SWY 115

Just as expected.

“Since when did you suspect?”

“Since I heard there was a bounty on you for stealing the family heirloom. That made me think of the Ice Cave, and it started to feel like your family might’ve been established to guard the ruins. The Kaios family didn’t just contribute to the war against monsters but played a huge role in founding the Empire too, ever wonder why they were granted an arid territory like Katun?”

Katun was a poor territory. After even the mine that brought in modest income was taken, it became even poorer. All the other founding families, except Kaios and Ailun, were granted prosperous lands near the capital. Sharhan, too, once resented the first emperor, wondering why the Kaios family had been so neglected compared to the others.

“If Katun was granted on purpose because of the ruins, then it makes sense. Wait, does that mean my uncle knew the Ice Cave was a ruin?”

“……”

Lestel didn’t reply, but Sharhan hadn’t really asked expecting an answer. He looked down at the brooch resting in his palm and muttered to himself.

“And if this amethyst is connected to the Ice Cave… say, like it’s a key to enter…”

It was only a theory for now, but it didn’t feel far-fetched. There was no other reason for his miserly uncle to go so far, offering money, to get the heirloom back. Sharhan shook his head, abandoning other theories.

‘Yeah. The cave has to be the reason.’

Sharhan stared into the crackling flames, lost in thought. But his mind wouldn’t settle. The problem wasn’t his uncle, it was the Marquis of Ailun.

‘Why is the Marquis of Ailun collecting amethysts? Could it be… he also knows about the Ice Cave?’

The Ice Cave was situated between Katun and Serman. That meant it didn’t fully belong to either the Kaios or the Ailun family.

Sharhan bit his lip and looked up, fixing his gaze on Lestel.

“Isn’t it possible… that your family, too, was chosen to guard the ruins, just like mine?”

“……”

“Think about it. Serman is larger and richer than Katun, but it’s still far from the capital. All the other founding families were granted land near the capital.”

“And those families all fell and disappeared.”

The closer they were to the capital, the fiercer the power struggles. The three other founding families that lost their place in the political game now only remained in history books.

“That was because they lost out in power struggles later. But at the time of the founding, our two families were the only ones granted distant territories, and they just happened to be neighboring ones: Katun and Serman. Doesn’t that strike you as odd?”

“……”

“If the founding emperor gave the two families the mission of guarding the ruins and split the lands accordingly, it makes perfect sense. Even the fact that the Ice Cave lies between the two territories is explained.”

“……”

“Kaios and Ailun weren’t enemies from the start. They only grew apart because of the mine dispute. Originally, two friendly families received neighboring lands to protect the ruins. But that purpose was lost over generations. Suppose your father and my uncle stumbled across the truth about the ruins and the amethysts.”

“……”

Lestel stayed silent, but Sharhan’s eyes sparkled as he went on.

“So not only my uncle but the Marquis too became obsessed with finding this thing. I think it might be the key to the ruins. What do you think?”

“It’s possible.”

“Right?”

Sharhan’s shoulders lifted with satisfaction, until his brow furrowed.

“Wait… when exactly did my uncle find out about the ruins? Could it be… my parents’ accident…”

His parents had died in a sudden accident. Their carriage had overturned and fallen off a cliff. Both of them, and the coachman, died.

When Sharhan received the news and rushed back home, he didn’t have the time or mind to dig deeply into the circumstances.

Their bodies were badly decomposed, horribly so, and the shock had been overwhelming. His uncle had already taken control of the family by then, and just leaving with Iris had been a struggle. Ever since, he had lived with a quiet suspicion.

Why had a coachman, who had driven for over twenty years without a single incident, made such a fatal mistake? On a road he knew by heart? And how had his uncle, who had always lived in the shadows as a mere bastard son, suddenly acquired the money and power to take over the family?

To flip the allegiance of the knights and retainers in a heartbeat, there had to have been something, money or power, to tempt them. But his uncle had neither. Which meant someone, or some family, had provided it.

But who?

Sharhan had puzzled over it even during the war, but no one came to mind. More importantly, he couldn’t think of any reason someone would back his uncle to take over Katun. The territory was poor. That alone made it senseless.

Unless it was because of the ruins. That would explain everything. Ruins often contain incredible treasures. Lestel found ruins and became rich overnight. Same with the mana explosives.

Whether his uncle discovered the ruins first or someone else did and recruited him didn’t matter. If someone had learned there was a ruin worth plundering in Katun…

Sharhan’s heart suddenly dropped with a loud thud, like it had fallen off a cliff. The thought shook him. He looked at Lestel, who remained expressionless. Until their eyes met, and Lestel forced a smile. But it looked awkward.

Sharhan clenched his teeth without realizing. His fists tightened. The brooch dug into his palm, but he didn’t even feel the pain.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“…Can’t I even look at my boyfriend’s face?”

Sharhan brushed away the uneasy, ugly suspicion rising in his gut and replied gruffly.

“Boyfriend?”

“I mean, we are lovers. You said you love me.”

Lestel grabbed him in a tight hug and rolled them both onto the floor. The brooch slipped from Sharhan’s startled hand and clattered away.

“Let me go! I can’t breathe!”

“Shan, are you trying to kill me?”

“You lunatic, who’s killing who?! You’re the one trying to strangle me right now! I can’t breathe!”

Even as Sharhan punched Lestel’s shoulder and ribs without mercy, Lestel didn’t let go. The man had gotten bigger than him recently, which was already annoying enough, and now he was holding on so tight it made Sharhan dizzy.

“Boyfriend, huh… Damn, that’s the sweetest word I’ve ever heard.”

“Fine, I get it. Now let go.”

“My throat feels like it’s filled with sugar just from breathing.”

“I said I get it. God, how did you hide your feelings this long if you liked me this much?”

“I hid them with everything I had, like my life depended on it.”

“I’m dull, and you’re ruthless. How could you keep it hidden that long? When were you going to confess? Or were you planning to never say anything?”

“After you left the academy, I told myself I’d confess during the next break when I came home. But you were gone.”

“I said I’m sorry already! How long are you going to milk that? And if you were so determined, why didn’t you just confess the moment you found me instead of trying to slap a magic contract collar on me?”

“That was…”

“Anyway, move. The brooch rolled off. That thing’s my family heirloom and might be the key to the ruins, remember?”

Sharhan used the momentary slack in Lestel’s grip to escape and grabbed the brooch that had rolled away. Thinking about it now, it was a relief that Lestel had bought it from the pawnshop, it never ended up in his uncle’s hands.

“What’s wrong with your palm?”

Lestel frowned, noticing the scratch.

“It’s nothing. Must’ve happened when I gripped the brooch too hard earlier.”

Lestel gently opened Sharhan’s curled hand and licked the wound. It stung, it was wet, and it tickled.

“I love you.”

Only after carefully tending to the wound did Lestel meet Sharhan’s gaze and say it, his voice as sweet as sugar. Now Sharhan understood what he meant by breathing sugar.

“Let’s sleep.”

Sharhan lay down, pushing Lestel’s face away with a finger as he leaned in for a kiss. Lestel, who’d been grumbling about the mood being ruined, lay beside him and embraced him like it was the most natural thing in the world. The floor was cold, but Lestel’s arms were warm. Sharhan closed his eyes, feeling his breath against his neck.

‘I hope those feelings never change.’

It was what Lestel had once said when Sharhan claimed he couldn’t blame Derry for his teacher’s crimes. For some reason, that moment resurfaced now. Sharhan swallowed the growing unease that was stacking up like dust.