C456
Jin descended to the makeshift infirmary in the basement of the mansion.
The reason for setting up an infirmary in the basement was simple.
The poison from Zephyrin that lingered in the Black Knight's body had contaminated the air.
Jin opened the door leading to the basement room and was greeted by a strong, pungent smell.
It was the scent of the antidote that Kuzan had used to detoxify the Black Knight.
"Have you come, Jin-nim?" Kuzan said with a tired expression.
Beside him, the top healers sent by Lani and the Phantom Legion Mercenaries lay exhausted.
It had been almost two weeks since the beginning of the new year. The Black Knight had just awakened, so they hadn't been able to sleep well.
"Jet, take the healers to the recovery room. And increase the amount of gold going to the Holy Kingdom five times this month."
The usual five times already accounted for more than 30% of the Holy Kingdom's annual budget, but there was no need to worry about money.
The more matters related to Jin grew, the more items from the Golden Peng sold like hotcakes.
Jin could give fifty times the usual amount without hesitation, considering Lani's recent performance.
After the news that the Twelfth Flagbearer of Runcandel had taken control of the Black King Mercenaries, the executives at the Golden Peng only saw it as a way to make more money.
They began producing a limited edition of a product called "Limited Edition Black Dragon Murakan Cosmetics," both in deluxe and normal versions.
Golden Peng had intentionally limited the quantity of limited edition products to increase their value.
As a result, stores were constantly filled with long lines of customers, and limited edition items were traded on the black market at prices many times higher than their original cost.
As a result, those who couldn't get the limited edition started flocking to other products.
Perfumes, soaps, and even sneakers with images of Jin and Murakan.
All of them sold like hotcakes, and money poured in.
"Yes, my lord!"
"Kuzan, you should go up and rest too. You can relax with Beris for a day or two in a quiet place."
"I'll take a break when all the work is done, Jin-nim."
"Well, Kuzan is also a workaholic, hehe. So, let's have a simple drink together tonight. I'll also ask Valkas and Lata-nim to join."
Kuzan, Jet, and the healers left the basement room.
Creak.
Jin opened the door and saw the Black Knight sitting on the bed.
Jin knew from Quikantel that the Black Knight still couldn't control his body well.
However, detoxification had been completed, so now he only needed rest, medication, and time.
"Black Knight."
Jin approached the Black Knight, and he slowly raised his head.
He had a dazed expression, like someone who had just woken up from a dream.
Although he was a 10-star knight, the potent poison and the antidote had been wreaking havoc on his body for almost two weeks, and he hadn't fully regained his strength.
"No, can I call you Dox McRolan?"
Dox McRolan.
That was the name Jin had discovered while the Black Knight was unconscious.
He couldn't access the precise personal information of the Black Knight with the authority of the Twelfth Flagbearer.
To access the personal information of an active Black Knight, one had to be at least the Fourth Flagbearer or hold a similar rank.
But to find out Dox's name, Jin didn't need to request information from the Family as in Barton's case.
The black knight is from Gilly's Family.
"Twelfth Flagbearer..." Dox murmured with dry lips, looking around.
On reflex, he tried to grab a weapon, but his arms and legs trembled.
They were the specially tailored metal chains with which they had tied him, just in case.
Jin untied the chains.
"I never imagined a Black Knight would be in such a vulnerable state. I bet you didn't either."
Dox silently looked at Jin.
However, it's not that he was carefully choosing his words to respond.
Rather, he was organizing the remaining poison in his body.
He was also recalling memories he hadn't reflected on since he had just woken up.
What the hell happened?
Damn it, to think the Black Helm would end up like this...!
Dox remembered everything clearly up to the point where he was ambushed by that strange mercenary, Zephyrin.
A strange and inexplicable fear invaded him as he recalled the chilling sensation of purple nails suddenly piercing through his body, making his body tremble again.
However, the memories after that became a chaotic jumble like shattered glass.
I immediately lost consciousness due to that unknown poison.
The mercenary kept attacking me, and I couldn't defend myself due to the extreme poison.
'I thought I was dead.'
Indeed, if Jin and the others hadn't been there, Dox would have met his end when the initial ambush was followed by additional attacks.
After that...
'A strange subspace suddenly formed, and the Twelfth Flagbearer, Murakan, and the Black King Leader protected me in battle.'
The Twelfth Flagbearer had saved him.
Dox could easily come to that conclusion.
So why?
Dox didn't know how the battle between Jin, Murakan, the Black King Leader, and Zephyrin unfolded after that.
And he thought that if Zephyrin was strong enough to kill him in a single blow, then it would be absolutely difficult for the Twelfth Flagbearer and his guardian dragon to fight against her while protecting him.
Therefore, the Twelfth Flagbearer should have abandoned him and fled.
Especially considering the sharp conflict between the Twelfth Flagbearer and the Second Flagbearer.
Did he make that decision for the Family, putting aside his conflict with the Second Flagbearer?
There's a possibility that he used the Black King Leader as a shield, but...
'Did the Twelfth Flagbearer risk his life for my sake, or rather, for the sake of the Family? Even if it means assisting the Second Flagbearer?'
Dox grabbed his head due to a sudden headache.
"Kugh...!"
"Don't force yourself to dispel the poison. I have no intention of torturing you to extract information about the Second Flagbearer or keeping you as a prisoner. So relax."
Jin brought a chair closer and sat in front of Dox.
"Of course, I can't open the Black Helm's mouth through torture, and Joshua won't mind even if you're taken as a prisoner."
"You... saved me?"
"Yes. Murakan, the Black King, and I fought that monster to protect you."
"Huh."
"Once we escaped, I called the Holy Queen to take care of your treatment."
Up to that point, it was a development that Dox could easily imagine.
After all, there is no one in Runcandel who doesn't know about the relationship between Jin and Lani.
However, the next moment, Jin's words left Dox bewildered and wide-eyed, and he couldn't help but let out a gasp.
"But even Lani couldn't fully heal you. So we had to open the Eternal Vault and use the last drop of Numerus' blood left in the Holy Kingdom."
Cough, cough!
Dox was so stunned that he coughed uncontrollably.
It was the first time he had coughed like this since becoming the Black Knight.
"You suffered such a potent poison, so you should know it better than anyone. No matter how extraordinary the Holy Queen's divine power is, that poison was beyond its healing capacity. It took you almost half a month to wake up even with the use of Numerus' blood drop."
"Huh, is that so?"
"Do you think I'm lying?"
Of course, Jin was lying.
He had never used Numerus' blood drop.
Dox had fully recovered using only Lani's divine power and the Holy Kingdom's abilities.
But Dox couldn't doubt it.
From his perspective, it was not unreasonable to think that the poison was something that could only be cured with Numerus' blood drop, as Jin claimed.
After all, he had never used it, and there was no one to tell Dox that it had been used on him.
"Why? I could express gratitude as a member of the Family, but did you think I would promise you loyalty using a sacred object for me?"
He was a Black Knight. Black Knights were not as superficial as to betray their lord just because the opponent saved their life.
Then Jin burst into laughter.
Jin didn't say it with the intention of deceiving him but as a harmless lie.
"Loyalty? Well, I didn't expect you to go that far. I just wanted to tell you this."
Jin handed him a handful of bulletins.
They were bulletins praising Jin and Murakan, written by Joshua's scribes.
'What is this... Certainly, they look like newspapers from the Second Flagbearer's media. Did the Second Flagbearer order these articles to be written this way? Besides, Zephyrin is not mentioned anywhere in the articles. It's full of news about the Twelfth Flagbearer and his Dragon Guardian taking over the Black King's Mercenaries.'
Opening his eyes, Dox immediately found many things he couldn't understand.
But the meaning of these articles was clear.
It's not the result of the Twelfth Flagbearer using me to make a deal with the Second Flagbearer.
Moreover, the Second Flagbearer believes I'm dead.
Dox believed he understood Joshua better than anyone.
He gave the Twelfth Flagbearer my wings thinking it would be beneficial for the Family.
It wasn't entirely wrong.
He had put himself at Joshua's service after the consent of the acting patriarch and matriarch and was always close to him.
"I don't need to explain why Joshua published these articles, right?"
"I... have a general idea. Zephyrin fled, and you take credit for the fall of the Black King Mountain. The Second Flagbearer doesn't know these facts, so he published these articles."
"Exactly. However, even if you tell Joshua about Zephyrin, it won't change anything. And Joshua won't trust you anymore when you return."
In Jin's opinion, Joshua was that kind of person.
Once someone escaped from his control, he wouldn't trust them again.
Moreover, for someone he believed was dead, like the Black Knight, to come back and reveal that the new recruits of the Black King's Mercenaries had attacked him, and that the Twelfth Flagbearer had saved him...?
'For Joshua, this is an issue that disrupts his calculations. He has already secured the prestige and power of the clan even if he has to endure the loss of a single Black Knight. Above all, he can't trust the returned Black Knight who was believed to be dead.'
-The loss of the Black Knight is an unbearably painful event, but the Family must gain the maximum benefits from this incident.
Words spoken by Joshua during his conversation with Howard.
Jin didn't hear those words directly, but he perfectly guessed Joshua's calculations.
"...Think as you like. What are you going to do with me now?"
"What am I going to do? I'll send you back to Joshua. It's not my concern whether he trusts you again or not. Since you won't betray Joshua anyway. Joshua and I are waging a battle for hegemony, but in a broader sense, you are the most critical force in the Family. That's why I used the sacred object to save you."
"Are you serious?"
"Yes, I'm serious. But before that, you have to pay me for saving your life. Before you go to Joshua, perform a task according to my orders once your body recovers."
Dox looked at Jin with a perplexed expression.
Suddenly, an order?
He didn't understand what the Twelfth Flagbearer's intention was.
"All right, I accept. Tell me what the order is."
Jin grinned evilly and said.
"As soon as you recover, head to the city of Rikalton, south of Hufester. Investigate the truth about what is happening in Rikalton and report to me."
Rikalton.
It was a place where it was suspected that Joshua gathered "human materials" for his clones.
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