ESL Chapter 65

Merina, wearing nothing but a robe, descended to the knights’ quarters and swept her gaze over the knights in the middle of training, her eyes filled with desire. Flaunting her voluptuous chest that seemed about to burst through her robe and her long, slender legs, she walked into the knights’ quarters, and several knights watched her with greedy eyes. They were all men she had slept with. And without exception, they all belonged to the 6th unit.

‘Is there no one besides the 6th unit?’

She looked around with covetous eyes, but the knights from units 1 through 5, taking after their commander, seemed to have no carnal desires whatsoever — they wouldn’t spare her even a glance. If she approached them, they would furrow their brows and move away, or fix her with cold stares radiating murderous intent.

“Can’t be helped.”

Unable to control her body any longer, heated by the sweltering warmth of the training grounds, Merina approached one of the 6th unit knights who couldn’t take their eyes off her. After exchanging a few words, she led him away into the shadows. One of the 1st unit knights who had been watching her behavior with displeasure spat out his words as if chewing on them.

“Just how long do we have to watch that harlot wander around the knights’ quarters?”

“What can we do. She’s holding Yuria hostage.”

“Damn bastards.”

Even though Jac had said nothing, every single knight in the order knew his daughter had been kidnapped. They truly respected their commander. And Cheor was exploiting that loyalty. It had also been Cheor who had spread word of the kidnapping through the 6th unit — to suppress those who might try to act for Luciel’s sake.

“The only thing we can do is train. So that when the opportunity comes, we can unleash all this pent-up fury.”

At the words of one knight who had been silently pressing through his training, the others nodded and resumed their drills. Zakar watched all of this from where he leaned against a wall swallowed in shadow, arms folded.

“Quite the force brother would covet. High ability, strong loyalty. Well, not much fun for that very reason.”

Sweeping the training grounds with flat, lifeless eyes, he slowly straightened up. He was bored. He had gone to check on Cheor, who had returned after failing to search the Kingdom of Teor branch — only to find him smashing up the furniture in his office. It had been somewhat entertaining to see him tremble speechlessly after a single remark. But the boredom still ruled his body.

What he needed right now was the dark-haired beauty he had met that one time — the only one who had managed to capture his interest. He wanted to see again her jet-black hair that had streamed through the air with every movement, and those beautiful, glittering crimson eyes. When he recalled those captivating crimson eyes blazing like flames the moment their blades had clashed, he felt blood rushing fiercely through his otherwise frozen heart. He found himself wondering whether her eyes would burn just as brightly in bed.

“I’ll have to go and catch her after all… and show her why they call me a madman…”

Smiling dangerously, he made his way to the back of the training grounds, where moans and panting ran rampant. The robe had fallen to the ground, and a man stood before Merina, lifting one of her legs as he diligently moved his hips. The sound of flesh meeting flesh and wet, slick noises were disturbingly loud — yet Zakar’s silver eyes remained utterly expressionless.

“You there, woman.”

At Zakar’s call, Merina, who had been moaning and gasping, startled and turned her head. The man, too, seemed surprised and had stilled his movements, only his eyes darting about.

“Ah!… Lord Zakar!!!”

Realizing who had called out to her, Merina hastily shoved the man away and quickly prostrated herself on the ground. Zakar was a figure she could not even dare look up at — and yet, precisely for that reason, he was a man she longed to have. According to rumor, he only occasionally took a woman when the mood struck him, and those women could never forget him — reportedly writhing just at the sight of him passing by.

‘Could it be that he wants me…?’

Merina’s eyes, head bowed, sparkled with anticipation. But the words that followed immediately deflated her.

“Where did you say the hostages are being kept?”

“Ah… y-yes?! Cerberos, 9th district, number 41.”

“I see.”

That was all. At the sound of retreating footsteps, she quickly raised her head — but Zakar was already nowhere to be seen. Rising to her feet with eyes brimming with lingering longing, Merina stared for a moment at the direction in which Zakar had disappeared. If she could be held by a man like that, even for just one day… Feeling her body heating up again, she turned back to the man standing beside her.

As he left the training grounds, Zakar committed the address Merina had given him to memory. If that girl had any connection to Luciel, she would certainly appear there. His instincts told him so. After all, whoever held the hostages would be the final victor of this conflict. Luciel would appear on Cheor’s side of things, but that was for Cheor to deal with — all he needed was to catch the dark-haired girl.

“What shall I do once I catch her…. She’s feisty, so keeping her tied up and breaking her in wouldn’t be bad. There’d be a pleasure in the taming…”

The silver eyes, chillingly lifeless, began to slowly fill with light. His expression like a predator anticipating a hunt, he set his feet toward the location Merina had given him.

****

A carriage was racing toward the royal palace, cutting through the hushed air of the early morning. Inside sat a man and woman who appeared to be a married couple, both in their late thirties. The woman looked ill — red blotches had risen across her face, neck, arms, and hands, and her disheveled ash-grey hair was spread messily across the man’s legs. Apparently finding it quite uncomfortable to lie with the man’s thigh as her pillow, the woman shifted restlessly and whispered:

“Will this really be enough?”

“You’re doing fine.”

At Arhvina’s question, Zender praised her tersely. The Black Kavan was not composed solely of those who wielded hidden blades or swords. There existed within it people from every field and every social stratum — those with a mastery of cosmetics capable of transforming even the plainest woman into a beauty, mages, artifact makers, and more. It had been they who had helped with Arhvina’s disguise. However, those people did not know they were part of the Black Kavan.

Contact with them was maintained by the core members of the Black Kavan. Since the organization’s founding, those members had concealed the name Black Kavan and led their subordinates under names suited to the nature of each group. One led artists under the name “Sky”; another led merchants under the name “Richman.” There were even those who led women of pleasure under the name “Marino.” And so, the people belonging to each group carried out their duties as Black Kavan operatives whenever the need arose, without even knowing that what they were doing was work for the Black Kavan. Over the long span of several hundred years.

For this reason, there was nowhere within this kingdom that the Black Kavan’s reach did not extend. This was the power the Black Kavan held — and the true hidden strength of Duke Mihael’s house.

‘That stupid bastard has no idea of any of this.’

The truth of the Black Kavan is passed on only to the legitimate heir. Cheor likely thought of the Black Kavan as nothing more than lackeys the rightful successor could command at will. Zender, who had been lost in thought, lowered his gaze to the woman lying against his leg as her thin voice reached him.

“Will everyone be able to reach the royal palace safely?”

Thinking suddenly of the six men and women including Lu whom she had seen before their departure, Arhvina wore an uneasy expression.

“They are among the Black Kavan’s elites. There are no fools among them who would fall into the despicable Cheor’s hands.”

If there were, they’d have to be retrained. Hearing his continued words, she squeezed her eyes shut. She was lying down because she had been told to look like a patient, but with his thigh as her pillow, her heart kept pounding and she couldn’t calm down. Pressing her fist hard against her chest, she was startled at Zender’s voice.

“Are you uncomfortable?”

“…A little?”

Relieved that, despite being quite startled, she hadn’t hiccupped, Arhvina let out a breath where he couldn’t see it. She wanted to stop embarrassing herself in front of him.

“Bear with it a little longer. Once we cross two more blocks, we’ll turn onto the road leading to the royal palace.”

“…Yes…”

And once we enter the royal palace, there’ll be no reason to see you again… The thought that she might never see him again made Arhvina feel melancholy. She knew. That he and she lived in different worlds. Still, there was something she wanted to ask him. After hesitating, she finally summoned her courage and brought up the question she had wanted to ask for some time. Being alone with just the two of them made her bold.

“…Why… did you say that back then?”

“What do you mean?”

“You asked… whether there was any need for me to stay somewhere that caused me such suffering…”

“……”

Expecting an immediate answer, Arhvina thought, when Zender fell silent, that he didn’t remember. At the same time, her face flushed red. What a disgrace. Bringing up words he didn’t even remember and asking why he had said them.

“Just forget what I—”

Trying in her embarrassment to tell him to forget it, she froze at Zender’s answer.

“…I did not want to see Arhvina weeping because of someone like that. Because you are someone who is fully deserving of love.”

The answer that broke the silence was so entirely beyond what she had expected that Arhvina was left dumbfounded.

Silence fell over the carriage once more. Unable to bear the growing quiet, she was about to sit up — when the carriage came to a stop, startling her into quickly lying back down. She squeezed her eyes shut and schooled her features into a pained expression, and an unfamiliar voice reached her from outside the carriage.