YWTO 10

Chapter 10

Clip-clop. Clip-clop.

Yurein sat atop the galloping horse and looked behind her.

Silver mana was elegantly covering the Tarvargen estate.

The way it fluttered like chiffon curtains made it look as though the estate had been enveloped in an aurora.

What it meant was obvious.

Time within the Tarvargen estate had stopped.

As long as that silver veil, visible only to Yurein, continued to cover the Tarvargen estate—

‘Yes. Now, no one will be able to follow us.’

After taking one last glance at the estate, Yurein turned her gaze forward again.

As long as the veil remained in place, she had nothing to worry about regarding the search party catching up to them.

‘Of course, I did leave them with a little surprise.’

Yurein blinked and smiled faintly.

Even after the silver veil disappeared, the Duke probably wouldn’t come looking for her or Rebecca.

Something entertaining was about to happen, after all.

Well, if the Duke was as indifferent toward her as ever, he obviously wouldn’t come looking.

She had never expected him to search for her in the first place.

‘More importantly…’

Yurein lowered her body close to the horse and stared straight ahead.

Her violet eyes glittered.

It was finally time to meet him.

Zarkal Belterion.

The Second Imperial Prince of the Belterion Empire.

“Um, my lady… Are we really staying somewhere like this?”

Rebecca spoke while cautiously watching Yurein.

Her voice was polite, but the shock within it was unmistakable.

“Yes. We have to stay here.”

Yurein smiled slightly at Rebecca’s reaction.

Despite Yurein’s firm answer, Rebecca continued looking around hesitantly.

“But, my lady… This place is a little…”

“So what? It’s quite a famous inn around here.”

Yurein glanced at the sign.

The Cry of the Twisted Crow

‘I came to the right place.’

The innkeeper certainly had terrible taste when it came to naming his establishment, but this was indeed the inn Yurein had been looking for.

And just as she had told Rebecca, it was also the most famous inn in the area.

Creeeak—

When Yurein opened the door and stepped inside, the noisy inn instantly fell silent.

But soon, as though no one cared, the noise resumed.

Rebecca’s eyes darted around constantly as she looked displeased at every part of the inn’s interior.

The floor was sticky, and drunken people were shouting at the tops of their lungs.

No matter how she looked at it, this was not a suitable place for Lady Yurein to stay.

In fact, for an inn in this area, it was relatively clean. But to Rebecca, who had worked for the ducal household for many years, it was nowhere near acceptable.

Why had Lady Yurein come to a place like this?

After leaving the Tarvargen estate, they had exchanged some jewelry for money along the way, made a slight disguise, and then immediately ridden their horses as fast as they could.

And finally, they had arrived at such a shabby inn.

The innkeeper, who was carrying beer, cast a sidelong glance at Yurein and Rebecca.

Then he placed the beer on a table with a loud thump and looked at Yurein.

“Hey, two of you? Looking to stay the night?”

“Yes. Three days for now.”

When Yurein nodded and answered, the innkeeper strode over to the counter.

“So you’re a young lady. Isn’t that robe uncomfortable? One room? Two?”

“One is enough.”

The innkeeper gave a small nod at Yurein’s response.

Then he placed a key on the counter with a clack.

It was a dirty key hanging from a crude wooden board.

Rebecca frowned at the innkeeper’s rough manner, but she didn’t intervene.

Yurein snatched the key from the counter.

“What about meals?”

“Bring them to the room. Just the basics.”

At Yurein’s words, the innkeeper scribbled something down on a piece of paper.

“Then meals and lodging for three days… Fourteen silver.”

Clink.

Yurein took fourteen silver coins from her pocket and placed them on the counter.

Then she looked around.

‘I heard this was a famous inn, but it’s quieter than I expected.’

Parmahal.

It was a small city, but because several large cities were located nearby, merchants frequently passed through the area.

Naturally, guild members traveling with those merchants, mercenaries waiting to be hired, wanderers, and travelers all gathered here.

Yet there were only a few mercenaries around now, and the pub was occupied by only a handful of people who appeared to be locals.

There seemed to be almost no guests staying at the inn.

Yurein glanced behind the counter.

As expected, numerous keys were hanging from the wooden board.

‘Something’s strange.’

Yurein narrowed her eyes.

Zarkal should have arrived here by now…

Yurein recalled what Rampos had said.

‘I’m already going crazy because of the Rigael subjugation operation… What on earth is all this commotion about?’

The Rigael subjugation operation.

Monsters had suddenly invaded Rigael.

The person who would successfully defeat these monsters was none other than Crown Prince Yustaf.

But Yurein remembered it clearly.

The things Rampos had confessed one day after getting thoroughly drunk in the dining hall.

It had been especially memorable because it was the first time she had ever seen the usually composed Rampos so disheveled.

‘Ha, you must be happy, living comfortably at home without having to worry about anything?’

Rampos sneered as he looked at Yurein.

There was something sharp at the end of his smile, making Yurein instinctively take a small step back.

But Rampos paid no attention to that and took another sip of alcohol.

Then he twisted up the corners of his lips and let out a hollow laugh.

‘I heard His Highness the Second Prince died today while protecting this empire. The Second Prince. But you know what’s funny?’

Rampos grimaced several times.

Then he downed the rest of the drink in his glass and spoke as though he were vomiting out his pain.

‘Crown Prince Yustaf is trying to use it. He may be his half-brother, but he’s trying to make use of his half-brother’s death.’

After saying that, Rampos became heavily intoxicated and slammed his head down onto the table.

At the time, Yurein couldn’t understand what Rampos had meant.

She had simply wanted to earn the favor of her eldest brother, so she hurriedly called the servants and took care of him.

Back then, she didn’t care if Rampos ignored her as much as he wanted.

She simply thought, He works in the Imperial Palace, so it must be difficult for him. How impressive he must be, dealing with problems that someone like me doesn’t even know about.

That was all she thought.

But the next day, grim news spread throughout the entire Belterion Empire.

The death of the Second Imperial Prince, Zarkal Belterion.

He had personally dealt with the monsters swarming Rigael and the nearby city of Parmahal after taking the vanguard position.

The Crown Prince announced that although he deeply cherished his younger brother, he had no choice but to send Zarkal to the battlefield for the sake of the people, despite knowing how difficult the battle would be.

If the Second Prince had failed to eliminate the monsters swarming Parmahal, they would have passed through Parmahal and reached Rigael.

In that case, the Rigael subjugation operation would have failed.

The Crown Prince expressed his grief over the death of his younger brother.

Crown Prince Yustaf’s popularity among the people exploded.

It was only natural. He had put the citizens of the empire before even his own brother.

For some time, mourning for Zarkal and praise for Yustaf became a major topic among the people of the empire.

‘Now that I think about it, Rampos said those things to ease his own guilt.’

Yurein smiled coldly.

The ones who had spread those rumors far and wide were the Imperial Administration—the very organization where Rampos held an important position.

‘He must have been intoxicated with the image of himself as a pitiful man who couldn’t endure his guilt unless he drowned himself in alcohol.’

In the end, both the Administration and the Crown Prince had exploited the dead for their own benefit.

That was the truth.

Self-comforting themselves so they could turn away from the truth and live more comfortably.

When Rampos had gotten drunk and told her about himself, Yurein had secretly been pleased.

She had thought that he trusted her enough to reveal his true feelings.

But looking back, it was simply because he had considered her an easy target.

She had merely happened to be there at that moment, so Rampos had vented his frustrations on her.

And he had done so with incredible rudeness.

Yurein narrowed her eyes as she recalled that time.

Never again would she allow others to treat her carelessly.

The only person who could look after her was herself.

And to do that, she had something she needed to accomplish now.

Yurein’s eyes gleamed as she continued surveying her surroundings.

But neither the Second Prince, Zarkal, nor any of his subordinates could be seen.

‘Has he not arrived yet?’

Yurein intended to reveal to Zarkal that she was a Guide and make a contract with him.

As an Esper, Zarkal would absolutely need the help of a Guide.

But as long as Ayla was the Crown Prince’s fiancée, Zarkal would never be able to receive Guiding.

That meant he would have even more need for her.

And right now, she desperately needed him as well.

It was the perfect opportunity for them to join hands.

“By the way, you two young ladies sure are lucky.”

The innkeeper suddenly spoke to them.