STM 45

“Did you see the letter he sent when he rejected the gifts I sent him? Unbelievable. Who would’ve thought that arrogant man could write something so polite and proper?”

“My thoughts exactly. I’ve never seen such a rude handwriting style look this organized before. And the content? Doesn’t it show how deeply he feels for Lord Lu?”

Deeply feels?

“Oh yes, it was moving. Since when has Tairok ever cared this much about Adeye?”

“What exactly did that man write?”

I asked, suspicious, and Solonggo handed me the letter as if she’d been waiting for the chance.

‘No gifts is necessary.

I wish for Adeye Lu’s recovery.’

–Kun Tairok’

That was all. Just two lines. I turned the paper over, thinking maybe I’d missed something, but there was nothing more.

“What on earth is this…”

“It’s amazing, right? Not a word of insult or mockery, not even a trace of sarcasm. He was polite!”

Doctor Kim’s admiration was followed by Solongo.

“And unlike when he used to just stamp his seal, he wrote his full name this time. It’s a formal letter!”

They were gaslighting themselves. They were completely gone. I stared at the two of them for a moment with pity, but I had my own problems.

“And he wished for Lord Lu’s recovery, that’s practically a confession.”

“So it’s a love letter?”

“Stop saying nonsense!”

I couldn’t hold it in anymore and tore up the fake love letter right there.

“Tairok would sooner kill me than feel anything else for me.”

“You never know.”

“I do know. There’s no possibility of Plan X happening, so drop it.”

Doctor Kim pressed her lips together and gave me a disapproving look. What, was she actually hoping for Plan X? This is unbelievable. I took a deep breath and brought the conversation back to what mattered.

“Anyway, did you find anything about the non-wine party?”

Flinch. For some reason, both of them flinched at the same time, then abruptly stood up.

“Well, since you’re supposed to be sick, you should rest more.”

“We’ve disturbed Lord Lu long enough. We’ll take our leave.”

“Wait a second. The hunting tournament where the traitor and Tairok will meet is in less than a month. If this keeps up, the social season will end…hey! Are you listening?!”

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Borhumi Zav’s mood had been foul lately. The search for the entrance to the Forest of Crimson Waves had hit a dead end with no progress.

Then, out of nowhere, that entrance opened in the Central Temple’s pond. The problem was, no one knew how to open it again, and even getting close to the pond wasn’t easy.

“The temple rejected our proposal. Officially, they said there was internal opposition due to the pond’s importance, but I believe they were really worried about how others might react.”

The subordinate paused, watching Zav’s expression carefully. People liked to call Zav a just man, but that image had been crafted deliberately for popularity. In truth, he was more arrogant and elitist than anyone.

Born with everything in his hands, he couldn’t accept failure, and he took it out on those beneath him.

But today, the subordinate didn’t have to fear being the target of that temper. Someone else in the room was already filling that role.

“Ugh…”

A groan came from the corner, a man was sprawled on the floor, beaten half to death. Zav didn’t even look at him, just gestured with one hand.

Immediately, Ottma, Zav’s right-hand , kicked the fallen man in the stomach. The man let out another scream, but Zav spoke to his subordinate as if nothing had happened.

“Who are they worried about?”

“Sarne and Montaine.”

At the mention of two divine beast houses, Zav’s eyebrow twitched.

Those two rivals never stopped watching him, always trying to dig up even the smallest weakness.

That was why Zav wanted to find the Sword of Silence before anyone discovered his interest in the Forest of Crimson Waves.

But it was taking far too long. Of course they would start sniffing around now. They are parasites. Yet there was something that bothered him even more than them.

“What about Tairok?”

“They say the Kun family hasn’t shown any interest.”

“Why? Did that bastard figure something out? Didn’t Tairok jump into the pond and save Adeye Lu?”

When he first heard the news, he’d laughed, but the moment I he the pond’s importance, he felt irritated.

Why does Tairok always get lucky like that?

It was always the same. Even after his family fell and their divine beast vanished, he was still fortunate and people cheered for him no matter what.

“The Kun side hasn’t made any public comment.”

“That fox can’t possibly not care… What about Adeye Lu?”

“He only regained consciousness recently, so we haven’t confirmed anything yet. But the Adeye matriarch is planning to name the pond after their trading company. I suppose they’ll use this to advertise themselves.”

“Ha, typical Lantuya. Her brother almost dies, and all she can think about is money.”

Whatever it was, too many eyes were now watching that pond.

“Those worthless insects.”

Zav swallowed his anger and turned it on the man groaning on the floor.

“Torida.”

The man twitched and shuddered as soon he heard his name, but his pitiful state only made Zav’s fury burn hotter.

“If you’d found the entrance to the Forest of Crimson Waves at the Owick estate like you were supposed to, none of this would’ve happened. You failed to secure Owick, found nothing in the empty manor, and couldn’t even catch Adeye Lu. You dragged this whole matter into disaster.”

“I, I’m sorry. But I couldn’t reach Adeye Lu. He never leaves his house, so I couldn’t ask him anything about Sillian.”

“Stop making excuses.”

Zav gritted his teeth. Adeye Lu. He was sick of hearing that name.

“I’ll make sure you meet Adeye Lu.”

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After sleeping for three straight days, my body felt light, but there was one problem: I’d lost muscle. A few days without training, and my strength had already dropped.

The real issue was that I was supposed to be faking an illness, so I couldn’t leave my room. Fortunately, my quarters were large enough to use as a gym, and there were plenty of exercises I could do, but even that was thwarted by Solongo.

‘There are too many eyes in the estate. Security is strict, but it’s impossible to eliminate every spy. You must stop moving and stay in bed, pretending to be sick.’

After a few more days of lying there, I realized something. If this went on, I was going to lose my mind. And what made it worse was Doctor Kim’s insistence.

‘If Grand Duke Kun had the decency to send you a heartfelt letter, you should’ve sent a thank-you note immediately. Why haven’t you done it yet?’

She wasn’t joking. She sent someone every hour to nag me. In the end, I gave up and wrote a three-line masterpiece of a letter.

‘Dear Grand Duke Kun,

Thank you for your kind regards.

–Adeye Lu’

That should’ve been enough courtesy, so I forgot about it. Two days later, a reply arrived. The maid’s expression as she handed it to me wasn’t normal.

“What’s wrong?”

“This letter came through a magic portal.”

For a moment, I didn’t understand why that was so serious. Mo explained impatiently.

[Spatial teleportation magic is advanced magic that only high-level mages can use. The Adeye estate is protected by powerful wards, making unauthorized teleportation nearly impossible.

The fact that this letter broke through those wards means the caster on the other end is stronger than our mages, and there are only a handful of people in Tubain capable of that.]

Wait….so someone used one of the continent’s top mages just to send me a letter? Who would do that?

I quickly reached for the envelope, but I stopped before breaking the seal. The wax insignia looked strangely familiar.

Where have I seen this before?

Just as I was about to open it, the door opened and Solongo rushed in.

“I heard a letter was delivered through a teleportation portal. Who sent it?”

“I don’t know. I just received it.”

The moment I lifted the envelope, Solongo’s eyes lit up.

“That’s Grand Duke Kun’s seal?”

That man? Why would he?

“Ah, so Grand Duke Kun must’ve returned from monster hunting. But why would he use a teleportation portal to…”

Solongo’s expression immediately turned serious as she murmured. I followed suit and glared at the envelope.

Damn, is this a declaration of war? A warning he’s coming to crush Adeye?

I hastily ripped open the envelope and unfolded the paper. There was only three words written in the center of the white paper.