Chapter 60

Episode 60. Are You Planning to Run Away After Death? (5)

They say that one punch teaches more than a hundred words, and Subid truly learned this through his body.

He realized that neither his status as the head butler of a prestigious family nor his 70 years of age could stop Keter’s fist.

“This letter. Does it look familiar?”

Subid nodded as he looked at the letter Keter presented.

“The person who wrote this letter seems to be my mother. Who is she? It’s not like the letter just *poofed* onto the Lord’s table, right?”

A letter meant for the head of a prestigious family wouldn’t be delivered directly. There are countless procedures and confirmations involved.

Above all, the Lord isn’t idle enough to bother with trivial letters.

“There’s a possibility that my mother personally visited the family to deliver the letter, or even if it wasn’t her, there must have been a courier who delivered it. Speak up.”

“…So even a ruffian like you misses his mother’s embrace, huh?”

*Thud!*

“My heart aches. I should respect the elderly, but here I am, attacking them… Since you’ve hurt my heart, you must hurt even more.”

In his later years, Subid learned something new. While all his senses had dulled with age, his sense of pain seemed to have become more acute.

Though he was being hit with a blunt fist, the pain felt like being impaled vertically by a stake.

In the midst of unbearable agony where even screams wouldn’t come out, Keter’s punches stopped. Subid quickly spoke.

“I didn’t see it! I tried to find out, but there was no one who received the letter, let alone the person involved. The letter was already on the Lord’s table from the start.”

“Hmm, as expected.”

What on earth is my mother doing?

She abandoned me in Ruquer, and only after 18 years did she take me out and deliver an artifact that allowed me to leave Ruquer.

These series of events are not something a human could do. Why would she go through such troublesome and suspicious actions?

‘If it’s not something a human would do, is she a god? Like the Queen of Ruquer. That’s a ridiculous assumption. What is she doing this for? And if my mother really is a god, am I a demigod? No, I’m definitely human, even if I’m a bit exceptional.’

Keter let out a bitter laugh. He thought his past life was complicated, but his current life wasn’t any easier.

‘The Grand Duke wasn’t wrong. Family or not, in the end, we’re just using each other.’

Though he didn’t know the purpose, there must be a reason for all this. He couldn’t figure it out in detail, but he strongly felt it.

‘I’m grateful for being born, but if you’re going to use me at will, even if you’re my parents, I can’t treat you as such.’

Complex questions tangled one after another.

But he buried them deep in his heart without overthinking. What would he gain by uncovering the secrets of his birth or his mother? Living well is what matters.

Keter released Subid’s collar.

Subid tightly closed his eyes, thinking he might get hit again, but nothing happened.

Still, after keeping his eyes closed for a while, Subid suddenly felt puzzled. He didn’t hear any footsteps leaving, and there was no presence.

‘Did he… leave?’

Subid cautiously opened his eyes.

*Thud!*

Keter, who was right in front of him, poked his eyes with his fingers.

“I haven’t left yet.”

“Gah!”

“Since you behaved well, I treated you like an angel. Before I go, I’ll give you one piece of advice. Before you restore the medicine bottle and compare fingerprints, just confess. Don’t make it troublesome.”

“Guards! Is there no one there? Guards!”

Subid shouted, but strangely, no one came in response.

* * *

The dining room where Sephira’s household gathered.

Three people sat at the table.

“Father is late. Something must have happened.”

The second son, Mail, muttered while looking at his pocket watch.

Basil always informed them in advance if he would be late for breakfast, telling them to eat without him.

For Mail, this was the first time Basil was late without any prior notice.

Anis spoke to Mail.

“Did something happen last night, Brother? Do you have any idea?”

“I don’t know. Taragon, I heard you were on night patrol yesterday… Do you know anything?”

Taragon was both nervous and happy. It was the first time his brothers had asked him about official matters.

But he couldn’t tell them.

How could he? That Head Butler Subid had poisoned the Lord to trap Elder Panir.

Everyone present had sworn to take this incident to the grave until the Lord spoke first.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know either.”

“No need to apologize… But, is that rumor true? The absurd rumor that you’re running around the field because Keter told you to.”

Taragon bit his lower lip.

But he had no intention of denying it. He couldn’t lie about seeking advice and learning from someone better than himself, not out of shame.

“That’s… true.”

“True? Why are you following Keter’s orders? Did you forget what Brother Hisop told you?”

“It’s… a bit complicated.”

Thanks to Keter, Taragon’s confidence had grown, but he still couldn’t completely escape the pressure from his brothers.

“Anis. You said you’d have a rematch with Keter, but there’s been no news. Haven’t you recovered yet?”

“…I have my reasons too.”

“Both of you are acting strange. What’s going on? Is there something I don’t know? Why do I feel left out?”

As Mail stood up, looking back and forth between Taragon and Anis, the dining room door opened.

The three thought it was the Lord and straightened their posture, but it was someone else.

“Young masters. A message from the Lord.”

The appearance of Lunar Knight Commander Gasilious left the two bewildered. Where was Head Butler Subid, and why was Gasilious delivering the Lord’s message?

“I have no appetite today, so you all eat without me. That is all.”

“Commander Gasilious. Has something happened to the Lord?”

Mail asked Gasilious, but he shook his head and refused to answer.

Right after Gasilious left, Taragon and Anis stood up simultaneously.

“I think I need to lose some weight.”

“I have unfinished business from yesterday, so I’ll skip breakfast today.”

As the two hurriedly left, Mail was left alone, feeling bewildered.

“What’s going on? What’s happening?”

Feeling extremely awkward, Mail had no appetite.

“Strangely, it’s all related to Keter.”

Both Anis and Taragon changed after meeting Keter. He was certain there was something about Keter.

Of course, Hisop had told them not to meet Keter…

“Brother Hisop would have gone to meet Keter in this situation too.”

Mail also stood up.

“I need to meet Keter.”

* * *

Basil had heard everything.

From beginning to end, the entire story of the poisoning incident.

Basil, who was thought to have fainted from the poison, had actually not lost consciousness. Even Keter hadn’t noticed.

Who could have known? That the Lord of a prestigious family was pretending to be unconscious.

Basil realized there was poison in the soup as soon as he tasted it.

After nearly dying from eating a poisonous mushroom in his youth, he had developed a trauma towards poison. To overcome it, he deliberately sought out and consumed poison to build resistance, eventually succeeding.

Only his father, Ricotta, knew about this. If others knew he was building resistance by consuming poison, they would have stopped him.

So even his closest confidant, Subid, didn’t know that Basil had superior resistance to poison.

Pretending to be unconscious, Basil observed everything and eventually learned that it was Head Butler Subid’s doing.

Moved to the treatment room, Basil lay in bed for a long time without getting up.

It had nothing to do with the poison. He could have gotten up at any time. But he didn’t want to.

The betrayal of Subid, whom he had trusted so much. Even if it was for his sake, it was still a betrayal.

As the Lord, he couldn’t let it slide. He had to punish severely. If he didn’t set an example, there could be more betrayals.

Rationally, he knew what to do, but Basil pondered for a very long time.

After staying up all night, Basil finally got up at sunrise.

“L-Lord!”

The doctor was startled and fell over.

The Lord gestured for the doctor to be quiet and left the room. Outside, Gasilious was waiting.

“I’m glad you seem unharmed.”

“Thank you for pretending not to know.”

Gasilious had realized the truth when he touched the Lord’s body. He saw the slight trembling of his eyebrows but pretended not to notice, deceiving everyone.

“The children must be waiting. Can you go and tell them? To eat first.”

“Understood.”

After sending Gasilious away, Basil went to find Subid.

Subid, crouched in a corner of the prison, knelt down as soon as he saw Basil.

“Lord, whatever you’ve heard, it’s not true.”

“Head Butler. Your eyes are swollen. I thought you didn’t have tears.”

“No. Keter came to me last night and tortured me. That brat did this to me.”

Subid took off his shirt. His body was covered in purple bruises.

Basil sighed deeply.

“Head Butler Subid. It’s just you and me here. So speak freely. Was it truly not for any other purpose, but to remove Panir for my sake?”

“Why on earth would I do such a thing?”

“Because you care for Sephira as much as I do.”

“…!”

“Months ago, I said it too. We need to remove the two elders who refuse to communicate and create factions, and solidify our internal unity.”

“…You remember.”

“Whose words would I ignore? I believed you knew it couldn’t be done, so I didn’t say anything.”

“…”

“It was all my fault.”

Basil grabbed Subid’s shoulders.

“I thought you would understand without me saying it, that speaking would be a burden! It’s my fault for not making my intentions clear.”

“L-Lord… I’m sorry. I… I dared not trust you.”

*Thud!* Subid bowed his head to the ground. Blood dripped from his broken forehead.

Basil wanted to close his eyes and ignore reality. Or at least shed tears.

The frail old man bowing before him was the man who had given him more attention and love than his own father, Ricotta.

He had learned etiquette from him, the history of the family from him. In his reckless youth, it was Head Butler Subid who had cleaned up after his mistakes.

Once, when Lord Ricotta tried to punish Basil, Subid had shielded him with his own body.

The man who had the greatest influence on Basil’s life, like a mentor, was now suffering disgrace because of him. Emotions welled up.

“Get up. No, please get up, Head Butler. It’s all my incompetence, not the fault of the elders or you. Trying to lead capable people with my incompetence has led to this mess.”

“Lord, why are you addressing me so formally? Please don’t do that!”

“Seeing you like this, how can I hide my incompetence? You, with the noblest character in Sephira, have been driven to such disgraceful actions. How can I not be incompetent?”

“Stop, please stop. It’s all my doing. I admit it. I’ve gone senile in my old age. I just wanted to be of some help to you. I know it was presumptuous and the wrong way, but I couldn’t bear to see you suffering in places others couldn’t see. I’m sorry.”

“…”

Basil turned away.

Even without looking in a mirror, he could feel how unsightly his face had become. He didn’t want Subid to see him like this.

Subid bowed his head to the ground again.

“Lord. Panir and Leganon. The two elders were clearly moving with different intentions. If left unchecked, they would surely become obstacles for you. That’s why I wanted to remove them. That’s all. Lord, I will admit my guilt and atone with my death. Do not forgive this senile old man.”

Subid’s back bent.

His head lifted, and he was about to slam his forehead into the ground to die.

“Are you planning to run away after death!”

Basil’s shout stopped Subid’s head mid-air. He looked up at Basil.

“Ah, Lord. Why do you make such an expression for me?”

“Didn’t I say it? It was my fault for not communicating. But we can start again. We can do better from now on.”

“Lord…”

“Things will change. So please believe me. If you don’t believe me, I won’t stop you from dying.”

“Can I… really live?”

“Live for me.”

“…I will.”

Subid slowly bowed his head, then stopped moving. He had fainted from extreme mental exhaustion.

Basil carried Subid to the bed and left the prison.

“Keter, come out.”

Basil spoke towards the empty corridor. Then, Keter popped out from behind a thin pillar.

“As expected, you can’t deceive a sincere father.”

“Both inside and outside, I’m only receiving your help.”

“No need to thank me. I’ll just note it down.”

“Did you come for me, or for the Head Butler?”

“Both… but now I’ll just see you and go.”

“See me and go? Don’t tell me…”

Basil hoped Keter wouldn’t say what he expected.

But mercilessly, Keter smiled and said.

“Yes, I’m leaving Sephira.”