Chapter 95

‘Theo Ragnar, the bastard who played a crucial role in bringing down the Third Lady and the Director of Central Intelligence… What a compelling topic of conversation. Julius, that guy, he played his cards very well.’

A black skylark was vigorously flapping its wings, cutting through the sky.

‘Though there may be an issue of fairness with the other members of the White Armored Dragon Cavalry, even if they can’t give him any significant support, they will place Theo at the center of all the attention from now on… It’s as if they’re saying Theo, who is eyeing the position of commander of the White Armored Dragon Cavalry, will essentially be designated as the successor… That’s what they’re implying.’

Growling to tell others to stop salivating over their own offspring.

Both the Black Dragon, who could be called his sworn brother, and the Mistress of the Plum Blossom Palace were also showing intense interest in Theo.

‘Once this task is over and they learn that the eldest brother will call him separately, they’ll panic even more.’

After the four sworn brothers took control of the family.

They each focused on their respective duties, and their relationships gradually became distant.

It wasn’t that their hearts had drifted apart.

Their feelings for each other remained the same.

However, they were no longer as close.

It became awkward.

It was no longer easy to drink together and laugh without worries like before.

Just gathering in one place was enough to shake Winterer, the North, the Empire, and the world.

But,

‘He’s slowly and subtly starting to bring us back together.’

Julius and the Mistress of the Plum Blossom Palace began to grow closer again, and now the Black Dragon was getting involved.

Kyle, on his own terms, started to take an interest in Theo.

Connections were forming.

Although distrust and resentment towards the regressor still lingered somewhere in their hearts.

Even so, this alone was a huge step forward.

‘So, Theo. No, my dear nephew.’

The black skylark had already arrived at its destination, enveloped in a halo of light.

‘Please, don’t make a wrong choice that forces me to cut you down with my own hands.’

Flash!

The black skylark vanished, and in its place, the masked Black Dragon landed on the ground.

With a rustling sound, his clothes fluttered in the wind.

Swoosh!

All the agents of Black Snow and Kleve, who had been waiting, bowed their heads.

The Black Dragon acknowledged their greetings with a slight nod, then looked down the cliff.

There stood a shabby-looking hut.

It was a safe house used by the Central Intelligence Agency.

“Is the Director of Central Intelligence in there?”

“Yes. We’ve successfully lured him under the pretext of collaborating with Ranke for a covert operation concerning the Demonic Sea. The Director currently believes the head of the Ranke family is coming.”

“How many forces did he bring with him?”

“Twenty first-class agents.”

“Hmph, seems like he’s got plenty to be worried about. He came fully loaded.”

A smirk—

The Black Dragon sneered.

If the agents were first-class from the Central Intelligence Agency, they were an elite unit composed of advanced swordsmen.

In other strike forces, these would be equivalent to squad leaders or higher.

This clearly showed how much Ed Troyban cared about protecting himself, but it also hinted at how difficult this operation would be.

However, the Black Dragon didn’t care in the slightest.

Srrrng—

In the end, they were nothing more than parasites that needed to be cut down.

“We move.”

As soon as the Black Dragon gave the order,

Fwoosh!

The agents swiftly leaped down the cliff.

* * *

Tadak—

Theo, Erika, Evelyn, and Hazel were rapidly making their way across Winterer.

Behind them were twenty soldiers dispatched by the White Armored Dragon Cavalry and thirty more from the Plum Blossom Palace.

A force of over fifty people.

Above them, the banner of Ragnar fluttered in the wind.

They were acting under the command of the family head.

Naturally, the residents of Winterer couldn’t help but be shocked.

“Wh-what? What’s going on?”

“Y-yeah, seeing them rushing like that, something must’ve happened….”

“The White Armored Dragon Cavalry and the Plum Blossom Palace… What could this be about?”

“C-could there be a rebellion?”

“Hey! What are you saying? Don’t talk about such ominous things!”

“Ah, s-sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”

The word ‘rebellion’ was practically taboo in Winterer.

Whenever a rebellion broke out, the North was always swept up in a bloody storm.

Whether it succeeded or failed, it didn’t matter.

However, Theo’s group moved with such a grim atmosphere that everyone was quick to clear the way.

Even the swordsmen who witnessed them rushed back to their units, eager to report the situation.

‘Hmm, um… When should I tell him…? It doesn’t seem like the right time to bring it up….’

Meanwhile, Holcus let out a sigh as he glanced at Theo’s back, the banner held high.

Theo’s fame was skyrocketing, a fact even Holcus couldn’t deny.

He had been looking for an opportunity to curry favor, but the right timing never seemed to present itself. It was difficult to approach someone with such a serious expression.

「This isn’t going to work. Push it to next time, you big oaf. If you bring it up today, you’ll just ruin the mood.」

Erika, reading Holcus’ thoughts, clicked her tongue and sent a telepathic message.

「What about the mood?」

「You still don’t know the history between Theo and Axion, do you?」

「I thought it was just bad… Isn’t it because the Third Lady is furious that Theo killed Axion?」

「Ugh, you really know nothing. How do you expect to become a sword like this? Tsk tsk.」

「Ah, damn. Stop beating around the bush and tell me properly.」

「Listen up and clean out your ears. What that woman—no, that wench—did to Theo and his mother…」

Erika proceeded to explain everything the Axion family had done to Theo and his mother in the past.

At that moment, Holcus’ face flushed bright red with anger.

「Are those bastards insane? How could anyone with a human face commit such things?」

「Exactly. No matter how much of a bastard Theo was, that’s why the family had been gripped by prejudice all this time. Cecilia, his mother, was treated like a fox.」

「Axion, that son of a bitch! I should’ve kicked his head off when he was still alive!」

Holcus fumed for a while, then asked Erika a question, puzzled.

「But how do you know all of this, sister? You’ve been in closed-door training all this time.」

「Oh, my foolish little brother, anyone who wants to wear a crown must be able to bear its weight.」

「What are you talking about? How heavy could that crown be? Will it break your neck or something?」

「…There’s just no talking to a dumbass like you. No talking.」

Erika gave up trying to communicate with her muscle-brained younger brother.

Her ambitions extended far beyond simply becoming the head of the Ranke family.

—To raise Ranke to the greatest family in the North, no, the greatest in the world.

If that wasn’t possible, then at least to assist in that process. That was Erika’s ambition.

Naturally, understanding Theo in detail—whom she was now sharing a boat with for the time being—was part of that plan.

At first, it was to measure the depth of Theo’s abilities.

But after learning all about his past, her thoughts completely changed.

‘As I expected, my instincts weren’t wrong. Theo is a companion I must go with for life.’

This wasn’t in a romantic sense.

It meant someone she could stand shoulder to shoulder with, someone she could entrust her back to.

‘Whether Theo intended it or not, his name will be stamped prominently on the downfall of the Third Lady and the Director of Central Intelligence. So naturally, I should be right beside him.’

This was also why she had warned Holcus not to act rashly.

「Anyway, for now, it’s enough just to stand by his side. Don’t try to console him clumsily and ruin everything.」

「Do you think I’m an idiot? Of course, I know that much!」

「I’m worried because you are an idiot, little brother.」

「Ah, damn it!」

Holcus felt a bit wronged by Erika’s words, but he didn’t argue further.

For now, as she said, simply standing by Theo’s side was enough.

Before they realized it, the group had arrived at the residence of the Third Lady, the Rose Palace.

Theo’s eyes sank deep.

This place, where he had spent decades in his past life, was all too familiar to him.

And now, he had returned to reclaim it.

“Executors, all of you.”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Theo raised the banner high.

As per Julius’ orders, Theo held the current authority.

“Arrest the rebels.”

At that moment, the elites of the White Armored Dragon Cavalry and Plum Blossom Palace sprang into action.

Fwoosh!

Sssslash—

They became streaks of light as they vaulted over the walls, and at the front, Erika and Holcus unleashed their magic, obliterating the main gate in an instant.

Boom!

As the gate shattered, fifty elite troops rushed inside in one swift motion.

“W-what is this…?”

“T-the Ragnar banner! That’s Ragnar’s banner!”

“Why are they here…?”

“Aaaaah!”

The butlers and maids in the palace turned pale, screaming in shock.

“Find the rebel Emil Troyban! Anyone who resists or refuses to cooperate may be killed!”

Evelyn’s thunderous voice echoed throughout the palace.

“R-rebel…?”

“The Third Lady… what did she…?”

As the troops began to scatter from the first to the third floor, a group blocked their path.

It was Morgan, the Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, along with his subordinates, whom Ed had assigned to monitor Emil.

“What the hell are you doing? This is the residence of the Third Lady and part of the family head’s harem! Show some respect—”

Morgan couldn’t finish his sentence.

A sharp gust of wind suddenly slashed toward his throat.

Clang!

Morgan barely deflected it in time, staggering back a few steps.

Evelyn growled at him with fierce eyes.

“I believe I made it clear that anyone who defends the Third Lady will be treated as a rebel. Oh, and since the Central Intelligence Agency has already joined the rebellion, there’s not much difference, is there?”

“What…!”

For a moment, Morgan’s eyes wavered.

‘What is this…? How did they get our information?’

It was true that the Troyban family had long dreamed of using Ed and the Central Intelligence Agency as their hidden sword for a great ambition.

But they had never once considered it an actual “rebellion.”

They had simply believed they were correcting a wrong.

They thought they were putting everything back in its rightful place.

That’s why they had prepared everything slowly and carefully…

But where had the leak come from?

‘Could it have been… the Black Dragon who tracked us?’

If anything made sense, it was that.

Ed and the Black Dragon had been engaged in political warfare for a long time.

Morgan’s mind was in chaos.

One thought kept coming to him.

‘The Director! The Director is in danger!’

His only concern was for Ed’s safety, who had left his post at the request of the Ranke family.

“I won’t listen to any excuses. No defense will work. The charges against you won’t be mitigated in any way.”

Sssswaaash—

Evelyn didn’t care one bit about what was running through Morgan’s mind.

She pressed him again, turning into a whirlwind of blades.

Cha-cha-cha-cha-clang!

Morgan’s hands and feet became confused and uncoordinated.

“Agents of the Central Intelligence Agency, protect the Third Lady! Defend her with your lives—!”

Boom! Boom boom boom!

Explosions echoed from every corner.

It wasn’t gunpowder.

It was the sound of unleashed inner power—Reverse Blood Explosion Technique.

The agents were burning their life force in a desperate attempt to block the suppression forces.

“For Troyban—!”

“For the truth—!”

Boom, boom, boom!

Sword energy clashed fiercely from all directions.

The chaos between those trying to suppress and those resisting intensified, as—

Step, step!

Theo walked through the battlefield, holding the banner high, his steps heavy and unyielding.

Erika and Holcus flanked him, pushing back or deflecting every agent that attacked.

Though none of the agents were simple trainee swordsmen, the sense of duty to protect the banner and the determination to help Theo with his vengeance gave them the strength to endure.

‘There are only so many places Emil can hide.’

Theo knew the structure of the Rose Palace better than anyone else in the world.

He was fully aware of the few spots Emil might be using.

Bang!

He kicked open the first door.

‘Not here.’

Bang!

‘Not this one either.’

Crash!

‘Not here.’

By the time he reached the third floor, blood already stained the paths Theo had crossed.

‘That leaves only one place.’

Theo stood before the last door.

The top floor.

The room that used to belong to Cecilia.

Crash!

With a powerful kick, the door shattered, revealing the scene inside.

Among trembling maids and butlers, there was Emil, beaming as he hugged a framed picture of Axion, smiling brightly as if oblivious to the chaos.

“My baby, my dear baby… Are you hungry? Yes, yes. Just wait a little longer. Mommy will make you something delicious soon. You liked mushroom soup, didn’t you? Luckily, your grandparents sent us some very fine mushrooms.”

‘She’s gone mad.’

Was she trying to escape from reality?

Emil didn’t seem to be in her right mind anymore.

Even though she was face-to-face with Theo, the person she had loathed so much, she didn’t even glance in his direction.

This… This was the kind of person who had tormented his mother all these years?

Theo swung his sword.

Slash—

Emil’s severed head fell limply to the floor.

Thud, thud…

Watching it roll across the ground, Theo quietly closed his eyes.

A whirlwind of emotions stirred within his chest.