Sitting in the carriage that had been attacked by assassins on his exile to Haylor, Yerhan felt the surroundings go quiet.
There was no window, so it was impossible to recognize the situation outside, but the fact that all the knights escorting him had been killed was clear.
Yerhan had no weapons and was trapped in a carriage.
Even in a situation where he did not know when he was going to die, Yerhan seemed more carefree than anyone else.
Then the carriage door was smashed and the assassins rushed in.
“!”
But before the sword could reach Yerhan, their bodies were thrown back.
The assassins rolled around the dirt floor without even knowing the truth.
Before they could even get up, two swords flew in.
In an instant, the assassins died without a single scream.
“Leader.”
The person who suddenly poked his head into the carriage was Crayle. Yerhan, who was sitting quietly, turned and looked at him.
“Forgive me for being late.”
As Crayle bowed his head to apologize, Yerhan slowly got up.
Yerhan got off the carriage and looked around. The two imperial knights who had escorted Yerhan from the capital to here were lying on the floor.
Next to them laid the corpse of the assassins dressed in black. Seeing that the coachman’s body was not there, he might be in a liaison with the assassins.
“What about the coachman?”
“The chief leader went to take care of it.”
Yerhan’s eyes, who had heard that much, fell on the assassin who had survived. The assassin, who had lost his comrades and survived alone, was held captive by Yelvin.
“We’ve got one alive.”
Yerhan nodded his head to signify that he did well. Yelvin, Crayle, and Elsid continued to pursue Yerhan while they were on their way from the capital to his exile, Haylor.
Yerhan took the sword from Crayle. Approaching the kneeling assassin, he thrust his sword around his neck.
“Who ordered you?”
“…Kill me.”
The assassin let out a trembling voice, pretending to be as calm as possible. Since his colleagues had already been killed, he seemed to have expected that his end would be no different.
Yerhan looked down at the assassin’s face and said indifferently.
“I will let you live.”
“…?!”
The startled assassin shook his head. Then the eyes of the assassin and Yerhan met. The assassin instinctively flinched at the feeling of intimidation in his blue eyes.
It felt as if he had become a small animal thrown in front of a predator.
It was only his eyes, but as an assassin who always lived near death, he had to be more sensitive than anyone else.
“However, there are conditions.”
The assassin put on a puzzled expression at the word ‘condition’.
Yerhan bent down and met his gaze.
“Go back to your client and tell them that you succeeded in assassinating me.”
The assassin’s eyes widened at the order to deceive the client.
Yerhan raised the corners of his lips as if he knew everything and continued.
“You have failed your mission anyway, you will only die.”
That was literally it. His personal information was exposed to the guild, and this client was a person with the power to easily end the life of an assassin.
Even if he disappeared and ran away like this, it was easier to buy time for those who lied that the mission was successful.
“If you complete it, you’ll get three times the amount promised to you.”
Three times!
The assassin licked his lips. He couldn’t understand Yerhan’s true intentions. And if there was no evidence that Yerhan was killed, the client wouldn’t believe it.
Yerhan raised his sword as if he had already thought of that.
The assassin reflexively closed his eyes. However, it wasn’t the assassin’s head that fell to the floor, but Yerhan’s hair that shone like gold.
Yerhan handed the assassin his hair.
“This should be enough.”
The assassin looked up at Yerhan with a puzzled expression on his face. If there was evidence like this, it was easy to deceive by mixing lies in moderation.
The assassin, realizing that he had no other options, embraced the hair.
When Yerhan turned his head, the assassin groaned and stood up. He left immediately, and Yelvin quietly followed the assassin.
Yelvin would watch to see if the assassin would live up to his promise.
“…”
Yerhan thought for a moment. It was obvious who had ordered the assassination.
If he was given the death penalty, they would not be able to avoided criticism of excessive punishment, so they would have to pretend to send him to exile and deal with him there.
Yerhan was planning to take this opportunity and use it in reverse.
“Just like this, it removes traces and disappears.”
From today on, Yerhan is dead here.
If the assassin handed over the evidence, the surveillance would no longer follow.
After that, it would be easier to hide in Haylor and increase his power.
Before taking a step, Yerhan looked up at the sky. A whitish moon appeared above the darkened sky.
“Rosena…”
Yerhan called out her name with regret and longing. It might take months or years to get back to her.
Yerhan took out the handkerchief he had in his arms and held it. It was a waste to look at it, so he always kept it deep inside his clothes. He grabbed the handkerchief once, and then put it in his arms.
By now, Rosena and Illian must have been heading to Astania. It was painstakingly prepared, and since he entrusted Isaac and Karlan to the task, they will arrive without any major problems.
When Crayle returned from the trail, Yerhan left immediately.
On the way to Haylor, he didn’t forget to send his servants to deliver the news to Rosena. He was going to tell the truth before his death became known.
She hadn’t gotten on the boat to Astania yet, so she would be able to hear the news safely.
By the time they arrived in Haylor, rumors had already spread throughout the empire that Yerhan had died.
Yerhan plotted a rebellion in Haylor.
Since Haylor had been his main force for a long time, the border lords had all come under Yerhan. Even the people of the northern provinces united and moved in an organized manner, and they were able to gather thousands of soldiers in no time.
This was possible because the imperial family had no interest in the borders.
Gathering the soldiers to face the imperial knights, he turned to the other side. Even if the rebellion succeeded, the imperial power was bound to weaken without the central nobles to support him.
Rather, the Duke of Eloa might come in.
He decided to recruit the capital nobles while seeking the justification for treason. And the role was played by Isaac and Karlan.
Meanwhile, a monster appeared in the capital. Yerhan received a report the other day from Denev, the lord of Haylor, that the monster was moving to the south.
It seemed that the monster attacked the capital. When Yerhan disappeared, there was no one to deal with the monster.
In the end, the crown prince had no choice but to step up himself, but he failed to properly deal with the monster.
Those who had high hopes for the crown prince began to be disappointed and his reputation fell to a terrible extent.
So everything went as Yerhan planned. Except for the fact that Rosena was heading back to the empire.
“We’re in trouble!”
Yelvin, who received the news from Isaac, who was staying in the capital, came into his office.
“The princess is on her way back to the empire to save Astania’s young lady!”
Yerhan heard the news and couldn’t get a hold of anything.
Rosena, who should be in a safer place than anyone else, was heading back to the empire….
From that day on, Yerhan couldn’t even sleep. He wanted to put everything behind right now and go down to the capital to save Rosena. If he had no rationality and only had instinct, he would have already done so.
But Yerhan persevered. He couldn’t lose his future with Rosena.
Yerhan eventually ordered Isaac to rescue Rosena. He wanted to move, but he had some work left to do at Haylor.
Not long after, he heard Isaac had failed.
Yerhan couldn’t resist his anger at the fact that she was captured by the crown prince, whom he wanted to protect her from enough to let her leave.
If the people around him hadn’t stopped him, he would have stormed into the Imperial Palace immediately.
Yerhan managed to pull himself together and finished his final preparations.
On the day all the nobles gathered, he intended to revolt at his funeral. And on the day everything was ready, Yerhan ordered.
“We’re going to the capital.”
***
The nobles gathered at the funeral hall were frightened and hardened their faces.
The third prince, who was supposed to lie in that coffin, appeared alive.
The fact that the funeral of a living man was being held greatly made a stir among the nobles.
Apparently, the imperial family declared that the third prince, Yerhan, had died.
Everyone knew that he, who had left for exile, fell from a cliff while escaping and died.
Afterwards, the imperial family retrieved Yerhan’s body and confirmed it.
Then what is in that coffin?
But it wasn’t just the nobles who were perplexed. The crown prince, including the emperor and empress, looked pale.
The empress clenched her fist, as she had never dreamed that Yerhan would be alive.
Everyone’s expression looked good, but the crown prince’s face was the highlight. He looked at Yerhan with a ghastly look, his face crumpled.
Yerhan slowly turned his eyes away. His eyes fell to Rosena.
Rosena, whose face was pale, stood and looked at Yerhan. Her trembling lips barely opened.
“Yerhan….”
Rosena and Yerhan looked at each other.
The whole situation was like a dream.
To think that Yerhan, who she thought was dead, is still alive….
She didn’t know how many times she fainted because she couldn’t accept his death.
Rosena looked at Yerhan for a long time.
She stammered, with her eyes blinking again and again, wondering if it might be a mirage that would disappear at any moment.
But Yerhan, alive and breathing, was looking at her.
The hair that glittered like gold threads, the blue eyes that captured Rosena, and the passionate gaze like a burning flame.
He was exactly like what Rosena remembered.
Yerhan had a look on his face that showed he wanted to embrace Rosena like crazy right now.
But he didn’t run straight to Rosena, instead, he slowly closed his eyes and prepared himself. It was like whispering reassurance to himself.
Yerhan took his eyes off Rosena and looked straight at the crown prince.
“Having a funeral for a living person…. I didn’t know you had this bad habit.”
Those who were confused and murmuring became quiet at once.
As Yerhan said, it was the first time in the history of the empire that a living person was buried.
It was a great insult to proclaim a living person as dead.
There couldn’t have been bigger mistakes than this.
As attention from the nobles poured in, Zigrit managed to patch up his expression.
It could clearly be seen that he was thinking about – what to do with this situation.
“…I thought you were dead.”
He managed to open his mouth. And he put on a mask and lowered his voice.
“I’m glad you’re alive.”
Yerhan quietly opened his mouth.
“I’m here to reveal the truth.”
The empress, the emperor, and the Duke of Eloa hardened their faces. Zigrit hastily cut off Yerhan’s words.
“You seem to have forgotten that you are a sinner.”
Zigrit pretended to be calm, but his eyes were anxious to deal with Yerhan right away.
“There is a sinner here who should have been exiled in Haylor, so I will interogerate you about your sin.”
It was a sin that a man who left for exile appeared here, and in this way, Zigrit pushed Yerhan to the corner.
However, Yerhan didn’t take any damage at his words. Rather, he looked around the nobles with a laugh.
“I was exiled for luring a monster to the Imperial Palace. However, was the empire safe during this time?”
Everyone closed their mouths upon his question. No one could answer Yerhan’s words.
After Yerhan was exiled to Haylor, the empire was attacked by the monster.
In the case of rural areas, the damage was severe, and there was a lot of damage due to repeated raids on the capital.
Furthermore, Crown Prince Zigrit, whom they strongly believed in, could not deal with the monsters.
As the nobles became quiet, Yerhan perked up the corners of his lips as if he knew it would be.
“I suppose so. The Knights of Tiriad have been disbanded.”
The nobles opened their eyes wide.
So far, Crown Prince Zigrit had been known to have led the knights of Tiriad to defeat the monsters.
However, it was the first time everyone had heard of the disbandment of the knights of Tiriad.
“Shut up!”
Zigrit shouted.
He had to stop him from talking any more.
But Yerhan did not stop.
“I am the Captain of the Knights of Tiriad, who had defeated the monsters on behalf of the Crown Prince.”
Sitting in the carriage that had been attacked by assassins on his exile to Haylor, Yerhan felt the surroundings go quiet.
There was no window, so it was impossible to recognize the situation outside, but the fact that all the knights escorting him had been killed was clear.
Yerhan had no weapons and was trapped in a carriage.
Even in a situation where he did not know when he was going to die, Yerhan seemed more carefree than anyone else.
Then the carriage door was smashed and the assassins rushed in.
“!”
But before the sword could reach Yerhan, their bodies were thrown back.
The assassins rolled around the dirt floor without even knowing the truth.
Before they could even get up, two swords flew in.
In an instant, the assassins died without a single scream.
“Leader.”
The person who suddenly poked his head into the carriage was Crayle. Yerhan, who was sitting quietly, turned and looked at him.
“Forgive me for being late.”
As Crayle bowed his head to apologize, Yerhan slowly got up.
Yerhan got off the carriage and looked around. The two imperial knights who had escorted Yerhan from the capital to here were lying on the floor.
Next to them laid the corpse of the assassins dressed in black. Seeing that the coachman’s body was not there, he might be in a liaison with the assassins.
“What about the coachman?”
“The chief leader went to take care of it.”
Yerhan’s eyes, who had heard that much, fell on the assassin who had survived. The assassin, who had lost his comrades and survived alone, was held captive by Yelvin.
“We’ve got one alive.”
Yerhan nodded his head to signify that he did well. Yelvin, Crayle, and Elsid continued to pursue Yerhan while they were on their way from the capital to his exile, Haylor.
Yerhan took the sword from Crayle. Approaching the kneeling assassin, he thrust his sword around his neck.
“Who ordered you?”
“…Kill me.”
The assassin let out a trembling voice, pretending to be as calm as possible. Since his colleagues had already been killed, he seemed to have expected that his end would be no different.
Yerhan looked down at the assassin’s face and said indifferently.
“I will let you live.”
“…?!”
The startled assassin shook his head. Then the eyes of the assassin and Yerhan met. The assassin instinctively flinched at the feeling of intimidation in his blue eyes.
It felt as if he had become a small animal thrown in front of a predator.
It was only his eyes, but as an assassin who always lived near death, he had to be more sensitive than anyone else.
“However, there are conditions.”
The assassin put on a puzzled expression at the word ‘condition’.
Yerhan bent down and met his gaze.
“Go back to your client and tell them that you succeeded in assassinating me.”
The assassin’s eyes widened at the order to deceive the client.
Yerhan raised the corners of his lips as if he knew everything and continued.
“You have failed your mission anyway, you will only die.”
That was literally it. His personal information was exposed to the guild, and this client was a person with the power to easily end the life of an assassin.
Even if he disappeared and ran away like this, it was easier to buy time for those who lied that the mission was successful.
“If you complete it, you’ll get three times the amount promised to you.”
Three times!
The assassin licked his lips. He couldn’t understand Yerhan’s true intentions. And if there was no evidence that Yerhan was killed, the client wouldn’t believe it.
Yerhan raised his sword as if he had already thought of that.
The assassin reflexively closed his eyes. However, it wasn’t the assassin’s head that fell to the floor, but Yerhan’s hair that shone like gold.
Yerhan handed the assassin his hair.
“This should be enough.”
The assassin looked up at Yerhan with a puzzled expression on his face. If there was evidence like this, it was easy to deceive by mixing lies in moderation.
The assassin, realizing that he had no other options, embraced the hair.
When Yerhan turned his head, the assassin groaned and stood up. He left immediately, and Yelvin quietly followed the assassin.
Yelvin would watch to see if the assassin would live up to his promise.
“…”
Yerhan thought for a moment. It was obvious who had ordered the assassination.
If he was given the death penalty, they would not be able to avoided criticism of excessive punishment, so they would have to pretend to send him to exile and deal with him there.
Yerhan was planning to take this opportunity and use it in reverse.
“Just like this, it removes traces and disappears.”
From today on, Yerhan is dead here.
If the assassin handed over the evidence, the surveillance would no longer follow.
After that, it would be easier to hide in Haylor and increase his power.
Before taking a step, Yerhan looked up at the sky. A whitish moon appeared above the darkened sky.
“Rosena…”
Yerhan called out her name with regret and longing. It might take months or years to get back to her.
Yerhan took out the handkerchief he had in his arms and held it. It was a waste to look at it, so he always kept it deep inside his clothes. He grabbed the handkerchief once, and then put it in his arms.
By now, Rosena and Illian must have been heading to Astania. It was painstakingly prepared, and since he entrusted Isaac and Karlan to the task, they will arrive without any major problems.
When Crayle returned from the trail, Yerhan left immediately.
On the way to Haylor, he didn’t forget to send his servants to deliver the news to Rosena. He was going to tell the truth before his death became known.
She hadn’t gotten on the boat to Astania yet, so she would be able to hear the news safely.
By the time they arrived in Haylor, rumors had already spread throughout the empire that Yerhan had died.
Yerhan plotted a rebellion in Haylor.
Since Haylor had been his main force for a long time, the border lords had all come under Yerhan. Even the people of the northern provinces united and moved in an organized manner, and they were able to gather thousands of soldiers in no time.
This was possible because the imperial family had no interest in the borders.
Gathering the soldiers to face the imperial knights, he turned to the other side. Even if the rebellion succeeded, the imperial power was bound to weaken without the central nobles to support him.
Rather, the Duke of Eloa might come in.
He decided to recruit the capital nobles while seeking the justification for treason. And the role was played by Isaac and Karlan.
Meanwhile, a monster appeared in the capital. Yerhan received a report the other day from Denev, the lord of Haylor, that the monster was moving to the south.
It seemed that the monster attacked the capital. When Yerhan disappeared, there was no one to deal with the monster.
In the end, the crown prince had no choice but to step up himself, but he failed to properly deal with the monster.
Those who had high hopes for the crown prince began to be disappointed and his reputation fell to a terrible extent.
So everything went as Yerhan planned. Except for the fact that Rosena was heading back to the empire.
“We’re in trouble!”
Yelvin, who received the news from Isaac, who was staying in the capital, came into his office.
“The princess is on her way back to the empire to save Astania’s young lady!”
Yerhan heard the news and couldn’t get a hold of anything.
Rosena, who should be in a safer place than anyone else, was heading back to the empire….
From that day on, Yerhan couldn’t even sleep. He wanted to put everything behind right now and go down to the capital to save Rosena. If he had no rationality and only had instinct, he would have already done so.
But Yerhan persevered. He couldn’t lose his future with Rosena.
Yerhan eventually ordered Isaac to rescue Rosena. He wanted to move, but he had some work left to do at Haylor.
Not long after, he heard Isaac had failed.
Yerhan couldn’t resist his anger at the fact that she was captured by the crown prince, whom he wanted to protect her from enough to let her leave.
If the people around him hadn’t stopped him, he would have stormed into the Imperial Palace immediately.
Yerhan managed to pull himself together and finished his final preparations.
On the day all the nobles gathered, he intended to revolt at his funeral. And on the day everything was ready, Yerhan ordered.
“We’re going to the capital.”
***
The nobles gathered at the funeral hall were frightened and hardened their faces.
The third prince, who was supposed to lie in that coffin, appeared alive.
The fact that the funeral of a living man was being held greatly made a stir among the nobles.
Apparently, the imperial family declared that the third prince, Yerhan, had died.
Everyone knew that he, who had left for exile, fell from a cliff while escaping and died.
Afterwards, the imperial family retrieved Yerhan’s body and confirmed it.
Then what is in that coffin?
But it wasn’t just the nobles who were perplexed. The crown prince, including the emperor and empress, looked pale.
The empress clenched her fist, as she had never dreamed that Yerhan would be alive.
Everyone’s expression looked good, but the crown prince’s face was the highlight. He looked at Yerhan with a ghastly look, his face crumpled.
Yerhan slowly turned his eyes away. His eyes fell to Rosena.
Rosena, whose face was pale, stood and looked at Yerhan. Her trembling lips barely opened.
“Yerhan….”
Rosena and Yerhan looked at each other.
The whole situation was like a dream.
To think that Yerhan, who she thought was dead, is still alive….
She didn’t know how many times she fainted because she couldn’t accept his death.
Rosena looked at Yerhan for a long time.
She stammered, with her eyes blinking again and again, wondering if it might be a mirage that would disappear at any moment.
But Yerhan, alive and breathing, was looking at her.
The hair that glittered like gold threads, the blue eyes that captured Rosena, and the passionate gaze like a burning flame.
He was exactly like what Rosena remembered.
Yerhan had a look on his face that showed he wanted to embrace Rosena like crazy right now.
But he didn’t run straight to Rosena, instead, he slowly closed his eyes and prepared himself. It was like whispering reassurance to himself.
Yerhan took his eyes off Rosena and looked straight at the crown prince.
“Having a funeral for a living person…. I didn’t know you had this bad habit.”
Those who were confused and murmuring became quiet at once.
As Yerhan said, it was the first time in the history of the empire that a living person was buried.
It was a great insult to proclaim a living person as dead.
There couldn’t have been bigger mistakes than this.
As attention from the nobles poured in, Zigrit managed to patch up his expression.
It could clearly be seen that he was thinking about – what to do with this situation.
“…I thought you were dead.”
He managed to open his mouth. And he put on a mask and lowered his voice.
“I’m glad you’re alive.”
Yerhan quietly opened his mouth.
“I’m here to reveal the truth.”
The empress, the emperor, and the Duke of Eloa hardened their faces. Zigrit hastily cut off Yerhan’s words.
“You seem to have forgotten that you are a sinner.”
Zigrit pretended to be calm, but his eyes were anxious to deal with Yerhan right away.
“There is a sinner here who should have been exiled in Haylor, so I will interogerate you about your sin.”
It was a sin that a man who left for exile appeared here, and in this way, Zigrit pushed Yerhan to the corner.
However, Yerhan didn’t take any damage at his words. Rather, he looked around the nobles with a laugh.
“I was exiled for luring a monster to the Imperial Palace. However, was the empire safe during this time?”
Everyone closed their mouths upon his question. No one could answer Yerhan’s words.
After Yerhan was exiled to Haylor, the empire was attacked by the monster.
In the case of rural areas, the damage was severe, and there was a lot of damage due to repeated raids on the capital.
Furthermore, Crown Prince Zigrit, whom they strongly believed in, could not deal with the monsters.
As the nobles became quiet, Yerhan perked up the corners of his lips as if he knew it would be.
“I suppose so. The Knights of Tiriad have been disbanded.”
The nobles opened their eyes wide.
So far, Crown Prince Zigrit had been known to have led the knights of Tiriad to defeat the monsters.
However, it was the first time everyone had heard of the disbandment of the knights of Tiriad.
“Shut up!”
Zigrit shouted.
He had to stop him from talking any more.
But Yerhan did not stop.
“I am the Captain of the Knights of Tiriad, who had defeated the monsters on behalf of the Crown Prince.”
