STM 18

Mo couldn’t help, but bright moonlight came through the open terrace door. The light let me see the room obstacles a little. To move without sound, I had to avoid the furniture, so I mapped a path and then I went.

Luckily the carpet on the floor cut the sound. Also I had the Penuang floorplan Doctor Kim gave me.

“Search the second floor first. The show-offs meet privately on the second floor.”

I followed Doctor Kim’s advice and went to the second floor. I slipped through a narrow secret passage and I put my ear to each room that looked like a bedroom.

I could faintly hear people talk. The problem was most of the sounds were moans, not talk.

“Ahng~ Hit me more~”

“Ugh, how is it? Is mine better?”

“Yes! Finish me off! Better than my husband!”

It was an affair.

Fuck. I swallowed a swear and moved to a room next door. Those rooms were all for secret meetings, no different from the affair room. Could the traitor be having fun right now…?

“Borhumi Zav got info about the Sword of Silence.”

The Sword of Silence? The emperor’s sword? I opened my eyes wide. A voice sounded nearby. No need to search.

I pressed my ear to the wall. Then I heard a answer from someone. The other voice sounded unclear.

Damn, why can’t I hear?

Right as annoyance rose, the first voice answered whether the info was reliable.

“The information seems reliable. Zav’s right hand, Ottma, is on the move.”

After a short pause came more.

“The Sword of Silence sits in the Forest of Crimson Waves. The forest entrance is probably…”

I wanted to hear more, but something interrupted me. To be exact, an annoying presence suddenly appeared in the air.

***

Grand Duke Kun didn’t want to come to a party. Killing one more monster and getting a black stone was more useful than wasting time here.

If not for a friend’s letter claiming important info, he would have stayed away.

‘Don’t miss today’s party and you’ll regret it.’

If a stranger said that, he’d ignore it. But this friend had proved right many times before.

But Grand Duke Kun never asked where the info came from, and he never tried to profit from it. Restoring a ruined house needs only his power.

Today, though, he couldn’t ignore it.

“You surprised me. You are escorting Baron Zarayal’s heir? I should’ve seen the faces when you arrived.”

The friend smiled like this was casual chat, but his body betrayed him. He couldn’t hold Grand Duke Kun’s gaze and his hands shook.

He knew why. Most people who react like that feel something for the Duke. Love, respect, awe. None of that helps Grand Duke Kun.

“I just needed a reason to attend.”

“You don’t escort just anyone. Baron Zarayal stuck with you when everyone turned away. The original escort for the heir hurt his leg, right? Is he okay?”

The friend feigned concern, but Grand Duke Kun only smiled without answering. The friend flinched and looked away.

“Sorry. I know you hate personal topics.”

Grand Duke Kun scanned his friend and thought. Was this really that man’s true face? They came from the same academy, but they never spoke back then. Publicly the friend looked nothing like this. No one would guess the secret he kept. Maybe that friend had foresight.

“Lately monsters appear often in Mungkun Valley.”

The friend, worried that Kun might leave, quickly brought up news.

“Sarne family hides monster sightings and handles them secretly to block outsiders.”

One of the four divine deast houses got named. Grand Duke Kun barely reacted, but the friend kept talking.

“Because Sarne believes a divine beast stays there.”

Ha, divine beast. Grand Duke Kun’s face. That damn divine deast.

Sarne had failed divine beast selection for three generations. They still obsessed over a divine beast and tried to regain its power. In that light, Grand Duke Kun’s house that gave up after the divine beast vanished ten years ago might be better.

“I’m decoding Sarne’s old records. Mungkun Valley looks likely.”

“You got those records from Sarne?”

Grand Duke Kun cared more about the record source than content. The friend smiled shyly like he liked that Grand Duke Kun noticed him more than the text.

“It didn’t come to me directly. No one knows I can decode records.”

Yeah, I had no clue either.

So the Sarne family would never imagine that their precious ancient record could be shared with him.

Grand Duke Kun disliked receiving unwanted information, but he didn’t stop his friend from speaking.

The Sarne family had once helped destroy the Kun house.

“If any clear information about the divine beast shows up, I’ll tell you first.”

“Why?”

At Grand Duke Kun’s question, his friend showed his confusion plainly. Then he murmured and gave a shy smile.

“Because I’m grateful.”

Grand Duke Kun knew what the gratitude meant. It must be for saving him from a monster years ago. But the emotion in the man’s eyes wasn’t simple gratitude.

“You already paid your life debt.”

“No. Not nearly enough.”

“I don’t want more.”

Grand Duke Kun drew a line and stared straight at him.

“Your feelings annoy me.”

At that blunt rejection, the friend’s blue eyes trembled like waves. But his voice stayed firm.

“So you don’t hate me?”

What’s this?

Grand Duke Kun’s mouth curved when the friend, who he thought would retreat in fear, spoke so boldly. Encouraged by that reaction, the friend’s shaking voice asked again.

“You don’t hate me, right?”

“Yes. Not yet.”

“Then give me a chance. At least I can be useful. You can use me and toss me away after. You’ve two things you need to hear right now.”

“Something I’ll regret if I don’t listen?”

When Grand Duke Kun repeated the same line from the letter, the friend nodded.

“Just like how you showed up here suddenly, an unexpected guest might come tonight.”

“Who?”

“Montaine Bilge.”

It was only the name of a notorious playboy, but Grand Duke Kun’s eyes turned cold.

Bilge was famous for preying on the naive, especially new debutantes in the social circle. And tonight Grand Duke Kun had escorted one such innocent youth.

Damn it, Baron Zarayal’s son might be in danger.

Satisfied with that much, Grand Duke Kun turned to leave, but his friend caught him again.

“Hear the second news before you go.”

“Later.”

“Borhumi Zav got information about the Sword of Silence.”

At the mention of another enemy, a murderous look appeared on Kun’s face.

“The information seems reliable. Zav’s right hand, Ottma, is on the move.”

“Where to?”

As he asked, calculations filled Grand Duke Kun’s head. The man would demand payment, surely. He thought of what to offer, but the friend spoke right away, without hesitation.

“The Sword of Silence lies in the Forest of Crimson Waves. The forest entrance is probably…”

But he couldn’t finish.

Grand Duke Kun raised his hand to stop him, then swept his cold gaze around the room.

“There’s a rat here.”

‎

‎

Whoosh

Wind blew through the dark narrow corridor, and my hair fluttered.

At first I was confused. No way wind could blow inside a secret passage… or maybe it could.

If something nonhuman floated in the air. But I ignored it and pressed my ear to the wall.

What I heard from beyond mattered more. Yet the more I ignored it, the harder the wind hit, until it shoved me back into the wall.

Ugh. What the hell?

I pushed against it but ended up stumbling back step after step, until I reached the door where I’d first entered. Only then did the wind stop.

Damn it, seriously!

I cursed and glared up at the air. A translucent being floated before me.

And it looked exactly like… the back of a Bichon’s butt?