Upon discovering the demonic energy, Aint was certain the corrupted were present.
“For now, stay here. Ask for anything you need.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
“I’m the one who should thank you for coming.”
Thus, they decided to remain for a while at the first prince’s secondary villa until they could obtain new leads.
“But wasn’t the first prince’s position supposed to be firm in Esrin? It doesn’t seem like that at all.”
The villa was so well hidden deep in the mountains that it was hard to detect at a glance. Its purpose was likely to serve as a place to escape prying eyes.
If the first prince’s power base were truly solid, would he have needed to hide like this?
“Ah, before coming, Senior Fernan explained something to me.”
Aria looked at him immediately.
“And why only to you?”
“Well, because it’s obvious you’re not trustworthy.”
“Shut your mouth, Verian, before the wrath of the spirits falls upon you.”
Aint smiled and continued.
“It’s true that the first prince, Lord Ferant, has more support from the nobles than the other two princes.”
But he added that that wasn’t everything.
“The current king favors the third prince too much, his son by the second concubine. That’s what’s caused all this chaos.”
The root problem was the king.
He loved his second concubine—whom he took after the queen—more, and that affection transferred completely to the third prince.
He had never declared it openly. But the difference in how he treated the other princes versus the third, and the fact that he kept delaying the official proclamation of the heir despite the first prince being well-established and the king being over eighty years old, were clear signs.
Since that was the king’s will, some nobles who had once sworn the first prince would ascend gradually began switching to the third prince’s side.
In the midst of this, the second prince had also expanded his influence, and right in that state, the king had fallen ill.
“A total disaster. So, what’s the plan? Did the senior ask us to do anything else?”
“No, he just told us to be careful with the situation and to eliminate the corrupted.”
Ah, there was one more thing.
“He also said neither the second nor the third prince should become king.”
“…So he’s asking us to get involved in Esrin’s royal succession?”
Had he gone insane?
Verian thought Fernan had finally become so obsessed with money he’d lost his mind.
“Really? That’s what he said?” asked Aria.
Aint shook his head.
“No, what he meant was we have to make sure to catch the corrupted. As long as they exist, the second or third prince wouldn’t stand a chance.”
“If the senior said so, then that’s how it is.”
Seek out the corrupted and eliminate them. In the end, it all circled back to the same starting point.
“The problem is where to find them. Didn’t he say we shouldn’t move around too much?”
“Let’s wait a bit. Until His Highness Ferant returns.”
Fortunately, they didn’t have to wait long.
***
A few days passed since their arrival in Esrin.
Aint, Aria, and Verian entered a bustling tavern.
“So this is the place?”
“Yes.”
“But it’s closed.”
Aria pointed to the “Close” sign hanging on the door.
“They’re pretending it’s closed. I can sense many people inside.”
Aint remembered what the first prince had told him.
“We discovered monsters in a cave in Balrotan, along with human corpses.”
The Balrotan region belonged to Count Setton Balrotan, a noble who supported the third prince.
“Of the five we sent, four died. The only survivor barely escaped the hands of the corrupted. Here, look at this recording orb.”
The orb clearly showed monsters and corrupted. The darkness of the cave prevented seeing everything, but even at a glance, there were dozens.
Who knew how many more were hidden in those depths.
“Go there, eliminate the monsters, and capture the corrupted.”
“I can’t assign you royal knights or troops. They’d notice.”
But the prince didn’t intend to send them without support.
“Instead, I’ve hired a reliable group of mercenaries. They’re discreet and have proven effective against the corrupted.”
“Who are they?”
“You’ll see. If I told you beforehand, it wouldn’t be any fun.”
Aint thanked him, understanding that this was the best alternative he could offer.
The meeting point was in a northern village about 50 km from the capital, at a tavern in Burgan.
Aint opened the door and entered.
Just as expected, inside were numerous men occupying tables, all exuding the fierce presence typical of mercenaries.
Their gazes turned to him, and Aint observed them calmly.
Then—
“Roderick?”
“Aint?”
“…Don’t tell me the one they hired was you?”
“And the ‘ally’ they mentioned was you, Aint?”
Their eyes locked.
“……”
A chill ran down Aint’s spine.
— Aint, this…
Roderick was a corrupted. And now that very corrupted was offering to accompany them to hunt others.
What did this mean?
— It’s a trap.
A blatant trap. They believed Aint didn’t know Roderick’s true identity.
‘Did the first prince set us up?’
Just thinking it made him shiver.
— We can’t rule it out, but it’s unlikely. At least on the surface, that guy’s a highly competent mercenary.
The Red Wolves mercenary group had a great reputation across the continent and had even fought alongside Aint in Frazia against the corrupted.
‘Is this what he meant by “effective against the corrupted”?’
— From the perspective of someone who doesn’t know the truth, yes.
“I heard we’re going after the corrupted. It’s an honor to fight by your side again, Aint.”
Roderick smiled and extended his hand. Aint, doing his best to keep a calm face, shook it.
“Likewise. I’m counting on you.”
“The corrupted are a plague that has no place in this world. I’ll do my best.”
“That’s reassuring.”
“With comrades like you, I feel much more confident. I look forward to working together.”
“Same here.”
Aria and Verian also greeted him, though as their eyes met, the three of them shared the same thought:
‘How are we going to handle this? This is a death trap!’
They too knew Roderick was a corrupted.
“Is something wrong?”
“No, nothing. But how much do you know about the mission? What information were you given exactly?”
“They told me we’d hear the details together with my men…”
“At least tell me what you know.”
Aint smiled naturally as he took a seat.
***
“This is a trap. If we keep going like this, we’re all going to end up dead.”
Going out to hunt corrupted with a corrupted at your side was no different than jumping into a fire with a bundle of straw.
Verian had no intention of dying.
“I agree, Aint. We can’t do it. Even if the senior said so, we can’t. We have to tell the truth to the first prince and ask for reinforcements.”
Aria’s words were the most reasonable.
But Aint couldn’t accept it so easily. He clearly remembered Fernan’s warning.
— Even I think Fernan was right. If we pretend we don’t know the truth and wait for the right moment, we can catch them all at once.
And somehow, now felt like that moment.
Were the corrupted fools? If they had set a trap, they must have considered Aint’s strength. Surely they had prepared a large number of monsters and corrupted together.
If they managed to turn things around, the result would be a major victory.
‘But the chances of us dying are much higher.’
It was almost certain.
Aint knew his power was like a natural poison to the corrupted, but it wasn’t absolute.
— What if we send a letter to Fernan and buy time?
— He said himself that if there were any problems, we could use the trading company to send him messages.
— If he finds out, he’ll come running like a dog with its tail on fire. He’s been waiting for an opportunity like this.
‘That would be the best option.’
He couldn’t think of anything more viable.
“Aria, can you sneak out at night without being noticed?”
“I could… but why?”
“Because they’re right, we can’t go on like this. I want to ask Senior Fernan for help.”
“In that case, count on me.”
And so a few days passed.
***
Bang!
Roderick slammed his beer mug on the table. The impact made the wood tremble, and food fell to the floor.
He was in a terrible mood.
“…How’s his finger?”
At his growl, one of the mercenaries responded with a trembling voice.
“…It still hurts, he asked for one more day of rest…”
“Aint Armian, damn bastard!”
At first, they’d said they’d rest two days to recover from the journey.
That didn’t bother Roderick. Everything was already prepared, and two extra days just gave him time to fine-tune it all.
But on the morning they were supposed to depart, Aint Armian broke Verian Kalburdern’s arm during a training session.
“Sorry. We’ll have to delay a bit longer.”
“It’s fine. With a broken arm, it makes sense. We’ll call a healing mage.”
Although a healer immediately mended the bone, Verian kept complaining of lingering effects, and in the end, they stayed another week.
By then, even Daniel had begun pressuring him.
“I’m a noble of the Empire. I can’t stay in a foreign country on the brink of civil war without a reason! What the hell is going on with Aint Armian? How hard is it to bring him in?”
But there was nothing he could do.
Even though logic dictated they should quickly take out the corrupted, they kept using injuries as an excuse to delay.
And when Verian was finally healed, Aint showed up claiming he’d broken a finger.
Who was supposed to believe that?
‘Could he be suspicious?’
No, impossible.
Aint couldn’t know he was corrupted. Much less that this was a trap.
‘He came on the first prince’s orders. If he suspected anything, he wouldn’t have agreed to come.’
So was it just coincidence?
He had seen Aint and Verian training seriously at dawn, throwing swords and aura like a real battle.
An injury was entirely possible.
‘But right now?’
Still, there were too many suspicious things. It looked like they were deliberately stalling for time.
At that moment, the shadow at his feet stirred.
“Speak.”
“Urgent news, sir. Viscount Lorencios is dead.”
“…Fernan Pellenberg and the crown prince of Alprosen?”
“Both are alive…”
“Damn it!”
He had feared that outcome, and the worst had been confirmed.
He couldn’t let it go. This time, he had to take out Aint Armian. The anxiety was eating him alive.
“Lord Daniel orders you to bring him immediately. He says there’s no time…”
“I know already! Tell him I’ll be ready, to prepare everything. Now go.”
“Yes, sir!”
The shadow vanished.
“If he delays again, I’ll drag him along by force if I have to…”
There was no turning back now.
But, to his relief—
“Let’s depart already. We can’t keep wasting time. The corrupted must be eliminated as soon as possible.”
Aint made no more excuses.
‘Now he says that?’
The words almost made Roderick boil with rage, but it didn’t matter.
They would finally get moving.
‘Yes, enjoy it while you can. This will be the last time you see this world.’
The time to satisfy his murderous instinct was drawing ever closer.
____
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