MTM 90

Allen and Leon paced in front of the inn room.

“What’s going on all of a sudden…?”

Allen muttered as he restlessly walked back and forth.

Inside the room were the knight who had come looking for a blond man and Zed. Since the door was closed, they couldn’t know what the two were talking about, and the uncertainty made Allen too restless to stand still.

Leon, on the other hand, sat on the floor with a grave expression, lost in thought. After a while, he murmured softly.

“If my memory’s right, it was definitely a ‘Golden Wings’ insignia…”

Allen froze mid-step and turned toward him.

“Are they really… the Royal Knights?”

When Leon looked up at him with anxious eyes, Allen’s heart grew heavy.

“The Royal Knights…”

He absentmindedly whispered the words. He could understand why Leon looked that way. The Royal Knights were a symbol of absolute authority, unmatched by any order in the Empire.

Allen recalled what he’d learned as an apprentice holy knight.

The Royal Knights were a gathering of the very best, swordmasters, warriors, spearmen, archers, and magicians. Age and status meant nothing, only skill mattered.

Just as Leon had once been chosen as a royal mage candidate despite his youth, anyone with talent could challenge for a place. That was why so many holy knights apprentices considered the Royal Knights their ultimate goal.

Clack.

Just then, the door opened, and a knight in silver armor appeared. He gave a brief nod to Allen and Leon before walking silently out of the inn.

“Zed!”

The moment the knight disappeared, the two swarmed in the room.

“What’s going on? Why did the Royal Knights come here?!”

Leon rushed inside, breathless, and demanded answers from Zed, who was sitting on the bed.

“You…”

Allen stopped short when he saw the change in Zed’s demeanor. Zed looked like someone who had just emerged from deep thought, the corners of his mouth lifting quietly.

“…I think I can find Harto.”

It was the first time Zed had smiled since waking up here.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

Crash!

A glass of wine hit the floor and shattered. Bernak, who was kneeling before it, flinched. A shard must have grazed his cheek, because a thin line of blood trickled down his face.

The one who had thrown the glass was Crown Prince Magnus. Though he leaned lazily against the opulent chair trimmed with gold, his expression was twisted with irritation.

“The Royal Knights have moved…?”

Magnus said with a mocking laugh.

“Yes, Your Highness. The knights have already scattered across the Empire and begun acting.”

“Then why…”

Before Bernak could finish, Magnus growled.

“Why was I not informed before things reached this point?”

“I’m sorry, Your Highness. I have nothing more to say in my defense…”

Bernak bowed so low his forehead almost touched the floor. Blood from his cheek continued dripping onto the carpet.

‘The Crown Prince collects blonds.’

That was the bizarre rumor spreading not only through the Regnovar Empire but even across neighboring ones. However, no one knew why such a story existed or why anyone would say the Crown Prince collected blond hair. Even more strange was that the Royal Knights had moved because of that single rumor.

In the end, Bernak couldn’t figure out how much the knights had discovered or what evidence they were acting on.

The reason Magnus was so furious about not noticing first was because he had been too absorbed elsewhere.

Ares Carseon.

Realizing how much time he’d wasted obsessing over that man, Magnus gritted his teeth, shallowing down his anger.

“Haa… It seems I’ve spent far too much attention on a single rat. Pathetic.”

“……”

Bernak couldn’t say a word at Magnus’s self-deprecating tone. He only focused on the drops of blood falling to the floor and swallowed carefully.

After a moment, Magnus looked down at him and gestured to the attendant standing behind the curtain. The attendant, understanding the order without a word, brought forward a wooden box and set it before the crown prince.

Click.

When the lid opened, a small glass vial resting on a velvet cushion appeared. A dim blue light shimmered inside.

“At least one of the pups the rat was hiding has fallen into my hands, so I suppose it isn’t a total loss.”

Magnus rolled the vial between his fingers and asked Bernak,

“Are you certain the creature is trapped in here?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Bernak still didn’t raise his head as he answered.

“However… since it was a low-grade monster, it couldn’t withstand the power of a pure magic stone. It seems to have been completely absorbed.”

Magnus laughed.

“So you’re saying the magic stone inside this bottle is the creature.”

“That’s correct.”

“Hm…”

Magnus lifted the vial to eye level and examined it. The blue light of the stone reflected off his handsome face, casting a strange glow over his features. But a moment later, a dark crack seemed to spread across his expression.

“Bernak.”

After staring into the vial for some time, Magnus slowly turned his gaze to him.

“You’d better tell me the truth.”

“Your-Your Highness…?”

Bernak flinched and looked up. The cheek streaked with dried blood trembled.

“W-what do you mean…”

He stammered, obviously confused, but Magnus just stared down at him without saying a word. That silent gaze made Bernak feel as if a noose were tightening around his throat. He struggled to breathe.

His lips moved several times before he finally spoke with trembling hands.

“T-there was a… small problem with the carriage that carried the cargo… midway through the journey.”

Bernak confessed everything that had happened.

Right after receiving word that the Royal Knights were moving, he had hurriedly left the desert. Because of that, he’d loaded the vial containing the monster onto the crown prince’s supply carriage. The carriage was protected by a high-grade magical barrier and escorted by the elite knights of the Regnovar Empire, so he’d believed it would be safe.

Perhaps that had been too careless. Somehow, the carriage vanished completely, along with the two blonds traveling with it and a fortune in jewels. Even after pressing the guards for answers, he couldn’t learn who was behind it or how everything had disappeared without a trace.

Only the vial had been recovered after a long search. It had been found near a mountainside, among a heap of objects that dogs had dragged together from various places.

“Haa… Bernak. Bernak.”

After listening to the entire account, Magnus sighed. He rose slowly from his chair and walked toward him. Each time he said Bernak’s name, the man’s shoulders shrank further.

“I told you.”

Facing the approaching crown prince, Bernak trembled all over, unable to meet his eyes.

“I said that was the last time!!”

Magnus’s roar thundered through the room as he hurled the vial to the floor. His boot came down on the shattered glass without hesitation.

Crack!

The magic stone inside broke into pieces, flashing with bright blue light that quickly faded into nothing.

Bernak froze in place. Only then did he seem to realize the enormity of his mistake.

“…The creature escaped.”

After a long silence, Magnus forced down his rage and spoke in a low voice.

“Find it.”

His golden gleamed.

“Before Ares does.”