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Chapter 12
‘Why does it keep coming to mind?’
Since childhood, those glittering blue eyes had often caught Cailien’s gaze.
Besides, he had always been unpredictable, so it was only natural that he would throw Cailien off balance.
That small, mouse-like boy was still the same—sometimes audacious, sometimes pitiful; sometimes arrogant, sometimes admirable.
But that round, still childlike face that flashed across his mind from time to time confused Cailien with a different emotion.
A tingling ache in his chest, mixed with a bittersweet sense of regret.
He didn’t know the name of this incomprehensible feeling, but one thing was clear: it was far from pleasant.
In any case, once he left the Este Territory soon, these noisy thoughts would surely settle.
Seated by the window, Cailien massaged his troubled head and handed back the report Ethan had given him.
“Pay extra for the two warhorses that need replacement.”
“Yes, I’ll discuss it with the captain of the Light Knights, then.”
Ethan nodded dutifully and turned to leave.
At that very moment, a head of bright platinum hair crossing the central garden caught Cailien’s eye through the window. The straight stride—always trying to avoid him—was headed toward the annex building.
‘Ah, finally you appear.’
Cailien let out a dry laugh, feeling a strange elation he couldn’t understand. It was almost as if he were a predator who had finally spotted its prey after a long wait.
“The knights’ quarters are in the annex, aren’t they?”
“Yes. If you’d like, I’ll head there at once.”
“No.”
Leaping lightly from where he had been sitting on the window frame, Cailien landed on the floor.
“I’ll go myself.”
The bored look on his face gave way to a mischievous smile.
“Here.”
Humphrey pointed to the center of the wide map of the continent of Carthago. His fingertip rested squarely on the ‘Black Forest.’
Across the wooden table, Rune unfolded his arms and propped his chin up.
“So, the trail was cut off inside the Black Forest?”
As expected, the investigation into the black powder was ongoing, but progress was scarce.
“Judging by those who could possibly pass through the forest… it doesn’t fit anyone.”
“Of course not.”
Without hesitation, Rune reached out.
Clack. The token stone he had been rolling in his hand landed on the northeastern edge of the map—on the Kingdom of Francis.
“Francis has no reason to attack the northwest through the Black Forest.”
Northeast of Carthago lay the small but powerful kingdom of Francis, a nation of mages. Just below it was the Duchy of Hereis.
‘And now, with Lord Cailien absent as well…’
Swallowing back what he dared not say aloud, Rune slid the token stone past Francis’s border and placed it squarely over the duchy.
“If it were me, I’d target the Duchy of Hereis instead.”
Humphrey nodded, stroking his coarse beard.
“The Kingdom of Lemoir has no reason to risk invading us, either.”
The warlike desert warriors of the west concerned themselves only with defending their own lands.
Even during Carthago’s Hundred Years’ War, they alone had shed no blood. Their barren desert tempted no outsiders, and they themselves had no wish to leave it.
Rune gazed silently at the far north of the map, then shook his head.
Apart from the two countries near Este, the only connection to the Black Forest was at the northernmost land—the ‘Tundra.’
A place of gray stone and blue ice, uninhabited by men. It made little sense to consider it a suspect.
“So in the end, it comes back to the Black Forest.”
The conclusion pointing to the forest was always the same—monsters. Humphrey shook his head briefly.
“It can’t be monsters. For them to use gunpowder… impossible.”
Even humanoid monsters at best mimicked human weapons—swinging axes or clubs. Nothing more.
Lost in thought, Rune rubbed his lips with his fingers.
“Humphrey. Can I see that powder again?”
Puzzled, Humphrey took out the small cloth pouch containing the black dust.
Rune sprinkled a little onto the table. As he rubbed it between his fingers, the fine grains smeared black, like graphite.
He brought his fingertips beneath his nose and narrowed his eyes.
“As I thought… no smell.”
Back then, the stench of burning orc corpses had made it hard to distinguish, but now he was certain.
Glancing around, Rune picked up the matchbox by the lamp. Humphrey tilted his head, confused by the strange behavior.
“What are you trying to do?”
Without answering, Rune struck a match.
Flick. A small flame bloomed at the tip, burning black. Humphrey flinched, grabbing a water jug in panic.
“It’s dangerous, young master! Surely you don’t mean to light—”
“Don’t worry.”
Rune dropped the match into the pile of black dust. Smoke rose, leaving a charred mark on the lacquered table. But the powder itself showed no reaction, even after the match had burned completely.
Humphrey, ready to douse the table, slowly lowered the jug in shock.
“Huh… so it wasn’t gunpowder after all. When did you realize?”
“I only suspected. But now I’m sure. When we found it on the clay wall, it looked like soot but didn’t smell burnt.”
Frowning, Rune rubbed his blackened fingertips.
“And another thing—no matter how chaotic it was, if the scale was that large, there should have been an explosion. Yet no one heard anything.”
“Then what on earth is this powder?”
“…Who knows.”
They now knew it wasn’t gunpowder, but the mystery had only deepened.
“This will take longer to investigate. Does my father plan to report it to the Imperial Palace?”
“Not until there’s solid evidence. For now, he intends to continue the internal investigation.”
“Good. If His Majesty learns of it without proof, it’ll be troublesome.”
Emperor Leonard had long wanted to summon the Marquis—now a magic swordsman—back as the Imperial Sword. Even more so since the monsters had begun stirring again.
The Marquis had always refused, citing Este’s position as a critical stronghold against the Black Forest’s monsters. But if word of the powder reached the Emperor, he would surely use it as pretext to summon him.
Though he currently visited the Emperor to report on monster movements, the Marquis had long avoided both court society and the capital itself.
Being bound to the capital again was something he surely wished to avoid.
“…Anyway, sorry for dropping in like this. I wanted to know how far the investigation had gone.”
“Not at all. Thanks to you, we’ve made progress. I’ll send an additional report to the lord.”
When Rune rose, Humphrey immediately followed.
“It’s late. Allow me to escort you back to the main building.”
“No need. I’m not a child.”
He understood Humphrey’s concern—outsiders were staying at the castle, after all. But one father was already more than enough to worry about him.
Just as he was about to wave the man off, a startled voice came from the door.
“Wait, you’re still in the middle of—!”
The knight’s protest was pointless—the door burst open. Without so much as a knock, in strode none other than Cailien.
“What the—? How did you…?”
So brazen was his manner that Rune could only gape.
Leaning casually against the doorway, Cailien looked down at him with a smirk.
“Sorry, I didn’t know you hated it that much.”
‘Ugh.’
Rune quickly hid his hand behind his back. Instinctively, he had raised it again to ward off another attack on his hair.
His flushed neck betrayed his embarrassment. Cailien covered his mouth, chuckling softly.
“Let’s add another condition. Don’t dodge, don’t block.”
He tapped Rune lightly on the crown of his head with a finger, then turned away.
“I’ll escort him myself.”
Rune stood frozen in place, dazed, until Cailien tilted his head toward him.
“Come along.”
Cailien spoke briefly to Humphrey about the horse exchange, then left the annex. That he had come all this way just for that seemed strange.
And, of course, Rune’s hair was tousled again.
How did they keep running into each other like this? At this point, he couldn’t help but suspect the man was deliberately seeking him out.
‘What did he overhear this time?’
Rune recalled the words he had let slip earlier and cleared his throat nervously.
“If it were me, I’d target the Duchy of Hereis.”
If the man had heard that, it would certainly sound offensive—open to all sorts of misunderstandings.
“It’s been a while since I walked through the castle gardens. Let’s take a stroll.”
“…As you wish.”
Running a hand through his messy hair, Rune followed, uneasy about what Cailien might say.
The pale moonlight and scattered lamps lit the quiet path. For a while, Cailien really did just walk silently. Crickets chirped softly among the neat lawns and shrubs.
After some time, his low voice broke the silence.
“Why are you avoiding me?”
Rune, still trying to tame his wild hair, shot him an incredulous look.
Was he serious? After seeing what his hair had been turned into?
“A knight, breaking the vow he made at the sword’s edge so easily… disappointing.”
Though he spoke as if reproachful, that mischievous smile at the corner of his lips betrayed his true intent—he was teasing again.
“From now on, don’t avoid me.”
Recalling the condition Cailien had set, Rune answered with an annoyed face.
“As you can see, I’ve already given you free rein with my head. I don’t understand what you mean.”
“You must have misunderstood. I meant don’t avoid me at all.”
“Tch…” It felt like being tricked, but he couldn’t deny it. And truthfully, he had been avoiding him.
“…Fine. I won’t avoid you anymore. What can a loser say?”
Shrugging, Rune put on a lighthearted tone. Cailien chuckled softly.
“If you had won the duel, what would you have asked for?”
He seemed unusually curious tonight. The answer came easily.
“I never once thought I could beat you, my lord.”
“But surely you had something you wanted.”
This time Rune hesitated. What he wanted was something no one could give him.
I want to prove myself.
He wanted, more than anything, to be acknowledged by his father—the man who hid him away from the world.
Just then, a bed of roses came into view.
Red roses, the symbol of Lepium Academy. Their summer fragrance pressed into his breath, sweet and strong.
“…If I had to say… I want to attend Lepium Academy.”
