DMHS 74

“There is a time for everything.”

“The one who decides that time is me.”

Dark clouds covered the whole sky. The sky had turned so black that it was strange no raindrops had yet fallen.

Splash, splash.

Sea water splashed up from the raging waves and soaked Lucien’s feet.

“You are right. You are the one who ignores advice.”

Behind the man’s back, a wave as large as a house rose.

“Do not regret it later.”

He had no time to close his eyes. The enormous wave crashed down.

‘Since I shook his emotions, will he change into his true form this time?’

Lucien kept watch on the man standing behind the wave with hope. But until the end, the man’s silhouette did not change.

‘What a waste.’

The dimension surrounding Lucien slowly blurred. He regretted for a moment that he had not gained more clues, and Lucien escaped the other dimension and returned to reality.

In the banquet hall, the people were still fighting over the chieftain’s funeral. While everyone clamored with their opinions, the door opened and Asaad entered. When they spotted him, the faces of the Jemar tribe brightened.

“We have been waiting, Lord Asaad! Right now we are adjusting opinions about the chieftain’s funeral.”

Those words meant that he should quickly come and lend strength to the Jemar tribe.

But Asaad stood rooted to the spot. When the people of the Jemar tribe, unable to wait, were about to step forward, Asaad opened his mouth.

“Right now there is something more important than the funeral. The question of who murdered the chieftain.”

Pearl Asif answered in irritation.

“Who does not know that is important? But because we cannot uncover that matter at present, we are saying we should first resolve what is urgent.”

“I know it.”

“What nonsense is this all of a sudden?”

“The one who harmed the chieftain was me.”

“……?”

“……!”

The people fell into great shock.

Asaad took advantage of the stir and continued speaking.

“From the beginning, I had not meant to eliminate the chieftain. The one I aimed at was Bashim. Because I hated that Bashim would become the adopted son of the Harkin tribe and enter as a candidate for successor. But somehow, the chieftain ended up drinking the wine in Bashim’s cup, and so it became like this.”

“But not a single drop of blood stained your clothes.”

“Because I did not stab the chieftain directly. While searching ancient texts, I discovered something called witch’s flower.”

Asaad confessed the crime with his own mouth. After admitting that he had smeared pollen on Bashim’s cup and had someone extinguish the magic stone, he drew a white cloth from his inner pocket.

“The same powder should be on the shattered glass as well.”

Pearl Asif stepped forward and checked the powder on the cloth. Since they now knew what to look for, it was easy to find the powder on the broken glass.

But the people’s questions were not all answered.

“Asaad, I understand that you meant to harm Bashim. But during the banquet, were the magic stones not extinguished twice? How do you explain that?”

Just then, the attendant who had obeyed Asaad’s order was dragged in.

The attendant knelt on the floor and pleaded.

“I-I was wrong. It was difficult to refuse when noble lords asked. B-but I know nothing about that murder.”

Pearl Asif’s brow twitched.

“‘Lords’? Was there someone besides Asaad who asked you to extinguish the magic stone?”

“Yes.”

“Who was it?”

“T-the chieftain. When the chieftain gave a toast, I promised to block the mana of the magic stone for a short while as I watched from outside the window.”

Sighs flowed among the people.

“Ha… No, this makes no sense at all.”

“Does this not mean that the chieftain himself deliberately took Bashim’s cup in the darkness?”

“How did he know that Asaad would tamper with Bashim’s cup?”

“Asaad, did you give Bashim a hint? Did you say, ‘He will drug your cup, so find a way to escape’?”

“No! My original target was Bashim! Why would I leave such words to the one I meant to kill!”

“Then why did the chieftain….”

While everyone sank into confusion, Bashim let out a deep sigh and sank into his seat.

“Ah. Chieftain…!”

Pearl Asif grabbed Bashim’s shoulder.

“You know something, don’t you?”

With a mournful face, Bashim nodded.

“A few days ago, the chieftain called me and said that he had dreamed of my death. I reassured him that such a thing would not happen, and that he could rest easy. But the chieftain added these words as well. ‘I will not let you die.’”

“But that was nothing more than a dream.”

“He only phrased it as a dream, but in truth it was foresight. Because the chieftain, blessed by the goddess, possessed the ability to see the future. We should not have treated those words lightly. I never imagined that the chieftain would die in my place.”

“No, Bashim. That is too extreme a thought. If he knew that your cup had a problem, it would have been enough to secretly switch the cups. To deliberately drink that cup makes no sense.”

At Pearl Asif’s rebuttal, the chieftain’s intention was once more wrapped in mystery.

But that did not erase the fact that Asaad, while trying to harm Bashim, had killed the chieftain.

Asaad was tied with ropes and dragged outside. The chieftain’s funeral naturally came under the charge of the Asif tribe. Since one candidate for succession had disappeared, as things stood Pearl Asif would be chosen as the next chieftain.

He had eliminated all his rivals in one day, Pearl Asif could not hide the faint smile that appeared on his face.

“Now, let us end today’s banquet here.”

While people scattered, Kian returned to the banquet hall. His black hair was damp as if he had just washed his face.

Lucien went to his side and furrowed his brow.

‘The smell of blood….’

Lucien looked at Kian’s body up and down. A wide belt around his waist caught his eyes. It was an ornament that had not been there earlier.

“What is this?”

“I received it as a gift on the way. But more importantly, what happened here?”

His skill at naturally steering the conversation was exceptional. Lucien squinted his eyes and stared at Kian.

Kian brushed back his wet bangs and smiled.

“Why do you look at me like that? Am I so handsome that you cannot take your eyes off me?”

His face, smiling with gentle eyes, was indeed handsome. Lucien let out a hollow laugh, he did not want to probe further.

“Asaad confessed to the crime. He said he aimed for Bashim, and that is how it happened. But even so, the chieftain’s actions are incomprehensible. Why did he drink Bashim’s wine in his place?”

“It was said that the chieftain had the ability of foresight. But I think he saw not a single future but several branches of futures.”

“What do you mean?”

“This is only my thought, but I believe the chieftain saw many different disasters that would happen today. The problem was that even with foresight, he could not find a way to prevent someone’s death. So in the end, he made the choice to drink the wine himself.”

Lucien slowly stroked his chin with his palm.

“He chose death in place of another? Why would he do such a thing?”

All living beings strive to survive.

That was an instinct engraved in the body at birth. Was it not true that even humans became greedy in the end for the sake of survival?

But the answer that came from Kian was calm.

“To bring a new future to the Delia tribe, I suppose.”

Lucien slowly blinked. Thoughts tangled in his head. He could not put his finger on what was wrong, but he could not shake the feeling that something was wrong.

Lucien reached out his hand and seized the hem of Kian’s garment. The words that came out of his mouth before he could even think were these.

“Will you also die in order to save another person?”

In a fleeting moment, many emotions crossed Kian’s face.

Surprise, bewilderment, and… resignation.

Kian covered his feelings with a smile.

“I will not die, Lord Lucien.”

“……”

“It is late, so let us return to the lodging. With things having turned out this way, it seems difficult to accomplish our original aim. Should we cancel tonight’s plan?”

“…Yes.”

At the reluctant answer, Kian started walking ahead. Lucien gazed at Kian’s back for a while, then took a step with a beat’s delay.

His heart felt heavy, as though a stone lay upon it.

‘Humans are difficult.’

The days when he had disparaged them as simple creatures now felt like a distant past.

Even in just this one event, countless emotions had surged back and forth.

Within them were hatred, jealousy, disappointment, futility, and confusion, as well as compassion, expectation, and affection.

Some killed their kin, and some willingly gave their lives for others.

While staying in the royal castle, Lucien had thought he had nearly grasped what humans were. Because what ensured the continuation of life forms was the instinct engraved in their bodies.

Other traits of character did not influence the flow of the world. Whether a spider devoured prey caught in its web immediately or whether it took time to kill it slowly according to its own nature, the relation of predator and prey did not change.

But after he followed Kian and stepped outside the palace, Lucien discovered an unforeseen aspect of humans.

‘Perhaps I have already adopted my mate’s way of thinking.’

Lucien felt that Kian was like the moonlight.