98.
After Haruna left, only Keith and Yu Jin remained. Yu Jin awkwardly fidgeted his fingers while looking at Keith. When did it start? It had become uncomfortable to be alone with Keith without someone else between them. This was especially true after Jinhyeon went to Lyunne.
‘Hyung doesn’t want Jinhyeon to come back.’
Knowing this made the relationship with Keith even more awkward.
“Yu Jin. Forget what Haruna said. It’s dangerous.”
“What’s dangerous?”
“The idea of pretending to be dead. You’ve only recently become Lucid’s heir. Faking your death at a time like this isn’t a wise choice.”
Among past heroes, some had faked their deaths to find and deal with those who opposed them. But Yu Jin didn’t have the power of a hero. So it was dangerous to do such a thing to shake Jinhyeon. Yu Jin knew this too. But he couldn’t give up.
“Just for a moment. Just pretend for a few days.”
He thought he could reveal the death was false before anything happened. His feelings for Jinhyeon clouded Yu Jin’s reasoning.
“Yu Jin.”
Keith’s voice became stern.
“You.”
Yu Jin asked with a trembling voice.
“You don’t want Jinhyeon to come back, do you?”
Keith didn’t answer Yu Jin’s question. But sometimes, you don’t need to hear an answer to know.
“I have to do this. So don’t interfere. This isn’t me speaking as a younger brother. It’s as Lucid’s heir.”
Feeling Keith’s intense gaze, Yu Jin tried to maintain a calm facade.
“Then I’ll go to bed now.”
Yu Jin said as he stood up.
“…Alright, you must be shocked today, so rest well.”
Keith saw Yu Jin off with a smile. But it didn’t feel like a genuine smile.
Ruhan, the head of Lucid, was listening to recent information about Yu Jin from his shadow. On the surface, he pretended to be unable to move because of the elders, but behind the scenes, he had assigned people to protect Yu Jin. It would be troublesome if the heir, Yu Jin, died or got hurt. For now, they were just secretly watching, but after dealing with a few opposing elders, he planned to send open guards. However, a problem arose in the middle.
One person who had been by Yu Jin’s side all along went to Lyunne of the Roeng Duke family.
“But that part is strange.”
“Yes, it is strange. The Jinhyeon I saw didn’t seem like someone who would change his mind so easily.”
It wasn’t like the Roeng Duke family offered something to attract Jinhyeon. Whatever Lyunne could give, Yu Jin could give too. No, once he inherited Lucid, he would have more than the Duke’s youngest daughter. Yet he suddenly went to Lyunne? As someone who knew the information, it felt unnatural and laughable.
“Leviathan reached out to the Duke’s youngest daughter.”
The funny thing was that Duke Roeng didn’t know this. To him, Lyunne was his beloved youngest daughter, so he didn’t try to doubt her actions. He couldn’t imagine that his daughter was trying to step out of her role.
“How foolish.”
Ruhan had seen Lyunne when she was small. And he had read the ambition the child was hiding. It was a fact that could be known with just a little attention.
“So, why do you think Jinhyeon became like that?”
“Our guess is brainwashing. Until now, Leviathan moved carefully and only attracted some nobles. But at some point, their range of activity widened, and strangely, people supporting Leviathan started appearing.”
“That’s when they started using brainwashing.”
“That’s what we suspect.”
“The method?”
“It’s a drug.”
“Feeding it is the quickest way.”
It’s just that making such drugs isn’t easy. Until now, brainwashing required not only drugs but also training. But it seemed Leviathan had created something that could skip the training.
‘It’s tempting.’
Of course, he had no intention of joining hands with Leviathan. Since learning of their involvement in his beloved wife’s death, Ruhan had always been the same. To him, Leviathan was the enemy. So if they had something tempting, he just needed to go on a subjugation.
“It’s been a while since I’ve had to move.”
Ruhan put down his pen and left his office for the first time in a while.
“Ah, and maintain the heir’s protection as it is for now.”
Let him move as he wants and only reveal themselves when his life is in danger. Because of this rule, the guards Ruhan had assigned didn’t move rashly even when Yu Jin was threatened in the back alleys. They were confident he wouldn’t die.
“I will follow the orders.”
The shadow bowed his head.
A few days later, shocking news was thrown into the social circles of the capital. Marilyn, who was having tea with a friend at her mansion, opened her eyes wide at the news.
“Is that really true?”
She pressed the maid who delivered the news, unable to believe it, but the answer was the same.
“It’s said to be true. They say Lucid’s heir has passed away in an accident.”
“What kind of accident?”
“They say he fell from the second-floor railing at a banquet he attended, and it was bad luck.”
“Oh, a banquet. So, the second-floor railing of a banquet.”
Marilyn muttered and then closed her mouth. At some point, Yu Jin had cut off all night activities. There were some who persistently clung on, but they all disappeared without a trace. So most of those with lingering attachments kept their distance.
‘Thanks to that, Yu Jin was able to safely pull out of that side.’
It seems even those whose heads were messed up from night activities valued their lives. At the time, they didn’t know, but after Yu Jin was appointed as Lucid’s heir, such rumors circulated secretly. That Lucid’s shadow had preemptively killed those who might interfere later. Anyway, after that, Yu Jin showed a completely different side and walked the path of success.
The department store he set up with Marilyn’s grandfather, Tulin, was a great success, and the second branch was being built. And yet.
‘He suddenly died?’
Marilyn was frozen, not even thinking of putting down the teacup she was holding. Seeing her like this, her other friends wore expressions full of curiosity but couldn’t open their mouths.
“What about the funeral?”
“It seems they’re busy dealing with the death for now. There will probably be talk about it soon.”
The capable maid had gathered various pieces of information. Marilyn, who had finally put down her teacup, stood up abruptly.
“I need to go see Grandfather!”
There was much she couldn’t know just from the maid’s story here.
“I’m sorry. Can we meet again later?”
When she asked her friends for understanding, they all nodded at Marilyn’s strange charisma.
“Pina. Please make sure my friends return home safely.”
“Yes, Lady Marilyn.”
“And prepare my carriage too.”
“I’ll prepare it quickly.”
The maid bowed her head and moved quickly.
Recently, Lyunne had been feeling anxious. She thought everything would go well once she brainwashed Jinhyeon and got him in her hands, but it wasn’t like that. Jinhyeon faithfully followed Lyunne’s words but didn’t approach her first. Even when they embraced and their skin touched, it seemed only Lyunne’s heart was racing. Jinhyeon’s expression was always strange. But he didn’t seem to be aware of it himself, as he would only look puzzled when she pointed it out.
In this situation, Duke Roeng, her father, disapproved of Lyunne’s actions.
“Why do you keep such a man by your side? You’re of age now.”
Her brother’s opinion was the same.
“You should be getting married soon, keeping such a person by your side will only lower your value. He handles the sword well, so how about assigning him to other duties? I hear monsters have started appearing near the Duke’s territory. I’m thinking of selecting a few knights to send this time, it might be good to send him along.”
Though he put it indirectly, it was no different from what her father said. On top of that, Grey started to be picky. He would often leave without a word, when he used to stick close to her. Each time, someone else would take his place, a man who gave an unpleasant feeling just by looking at him.
“It’s hard.”
Lyunne leaned on Jinhyeon and sighed.
“Is it very difficult?”
“Yes. It’s very hard.”
It felt like everything was falling apart. As she was slumped down, Jinhyeon gently stroked Lyunne’s head. Surprised, she looked up to see him smiling softly. Lyunne somehow felt healed by that smile. And that’s when the news about Yu Jin came.
“Lucid’s heir has passed away.”
Lyunne felt Jinhyeon’s body stiffen as he heard the voice reporting this. She raised her head to look at Jinhyeon. His expression, which was always like a calm lake, was strangely distorted.
“Lucid’s heir, you mean.”
“It’s Lord Yu Jin.”
“…He died?”
“Yes, that’s what we’ve been informed.”
Lyunne sat up and examined Jinhyeon closely. The calm lake was already showing signs of a storm. Jinhyeon’s tightly clenched fists were trembling. Seeing this gave her an ominous feeling.
