# Chapter 67
I answered with clenched fists. Anger boiled up inside me, but I managed to speak in a calm voice.
“Don’t worry. That bastard should be grateful I haven’t killed him yet.”
Luan seemed to think my distorted expression was due to a desire for revenge against Kadilen, as he smiled with satisfaction. Trampling the shattered glass bottle again, he said:
“Indeed. This is truly my brother.”
I stared at the bottle being crushed under his foot. Since I was planning to pretend to be Kadilen’s enemy anyway, I needed to clearly convey what I wanted. Or more precisely, to appear that way. I looked straight at him again.
“Promise me that when everything is over, you’ll keep Jiman, Devan, and Rio safe.”
“Just those three? What about Wimu?”
“He’s ultimately Kadilen’s subordinate. You take care of him.”
A pleased laugh echoed through the forest.
“Very well.”
His smile that didn’t hide his vileness was disgusting, but I consoled myself that it would only be temporary. He would never have the opportunity to harm Wimu. Nor would he have reason to protect Jiman, Devan, and Rio. Luan would eventually fall by our hands, and the only card he held would be used to save Rio.
“So. What exactly do you want?”
I gathered my thoughts and asked him. I planned to clearly identify what he wanted so Kadilen and I could leak false information.
“Bring information that will provoke the nobles’ anger. You must expose the fact that he’s secretly doing something strange.”
“What if Kadilen is truly honest? As I said before, he seems to have already provided sufficient compensation.”
“Then you’ll have to fabricate something. That’s also your job, brother.”
“What?”
Though there was no one in the forest except him and Arzel, Luan lowered his voice maliciously.
“Stay as close to him as possible, search through his documents whenever he’s absent, and manipulate them. That’s why I told you to get closer to him. I’ll take care of the aftermath, so make Kadilen talk. Make him reveal his vulnerabilities that could lead to mistakes.”
“Vulnerabilities…”
“I’m thinking of starting with how he managed the village while at the temple… I’ll send detailed strategies through Arzel.”
I had heard something about that. I had met Yunlin. She was tasked with managing the village below the temple under Kadilen’s instructions. It was a sparsely populated land, and the residents had no interest in politics, so it didn’t seem difficult to fabricate facts. Was he planning to plant traps in advance and throw the nobles into confusion as if Kadilen had intended it? But what schemes could be played with land that has neither an owner nor power?
I thought I could only form a strategy after receiving detailed information. For now, we needed a way to send our own spy to scout the enemy territory.
“When I have something to say, I’ll send Devan. Where should I send him?”
I had to pretend not to know that he was staying at Arzel’s castle. While Luan was pondering, I swallowed hard. I tried not to show signs of tension, but my mouth dried up as we reached a critical point.
“Arzel isn’t always at the palace either. If something suddenly needs to be delivered, it would be inconvenient.”
At my urging, Luan finally nodded in agreement.
“Come to his castle. It’s in the former territory of Maran.”
“That works out well. I’m from Maran too.”
Devan promptly added with kindness, not missing the opportunity.
“I can navigate the castle with my eyes closed.”
“…I’ll let him know.”
Luan looked at him a bit suspiciously but gestured to Arzel without much doubt. While they discussed access rights to the castle, Devan winked at me. And as soon as Luan turned back to me after finishing their conversation, I extended my hand to him.
“Now give me the medicine. I need to verify if it really works.”
This time, Luan handed over the medicine bottle willingly. But noticing his pocket was still bulging, I quickly received the bottle and extended my hand again.
“One isn’t enough. I need to check if it works for Rio too.”
“It’s the same medicine anyway.”
“Better to be sure, right?”
Luan reluctantly gave me one more, clicking his tongue. While safely storing the medicines, I snapped at him:
“If this medicine doesn’t really work, you know I can’t cooperate, right?”
“As if I would play games with my brother’s life.”
I glared at him in disbelief. Luan smiled shamelessly, pretending to be shocked.
“Ah, you might have felt that way. This is a different story, but actually, I didn’t approach you because you’re my brother. I don’t believe in your bloodline, but in your greed. That figure who roamed the battlefield with His Majesty. When survival is at stake, you become more cold-hearted than anyone. Always.”
“Ha, I know that.”
It wasn’t wrong. Even when Ludin learned he was going to die soon, he worried about the kingdom’s succession struggle first. His ability to hide his pain and give up everything was probably due to Ludin’s character of relentlessly moving forward for a purpose. But if there was a difference between the two, it was that Ludin was only excessively cold towards himself. He might drive himself hard, but he wasn’t the type of person who would vilely trample others. Unlike Luan.
“Still, I believe in your bloodline. Father never lost. I believe in his victory.”
Obviously nonsense.
But seeing Luan’s expression change slightly, it seemed to have worked quite well. I gestured to Devan and turned my back on him. Together we got into the carriage and locked the door ourselves. The closed carriage moved again towards the palace. And until I completely disappeared from sight, Luan didn’t say a word.
* * *
Only upon reaching the stifling passage did Arzel stop walking. He hadn’t intervened even once while Luan and I were talking. It could simply be seen as loyalty and courtesy, but it was behavior unbecoming of someone who likes to control situations. Thinking I should convey this atmosphere at the meeting, I stared at him intently.
“Are you returning to the castle?”
“I’ll come back when there’s something to deliver. In the meantime, with Kadilen…”
“Get close, I got it. How many times are you going to say it?”
He turned away with an unpleasant smile. As I watched Arzel walk out through the tunnel we had come through, the tension that had raised my hair instantly dissipated. My body, which had been straining to endure, collapsed miserably and lost its center.
“Ludin!”
“Shh. I’m fine. Let’s get out of here first.”
My head was spinning as we returned to the corridor. It seemed my body, which had endured for so long, had reached its limit. Feeling like I was going to vomit, I grabbed Devan’s arm. With a pale face, he supported me as we left the building.
“Wimu is probably doing well, right?”
“Is this really the time to worry about that?”
“Of course. That’s why I went through this annoying charade.”
Though I answered playfully, I frowned at the pain that suddenly surged up. Sensing something wrong, Devan searched my pocket and took out the medicine.
“Drink this. Hurry.”
“No. I need to have Jiman check it first, and I’ll give it to Rio.”
“Both of them?”
“Yes.”
Devan’s eyes twisted menacingly.
“Ah, you really…”
“Please. Rio comes first.”
It wasn’t time yet. Since coming here, I had approached death’s door several times. Compared to the pain then, I could endure this much. Jiman’s painkillers would be enough. And I still had the bead Kadilen had given me. Though not as effective as the antidote, it would buy time to completely separate Rio from the poison.
With trembling hands, I took out the medicine Jiman had prepared for me. Devan helped me with a sigh. As the bitter pill passed through my throat, only bearable pain remained. Devan turned me around as I forced myself to get up and walk.
“Let’s share the burden.”
“What?”
He looked at me with a pained face. The hand holding my arm was faintly trembling.
“Don’t suffer alone. Don’t struggle so hard by yourself.”
“How can it be hard when I have you?”
Devan’s eyes widened. Feeling a bit embarrassed by my own words, I hastily added:
“With you… and Jiman, Wimu too… and Kadilen…”
“…”
“Anyway, I’m not having a hard time. I’m just making an effort. For Rio. If that child is sick, I can’t be happy anyway. Even if my body gets better, I’ll just worry more. You may not know, but he’s a child I’m really grateful for.”
I said it to help him understand, but Devan’s face turned even worse. Not knowing why, I shook him a little.
“Devan?”
“…It’s because of me. I hurt you, and that child helped you.”
“You… knew?”
He pulled me into an embrace. Every time I thought everything was in the past, the darkness always suddenly grabbed my ankle. Just like Devan now, trembling with fear, holding onto me when I wasn’t even falling.
His voice cracked.
“I’m the crazy one. How could I do that to you…”
Paradoxically, at this moment, the scene that came to mind wasn’t his figure pressing down on me, but the moment we danced together in the pitch darkness. When I thought our relationship could never be restored. The heavy melody flowing through the slow air, and his figure leading me one step at a time to the precise rhythm.
He had said he hoped that darkness could be remembered that way. Not as the suffocating, helpless cave, but as that moment when I moved with him as he desperately atoned to me. And like a vivid memory, Devan was holding me and endlessly fearing.
“I’ll do anything for you to be okay… really anything.”
“Really?”
“Yes…”
I separated myself to look at his wet face.
“Then let’s go say hello to Rio.”
“…What?”
