CH 38

Enoch jumped off the platform and came to Rupert’s side. The Crown Prince didn’t really have a specific team, so he was free to go with anyone. He was barely involved until the moment, and even then, he stayed in the rear.

“You look tired. You will have to work hard to finish it quickly and return.”

“Are you thinking of going this way?”

“That’s right. I haven’t been there yet.”

Rupert looked closely at Enoch just in case, but he didn’t look downhearted or angry at all. Somehow, it gradually angered Rupert.

He really didn’t want Enoch to feel the same way as him, but wasn’t it too much that he seemed to have already forgotten Erin? 

However, Erin’s husband was Rupert, not Enoch, so he kept his mouth shut because it would be strange to ask him directly, ‘Isn’t Erin’s death sad?’

However, he didn’t have the confidence to act innocently. 

Enoch felt his gaze, but he tried to ignore it and moved forward.

Rupert and a few people teamed up, but the rest were mostly newcomers to balance the team.

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Rupert’s team went up to their area and stopped. He glanced at Enoch, who shrugged and waved his hand.  

“I don’t think there’s any.”

The leader of this team was, of course, Rupert. At Enoch’s words, he opened a map to the team members and said, “Our territory is from here to here. The goal is to wipe out everything while going up. You guys go first, and I’ll follow after and catch the rest.”

“Yes, I understand!”

“I hope you don’t overdo dangerous monsters and work together to deal with them. Then, that’s all.”

When he finished speaking, the team members went up first, except for Enoch. If Rupert went up first, he would almost annihilate the monsters, leaving his team with nothing to catch. 

Rupert kicked the ground with his feet, holding on for a while. He had a lot to say to Enoch, but he couldn’t say anything, so it was all just awkward and frustrating. 

Enoch, who always talked first, was also quiet today. Come to think of it, he didn’t even say a few words of comfort. Did he really not hear anything? 

“Your Highness.”

Just as Rupert found the courage to speak, Enoch broke the silence first. “Did you hear that a monster appeared?” 

“I heard,” Rupert answered.

“Who do you think summoned it?” 

Rupert stared blankly for a moment before answering, unsure, “Monsters that have lost their owners often appear. There are many cases where a black wizard dies after summoning one.”

“Yes, that’s true. But isn’t it too convenient?”

Frowning, Rupert stood speechless. 

Enoch looked around the forest with his back to Rupert and said calmly, “The place where the monster died was in the magic stone cave. It’s your lover who finds it, perhaps.”

“Monsters are supposed to follow magicians. It’s not unusual since it’s the place with the most concentrated mana. But why are you referring to Chloe?”

Enoch smiled at him and shook his head. “In conclusion, all of these things are good for her.”

With Enoch relaxed attitude and tone, Rupert couldn’t hold back his anger and eventually exploded. Blue eyes sparked with fury. “My wife is dead. However, His Highness never mentions her, only talking about monsters and magic stone caves.”

Then Enoch looked at Rupert as if puzzled. “Did you want me to talk about her with you? I thought you’d rather not.”

“…”

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Come to think of it, seeing Enoch grieving and grieving as much as he did could not have made him feel better. Rather, only doubts would arise regarding the Crown Prince and Erin, who was already dead. 

“Haa, she stumbled upon it by accident. Chloe was worried about me, so she went up and found the cave. But it was just a coincidence.”

Rupert thought that he had to get rid of Enoch’s absurd doubts about Chloe. It wasn’t that he had no doubts at all, but Erin was already dead, and it was inevitable. 

“You seem to love her a lot.”

Rupert wondered who Enoch was talking about, soon realized that it was Chloe, and didn’t answer.

“Even if the accident was a coincidence, in the end, it was inevitable. It was going to happen someday, in some form.”

“Your Highness…!”

“It’s deceptive to grieve but not to dig into the suspicion of death. That’s what I think.”

After saying that, Enoch moved forward. Gripping his sword nervously, Rupert followed Enoch and climbed up the mountain. 

Rupert slashed the one monster that appeared in front of him and caught his breath.

‘Deceptive? Me?’

However, Enoch’s suspicions were unfounded. What did Erin’s death have anything to do with Chloe? He was the one who didn’t catch Erin as she fell in the first place. 

*If he doubted Chloe now, he was truly evading responsibility.

From then on, Rupert began slashing monsters with his sword at random. He also stopped caring about Enoch. 

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Since he focused on catching monsters, he felt less frustrated. 

Chloe was a loving woman he wanted to protect. She was a person who suddenly appeared one day and comforted, sympathized with, and understood himself, who had fallen into a deep well of inferiority.

On the other hand, his feelings for Erin were more complicated.

Whenever he felt her gaze on him, he felt burdened and wanted to hide, but on the other hand, he was proud that she was looking at him, not the Crown Prince. 

However, he was ashamed to think that he’d show her un ugly side and so conscious of that gaze, he honed himself to look better. 

Erin was just watching, but she was swayed by it. That’s probably why he thought of ‘dislike’ rather than ‘like’ about Erin. 

If the feelings for Erin had fully developed here, it would have been clear that he would never have been sweet while being obsessed with her.

‘Rather… Right, at this point.’

Even though he thought so, he couldn’t handle the tight feeling in his chest. 

Rupert swung his sword again and tried to escape from it.

“Whoa, Sir Clifford is amazing.”

Viscount Therien admired him from afar. He was eager to catch one more, but Enoch, beside him, was just relaxed.

“So, did you find it?”

“Yes, here it is. I don’t know if they were in a rush or they were daring, but it wasn’t far from the road.”

“Well done.” Enoch followed where Viscount Therien guided him. The magician was waiting for him under a soft light.

The magician tried to greet Enoch, but he raised his hand to stop him. “Ah, shh. I’ll see you when I get back.”

“Are you really taking part in the competition?”

“… I guess I should. My lady said she hates losing.”

Erin had never said such a thing, but Enoch laughed to himself, interpreting it as he wished.

“This is?”

The wizard handed Enoch a piece of paper. While the remaining parts looked like ordinary paper at first glance, they were actually talismans used to summon a monster.

Enoch turned it upside down and handed it back to the magician. He tucked it into a thick bookmark and kept it, then bowed his head again.

“What do you think? Since you were a black magician before, you must know something.”

“The person who summoned the monster is not a great magician. Because, the fact that the monster ran away alone like that meant that the summoner eventually lost consciousness immediately afterward. It’s one of the most common things wandering black magicians do.”

“Could he be alive?”

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“If you have exhausted your energy and are dying or are alive, you need to make up for it separately.”

“How do they replenish it?”

The wizard sighed and said, “Black magicians are a group with a clear hierarchical order. The order of the demons or demon kings they each serve is their order. So you can think of it as a group with different rules from this world.”

“Go on, tell me.”

“For example, if your Highness, the Crown Prince signs a contract with a middle-class demon Balrog, and one of the slaves made a contract with the Demon King, you would obey the slave regardless of your status in the human world.”

“Why am I Balrog?”

When Enoch grumbled, the magician hesitated. Then Enoch urged him again. “So, what then?”

“Hmm, anyway, contact with such a different superior black magician gives you energy. That’s why they’d follow him more.”

“But this alone is too much to guess. I don’t even know if this summoner is dead or alive, but if they lived…” Enoch’s eyes gleamed sharply.

Viscount Therien, who made eye contact with him, sighed.

Following his words, the magician concluded, “There are black magicians higher than the summoner.”

“I have a headache,” Enoch said, shaking his head and walking away.

“Your Highness, shouldn’t we investigate the person we’re suspecting?”

“But there’s no evidence. Moreover, if such a group exists, I don’t know what they want.”

“In fairy tales I read as a child, the devil always dreamed of conquering the world,” Therien said with a straight face.

Enoch sighed at the dissonance. and asked, “So, have you earned all the points for your lady?”

“I’m going to.”

“I’ve held you for a long time.”

“You know it well. Bye, then.”

Therien then disappeared like the wind. When the magician disappeared, Enoch was left alone to catch his breath.

“I should go, too.”

*not 100%sure about this translation. 

여기서 클로에를 자신이 의심한다면 그야말로 책임 회피가 되어 버린다.