Chapter 110: To firmly brace (2)
***
Setiria was Ruel’s own territory.
This time he wanted to take a closer look around.
He wanted to know what delicacies each village had, what beauty it possessed, and the expressions on people’s faces. He also wanted to identify any shortcomings or geographical features that could become weaknesses, contrary to the reports.
However, it was winter now, and with the things that needed to be done immediately in addition to the opposition of Cassion and Billo, he had no choice but to postpone the schedule.
“Aren’t you feeling cold?”
Ruel looked at the blue flames floating around his body as Tyson continued to question him.
There was no time to be cold.
“Yes, I feel warm thanks to my uncle.”
—A lake full of stars! Can this body really swim?
Leo couldn’t contain his excitement as he gazed at the large lake.
Ruel nodded his head.
“Well, we’ll have to break the ice a bit.”
“I’ll do it!”
Aris created a flame right out of his hand.
—This body wants to do this too!
Nevertheless, Ruel wanted to take some time to go out, even if only for a little while. He wanted to cool his head and try fishing for the first time.
In the middle of the night, Lake Prina was more beautiful than the lake in the town of Dotol in Cyronian. The Milky Way was completely embedded in the water, and the quiet breeze was pleasant.
“Aren’t your hands cold? I’ll give you gloves.”
Cassion took out a pair of pure white gloves from his pocket.
“It’s okay, fishing is just fun.”
“I put the bait on the hook.”
Cassion spoke pointedly.
‘How condescending.’
Ruel frowned slightly.
What else can he do if the bait is disgusting?
“I’ll be the one catching. Don’t just stand there uncle, sit down. Cough.”
The fishing rod Tyson was holding shook violently at the sound of coughing.
“Don’t overreact. I’ve changed my medication recently, so my cough has decreased a lot, and I’m feeling better.”
“No, you don’t! You had a fever earlier…”
“Look, there’s a fish swimming over there.”
Ruel naturally pointed towards the lake as they spoke.
—Oh! It’s true!
Leo wagged his tail and leaped towards the water.
Tyson’s face, which had brightened up slightly, stiffened again.
“Haven’t you already heard about my condition from Fran?”
Ruel immediately gestured to the blue flames around them.
“It’s really warm.”
It wasn’t an empty statement; he truly meant it. It was different when he was just stargazing. With this level of warmth, there was no chance of catching a cold.
“Yeah, that’s a relief.”
Finally, Tyson shifted his gaze towards the lake.
“This place has always been a wonderful place, whether in the past or now. I don’t know if you remember, but you, me, and my brother used to come here often.”
Stars glimmered in Tyson’s eyes, filled with nostalgia.
Ruel could not sympathize with that faint feeling.
Instead he brought up another story.
“Uncle.”
“Tell me.”
“Now I know when it’s time to rest.”
A warm smile appeared on Tyson’s face.
“Like my uncle said, Setiria was stronger than I thought.”
“You’re the one who rebuilt it.”
“So I’m strong.”
“Thank goodness. I’m so glad.”
“Sometimes.”
Ruel smiled and looked at Tyson.
“I wish we could come out together like this more often.”
Tyson’s fishing rod shook once more.
His eyes, which shone like stars, twinkled slightly.
It was Ruel’s genuine smile, a smile that he hadn’t seen in a long time.
“Ruel.”
“Yes.”
“My wish is for you to be happy. I hope you have more days when you truly smile like you do now.”
“Do not worry. I am still happy enough. So, I hope your uncle will forgive himself now.”
“Thank… you.”
Ruel stared out at the lake while listening to Tyson’s somber voice.
—Ruel, Ruel! This body is happy too!
‘Your ears are sharp.’
After swimming happily in the lake, Leo waved his short paw and Ruel also waved his hand.
He suddenly felt a vibration in his hand.
‘Oh!’
His own fishing rod was vibrating with the tremors.
It looked different because it was a top quality bait.
—This body will help you.
The lake trembled, and then waves came crashing down.
“Wa, wait a minute!”
The waves stopped in front of Ruel, and Leo, who had caught a fish with the fishing line in its mouth, gently let the fish go.
Ruel smiled and patted Leo’s head as his bright eyes begged for praise.
—Ruel caught it first thanks to this body. Ahem!
“… It’s a foul, isn’t it?”
Cassion looked at Ruel with a puzzled expression.
What kind of fishing is that?
“It’s true that I caught it first.”
Ruel smiled proudly.
Don’t you just need to catch anything?
***
“Uhm.”
Ruel opened his eyes with a yawn, and attempted to remove the heat patch on his forehead.
He thinks he still has a slight fever.
He still hasn’t forgotten the feeling he felt when he caught the fish yesterday.
‘It was really fun.’
Ruel looked at Leo sleeping next to him and the spirits that had clung to his body.
The wounds on the stomach were completely healed, but there were still a lot of spirits gathered there.
‘I need to follow the spirits and see where they go when they grow up.’
Ruel inhaled Breath and carefully raised his upper body.
He closed his eyes and slowly absorbed natural mana.
He encouraged natural mana to move around his body and colored it several times so that it could become his own mana.
When the colorless mana turned sky blue, Ruel opened his eyes and hurriedly covered his mouth.
‘Damn it!’
“Are you okay?”
Ruel was startled by Cassion’s voice.
He didn’t even hear the door open.
“You were in too much of a hurry. Ruel-nim, you need to be especially careful and increase your mana more slowly.”
Ruel spit blood into the handkerchief that Cassion held out.
His mouth was full of the taste of blood.
“I was almost done.”
“There is a limit to the amount of mana you can increase per day. There is no need to be in a hurry.”
“… know.”
But contrary to his words, Ruel felt impatient.
He has yet to find those with dark attributes and warlocks.
The only one he could rely on was himself.
“I received the information through Jirie this morning.”
Ruel wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
Cassion handed him the handkerchief again and data.
It was data delivered by Adoris to Ketlan.
Ruel spoke first before accepting the information.
“I’ll exercise a bit before having breakfast. After eating, I’ll go see Uncle. Besides, is there anything else for me to do besides trivial matters?”
The meeting ended yesterday, and Billo was in charge of the little things.
He decided to do it step by step from the situation, but there was no document that appeared today.
“For now, there is nothing.”
“Then tell Fran to come first.”
“Alright.”
“Cassion, what kind of letter is this?”
Ruel was looking through the documents and waved a letter at the top of the pile.
“A letter from Prince Huan has arrived.”
“It seems quite urgent.”
If it’s a letter, it should have been sent two days ago.
“I received a call while Ruel-nim was sleeping.”
“Who?”
“It’s from Prince Banios and the matriarch Rie Kuhn.”
Ruel rolled his eyes and then started fiddling with his hair.
“… I forgot to tell you.”
Cassion chuckled sarcastically.
It was a clear mockery.
“You must have forgotten because you were too busy enjoying the fishing last night.”
“That’s because there’s a lot to do.”
There was so much work going on that it was quite daunting to tackle it one by one.
“I should also carry a notebook with me… No, wait.”
One corner of Ruel’s mouth curled up.
“You are very negligent, Cassion. If I forgot, you, as the butler, should have told me. I think Noah is not the only one who will receive education from Billo.”
When he was pulled down the same standard as Noah, Cassion showed a very deep displeasure.
“That’s why I’m telling you now.”
Ruel grinned and waved his hand.
“Enough of that. Go and call Fran immediately.”
“…Understood.”
Rustle.
The documents in Ruel’s hand swiftly flipped over.
Gradually, his smile disappeared.
‘This is why the Royal Family is covered in Red Ash.’
Half of the so-called high-ranking officials were Red Ash.
It was a structure in which a small number of high-ranking ministers controlled the ordinary ministers below them.
‘The real power lies with the judge, Luruan.’
It seemed like Ben needed help.
Isn’t his family the place that produced the most judges?
‘Not to mention Luruan’s lackey is Cron, another judge.’
Ruel rubbed his fingers and tapped his thigh.
‘First, we need to investigate, but the one we should target is Cron.’
Knock. Knock.
“Please come in.”
Ruel said, covering his papers.
As soon as the door opened, Fran rushed in and anxiously examined Ruel’s complexion.
The slight rosy color that was there before had disappeared completely.
“How is your condition?”
Tierra was startled and walked up to Fran and poked her waist.
“Sister, you should greet first.”
She seemed to be whispering softly, but it was all heard.
“I’m sorry. I greet my Lord.”
“Sit.”
Ruel pointed to the seat.
Fran sat down immediately and began her examination.
Her face was more tense than usual.
Soon she looked at Ruel in confusion.
“What’s going on?”
“Well, it’s a bit strange.”
That didn’t sound good.
Fran opened her mouth thoughtfully, moistening her parched lips.
“The progress is still slow, but the structure of the disease has changed significantly. I think we might need to change the medicine.”
Ruel’s expression hardened.
‘Is it because I met a Great Man?’
“You may experience new symptoms or stronger existing symptoms.”
Fran looked at Ruel with unwavering eyes.
“However, as I told you a little while ago, the progress of the disease is still slow and is improving. There is absolutely no need to be afraid.”
“I understand, I just trust you.”
“Yes, don’t worry.”
Fran’s voice had power.
She couldn’t hide her expression as much as Tyson.
“You’ll stay up all night.”
“I’m pretty strong, so don’t worry. Right now, the one who should be concerned is you, Lord.”
Fran drew an arc at the corner of her mouth and took out her notebook.
As she was examining him and recording it in her notebook, she belatedly saw Leo lying back on his bed.
“Lord, may I pet him?”
“It’s okay, once he falls asleep, he sleeps deeply.”
“Thank you.”
Fran, who carefully touched Leo’s fur, was soon struck by his strange charm.
“It’s better than I thought, hmmm, Lord. Please do not hide any new symptoms that appear and tell us everything.”
“I understand.”
Ruel glanced at Fran’s hand diligently stroking Leo as he answered.
As soon as she caught Ruel’s gaze, she hurriedly got up from her seat and bowed her waist.
“Well, as I always say, take care of yourself. Don’t overexert yourself, and always stay warm now that it’s winter.”
“I know.”
“Please keep it. By all means.”
Fran repeated her request and went out.
“Did I not keep my promise?”
Ruel asked Cassion while holding Breath.
Instead of answering his question, Cassion looked at him with a stern look on his face.
It was as if he was going to kill those who turned out to be Red Ash at any moment.
“When I die, the seal that Red Ash wants will be released. This is natural. No, it’s expectation noneless.”
“Ruel-nim.”
“I haven’t shown any symptoms, and my condition isn’t as severe as it used to be.”
“Ruel-nim, the Great Man did something to the mark without even touching you… ”
“Cassion.”
He knew what Cassion was worried about.
“My body has been dying for the past five years. It’s not surprising at all.”
Ruel stood up from his seat.
“The Great Man failed to kill me as a mark in the first place. I told you this before, right,” he said, looking at Cassion with a relaxed smile.
“I’m not dying.”
Ruel lightly tapped Cassion on the shoulder.
“I’m going for an exercise. I’m looking forward to breakfast today. Oh, and don’t forget to investigate that guy named Luruan. Especially, dig deeper into the second-in-command.”
Ruel pointed to the documents on the bed, then hugged the yawning fox and went outside.
Cassion’s sigh was heard along with the sound of the door closing.
‘Should I call him a child or an adult? What should I say? You can at least express yourself?’
Cassion opened the window.
‘… Again.’
Cassion flung himself out before the wind blew his hair.
He stepped on the intruder silently as leaves falling to the ground.
Cassion’s eyes looking down at them were infinitely cold and sharp.
“Tell me which guild you are from.”
Cassion got to his feet and casually threatened the bastard for his life.
The tremor he caused like a seizure was felt through his toes.
Assassins have been steadily coming to Ruel for a few days now.
{ Kill Ruel Setiria. }
It was a request distributed to all assassin guilds in Leponia.
The client was unknown, but the amount proposed is 10 million gold coins.
The money was more than enough to inspire a pack of dogs to attack.
Cassion had no intention of letting him or the assassin’s guild he belonged to remain alive.
It wasn’t Adoris who unleashed the assassin.
If we kill them one by one, we will find out whose work it was at some point.
It was his job to step forward for the owner who had a lot to do, as he had more to do than the owner.
***
Shudder.
Chills ran down Aris’s body, causing him to abruptly stop running.
‘Is it Cassion’s presence?’
It seemed like the enemy had come in again.
The defensive barrier installed by Tyson had temporarily stopped functioning at Cassion’s request.
“What’s the matter? Have you caught a cold?”
Ruel asked, panting heavily.
“No, it’s nothing. I just suddenly got chills.”
“I have had a really bad cold these days. Be careful not to catch it.”
Ruel frowned because he had already caught a cold.
—Come quickly! This body has already come this far!
Leo was already half a lap ahead and was wagging his tail.
“Aris.”
“Yes?”
“Hasn’t something been off with the mansion’s barrier lately? It seems fainter than before.”
“Yes, pardon? I don’t know.”
Aris turned his head and hurriedly moved his feet.
Knowing that Aris couldn’t lie in front of him, Ruel inhaled Breath while looking at the sky.
The mana was definitely fainter.
‘It seems like something is happening without my knowledge.’
“My Lord! Just two more laps!”
Horen screamed at the top of his lungs.
After wiping his sweat, Ruel gave Horen his hand and ran again.
‘The structure of the disease has changed…’
Whatever happened, there was no need to worry in advance, because his thoughts were already overflowing with concerns.
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