110.
The mansion was in an uproar over the theft of Asha’s corpse. They tried to move without the invited guests knowing, but when many people move, it tends to show. The knights were mobilized, and some were forcibly awakened from sleep.
Among them was Azeth. She still looked unaware of anything but was anxious. Azeth kept glancing at Yu Jin while waiting for Ruhan, who had briefly left his seat. She seemed to think Yu Jin knew something. The same was true for Ahmed, who was by Azeth’s side.
In this situation, the female siblings showed a slightly different attitude. Roena and the others stood a little apart from Azeth.
It seemed like they were expressing their unwillingness to be involved, even though she was their mother. After some time had passed like this, Ruhan appeared with two knights.
“Why have you called us at this hour of the night?”
Azeth asked Ruhan, clasping her hands tightly.
“Someone has desecrated Lucid’s tomb and stolen a corpse.”
At Ruhan’s answer, Azeth blinked with a blank face. When she couldn’t ask any more questions, Roena continued the inquiry.
“Whose corpse has disappeared?”
“Asha’s.”
As soon as those words fell, Roena stepped back a little further. Recognizing this, Azeth hurriedly opened her mouth.
“It wasn’t me!”
Ahmed added an explanation to that.
“It wasn’t me either. Mother and I were thinking of relying on her family for the time being. We had no reason to suddenly tamper with the tomb.”
“Yes, generally speaking, that would be the case.”
“Master!”
“The culprit left a note while stealing the corpse. It says to come alone to another place if we want to retrieve Asha.”
Usually, one wouldn’t risk a living person’s life just to retrieve a corpse. If it were the remains of a great ancestor, people might be mobilized, but in this case, it was ambiguous. Knowing this, Yu Jin could be certain. Ruhan would go alone to any dangerous place to retrieve Asha. He was the kind of person who would do so even if it meant abandoning his duties as the head of the family.
“Surely you’re not suspecting me?”
Azeth asked, her body trembling slightly. Ruhan stared at her for a moment before answering.
“I know there’s a high chance it’s not you.”
Not much time had passed since the Pamina incident, so Azeth was likely to be cautious. So she probably wasn’t the culprit, but Ruhan had no intention of leaving Azeth alone.
As Yu Jin thought, Ruhan intended to move for Asha’s sake. But if that happened, the person protecting Lucid would disappear. It would be fine for him to be absent for a while since he had already accomplished some things, but it would be troublesome if the period became too long. So he was thinking of appointing Yu Jin as acting head before leaving, but Azeth and Ahmed were obstacles to that.
It was a cruel act towards them, but he had no intention of backing down.
“Azeth.”
“Y-yes?”
“I’m thinking of going through divorce proceedings this time. I’ll allow you to take Ahmed with you.”
Azeth looked surprised at Ruhan’s words.
“What do you mean? Are you saying you’re abandoning me and Ahmed now?”
“I intend to give you sufficient compensation. I’ll hand over the mine you’ve been coveting since before.”
What is this nonsense? Azeth stood there, trembling. She knew which mine Ruhan was talking about. But it wasn’t exactly Azeth who had coveted it, but her family. Even if she received such a thing through divorce, it was obvious that her family would take it away. Why is this person so cruel? Is it because he doesn’t love her? Or is it because she was someone who troubled the person he loved?
Azeth gritted her teeth. It was so miserable to be discarded just because of the possibility that she might be a hindrance. As she was barely standing upright, Ruhan continued speaking.
“And Yu Jin.”
“Yes.”
“You’ll be the acting head for the time being. The head butler will explain and help you with the work.”
“What?”
Yu Jin was no less surprised than Azeth. What makes you trust me enough to entrust Lucid to me?
But Ruhan had spoken after calculating that it would be possible. He had actually assigned people to observe Yu Jin’s actions. He could see that Yu Jin was handling most things quite well. Moreover, it hadn’t been long since he had brutally dealt with those who opposed putting Yu Jin forward as the heir, so the chances of anything happening were low.
‘Elder Leion will cling to Yu Jin.’
Leion was a person who knew his limits even though he was greedy, so he could be of great help to Yu Jin. Even if Ruhan didn’t return. Ruhan finished his business like that and turned his back. It was time to move again to find Asha.
Rector tilted his head.
“I don’t understand.”
“What is it that you don’t understand?”
When Aksen asked in an annoyed tone, Rector pointed to the large bag another guy was holding.
“Would Lucid’s head move just for one corpse?”
It was just the corpse of a woman who wasn’t even of great status.
“It’s someone he loves,” Aksen replied.
“Love, huh.”
That was precisely the part he couldn’t understand. How could one love another person so deeply and think of them so painfully? Moreover, the other person was already dead and had become bones. Even if you gave your heart, they were in a state where they couldn’t return it.
“My disciple was doing something like that too.”
“I don’t understand that either.”
“Right.”
“You’re like a madman lacking empathy.”
Aksen clicked his tongue.
“I don’t want to hear such words from you.”
“Fine. What could I possibly say to you?”
Saying that, Aksen suddenly broke a tree branch that was stretching out as if to stab them. The first thing they did after stealing the corpse was to flee to the demon realm far from the capital. And they jumped into the demon realm without hesitation. The demon realm, created during the time when demons attacked the surface in the past, had a bizarre ecosystem. Most plants contained poison, and there were many monsters that particularly hated humans.
‘Is this why they mobilized that guy and me for this job?’
Rector was familiar with the demon realm. He was a madman who used to jump into the demon realm to build up his skills in the past. Additionally, Aksen was also familiar with the demon realm, though not as much as Rector. He occasionally came in to gather materials needed for building up his skills.
On the other hand, those who were likely chasing them madly now were different. There were hardly any madmen who deliberately entered the demon realm, and they were no exception.
“This should be far enough. If we go further, it’s where the master of the demon realm lives.”
“Then let’s stop here and wait.”
Aksen found a suitable spot, unfolded a folding chair, and sat down.
“You’re being fussy when you could just sit anywhere.”
“Shut up!”
Rector shrugged his shoulders and climbed a suitable tree, leaning against it. Watching this, Aksen waved his hand.
“You guys rest too. Choose trees similar to the one that guy’s on and stick to them.”
Because moving plants sometimes appear in the demon realm, it was safer to imitate Rector at times like this. And so, Leviathan settled in the demon realm.
Lucid’s knighthood is divided into three units according to their duties. Usually, the 1st unit guarded Lucid’s mansion and escorted the direct line, while the 2nd and 3rd units dealt with external affairs. Currently, the 3rd unit was attached to Yu Jin, so it was the 2nd unit that moved with Ruhan. Having quickly completed preparations, Ruhan left the mansion with the 2nd unit.
“The demon realm, it’s dangerous.”
Adan, who led the 2nd unit, advised Ruhan, but it was of no use. Ruhan already knew this. How could one persuade someone who moves despite knowing?
‘How did it come to this?’
He knew that Ruhan, the head of the family, loved his deceased third wife, but to risk his life? Adan wished Ruhan would move in a more rational state. If he had recalled some of the dispatched knights and received help from the collateral branches, he could have proceeded with the matter more stably. But Ruhan didn’t do that.
“What if Asha disappears in the process?”
She was already dead, but Ruhan’s words were tinged with lingering attachment. He had managed to control Azeth and appoint Yu Jin as acting head with what little reason he had left, but it was worrying in many ways. Adan, who hadn’t seen Yu Jin directly for a long time, couldn’t fully trust him. He only remembered Yu Jin’s frail appearance from childhood. But there was no use thinking about this now.
Adan swallowed a sigh. Ruhan, who had rushed to the outskirts of the capital, arrived at the demon realm in 3 days with the help of the magic tower. Usually, there would be villages living off the resources from heavily forested areas nearby, but there were no such villages here. Even when trying to look inside, the trees blocked all the sunlight, making it hard to see anything.
There was one person standing in such a place.
“Welcome, head of Lucid. Have you come to find your loved one? If so, you’ve come to the right place.”
“You!”
One of the knights shot an arrow at the chattering man. However, he skillfully dodged the arrow and turned to jump into the demon realm.
“We’ll follow him too.”
With those words, Ruhan stepped into the demon realm.
