Chapter 110 : Chapter 110

Chapter 110 - An Affair

The Gray Flower Garden.

It was the only verdant spot in the Hall of Ten Demons, but the colors were nothing to look at.

True to its name, the gray petals looked as if they had been covered in acrid smoke.

“Still, the scent isn’t bad.”

The Forest Witch, reasonably satisfied, strolled through the interior of the garden.

Then, she saw someone sitting woodenly on a stone bench.

The person who had summoned her.

“…Didn't I tell you to come as soon as you saw me?”

The Vice-Patriarch of the Dark Wheel patted his back and clicked his tongue.

The listener felt wronged(?).

“I came as fast as I could.”

She had finished in a few hours what would have taken others weeks.

Look at the villa beyond the garden.

The sight of vine-like plant stems and green trees growing lushly around it was a small forest.

A remarkable achievement, hard to believe it was accomplished in just a few hours of settling in.

Graham was silent for a moment before nodding with difficulty.

“Yes. Even when the Fourth Son is about to hold a knife to your throat, your spirit, which can leisurely decorate a house, is enviable.”

The Forest Witch before him.

There was someone who had previously recommended her as an Elder.

It was the Fourth Son himself, whose maternal family's main headquarters had been destroyed by that very Forest Witch.

“You must know. The Fourth Son is after you, Elder Lorelin. He made you an Elder and placed you in the Pantheon, intending to swallow you whole.”

“How scary.”

“…Do not take the Fourth Son lightly. Especially if you are affiliated with Millesdusk.”

“Why. I said it was scary.”

Despite several warnings, the Forest Witch’s drooping eyes showed no sign of rising.

“The warning that the Fourth Son is after me. You called me all the way here to tell me a fact that everyone already knows? Even setting up a soundproof curse around us.”

The Elders were not visible among the gray flowers.

A soundproof barrier was also set up to prevent any sound from leaking.

It was excessive preparation just for a simple warning.

The Vice-Patriarch of the Dark Wheel let out a faint sigh.

“I want the ten Elders to be maintained as much as possible. I want to continue the current state, without anyone going astray or dying.”

Elder Kian had recently died, unable to bear his misjudgment.

But the new Elder Lorelin quickly filled the vacancy.

Graham knew well that this situation was simply a stroke of luck.

“Normally, we would have had to work tirelessly to select someone worthy of being an Elder. All sorts of figures within the family would have raised their hands.”

“In short.”

A reply that was clearly showing boredom.

Graham’s brow furrowed strongly once, then smoothed out again.

His expression showed he was seriously contemplating creating a vacancy with his own hands, but it quickly returned.

Because he had learned in just 10 seconds of meeting her that the Forest Witch was like this to everyone.

So the elder also spoke briefly instead of formally.

“Don’t die.”

That was all he wanted to say.

“If Elder Lorelin dies at the hands of the Fourth Son and we become nine again, the ambitious ones who want to become Elders will cause all sorts of commotion.”

The commotion could be a bizarre act to fulfill the requirements for an Elder.

Or it could be a competition to prove oneself by defeating someone.

“The longer you live, the more time the family will have to quiet down.”

“Just with words?”

Another short reply.

The Vice-Patriarch of the Dark Wheel chuckled, “Hoho.”

“Though it’s a one-word answer, you speak just like the Fifth Son.”

It was a word without malice, but Lorelin flinched for some reason.

She hid that slight tremor under the brim of her hat.

Graham got to the main point.

“I will help you.”

Before she could ask ‘how?’.

He held up two wrinkled fingers.

“Two conditions are needed.”

“For me to live?”

“That’s right.”

“I’ll at least listen.”

“Yes. There’s no harm in listening. As I, who has sat in the Elder’s seat the longest, feel, these are the only ways.”

First.

“Bend the Elder’s neutrality a little. Unofficially, choose one bloodkin to support.”

This bloodkin was, of course, one other than the Fourth Son.

The reason for choosing a side needed no explanation.

“The fastest way for me, who still has no standing in the family, to get a shield is to hide behind someone else.”

“You’re more of a politician than you look. That’s right.”

And second.

“You have to do one big thing.”

“…A big thing.”

“Yes. Here, a big thing means a family business.”

A business where the family moves as a group, not someone else.

As such, it boasts a large-scale and massive scope.

“Using your talents as the Forest Witch, you have to bring in a business that the family can pursue in the long term.”

“Hmm.”

“Just saying this won’t give you a good grasp. Go into the residence you just decorated and think about it seriously.”

The Vice-Patriarch of the Dark Wheel lifted his head.

The sky of the Pantheon, which rarely had a clear day, was gloomy.

He could only sense that it was getting colder.

“The Fourth Son is also busy with his own preparations, so he won’t touch you for now.”

“Preparations to kill me?”

“That’s right.”

“Oh. I see. He must be busy.”

“……”

A voice so placid that for a moment, it felt like it was someone else’s affair.

That languor seemed like it would make the listener yawn.

“If you have nothing more to say, I’ll be on my way.”

“…There is something I want to ask. Personally.”

“Quickly. And briefly. It’s my personal time after a long while, so I want to enjoy it as much as possible.”

There was no lie in the eyes under the hat’s brim.

And there was no fear.

For some reason, there seemed to be no worries either.

Even though he had just given her a heap of things to worry about.

“Did you perhaps have a plan already set up?”

“No. Not at all.”

This too was the truth.

Then what on earth was it?

The old man’s eyes, filled with questions, stared intently at the hatted witch.

Lorelin scratched the back of her head as if she was tired.

‘I’m just an employee.’

It was difficult when the President asked an employee about the direction, goals, and plans he should be thinking about.

So the answer was also difficult.

“I don’t know. Lately, life has just been flowing on its own. I guess I caught a pretty good wind.”

“…A pretty good wind…?”

“Yes. So don’t ask. How would I know how or where the wind will blow? That wind isn't me.”

The Forest Witch waved her hand dismissively.

“I’m going. Thanks for the advice.”

She was about to leisurely exit the gray flower garden.

But there was someone who intruded.

Someone who suddenly appeared as if they had passed through a window visible only to them.

Elder Graham knew the face well.

“Messenger Ransis.”

She bowed politely to the family’s second-in-command, then looked back at the Forest Witch.

“Elder Lorelin. It is an order from the Family Head. Take this hand and receive the honor.”

She extended her hand, clad in a black silk glove.

The new Elder was not surprised.

Nor was she pleased.

She just continued to wash her dry face.

“The wind came faster than I thought.”

Whether it was good luck or good skill.

Fortunately, the wind called the Youngest Son had been a tailwind so far.

Of course, it sometimes turned into a storm along the way, but it always cleared up.

Would it be the same this time?

No one knew.

But as someone who had ridden this wind for quite a while, there was one thing she knew.

‘I won’t die.’

The wind called the Youngest Son was not a mad gale that drove a sailboat into a fatal situation.

“I will receive the order.”

Seureuk─

She took the messenger’s hand.

She rode the new wave created by the wind.

Swaaaaaaaaaa─

The messenger and the Forest Witch disappeared like the wind.

“…If it’s Ransis, did the Family Head personally entrust Elder Lorelin with some sort of mission?”

So soon?

A world that moved so fast, truly like the unseen wind.

Graham, who did not know the wind, felt an inexplicable dizziness and left the garden.

Then, he saw some Elders gathered and murmuring.

The conversation he heard, even though he didn't want to, was enough to stop him in his tracks.

“…The Land General Manager was released by the Family Head’s direct authority…?”

The wind did not blow in only one place.

***

I returned to my nest riding the ghost ship.

I had built it with money scraped together from here and there, so it was second to none.

That’s why I was even more angry.

Recently, the Julsin Kingdom led by Reggie was stabilizing.

And Hexa and Belir’s commercial districts were circulating thanks to Jubel’s help, but.

“I still have a lot of money to pay back to the treasury.”

But the Eclipse I saw from the ghost ship had its gate area half-destroyed.

They were buildings built for show, but they were waiting for their master, and yet several had already collapsed.

Seeing the faces of the uninvited guests, should I say it was a relief it was only this much?

“…My older sisters have come.”

[Are those human women the Second and Third Daughters?]

“Yes.”

They were geniuses of Spirit Sorcery, said to have descended from hell.

[…They look stranger than I thought. The tall Young Daughter is blind, and the one being carried is a cripple.]

“That's why they travel together, and they are strong because there are two of them. Like you and me.”

[You’re ridiculous.]

Against two bloodkin.

The Gatekeeper, armed with only a greatsword, was minimizing the damage to Eclipse.

But his condition was not good.

[Why is the Gatekeeper only blocking and not attacking?]

“The opponents are direct bloodkin. And the Gatekeeper is not.”

Only a direct bloodkin can attack a direct bloodkin.

The Fifth Son exited the ghost ship and descended onto the main road of Eclipse.

Chwaaaaaaaak─

He landed, sliding on a wave of blood.

In front, nearby.

“Haa, haa.”

The Gatekeeper was gasping for breath, holding onto his single-edged greatsword.

I stood beside him, albeit belatedly.

“I unintentionally made you work overtime.”

“…If you know, then give me tomorrow off.”

“I will, so go and rest now. Ask the Butler for treatment.”

The Gatekeeper wasn't physically injured right now.

From above, it looked like a simple physical fight, but in reality, it wasn't.

“If you leave your soul scratched, the possibility of being possessed increases.”

“I know.”

“Lest a virgin ghost possess you. Go on now.”

“…Just don't die.”

The Gatekeeper, even after hearing the joke, seemed reluctant to leave.

He looked back at him several times before finally turning away.

The Youngest Son said.

“If you had sent a Messenger Ghoul, I would have come to you, or I would have prepared a welcome in advance.”

“A Messenger Ghoul. I don’t know how to use it.”

The geniuses of Spirit Sorcery didn't know how to use a Messenger Ghoul.

It sounded like a lie, but it was true.

The Third Daughter couldn't see, and the Second Daughter wasn't familiar with anything that had a method of operation.

She just raised her hand while being carried by her younger sister.

Her hand was not pointing at the youngest.

“The house was nice. I was surprised when I saw it.”

“Did you really see it? You were treating my Gatekeeper quite harshly.”

“Since you were coming, Dante, and it was lonely. I played with him a little.”

Who played with whom?

Of course, the Young Daughters hadn't used any sorcery, but the Gatekeeper hadn't used any sorcery or even extended his sword once.

He had just silently received it until the master of this land arrived.

…My eyes grew heavy.

“What business brings you all the way here? I know your place is quite far from here, so I assume you didn’t just stop by on the way.”

“I was curious. Both me and Melaine.”

The Second Daughter, Melisende.

The Third Daughter, Melaine.

The older sister, Melisende, spoke for Melaine, who had never been able to see.

“A cylindrical tower. A smooth, gray castle wall. Glowing pillars. An altar decorated as a mansion. Tamed yin energy. And the youngest, who has grown up in the blink of an eye.”

She moved aside the dark purple hair covering the Third Daughter's ear and whispered inside.

The more she heard the expressions and descriptions, the more things unfolded before the younger sister's closed eyes.

The Domain of Eclipse, and within it Hexa, the Scripture of the Dark Wheel’s temple, the Dark Moon Grand Castle. And.

Not far in front, Dante Black Millesdusk.

The Third Daughter said to her older sister.

“Huh? You want to spar with Dante?”

Nod.

It seemed my little older sister was curious about the youngest, who had changed beyond recognition.

“If so, I will escort you to the castle. It seems inappropriate to match blows with my little older sister here.”

“What do you want to do, Melaine?”

…Nod.

“She says okay.”

“Please follow me.”

The Youngest Son headed for the castle, with his suffocating older sisters behind him.

And in the sky.

The ghost ship, moving without a sound, took its position.

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