STM 28

“Have a nice trip.”

Doctor Kim ordered casually, as if it wasn’t her business. I answered just as casually.

“I don’t want to.”

Doctor Kim insisted immediately, as if she knew I’d say that.

“You don’t want to attract the traitor’s attention, right? Then go to Lord Gumber’s summer villa party. If you don’t go, everyone on the continent will start doubting you.”

“I almost died and came ba…”

“Even if Lu dies a hundred times and comes back, he’ll still go to that party no matter what.”

Unlike me, who was despairing, Doctor Kim elegantly took a sip of her sujeonggwa. “I’d rather die 101 times.”

“I don’t want to act recklessly and end up changing the future the traitor knows.”

“Hoiga, that rat, already asked around about you. That guy’s m a walking newspaper.”

Yeah, the way he was decorated resembled a billboard. But since I still didn’t look eager, Doctor Kim looked at me seriously.

“Ever since you came here, the future the traitor knows has already changed. Eventually, the traitor will realize it and either hide or try to find you.”

“Then I just need to find them first. Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Sometimes you look like you care more about punishing the traitor than saving our people.”

“…”

“Do you know the traitor personally?”

No. I immediately shook my head. That was true. The problem was I barely knew anything.

“Then why do you hate them that much?”

“They are a traitor.”

Even though I gave a reason, Doctor Kim frowned, her doubts weren’t completely cleared.

She’s really quick-witted. I avoid her gaze, pretending to drink my tea. I still couldn’t tell her the real reason. I tried to change the subject and I asked,

“Do you still have no idea who the traitor might be?”

“There’s no one that fits perfectly. The traitor’s supposed to marry Tairok, right? That means they have to be someone with status, at least a high-ranking noble who can contact Tairok. And probably someone of marriageable age…”

Doctor Kim looked troubled as she shook her head.

“Does status matter if they know the future?”

“It does. If someone of low rank used knowledge of the future, their identity would’ve been exposed somewhere. Then the temple would’ve made a fuss about Salvation appearing.”

Salvation? Mo immediately explained.

[Salvation: A legendary figure said to have summoned a divine beast to the human world when chaos spread due to the appearance of demon beasts. Supposedly can communicate with all divine beasts and receive oracles from them to foresee the future. However, most believe the temple invented this figure to check the growing power of the divine beast houses.]

“So the temple hasn’t reacted at all? No rumors about Salvation?”

“Reacted? There are too many. Every day, ten or twenty idiots show up claiming they’re Salvation.”

There are scammers running rampant everywhere.

“If, by any chance, the temple really is hiding Salvation, it would’ve been done by High Priest Cheki, the one who refuses to take my money… and that one’s hard to investigate.”

“So that person’s honest?”

“She’s rich herself. Ma Cheki.”

Ah, the Ma Trading Company. Then she’s related to Hoiga.

“Then if we assume the traitor’s from a high rank, it’s simple. We just find the person who earned the most money on the continent last year. Who is it?”

“Me.”

“…”

I was silent for a moment, then asked again.

“The year before that?”

“Me.”

“The year before that?”

“Of course me.”

“…”

“For reference, the year before that one too.”

“…”

“Are you wondering if I might be the traitor?”

I quickly lowered my wavering gaze and coughed.

“Ahem, no. I just thought about how much effort you must’ve gone through to earn that much.”

“It was easy.”

Was that bragging or not? Her face didn’t look proud, just indifferent, like a class rep who always ranked first and didn’t even care anymore. We are on the same side, but she was still annoying.

“Anyway, to find the traitor, I checked if anyone made big profits based on the information I recorded in the old scrolls.”

“And?”

“No one stood out. The ones who make money are always the same.”

“What if they didn’t use it for money but for something else?”

“Why wouldn’t they make money?”

“I mean, what if they used it to gain power…”

“Then they’d need even more money.”

At this point, I wanted to suggest she change her title to Dr. Money. But then I found myself agreeing with her.

“They’d need money to help Tairok, the one they love so much.”

True. I nodded, then suddenly realized something.

“If the traitor loves Tairok, they must’ve hated Adeye too. If we narrow it down to Adeye’s enemies, wouldn’t that make the range smaller?”

“…”

“Did the range get even bigger instead?”

Doctor Kim turned her gaze and expressed her silent approval.

Despite her frail body, I thought it was a miracle she hadn’t been stabbed yet. I sighed and reset the scope.

“Then what if we focus on the people who like that bast… Kun Tairok?”

“We’d have to investigate the entire Tubain.”

“Are their eyes all rotten?”

“That’s what I’m saying. Damn it.”

We both dhot the remaining sujeonggwa at the same time.

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Knock knock.

A young servant who exclusively attended to him carefully knocked. Normally, no one could disturb him at this hour, and the young servant knew that well.

That was why he had a feeling that the servant had some urgent business to attend to.

He opened the door opened and saw the servant bowing his head deeply, not daring to look at his face.

“What is it?”

The young servant, still bowing, raised his hands high.

“Y-you told me to bring this letter right away when it arrives…”

Indeed, in the servant’s hands, lay an ordinary brown envelope. But upon seeing it a flower-like light lit up in his eyes.

He wanted to reach out immediately but barely stopped himself. The brown envelope had no seal, but that was enough.

This is Tairok’s reply!

Among the high-ranking nobles, only Tairok used plain brown envelopes. So now he too, began to follow Tairok’s lead and use brown envelopes often.

But the times he had received that precious reply could be counted on one hand. No matter how much future knowledge he sent him, knowledge that would make him vast fortunes, Tairok always ignored him and threw himself into monster hunts.

For years he had been restless. He only had about half a year’s worth of future information left.

Out of anxiety, he began to obsess over ancient scrolls. Even if he didn’t know what the held he wanted to make Tairok see him as valuable.

He wanted to gather information, break the Kun family curse, make Tairok the emperor, and even resurrect the divine beast.

His heart pounded as he looked at the brown envelope. But he couldn’t let the servant see that.

“You can go.”

The boy bowed again and quickly left the room.

He took a deep breath and picked up the letter with trembling hands. Inside the envelope was not only a letter but also a small black stone.

A jet-black stone that seemed to absorb light. It was a black magic stone.

“Reward for the help from the Fenuang family.”

It was just a simple, formal line. The black magic stone was supposedly a token of thanks, but it was thrown in without care.

Even so, his face turned red as if he had received a long love letter.

He was alone in the room, yet he felt shy and covered his face with his hand. He read the short reply again and again before gently placing it in the drawer.

Tairok might have written the letter only to get rid of him, but just getting a response made him happy. Because Tairok wasn’t the kind of man who’d bother giving anyone even that much attention.

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“Ah, Grand Duke Kun Tairok won’t come. He’s not the kind of man who attends things like that.”

Before getting in the carriage to head to the summer villa, I expressed my concerns, and Solongo adamantly shook her head. But I couldn’t feel relieved. I had met him right after arriving in Tubain, and I had run into him again on my first outing.

“They say almost every noble will come since it’s being opened again after years.”

“Even if it opens after a hundred years, it’s the same. Tairok wouldn’t be interested in a party that doesn’t make money. That money freak would only show up if a monster appeared.”

“…”

“Were you thinking of the money freak as our matriarch just now?”

“…I didn’t say anything.”

“Anyway, don’t worry about Grand Duke Kun. Just handle things well so no strange rumors spread.”

“Don’t worry.”

“No, I am worried. Look at what you’re wearing.”

What’s wrong with my outfit? I looked down at my perfectly normal clothes. But Solongo frowned disapprovingly.

“It’s too plain. No one would think you are normal if they saw Adeye Lu walking around without a single accessory”

“I almost died….”

“Even if you die and go to hell, you would still wear jewelry. Adeye is the wealthiest family on the continent. For that reason, take this brooch. You must wear it at all times from now on.”

Since I had never worn an accessory in my life, I hesitated, but fortunately it looked simple. It was an ordinary shape with a blue gem in the center.

“Is this thing worth, like, two mansions?”

“More.”

What, three mansions?!

My hand trembled as I received the brooch.

Solongo looked displeased at how timid I was, but I held the brooch carefully with both hands like it was sacred. I must never lose it.

“By the way, if you need this again…”

Solongo pulled out a teleport scroll. I snatched it at lightning speed and tucked it inside my clothes. That thing had saved my life last time. But right after that, I thought of someone and cursed automatically.

“Damn it.”

That crazy bastard who had smiled with sun-bright eyes.