As Aileen walked through the underground waterway, she felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
‘Has something like this happened before?’ she wondered. The feeling was not just because of the musty smell from the neglected waterway. Just moments ago, the words the Black Knight had uttered while helping her seemed oddly familiar.
‘It’s certainly the first time I’ve met him at the mansion, so why do I feel this sense of déjà vu?’ she thought. A person wearing such a grotesque and conspicuous mask would definitely be memorable if they had met before.
– “Is it necessary to know? It’s a secret.”
But why did those words sound so familiar? “It’s a secret… It’s a secret…” The words echoed in her mind, and she suddenly recalled an incident that had occurred at the old school building.
A man who was always smiling, with eyes that made it hard to read his emotions.
‘Come to think of it, wasn’t the situation back then similar to now?’ Aileen murmured quietly to herself. As she thought about it, she realized that the situations were indeed similar. Julian had discovered a small demon hiding in the old school building and had dismissed the method as a “secret.”
Realizing this, Aileen looked up and followed the back of the Black Knight who was walking ahead of her. ‘Their builds are similar.’ Besides that, there were many other similarities. First, they both used swords. Also, their swordsmanship was remarkably superior.
‘But other than that…?’ Upon closer thought, there were no significant commonalities. While they both used swords and were skilled in swordsmanship, the swords they used were different. The Black Knight’s sword was as black as a shadow and gave off a sticky feeling, unlike the Moonlight Sword.
‘Moreover…’ The aura emanating from the Black Knight was also noble, like that of an aristocrat, but its direction was different from Julian’s. Additionally, Julian’s unique speech and behavior could not be easily imitated.
‘Even with effort, it might be possible.’
But knowing Julian’s personality, he would never compromise. He was a man who would rather drown in his pride than bow his head, always smiling even while walking a razor’s edge.
“You’re late. If you don’t keep up, I’ll leave you behind.” Considering all these points, Aileen was well aware that the Black Knight was far removed from Julian. However, the doubt in her heart remained.
‘Could the Black Knight be Julian?’ she wondered. She found this person, who was watching her, to be suspicious. “Sorry, I’m coming now.”
***
Drip, drop.
A drop of sweat slid down his cheek, hung on his chin, and fell to the ground. Watching this, Korund felt acutely aware of how nervous and intimidated he was.
‘Unexpected,’ he thought. He had not anticipated that Pintel would be under the command of Julian, a branch of the Crypart family. How could he have predicted it? Pintel had shared his pureblood ideology and was one of the wizards expanding his influence through it. Who could have foreseen that Pintel would reject his power and choose the tumor known as Julian?
“Sir Korund, while you wait for the young master, may I bring you something to drink?” Korund flinched at the voice behind him. Though it was just a servant speaking, recent events with Pintel had left his mind in chaos.
The fact that Bishop Pintel, who was expected not to side with Julian, was actually supporting him made everyone question, “Could it be?”
“Y-yeah,” Korund stammered.
Of course, there was no way Julian could have bribed even this servant. No matter how cunning Julian was, it would be a bad move to enlist commoners, let alone nobility.
“Young Master Joshua will be here shortly. I apologize for the wait,” the servant said.
Korund nodded at the servant’s words, sighed deeply, and looked around. He was currently at the mansion of the Crypart family. Normally, he taught ‘mana manipulation’ to Joshua, the youngest member of the Crypart family, one of the four great families of the empire. Despite having been kidnapped and confined, he couldn’t postpone the private lesson. The prestige of the four great families of the empire was that significant.
“If this is the main house of the Crypart family, they must detest Julian… The family’s disgrace. Not a painful finger but one that should disappear. Everyone knows the treatment Julian receives from the Crypart family. If I reveal Julian’s behavior here…?”
As a bishop of the Dawn Society and one of the many nobles of the empire.
“Sir Korund, I apologize for being late.” Lost in thought, Korund swallowed his anger and smiled as he saw Joshua entering the room.
“It’s alright, young master.”
“Thank you. But Sir Korund, what happened to your face?” Joshua asked.
At Joshua’s question, Korund felt the stinging pain of his wound. Julian’s warning echoed in his mind again. The image of Julian smiling slyly while subtly grasping his sword hilt surfaced, and fear seeped back into Korund’s heart. The thought of exposing Julian’s behavior began to bury itself deep in his chest. Upon reflection, there was very little he could discuss without revealing the Dawn Society. Moreover, Julian wouldn’t suffer much even if his reputation was tarnished. His name was already stained black, so further smears would be meaningless.
“Haha, I had a small accident during an experiment. It’s nothing for you to worry about, young master,” Korund said, choosing to keep his words to himself.
Joshua, watching Korund, had other thoughts.
‘I never imagined that Brother Herand would support Julian in the family meeting.’
Joshua felt the narrowing of his position within the family through the family meetings. Even his father, Oben, the head of the Crypart family, didn’t seem to outright despise Julian.
‘The position of the next family head is in jeopardy.’
Even the dim-witted could see the changing atmosphere. ‘But I can’t openly express my dissatisfaction… Julian remains silent about my use of the fake demon horn, the replica, to cause a disturbance.’
Julian holds the leash.
Moreover, he could no longer simply suggest to the family members that they deal with Julian. With positive stories about Julian beginning to surface, it was hard to tell who was on Julian’s side.
‘The solution must come from elsewhere,’ Joshua thought, realizing that the answer was right in front of him.
Wizards fundamentally advocate for “pure-blood ideology.” If you trace their lineage, their blood purity is far from “pure-blood,” but they fabricate this idea to solidify their status.
“Teacher Korund, you are one of the wizards who follow pure-blood ideology,”
Supporters who could back him and condemn Julian. While bringing external forces into a dirty family feud was unappealing, Joshua was desperate to secure the position of the family head, especially with Brother Herand’s strange behavior lately.
“In that case, that’s a relief. I thought the recent ‘troublemaker’ who returned to the country caused some issues.”
“Troublemaker… you say?” Korund looked puzzled, and Joshua smirked internally.
“Yes, our family’s tumor, Julian Crypart Frason. Didn’t he recently return from the Holy Nation?”
“Haha… Surely not.”
“In my heart, I want to deal with him for the sake of the family,” Joshua subtly revealed his intentions.
“You must dislike him that much. Sir Julian would be saddened,” Korund remarked.
“It doesn’t matter if he’s sad. It’s the result of his actions,” Joshua replied.
Though Joshua had limited opportunities to socialize as an adult, he was smart enough to understand what wizards liked. Connections with nobles and, most importantly, a lot of money. Magical research required astronomical amounts of money, enough to shake even an ordinary noble family.
“The chair of the noble council and former head of the Crypart family, Lord Orun, doesn’t seem to want to see Julian rampaging around anymore,” Joshua dropped the hint.
Orun Crypart, the real power behind the Crypart family, one of the four great families, and the chair of the noble council. Joshua hadn’t conveyed his intentions to his grandfather yet, but he knew that Orun vaguely wanted him to be the next family head. With his oldest brother in the monastery, the second brother being a wastrel, the third brother lacking the ambition fitting for the head of a great family, and Julian, a mere branch family member acting as the empire’s lapdog, none of them were satisfactory to Orun.
During this time of uncertainty, Joshua was born. Orun had educated Joshua from a young age to prevent him from going astray like the other bloodlines.
“You are the one to succeed the Crypart family,” Orun always reiterated to Joshua, making it seem natural to him. However, Julian’s position had been steadily rising recently.
Joshua surmised that his grandfather would also want to deal with Julian. For this reason, Joshua made his proposal to Korund.
“I can arrange for you to connect with Orun Crypart, so lend your strength to deal with Julian.”
This was a proposal that any ordinary wizard family would drool over. Orun Crypart, the chair of the noble council, held immense power, even capable of influencing the Mage Tower. Aligning with him could significantly reduce the astronomical costs associated with magical research.
“How about it? As a wizard, you can’t refuse, right?” Joshua’s pride swelled at the thought of making an offer that no ordinary wizard noble could resist.
However…
‘Is this guy crazy…?’
Korund’s reaction was the complete opposite.
‘Why is he suddenly making this proposal?’
A connection with Orun Crypart. Korund knew this was no small matter. Normally, he would have accepted the proposal without hesitation and lent a hand in dealing with someone like Julian.
The problem was…
‘Why at this timing…?’
His body began to ache from his wounds again, and the events of ‘that day’ started to flash in his mind. The image of Pintel, eyes wide with madness, wildly swinging his staff.
“Could this be…?”
If not, such a proposal wouldn’t come at this time.
Korund swallowed hard, gathering the courage to speak.
“Y-Young Master Joshua, I’ll pretend I didn’t hear anything today.”
“…What?”
“Let’s postpone today’s lesson. I’m not feeling well…”
Ignoring Joshua’s slightly confused response, Korund quickly gathered his coat and bag, stood up, and hurried out. Even while getting up, the wounds from being struck by the staff throbbed, prompting him to leave the Crypart mansion in haste.
“What on earth…?”
In the quiet room, Joshua muttered to himself. Had he misspoken? No, upon careful thought, it didn’t seem so.
Then why had Korund left the room as if terrified and pursued?
Joshua had no way of knowing.
Cliche Novel 