Chapter 57

Finding the guild was not very difficult.

Buying a simple snack on the market floor and paying a little extra for information, the market vendors pointed him to the guild’s location.

A few minutes after he set off to find the thieves’ guild, Tang Yuwon stood at the deepest part of a secluded alley.

“Is this the place…?”

The guild building before him looked a little different from what Tang Yuwon had expected.

‘I’d hoped it would be shabbier and more deeply hidden…’

It was a house that looked far too ordinary. If the merchants had not given him a hint, its exterior was so plain he would have passed it by.

‘Well, that didn’t matter. As long as I got useful information, that was enough.’

He was sure he had come to the right place. Tang Yuwon knocked on the iron door that was firmly closed.

Thunk thunk thunk—

The door did not open immediately. Instead, as if they had been expecting him, a voice came from inside.

“Who’s there?”

“I came because I wanted to buy some information.”

“Information? Do you know where you’ve come to?”

“Isn’t this the thieves’ guild?”

After he asked whether it was the thieves’ guild, the answer behind the door fell silent for a moment. About ten seconds later, just as Tang Yuwon was about to knock again, the lock clicked and the door opened.

“…Come in for now.”

When Tang Yuwon entered, a guild member appeared and immediately attended to him. Tang Yuwon and the guild member man sat across from each other with a small table between them.

“Hmm… You came to buy information… There isn’t exactly much we have that’s worth buying or selling. What kind of information are you looking for?”

He had his face covered anyway, so there was nothing to hesitate about. Tang Yuwon changed his voice and tone and replied.

“I’m looking for a person.”

“A person… If you don’t mind me asking, what for? We do take murder-for-hire jobs; interested?”

“I’ll pass. It’s a personal matter.”

The guild member’s tail of speech trailed off as if Tang Yuwon’s answer had not been what he expected.

“Hmm… Finding people isn’t really profitable for us…”

Concealing his face beneath a mask, Tang Yuwon smirked and pulled a bundle full of gold coins from his robe and placed it on the table.

Thud—

It was the slush fund he had prepared by robbing Bernid’s warehouse. The dazzling gold gleamed from the open mouth of the heavy bundle, and the guild member immediately changed his posture.

“Oh~ You should’ve said earlier. There’s no one better than us at finding people. Do you have any identifying features that might help?”

“A man in his forties, bald. He’d stand out even from a distance because of extreme obesity, and his voice was very thin.”

“…Is that all?”

“I think that’s enough as identifying information. Is it insufficient?”

“Hmm… Well, if what you said is sufficient, then fine, but usually when someone comes to find a person they give more detailed descriptions.”

“So you can find him?”

The guild member looked between Tang Yuwon and the bundle of gold coins Tang Yuwon had placed on the table, then quickly nodded.

“Of course! If the customer wants it, we’ll find him. How would you like to pay? If you pay the full amount upfront now, we’ll give you a big discount.”

As he spoke, the man began to stealthily reach for the bundle of gold. He had taken Tang Yuwon for a sucker; the remark was not amusing.

Tang Yuwon grabbed the bundle and pulled it in front of him.

“A one-tenth upfront fee, the rest on completion.”

“One-tenth upfront? It’s customary to take half as a deposit…”

“Don’t take me for a fool. Do you think I wouldn’t know that the one-tenth I offered was far more than the half you mentioned?”

“Oh, no, sorry. Understood. Then let’s do it that way.”

He had tried to be clever, but he could not miss such a big deal. The man, watching Tang Yuwon’s expression, quickly tucked his tail and agreed to the deal. His eyes fixed on the bundle of gold, he licked his lips in disappointment.

“How soon can you find him?”

“Hmm… Hard to say… The baldness could be concealed with a wig or a deep-hooded robe, so that won’t be easy to use, but the thin voice and the obesity will help a bit. We’ll start right away, but I can’t promise exactly when.”

“…I’ll return in ten days. I can’t just wait around forever; come then and tell me how far the work has progressed, and we’ll talk.”

“Yes, understood. We’ll have to hustle if we don’t want to lose out on such a big commission.”

Instead of replying, Tang Yuwon took a few gold coins from the bundle, left them on the table, and stood.

“Then handle it quickly.”

“Yes, yes. Leave the aftermath to us and go on in, sir~”

Having taken care of his business, Tang Yuwon left.

Clack—

After Tang Yuwon departed, the guild door closed firmly again. The guild member who had been attending him spun slowly in his chair and stared behind him.

“Is that the person you were looking for?”

The man spoke into the empty air as if he had gone mad. Then a shadow slid into the vacant space and filled it.

“That seems to be the case.”

The shadow replied in a subtle voice that made it impossible to tell whether the speaker was male or female.

“The client was looking for the Master, right…?”

“Why? Did you think I would sell the Master for a profit?”

“No, no. How could I possibly sell Master?”

“Enough. Pick out the fastest and most discreet ones and have them follow him. Ah, and tell them not to do anything rash — just watch from as far away as possible. If they try to meddle halfway, they won’t be coming back.”

“Yes, yessir! Understood.”

The conversation between the two was anything but ordinary.

The shadow hidden in the darkness stepped forward into the light, revealing his face.

It was Marcellus.

A man whose true intentions were impossible to read.

As Tang Yuwon had suspected, the man who should have been deep in the Southern Great Jungle had instead appeared openly within the Valaris Territory.

Somewhere in the guest chambers of Valaris Castle.

Though the sun was high in the sky, the curtains had not been drawn. Inside the dim room sat the Second Prince, Arencar, alone in silence.

Empty bottles of wine lay scattered at his feet — a stark contrast to the man who once claimed that drinking dulled his senses and had avoided alcohol all his life.

Since the last battle, Arencar had severely injured his right arm.

The moment he arrived in the Valaris Territory, he had desperately searched everywhere, trying every rumored treatment to restore it.

‘But none of it worked.’

No matter what medicine he took or treatment he received, his ruined arm could not be healed.

Even the Fourth Prince, Mariel — who was deeply versed in the use of divine power — had only shaken his head.

A knight who had trained with the sword all his life had lost his arm. Arencar’s world was collapsing.

‘It’s over. Everything is over…’

The lion cub that once roared as if it would devour all its brothers had died. Having lost his arm, Arencar was being consumed by despair.

“Heh, heh-heh. When that fool Bernid fell, I laughed like a madman… but now I look even more pathetic. At least he didn’t end up a cripple.”

In Arencar’s mind, he could still clearly see the back of the Third Prince, who had once strode proudly across the battlefield, both arms wrapped in storms of mana.

In the past, Arencar had been no less than him — but now, that was something he could never again be.

The more he thought about it, the drier his throat became. Arencar raised the near-empty bottle of wine to his lips.

“Damn it…”

No matter how far he tilted it, nothing poured out. The empty bottle only made a hollow sound.

“Wine! Bring more wine!”

He could no longer control his temper when it flared without warning. In anger, Arencar hurled the bottle at the wall.

Crash—!

“Hey! I said bring me wine! Wine!”

At his outburst, the door to the guest room opened, and someone stepped inside. It was a familiar face — the Fourth Prince, Mariel.

“Brother…”

“What are you doing here? Hah, did you come to drink with this crippled fool?”

A half-crazed laugh escaped him.

The room was a wreck, and Arencar looked even worse.

The Fourth Prince sighed heavily.

“Ha… how have you fallen to this state…”

“Since you came empty-handed, I guess you didn’t come to be my drinking partner. Spare me your cheap pity and get out. I don’t need it.”

Despite the harsh reception, the Fourth Prince approached and sat beside him.

“…Brother, drinking may dull your pain, but at this rate, you’ll end up with glass shards in that precious body of yours.”

“I’m already half a cripple. What does it matter if I get hurt a little more?”

“Brother, how can you say that? If Father saw you like this, he would be furious. For the man once called the Sword of the Imperial Family to crumble like this…”

“‘Once called,’ you mean. You think I don’t know that the brilliant Yurion took that title from me?”

“…It’s true, I can’t deny that. But even so, you mustn’t give up so easily. Even if you’ve lost your sword arm, you still have loyal allies by your side.”

Hearing that now only made him laugh. Arencar smiled faintly, though it was hard to tell whether he was mocking himself or the Fourth Prince.

“Heh, for now, perhaps. But once those who were left on the battlefield return home and start wagging their tongues — do you really think I’ll still remain the Second Prince after everyone hears what happened?”

“That’s…”

“Say no more. Just go.”

For a long moment, the Fourth Prince was silent. Then, as if having made up his mind, he bit his lower lip and spoke again.

“I can’t be sure, but there may still be one hope left. A way to heal your arm.”

“What…?”

The drunken haze clouding Arencar’s eyes vanished at once, replaced by the fierce gleam of the man he once was.

“I couldn’t do it, but if it were the Pope of the Holy Kingdom, perhaps…”

“…Are you certain?”

“The damage is severe, so I can’t promise, but His Holiness once restored a man paralyzed from the waist down. Normally, he doesn’t use his power for personal matters — but if I ask him…”

Growing impatient, the Second Prince cut him off.

“…Let’s skip the preamble. What do you want from me?”

“Heh, as quick to understand as ever. Then listen — it’s not a bad offer, even for you.”

The Fourth Prince, Mariel, smiled.

At the corners of the man once called a saint’s lips, there appeared a chilling smile never seen before.

The unannounced visit of unexpected guests and the invasion of southern beasts —

Count Valaris was living days so busy that he scarcely had time to breathe.

“Subjugation force, my foot. More like a load of dead weight.”

Of course, he never said such things in front of others. He only grumbled when he was alone.

The number of deserters from the subjugation force had grown uncontrollably — now more than half had already decided to return home.

‘The few still hanging on will soon tire out and leave too.’

The Count could hardly think well of the so-called subjugation force that had come to aid the South.

They had arrived as if on some hunting outing, only to flee home at the first sight of blood on the battlefield.

But that battlefield was the Count’s home — his life. That made their cowardice all the harder to stomach.

‘Of course, I pity those who died or were gravely injured in this mess, but still…’

There was nothing Count Valaris could have done. If those beasts had attacked the Valaris Territory directly, he could have dealt with them without much loss.

But who could have guessed that the subjugation force and the orc horde would clash out in the open plains? Not even the Count had foreseen that.

‘It’s not even the time of year when orcs rampage. What on earth made them move so soon…? Something about this doesn’t feel right…’

In all his years defending the South, he had never seen anything like it. Lost in thought, the Count gazed out the window.

Then, something strange flickered at the edge of his perception.

‘Hmm?’

The presence vanished almost instantly — so quickly that one might think he had imagined it. But the Count did not overlook the faintest sign.

“For someone to be sneaking around inside the castle at a time like this…?”

The Count’s eyes gleamed like those of a predator spotting prey.

“I can’t let that slip by.”

Checking the sword at his waist, the Count threw open the window.

The man who had lived his entire life on the battlefield leapt out in pursuit.

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