Chapter 276: Chapter 278

The meeting had dragged on far too long. While everyone else hurried out, Captain Jeirutt remained seated. He endured the light reproaches from those passing by, only organizing the reports he needed to handle personally afterwards.

He rummaged in his inner pocket, searching for a light to smoke his cigarette.

A lighter appeared before him. It was Quintana.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“Aren’t you going home? It’s late.”

“What about you, Captain Jeirutt?”

You must have something to say. Jeirutt bit down firmly on his cigarette and exhaled smoke.

The Prime Minister hadn’t left either. They seemed to be waiting for the conference room to empty, staying in their places. Even the officials who had been throwing remarks at Jeirutt read the atmosphere and hushed as they exited.

Creeak.

Bang!

Apart from the attendants waiting outside, only the Prime Minister, Quintana, and Jeirutt remained. Jeirutt tapped his half-smoked cigarette on the ashtray and asked:

“Do you have something to ask me, Prime Minister?”

“Captain Jeirutt. How long has it been since you entered the palace? If I remember correctly, it’s been well over thirty years.”

“I entered when you were the Deputy Minister of Administration.”

Jeirutt smiled slightly. Wasn’t it such a long time ago? Back then, Barsabe’s father Petraio was also around, and Riama and Beols trained together as peers. The days of striving hard for the honor of being the Empire’s strongest and the glory of protecting the Emperor flashed by in an instant.

“Thirty years. It’s truly a long time. Jeirutt. I know you. You are a man of deep loyalty, intelligence, and strong will.”

“Please don’t scold me indirectly. I am a warrior.”

The Prime Minister smiled, furrowing his brow slightly. Ian had already shown his discomfort and warned throughout the meeting, but the Prime Minister seemed to want to give one more admonition. Quintana watched the two of them and exhaled a faint wisp of smoke.

“It hasn’t been long since the imperial palace settled down. I understand your intentions deeply, but this time it was a mistake. Why throw a stone into calm waters? Especially at a festive occasion where the imperial citizens are gathered. Beric and Xiaoshi are His Highness Jin’s right-hand men.”

They are by the side of the lonely young prince. Yet to create such discord. The Prime Minister shook his head slightly and reprimanded.

“It’s only natural that Lord Ian doesn’t hide his displeasure.”

“Prime Minister. Regarding Beric and Xiaoshi. They are not His Highness Jin’s right-hand men, but Lord Ian’s. Please see clearly where their fundamental allegiance lies.”

“Jeirutt.”

“Beols-“

Jeirutt brought up the name of Beols, one of the Three Great Captains, as if asking to hear him out. A knight who had protected the Emperor together, and a friend who had died pointlessly in the Arsen incident.

“Recently, I received a message from Beols’ mansion. They said they found a small letter he left for me.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’d like to ask you, Prime Minister. I really don’t understand what Beols’ intention was either.”

Swoosh.

Jeirutt took out a neatly folded letter from his breast pocket and placed it on the desk. A gesture to read it. Quintana unfolded the letter on behalf of the Prime Minister.

-Jeirutt. If this has reached your hands, I must now be living in another world. This was written the night before His Highness Arsen’s magical power confirmation ceremony. Jeirutt. I earnestly implore you, as a colleague and a friend. Please continue and complete the solemn duty entrusted to me. May only His Majesty the Emperor’s authority stand firmly at the center of the world.

Quintana paused briefly and glanced at the Prime Minister.

-No one in the imperial palace can arbitrarily increase their weight. Be it the ‘Prime Minister,’ the ‘Minister of Magic,’ or anyone else. Remember and guard this. If the horizon tilts, rocks will roll down. Those rocks will harm His Majesty the Emperor.

The Prime Minister inwardly let out a small groan.

Beols was the one who had been by the Emperor’s side when he went into stasis. He was the one who had shouldered the Emperor’s last concerns. In the Emperor’s absence, he worried about potential rebellion taking advantage of the situation.

Particularly, the Prime Minister and Ian, who didn’t carry the royal bloodline, would have been the main subjects of concern. Dilaina was, after all, a member of the royal family.

“The role of the Three Great Captains is simply to ensure His Majesty the Emperor’s safety, yet I don’t understand why Beols had such concerns and passed them on to me.”

“Um, Jeirutt.”

“But surprisingly, I felt that the current situation in the imperial palace is flowing quite similarly to what Beols was worried about. You saw it earlier too.”

When Ian showed his discomfort, everyone at the grand council prostrated themselves. This was certainly not normal.

After going through civil unrest and the monster incident, Ian’s presence in the imperial palace currently surpassed even the Emperor’s. To say he surpassed the Emperor ultimately meant he had surpassed Jin as well.

“While I do feel somewhat sorry for making the meeting difficult, this is a self-inflicted wound. It’s because other departments aren’t fulfilling their roles properly that things have come to this.”

Unlike other departments that were closely interconnected, the Imperial Guard was independent. The Imperial Guard was directly under the Emperor, and the appointment of the Three Great Captains wasn’t even decided at the New Year’s council.

Only the Emperor’s will. That alone was the core of the department and the guideline they had to protect and follow.

Now, with the Emperor bedridden and the Prime Minister acting as his proxy, it was clear that this was still an area that couldn’t be encroached upon.

“Beric and Xiaoshi are both skilled. But that’s precisely the problem. Don’t you know? The reason why Lord Ian sent those two to the selection.”

It was to expand his influence by placing Beric in the Imperial Guard and Xiaoshi in the Imperial Defense Department.

The Prime Minister couldn’t reply and just kept fiddling with his beard. His head was complicated with worries. The Emperor’s stasis – should he reveal this to Jeirutt as well, following Beols? Or should he maintain secrecy to the minimum?

“From my perspective, anything beyond this is dangerous. It’s like a frog being boiled alive. No matter how much His Highness Jin follows Lord Ian, how can we know a person’s heart? Think about the princes.”

One of them swung a sword at his father, the Emperor, and another abandoned his lover himself. Really, I don’t understand what a person’s heart is.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Quintana, who had been listening quietly, pulled the ashtray closer and tapped her cigarette.

“So Beric is worth the risk because he’s a mage-knight, but Xiaoshi isn’t?”

“That’s not quite right, Deputy Minister Quintana. Have you ever observed Xiaoshi up close?”

“No. Only from afar when he’s with His Highness Jin.”

“From what I’ve seen, Xiaoshi is particularly dangerous. Especially since his connection with His Highness Jin began on Lord Ian’s orders.”

Who does he truly consider his master? That was the crux of the matter, but unless you were the person in question, it was impossible to know for certain. And the less one knew, the more the potential for danger increased proportionally.

The Prime Minister rested his clasped hands on his forehead and muttered:

“I see. I understand your intention well, Jeirutt. Then, do you plan to continue provoking Lord Ian bit by bit in the future?”

“Who else is there to do it? The other captains are no longer around.”

Scattered forces gather for a single point. Currently, there was no force in opposition to Ian, so even if everyone else kept quiet and hid, if Jeirutt continued to step forward, they would ‘recognize’ it.

That they could voice opposing opinions through him.

And that they could keep him in check.

Swoosh.

Jeirutt placed his hand on his chest as if taking an oath.

“I will act solely for the royal family, or more precisely, for His Majesty the Emperor. It is predetermined that His Highness Jin will succeed that position in the future. This is also for His Highness’s sake.”

Quintana smiled, both awkwardly and with interest. Both Lord Ian and Jeirutt claim to be acting for His Highness Jin’s sake, yet how can the results be so different? Their gaze may be fixed on the same point, but the paths they walk could be said to be exact opposites.

The Prime Minister pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly.

‘There’s no need to reveal the Emperor’s stasis. Whether Jeirutt knows or not, his stance doesn’t seem like it would change. If he knew, he might become even more sensitive to Lord Ian’s or my actions.’

“I understand. I get your intention for now.”

Honestly, the Prime Minister had no reason to object. Jin’s deep reliance on Ian was both too ideal and non-ideal.

If even the tiniest gap were to form someday, could Jin endure it? Having someone step up to keep things in check and maintain tension was actually something to be grateful for from the Prime Minister’s position.

“But I won’t get involved. The path you’ve chosen to walk, walk it alone.”

“I don’t desire companionship. If I were to stumble along the way, Prime Minister, you should take a different path.”

“Well, well. Then, what about Beric?”

“By my estimation, he’ll likely place around the top 10 and enter the Imperial Guard.”

We need to handle this more carefully and closely. Jeirutt turned to the Prime Minister and placed his hand on Beols’ message. It was as if asking if he had anything more to say about this.

“…I see. Let’s adjourn.”

“…Yes. Please go ahead.”

The Prime Minister pretended not to notice and stood up to leave the grand council chamber. Quintana, who was following behind him, turned back and added:

“Captain Jeirutt. Regardless of right or wrong, be cautious. When you focus too much on one thing, you might miss what’s beside it. I’m worried that in trying to peer into Lord Ian’s heart, you might overlook His Highness Jin’s tears.”

I’ll keep that in mind, Jeirutt nodded in response.

As the two left, Imperial Guards waiting outside entered. As if saying it was time to leave.

“Captain. Shall we depart?”

“Yes. Take good care of this. As soon as we return to the office, I’ll write up a report and distribute it.”

Jeirutt handed over the documents to his subordinates with instructions. The selection festival wasn’t over yet. He too had much work to do.

***

Romandro followed behind Ian, along with an attendant carrying a golden tray. On the tray were letters from various countries.

Responses to Jin’s inauguration ceremony invitations. They were turning their steps, having heard that Jin was with Xiaoshi.

“How are Beric and Xiaoshi’s physical conditions?”

“Hmm. Beric is fine as expected, but I’m a bit worried about Xiao. After all, he can’t receive mana except from healing mages.”

“Did they say it’s very bad?”

“Not exactly. They say he’ll struggle a bit. But from what I saw, that doctor seems quite serious. Ever since he saw Beric injured, he doesn’t seem to consider anything short of that as a real injury.”

Tap tap tap.

The attendants standing in front of Xiaoshi’s room quickly bowed as they noticed Ian and Romandro. The door opened as they announced their presence. Jin was sitting by Xiaoshi’s bedside, reading a book.

“Lord Ian.”

“Your Highness. I heard you were here and came. The replies to the inauguration ceremony invitations have arrived. Let’s read them together.”

“Ah. Yes. I was waiting for that too.”

Ian carefully examined Jin. He thought Jin would be upset seeing Xiaoshi lying there like that, but he seemed better than expected. Jin sensed Ian’s gaze and tilted his head.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“It’s nothing. Did everything go well? I thought you might have been uncomfortable without Xiaoshi.”

“Yes. It was fine. There are so many attendants following me.”

“…I see.”

Romandro remembered Jin’s expression as he watched the sunset by the window earlier. He seemed to be hurting more than anyone, but he never voiced it out loud. How admirable. Romandro opened the door, guiding Jin.

“Let’s go to the office, Your Highness. It would be good to review the replies and briefly discuss what happened today and what’s to come.”

“Yes. Let’s do that.”

Xiaoshi was lying straight, breathing evenly. Even when Beric was on the verge of death, his posture was a mess. Ian briefly looked at Xiaoshi’s torn and bruised face, then moved the book from the bed to the desk.

Swoosh.

At that small sound, Xiaoshi opened his eyes. I wonder if he was pretending to sleep from the start. If he woke up at such a faint noise, he must have regained consciousness long ago at Jin’s presence.

Ian looked towards the door. Romandro and Jin were already out of sight.

“Master.”

“Yes, Xiao. How are you feeling?”

“…I’m fine. Is everyone else alright?”

What a meaningful and concise question. Ian pondered for a moment, then pulled up a chair and sat down beside him. Xiaoshi seemed not to know why he ended up like this.

“There’s no need to worry about anything. You’re the one who got hurt the most. Xiao. Do you have any idea how you ended up facing Beric?”

“For Captain Jeirutt to test us…”

So you do know to some extent. Clever. Ian nodded in approval. Then, as if sharing a secret with Xiaoshi, he whispered softly:

“But, Xiao. There’s a slightly more important reason.”

“What is it?”

“It’s because you called me ‘Master.’”