134.
Keith looked down at the sleeping Yu Jin. When dawn breaks, Yu Jin will go to meet Greyardin. He can’t keep ignoring the person who saved him. It was something that had to be done, but Keith felt uneasy about it.
The plan was progressing well, but he wanted to know for certain why Greyardin had come to Lucid. That’s why Keith needed to act. He first checked on Yu Jin, who had kicked off his blanket in his sleep. After covering him again and patting him a few times, Keith turned away.
As he left the room, the knight guarding the door gave a slight bow. Keith returned the gesture and walked down the dark corridor.
Towards the room where Greyardin was staying.
Knock knock.
A voice came from inside when he knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
When Keith opened the door and entered, he saw Greyardin leisurely drinking alcohol on the sofa.
“I thought you were as dull as my teacher, but you’re sharper than I expected.”
Though his face was clearly young, Greyardin exuded the experience of someone who had lived for many years. According to Yu Jin, he had indeed lived for a long time, so it was natural. Keith knelt down on the spot and bowed his head respectfully.
“I am honored to meet the leader of Leviathan.”
Greyardin’s smile deepened.
“I like talented children. That’s enough, stand up and sit over there.”
“How could I dare to do so?”
“I don’t like repeating myself.”
Only then did Keith stand up and sit opposite Greyardin.
“You look like you have many questions.”
Keith lowered his eyes.
“It’s alright. There’s nothing I can’t tell you. You’re a comrade, aren’t you?”
“I’m just grateful.”
“Then this conversation will be faster. Keith. Hand Yu Jin over to me.”
Though he tried his best to control his emotions, he couldn’t hide them completely. For Keith, Yu Jin was the most precious person, which made it even harder. When he unconsciously clenched his fist, Greyardin, who was watching him, laughed silently.
“The plan is progressing well.”
“Yes, it seems so. But I want the head of Lucid.”
He didn’t do this with Ruhan, the previous head. The murderous intent that Keith had been desperately suppressing began to rise. To hide the emotions showing on his face, Keith raised his hand to cover his mouth.
“Unlike Ruhan, this head is cute.”
Greyardin spoke as if reading Keith’s thoughts.
“What? Don’t you like it?”
The answer he should give was predetermined. But Keith didn’t want to give that answer.
“…I don’t like it.”
As he gritted his teeth and spat out the answer, Greyardin’s smile deepened.
“I thought so. You’re too bound by emotions.”
Keith was already thinking of something else. If he reached out now, could he kill this man? Rationally thinking, he should bow even now, but he didn’t want to. He wished for Yu Jin to suffer no more.
The reason Yu Jin had been able to fake being brainwashed until now was because he was with Keith. If Greyardin stuck close to Yu Jin, he would notice that the brainwashing hadn’t worked. Keith didn’t even want to imagine what would happen after that.
“I see murderous intent in your eyes.”
Keith, who had stood up, fingered the dagger hidden in his chest. If he could just kill Greyardin, everything would be much easier to resolve. Just as he was about to move for this purpose, someone roughly knocked on the door from outside.
Bang!
With a loud noise, all eyes turned to the door. The one who had made such a rude noise opened the door wide without permission.
“Good evening?”
The one behaving so rudely was Jinhyeon. He greeted with a gentle smile, but several knights were visible behind him. Moreover, employees who had woken up due to the commotion in the middle of the night were also peeking out.
“It seemed something had happened in the middle of the night, so I brought the knights. Is everything alright?”
Seeing him, Greyardin wiped the expression from his face. But it didn’t last long. He spoke with a gentle face as if nothing had happened.
“Nothing happened. You must have misunderstood something.”
“Oh my, a misunderstanding?”
As Jinhyeon said this while shrugging his shoulders, a sigh escaped from the mouth of a knight standing behind him.
“We rushed here because we heard something had happened.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s fine. It’s better than something actually happening.”
The knights who had followed Jinhyeon this far were those who got along well with him. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have moved with Jinhyeon in the middle of the night. Though not many in number, they were all individuals who enjoyed putting in effort, and as a result, they were skilled.
They found it strange that Greyardin, Yu Jin’s benefactor, and Keith were together in the middle of the night, but they didn’t think deeply about it. Although Keith hadn’t officially received a position in the mansion yet, he was handling many tasks.
“Then we’ll be going back.”
“I apologize once again.”
“I said it’s fine.”
As the knights returned, the employees also quietly disappeared. Now only three people remained in this place.
“Shall we go back then?”
Jinhyeon addressed Keith. The unexpected formal speech gave Keith goosebumps, but he quietly nodded.
“Then rest well.”
Jinhyeon, who had snatched Keith, quietly closed the open door.
“Hahaha.”
Greyardin laughed, leaning back on the sofa. Then he called out the name of someone who had been hiding.
“Aksen.”
“You called?”
A shadow in the corner that Keith hadn’t noticed gradually increased in volume until it became human-shaped.
“Interesting children, aren’t they?”
“Interesting? They just seem unnecessarily sharp. More importantly, shouldn’t we punish that Keith? It seems Rector has raised his disciple poorly. How dare he defy the leader? He should do as he’s told.”
“He’s like that because of love.”
“What does love matter? We shouldn’t let disobedient ones be.”
“Is that so? Rector, do you think the same?”
At that, Rector leaped in through the window.
“Well, young people can make mistakes, can’t they? If it’s alright, I’ll discipline him appropriately.”
“Appropriately? He should be severely punished!”
“How about the mad magician shuts his mouth? You dissect people as punishment.”
“I didn’t kill them.”
“It would be better to kill them. Keith is too capable to be wasted like that.”
Rector began to growl, facing Aksen. Given their usual poor relationship, it wasn’t easy for them to stay quiet. This was already them restraining themselves considerably in front of the leader.
“I’m more interested in another child.”
“You mean Jinhyeon?”
“Yes, he’s the current head’s lover, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Such a child has great potential. So we should either kill him or make him one of us. I wonder what would satisfy him?”
“I’ll look into it.”
Aksen spoke with a respectful attitude.
“Yes, do that.”
“Then shall I go out again?”
“Are you busy?”
“I’m busy investigating the mansion’s defense status. How many strong individuals there are. It’s not easy to move around secretly. Should we have called Diana instead?”
“Diana is busy with other work. These days, she’s keeping an eye on the eastern continent.”
Although they had signed a non-aggression treaty, Greyardin didn’t fully trust the people from the east.
“They’re just too greedy.”
The organization on the eastern continent was eyeing this continent without even having properly swallowed their own. It seemed they were trying to suppress internal turmoil with external affairs. Greyardin had no intention of falling for their tricks.
“So, try a bit harder.”
“…I will.”
Rector sighed and leaped out the window again.
“He’s really an insolent bastard!”
As soon as Rector disappeared, Aksen habitually started cursing. Greyardin listened to him for a while before raising his hand to stop him. They really fight tediously. It would be good if they could cooperate moderately.
Keith walked, staggering. His head was dizzy from the shock, but he couldn’t stop here. He only stopped after passing through the corridor and arriving at the training ground located in a corner. This was a place opened for Jinhyeon to train. He sat down on a bench in the corner without saying a word.
“So you found out too.”
Jinhyeon said this as he plopped down next to Keith.
“You already knew he was the leader of Leviathan, didn’t you?”
“Yes, I heard it first.”
Keith gritted his teeth. Who exactly was Jinhyeon? Yu Jin had confessed that Jinhyeon already knew everything. He had endured it then, but now that the situation had come to this, it was hard to suppress his anger anymore.
“You, who are you! Why did Yu Jin tell you first?”
“Because I’m his lover?”
“Someone like you!”
Everything was the worst. Keith buried his face in both hands and tried to steady his breathing. He knew there was no use in getting angry here. But as various thoughts came to mind, his heart beat rapidly.
‘I was by Yu Jin’s side first.’
I loved him first. So why is Jinhyeon here now? It was an irrelevant anger, but he couldn’t stop it.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
