Chapter 57

Chapter 57. Are You Planning to Run Away After Death? (2)

Holy Knight Order Headquarters, Command Center.

Fully armed Taragon stood before Vice Commander Nex, with four soldiers waiting behind him.

“Vice Commander. I will commence the night patrol.”

“Hmm… Young Master. Are you sure you must personally patrol? You’ve been running around the training grounds all day without rest. Frankly speaking, you look like you’re on the verge of collapsing. How about staying here with me and planning the patrol route as usual?”

Taragon’s complexion was indeed poor, but he forced a smile and replied.

“If I keep doing that, I’ll never start. Starting today, I’ll learn by being on the field.”

“If that is your wish, I won’t stop you twice. Knight Taragon. Recite the four rules of the guard unit.”

“One, we are the beacons that protect the family. Two, upon spotting an enemy, reporting is the top priority. Three, one enemy we miss can kill dozens. Four, do not alter or deviate from the patrol route without reporting.”

“State your assigned patrol route.”

Taragon stumbled a bit in the middle but managed to recite the entire patrol route.

“Knight Taragon. You may begin your mission.”

“Deploy!”

And so, Taragon led the four soldiers and began the night patrol.

Being his first patrol, Taragon was full of energy and nervous, but his tension was for naught as nothing happened.

However, Taragon witnessed scenes he never expected. Scenes more surprising than finding an intruder.

The underground training rooms in the west wing were all fully occupied.

Knights dreaming of growth were sparing no sleep to train at night, and among them was Anis.

Taragon saw Anis but couldn’t bring himself to speak. It wasn’t just because Anis was drenched in sweat, training his lower body.

‘Brother Anis always seemed so relaxed every morning, but he’s been training late into the night?’

And what about himself?

Taragon always rested after sunset. The morning training alone was exhausting and tiring.

“Knight. We must move on.”

Taragon, who had been staring blankly at Anis, snapped back to reality at the soldier’s words.

“Ah, yes. Let’s go.”

Later, Taragon also encountered his second brother, Mail.

In the deserted library, Mail was reading a book by the light of a single candle, so focused that he didn’t even notice Taragon’s presence.

‘Even Brother Mail, who knows everything, has been reading this much.’

Taragon felt his mind going numb.

He had never dreamed that his brothers, whom he thought were simply geniuses, were putting in so much effort. He couldn’t sense any fatigue from their outward appearances.

‘Ah, how long have my brothers been living like this?’

Taragon felt ashamed of himself. He had thought his lack of talent was the reason he couldn’t keep up, but he realized he hadn’t been putting in as much effort as his brothers.

“If it weren’t for Keter, I would have never realized this…”

Though the soldiers were nearby, Taragon muttered to himself without concern.

“I’m pretty amazing.”

Keter spoke from the darkness.

“Ahhh!”

“Ugh!”

“Eek!”

The soldiers walking down the long corridor collapsed with cries of agony.

Taragon reflexively reached for the sword at his waist. But the sword didn’t come out. Keter’s flick hit his forehead first.

*Thwack!*

“Ugh!”

The impact felt like being hit by a hammer, and Taragon stumbled backward.

“Why on earth is an archer carrying a sword? I really don’t get it.”

“Ugh, Keter. Is that really you?”

Keter seemed to be cloaked in darkness like armor. Though the soldiers were holding lanterns, the light only seemed to hide Keter more.

“If it weren’t me, you’d be a corpse.”

“W-what about the soldiers?”

“I killed them for a bit.”

“What!?”

“What are you so shocked about? They’re just unconscious.”

“Ah…”

“‘Ah-’? You didn’t even notice me until four soldiers were about to die.”

Taragon picked up the lantern the soldiers had dropped. Only then did he see Keter’s face clearly.

“The ghost who stabs the back of the neck at night, that was you, Keter?”

“That’s not important right now. I have a favor to ask.”

“A favor? At this hour?”

“Yes. It’s something only you can do.”

“Something only I can do…!”

Taragon, who had been tense, felt the corners of his mouth rise at those words.

“I want you to take Catherine to Elder Panir’s mansion.”

“That’s a really sudden request. Why do I have to do that?”

“It’s probably a reason you can’t handle. Want to hear it?”

“…My life is already overwhelming, so I’ll pass on the reason. Taking Catherine means sneaking her out without drawing attention, right? That’s impossible. There are no gaps in the patrol route.”

“Everything has two sides. If you’re good at guarding, you should be good at breaking through it too. Sneak Catherine out without anyone noticing and take her to Elder Panir’s mansion.”

“That sounds difficult…”

“Still want to do only easy things, huh?”

“Gasp.”

As Keter turned his back, Taragon panicked.

“No, what I meant was… it’s difficult, but I’ll try, so just leave it to me.”

Keter walked into the darkness and said.

“I believed you would.”

And just like that, Keter disappeared.

Left alone in the dark corridor, Taragon didn’t even have time to think about where Keter had gone.

‘In about 10 minutes, another patrol will come down this corridor. First, I need to hide the unconscious soldiers.’

As Taragon dealt with the soldiers, he pondered Keter’s words.

“Everything has two sides… I’ll remember that.”

* * *

Panir looked down at the soup in front of him.

A clear brown soup made with meat. It was so clear he could see his reflection.

Since Basil had already eaten, Panir also took a spoonful and put it in his mouth, following etiquette.

‘Delicious.’

The savory taste of the meat and the subtle sweetness of the vegetables even sparked his appetite.

Panir, who had no intention of eating, glanced at the well-baked wheat bread.

There was no reason not to eat it. Panir cut a piece of the bread and put it in his mouth.

The soft, savory bread filled his mouth. As he swallowed it, a pleasant sense of fullness made his body tremble.

Though he had only taken a sip of soup and a bite of bread, Panir felt a change in his mood. He began to reflect on why he had been so angry and arguing with Basil.

‘I was wronged. I should have been in your position, and you should have supported me as the Lunar Knight Commander.’

Panir touched his right knee.

In his youth, as the eldest son, Panir was supposed to become the family head according to the principle of primogeniture. But he was struck by an aura-infused arrow in the knee during a battle, leaving him disabled and forcing him to give up the position.

The one who shot the arrow was his younger brother, the second son, Ricotta. Ricotta claimed it wasn’t intentional but to protect Panir from an attacker.

It was true that Ricotta had saved Panir from the attacker. But it was also true that Ricotta had crippled him.

Thus, Ricotta became the family head, and Panir, the eldest son who couldn’t become the head, naturally retired.

It was none other than Basil, who succeeded Ricotta as the family head, who brought Panir back from his semi-reclusive life.

He asked Panir to help him and become the family elder.

“Uncle, you are more capable than my father and me. Please don’t let your abilities go to waste and use them for Sephira.”

Panir was persuaded by those words.

Though an unfortunate accident had prevented him from becoming the family head, he vowed to support the head as an elder and elevate Sephira to greater heights.

He resented Ricotta, but Basil, his son, had done nothing wrong, right?

But as time passed, that feeling changed. Basil didn’t accept his opinions.

“Understood.”

Though he said he understood, almost none of Panir’s opinions were actually followed.

As the family’s fortunes began to decline, Panir naturally felt it was Basil’s fault. That the family was falling because he didn’t listen to him.

If only he had listened to me, the family wouldn’t have been isolated like this! Was appointing me as an elder just to torment me? Did Ricota order this? Various doubts arose.

At some point, Panir stopped voicing his opinions to Basil.

He just performed his given tasks silently, and even when Basil held meetings, he didn’t offer opinions but only nitpicked his plans.

Since my opinions aren’t heard anyway, let’s see how great your opinions are that you ignore mine.

As time passed, Panir realized that his attitude wouldn’t save the Sephira family.

So he started acting independently. Without informing Basil, he made his own plans.

All of it was for the sake of the Sephira family.

Panir felt his appetite fading again. He looked at Basil. The once vigorous Basil now had wrinkles on his face.

‘Time flies so quickly.’

Panir still hated Basil. But he also had a vague thought that it might not have been intentional.

‘You’re not the type to torment others.’

Though he knew his relationship with Basil had deteriorated greatly, pushing it further would only be poison for Sephira.

Having made up his mind, Panir stood up. Even if it meant his own downfall, something decisive had to happen here.

“Basil, I…”

As Panir was about to continue-

“Cough.”

Basil, who had been fine, coughed up blood.

The appetizing food was now stained with bright red blood. Basil, who had coughed up blood, trembled and looked at Panir.

“Lord!”

Panir’s eyes widened to their limit.

In his eyes, he saw Basil clutching his mouth and collapsing. It felt slow, as if time was flowing sluggishly.

Two people guarding the door rushed to the table. Chief Steward Subid and Lunar Knight Commander Gasilious.

Subid poured an antidote into the fallen lord’s mouth and shouted.

“Commander Gasilious, arrest Elder Panir on the spot as the prime suspect!”

Gasilious didn’t move.

Arrest or not, Panir didn’t budge from his spot either. Instead, soldiers and knights who had been outside rushed in upon hearing the commotion.

“Lord!”

The knights were shocked to see the fallen lord but quickly blocked the windows and doors. The servants outside were in an uproar, and the atmosphere froze in an instant.

“You, you’ve finally…!”

Panir pointed a trembling finger at Basil.

It was a conspiracy. A vicious one at that.

A scheme by Basil to bring him down!

Feeling that he had fallen for a petty trick, Panir was filled with rage, and his reason seemed to fly away. The situation was explosive. Panir’s face turned red, and his whole body was tense.

Even though he was unarmed and one knee was useless, Panir was a master-level knight. Subduing him would be no easy task.

At that moment.

“Everyone, stop!”

Everyone turned to the voice. Even the agitated Panir reacted to it.

It was the voice of Steward Prosciutto.

Prosciutto, leaning against a pillar with his head bowed.

Hidden behind the pillar, Keter mimicked Prosciutto’s voice and said.

“The poisoner is not Elder Panir!”