Chapter 15
Ludekias slammed his hands on the table, eyes wide with fury.
“You said she wasn’t a hostage!”
“There was also a request from her side to remain silent about her current situation until things settle down.”
“What am I supposed to do if I don’t even know where my mother is or what she’s doing?”
“Well, Ryu Eun-hyun doesn’t know where her son is either. More accurately, she can’t. The boy disappeared two years ago.”
Ludekias couldn’t come up with a proper retort. He shook his head in frustration and responded anyway.
“So, she’s in the land of the Dragonkin. Can I assume my mother’s safety is guaranteed?”
“For the time being.”
“Then that’s enough.”
He was about to drop the subject but decided to continue.
“That’s settled, but what else are you going to offer me?”
“You make it sound like I owe you money or something.”
Sephiros replied with a hint of incredulity, but Ludekias simply flicked his index finger as if it were only natural.
“You’ve left me alone all this time and only decided to call me back now—must mean I’ve become useful to you. Then I expect at least a minimum show of sincerity. If you’re going to just tie me up and torture me into submission, do you really think I’ll cooperate like you want? Whether I cooperate or not should be my decision. So if we’re making a deal, let’s make it clear. What exactly can you offer me?”
Sephiros gave a small laugh.
“First off, we’ve reached an agreement to keep quiet about the incident with the Frost Order. So you don’t have to worry about your custody or legal issues.”
“Don’t try to act generous over something so petty. That benefits Rashvalen, so of course you’d do it.”
“I figured you’d want to know since it concerns you. As you said, I’ll show you the minimum level of sincerity. But if I let you make the decisions, are you planning to not cooperate depending on the situation?”
“You’re not going to give me real options anyway. The Emperor of Luad wants to retrieve the demon sword Penidran, and I doubt you dragged me here just to sit back and watch. So I need to hear the terms of the deal. That way you won’t go back on your word. If I’m going to be used, I might as well milk everything I can out of it. That way, at least it won’t feel like a total loss.”
Sephiros set his teacup down and leaned back in his chair.
“I’m expecting the retrieval to fail, of course. But if it does, people will only believe the prophecy is drawing near.”
“Of course they would.”
“That wouldn’t be a very favorable situation for you, would it?”
“Obviously not.”
“So you’re saying that just covering it up won’t be enough for you?”
“If things get too annoying, I might as well destroy the world. That way, nobody will bother me again. I won’t even have anything to disturb my naps. Now that I say it out loud, that actually sounds better than the current situation. Should I just try it? Maybe today is the day of the prophecy.”
“Now, now. Don’t talk nonsense.”
Sephiros chuckled. Ludekias looked at him like he was seeing something bizarre. It was strange that someone could speak so casually about such matters. He had that mocking attitude of “go ahead if you can,” and strangely, that eased some of Ludekias’s crooked emotions.
Sephiros was one of the few people who didn’t take the prophecy about Ludekias seriously. Whether he didn’t believe it or had some other reason, it was odd considering he was the head of an organization dedicated to preserving the world’s stability.
“If you want to make a deal with me, fine. There are a few things I can do for you.”
He raised one finger.
“First, I’ll ensure Ryu Eun-hyun’s safety. If you want, I’ll even let you stay with her. As I said before, the former is already mostly taken care of.”
“She’s probably better off not being with me.”
“If that’s what you think.”
Sephiros nodded slightly.
“Still, it would be good to at least stay in contact. Don’t worry about information leaking—it won’t.”
“I’ll see how it goes.”
“Anyway, back to the main point. Second, I can clean up your identity.”
“You could’ve done that five years ago. Now that the Emperor of Luad is sitting on the throne, I doubt Mertheus will let me go easily.”
“Ah, that actually ties into the third thing I can offer. Until now, Mertheus’s interference made it impossible, but the situation might change.”
Sephiros continued in a light tone.
“I’ll give you the chance to take Mertheus’s head.”
Ludekias blinked in disbelief. At first, he couldn’t even understand what he had just heard, and slowly his mouth fell open.
“…What?”
“Recently, Metsem declared independence from Luad, and the resulting backlash has sparked independence movements in many of its colonies. The imperial bloodline is unstable, and inside the empire, there’s also a growing movement to abolish the monarchy and establish a republic. The empire is unstable. Ambitious Mertheus won’t sit still. So, to increase his approval rating, he made a reckless decision—he announced the retrieval of the demon sword Penidran, which has already decayed 13% of Luad’s land and continues to expand the contaminated area.”
Ludekias shook his head slowly.
“What does that have to do with me taking Mertheus’s head…? More than that, isn’t it obvious what will happen if Penidran is retrieved? Why go through with it?”
“As I said—he’ll do anything to solidify his position. This is the same man who killed every one of his royal relatives. You of all people should know he’s capable of that.”
“Well, to be precise, I killed most of those royals.”
Ludekias sneered as he corrected Sephiros. When Mertheus rebelled, it was 15-year-old Ludekias who stood at the front, chopping down each of the royal family members one by one. That’s when he became known as the “Black Wing.” The worst of the Derkaids—who crowned his own uncle Emperor while drenched in the blood of his kin.
The Frost Goddess’s prophecy about him bringing the end was kept classified by the Order, but the imperial family of Luad, closely tied to the Order, viewed Ludekias as a fatal threat because he was a Derkaid born with black wings.
When the previous emperor demanded Ludekias’s death, no alternative came to mind. Their own lives were at risk. During that time, Ludekias’s cousin died. Despite being blood relatives, Ludekias resented his kin for sacrificing his cousin for power, and so he sided with Mertheus. It was Mertheus’s twin brother, Marapines—Ludekias’s father—who led the rebellion and raised Mertheus to the throne.
Though Marapines harbored ambition, his power was limited. The rebellion gave him a reason—his son was sacrificed. While Mertheus sought glory, Marapines framed the rebellion as protecting family.
That’s why he didn’t covet the throne himself and instead gave it to Mertheus, thinking it safer to remain beneath his ambitious brother than to compete.
Thus, Mertheus became Emperor, Marapines became a Grand Duke and was granted Klein’s territory, and Ludekias naturally became the heir.
But once he became Emperor, Mertheus killed Marapines. He also tried to kill Ludekias—for the same reason the previous emperor had: he was a Black Wing born under the Goddess’s whisper.
Marapines was betrayed by the twin brother who looked just like him.
“Mertheus is a coward. He acted noble and passed off all the dirty work to me before becoming emperor, but once he got the crown? He was so scared he even killed his own brother—his right hand. And he tried to kill me too, even though I was the sword that helped him. It hasn’t even been ten years since he became emperor, and look at him now. Clearly, that’s the limit of his competence.”
Ludekias picked up one of the sweets Sephiros had offered and popped it into his mouth. He wasn’t particularly tempted by it—his mouth was just bitter, and he needed something sweet to wash it down.
“My father made a bad choice too.”
“Retrieving Penidran is just part of that same cycle. He used the power of the Black Wing to become emperor, ruled with fear by killing off resistance, and now he’s reached his limit. He tried to get rid of you to shed that image, but failed at that too.”
“So you’re telling me to take revenge?”
“Like you said—if destroying the world sounds like too much trouble, wouldn’t taking the emperor’s head be less hassle?”
Ludekias snorted.
“Then someone else will come after me again. If I’m going to do it, I’d better wipe them all out at once. If I leave anyone behind, they’ll just make it twice as annoying.”
“Ludekias, the empire’s days are numbered. A republic will rise, and a new nation will form.”
“You’re saying I should join hands with the revolutionaries?”
“Not necessarily. But if you want revenge, I can give you an easy opportunity.”
“I’m sick of getting dragged into political games.”
He paused, gathering his thoughts before continuing.
“No—if the opportunity is that good, I won’t turn it down. But I’ll put it on hold for now. More importantly, should someone like the head of Rashvalen really be talking so casually about killing a man?”
Sephiros poured another cup of tea and nodded.
“My goal is to maintain the balance of this world. Anything that threatens that must be dealt with. Of course, killing isn’t the only solution, but we don’t exactly have alternatives at the moment.”
His emotionless tone sent a chill down Ludekias’s spine. The greatest source of imbalance in the world right now was none other than himself. And yet, Sephiros continued to leave him alone—which was more terrifying, because he had no idea what Sephiros was thinking.
“And though it’s not much, I can also provide you with enough wealth to live without worry. You’ll be able to settle anywhere and live comfortably for the rest of your life.”
In other words, he was offering money.
