After checking several times to see if there were any sentinels around, he snuck into Ganienâs villa.
As soon as Ruel entered the villa, he met the knights who had arrived ahead of time.
They greeted Ruel with a gloomy atmosphere.
âThe morale⊠is enough to pierce the floor.â
âThis body is uncomfortable in this atmosphere.
Ruel had similar thoughts.
It was the first time that he reflected on his pale appearance.
The mood was so serious that he wondered if he should have put makeup on to hid his drastic appearance.
âNo matter who diesâŠâ
When Noah opened his mouth, Cassion immediately hit the back of his head.
âRaise your heads!â From the back, Torto shouted loudly.
âRunning away is a shameful act!â
At his words, Ruel stood still and inhaled Breath.
âBut surviving is not something to be ashamed of. If you donât forget who saved your lives, if you donât forget who you faced, I donât think you need to be ashamed anymore!â
Torto made eye contact with his men one by one.
âSo, raise your heads!â
The knights raised their heads one by one at Tortoâs sincere cry.
âThank you! And Iâm sorry!â
Ginger spat out his words like vomit.
He clenched his trembling hands.
The knights then bowed their heads, thanking and apologizing to Ruel.
Thatâs enough.
As long as they donât forget the guilty and grateful feelings from Tortoâs pep talk, it was enough to count as debt from the Royal Knights.
âDonât worry about it. I didnât think too deeply about the matter.â
Ruel spoke calmly and smiled at them.
In an instant, their faces contorted and looked like they were about to burst into tears.
No matter how the story was spun, it was true that they, the knights, fled in the end.
But Ruel buried it.
He didnât ask anything, he covered it up with trivial matters.
Ruel followed the butler to the room without looking back.
Until the door was closed, the knights kept their eyes on Ruelâs back.
Ttak. Ttak.
Multiple footsteps sounded in the hallway.
When Cassion held out his handkerchief, Ruel stopped and vomited blood.
Ruel was relieved to find that it was black blood.
His body, which had deteriorated due to the purification, seemed to be recovering again.
When the butler met Ruelâs eyes, he was surprised.
âI-Iâm sorryâŠâ
âDonât be nervousâŠâ
âUhâŠ?
Ruel stumbled in a sudden dizziness.
Cassion caught him.
âAre you okay?â
He heard from Hina that Ruel vomited red blood.
Red blood was not good, it was not black blood.
He could see he was in bad condition.
Cassion said, supporting Ruel.
âAris, Hold.â
âIâll use it.â
Aris chanted a spell, and the butler looked around and suggested carefully.
âIâll call a doctor.â
Cassion shook his head.
âThatâs all right. Please be careful not to let any news out.â
Until yesterday, he was careful about his actions as the last attack was done by people who were not Red Ash.
âIt would have been nice if Fran and her sister Tierra came along, too.â
But they were ordinary people.
It was very disappointing, even though Cassion himself wouldnât let them come on this trip.
âAlright, Iâll be careful.â
The butler walked ahead again.
âThis body ate a lot.
Ruel didnât say anything, but Leo spoke first as soon as he met his gaze.
âYesterday, this body said the dirty stuff is the same size as the four paws of this body.
Leo explained, waving his front paws.
âYou said three paws back then. Is it four now?â
âAre you sick from vomiting blood?
When Ruel shook his head slightly, Leo smiled and rubbed his face against Ruel.
âRuel-nim, do you think youâre going to dieâŠâ
Pak.
As soon as Noah opened his mouth, Cassion hit him with his palm.
âNo, what can I sayâŠâ
Pak.
It was impossible to avoid Cassionâs palm.
Noah sat on the floor after being hit on the cheek.
The butler looked back from the sound.
âAre you alright?â
âAh, you donât have to worry about it, he had a bug.â
Cassion smiled as he hid Noahâs face from view with his body.
***
âThen make yourself at home.â
As the butler bowed and was about to leave, Ruel called him.
âCan you call for Ganien?â
âYes.â
As soon as the butler left, Noah opened his mouth thinking it was time.
âAre you deathly sick? Itâs the first time Iâve seen you vomit blood like that. If Ruel-nim dies, the contract with me will be undone, right?â
âBefore that happens, youâd better think about what loyalty means.â
Cassion smirked.
Youâll be very surprised to find out what the answer is after thinking about it yourself.
âNoah.â
Ruel, who sat in bed, opened his mouth.
Coughing followed.
He wanted to ask if he was dying again, but Cassionâs eyes were threatening, so he just answered. âYes.â
âYou have something else to do.â
âDo you have any other tasks than chores as an attendant?â
âIf you have to be specific, itâs part of the chores that you would do as a servant.â
âAnother errand? Why is the head of the household like that⊠Ugh!â
Noah gripped his heart and complained of pain.
The words itself had strong meaning, so he was in pain to the point where of kneeling.
Ruel spoke leisurely, inhaling Breath.
âAre you good at running away?â
ââŠI am.â
âCan you protect yourself?â
âI am not so weak that I canât protect myself. More than me, the lord⊠Ugh.â
âThe poison you said you made. It will be spreading around in the underworld. Find out who bought it, where it went, and who is in charge of its distribution.â
ââŠ?â
Noah opened his eyes wide.
What does this mean?
âI sold it because it was said to kill monsters. Why is it in the underworld? It wasnât designed to kill people.â
âHaâŠâ
Aris sighed, sweeping his face with his hand.
âYou should have limited the use of it by writing a contract or by imposing some sort of limitation. Do you think theyâd keep their promise if you said so?â
ââŠyouâll die if you eat it. I made it, but itâs no joke. Theyâll die very painfully.â
âI⊠Cough, cough.â
Ruel put up with the rising heat and let him know.
âItâs a poison.â
Leoâs ears pricked up.
âIf you eat poison, you will die!
Ruel pet Leoâs head lightly.
âDonât joke around. Youâll die if you eat that. But the lord is not dead as of yet.â Noahâs expression was distorted.
Cassion searched his pocket and took out two small bottles. âOne is your poison, one is an antidote I made.â
Noah hurriedly grabbed the bottles and opened the lids to smell them.
His eyes widened greatly.
His chest moved visibly over and over again as if he was suffocating, and he barely opened his mouth.
âThis is myâŠpoison, but itâs not the antidote I made.â
âIt must have been expensive, right?â
Noah hurriedly handed over the bottle to Cassion at Ruelâs words, which he threw away as if he were being chased.
âYouâve never thought about who or how to use it. Wasnât it just fun to sell at a high price?â
âItâs not my fault! If thatâs the case, isnât the blacksmith who made the weapon the bad guy?â
âWho blames you? Thereâs something else Iâve asked you to do.â
Gulp.
Noah swallowed his saliva.
This position was very uncomfortable now.
There was a person in front of him who almost died because of the poison he sold.
It was the first time he felt so uncomfortable.
Ting.
Ruel flicked the gold coins he had prepared.
Noah instinctively grabbed the gold coin.
âCan you do it?â
âI can do it.â
Noahâs mouth moved at will.
Looking at the gold coins, nothing came to mind, not even the poison.
He thought it was too late to get rid of the poison from the market, but he didnât want to return the gold coin.
âI put pressure on you and handed over the money, so Iâm sure youâll get it.â
Ruel raised the corners of his mouth at Aris.
Ruel-nim seemed to tell him that this is how to handle Noah.
Aris nodded slightly to show he understood.
âThen leave me.â
âAre you doing it right now? I wanted to take a rest today. Weâve come a long way.â
âYes, it starts tomorrow. If you donât want to lose the money you received, the results will have to be satisfactory.â
Ruel tried to inhale Breath, but this time he couldnât resist and vomited blood again.
A handkerchief covered Ruelâs mouth.
Arisâ face frowned.
âI think Ruel-nim should start moving later than tomorrow.â
Ruel nodded instead of answering.
Cassion put a heat patch on with his other hand.
âWhatâs that?â
Aris pointed to the door, responding to Noahâs useless question.
âGet out, stop talking nonsense.â
âEven if you donât tell meâŠâ
Ting.
When Aris snatched the bouncing gold coin, Noah replied with a smile.
âI was going to go out even if you didnât say anything. Ruel-nim doesnât look well, so he needs to rest well. Whatâs wrong with my curiosity? I can listen to it next time, next time.â
When Aris pointed at the door again, Noah went out energetically without any further complaints.
âWell, Iâll wait outside.â
He bowed to Ruel and went to the door.
Creak.
The door closed and Cassion said.
âIt started to get worse after you did Purification.â
âYes! Since then, the dirty things in Ruelâs body has grown as big as four paws of this body.
âSince Ganien has spoken well to His Majesty, why donât you take a few days off?â
âItâs okay because the power of recovery will come into effect soon.â
Ruel inhaled Breath with a short breath.
Knock. Knock.
âItâs me.â
âCome in.â
Ganienâs hair was messy because he had came in a hurry.
âOn the way, I heard that there was an attack on Sir Torto. It canât be Red Ash again. I definitely crushed their hideout.â
âItâs not the Red Ash. I think the aristocracy opposed this alliance.â
Ganien gripped the handle of his sword tightly.
Ruel glanced at Cassion, and he handed the earrings over to Ganien.
âI donât know the geography of this place, so you should investigate. Among the nobles West of Selemina Forest, whether they bought or locally made these earrings, you should find someone related to them.â
Ganien, receiving the earrings, showing his mixed feelings.
ââŠIâm sorry. I got you involved in my country.â
âIf youâre sorry, hurry up. The Red Ash canât miss this good opportunity.â
If the Red Ash wanted a war between the three countries, it could not have let this opportunity go.
Ruel was sure theyâll make a move and eventually come to take his life.
âIâm looking for the Red Ash among the inner nobles one by one with the information you gave me, but is it increasing?â
âYes.â
Ganien sighed deeply.
âItâs crazy.â
âWhy donât you take this chance and cut some of the branches off? There are many aristocrats.â
âI really want to. Iâm good at cutting.â
âThe day will come soon.â
âI hope this is a big catch, then it follows one after another.â
He shook the earring slightly.
âAnyway, His Majesty has understood and respects your situation. He wants you to take advantage of it. What do you think?â
Ruel bit Breath. It was a good decision.
When he disappears, he will naturally be able to see much further as black and white are separated.
He closed his eyes for a moment and smirked.
âI wonder if itâs about time to receive the gift.â
âHis Majesty said to listen. He instructed me to hear what you wanted and ordered me to deliver it.â