders and Flagbearers standing tall in front of them.
Finally, Jin descended from the carriage. The blades of four swords encircled Jin's neck. They were the swords of the Executioner Knights.
"Twelfth Flagbearer, drop all your weapons."
Jin chuckled softly in response to the Executioner Knight's low voice. "It seems I've become a traitor."
"Do as I said."
"And if I don't?"
"We'll have no choice but to enforce the law."
"President of the Council of Elders!"
Suddenly, Jin shouted with a resonant and thunderous voice that tore through the garden's silence. It was unthinkable. The youngest in the family, the Twelfth Flagbearer, addressing the President of the Council of Elders with such disrespect. Immediately, a thick vein bulged on Jorden's forehead, and the eyes of the Council of Elders' members nearly popped out in astonishment.
'Wow, this crazy kid. Although he's my younger brother, he's really cool.' Among the Flagbearers, only Mary felt satisfaction as she clenched her fists. The other Flagbearers just stared at Jin in disbelief. Even Luntia, who was usually annoyed by everything, blinked in disbelief.
"You...!"
"This is outrageous! How dare the Twelfth Flagbearer address the President of the Council of Elders with such disrespect?" The Council of Elders' members, who had come to their senses belatedly, watched Jorden's mood. Jorden seemed quite flustered and kept staring at Jin with a somewhat vacant expression. The Executioner Knights, with their emotionless faces, still held their swords at Jin's neck.
"...Sir!"
"Cough, cough..."
Finally, Mary couldn't contain her laughter and let out a suppressed cough. In reality, she had been quite angry with Jin for not showing up at the meeting, but her younger brother always provided her with so much entertainment that she didn't dare to hate him.
"Since you probably won't kill me right here, how about treating me a little more lightly?"
"What...?"
"The Family must have a lot to hear from me. How will they find our ancestor's Tomb without me, and how will they recreate the Family's ancient glory?"
Jorden's forehead furrowed. He could barely hold onto his sanity and stared at Jin as if he wanted to kill him.
"Do you believe in that and act so recklessly, Twelfth Flagbearer?"
Despite the murderous intent in his eyes, Jorden's tone was rather calm.
"Yes."
"You don't seem to value your life. It remains to be seen if the information you gave to the Seventh Flagbearer has any value."
"It seems like the President of the Council of Elders is the one not valuing his honor."
Every word Jin spoke grated on Jorden's nerves. The bulging vein on his forehead looked like it would burst at any moment.
"Do you think you can talk to me about honor?"
"What can't I talk about? In fact, I mentioned honor because I wanted to help the President of the Council of Elders. You even brought the Executioner Knights from the Black Sword Association to put a sword to my throat..."
Toc~.
Jin continued speaking as he tapped the swords of the Executioner Knights.
"This. If you don't cut me down here, what kind of humiliation will you face? It's not like there are just one or two people watching. It means you won't be able to contain the rumors."
Standing next to Jin, Petro felt his life expectancy decreasing with every word Jin spoke. Cold sweat drops ran down Petro's pale face.
But Jin was sure. 'The President of the Council of Elders won't kill me.' It wasn't that he couldn't. It was entirely possible that Jorden, unable to contain his anger, would order the Executioner Knights to kill Jin. But it was only a possibility, and it wouldn't benefit Jorden in any way. On the contrary, he would suffer significant losses. Not only would he lose the means to keep Joshua in check, but if other factions benefited from Temar's Tomb in the future, the consequences would be dire. Even if Jorden was determined to kill Jin, it wasn't certain that he could. 'Even if the President of the Council of Elders orders the Executioner Knights to kill me, Mother is very likely to stop him.' Unless Rosa had more information about Temar's Tomb than Jin. From her perspective, Jin shouldn't die yet. There wasn't a 100% chance that Rosa would stop Jorden if he lost his composure, but Jin trusted it. Jin briefly raised his gaze and looked at the main house of the Garden of Swords. He even smiled as he focused on Rosa's office. Silence passed. This unprecedented situation couldn't be described with words.
"Your arrogance and recklessness have no bounds. To think someone like you could hoist Runcandel's flag, it seems times have truly changed."
When Jorden had made the decision to press Jin with the Executioner Knights, he hadn't expected this outcome. What he had expected was for Jin to realize the gravity of the situation and seek help from others to rectify it. If Jin had proposed a deal, asking for assistance from other Flagbearers or Tellot to alleviate the pressure from the Council of Elders, Jorden planned to use it as a pretext to find out exactly who Jin's potential allies were. He never expected Jin to be this audacious. Just like everyone who had dealt with Jin before. So, Jorden had no choice. If he simply let this pass, as Jin suggested, it would undoubtedly lead to a severe loss of honor, just as Jin said.
"Adapting to change is not an easy task, President of the Council of Elders."
"True, you're right. But you, you haven't lowered your weapons yet."
Jorden slightly raised his chin and spoke softly.
"Cut off both his arms."
Swish-!
The Executioner Knights, without hesitation, aimed to sever both of Jin's arms at Jorden's command.
Thud, thud.
Then, the severed limbs fell to the ground with a dull sound. And Jin didn't even spare a glance at his fallen arms.
Step, step~
Jin approached Jorden.
"Are you done?"
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