Ch.106Chapter 106

Dario pretended to look dumb as if he didn’t understand what the Wendigo was saying, but he actually understood perfectly well.

Though he wasn’t particularly pleased, wasn’t the Wendigo essentially asking him to try and convince him because he found Dario’s abilities desirable?

If he were so oblivious that he couldn’t grasp someone’s intentions just because a few words were missing, he wouldn’t have survived under his suspicious and capricious father.

“Acting stupid won’t help you… Or do you need to feel more threatened before you’ll speak?”

With a slight gesture from the Wendigo, the icy hands restraining Dario’s body began to spread, creeping toward his neck.

As ice crawled up his body with a strange and terrible sensation, Dario shouted loudly, without even the composure to maintain his expression.

“I understand! I perfectly understand what Your Majesty is saying, so please spare me!”

“Who said anything about killing you? I never said I would kill you.”

Once Dario appeared to be taking the situation seriously enough, the Wendigo rotated his finger counterclockwise.

The ice that had been restraining Dario’s body then released its grip, as if time were flowing backward…

“Um… would it be possible to free my legs as well?”

Dario pointed downward with the most pitiful expression he could muster, pleading.

The Wendigo had specifically removed the ice from everywhere except Dario’s lower body.

The Wendigo stared at him blankly and asked:

“What difference does it make whether they’re frozen or not when you can’t escape anyway? Or should I make them even colder until they’re useless…”

“Wait, wait, wait!!! I’ll talk! I’ll try to convince you using every means at my disposal!”

With a face paler than his frozen legs, Dario reached out toward the Wendigo.

The fear of truly becoming impotent was too much for any male to bear.

The Wendigo silently stared at Dario, who swallowed dryly and forced an awkward smile.

‘I can hear the sound of his mind working from here.’

While facial expressions and actions could be faked, smells could not be deceived.

The scent of fear and terror had already faded, gradually being replaced by the sweet fragrance of anticipation.

It was quite an interesting development.

The sun was slowly disappearing, and a thick darkness that the braziers couldn’t dispel settled over the audience chamber.

How could anyone feel anticipation while having a private audience with a giant emanating cold air in such darkness?

‘This one is no ordinary person either. I’d say he’s half-mad.’

The Wendigo cleared away all the ice for Dario, leaving only ice shackles around his ankles.

Once the fear of impotence disappeared, Dario breathed a sigh of relief.

“Let’s sit down and talk. The conversation might be lengthy.”

When the Wendigo tapped the throne, a wooden chair emerged from the ground.

Dario eyed the chair suspiciously before sitting down.

‘He’s quite suspicious. Is it his nature… or a habit born from experience?’

Flinch.

When Dario’s eyes met the Wendigo’s, he swallowed dryly and moistened his lips with his tongue.

This wasn’t a preparation for lying, but because the cold air had passed over his lips, leaving them parched.

“Well, I’m not sure where to begin. This seems quite different from the interview you conducted today…”

“With the time you’ve had, I imagine you’ve already formulated a rough strategy. Or do you need more time?”

Hit right on the mark, Dario stopped and raised both hands.

Just in case the other’s intentions were more violent than he had assumed.

“No, thanks to the time Your Majesty has given me, I’ve finished preparing my persuasion, however meager it may be. But first, let me be clear that I would never resort to violent methods…”

“A man who knows he’d die the moment he draws his sword wouldn’t try that anyway.”

“……”

When the Wendigo nodded and spoke, Dario closed his mouth.

He couldn’t tell if the monster—no, the Djin—no, the King before him was trying to insult or compliment him.

But Dario’s patience wouldn’t wear thin from such remarks.

Emotions always vary in intensity depending on who they’re directed at.

From Dario’s perspective, no matter how much the Wendigo insulted him, it wouldn’t greatly affect his patience.

This was thanks to the early education he’d received since childhood in dozens of different forms of contempt and insult the world had to offer.

“Ahem, let me first share my thoughts. The reason you called me alone and offered this new interview is probably because… I might be useful to you, correct?”

“Yes. It’s not easy to gain favor from people with a terrible reputation.”

“I’ve been good at winning people’s favor since childhood.”

Dario proudly answered, discarding the pretense he had shown during the interview.

After all, pretense is only effective when your true nature remains hidden.

As his tongue loosened up, Dario decided to begin his persuasion in earnest.

‘At least the King isn’t like those Djin or crazy witches with twisted emotions.’

Dario was convinced that the Wendigo was more rational and personable than ordinary Djin.

Otherwise, he would have certainly rebuked Dario’s flippant tone.

Moreover, if he weren’t personable, he would have immediately beheaded Dario for deception.

“First, let me address the karma that Your Majesty has discovered about me. If not for my shameful past, you wouldn’t have put me on hold, would you?”

Dario prepared fake tears with practiced ease and revealed his past with a somber tone.

“I was an unplanned child of my father. During a banquet in the Empire, he forced himself on my mother in a moment of uncontrolled passion… and I was the result.”

“……”

“Naturally, my father despised me, and my family hated me as I could become a major obstacle in their dealings with the Empire. So I…”

Dario was about to shed tears and express each of his wrongdoings in a tragic manner when…

The Wendigo, who had been listening, raised his hand to silence Dario.

Honestly, he had little interest in Dario’s past.

“Cut out all the flowery language and summarize your past concisely.”

“Uh…”

Dario was taken aback by the Wendigo’s apparent lack of interest.

Usually, the most entertaining things in the world are watching fights and fires, and there’s nothing more interesting than someone else’s tragedy…

‘Did he make his heart out of ice too? No, come to think of it, he probably doesn’t have a heart.’

Dario cut out chunks of his tragic and moving past and connected the parts the Wendigo might want to hear.

“My father and family wanted me dead. Naturally, I didn’t want to die, and being perceptive, I worked hard to do things they would approve of.”

“What kind of things?”

“I studied academics and acted in ways that pleased the Imperial people. I maintained proper etiquette, displayed my learning, satisfied their vanity… and besides that, I worked diligently as a diplomatic envoy.”

While the Kaffustin family had turned their backs on their homeland, customs and traditions aren’t easily abandoned.

The head of the Kaffustin family was still a powerful warrior… and his retainers preferred to solve problems directly with steel and blood rather than through complex interests.

There was a gap between wanting to be recognized as a true noble family by the Empire while not wanting to abandon the simple yet familiar northern customs.

Dario exploited this gap to survive in the family.

He gained trust by handling tasks that his father and half-brothers disliked.

“Of course, it wasn’t smooth sailing. My terrible siblings and mother would look for opportunities to kill me whenever they got bored.”

“And then?”

“Well, what choice did I have? If I didn’t want to die, I had to resolve things their way.”

Dario shrugged and made a throat-slitting gesture.

To survive in the Kaffustin family, where northern customs still lingered, he had to show his ruthlessness.

Whether through poisoning, assassination, or direct beheading.

“As a result, I did quite a lot of bad things. I needed a lot of money… and at some point, killing those who got in my way became just another method.”

“Hmm…”

Having learned roughly why Dario had accumulated bad karma, the Wendigo pondered.

Becoming hardened was an inevitable choice to survive in a place crawling with enemies.

The problem was that Dario had become so accustomed to this approach that he started using it as a means rather than a necessary choice…

“Have you ever done such things to innocent people?”

“I can’t guarantee that I haven’t. I can’t be certain that no one was indirectly harmed by my actions…”

“What about plundering property without justification, selling innocent people into slavery? Or forcing yourself on women?”

Dario winced at the Wendigo’s question.

He tried his best to hide his emotional response, but the Wendigo’s question had touched on his trauma.

“Never. And unlike my father, I don’t take women without taking responsibility.”

“That’s fortunate.”

The Wendigo read intense anger in Dario’s eyes.

Given his birth circumstances, it was clear that being compared to his father greatly bothered him.

Moreover, there was no hint of deception in his words…

“I understand why you reek of bad karma. But that alone isn’t sufficient reason to employ you.”

“At least I’m glad my past won’t have a negative impact.”

Grateful that his crimes weren’t severe enough to warrant beheading, Dario listed what he could offer.

Dario was well-versed in Imperial etiquette, history, and knowledge of the noble families. His academic foundation was solid, having learned from Imperial scholars.

Above all, Dario’s most shining ability was his keen perception and ever-wagging tongue…

“Well, about my tongue…”

“It’s not entirely wrong, so let’s move on.”

“But still…”

“Ahem.”

When the Wendigo firmly rebuked him, Dario pouted and closed his mouth.

Anyway, Dario’s most outstanding ability lay in his innate political acumen.

Even now, he was successfully navigating a situation where one wrong move could cost him his head.

‘…I don’t have anyone around me with such political skills.’

Political acumen wasn’t just a talent used for flattery.

Moreover, his experience as an envoy meant he had experience dealing with people.

‘Dealing with people is always the most difficult and challenging task, but for this fellow, it might be his calling.’

Having made his decision, the Wendigo snapped his fingers. The shackles on Dario’s legs shattered with a clear sound.

As the bone-chilling cold disappeared, Dario joyfully moved his legs.

It had only been a few minutes, but having one’s movement restricted was never a pleasant experience.

“Let me ask you one last thing. Is that all you can do?”

“Isn’t that already quite useful? You’re being too harsh.”

“When character is lacking, ability should compensate.”

Regretting his grumbling that had gained him nothing, Dario carefully weighed his options…

‘I must be crazy. If something I’ve hidden gets discovered later, I’ll be completely finished in the North.’

Throwing aside the mental scale that was about to tip reflexively, Dario pondered if there was anything else useful he could offer.

Since he’d decided to grab the lifeline the Wendigo had thrown him, there was no harm in proving his usefulness further.

Twirling his finger as he thought, Dario snapped his fingers as something quite good occurred to him.

“I recently met some elves who crossed over from the Great Forest! I was intrigued and made connections with them, and if all goes well, I could introduce them to Your Majesty.”

“Elves?”

The Wendigo was intrigued by this unexpected information.

While he had met humans and beastkin here, he had never encountered elves.

“Yes. Are you interested?”

“I am interested, but it doesn’t seem like something to discuss right now.”

Though curious, he decided to postpone hearing about the elves.

Quite a long time had already passed listening to Dario’s story.

“For the time being, you’ll be working with Walton on establishing the university.”

“With him of all people?”

Dario looked disgruntled when Walton’s name was mentioned.

Unlike with others, gaining Walton’s favor seemed quite difficult.

The Wendigo’s thoughts weren’t much different from Dario’s.

“Seeing your dislike, it seems I’ve chosen well. Did you think I would entrust tasks to someone as dubious as you without any safeguards?”

“That’s too harsh. I had decided to serve Your Majesty with sincere loyalty and passion because you treated me without prejudice.”

When Dario spoke with a serious face, the Wendigo burst into laughter, finding it absurd.

The Wendigo revealed another fact he hadn’t told Dario before.

“I’ll forgive you this time, but be careful with your lies in the future.”

“Pardon?”

“I can discern the truth in someone’s words by their smell. And that statement just now… had quite a strong stench.”

Dario’s face turned pale as he listened, and his legs gave way, causing him to collapse with a thud.

Fortunately, the Wendigo wasn’t greatly disappointed in Dario.

If he had been naive enough to sincerely pledge loyalty from their first meeting, he would have been killed by his own family long ago.

‘Walton is a straightforward person. By working with such a person, this fellow might learn something.’

If he failed to cleanse his karma even after all this help, well… that would be the extent of his fate.

The Wendigo, not making much of it, gestured for Dario to leave.

“I’ll understand and let it go this time, so you may leave.”

“About that…”

“Yes?”

Though Dario’s complexion returned at the mention of being spared, he couldn’t stand up.

Fighting through the pain that was washing over him, Dario spoke with difficulty.

“I’m so shocked that my back…”

“……”

What was a young man doing complaining about his back?

The Wendigo, bewildered, called for an attendant to take Dario away.

…Perhaps he was even more pathetic than expected.