STM 108

“This is the room you’ll be staying in.”

Rick guided me to my room, seemingly half-hearted. It was as large as Lu’s room at Adeye, but unlike that place, which was so dazzlingly ornate, it was clean and had a distinctly old-fashioned feel.

The only issue was that it faced west. And it was at the very end of the building.

Well, I didn’t care whether they gave the future Grand Duke’s partner a corner room or an attic room. As long as it wasn’t next to a pigsty, this counted as a 5 star hotel.

The problem was that from my window, I could only see the village below. The city that served as Kun’s capital spread out before me.

That’s right, I used a portal and entered Kun’s main castle today. To be precise, it was more like a detached residence in front of the main castle.

However, I didn’t expect to enter Kun territory this quickly. To come here, you had to use the portal in the capital residence, and they didn’t grant permission to just anyone.

“So I’ll be staying here from now on?”

“Yes.”

After answering, Rick added a warning.

“You won’t be able to go to the capital for a while. Even if you’re disappointed, it can’t be helped.”

Disappointed? I was thrilled. All I could think about right now was getting into the Acorn Forest as soon as possible.

But when I tried to suppress my excitement and school my expression, he misunderstood and shook his head slightly.

“Haah, the head butler you greeted at the entrance will help with the tour of the residence, so if you have any questions, you can ask her.”

While I looked around the room, Rick spoke quickly and then briefly checked my reaction.

He was giving me the impression he didn’t really want to talk to me, but I didn’t want to be friends with him, so I didn’t mind. I quickly asked him what I needed.

“Acorn… which direction is the main castle?”

“Why are you asking that?”

Rick immediately asked back, sounding sensitive. It was because that was my destination. I simply shrugged.

“It’ll be my problem from now on, so it’d be good for me to know.”

“……”

Rick kept his mouth shut, but his face betrayed everything he wanted to say. He seemed annoyed by the sudden appearance of an outsider interfering with their problem.

Oh, he’s being territorial. But it was trivial for a subordinate to show territoriality to a superior. I deliberately smiled.

“Now that I think about it, I’m the ‘mistress’ here, so I’ll need Rick’s help a lot. We’ll be seeing each other for a long time, so why don’t we take some time to get to know each other first?”

“What? That’s ridiculous… haah, there’s no need for you to know anything about me. Then I’ll take my leave…”

“I’m not finished yet.”

As the firm voice fell from my lips, Rick paused and looked back at me as if surprised.

It made sense, since that was my original tone, not Adeye Lu’s. I wiped away my smile and pointed outside with a serious expression.

“Did you deliberately assign my room to a place where the main castle can’t be seen?”

“……”

“Ah, I see. I understand.”

“Yes? No, I mean, I didn’t say anything…”

Rick stuttered in confusion, but I finished my business and turned around to walk down the corridor.

“Where are you going?!”

He followed in alarm, but I didn’t even look back and just waved my hand.

“Looking around the house.”

Then I gave Mo an order.

‘Start drawing a floor plan of this residence.’

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Kilu visited the Ma family from the morning, but he didn’t have high expectations. He had already seen everything about who Hoiga had in mind during the White Branch meeting.

However, since Kilu had never set his heart on Hoiga, it didn’t hurt him even if Hoiga liked Tairok.

He was just disappointed that Hoiga was no different from the other pathetic lot who liked Tairok.

So this was Salvation? He wasn’t anything special.

He felt irritated, but Montaine needed Salvation to take the imperial throne. So he was prepared to put in some more effort. Then…

“Yes, I’ll marry the Duke.”

…Hoiga abruptly accepted the proposal.

Kilu forced himself to hide his surprise and turned his thoughts over, recalling the report he had received before coming here.

According to it, Hoiga seemed to have secretly slipped out of the residence during the night and come back. They realized it when they saw him return in the morning.

He probably thought he had avoided the guards’ eyes, but he had shown a vacant expression to the whole world, and he didn’t even know he had been completely found out.

What caught Kilu’s attention, however, was Hoiga’s vacant state.

Could he have gone to Tairok that night? If the reason he accepted the proposal was because he was plotting with Tairok to deceive him?

Kilu asked with a polite smile on his lips.

“That means you must take an oath with me. I have one demand. A promise that you’ll sincerely do anything for the Montaine family.”

Then, even if Tairok and Hoiga were conspiring, it would stop them. “Well, let’s see if he’ll accept it this time too.” Hoiga nodded after a moment.

“Yes. I’ll sincerely work for Montaine. But the Duke must also keep my pledge.”

“Just tell me what you want.”

“The Kun family.”

Hoiga cut himself off, bit his lip once, and managed to speak.

“Get rid of them.”

…What? Kilu slowly tilted his head to the side. Did he hear that right? As doubt crossed his mind, Hoiga added,

“Not only Grand Duke Kun Tairok, but also Adeye Lu, who’s going to become his partner. Take everything from them and trample them into ruin. That’s my condition.”

Hoiga’s eyes burned with intense anger as he spoke.

Well now?

Kilu couldn’t hold back his laughter and pulled his lips into a wide grin.

“That’s an extremely satisfying condition. It’s exactly what I was hoping for.”

“Then is that enough?”

“Yes, as long as I confirm one thing.”

Confirm what? As the question rose in Hoiga’s mind, Kilu stood up from his seat and walked over.

“I want to see the mark of Salvation.”

Hoiga’s eyes shook with hesitation. He had already accepted to marry him, so why hesitate now? Kilu couldn’t understand it. If anything, shouldn’t Hoiga be the one stepping forward and proving that he was Salvation?

“Hoiga.”

When Kilu called his name, Hoiga seemed to steel himself. Without a word, he lifted his hand and undid several buttons of his shirt. Then he pulled the fabric back and turned his body so his back faced them.

“It’s between my shoulder blades.”

Something was there, centered between both shoulder blades, just above the spine. A dark red mark about the size of a thumb. Thin red lines, like threads, spread symmetrically to both sides from a central dot.

The shape looked like wings. But it didn’t seem to be a tattoo.

It was hard to believe it had been carved artificially. The skin around the blackened center looked like a burn scar. It looked as if blood vessels had burst from an injury and remained stained red. But Kilu had never seen or even heard of such a bizarre scar.

Kilu unconsciously reached out. The moment his fingers touched the skin, Hoiga flinched and twisted his body to avoid the touch. He quickly buttoned his shirt back up and lifted his eyes warily.

“You’ve confirmed it, so is that enough?”

Kilu looked down at Hoiga for a moment. Why did he seem so lacking in confidence? Was it because it wasn’t something he was born with? But the scar looked quite old, and that shape would be difficult to fabricate.

“Duke, if you’re uneasy, say so. I’ll treat this marriage as if it never happened.”

At Hoiga’s firm voice, Kilu reflexively smiled.

“That won’t be necessary.”

It didn’t matter if Hoiga really was Salvation or not, he was useful for now, so Kilu had to hold on to him. Hr dropped to one knee in front of Hoiga.

“Then, shall we make an oath before either of us changes our mind?”

Kilu held out his hand, but Hoiga only lowered his gaze and didn’t move. Kilu reached out and forcibly grabbed Hoiga’s hand, pulling it toward him. Hoiga flinched for a moment but didn’t strongly resist.

“As you know, the oath requires us to create a new name that only the two of us share, and use it as proof of the promise. Do you have a name you want?”

“Anything is fine.”

Would he have answered the same way if Tairok had asked? Kilu barely suppressed his urge to sneer and chose one of his family’s names.

The oath was simple. As they recited their name and vows, a burning heat flowed through their hands, as if to prove that their oath was sealed with divine power.

In less than a minute, everything was finished, and Kilu immediately let go of Hoiga’s hand.

Hoiga stared down at his hand. He seemed to be in disbelief at his decision, sworn to be his partner with such determination.

Kilu inwardly snickered at his appearance. Was he still harboring lingering feelings for Kun, even though he hoped for his downfall? But he had no intention of caring for him, so he asked in a cold tone.

“Now then, if you have any information for Montaine, tell me. Anything that could bring Kun down will do.”

Hoiga had been staring at his hand for a long time, but at Kilu’s demand, he lifted his head. However, his gaze remained fixed on the floor, his lips slightly moving as if sharing a secret.

“…There’s a way to lift Kun’s curse.”

In an instant, Kilu’s eyes turned fierce.

“Does that mean Tairok knows how?”

Hoiga shook his head expressionlessly.

“But I know a few things. That the method is written in an ancient manuscript kept by Sarne, and that there’s only one chance to lift the curse. And one more thing.”

Hoiga slowly raised his eyes from the floor.

“I am the only one who can break that curse.”

The brown eyes watching Hoiga sparkled with delight.

“Hoiga would never lift it… so as long as Sarne is kept in check, Kun’s curse will last forever.”

A bright smile spread across Kilu’s face.

“It’s such a shame.”