Chapter 200

Chapter 200

Episode 200: 『Fragments of the Past』 // The underworld’s basement. Inside a room where the heat from a blazing brazier swirled, a rough voice echoed. “Boss, Boss!?” “…Ugh.” The voice, filtering through a dark consciousness, roused the aged boss of the underworld. Hearing the urgent voice ringing in his ears, Rockard slowly raised himself. “..Keugh.” A ringing in his ears, a swaying vision, and a surging dizziness. What on earth had happened? Even in his dazed state, Rockard struggled to sit up and surveyed his surroundings. What he saw was familiar. A dark and damp underground prison, broken handcuffs, and the face of a flustered Sert. Seeing the scene, Rockard muttered blankly. “…What.” And then, he remembered. “…Ah.” The image of the woman striking his head with a fancy kick. “….” It was such an unbelievable memory that he wondered if it was real, but the situation before his eyes clearly proved that Rockard’s last memory was reality. Recalling that, he hurriedly looked around the prison, “….” Keir was gone. All that remained were rusty, broken handcuffs. Keir, and the woman who was supposedly his lover, had vanished. ‘What the hell…’ It was absurd. A mere wench had knocked him unconscious and helped a traitor escape? And a whore who used to spread her legs and receive customers? It was preposterous. And yet, it was reality. “….” “Boss, are you alright?” Sert approached Rockard, who was in a daze, and supported him, but Rockard didn’t want such support. “…Where did they go?” “Yes, yes?” “Those two lovebirds, where did they go!” Rockard shouted in a rage. It wasn’t just because they had gotten the better of him. To prevent the upcoming fight with Jin, Keir’s head was needed. No, even if he handed him over, Jin might not let go of his grudge. Unlike the seasoned Rockard, who knew how to assess the situation, Jin was a reckless man. Many were drawn to his fiery nature, but in Rockard’s eyes, Jin was just a wild boar charging towards his own death. It was the same this time. He was likely to charge in, not knowing his own doom, and drag others down with him. He would fearlessly lead his men into a massive battle, forgetting that Count Lantaine would not allow it. He was trying to hand over Keir to prevent the fight, but a crazy whore had knocked him unconscious and spirited him away. “…Well, that, that is.” “Sert. Don’t tell me you didn’t see them leaving?” “…I didn’t see them.” Sert also had eyes, so he knew that Keir had disappeared. But he had nothing to say. Surely he had done as the boss had ordered? He had raped the man’s woman in front of him to torment Keir, branded her belly, and then locked them up. But it was his boss who had gone in to see Keir’s face. And he had been knocked unconscious by a mere woman. It wouldn’t have happened if the boss hadn’t gone in in the first place. Sert couldn’t help but feel wronged, but, “Shut up! If you don’t find them and bring them before my eyes, you’ll end up like them!” “…Understood.” Sert silently nodded. Not speaking his mind was the secret to his survival. No matter how dirty and unpleasant it was, his family was the Rockard Family. Reluctantly, Sert left Rockard in the care of a subordinate and stood up. “Support the boss.” “Yes.” Sert said briefly and headed out of the underground passage. His steps were firm, but he had no confidence. “…Damn it.” Of course, he had no good plan. Was Reikers a village the size of his palm? It wouldn’t be easy for them, who didn’t even have a guard like Count Lantaine, to find a runaway couple in a vast city. ‘I’m screwed.’ But he couldn’t disobey the boss’s orders. Inevitably, Sert decided to trust his instincts. And the place his instincts pointed to was obvious. ‘First…’ The Black Rose Manor. If he started by shaking down that bitch Jess, maybe something would come out. With a brief thought, Sert moved his feet. // It wasn’t difficult for me to get Keir and Jess out of Reikers. Keir, as a member of the underworld, didn’t have an ID, but I had money to replace it. When I slipped some money to a merchant group trying to leave the city gate, the merchant readily increased the number of people in the group by handing over some of the money to the gate guards. “Thank you! You’ll be blessed!” Having easily passed through the city gate, I shouted energetically to the nameless merchant. In return for the cheerful shout, the merchant also waved at me. “Haha, I’m already blessed!” In his hand, the money pouch he received from me was shaking. Beyond that, at the gate of Reikers, a guard was wearing a smile that shone like silver coins. It was a happy world where everyone was united by bribes. …Of course, that’s a joke. “Hoo-cha.” On the road outside the city gate, after waving goodbye to the departing carriage, I stared at Keir and Jess. “Then, shall we go now?” “….” “Um, what’s going on?” Unlike Keir, who roughly knew the situation, Jess looked at us and asked, seemingly clueless. I shrugged at Jess. “First, shall we talk while walking?” “…Yes?” “It’s not a short story.” The outside of the city is peaceful. Warm sunshine and a cool breeze blow, and the village outside the city gate unfolds with a lively atmosphere. It was a leisurely scene, as if being in the gruesome underground passage just a moment ago was a lie. “….” Perhaps that’s why. “Anyway, that’s why you guys can’t stay in Reikers anymore. If you go back, the Rockard Family will probably be trying to destroy you.” “…Is that true?” “Does it sound like a lie?” “…..” Even while I was exchanging roughly made-up stories with Jess, Keir was blankly looking around. “….” Because of that, I kept an eye on his complexion even while talking to Jess. It’s not that I was being cautious, but I was curious about how he felt. It’s not Keir’s first time coming outside the city gate, but unlike me, he has never truly escaped the underworld. Perhaps, this is the first time. He must feel both overwhelmed and relieved. I don’t know what emotions he’s feeling, but I hope they’re not bad. “Then, where are we going?” “First, we’re going to take a carriage heading to Tritia.” “…Tritia?” “It’s a city in the northeast, and I have a friend there. I’m going to ask them to take care of you.” “….” And in a slightly different sense from Keir, Jess seemed bewildered by the current situation. She looked at Reikers with a complicated expression and asked me. “…Do I have to leave with you too?” “It’s probably better that way. I won’t stop you if you want to stay and die.” “I don’t want that.” “Okay, you have clear preferences.” Is she a pretty good person? Come to think of it, I still don’t know much about her. I know that she’s Keir’s lover, but being lovers doesn’t necessarily mean it’s all good. At least, they both seemed to care for each other dearly, but I don’t know exactly what it’s like. “By the way, what exactly is your relationship?” “….” Just in case, I asked, and Jess and Keir looked at each other. In the gaze they exchanged, there was definitely something cheesy. “…He’s the person I can trust the most.” “I just helped her a few times when she first came.” But what they said was different. Of course, it was obvious that Keir was lying. When he saw me being dragged in as Jess, he twisted his body like a madman. But when he realized that it was me who was being subjected to it, good heavens. He was as calm as could be. I do understand how he feels. “….” I felt a little lonely. And so does his current behavior. He talked about his beloved woman in front of me, but in front of her, he acts like he’s not. If it wasn’t Keir, I’d want to punch him in the jaw.

-Swish.

But I shook my head, brushed off the slight animosity, and asked Jess. “Then, have you heard my story?” “…No.” Hasn’t she heard it? Come to think of it, even when Aiden called my name at the brothel, Jess didn’t react. I thought it was because Layla was a common name, but it seems he didn’t tell her. “…You hid it well.” “…Sorry.” “Don’t apologize. It’s not like you.” I grumbled as I answered, but my thoughts inside were a little different. It’s better to hide such a past. It’s like a wound for Keir. I wanted to heal that wound, but another woman has already done it. In that case, I can only congratulate him. “Are you perhaps an old lover?” Meanwhile, Jess seemed to have noticed something from our conversation and looked at me and asked. And I answered ambiguously. “…It’s something similar.” It’s not entirely wrong. We grew up together, slept together, and even received a gift that looked like a ring. The only difference is that we didn’t love each other. “….” I don’t feel heartbroken or jealous about that fact. In the first place, I had forgotten about Keir too. That’s right, we never loved each other. We just stabbed each other in the heart in different ways. The only difference is that the dagger he stabbed bounced off, and the dagger I stabbed was pulled out by another woman. // After walking and talking for a while, we arrived at our destination around sunset. The destination was a small village between Reikers and Artun Village. The village, called Steedrion, serves as a carriage station to connect the cities of the Kilkerd Kingdom. To be more specific, they are villages built as part of the kingdom’s road project. It’s like a station built to connect cities by carriage, like in Rome. Inside Steedrion, which is like a resting place for carriages, we rented a room in an inn and rested. And surprisingly, “Crunch, crunch.” As soon as Jess lay down on the bed, she fell asleep and showed off her resting skills by grinding her teeth while sleeping. “….” No matter how soft the sheets are, I couldn’t believe she could fall asleep like that. Was it because walking was difficult? “…She must be very tired.” I said, covering Jess’s body with a blanket as she lay down, and Keir nodded and answered. “She’s not a woman with good stamina.” “She’s different from me.” “…Very different.” Certainly, it seems so. They look a bit similar, but right now, their hair and eye color are different. Unlike me, who had shining blonde hair and blue eyes, Jess had light brown hair and brown eyes. “By the way, she follows you well.” “….” “I’m not criticizing you. I’m just thinking that it wouldn’t have been easy to throw everything away and follow a man.” Looking at Keir, who was talking intermittently, I smiled bitterly. “Seeing that you can say such things now, have you grown up a bit?” “…Maybe.” There are many things I’m curious about. Unexpectedly, we haven’t had many opportunities to talk. But these aren’t the kind of stories that are appropriate to tell in this room. I raised my hand and pointed downstairs, then asked Keir. “Want to have a drink downstairs?” “…Is it okay to get drunk now?” “No, of course I’m horny. How much did you guys poke me?”

“…Ahem.” Was it because I kept badgering him with old memories? Cale now wears an awkward expression instead of a sorry one, and clears his throat. And I chuckle at the sight of him. “So, be prepared. You’ll have to use some strength tonight.” “…What?”