Chapter 19

“They were trying to come in confidently. I’m holding them at the entrance.”

“Who are they?”

“From the way they talk about transactions, I think they used to come and go here a lot.”

Ritelni was in a hurry to get a report from the soldier.

From the plan to take out Iska because of a soldier impersonating soldiers of Prince Rubitz to his master who appeared with Kirah’s captain, Ritelni was having a hectic day with unexpecting things happening one after another.

In an already sensitive state, the two of them walking after him made Ritelni’s nerves even worse.

“Is he your right-hand man?”

“That’s what it’s like.”

The tone of the man and woman were so relaxed.

“Hmm.”

“He’s pretty capable even if he looks like that.”

“Hah.”

As Lavella’s response was unclear, Iska added a word. Then Lavella let out a snort as if she didn’t believe him.

“…….”

The conversation, whether complimenting or swearing, caused a being to pop out on Ritelni’s forehead.

‘Yes, this is not the time to care about that.’

Seeing the crowd gathered at the entrance, Ritelni turned away, pretending not to hear the conversation of the man and woman.

* * *

“What’s going on?”

When Ritelni appeared late and asked for the purpose of the commotion, the crowd exchanged glances with each other.

“You don’t look like the person I’ve seen?”

“Oh, I’m on a rotational shift as of today. Let’s go inside.”

At a glance, they gave off the impression of a typical merchant.

After reading the vigilance, Ritelni naturally guided the crowd inside.

“Rotating shifts. That hasn’t happened in years.”

One of the men chattered like a bird.

“Oh, I got caught stealing this from the old guy.”

Ritelni rolled his fingers in a circle and moved them in the shape of money.

“Tsk, I knew it.”

Then the man nodded and clicked his tongue as he readily accepted Ritelni’s answer.

“You understand why I didn’t get the message you were coming, right? Because we were caught in a hurry. We’re in a position of being ordered around by a highly ranked person, it’s just a little too much, you know?”

“A life of begging is hard no matter where you go.”

When Ritelni slyly replied, the man sympathized and offered comfort.

Lavella looked admirably at Ritelni, who immediately lowered the man’s guard.

‘He’s pretty good, huh?’

‘Watch.’

Lavella held a conversation with Iska with her eyes and began to watch the situation in interest.

They were a certain distance away from the men so their faces wouldn’t be seen.

‘You’re glad you came along, right?’

‘Well, why don’t we see what our Prince is up to?’

After seeing Iska’s playful eyes, Lavella stretched the ends of her lips wide.

‘It’ll be fun.’

Iska shrugged his soldiers as if he was confident and shifted his eyes to Ritelni.

Then Lavella whispered into Iska’s ear.

“By the way, who’s hiding over there? Is everything okay?”

“!”

Iska swallowed a smile when he saw Lavella’s gaze.

‘This is it, this one won. The one with the nickname of ‘the greatest shadow of the Empire’ is about to cry.’

Iska didn’t expect Lavella to sense Setz’s presence.

“It’s okay, it’s my man. I’ll introduce you next time I get a chance.”

Iska soon explained with a smile on his lips.

Lavella couldn’t react to Iska’s smile, which was at such a close distance, because it was as if the tip of her nose would rub against him.

‘My man.’

This one word that Iska inadvertently spat out left a strange taste in her mouth.

Come to think of it, it seemed like Ritelni’s eyes were warm somehow.

‘You seem to care for your subordinates.’

“Why are you looking at me like that? It’s making my heart flutter.”

“It’s nothing.”

Seeing Iska tilt his head slightly to the side and asking, Lavella smiled belatedly at him.

“A fake smile again.”

“…Don’t look at me for no reason and just focus.”

Lavella poked Iska’s cheek, laughing mischievously, and turned his head in the opposite direction.

As a result, Iska’s smiling eyes turned to his hard-working men again.

“So, what are you doing here?”

“What, you didn’t even get that? What if something’s not ready?”

‘As expected, it must be that.’

Ritelni recalled the weapons piled up in the barracks.

“How much do you need?”

“Here.”

The man who appeared to be the leader took out the paper in his arms and threw it away.

As he thought, the quantity of the weapons needed was written.

Ritelni rolled up the paper again and handed it to the man next to him.

‘Let’s go.’

Iska took the order form out of the men’s sight and sent a signal to Ritelni.

“Come to think of it, a few days ago, a body was found in the mountains.”

“Ah, those guys.”

At Iska’s instruction, Ritelni threw the bait and they bit it.

It was about the smugglers Iska dealt with while saving Moot.

“Don’t get me wrong because it’s not ours. Those guys, who knew they’d die in such a dangerous place after making such a big fuss out of business with such an important client?”

Seeing the man laugh cruelly, he didn’t seem to be working with them.

“It’s best to be safe for a deal. Don’t you agree? Well, let’s check the stuff first.”

At the request of the man, a few of his men left the barracks and returned with a weapon crate.

“All right, so our deal continues, right?”

After the men checked the weapons with a satisfied face he handed Ritelni money from his pocket and asked as if he was looking for a definite answer.

“Of course.”

“See you again, then.”

When Ritelni nodded, the men with the weapons left in satisfaction.

Only after the men disappeared and all the other soldiers were bitten did they identify the weapons to Iska and Lavella.

“It wasn’t Kuzne’s weapons.”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“That means they were selling it to smugglers and deceiving them as if it was from Kuzne’s.”

Iska picked up the sword he threw and twisted the corners of his mouth as if he was dumbfounded.

“Fake?”

Lavella blinked as if she couldn’t understand.

“Yes, Lavella, you can tell them apart.”

“You can tell it’s different just by touching them if you’re competent in combat.”

Ritelni helped her understand the situation by adding words to his Master’s as he shared the situation with Lavella without hesitation. 

“Hehe, you must have got the spirit to have a conversation with me.”

Ritelni leapt out of his chair at the teasing of Lavella and strode in front of her.

“It’s late to say hello. I’m Ritelni, I’m Iska’s aid.”

Ritelni, who was courteously polite, bent down and held Lavella’s hand lightly.

Ritelni, having lived with the aristocracy for a long time, was about to kiss Lavella on the back of her hand.

Shriing.

A long sword slipped right in front of Ritelni’s lips.

Ritelni’s eyebrows wriggled as he was about to kiss the cold blade.

“It’s offensive to the eyes, so don’t say hello.”

Iska, equipped with a cool smile, nodded at the end of the sword as if he was wondering what he was doing.

When Ritelni’s persistent gaze reached Iska, Lavella grinned and pulled her hand back.

“I think I understand, I think your boss likes me too much.” 

“Anyway, you’ll have to explain the situation.”

Why do I feel ashamed?

Ritelni sighed and looked threateningly at Iska.

Even though he acted politely towards her, Ritelni was not sure if he could trust Lavella.

“Okay, let’s get straight to the issue.”

The tip of Iska’s chin pointed to the weapons.

“Why did you sell my name? Where did the money that sold these fakes go? Don’t you think I should know?”

“Yes, I’m investigating.”

“Hmm, I’ll have to keep talking to Cassie.”

“Yes, Kuzne’s mark isn’t something anyone can imitate.”

“Wait, wait, So are you saying these weapons were made in Kuzne or not?”

Lavella pulled the brakes on the complicated situation. 

“To be exact, it was made in Kuzne, but it’s not really Kuzne’s weapons.”

“So what about the soldiers? Aren’t they your men?”

Lavella, who was looking at Ritelni, turned her head and stared at Iska.

“Well… to be exact, the men who arrived behind me were my soldiers…right?”

“Huh?”

“Sorry, I had a situation that I couldn’t help.”

As Lavella raised her eyes at the tingling sensation in the back of her head, Iska looked very sorry.

“I’m not supposed to walk around like this. I don’t want to be known.”

“I feel like I’m getting caught up in something bothersome.”

“You’re gonna keep it a secret, right?”

Iska tilted his head signaling Lavella.

It was like a puppy wagging its tail. To be exact, it was a criminal in a dog’s costume.

‘Dabel’s words were true.’

Only Ritelni was frightened by the sight of the side of his master he had never seen before.

“The prince will be huge.”

Lavella decided to grant his request for now as the calculations in her head were not finished yet.

“Come on, let’s go to Cassie.”

“Please leave me out. He can’t hit Iska, so he’ll hit me instead.”

“As you wish, but by tomorrow morning I’ll have everything I want to know, correct?”

“…….”

“Well, then, work hard.”

Iska, who grinned at the swearing in Ritelni’s eyes, escaped the barracks.

“See you again, Miss Lavella.”

“…….”

However, Lavella gave Ritelni a smile, who was polite to the end and followed Iska.

‘Wahh. Things look more complicated than I thought.’

When she saw the slowly moving back of Iska, Lavella felt strange.

It was both a familiar and unfamiliar appearance.

Even though he was Prince Rubitz, to Lavella, he was just Iska who worked together with her in Kirah.

However…

“I’m not supposed to walk around like this right now.”

The faint bitterness from his blunt voice and the appearance of Ritelni clenching his fists at the same time left an uneasy feeling in her mind.

And the traces of sword wounds left on his chest that she happened to see.

After learning about Iska’s situation, who was aiming for the Emperor’s throne, she could guess what had happened to him.

The presence that would be on the opposing side of Iska…

‘The Emperor or the Crown Prince. The most likely person is… the Crown Prince.’

If it were her, she would have visited him and tried to make a deal.

However, it was an imperial matter, and Imperia was a land unfamiliar to Lavella.

No matter how famous Kirah was there was a high probability that she wouldn’t even be able to try.

And in this situation, she was deeply intertwined with Iska.

If she turned away from his offer, it was unclear what sanction he would impose on Kirah.

‘What should I do?’

Lavella, who had been agonizing, stopped walking alongside Iska.

She wondered if she shouldn’t have dragged him into the guild, but in a way, it was an opportunity.

It might be better to make up one’s mind quickly than to drag on and count the number of possibilities.

“Iska.”

“Hmm?”

Lavella slowly backed away and widened the distance between her Iska.

“Do you remember our contract?”

“Of course.”

“I’ve decided to fight whenever I want.”

“…Now?”

Iska, who was thinking of the love clause, asked back as if she was absurd.

Although it was stated in the contract there has never been a time when Lavella demanded a match.

“Promise me to do your best.”

“Lavella.”

“Even more so if you want to hear an affirmative answer from me.”

“Ha.”

Half of it was a threat. Iska sighed and nodded softly.

If Lavella had made up her mind, he could not resist her anyway.

Lavella saw Iska pose as if he would take out the sword around his waist and rushed at him quickly.

CLANG.

The sound of swords colliding rang sharply.

In a few quick exchanges, Lavella engraved the movements of Iska one by one.

‘He’s coming straight at me.’

It was an instinct carved into the body through accumulated experience.

It was easy to see the true nature of one’s opponent when one is hit in an extreme situation.

‘Basically, you’re really sweet.’

Even though he had several opportunities to aim for her vital points, Iska persisted stubbornly.

It was no different from the Iska she had felt so far.

“I told you to do your best.”

“Eeek.”

The tip of Lavella’s sword narrowly grazed Iska’s side, tearing the hem of his shirt.

While avoiding Lavella’s attack, Iska looked at the expression of Lavella.

‘I don’t think she had the intention to kill.’

Iska was disturbed when he saw the drops of sweat dripping near Lavella’s temple.

It was because he failed to grasp the purpose of this sudden confrontation.

“Huu.”

But at this rate, it wouldn’t be over for days.

Iska lightly sighed and aimed for the gap in Lavella’s stance as if he had decided.

“Sorry, Lavella.”

It was an instant…

“!”

Lavella, who fell onto the grass, had to blink for a while to figure out the situation.

“…….”

Lavella burst into laughter when she saw Iska sitting on her body and holding her wrist carefully.

The situation went as expected. There was a strange sense of elation, rather than humiliation.

It was natural that Iska looked embarrassed.

“…Why are you laughing?”

“Iska.”

“?”

“How many people are stronger than you in Imperia?”

“Well…”

“If I knock you down, will I be the strongest person in Imperia?”

“…….”

Seeing that the gap between his eyebrows narrowed, Iska seemed to be seriously contemplating the answer.

Lavella looked up at the only man who was stronger than her and trying to hold the throne.

‘It’s not that bad either. This is worth the gamble.’

Lavella pulled out one of her hands from his grip, grabbed Iska by the collar, and pulled him down.

“!”

The distance became close in an instant.

Looking into Iska’s eyes, Lavella pulled him closer.

“I was tempted to seduce you.”

“Are you serious?”

As Iska squinted his eyes, the purple color disappeared.

“Do you want to check?”

Lavella closed her eyes like a woman waiting for her lover’s kiss.

“No thanks.”

Iska, who smiled on Lavella’s red lips, slowly lowered his head.

Their lips touched like a flash and soon became deeply interlocked.