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Chapter: 92

I formed a search party by selecting twenty skilled and tight-lipped individuals, and we set out to find the owner of the cloth fragment.

I didn\'t think it would be beneficial to spread the word, so we departed secretly.

Even though it was daytime, safety wasn\'t guaranteed if we strayed too far from Wolhan Fortress.

Even if there were an attack by demonic beasts, there wouldn\'t be many, but then again, our numbers weren\'t great either.

During our movement, a few demonic beasts suddenly charged at us, but it didn\'t escalate into a bad situation.

It seemed that some of the demonic beasts that had swarmed in the night hadn\'t returned and were still lingering.

Although it wouldn\'t have been easy to walk into the area where the demonic beasts were positioned, the party handled it more calmly than expected.

If there were demonic beasts remaining like this, I would need to have the villages patrolled once after the night battle ended.

It was something I needed to suggest to the Council of Elders.

The search party moved along the route we had previously determined. Along the way, corpses of demonic beasts and dried bloodstains were scattered everywhere.

After a certain distance from Wolhan Fortress, we encountered live demonic beasts.

Since there weren\'t so many that they were difficult to deal with, we calmly killed them and cleared the path.

"Was his name Eulgeum?"

I asked, glancing at Yoo Geung (유긍) as I walked, swinging my sword. Of course, I was asking about the name of the missing servant.

Yoo Geung looked back at me with a blank expression, as if asking what I was talking about.

"Th-that is correct. If you are referring to the name of the missing servant..."

Instead of Yoo Geung, one of the soldiers abruptly spoke up and answered. His name was... Ah, right. Bu-Seop. His name was Bu-Seop.

I nodded and said, "I see you often."

His expression immediately brightened.

"It-it\'s an honor that you remember me!"

He must have volunteered to follow me this time as well, which showed how eager he was to earn merits.

Even though he would probably want to sleep and rest.

"What about you, Captain Yoo? Why aren\'t you answering when I ask you something?"

When I chided him, Yoo Geung replied, looking embarrassed, "I didn\'t realize you were talking about that servant."

Saying that, Yoo Geung wiped the blood splattered on his face with the back of his hand. It was probably demonic beast blood.

I chuckled and asked, "You\'re not already tired, are you?"

"Not at all, Your Highness,” Yoo Geung retorted, seemingly with some pride as a general.

"Eh, but you look tired?"

"Not at all,” Yoo Geung said firmly. If he insisted, I had to believe him.

I let out a sigh and started walking again.

At the head of the search party of about twenty people was Chaos.

He was said to be one of the four strongest generals in the Northern Region, and although I couldn\'t deny that he seemed a bit clueless, it was hard to say that he wasn\'t fit to be a general.

Considering how he was struggling to find his way in the demon realm, one might even think he was a different person.

When our eyes met by chance, Chaos looked flustered and then turned his head away.

Hmm.

I watched his back for a moment and then cut down a demonic beast that was lurking nearby.

Blood splattered as the demonic beast\'s skin tore. I wiped the warm fluid that splashed on my face with the back of my hand.

"Focus! Don\'t let your guard down!"

If I hadn\'t cut it down, it would have attacked the soldier in front of it.

The soldier, having avoided injury, glanced back at me and bowed his head. I waved my hand dismissively and looked around.

Good. It seemed like we were still alright.

After moving for a long time, I repeatedly looked up at the sky.

This was because I had told Gon to signal me if it found the target. But there was no sign yet.

After raising and lowering my head several times, I looked up at the sky once more.

Finally, Gon signaled me. It was circling above my head, urging me not to proceed further.

It was then.

"Your Highness, here...!"

A soldier shouted amidst the chaos. I turned my head in the direction he was pointing, and there was something at my feet.

Cutting down the demonic beasts, I immediately ran towards it. And there I found a piece of cloth, its shape difficult to discern.

It was with a corpse, so terribly mutilated that almost nothing remained.

It was impossible to tell its original color, but there was only one reason for a piece of cloth to be in such a place. It must have belonged to the missing servant.

"Shall we recover it?"

I nodded at the question.

"Take it."

The soldier who stepped forward to recover the body offered a brief prayer of mourning.

I glanced at the corpse and turned my head away. It was in a state that could only be described as rotten. I couldn\'t help but frown.

The person behind this would not escape accountability.

* * *

An ominous feeling washed over him. His forehead was already damp with cold sweat.

Son Gye-du, abruptly awakened from sleep, scrambled out of bed and rushed to the door, flinging it open.

Creak-

The door opened, revealing the scene in the hallway. The corridor outside his room was silent. There was no sign of anyone.

It was inexplicable why he felt so uneasy despite the quiet.

Only after confirming that there was no one in the hallway did Son Gye-du calm down a little. He clutched his chest.

"Haa..."

In truth, he knew the reason for this anxiety. He had done something shady, so he couldn\'t be at ease.

Surely no one would know about his scheme to open the north gate or his collusion with the Huawei Kingdom.

However, the anxiety that someone would come to arrest him seeped deep into his bones, impossible to shake off.

After staring down the hallway for a long time, Son Gye-du\'s expression gradually darkened.

\'Could it be...?\'

Something worse wasn\'t happening, was it? The situation couldn\'t get any worse.

The worst-case scenarios were Wolhan Fortress ultimately falling or his conspiracy being completely exposed.

However, it wasn\'t easy to anticipate such terrible events happening.

The worst-case scenario was as rare as the best-case scenario.

Yes, so it would be alright. He would be able to resolve everything.

Son Gye-du reassured himself, trying to suppress the anxiety that kept creeping in.

"Whew..."

Letting out a long sigh, he began to move calmly, as usual. He washed his face and dressed properly.

Clad in his luxurious silk clothes, he looked no different than usual. Except for his inner turmoil.

Just as Son Gye-du, finished with his preparations, was about to leave his chambers...

"Elder!"

A subordinate approaching from down the hallway called out to him. The subordinate was practically running.

"E-Elder."

The subordinate\'s complexion wasn\'t good. The ominous feeling he had felt since the moment he woke up intensified.

Son Gye-du, struggling to suppress his churning stomach, said, "What\'s the matter? Why are you making such a fuss?"

"Th-that is..."

The subordinate hesitated to speak. Son Gye-du was burning with impatience at his hesitation.

He shouted, "Speak quickly!"

"...It\'s something I can\'t discuss in the hallway."

Something that would cause great trouble if overheard. The anxiety he had tried so hard to quell resurfaced.

In that case, there was no helping it. Son Gye-du, his face stiff with anxiety, nodded.

"Follow me."

Son Gye-du moved to a different location and then asked his subordinate again,

"Now tell me. What\'s with all the commotion?"

"The matter of the north gate being opened... The Fortress Lord has brought it up again."

Son Gye-du\'s face crumpled. Deep wrinkles formed between his eyebrows.

"Are you saying the Fortress Lord is bringing up the north gate incident again?"

"That\'s right."

"Why!"

Bang-!

Son Gye-du slammed his fist against the wall. His fist, which had struck the wall, quickly reddened.

"There\'s no evidence, so why needlessly bring it up!"

Soon, not only his fist but also his wrinkled face turned red. Anger was firmly etched on his face, which resembled a dried date.

"Even if they suspect me, there\'s no evidence. No, there\'s nothing that could even be used as a basis for suspicion! As if anyone doesn\'t know there\'s no evidence...!"

As Son Gye-du lost control of his anger and raged, his subordinate shrank back and cautiously observed him.

Normally, he would have pretended to be benevolent and coaxed his discouraged subordinate, but he didn\'t have the leisure to do so now.

"No matter how much that bastard tries to corner me, it\'s useless. He wants to confirm that with his own eyes. Yes, it seems he wants to see for himself that he can\'t do anything."

"Th-that\'s..."

Faced with the Elder\'s unreasonable words, the subordinate couldn\'t speak. Son Gye-du was still fuming, but he was no longer yelling.

Taking advantage of the lull, the subordinate cautiously brought up the main point.

"...Th-there is, they say."

Son Gye-du\'s expression suddenly became calm. His face was expressionless as he stared intently at his subordinate.

Uncomfortable under his gaze, the subordinate averted his eyes.

"What?" He asked, his eyes widening.

"Th-they say there\'s evidence..."

Bang-!

Son Gye-du slammed his fist against the wall again. The subordinate\'s eyes flickered towards his fist.

"...What did you just say?"

"The Fortress Lord said that they have secured the identity of the culprit who deliberately opened the north gate and threatened the safety of Wolhan Fortress..."

"That\'s absurd!"

For someone to have single-handedly opened the north gate, which bordered the demon realm, meant that whoever opened it would have died immediately after.

And to die by a demonic beast meant exactly the same thing as becoming their prey.

There was no chance that the servant, standing alone in front of the north gate, could have survived against the starving demonic beasts that had just descended from the demon realm.

"How can a dead man come back to life!"

He remembered the reckless prince making preposterous claims about reorganizing the front lines. However, the front lines were still in place.

And there was still no trace of the dead servant. This meant that finding him was a distant prospect.

Unless someone had wings on their back and could look down on the ground, there would be no way to find any evidence for the assumption that the servant had crossed over to the demon realm.

He had been so sure of that.

"If you want to spout nonsense, go somewhere else,” Son Gye-du retorted, forcibly denying his anxiety.

However, denying the situation wouldn\'t change the outcome.

His subordinate, discouraged and cowering, cautiously added, "...They say that His Highness, Prince Ikwon, has returned. With a part of the corpse and the clothes worn by the fortress servants..."