~Chapter 5~
Jin Blake was really having a rough time right now.
He’d had a weird, restless dream last night, but he never imagined it would turn into this kind of nightmare in real life.
Seriously.
“You keep relying on your skills and acting cocky—one day it’ll blow up in your face.
I guarantee it.”
The guild leader’s words, said offhandedly not long ago, now echoed in his head like some bad hallucination.
“Why the hell did I even come all the way out to Estella territory! For what? Riches and glory?!”
Jin silently screamed inside as he glared at the woman walking ahead of him.
The youngest daughter of the Estella family—known for being graceful, never causing trouble, and a hot pick on the marriage market.
At least, that’s all he’d ever heard about her.
Sure, knowing the key noble families was basic info for someone like him.
But now he was realizing all of that had been total BS.
I mean, what kind of so-called noble young lady haggles down the price of a job involving the Crown Prince’s illegitimate kid to one-third of the price?!
“So all of that ‘graceful noble lady’ stuff was just an act?!”
And she pulled this stunt on Jin Blake, the top ace of Golden Frog with a gold medal, no less!
(And just so you know, he could’ve had a platinum badge by now—if only he hadn’t messed up that last job busting a cheating examiner. Total disaster.)
Still, the job had offered a whopping 20,000 gold, which was not easy to pass up.
Jin tried his best to suppress his urge to cry.
“Should’ve been less greedy…”
Honestly, she looked just like a runaway noble—classic setup for an elopement or a simple rebellion, stuff he’d done tons of times.
So he’d accepted it right away without thinking.
And since it wasn’t even an official guild request, he’d been excited to pocket the full payment himself—literally just ten minutes ago!
“One-year contract? What a joke.”
How was he supposed to back out now, after getting magically bound in a contract over this whole Crown Prince’s secret kid thing?
He could already picture his bleak future.
And seriously, why would the Estella family—a known noble faction loyal to the other prince—go looking for the Crown Prince’s kid?
It’s like they wanted to start a war!
Were they planning to put that kid on the throne and become some kind of royal power behind the scenes?
He was getting more and more depressed.
If it wasn’t for this cursed master-servant contract, he would’ve bolted already.
“Oh, and by the way.
My dad doesn’t know I’m looking for my nephew, so keep it quiet.”
“…”
What kind of crazy talk was that supposed to be? Jin gave up trying to understand.
Sure, he’d lived a bit on the shady side, but wasn’t this karma a little too much?
Jin silently sent the guild leader an apology in his head.
“…Your nephew’s lucky to have you.
Really.
I’m jealous.”
He gave a bitter laugh as he glanced down at the magic mark on his wrist, then side-eyed the woman again.
Honestly, he’d been acting pretty cocky on purpose just to test her, but she hadn’t even flinched.
Any other noblewoman would’ve thrown a fit by now, screaming about disrespect and demanding an apology.
“Well, I guess no ‘normal’ noble lady would run off to find the Crown Prince’s secret love child anyway…”
Again, he felt the urge to cry.
Was it because he lacked faith or something?
Or maybe he was being punished for selling a fake platinum cross to a priest for three times the normal price?
Jin whispered a silent prayer for forgiveness.
Sorry.
But to be fair, that guy tried to scam me first on holy water prices—
“So, what brings you to Estella territory anyway? You got a job here?”
Her question snapped him back to reality.
Yeah, no time to think about dumb regrets.
He was already caught in the trap—and with a magical contract, he had no choice but to obey like some glorified slave.
Damned mercenary life.
“Just… personal business.
Nothing you’d find interesting, my lady.”
“Let me be the judge of that.
If you don’t want to say it, at least don’t dodge the question.
Be straight with me.”
“….”
This woman was something else.
Of course, Jin had already built an entire theory in his head.
She was probably trying to use this “nephew”—the Crown Prince’s secret kid—to gain power.
Raise the kid to become emperor, then rule the empire as his guardian or something.
His lips felt dry just thinking about it.
“Yeah… I’m so screwed.”
He licked his lips and answered as calmly as he could:
“I came to investigate someone.
One of the guild founders.
They disappeared a while ago.”
“Wait, what?”
“Guess I’d call him my mentor?”
Just mentioning the guy’s name made his face twist.
That bastard.
Been gone for two years now.
If it weren’t for that stupid letter he’d left behind, Jin wouldn’t have wasted all this time, wouldn’t have come to Estella, and definitely wouldn’t have gotten roped into this mess.
He chuckled bitterly.
“I’ve searched everywhere.
Nothing.
He’s probably dead.
No need to worry about it—it’s been two years.”
That guy’s death still didn’t sit right with him.
“Disgraceful little bastard.
A shame to the family.
Kill him.”
“Tch.
What’s a kid doing wandering around like a beggar… Hey! Your head’s bleeding!”
“Hey, you’re a Blake now.
Might not mean much, but it’s a noble name, okay? Just roll with it.”
Jin rubbed his forehead.
The memories came crashing in like waves.
All because this woman randomly said she was looking for her illegitimate nephew.
Even though the Crown Prince’s kid—born from the noble Estella daughter—would obviously have a totally different life than him.
“…Sorry to hear that.”
“It’s fine.
Anyway, my lady—do you have any kind of plan for finding your nephew?”
“….”
She went silent.
Then looked off into the distance.
Jin wanted to cry again but stayed professional.
There’s no way this ambitious, power-hungry woman would throw 50,000 gold at him without a rock-solid plan, right?
“I only found out about him yesterday.
Kinda rushed out here.”
“……Excuse me?”
“Oh, and that 50,000 gold? Yeah, that’s my entire life savings.
So I’m counting on you.”
Jin’s brain short-circuited.
This was basically assassination via mental shock.
He had to hand it to her—it was effective.
She was insane.
“So you hired me purely by chance, and you’re going to find your nephew—not to overthrow the crown—but literally just because…?”
His mouth kept moving on its own from sheer disbelief.
This woman wasn’t just crazy.
She was weird.
She was talking about finding the Crown Prince’s illegitimate child, and meanwhile, Jin had insulted her multiple times—but all she did was look mildly annoyed?
“If my father finds out the child has royal blood, he’ll kill him.
I can’t let that happen.”
Jin almost cussed out loud.
He physically had to slap both hands over his mouth.
What the hell is this?
A noblewoman… with actual common sense?!
“I mean, logically speaking, if your nephew is the Crown Prince’s kid and your family’s in the opposing faction, you’re supposed to kill him!”
“And how is that ‘logical’?
Did you self-teach your morals?
If you don’t know anything, don’t talk!”
“I definitely know more than you! Thanks to you, I’m now stuck in a one-year contract with dangerous enemies—for just 50,000 gold! I’m going to die!”
Jin grabbed a tree and started banging his head against it, overwhelmed with despair.
“You know, that sounds like borderline treason.
Should I report you?”
“Please go ahead, my lady.
That means you lose your entire 50,000 gold investment.”
He slumped to the ground in defeat, voice barely above a whisper.
“Why are you this mad? It’s just a one-year contract.
I know the royal family’s a ticking time bomb, but I will take full responsibility for the kid.
No one will even know you’re involved.
You don’t have to freak out this much.”
The emotions he’d barely held back came flooding out again.
“HOW is that supposed to make sense?!
The eldest daughter of the Estella family—known for supporting the Western faction—runs off to find a kid born from the Eastern faction’s Crown Prince?! Are you insane?!”
She gave him an awkward smile.
Then patted him on the shoulder like she was offering comfort and said,“Well… who told you to jump out of the carriage and try to run away?”
