SWY 7

It had already been hundreds of years since the fall of the ancient empire. About a hundred years ago, the emperor of the time officially announced that all the monsters sealed in Luhas were dead. The citizens of the empire, who had secretly feared the monsters might break free one day, rejoiced.

“It was the Lord of Luhas who made the report that the monsters were all dead. The imperial family never actually sent anyone to confirm it.”

“You’re saying the Lord of Luhas might have lied?”

Sharhan, who had been listening to the conversation between Lestel and Yuel, cut in.

“Not many people know this, but the first Lord of Luhas was a dark mage. Dark mages are known for being secretive and gloomy, just like the territory of Luhas itself. That’s probably how he raised an assassin and married her off to become the crown princess. Though she died suddenly in the palace.”

Yuel’s voice, when mentioning the assassin, held a thinly veiled disgust. The daughter of the Lord of Luhas had become the crown princess when the current emperor was still a prince. At the time, it caused quite a stir that the prince would take as consort the daughter of a noble from a remote and faded territory like Luhas.

The crown prince had claimed it was love at first sight during his travels, but few believed him. After he took the throne, rumors began to spread that Luhas had raised orphans into assassins, and that the emperor had used them to eliminate his political enemies due to his weak power base. The emperor cracked down on the rumors with nearly hysterical fury and even executed a few of the people who had spread them. Still, the whispers never fully stopped.

“Our captain said that peddler smelled like an assassin.”

At Sharhan’s words, Yuel snapped his fingers.

“My informant, the one who used to be a guide and successfully tailed him, said the same thing. The guy left no trace and was tough to follow. Typical assassin behavior. So yeah, it makes sense that the Paphun tea is being made and spread from Luhas.”

“For what purpose?” Lestel asked, frowning.

“Well… how should I know? Your commission was to find out where the Paphun tea was coming from, not the reason it’s being spread.”

“If the tea is made from Rascul… could an antidote be made?”

“Hey, handsome merchant. I may be a pretty competent informant and know a lot, but that doesn’t mean I know everything.”

“You sure take a long time to say you can’t do it. You talk too damn much.”

“Have you seen my tongue to know it’s long? Here, look – long, right?”

Yuel stuck out his tongue. It writhed like a moist snake. Sharhan and Lestel both leaned back in revulsion.

“Put that filthy thing away before I cut it off.”

Yuel finally retracted his tongue, his mouth twitching.

“You really are childhood friends, huh? That expression was identical. And hey, why’re you threatening to cut off a perfectly good tongue? How are people supposed to kiss without one?”

Childhood friends? Is he talking about me and Lestel? The word “friend” rubbed Sharhan the wrong way, but the fact that Yuel knew about their relationship made him curious. He was about to ask when Lestel abruptly stood up.

“Find someone who can make the antidote. That’s your new assignment.”

“There aren’t many people who even know about Rascul. You think someone like that actually knows how to make an antidote?”

“There has to be someone. I’ll pay whatever it takes, so put all your informants on it. Don’t drag your feet like you did with my first commission.”

“When did I ever drag my feet?!”

“If it took you a whole year to get results, then you dragged your feet.”

“That was because the guy faked his name, not my fault!”

“Either way, you promised it’d take half a year, and you didn’t meet that deadline.”

Yuel, frustrated by Lestel’s scolding, turned his glare to Sharhan.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Sharhan was baffled, caught in the middle for no reason. Yuel just turned his head with an indifferent shrug and leaned back, raising a finger.

“I’ll need a year.”

“Too long.”

“Then half a year.”

“Still too long. I’ll give you three months. Either find someone who knows how to make the antidote or figure it out yourself and make it. I’ll pay whatever it takes.”

“Hey merchant, you think scouring the entire empire is child’s play? I’d have to check every apothecary and alchemist in the empire, and comb through every record in every library just to find out if the antidote even exists. This isn’t something you can rush with money.”

“Half a year is too long. It’s urgent.”

“Someone close to you must be addicted to Paphun tea. If you’re that desperate, go to Luhas yourself. If they made it there, the antidote’s probably there too. But I can’t shorten the timeline. If that doesn’t work for you, go ahead and leave.”

Yuel waved them off like he was shooing away a pesky fly and even closed his eyes, as if daring them. Lestel frowned at the arrogance, then finally spoke after a pause.

“Fine. Half a year. But if you miss the deadline again, you’re giving up half your fortune.”

***

By the time Sharhan and Lestel stepped outside, the addicts were nowhere to be seen. It seemed the doormen had cleared them away, but that wouldn’t last. They would gather again soon. Ignoring the doormen’s bows, Sharhan and Lestel climbed into the waiting carriage.

As before, they sat facing each other. The carriage interior was spacious, but with both of them being tall, their knees occasionally brushed. Sharhan let out a quiet grunt of discomfort.

They had hated each other since they were kids, and whenever he brushed against Lestel like this, his body flushed with heat. His heart would sometimes beat faster too. He had once thought, I must really hate this guy if my body’s reacting like this. There was no way the two of them could ever become friends. Not that he had any intention of it.

That’s why it had been so difficult when he’d touched Lestel as revenge for ruining his date. He had meant to make Lestel suffer just as much, but every time he touched him, his own body overreacted.

Trying not to show it, Sharhan subtly shifted to the side so their legs wouldn’t touch and asked:

“How’d you end up meeting Yuel?”

“I heard rumors that he was expensive but effective, so I went to find him. I asked him to find someone for me. He said he could do it in half a year, but it ended up taking a full year. Makes me think he spread those rumors himself.”

“Who did you ask him to find? You don’t have anyone to look for.”

It wasn’t as if Lestel had lost any family. Sharhan knew for a fact that he didn’t have any missing siblings.

“Curious?”

“…”

“You’re really into me, aren’t you, honey?”

Lestel leaned forward with a sly grin.

“Into you? Oh yeah, real deep.”

“What the–seriously…”

The smug look on Lestel’s face faltered for a moment.

“I need to know everything about Ailun, so that one day I can tear it down myself and reclaim what used to be our family’s.”

Sharhan scoffed as he spoke. Lestel shot back immediately.

“You always act like our house stole your mine, but let’s get the story straight. Kaios was going bankrupt, and we lent you money. You offered the mine as collateral. When you couldn’t pay it back, it became ours.”

Kaios and Ailun had become enemies a hundred years ago over that debt secured by the mine. Though the two founding families had once been close as neighboring territories, they had turned their backs on each other completely.

“Bullshit. We came to pay, and you refused to take it.”

“Because you missed the deadline.”

“It was just a few weeks!”

“A few weeks isn’t nothing. If deadlines don’t matter, why even have a contract?”

“Damn, Ailun bastard. No wonder people say Ailun blood runs cold.”

“Look who’s talking. Maybe if you had a better sense of responsibility, you wouldn’t have gone bankrupt. And you better follow our contract to the letter. Oh wait, you don’t really have a choice, do you? It’s magically bound. That’s why I used a magical item, to stop you from ditching. How can anyone trust a Kaios?”

“Well I can’t trust a cold-blooded Ailun either. Just make sure you pay me on time. If you’re even a day late or don’t follow the contract exactly, it’s void.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve made enough to pay for you for life. I left home with nothing and became one of the richest men in the empire in just two and a half years. Unlike someone, I’m actually talented.”

Lestel’s self-praise was annoying, but Sharhan was curious.

“Why’d you even run away? You were heir to the Ailun marquisate, top of your class at the academy. Well, only because I wasn’t there, obviously.”

“I would’ve been top even if you were. And I ran away to find someone.”