Chapter 73

“Why did you not call someone like Luin Bert and take turns staying up through the night?”

He said it after seeing Bain sniff his clothes and frown. Bain was soon heading toward the nearest bathroom with his sword still in hand. The Mercenary King moved along with his steps.

“Reinel comes first.”

Though there was not a single attendant serving him, Bain entered the bathroom with practiced ease. The Mercenary King stood guard in front of the bathroom, but there did not seem to be any assassins after all.

It seemed that, in order to avoid leaving evidence, the assassins too were refraining from attacking during the daytime. But without letting down his guard, the Mercenary King felt out the presences nearby.

“It seems they will not attack during the day. Still, once the Grand Duke investiture ceremony draws closer, they will spare no means or methods. At that point, you likely will not even be able to wash yourself so easily.”

“Since you are here, Master, would I not at least be able to take a shower? It does not take that long to wash.”

After washing, Bain came out with water dripping steadily from his hair and wrapped a towel around it. As he looked at his disciple like that, the Mercenary King was suddenly reminded of the old days. Even back then, whenever his disciple washed alone, he would always come out without drying his hair enough, with droplets falling from it onto his shoulders.

“It does not seem you have changed very much from before. If there is anything that has changed, perhaps it is only your position. It reminds me of when you, at such a young age, came to subjugate magical beasts.”

He said it while recalling the ten-year-old Bain, who had refused the Emperor’s protection and headed to where the Monster Wave was raging. There, Bain had built ties with the Mercenary King and also with the Levias Duchy.

Age was not needed to cut down magical beasts. Bain was capable, and he learned swordsmanship quickly, becoming the youngest Swordmaster. There was no need to mention the boost in morale among the knights who followed him on the battlefield.

Compared to now, he had been a very small child, but the memory still brought a smile to his lips. The Mercenary King looked at Bain, now neatly changed into fresh clothes, and let out a soft chuckle.

“Back then too, if blood got on you, you would bathe and change your clothes. I had thought there would be no more need to fight as fiercely as in the old days, but I did not expect that assassins would make you bathe and change clothes.”

“If blood gets on me, it becomes dangerous because I may not notice even if I am wounded. Of course, there is also the matter of appearance, and I dislike the raw smell of blood, but the first reason is the largest.”

Answering calmly, Bain returned to the hall and sat in the chair once more. The hall, with its high ceiling and without even a chandelier hanging from it, was ideal for defense. More than anything, no matter where the assassins hung themselves, he would be able to see them immediately, and so Bain had chosen this hall as the stage this time.

There was no blood on the chair, but if blood got on it, he would immediately switch to another chair. The Mercenary King watched Bain begin nodding off again, then gripped the hilt of his sword and stood beside him.

His disciple had chosen to sleep early in preparation for the night. Then, during that time, protecting Bain was the Master’s role. Bain could endure a week without eating anything, but there was no benefit in moving around needlessly.

At last the sun set, and the evening glow stretched long across the windows of the hall. As the red sunlight stained the marble, the Mercenary King felt that the time was gradually coming. He could feel an unseen sinister presence seeping into the spaces of the estate.

It was the peculiar air of assassins.

“I will go catch the assassins, so get yourself together, Bain. It will soon be night, so it would be best for you to rise.”

The Mercenary King had sharp night vision, but one could not know what variables might arise at night. During the day, he could sufficiently protect Bain from the assassins rushing in, but at night, if their blades were painted black, he might fail to see hidden weapons flying toward him. Thus, the Mercenary King intended to wake Bain and then go search for the sinister presences hidden throughout the estate.

At those words, Bain opened his eyes and answered.

“Yes, Master. I will remain awake, so please only deal with what has hidden itself throughout the estate.”

“I will go and return at once.”

As Tailos disappeared into the interior of the estate, Bain rose from the chair. In the wide hall, with only a single chair placed there and one man standing before it, the sight stirred tension in the approaching assassins. He was a peerless beauty rarely seen, but his handling of the sword was colder and sterner than a glacier thousands of years old.

But tension also rested behind Bain’s back. He had deliberately chosen this position by selecting the wide hall, but if he let down his guard even a little, the assassins might choose the method of collapsing the hall and burying Bain alive.

Thus, Bain not only had to capture every assassin that approached without letting even one escape, but also had to climb onto the roof of the hall to check whether assassins were planting explosives and seize them if they were. Since they had done the same thing last night, the act itself was not especially difficult, but because he could not afford to forget it even for a moment and let it pass, strength naturally entered his back.

‘I absolutely will not fall here.’

As he evaded the black blades rushing toward him, Bain thought. Quickly dodging and swinging his sword with sword energy infused into it, he recalled Reinel’s face.

Whenever he thought of her, his desire to live grew stronger. Strangely, even his mother’s dying wish, ‘Please do not become Emperor,’ felt as though it weakened if it meant being with Reinel. If he were to continue being hounded by assassins even after becoming Grand Duke, then the thought came to him that becoming Emperor in order to protect Reinel might not be a bad choice either.

Thus Bain kept swinging his sword and cutting them down. Again and again, in order to survive the countless assassins charging at him, in order to properly remain by Reinel’s side.

***

“Ah……!”

Letting out a small gasp, Reinel opened her eyes. It was still dawn, but she had sweated so coldly from having had a nightmare.

‘Is it because the First Prince has not been sending me letters these days?’

The contents of the dream, in which assassins had rushed at the First Prince, were so horrifying that Reinel’s heart was trembling. Even the hand clutching the blanket kept shaking, so Reinel had to breathe deeply and try to calm herself.

‘What in the world is this……. The First Prince said he was away on a long business trip……. But in the dream he was in the very same hall of that estate we went to together.’

Reinel’s fine brows drew together. As she glanced once around the room, her gaze came to rest on the vase atop the dressing table. The scent of the Criashers flower drifted faintly through the room, but Reinel did nothing but stare sharply at the flowers.

She recalled the conversation she had once had with Seiden about magic.

That magic was the miraculous power that made all things possible.

She wondered whether that saying might hold true this time as well. Before, she had seen Bain in her dream……. She had not been able to speak with Bain about it, but she thought perhaps this was the same sort of thing.

‘Lord Bain is in danger.’

The dream was far too vivid to dismiss as just a dream, and so Reinel found it difficult to believe this dream was not reality. Throwing aside the blanket, Reinel thought she would wake Keiden and go with him to that estate if necessary.

But while changing clothes, her thoughts changed.

‘If that was not a dream but reality, what if he is in the middle of dealing with assassins, and I burst in and instead place Lord Bain in danger?’

What if he had deliberately said nothing in order to keep Reinel herself safe?

Once she thought that, it felt as though even the anxiety that had been like hot wax dripping onto the tops of her feet eased a little. After changing completely into an outdoor dress, Reinel looked at herself in the mirror.

A pale-faced beauty looked back at her. Rather than waking Keiden immediately, Reinel decided first to step outside her room.

When she opened the door, she saw as many as three knights standing guard before her room in solemn postures. There was not the slightest trace of drowsiness in them. But there was something strange.

Originally, the room next to Reinel’s had been empty. It had been used like a sort of study where the papers she had written while attending the Academy and the novels she often read were stored, yet knights were standing guard even before that door.

‘Originally, that room was not one that had guards standing watch…….’

After having such a frightening dream……. somehow, it felt as though Keiden might be staying in that room and guarding her. Although he had not told her, it felt as though he might have been in contact with the First Prince and taken measures so that she would not be placed in danger.

“Are you not tired? Please sleep more, Miss.”

“Yes……. all right.”

Rather than rashly waking Keiden, Reinel chose to return to her bed. Although what she had seen in her dream was still vividly clear and frightening, she thought that if, as she suspected, Keiden really was guarding her from the room next door, then she could ask him after morning came.

Even so, that did not mean sleep would come. It took about three hours for morning to arrive. Reinel was originally a sleepyhead who often slept until eleven, but this time she intended to take part in breakfast if only to ask Keiden.

Because Reinel had awakened early, there was one person who was surprised as well. Emily, who would open the door in the morning to let fresh air into the room, was also surprised to see her awake. Normally, Reinel would surely have still been in dreamland by this hour, but seeing her up so early, Emily exclaimed, “Oh my, Miss.”

“You woke early. And also…… did you wash your face in the bathroom yourself? Your face looks unusually pale today.”

“Yes……. I had an unpleasant dream…… and because of that, there is something I want to ask Brother Keiden, so I stayed awake in order to join breakfast.”