~Chapter 12~
“…They’re ruling half the continent now because they’re the strongest bloodline to have existed since ancient times.”
That’s the most powerful family in this country.
The current royal family.
“You know the legend, right?
That every 300 years, only one awakened royal is born?
Thanks to that first one at the time the Empire was founded, the royal family ended up being the most powerful of all the noble families.”
At my words, Jin’s mouth twitched a little.
He really was smart—he already seemed to get where I was going with just that one hint.
His face was already going pale.
“Are you… are you really trying to say what I think you’re saying?
That your nephew, who happens to be the first awakened royal in 300 years, suddenly developed powers…? Come on.
You can’t be serious.
Haha, there’s no way—”
“Then what reason would a cult have to kill my sister?
Killing her would be the only way they could take the kid completely.”
Right then, Jin slammed his beer mug down on the table with a loud bang.
He scooted his chair closer and stared at me with a pissed-off expression.
“You do realize what you’re saying, right? Do you?”
The sudden chill in the air made me gulp nervously.
Meanwhile, the rest of the bar was full of laughter and chatter.
“I asked if you know exactly what you’re saying.”
Jin crossed his arms and stared at me with those sharp blue eyes.
With no emotion in his face, he tapped his temple with a finger.
“Are you maybe… overthinking this? Or…”
Then he smirked and leaned in close, whispering in a low voice,
“Have you just been reading too many street corner detective novels?”
I gently pushed his face back with my palm.
Okay, I get it.
I really do.
He’s already in deep just dealing with royal family matters, and now I’m dragging in cults?
If this goes wrong, even the most skilled mercenary wouldn’t survive.
He’s 100% dead.
“Come on.
Even if someone from the royal family killed your sister, they wouldn’t have dumped her body in Leton territory.
So this whole cult theory? You’re going too far, Lady~.”
Jin waved his hand and laughed like he hadn’t just gone all serious a minute ago.
“And really, an awakened royal born after 300 years? That’s just… ridiculous…”
But his words trailed off.
His face went sheet white, and he buried his head in his hands.
I guess even he couldn’t ignore how perfectly everything lined up.
Why did Raniell run away from the crown prince after getting pregnant?
If she’d tried to push her way in with the baby, he might’ve accepted it.
After all, he has no legitimate heir right now.
Sure, Prince Endamion has two daughters, but in a world this conservative, daughters don’t really count.
Even the crown prince still doesn’t have a child.
Meanwhile, Raniell was the eldest daughter of the prestigious Estella family and carried his firstborn son.
If she had just played it smart, she could’ve pushed the current crown princess aside and taken her place.
Plus—and only I know this from the novel—the male lead is that once-in-300-years awakened royal.
Raniell was a mage, too.
There’s no way she didn’t know.
If she had used that to blackmail the crown prince, even his political allies wouldn’t have let go of a chance to make her son the next emperor.
But she just ran away?
That makes no sense.
In front of me, Jin let out a groan and grabbed his head.
He looked like he wanted to grab me and shake the answers out of me.
“Alright, fine! Let’s say that’s true, Lady.
But then what exactly do you want me to do about it?”
Suddenly, he threw his arms up like he was just done with everything.
“I mean, come on! The job I took was to find your nephew—not to uncover the truth about your sister’s death or go on some revenge quest! Who cares about political background or anything else—just find the kid, and we’re done!”
Clap.
He even clapped his hands like he just solved everything.
Honestly, it was so simple and clear-cut, I almost wanted to applaud too.
Almost.
But really, he was just in denial.
“…Damn it.”
Eventually, Jin stopped smiling and ran a hand through his hair.
I could practically feel the frustration and unfairness in that motion.
“Why the hell are cults even involved in this?
I mean, yeah, okay, I get what you’re saying, Lady.
I get it.
But I have no clue what you know, what you’re thinking, or where you’re going with this!”
His lips were trembling.
His eyes looked like he was cursing out the whole universe.
“So what, you’re saying the cult found out your nephew was the awakened one and killed your sister before the royal family could notice, right?
Isn’t that what you’re getting at, Lady?”
I looked away.
But he wasn’t letting it slide.
He immediately leaned in, blocking my view again.
“So they figured if they could turn an awakened royal into a devout follower, it’d give them massive religious power—so they tried to snatch him.
And since your sister was in the way, they murdered her in Leton territory just to stick it to the high priest there and make it look like suicide? Seriously?!
Ha… hahaha!”
He was starting to lose it.
Jin suddenly burst out laughing.
Then he clutched his forehead, looking ice cold as he stared up at the Leton Church symbol hanging in the center of the bar.
“…Political power games, religious conflicts… Wow.
Really makes me feel honored to be dragged into something only nobles play at.
Lady.”
He gave me a little smile, but it was anything but happy.
“I mean, I’m just a humble, uncultured mercenary. Should I really be part of some high-ranking noble power struggle?
But hey—once I take a job, I always finish it.
That’s my thing.”
Then, out of nowhere, he flashed a grin, raised a thumbs-up, and said:
“Well, guess we’re doing it.
Let’s look into the cults first.”
At that moment, Jin Blake felt like someone was bashing his skull in with a hammer.
What the hell is this noble lady even saying? Cults? Heretics?
Sure, he had expected some third party might be involved.
That’s why he came to Leton territory in the first place.
But now, one thing was painfully clear:
His old master had definitely been connected to the crown prince’s faction.
And probably had contact with Raniell.
Which meant there was a very good chance the kid this lady was calling her “nephew” had been hidden away by his master.
Otherwise, there’s no way no one would know anything about the child.
His master had probably been killed because of that.
Jin grimaced as he remembered the letter under his dead master’s tongue.
Jin, I have no one else I can trust, so I’ll leave this with you.
You need to contact the Estella family.
If the Count—then surely —
He could still clearly remember his master’s mutilated body, barely recognizable, dumped in some alley in the outskirts.
The guild still thought he was just missing.
Goddamn it.
Why is my life always like this?
Now he finally understood what that strange letter—his master’s so-called “will”—was really about.
His master probably wanted to make a deal with the Estella family using the child.
Because if the royal family found out the boy was the crown prince’s illegitimate son, he’d be as good as dead.
So, being the soft-hearted fool he was, Jin’s master had decided to hand him over to the Estella family instead.
After all, the boy was a male heir with magical power and a family heirloom.
The Estellas might’ve stuck him in the servant’s quarters, but they wouldn’t have killed him.
Jin stared quietly at Roen Estella.
Her face was pale, and she was stabbing her untouched drink with a fork like she was trying to kill it.
Even after saying the cult might be involved, she clearly still had every intention of finding her nephew.
Ugh.
This is kind of annoying.
His confusion started to fade—and was quickly replaced by a nasty wave of resentment.
I don’t usually feel this kind of stuff, but this is seriously pissing me off.
