Chapter 265

Chapter 266. Victory is Just a Side Dish (3)

Right after Keter and his party escaped the royal palace, the knights thoroughly searched the guest room they had stayed in. It was to check if they were pretending to disappear and hiding.

Of course, they didn’t hide but actually opened a portal and disappeared, so no one was found. However, one knight picked up a finely torn piece of paper from the trash can.

“This is…”

It was too finely torn to understand the content, but it wasn’t ordinary paper. Something was written on it.

The knight who found the paper sniffed it. It definitely smelled like an opportunity for promotion. The knight carefully collected the torn pieces and delivered them to Crown Prince Rukan.

Seeing this, Rukan thought the same as the knight. He was certain it would be a clue.

But the paper was torn into hundreds of pieces. Piecing it together like a puzzle would take at least half a year, even if experts were called.

“Hohoho, Keter. In the end, you’re just an ordinary person. You thought tearing it up like this would be fine, didn’t you?”

Rukan immediately summoned Krona, the Lord of the West.

Krona clearly looked annoyed but knelt on one knee before Rukan. He handed her the torn pieces of paper and said,

“Restore this for me, Lord Krona.”

“…Just for this?”

“It’s urgent.”

Krona sighed softly and rotated her right hand counterclockwise. The torn pieces of paper then merged and restored themselves.

As a time mage, she had reversed the paper’s time to restore it to its original state.

“Nothing else, right, Prince?”

As Rukan nodded, Krona left immediately. After she left, Rukan made a displeased expression.

“Krona. The power you have is ultimately thanks to our mother. Let’s see how long you can stay so arrogant.”

Since it wasn’t beneficial to clash with the lords right now, Rukan let it go and checked the restored paper’s content.

– The crow that cries at dawn, the silent sheep, the bet between the ant and the mountain, the waterfall of lava, the falling star.

“Is this a code?”

Rukan frowned. He had gone through the trouble of summoning a lord to restore the paper, only to find it filled with riddles?

“Only Keter would write such cryptic phrases. Then, who on earth was he having a secret conversation with?”

Rukan couldn’t understand who Keter could have had a secret conversation with in the royal palace. After all, Keter had just arrived at the palace.

No matter how hard he stared at the code, Rukan couldn’t make sense of it. Just as he thought he’d have to spend time decoding it,

“Wait…”

A particular phrase caught Rukan’s eye.

-…the silent sheep, the bet between the ant and the mountain.

“Isn’t this related to Rakan?”

Although their ideals differed and they had parted ways, Rukan and Rakan weren’t on bad terms.

So he knew.

Rakan hated silence the most and loved bets.

“It can’t be a coincidence.”

Officially, Rakan had never met Keter. So how could Keter know this?

Even Rakan’s close aides didn’t know this information. After all, Rakan didn’t reveal his inner thoughts to others.

“…Could it be?”

A lightning bolt struck Rukan’s mind.

Everything had been strange. How could Keter, who had just arrived at the palace, navigate the palace’s maze without a guide?

And who opened the portal? Moreover, the place where the portal opened was the area with the weakest divine power.

“There must be a traitor.”

It was impossible for Keter to escape on his own. That was Rukan’s conclusion.

“And that traitor is… Rakan?”

Nothing was confirmed.

But the circumstances pointed to it.

“I can’t believe it.”

If it were Keter, maybe, but Rakan’s actions couldn’t be hidden. They were thoroughly monitoring each other. In this situation, secretly doing something was nearly impossible. Especially if it involved meeting someone.

Even if they somehow met in secret.

“Why would Rakan bother with someone like Keter…?”

Even if he opened a new horizon in archery, even if he became a knight representing the southern region—from a prince’s perspective, he was insignificant. There were plenty of people in this country who could replace Keter.

“Even if he teamed up with Sephira instead of Keter, it’s hard to believe.”

Regardless of being from a prestigious family, Rakan already had a prior agreement. Before the family war officially began, all neutral factions would be eliminated.

Among them, Sephira, the ‘big fish,’ was to be taken by Rakan, and the rest of the families would belong to Rukan.

And that agreement was still valid. The Baydant family, part of the Second Prince faction, had requested a family war against Sephira.

Rukan rubbed his forehead. One of the two had to be lying. That’s why it was even more frustrating.

“If Keter, that lunatic, is trying to drive a wedge between me and Rakan with this trick…”

There were suspicious circumstances.

He wondered why this paper was left in the guest room. If it were an important document, it would have been taken along.

“He might have thought it didn’t matter since it was torn into hundreds of pieces and the content was coded. He’s just an ordinary person, after all.”

The words he thought were codes might have been meaningless scribbles.

“But even so, using the words ‘silence’ and ‘bet’ can’t be a coincidence.”

Out of the tens of thousands of words in existence, what are the odds of ‘silence’ and ‘bet’ appearing together?

Moreover, if Rakan helped Keter’s party escape, it was entirely possible. No, only Rakan could have done it.

“Ugh…”

Just as his hand was about to leave his forehead,

“Crown Prince. We’ve received word from Dranak. The Vice-Chancellor wishes to come to the royal palace immediately.”

Rukan, who had been confused by Keter’s scheme, brightened at the news of the Vice-Chancellor’s arrival.

“Good. Tell him to come. I’ll personally greet him.”

* * *

Dranak University.

An academy renowned for its authority in the arts, it also refers to the International Art Alliance.

Rukan was pleased with the Vice-Chancellor’s visit not only because he collected art as a hobby but also because he desired Dranak’s influence.

Dranak boasted global influence. Whether it was a trend or instinct, ‘art’ was incredibly popular among transcendent beings.

Thus, having a deep connection with Dranak meant more opportunities to interact with transcendent beings. Rukan had been regularly submitting portraits he painted to Dranak.

And now, his efforts bore fruit. The Vice-Chancellor’s visit was proof.

“Ohoho, Crown Prince Rukan. It’s an honor to meet you. I am Gioran, fortunate enough to hold the position of Vice-Chancellor at Dranak University.”

A middle-aged man in uniquely colored attire emerged from the portal and greeted the Crown Prince. The onlookers were busy asking who he was.

Dranak was not well-known to the general public or even nobles. Only royalty could hear its name and rumors, as Dranak was a secretive organization.

“Sir Gioran. It’s an honor to have you visit our Lilian Kingdom.”

“No, no, Prince. The honor is mine. You sent such a wonderful piece, and I’m truly sorry for coming. The Chancellor was also very apologetic and promised to visit personally next time.”

“Hahaha, is that so?”

Rukan smiled, interpreting that the Dranak Chancellor had acknowledged his painting.

“Shall we go to the exhibition hall first? There are more of my works there.”

“Ah, sorry, but there’s someone I’d like to meet first. Is that alright?”

“…Who?”

Could it be Rakan? Crown Prince Rukan tensed, but a completely unexpected name came out of his mouth.

“Hisop El Sephira. I heard he’s in this royal palace. May I meet him?”

“Hisop? Did I hear that right?”

Rukan asked his aide. The aide cautiously replied,

“I also heard Hisop.”

Why on earth was the Vice-Chancellor of Dranak looking for Hisop? Rukan couldn’t understand and asked again.

“Forgive me, but may I ask why you’re looking for Sir Hisop?”

“Hmm? Didn’t you know? Sir Hisop, in your name, Crown Prince Rukan, donated the last masterpiece of Picasso, <The Widow>, which was believed to have been lost centuries ago, to our Dranak. The Chancellor and I are here to express our gratitude to you, Crown Prince Rukan, and to pay our respects to Sir Hisop.”

“Wait, wait a moment.”

After hearing Gioran’s explanation, Rukan rubbed his nose and took a deep breath.

“Honestly, this is the first time I’m hearing that Sir Hisop made such a generous gesture.”

“That seems to be the case. Are you regretting donating <The Widow> to Dranak?”

“No, not at all. If I had obtained <The Widow>, I would have donated it to Dranak too.”

“As expected of the Crown Prince. So, may I meet Sir Hisop?”

“That…”

“Please, I insist. Returning empty-handed would be a disgrace to Dranak’s reputation. A piece worth at least 5 million gold was generously donated, and how can we respond with just a thank you? Moreover, this is an invitation from the Chancellor.”

Gioran pulled out an invitation from his pocket. It was an invitation to an exhibition hosted by Dranak.

An invitation to the ‘Dranak Exhibition,’ where only the world’s most authoritative figures and transcendent beings gathered. It was what Rukan desired.

“…Alright.”

Having received the invitation he wanted, he couldn’t just refuse to show Hisop. The invitation’s value outweighed Hisop’s.

Thus, Rukan sent Hisop, who was detained in the conference hall, to the reception room, where a three-way meeting took place.

“Oooh, Lord Hisop El Sephira. It’s my first time meeting you in person. I am Gioran, Vice-Chancellor of Dranak.”

Hisop, who had been dragged to the reception room without any explanation, was puzzled by the situation.

Why was the Vice-Chancellor of the globally authoritative Dranak before him, and why was Crown Prince Rukan looking at him with a strange expression?

Then, suddenly, Hisop remembered the ‘chat’ he had with Keter.

“Brother. If you reverse ‘suicide,’ it becomes ‘let’s live,’ which has a good meaning.”

“Hmm? That’s right.”

“Then what if you reverse ‘opportunity’?”

“‘Ytunoportun.’ Does it have any meaning?”

“No. ‘Ytunoportun’ has no meaning. So when an opportunity comes, don’t do anything strange and grab it.”

At the time, he thought Keter was just worrying about him, but now he understood everything.

‘Keter, it’s you. You gave me this opportunity.’

The opportunity to escape the royal palace. Did Keter predict and prepare even this?

Hisop gathered his thoughts and alternated his gaze between Gioran and Rukan. Even if Keter created the opportunity, it was up to him to seize it. If he let it go, it would be a waste.

“I’ve heard a lot about you, Hisop El Sephira.”

As if he had expected it, Hisop calmly extended his hand for a handshake.