119.
The longer the assassins were kept alive cruelly, the better the rumors spread, and conversely, the number of incoming assassins decreased. Of course, only the riffraff had stopped coming, so skilled individuals were still arriving, but even that made things much easier. No matter how strong Jinhyeon was, being human, he needed rest.
‘Come to think of it.’
Yu Jin’s initial reaction to seeing the corpse hanging in the garden came to mind. Originally, he didn’t want to show such a sight, but it was impossible to hide it completely. After all, they had dealt with the assassin like that to spread rumors throughout the neighborhood. When Yu Jin saw the body hanging from the tree, he blinked slowly. His already pale face lost even more color, making him look lifeless.
It was clear he was shocked, so Jinhyeon stood close to Yu Jin in case anything happened. He was ready to catch him if he collapsed, but Yu Jin gritted his teeth and endured. Then, with a trembling voice, he asked Jinhyeon:
“Are you okay?”
Okay? What did he mean? As Jinhyeon pondered this, he quickly realized the meaning of the words. It seemed his kind lover thought Jinhyeon might have been mentally shocked by such actions. But it wasn’t the first time he had killed people like this.
‘No, it was the first time Yu Jin had witnessed it.’
When he killed the slave trader, when he cleaned up the back alleys, when he massacred those who touched Yu Jin, he had never properly shown Yu Jin such scenes. So it was natural for him to worry about mental stress. Undoubtedly, an ordinary person wouldn’t be able to endure such acts for long. After all, they both came from a world where murder was illegal. Jinhyeon rolled his eyes for a moment, considering how to answer best.
‘Should I pretend to be weak?’
If he did, Yu Jin would probably be flustered and do anything to comfort Jinhyeon. He might be able to have a novel experience he couldn’t usually have. But that thought didn’t last long. He read the emotion in Yu Jin’s eyes.
“I’m fine. But it seems the person we should be worried about right now isn’t me.”
“What?”
“I should be worried about you rather than myself. It seems like my lover might be a psychopath.”
When he said this, Yu Jin stared at him blankly. Then, as if realizing something, his expression softened.
“Right, that’s how it was.”
Yu Jin had talked about Jinhyeon’s future that he had seen before. Although he had encountered it in the form of a novel, it matched Jinhyeon’s original tendencies. Since falling into this world, Jinhyeon had become quite greedy.
“So instead of worrying, think about something else.”
“What should I think about?”
“What gift should you give to a lover who has faithfully carried out his mission?”
Jinhyeon gently took Yu Jin’s hand and slowly rubbed the back of it with his thumb. Yu Jin, now seemingly quite relaxed, narrowed his eyes at him. It seemed he had figured out what Jinhyeon wanted. But he didn’t want to say it himself.
“Should I prepare a famous sword? If I become the head of Lucid, I can commission one from a blacksmith incomparably better than now.”
“The sword I have now is enough. As long as it doesn’t break.”
“Then how about a famous horse? You’ve been riding just any horse until now. I’ve heard that a proper warhorse is very helpful in battle.”
Horseback riding? Riding horses was certainly fun. But since that wasn’t what he wanted right now, Jinhyeon said in a mischievous voice:
“Rather than a famous horse, I want to ride you.”
Jinhyeon’s words didn’t make it out of his mouth completely. Yu Jin, his face turning bright red, covered Jinhyeon’s mouth with his free hand.
“That mouth, that damned mouth!”
It’s not like I said anything wrong? When Jinhyeon mumbled against his hand, Yu Jin pressed harder. Then suddenly, as if burned, he quickly removed his hand. Thanks to this, Jinhyeon’s tongue, which had darted out, returned to his mouth without licking anything.
“Tsk.”
“Stop joking around!”
“Alright. But I really do want to receive a gift from my lover.”
Yu Jin rubbed his reddened face with the back of his hand.
“…I’ll prepare something.”
“Huh?”
“I said I’ll prepare something!”
With those final words, Yu Jin turned his back and ran towards the mansion. Although he wasn’t sure what exactly Yu Jin was going to prepare, was it okay to look forward to it? Jinhyeon grinned and followed after Yu Jin.
The days of slaughter that had lasted for several days came to an end. The assassins who had been swarming in like madmen suddenly stopped coming the night before. Thanks to this, Yu Jin was able to sleep more comfortably than usual.
Afterward, he woke up early in the morning, thoroughly washed himself, and dressed properly. The imperial dress usually exposed the arms, but today he carefully covered up to his wrists.
“You look too handsome.”
Haruna, seeing Yu Jin ready, weakly raised her hands to clap. The dark shadows under her eyes made her look very tired. Seeing this, Yu Jin couldn’t help but voice his concern.
“You’re very tired, aren’t you? I’m sorry for making you work so hard.”
“No, it’s not that. This is the fault of those who sent the assassins.”
Haruna pressed her darkened eye area with her fingers. It was a pitiful sight, but her brother Keith didn’t seem to mind.
“That’s why you should have built up more stamina usually. You’re too weak.”
“It’s not that I’m weak, it’s that you’re absurdly strong.”
Haruna was quite strong as she had consistently trained and disciplined herself since childhood. The problem was that Keith, who often became the point of comparison, was on a different level from Haruna. He looked fine despite having stayed up nights similarly.
‘No, he even looks more comfortable.’
Maybe it was because he had unburdened everything to Yu Jin and felt at ease. Haruna punched Keith’s arm lightly as he irritated her.
“Enough of this talk. More importantly, have you properly prepared to escort Yu Jin?”
“Yes, thanks to the family’s active cooperation, we’ve completed preparations for going to the imperial palace without any problems.”
Having overcome the threat of assassins, Yu Jin was now qualified to be the family head. Although he still needed to go to the emperor for direct recognition, it was almost certain. As a result, the family thoroughly helped with preparations for the visit to the imperial palace.
“All members of the first knight order will accompany him.”
“Unless they’re crazy, no one will dare to attack now.”
“The shadows will also follow from the moment we leave the imperial palace.”
“Then he’ll really be safe.”
From then on, the risk of assassination would become infinitely low. After that, they were supposed to show Keith brainwashing Yu Jin, but that could be thought about later.
As the twins were talking, Jinhyeon, who had changed clothes like Yu Jin, appeared. Today, Jinhyeon was also scheduled to accompany Yu Jin as a guard. He already had a shining appearance, but now that he was properly dressed up for once, it was hard to take your eyes off him.
“You look handsome.”
Yu Jin smiled contentedly looking at Jinhyeon.
“I’m always handsome. Shall we go then?”
Jinhyeon extended his hand to Yu Jin. As he took that hand and opened the door, three men waiting in front were visible.
“We greet you, Acting Head Yu Jin.”
The captain in charge of Lucid’s first knight order bowed his head respectfully. Then the other two behind him also bowed their heads, one of whom was a familiar face. It was Geren, the knight Ruhan had assigned to Yu Jin while he was alive.
“It’s nice to see you.”
Yu Jin smiled gently and greeted them. It was an attempt to make a good impression in another way since it wasn’t easy to establish authority. Might as well take advantage of being born with a good-looking face.
“I entrust myself to you until we reach the imperial palace.”
“We will escort you safely without any problems.”
The captain went down to the first floor with Yu Jin and exited through the door. Then, the knight order lined up in the prepared open space in front became visible. Although Yu Jin had never properly learned swordsmanship, he could still tell. That those standing before him were formidable warriors.
‘Of course, Jinhyeon will soon surpass them anyway.’
No, maybe he already had. As soon as Yu Jin appeared, the knights drew their swords and raised them to their chests. There were no words, but he immediately understood that this was a show of respect. Yu Jin returned the greeting and boarded the carriage. He tried to maintain calm as much as possible, but at some point, his heart started pounding, and tension built up. If Jinhyeon hadn’t been beside him, his heart might have jumped out of his mouth.
“Depart!”
With someone’s voice, the horses stamped the ground. Finally, they were heading to the imperial palace.
Ahmed was watching the carriage departing from the mansion.
“I’ve always dreamed of this.”
He had wished to ride a splendid six-horse carriage to the imperial palace and be recognized as the head of Lucid. Of course, he needed his father Ruhan’s recognition before that.
“Why did it turn out like this.”
He repeated the words he had said countless times. Even when his older brother was the heir, he hadn’t given up on this position, but now it felt like he would never be able to have it. Ahmed scratched the window with his fingernails.
Originally, despite Azeth’s plea, he had planned to make a move. He had scraped together the remaining assets to hire someone, but no one could be found.
“Even decent assassins are dying off. Who could we hire with this money?”
The broker said this with a kind smile. Ahmed wanted to tear that face apart but couldn’t. Now he no longer had the power to cover up whatever he might do.
