Chapter 98

To confirm what had happened the previous night, Yuwon visited the Third Prince’s Palace.

When Yuwon stepped inside, Bernid—who had already been informed—came out to the parlor himself to wait for him.

“You’re here.”

“It has been a while, Brother.”

At Yuwon’s use of the word Brother, Bernid let out a small chuckle and welcomed him.

“What’s the occasion today? You’re even calling me Brother. Anyway, good to see you. Yurion. Come, sit comfortably.”

Bernid, who had risen from his seat to greet Yuwon, sat back down first and gestured to the seat opposite.

Once Yuwon took the seat, Bernid opened the conversation.

“For someone who will soon sit on the imperial throne to suddenly drop by without notice—it’s an honor. There’s no way you came because you missed me, so what brings you here?”

To Bernid’s question, Yuwon simply held a calm smile.

Sensing the situation, Bernid lowered his voice, his tone turning more serious.

“It’s because of last night… right? How did you find out?”

Yuwon quietly nodded.

“Fine. No point hiding it now, so I’ll tell you the truth. That should make the story faster. Hastings noticed and informed me.”

“Hastings? Ah, Viscount Bartlett?”

At Yuwon’s words, Bernid smiled as if everything made sense.

“Wow, I knew I had gotten on Viscount Bartlett’s bad side, but I must have really annoyed him. To think he’d go as far as tailing me. It’s not like you would’ve ordered something like that… Did the Viscount act on his own?”

“Pretty much. And I already warned him never to do something like that again, so nothing similar will happen. That’s not the real issue. The problem is the relationship between the two of you. Try to get along with Hastings. Even if I look like I’m at ease these days, I don’t have the leisure to mediate between the two of you. You know that, right?”

To Yuwon’s words, Bernid answered brightly, telling him not to worry.

“Of course. You’ll soon become the Emperor, so I’m sure you know what you’re doing. Don’t worry too much about that. Things will get better. You’re getting along well with Terrien too, aren’t you?”

“Terrien is just naturally sociable. If he hadn’t been born a concubine’s son, with that talent and sociability, he would have joined some great knight order and walked a solid golden path.”

“And because he didn’t, you ended up with a good knight.”

Thinking of Terrien, Yuwon smiled as he replied.

“True. I won’t deny that part.”

At Yuwon’s smile, Bernid also laughed once for no reason.

But only for a moment—perhaps feeling guilty, Bernid began speaking even though Yuwon hadn’t asked anything yet.

“Well, you didn’t come here just to chat. What are you curious about? Tell me. I’ll say everything. I’ve got nothing to hide.”

“It’s fine. If you had tried to hide things, I might’ve pressed you. But I trusted you from the beginning, and now that I see your reaction, I figured you handled it well.”

It had been a matter involving none other than Marcellus.

Yet Yuwon’s reaction was oddly subdued.

Surprised by the unexpected response, Bernid voiced his doubt.

“Aren’t you curious why Marcellus came to me, what I said to him, and what happened to him afterward? You should be curious, right?”

“He likely tried to lure you, saying he could detoxify poison or something of the sort, and you must have rejected him, saying you wouldn’t fall for him twice. Am I wrong? I’m right, aren’t I?”

Yuwon’s deduction was so accurate Bernid stood there stunned with his mouth open.

“Wow… I’ve got nothing to say. Seriously, you’re like a ghost. A ghost. The fact that I’m still sane after dealing with someone like you feels like a blessing.”

Bernid’s exaggerated reaction looked amusing to Yuwon.

He let out a quiet laugh and replied playfully.

“You flatter me. It’s obvious. What else would Marcellus—who loves sowing discord—do by coming all the way here? Ah, right… but there is something I’m curious about.”

As if he had remembered something important, Yuwon’s playful tone vanished, replaced by a weighty seriousness.

“What did you do with him?”

Yuwon’s cold, piercing gaze bored into Marcellus’s eyes.

Meeting that chilling, murderous stare, Marcellus felt relieved he had never turned Yuwon into an enemy, and calmly answered his question.

“…I tried to choke the life out of him with my own hands, but I failed. Yurion, you’d better be careful too. You should already know to some degree—he is absolutely not what he appears to be. Even if I can’t say about him himself, the ones following him looked rather dangerous.”

“What…? Explain in more detail.”

Bernid glanced around nervously as though he were about to discuss something significant and lowered his voice.

“Well… honestly, I tried to kill him myself, but the moment I moved to strike him, his underlings poured out and blocked me. Until that moment, I didn’t even know he had people with him.”

“Hmm… is that so.”

“I’m not proud to admit it, but the Third Prince’s Palace is the most poorly guarded among all the palaces. I acknowledge that. But even so, for people to come and go here like it’s their home—they’re definitely no ordinary bunch.”

“Are they the ones Hastings mentioned before…? During the time he was kidnapped, he also said there were mysterious men following Marcellus.”

Bernid nodded.

“Those people wouldn’t have dropped from the sky, so I’m sure those were the same ones from before. Anyway, when I tried to kill him last night—if he had wanted to kill me, the one dying wouldn’t have been him but me. But he didn’t kill me. He just told me to reconsider. Looking back, it felt like… maybe I wasn’t even worth killing. Wouldn’t have been strange if he killed me right there….”

Perhaps hardened by countless life-and-death experiences, Bernid spoke about his near-death moment with surprising ease.

“I see. Understood. Thank you for being honest. You must’ve had a rough time. Ah, and this….”

After listening to everything, Yuwon took out his Subspace Bag and retrieved a vial from inside.

Tak―

“Since you came, I brought some medicine. Drink it in one go.”

Yuwon gestured toward the vial with his chin.

Bernid frowned slightly, displeased by the appearance of another vial.

“What, is this another improved version? You acted like it was nothing, but I guess the reappearance of that Marcellus fellow made even our great Prince Yurion a little nervous?”

To Bernid’s not-so-pleasant reaction, Yuwon pretended to be angry and glared.

“So now that you’re feeling better, you don’t want the medicine I give you?”

“No, it’s not that… it’s just the timing is a bit… no, I should drink what you give me. I’m not in a position to pick and choose what you hand me.”

At the end of his timid resistance, Bernid reluctantly took the vial Yuwon had offered.

Seeing Bernid so deflated, Yuwon gave a small laugh and added an explanation.

“It’s a nutrient tonic. A nutrient tonic. I only made one because I heard you’ve been holed up in the laboratory day and night. You know I’m not the kind of person who tricks you into drinking something, right?”

Yuwon was absolutely right.

If Yuwon intended to feed someone poison, he would state outright that it was poison.

And at that unexpected answer, Bernid’s eyes widened as he looked back and forth between Yuwon and the vial.

“…A nutrient tonic?”

“Poison or medicine—they’re only a hair’s difference. It all depends on how they’re used. Today it’s definitely medicine, so don’t worry.”

“So… is this a reward for resisting temptation?”

“Well, if you think of it that way, it could be.”

“Either way, since you brought it thinking of me, I’ll drink it gratefully. Thanks.”

As if he didn’t doubt Yuwon’s words even a little, Bernid lifted the vial right away and poured the contents into his mouth.

Gulp— gulp—

After draining the vial in one go right in front of Yuwon, Bernid set down the empty vial and wiped the corner of his lips.

“Ugh… bitter. Well, like someone once said, medicine good for you is always bitter. But what exactly is this good for?”

“Detoxification.”

At Yuwon’s short answer, Bernid wondered if he had heard wrong.

“Hm, what?”

“I said detoxification.”

“Detoxification? Out of nowhere?”

“What do you mean out of nowhere. There’s only one thing it would be for.”

In that moment, Bernid’s eyes widened so much they looked like they might tear apart.

“You—you… you! Don’t tell me…!”

“That “don’t tell me” is correct. Well then, get some rest. I’m going.”

Yuwon left without even looking back.

When he was just about to exit the parlor, he turned his head and added one more sentence.

“Ah… and once you clear your head, pack your things and move into the Fifth Prince’s Palace. If what you said earlier is true, staying here might be dangerous.”

Half stunned by the surprise gift Yuwon had given him, Bernid nodded blankly.

“Y-yeah. Alright, I’ll do that.”

Yuwon let out a small laugh at the sight.

“Good. Then I’ll prepare a room for you as a guest, so I’ll see you later.”

After Yuwon left, Bernid was left alone in the parlor.

Moved to his core, Bernid trembled as he stared down at the empty vial.

An emotion that had been knotting inside him surged up and moistening gathered in his eyes.

“Yurion, you bastard….”

Yet unlike his damp eyes, a smile curled at Bernid’s mouth.

A reward for long-standing trust.

It was the moment Bernid truly became Yuwon’s left arm.

Yuwon left the Third Prince’s Palace and headed straight toward his own palace.

His expression was dim, as though weighed down by thoughts after Marcellus’s sudden appearance.

“Hastings.”

As he walked slowly alone, Yuwon quietly called out to Hastings.

Just like magic, Hastings dropped down from thin air and revealed himself.

“Yes, Your Highness. You called for me.”

“Gather every Raven currently inside the Imperial Palace.”

“…!”

‘His Highness is finally… calling upon us!’

Yuwon, who had never fully trusted the Ravens—Hastings had noticed that long ago.

And now, Yuwon was finally issuing them orders.

“I’ll immediately assemble all available members. If it is Your Highness’s call, every one of them will gladly join the mission.”

“Good. I am still lacking in that area, so I’ll trust you and Gillian to handle it. That shouldn’t be an issue, right?”

“As you command. The target is… that man, I presume?”

Yuwon nodded slowly.

“Yes. That fox-like rat Marcellus wouldn’t have tucked his tail and crawled back into a hole just because Bernid rejected him. Burrowing animals always dig several tunnels to move through.”

“Certainly.”

“It’s the same for him. He would never show his face in the Imperial Palace again just banking on the single plan of persuading Bernid. By now, he’s probably somewhere contacting other people as a second option. And in such a crucial time, we cannot allow a rat to scurry around stirring trouble.”

“Then…!”

Hastings’ eyes flashed at Yuwon’s words, and Yuwon answered that light with a half-smile.

“Yes, it’s a hunt. Let’s take this opportunity to test the Ravens’ abilities.”

A cold smile sat only on his lips.

Yuwon’s chill, sunken gaze traced the trail of Marcellus’s movements.

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