Chapter 12
Ever since he went to the Stace battlefield long ago, he disappeared. After that, the former head of the Knight family died under mysterious circumstances, and the Duke of Shufen immediately took over that position.
“That’s right. He’s very skilled, so if Kai learns from him, it will be a great help.”
Makaron, who had been staring at me silently, suddenly spoke with a confident expression.
“He won’t come.”
I could tell Makaron’s reasoning without needing to hear it. Since that battlefield, the Duke of Shufen had never shown himself to the public â not even when he officially became the head of the Knight family. The Knight family reportedly held a party to celebrate the new headâs ascension without the presence of the protagonist.
‘Would such a person really come?’
The swordsmanship tutors who came to give lessons were usually talented but from insignificant families or retired high-ranking nobles. Considering the abilities and status of Duke Shufen Knight, no matter how much he was paid, he was unlikely to come. Time is money, and that is his power, Makaron added with certainty.
“A master like Duke Shufen Knight wouldnât come just to teach Kai.”
Makaronâs expression was full of conviction but also seemed to secretly hope that Shufen Knight would not come.
‘Are they on bad terms?’
In fact, Makaronâs words were realistic. But I had my reasons for trying to bring Duke Shufen here. I decided to keep that for later and first spoke confidently to Makaron.
“I’ll try.”
“Then Iâll leave it to you, Madam. If it doesn’t work out, please let me know. I will try to find someone.”
His tone showed no expectation at all. When he insisted on carrying the tea table and followed me to the kitchen, his lips twitched. Did he have something to say? Watching him, a shy smile briefly appeared on his handsome profile.
“Um⌠thank you.”
What did I just hear? It might be among the top three hardest things to hear from Makaron. It wasnât that he brought a teacher or anything, just that he promised to try… He wasnât the kind to express gratitude so easily. At least, from what I had seen, he was still suspicious and wary of me. It wasnât that he cared about Kaiâs education for Makaronâs sake, but being recognized by him didnât feel bad. Honestly, it felt good. That unexpected greeting stirred my heart. I heard somewhere that when you hear something unexpected, you freeze for a moment â I couldnât say anything for a while. During that silence, he quickly disappeared.
-
Maybe Makaron is a warm person after all. Those distant from him call him the Monster Prince and fear him, but those close to him praise him. Isnât that what people call a ‘good person’? There are many idiots who act well toward strangers but poorly to those close to them… Considering it, his handsome face is far from the âmonsterâ in the rumors. Why wouldnât he correct those rumors? Probably because if he did, he would gain even greater social fame than before and be confessed to by many noble ladies. Itâs not easy to be misunderstood by so many…
But I stopped thinking there. I donât need to worry about Makaron. My position is just that â a distance that isnât burdensome to either of us. That distance is suitable between Makaron and me now.
Turning my head, a beautiful view spread outside the window. Below, a long garden stretched out, and I saw Kai placing a flower crown on Coralâs head.
âHave they gotten along again?â
I stared happily at the scene, then looked back at the table. To clear my mind, I had rewritten the letter many times, but it was eventually condensed into one sentence:
“Search for information on Duke Shufen Knight.”
I sent requests to all 133 guilds recognized by the empire with a light letter. But the replies were all the same:
“Search not possible.”
“Sorry, we cannot find him…”
“We do not accept such requests.”
âŚWithin a few days, the pile of rejection letters grew large, making me frustrated. Now there was only one way left.
âI didnât want to request this one…â
The empireâs top information broker and assassination guild: the Luna Guild. This guild handled tremendous tasks on behalf of the empire and other kingdoms. Although the empire’s special assassination cases rarely caught the culprit, all traces pointed to the Luna Guild. Their ability to erase all traces perfectly showed their power.
The reply arrived the next day. Expecting little, I opened the envelope and found an unexpected message:
“Visit request. 11 PM. Bard Street, No. 233, Moonlight Study.”
A visit request?
âTheyâre an assassination guild; isnât it basic not to expose their identity or location?â
Why would they want to see me in person? âWhy visit?â I was puzzled but had no reason to refuse.
The swordsmanship teacher wasnât just Shufen, and going to such a dangerous place just to teach a child swordsmanship might sound strange… but I had my reasons. Kai had escaped death many times thanks to Duke Shufen. In the original story, Shufen Duke was Kaiâs swordsmanship teacher. Not only that, but later, he helped Kaiâwho became emperorâachieve great feats on the battlefield.
I donât know how Shufen became loyal to Kai. But the Kai of the original story, who learned swordsmanship only after adulthood, hated those days so much that he barely survived them. Still, he never mastered the sword. It was because he started too late, well past the age to learn swordsmanship. No amount of intense training could overcome the physical limits of his age.
But this time, I would make Kai learn from Shufen since childhood! So that Kai wouldnât suffer later. And so our Coral wouldnât cry seeing that happen. Somehow, I had to get Duke Shufen here.
-
Bard Street, No. 233.
Entering deep into the alley, a gloomy sign reading “Moonlight Study” appeared. Without Lord Aint as escort, the street was so quiet it could be scary.
Inside, the study was old but spacious. As I stepped in, a hand suddenly emerged from the densely packed bookshelves.
“Ah! You startled me!”
The owner of the hand showed an open palm.
“Three gold.”
The gloved man mentioned money as if it were a deposit, then disappeared as soon as I handed over the coins. The study then rotated, revealing a hidden room.
âWow, they hid something like this behind the study?â
It was grander and larger inside than it appeared from outside, as if by magic.
When Lord Aint tried to follow me inside, a hand stopped him. Despite his protests, he finally stayed outside alone. I came alone, carrying self-defense magical tools prepared for days.
In the classic-style room sat a man. I couldn’t see if anyone else was hiding, but at least no one else was visible.
I cautiously observed the man. He wore a mask, but his eyes were sharp blue and his suit fit his well-built body perfectly.
The musty room surprisingly smelled faintly pleasant. Perhaps due to the ambiance, an exotic, decadent aura flowed softly, overwhelming him. I stared silently for a moment.
âIs this the guild leader?â
His fiery red wig was obviously unnatural, but the face beneath was quite handsome. But thinking of his nickname, “The Murder Maniac,” sent chills down my spine.
But I knew the Luna Guild never kills clients. They might kill targets, but never clients.
His fingers, white and long, swept back his hair. His pinky was slightly bent.
âI should have worn a mask too if Iâm going to hide everything.â
But then I realized how foolish that thought was.
“Calypso Patouang. Born to a viscount family, divorced once, currently remarried to Prince Makaron?”
He rattled off details, then paused as if dissatisfied. But quickly resumed, his voice digitally distorted.
“Social reputation is the worst, rumored to be a villainess…”
Isnât voice distortion supposed to sound funny like inhaling helium? Why make it sound more handsome and convincing…?
“Height: 7.5 bat, weight: 6.15 piton, other body measurements…”
What is this guy doing right now…
“Wait!”
“Why?”
Though the voice was distorted, I caught a faint laugh. His tone was casually rude, which was annoying but I didnât even want to argue.
“Why read all that info and make a fuss?”
“The Luna Guild raises trust before accepting jobs. Is there anything wrong here?”
The documents he tossed me had every detail including my past villainess reputation and the scandals attached to it.
I put down the papers with a sour expression. He grinned.
“So, itâs all true.”
“You believe all those rumors?”
“It says here which ones are false.”
-
Social villainess (False) / Silver hair and violet eyes (True) / Bust size (True)…
Wow. The more I looked, the more amazing these people seemed. It was ridiculous, but surely no other guild could find information like this.
“Do you usually make clients come here directly?”
“Sometimes. For high-level info.”
As Makaron said, finding Duke Shufenâs whereabouts was a difficult matter.
“Why are you trying to find Shufen?”
“Do I have to tell you that?”
He had been eating money like a hippo until now, but suddenly said something different.
“Information is the price for high-level info.”
Looks like heâs trying to get info about me. But honestly, I had nothing important to hide.
“I’m looking for my sonâs swordsmanship teacher.”
He burst into laughter.
“You want to entrust such trivial training to someone as great as Shufen?”
“Thatâs none of your concern.”
He shrugged and flipped through the documents.
“Taking care of someone whoâs not even your son. Surprising.”
I couldnât see what he was looking at â it wasnât the file I had. It was red, probably even higher-level info.
âPlease donât tell me it says âcontract marriageâ in there.â
His tone earlier made me feel like he already knew about the contract marriage.
âI must be too sensitive.â
“But why Shufen specifically?”
“Because there is no better swordsman in the empire.”
He seemed excited every time Shufenâs name came up.
“True, no one as outstanding as Duke Shufen Knight.”
He kept circling around but didnât give me Shufenâs information quickly. Surely he wasnât like other guilds with no info? But if it was going to be this easy, he wouldnât have called me here.
“Enough with info extraction. Just give me Shufen Knightâs info.”
I just wanted to get out of this strict place quickly. If I was later, Lord Aint might break the wall down to come in. I just meant hurry.
“Go back. Iâll send it.”
“Go back? You called me here with no info?”
“……”
“Then why call me?”
He thought for a moment, then looked at me with blue eyes behind the mask.
“This kind of info is decided after seeing the person.”
“The guild picks clients? Surprising. Isnât money enough?”
He just grinned mysteriously.
“Iâll contact you.”
-
After Calypso left, a shadow appeared behind a hidden partition. The face beneath the mask was revealed under the moonlight.
