Chapter 124. Faith without power is meaningless (3)
When Keter is faced with a situation that is going smoothly, the body itches and cannot stand it.
It was just such a situation right now.
On the way to join the party after examining Ryze, the youngest son of Eslow, Lord of the South. Walking down the aisle with Deacon 47, Keter felt unbearably bored.
‘If we go back to them like this, Anise and Tarragon will ask us to practice for the tournament together. I’ll ignore it because I want to see the palace. This guy sitting next to me will follow me and promise to guide me. Then I’ll walk around slowly at the pace of this filthy slow guy, and wherever I go, he’ll introduce me next to me, right? He is a distinguished guest from Sephira. Then the opponent, ah- I see. who i am Nice to meet you.’
They looked around the palace without difficulty and were introduced to each other.
This is by no means a bad thing. Expanding and building networks is an essential process, like a rite of passage for aristocrats.
However, to Keter, the whole body was twisted, it was like torture. Slowly, under someone’s supervision and protection, restrictions that prevent you from acting the way you want.
From noble mtl dot com
Just imagining it was Keter.
so i messed up
Deacon number 47, who had been going well, suddenly became limp like a doll with a thread cut off. When passing through the hall supported by the giant statue, in a blind spot without soldiers’ surveillance, I pressed the blood between the arm and shoulder of the 47th butler.
bloodletting method. This technique, which Keter often uses in medicine, is also excellent for instantly stunning opponents.
After hiding the fainting butler 47 behind a pillar, Keter immediately shouted to the soldiers guarding the hallway to hear him.
“Is anyone there? Deacon number 47 suddenly collapsed! Please help!”
Two nearby soldiers approached Keter. Keter tapped Deacon 47 on the cheek and said,
“My mind won’t come back. The unstable pulse indicates acute heart failure. There, you can call the doctor.”
The soldier, ignorant of medical terminology, was deceived by Keter’s plausible words and ran away with a serious face.
Keter gestured to the other soldier to sit down.
“We need to do CPR. I’ll do it, so please support the back of the deacon’s neck.”
“I knew.”
The moment the soldier put down his weapon and took off his helmet without any doubt. Keter’s finger stabbed the defenseless soldier’s throat.
Keter, who stunned the soldier in the blink of an eye, acted swiftly. It won’t take more than a minute for the soldier we sent out to return.
After changing clothes with the soldier and wearing a helmet, Keter adjusted her posture. I imitated the grip and gait of the soldiers I had seen on the way here.
In just over a minute, Keter disguised himself as a soldier and managed to get out of the hallway and disappear.
The soldier who returned to the scene with the doctor was dumbfounded to see Keter nowhere and his comrade collapsed.
who could have predicted That a direct blood relative from the prestigious Sephira stole a soldier’s clothes and hid.
An immediate search was launched, but Keter’s whereabouts were unknown. It disappeared without leaving a trace, and it was not even possible to guess where Keter had gone.
This news reached the ears of the owner of the castle, Eslow.
* * *
“Keter suddenly disappeared? Did you want to get my attention?”
With a pipe in his mouth, Eslow put the report down. It was a report on Sephira’s dynamics for the past year.
Deacon number 97, standing in front of him, continued his report.
“Sir Geoffrey went to Prince Miles to see if it was Sephira’s planned action, but he said no. It is said that they were unaware of Keter’s disappearance.”
“It’s not a place where Sephira dares to go against my planting. Not a reckless fool. Is it Kether’s dogma?”
“Currently, we are continuing the search from the outside to the inside.”
“Leave it alone. I don’t know why he’s hiding, but as long as Sephira’s clan is in my hands, I can’t do anything stupid.”
Eslow judged that Keter was acting eccentrically to get his ‘attention’.
Eslow, who has lived for 200 years, has experienced a human like Keter. Those who try to attract attention with eccentric behavior, as they do not get attention with the regular method.
‘You seem to have decided that just treating Ryze is not enough to attract my attention, right? I think he wanted to show off his stealth skills, heh. Keter. Let’s pretend we’re different. After all, you are just the same as other nobles.’
If Eslow of the world had known that Keter had gone into hiding simply because he was ‘bored’, he would have praised him as a madman.
However, Eslow, who did not think that Keter, who had so much to lose, would do such a crazy thing, just thought of Keter as an interested person, and his awareness disappeared.
‘If I treat Ryze, I’ll have to coax and intimidate him and keep him by my side.’
What does it mean to be interested in?
There is a lust for power.
Eslow, who gave a generous evaluation to Keter’s courage at first, was now Keter, who was devalued as ‘a guy who is easy to get along with’.
“Is Henna still confined to her room?”
Eslow, who had lost interest in Keter, asked how his daughter, Henya, was doing.
“yes. Princess Henya returned at around 4:30 yesterday afternoon, went straight into the residence, and has not come out until now.”
“Tsk, I guess I’ll be reading the tactics manual again. I miss the days when I acted like a girl.”
Eslow did not force fate on his children. He gave me the freedom to do what I wanted to do and live the way I wanted to.
As Eslow wished, his children enjoyed freedom without responsibility.
The eldest son is a sculptor, and the second son lives a life of revelry without learning anything.
His third daughter, Henya, learned swordsmanship and became a knight. It wasn’t something anyone forced or forced to do.
As befits the son of Eslow, who is called the Weapon Master, Henya was a genius in swordsmanship. After only 5 years of learning swordsmanship, he created his own ‘signature technique’ and became a 5-star master in 10 years.
At that time, Henya went to see Eslow and said.
“Father, please allow me to become independent as a collateral family.”
“If you call me daddy and kiss me on the cheek, I will allow it.”
“no, I do not want.”
“Then I don’t like it either.”
“The swordsmanship I learned was a reference to my father’s, but it’s a new swordsmanship that doesn’t exist in this world. Aren’t you qualified enough?”
“Are you condescending just because you became a Master? Can not be done. Become a grandmaster Then I will allow the establishment of a collateral family.”
“Becoming a grandmaster is only a matter of time. So, please allow me.”
“What is so urgent? If you are in a hurry, call me daddy and kiss me on the cheek.”
“How about this? The Southern Sword Tournament to be held this time. I would like to compete If I become the Southern Sword, please admit it.”
“hmm… … .”
Eslow couldn’t understand why Henya wanted to be independent so much. Still, there was no reason to refuse, so I nodded my head.
“good night. Become the Southern Sword and I will grant you independence. However, you are not competing in the capacity of my daughter.”
“That’s what I wanted too.”
After a brief thought, Eslow exhaled smoke from his cigarette.
Looking at Eslow, who was engrossed in reminiscence with a sad expression on his face, Deacon No. 97 cautiously suggested.
“If you give me an order, I will visit Princess Henya and deliver the words of the monarch.”
At the words of the 97th butler, Eslow said with a smile.
“Are you giving me advice now?”
“Oh, no. I just said it in the hopes of relieving the monarch’s anxiety.”
“Don’t try to figure out my intentions on your own. Be cheeky.”
“sorry. I will never do that again.”
“Huh- you won’t be sorry next time.”
“yes?”
Those were the last words of the 97th butler. The smoke from Eslow’s cigarette passed down his throat.
Took.
Butler No. 97’s neck separated from his torso.
The attendants naturally removed the corpse, and five minutes later, a new butler stood by Eslow. The number 97 was sewn on his shoulder.
* * *
Unseen, Keter wandered from place to place in stealth.
The vigilance was very strict, but it rather satisfied Keter.
Strict boundaries for large and complex structures. Eslow’s palace was an adventurous and fun place.
Although the hallway was strictly guarded, the interior of the room was often empty.
“What is this place?”
It was a room full of weapons. It was like a graveyard of weapons.
– Save… give it
– I, I, I. who is this?
A muffled murmur heard from somewhere. The sticky demonic air covered Keter’s entire body.
“what. It is an ordinary cursed space.”
A soldier wearing a helmet walks on the other side of Keter after closing the door.
The helmeted soldier met eyes with Keter, who turned his head, and spoke in a cracked voice.
-That body… Give me!
Red eyes flash in the eyes of the helmet soldier who lunges at Keter with his arms wide open. It wasn’t the eyes of a living being.
Kwajik!
The helmet soldier’s face sunk at Keter’s vigorous punch.
The helmeted soldier who grabbed his face cried and ran away.
-sick… . you don’t like… … .
“It’s fun here. Lots of things to enjoy. What else?”
As Keter looked around, he saw a shiny coin. It was a silver coin.
“Are there any silver coins in this place?”
Behind Keter, who bent down to pick it up, shadow teeth opened their mouths.
“Did you know I could say that?”
hooked!
A finger with an aura pierced the silver coin. The shadow teeth on Keter’s back quickly disappeared.
“Is there anything more?”
Like a child waiting for the next performance at the circus, Keter waited for what would happen next, but nothing more happened.
After wandering around for a long time, Keter stopped at the smell that passed her nose.
“It smells like expensive alcohol.”
Keter, who found the wine cellar, boldly broke into it at the moment when the soldiers were changing shifts.
“Hey, this is shangreal.”
As befits a monarch with the most power in the country, all the wines stored were precious. A bottle of wine worth a mansion is tightly displayed.
“Deep Forest of Pedelouz. Lunesque Silver Mist, Radiant Sunset! There is nothing missing.”
Will the cat pass the fish? Keter, which is opened without hesitation and tasted one bite at a time. We also stopped by a nearby cheese aging warehouse for a snack.
“As expected, food is a late-night snack, and secretly eating is the sweetest thing.”
Kether, who also had a good breath, walked around the castle again. Then, at some corner, I stopped.
“What else is this?”
Judging from the exterior and location, it is clear that the room is occupied by people. However, there are no sentries around. Instead, security was tight.
There are only two locks on the door, and the carpet in front of the door is enchanted. It is a kind of magic that detects weight and sounds an alarm.
It’s too remote to be a room where servants live, and it’s not even popular. The security is tight, but there are no guards in the room.
Who the hell lives in that room? It aroused Keter’s curiosity.
“The smell of sweat and soil remains. And this, um… The footprints on the floor are very faint. If you consciously walk around lightly, that means you are a knight of a considerable level.”
Based on the faint reverberation in the air, Keter began to infer someone living inside.
“I don’t know if it’s a man or a woman. Moon’s style is neutral. If you’re middle class, you’re more likely to be a woman. There was no way that a woman living in a room like this could be Eslow’s wife or concubine. Is it your daughter?”
Keter stood at the door.
If you step on the carpet, it detects the weight and should sound an alarm, but it did not. It was because he was floating in the air by making a platform with mana.
Kether muttered, pressing her ear against the door.
“There is no popularity. Come out, the master key.”
Keter pulled out the courtesy master key, the wire, from her pocket.
This wire, which was also a lock made by Vulcanus, the blacksmith of Sephira, is actually not just a wire.
Great Sword One of Shade’s seven tools. It is a noble object made of liquid metal that has magnetic power and can change shape when injected with mana.
When it enters the lock hole, it automatically changes its shape into a key shape, so it is not enough to call it a universal key.
click.
It was no different from the monarch’s palace. The lock picks up easily. After dismantling the two locks, Keter did not rush to open the door and observed the movement.
“For someone this serious about security, there could be traps.”
Mechanical traps, such as triggering when you hold a handle or opening a door, are the most common and deadly.
“Well, there’s a device, but it’s not a trap.”
A piece of paper is sandwiched between the cracks in the door at your feet. It was classy, but it was not a special enchanted paper.
“It seems to be used to check if someone has entered or not when you are not there. Are you in puberty? Or are you learning dark magic?”
What is certain is that someone who lives inside wants to hide something. So I didn’t even put a sentry and only cared about security.
“Heh heh. what are you hiding? Let me know.”
The more you hide it, the more you want to be exposed. There was no sign of presence from the inside, but I opened it without making the sound of opening the door.
“hmm. Isn’t that the girl’s room? What is so desolate?”
When Keter entered the room, what he saw was an excessively frugal and insipid room.
There are no decorations, no carpets. This was not the realm of frugality, but it was at the level of having a furniture allergy.
Although the room was large and high, it had no furniture, so there seemed to be no place to hide anything.
“Did you think I could say, “There is nothing?”
Kether put her palm on the wall and began to examine it carefully. Before long, Keter, who had found clues in the armor room, grinned.
I found an artificially empty space between the dense armor. In other words, there was a secret room on the other side of this wall.
“I can feel the popularity.”
There is a person in a secret space.
He must be the owner of this room.
“What secret? Is it a black magic? It must be black magic, right?”
Although the kingdom of Lillian is sensitive to magic, it is not that strict. There are many nobles who learn magic as a hobby, and there is also a magic corps.
However, as for black magic and blood magic, even nobles were punished without hesitation.
“found.”
Keter, who discovered a device that opened a secret passageway, opened the door without hesitation.
With a rattling sound, the space opens to the left and right, revealing… It was neither a dull gray wallpaper nor a shady space.
It was pink.
Various cute animal dolls on pink wallpaper. A beautiful and lively potted plant. On one side, women’s dresses and clothes are neatly hung.
And, as Keter expected, there was one.
A woman standing in front of a full-length mirror wearing a sky-blue dress with open legs, revealing her thighs and legs. Her face was clumsy with makeup, but she was beautiful nonetheless.
Slender and tall, with long, dark crimson hair and emerald eyes, she was Eslow’s famous daughter, Henya, known by the public as the ‘sword witch’.
“Uh, huh?”
Henya trembled as she pointed her finger at Keter who appeared out of nowhere. The blushing face and expressions were very cute.
However, that expression did not last long. In the blink of an eye, it turned into cold eyes.
“die.”
The aura sword that was created in her hand was aimed at Keter’s neck.