ESL Chapter 55

“This way, Miss.”

Lea followed in the direction Berchel guided her. She had come along because she felt uneasy about letting him go alone to meet whoever this Black Kavan was. She had only intended to bring Ian, but Razen had insisted it was dangerous and sent Guster along as well. And so their group had inadvertently grown to four people — one unidentifiable person wrapped head to toe in a robe, and three men, in a rather peculiar arrangement.

“It’s a relief that Luciel didn’t insist on coming along.”

At Lea’s quiet remark, Berchel laughed softly. Whether it could truly be called a relief was debatable… Lea might not have noticed, but when she had said she would follow him, the expression on his lord’s face as he glared at Berchel had been nothing short of murderous. On top of that, Berchel knew his lord very well.

“He didn’t choose not to come, Miss. He simply couldn’t.”

Berchel answered candidly. With a warrant out for his arrest and Cheor’s subordinates fully mobilized to scour the capital, walking the streets would have been tantamount to suicide.

“Well, that’s true enough. But, Berchel—”

Lea nodded as though she understood what he meant, then gave voice to the question that had been on her mind for some time.

“What is the Black Kavan?”

“The Black Kavan, you say?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm… you might think of the Black Kavan as the guardians of the Mihael family.”

Berchel began answering without the slightest hesitation. He had already intended to answer anything she asked within the bounds of his knowledge, but Luciel had given explicit orders to tell her everything she wished to know — so there was even less reason to hold back.

“Guardians?”

At Lea’s somewhat surprised question, he gave a nod.

“That is correct, Lady Lea. It is an organization established by the first family head and passed down through the generations. They answer solely to the legitimate heir of the Mihael family. That said, they do not follow every command. They will not move for matters unrelated to the wellbeing of the Mihael family or its rightful heir. The one who makes that judgment is the leader of the Black Kavan, Zender Kman — the very person I am going to meet now.”

“The Mihael family is complicated in so many ways. Luciel must have had a difficult time of it all these years.”

“Yes. It was because of that greedy man that he spent most of his time in the Kingdom of Hamel. Even back then, he was strangely reluctant to stand against him — which wasn’t at all like his usual character.”

His usual character being to sweep away anything that gets in his way without a second thought. Berchel swallowed the rest of the words before they could escape. But Lea’s next remark made him immediately regret his restraint.

“Luciel has such a gentle nature, after all.”

Who, exactly? My lord? Berchel stared at the thoroughly deceived young lady with a look of sorrowful disbelief, his mouth opening and closing as though he desperately wanted to correct her. The impulse to blurt out the truth was nearly overwhelming — but it was Guster who snapped him back to his senses.

“Hey. Isn’t that the tavern over there? The one called Ether?”

Spotting the modest tavern sign reading Ether tucked into the corner of an alley, Berchel gave a nod.

“Zender Kman dislikes strangers. So it seems only Lady Lea and I should enter.”

At Berchel’s words, a look of clear displeasure crossed Ian’s eyes, and Guster’s expression soured just the same.

“And if something were to happen inside, what then? On top of everything, this is a tavern.”

Ian stared coolly at Berchel and spoke with icy composure. He was the one who had drawn his sword in fury when he witnessed what Luciel had done to the young lady. Berchel had thrown himself in the way to stop him, and the lady herself had intervened — so he had let it go, reluctantly — but his anger had yet to fully subside. Knowing this, Berchel simply shrugged and glanced toward Lea. It was his way of saying the decision was hers.

“I’ll go in and come back. You two, please watch for anyone who might have been following Berchel.”

Her words were gentle but firm, and neither Ian nor Guster could raise any further objection.

“Shall we go in?”

Following Berchel into the tavern, Lea suddenly stopped and looked back at Ian and Guster, who remained outside. What was it… this eerie feeling that had just brushed past her… It was as though she could almost smell blood from somewhere.

“Is something the matter, Miss?”

“No. Let’s go, Berchel.”

Lea told herself she must have imagined it and moved on.

****

“Berchel and one companion have entered. The other two remain outside keeping watch.”

At the words of the man prostrating before him, the robed figure slowly removed his hood. A head of blazing red hair was revealed, along with a strikingly handsome face. He looked down at the kneeling man with cold, gleaming silver eyes and spoke in an unhurried tone.

“So this Berchel fellow is Luciel’s most trusted man, is he?”

“Yes, Lord Zakar. If we capture him, we should be able to learn where the young lord is hiding.”

“Your master is quite incompetent as well, Kun. To lose a plaything he had already caught — and now have to search for him.”

I suppose that’s what you get from someone who’s only half the real thing. At Zakar’s mocking words, the face of the prostrating Kun stiffened. But knowing full well what kind of man stood before him, he quietly suppressed his feelings.

Dull as always… Zakar’s dark brows lifted slightly in displeasure. He had come because they had pestered him endlessly to help bring the Mihael Ducal House under Cheor’s control — but frankly, he had absolutely no interest in any of it. What did it matter to him who inherited the Dukedom? Unless there was something in it to amuse him, it was nothing but a bore.

“Still, since I’m here, I suppose I ought to put on a show.”

He moved his feet toward the tavern with a languid air, thinking he would hand over this Berchel character quickly and get to his drinking. His expressionless silver eyes held nothing but a deep, heavy tedium.

****

Crown Prince Lanster Cherman Shpilfeld of the Kingdom of Teor was in very poor spirits from morning, thanks to a visitor — or rather, an unwelcome intruder — who had called upon him. Yet he showed not the slightest sign of it outwardly, smiling as he spoke.

“Acting Duke Mihael. What brings you here at this hour of the morning?”

The deliberately enunciated title of Acting Duke caused a barely perceptible flinch to pass through Cheor’s body as he stood bent in greeting, though Lanster pretended not to notice and waited for his salutation.

“…This servant, Cheor Lucan Mihael, pays his respects to the Crown Prince.”

Completing his bow, Cheor lifted his head and looked at Lanster. The Crown Prince’s eyes were curved in a smile, yet his scarlet irises — characteristic of the Teor royal bloodline — held not a trace of warmth.

Arrogant. And entirely self-serving. That was his assessment of the Crown Prince. There was nothing about the current heir to the throne that he found agreeable — save for one thing. The Crown Prince disliked Luciel.

And understandably so. There’d have to be at least one thing he’s worse at.

The two young men were of similar age and had always been compared in social circles. Lanster held the rank of Crown Prince, of course, but Luciel was the sole legitimate heir of the Mihael Ducal House — a power that rivaled, if not surpassed, even the royal family. In terms of appearance, Lanster was quite a handsome young man in his own right, not the sort to be outdone anywhere — but standing beside Luciel, whose looks were praised as heaven-bestowed, he simply ceased to register. Add to that the fact that Luciel outstripped him in scholarship, in athletics, in every conceivable arena, and perhaps it was no wonder Lanster despised him so. Whether for that reason or not, the Crown Prince would pick quarrels with Luciel whenever they crossed paths — with such tenacious persistence that, to any uninformed observer, they might have seemed rather close.

“Speaking of which, I hear that fellow has made quite a mess of things.”

Just as expected, Lanster brought it up himself before being asked — and Cheor replied with a pained furrow of his brow.

“I still cannot bring myself to believe it. No matter how deeply under the influence of an aphrodisiac — to kill such a frail young girl in that manner…”

“It must have been a terrible shock.”

“The shock is one thing, but the greater problem is that Luciel escaped from the room where I had confined him to calm down. We must catch him before he commits yet another crime — so I humbly request your permission to search the royal palace.”

Cheor was convinced Luciel must be hiding somewhere within the imperial palace. The moment he had confirmed that Luciel had escaped together with the red-eyed woman, he had deployed his order of knights to seal off every route out of the capital. He had then flooded the entire capital with men to search — and yet neither Luciel nor the red-eyed woman had surfaced. Now there were only two places left beyond his reach: the royal palace, and the Teor branch of the Yurasen Empire.

The Empire would never shelter someone who isn’t their own citizen, and pressing the matter risks turning it into a diplomatic incident… Besides, the royal palace is far more manageable to search.

Watching the smile vanish from Lanster’s lips at the mention of searching the palace, Cheor entertained a thoroughly insolent thought with perfect composure.

Impertinent wretch. Lanster had nearly flared into open fury at Cheor’s outrageous request, but managed to recover his composure just in time. The Kingdom of Teor was spoken of as though it belonged to the Mihael Ducal House — the family’s power was that immense. If they so chose, it would not be impossible for them to have him stripped of his position as Crown Prince. But that did not mean he had any intention of granting Cheor’s request so easily.

“Very well, let us do so.”

“I am grateful for your gracious—”

“However.”

“…?”