Chapter 17: Oh my, did I get caught? 

“That’s what they claim? To be soldiers of Prince Rubitz?”

Iska blinked as he became suspicious, wondering if he heard correctly.

“Yes, that’s right…”

The tips of Iska’s lips rose sharply.

Ritelni would never sell my name, and the fact that the boy knew them meant that the unidentified group had been in the area for a long time.

Somehow things were going wrong.

‘I can’t do it.’

Iska was going to leave a few of them intact to find out why they were impersonating his name.

“Go ahead. I’ll go after I take care of this.”

Iska fixed his sword with sharp eyes.

“What else is that?”

Lavella tilted her head as if she were dumbfounded. Another group of people was nearing in the distance.

‘Is that Ritelni?’

Iska shifted his eyes to the shaking reeds and sighed inwardly. The face that appeared first looked familiar, so it seemed to be his people this time.

“You must be with them!”

“Who said that?”

Lavella snorted at the imperial army shouting and reacting vigilantly.

It didn’t matter. She could just wipe them all out.

“Who the hell are you guys?!”

“?”

Even the soldiers of the “real” Prince Rubitz, who appeared late, were perplexed.

At Ritelni’s command, they were forced to attack Iska’s group and were increasingly showing hostility. 

A man with his entire face covered stopped and observed the situation, then stepped forward through the crowd. It was Setz.

‘What’s going on?’

‘I don’t know, I’m going to Kuzne first. Take care of the back.’

Setz, who spoke with Iska through his eyes, quickly finished judging the situation.

Starting with Setz pulling out a sword, the atmosphere soon became ugly.

“Let’s split and get out of here.”

As the situation became imminent, Iska whispered in Lavella’s ear.

“…I will.”

Sighing with regret, Lavella nodded and accepted. In fact, Lavella didn’t want to enter the village covered in blood before an important deal.

Swoosh.

“Ugh.”

A soldier of the imperial army shot down an arrow from somewhere.

“Hey, finish it!”

The battle began when the commander, who saw a soldier come down on the spot, ordered the men who were trembling. 

“…Let’s go.”

The group snatched the grey-haired boy who was shivering in fear and pretended to deal with the approaching people then slipped out.

* * *

“This is the edge of our village. If the imperial family finds out about this, they’ll send soldiers to punish us right away.”

The boy murmured with eyes filled with tears as the sharp sword and screams were barely heard.

“I wonder, why is the Imperial Army camped in front of the village?”

Lavella revealed interest in the boy’s words for the first time. The boy’s face turned bright red when he suddenly came face to face with Lavella.

“We, Kuzne, are manufacturing the weapons that we only supply to the Imperial family. Recently, my grandfather…Well, Kuzne’s elder declared a strike.”

“Strike?”

Moreover, it was news to Lavella to supply weapons only to the Imperial family. Lavella knew why Kuzne was not caught by Kirah’s information network.

‘It was no wonder as the weapons were so good. What do I do about this?’

Lavella wanted to monopolize them somehow, as she was a fan of the weapons. As things seemed to get complicated, Lavella’s eyebrows narrowed.

‘I can’t believe he was Cassie’s blood.’

Iska was stunned to see a boy sharing Kuzne’s secrets with Lavella.

As expected, the grey hair was Cassie’s bloodline.

“Yeah. It’s supposed to be in the name of protection, but really they just do it for surveillance. The whole village is suffering because of them.”

“Hmm.”

As Lavella looked at the boy who bit his lip in anger, she thought of Iska who came up from behind her.

Iska seemed to know something about Kuzne and about this boy.

“It’s all because of that Prince Rubitz, that son of a bitch!”

The boy shouted, swinging his fist in the air.

“!”

‘What, a son of a bitch?’

“Huh.”

Dabel closed his mouth while he was laughing at the same time Iska clenched his fist.

Davel moved to the side of Lavella and the boy.

“What do you mean a son of a bitch? Prince Rubitz is?”

“Yes! He’s not good enough to beat up!”

‘I’ve been through a lot lately.’

Iska had to clench and release his fist repeatedly trying to hold back his desire to slap Dabel on the back of the head as he pretended not to know anything.

“The son of a bitch must covet our Kuzne’s weapons for the crown prince’s position. So grandfather… the elder must have declared a strike.”

“…….”

It was half right and half wrong. Iska became bitter listening to the boy.

Most of the people in Imperia would think that way. They couldn’t even know the inside story of the Imperial family.

“You’re a little smart, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I’m a little…Ouch!”

The boy, who was about to show off, screamed and grabbed the back of his head. It was because Dabel, who was giggling, hit him.

“But why are you hitting me?”

“Because I’m proud.”

It didn’t feel good when someone who knew nothing insulted Dabel’s lord. Of course, Dabel tried to lay the groundwork so he wouldn’t get scolded by Iska later.

“What is Kuzne’s elder like?”

Lavella, awakened from the two men’s scuffle, tapped the boy on the shoulder and asked. 

“I’m trying to figure out how to get your life’s worth of debt.”

An enchanting smile bloomed on Lavella’s face as she calculated the money in her head.

*   *   *

“Oh my god, Moot!”

When they entered the entrance of the village, the first woman they encountered came running, throwing away the basket in her hand.

“What the hell happened to you? Did you know that the village was turned upside down for you?”

The woman came running to check the boy’s condition but began to nag him.

“Moot is here?”

“Moot?”

Then there was a loud rumbling sound and several people appeared.

“But who are these people…?”

Only after confirming the boy’s safety did the villagers who saw Lavella’s group show belated vigilance and curiosity.

“I owe them my life.”

“Oh my, you’re important guests.”

“Where is the elder?”

“Where you usually are.”

“Moot, are you prepared to be scolded?”

At the same time, the villagers who predicted the future shook their heads when they answered the boy’s question.

“…Please follow me.”

Following the boy leading the way with a pale face, Lavella quickly searched the village with her eyes.

It was cozy and well-organized for a village hiding in a rugged rocky mountain, but the overall atmosphere of the village could not be erased.

‘It’s worse than I thought.’

It was the same for Iska as he looked at the atmosphere of the village. The village seemed to have fallen more than he remembered.

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“Before…It wasn’t always like this.”

Moot murmured melancholically as he walked ahead earlier. 

“This is what happened with the arrival of Prince Rubitz’s soldiers. Because they surrounded and blocked the village, it became difficult to get in and out of other villages.”

“Moot….”

The woman who was close to Moot pulled the boy’s sleeve, looking at the group’s attention.

“As you can see, it’s not a self-sufficient environment, so it’s essential to interact with other villages. By the way, they’re monitoring everything they come and go, and they’re asking for tolls…”

The pressing voice contained clear hostility.

It was an unusual case, considering that the citizens were considered infinitely loyal to the Imperial family.

“…Here you go. I’m going to meet Cassie, the village’s elder.”

Moot, who took his group to the innermost house in the village, gulped down and opened the door.

“Elder, Moot is back!”

The woman shouted in a bright voice and closed the door.

As the boy headed to the office through the parlor, he saw the old man standing by the window beyond the open door.

“…Elder.”

“…….”

The old man with his hands behind his back did not respond to his presence.

“Elder?”

Moot wiggled his fingers and lowered his voice.

“Get out.”

“!”

Moot lifted his head up.

“You are no longer a man of Kuzne.”

“Grandpa!”

“Didn’t you run out for that reason?”

“That’s…!”

“Oh, wait, wait.”

Lavella calmly intervened as she watched what was going on.

“You can take care of the things between you two later. Don’t you need to pay us first?”

“?”

The old man’s shoulders flinched at the cheerful voice of the woman. The old man, released his clasped hands from his back, slowly turned around, and straightened the posture Lavella shook.

“You’re the head of this town, aren’t you?”

There was a smirk on Iska’s completely cloth-covered face at the polite tone that flowed out of Lavella’s mouth.

It was quite different from the way she always looked down on people, and now she looked like a polite novel lady, not the Captain of Kirah.

Lavella’s platinum blonde hair and clear gold eyes kept the old man’s eyes on her for a while, and Iska didn’t miss it.

There was no way Cassie wouldn’t recognize it. He was one of the few people who knew Iska had a deal with Chamer.

“…What about you, Miss?”

“A benefactor who saved Mr. Moot’s life? Oh, of course, my friends are the ones who saved him.”

Lavella smiled and stepped aside as she pointed to her group.

“…….”

Cassie’s gaze shifted from Canpiden to Dabel before finally turning to Iska.

Cassie, who looked at Iska, turned to Lavella again.

“We’ve been busy bringing Mr. Moot to town. If you don’t mind, could you let us stay in town for a few days?”

“Grandpa…”

Cassie, who saw Moot mutter as if he was asking for a favor, sighed briefly.

“…Guide them.”

“Oh, thank you. I’ll see you again then.”

Lavella, who smiled tenderly covering her mouth with her hands, said goodbye and followed Moot.

Cassie gazed gently at the man in black clothes that followed him.

“…Why did you cover your face again?”

The moment they got outside, Lavella took off his mask, looked at Iska’s face, and asked bitterly. 

“Well, isn’t the sunlight too strong here?”

Iska answered shamelessly, pointing his long fingers at the sky.

“…….”

“…….”

For a moment the two stared at each other without saying a word then Lavella sighed and shook her head as if he was pathetic.

“By the way, what are you going to do?”

“Huh?”

“Kuzne only supplies to the Imperial family. I think your plan went awry.”

“Ohoho, I like Kuzne’s weapons.”

Lavella glowed as if it was nothing.

“And I get what I want somehow.”

“That’s just like me.”

“…….”

“I always end up with what I want.”

His purple eyes were half covered, but it was easy to see that the object Iska was referring to was herself.

“Oh yeah? I wonder who will get it first.”

“Shall we make a bet?”

“It’s obvious I’m going to win and…. don’t cover your face. I enjoy seeing your face a lot.”

“…Just my face?”

There are many other places you might like.

Lavella easily ignored the end of Iska’s words.

*   *   *

It was such a quiet night that he could hear the sound of a passing beast breathing.

After leaving the room, Iska moved along a familiar path, concealing his presence. 

“…I’ve been waiting.”

As Iska quietly opened the door and entered, Cassie, who was sitting in the dark, welcomed the night visitor as if he had waited.

“As expected, did you notice?”

“There’s no way I wouldn’t recognize you, no?”

“Are you gonna get angry?”

“What the hell… so far….”

Whether to be angry or happy.

Cassie, who had a combination of various thoughts, blurred the end of his speech.

When he hid his face, he looked like a boy who still had a baby face, but Prince Rubitz, who appeared a few years ago, had become a wonderful young man.

“If you’re back, that’s all I need.”

Cassie shook his head, got up from his seat, and knelt on the wooden floor.

“The loyal vassal of Bismert, Cassie Cabachi. Greetings to Prince Rubitz.”

“Cassie, that kind of formal greeting…”

Iska, who clicked his tongue as he approached the window, stopped.

“…I’ll have to postpone the reunion until later.”

Before Cassie spoke, Iska quickly went out of the window and jumped onto the roof.

“Oh my, did I get caught?”

Lavella stuck her tongue out at Iska who appeared without giving her a chance to run away.

“…Lavella.”

Iska sighed, pressing his forehead.

“Yeah, I thought it was weird.”

Lavella, who was sitting cross-legged on the roof, tilted her head.

“I mean, you’re a prince?”

“…….”

“No, was it ‘a son of a bitch’?”

Lavella’s lips, which saw Iska with a troubled expression, drew up into a smile.

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