Chapter 198 - Chapter 41: Discovery #4
In-gong flinched. Why did he have to hear Felicia’s voice at this moment?
“Shutra?”
Her voice was heard again outside the door. He thought about pretending not to be there but stood up anyway because he heard Felicia rustling to open the door.
“Noona? What's going on?"
In-gong approached the door hurriedly. As expected, Felicia was outside the door. Felicia’s soft chocolate skin was tinged with red, and she was just wearing a large shawl over a nightgown. She was confused about the door bursting open, but that only lasted a moment. Felicia leaned against the door slightly and asked with narrowed eyes,
"Shutra, what is the matter with you? You seem a little different from normal.”
As expected, Felicia noticed quickly. In-gong tried to conceal his expression and waved both hands.
"Nothing’s wrong.”
"Hrmm."
Felicia’s eyes were still narrowed, but she nodded. Fortunately, she passed it off as just a little bit of discomfort. Felicia looked over In-gong’s room.
"I haven’t seen Delia since before. Is Carack also missing?”
“Huh? Delia as well?”
"Yep, Delia as well.”
Felicia replied in a soft voice. She seemed to be envisioning a tryst between Carack and Delia.
‘Wait a minute, wasn’t Carack missing with Seira?’
If Delia was missing, then where was Seira?
'No way, are they fighting?’
In-gong had the absurd thought of Delia and Seira growling over Carack.
'Then shouldn’t I look for Karma as well?’
Daphne was with Amita right?
“Hrmm... Carack.”
Felicia, who didn’t know about the disappearance of Seira, laughed at her imagination. She acted just like a girl in her late teens.
‘Cute.’
In-gong blinked at the sight. Thanks to Felicia’s entry, he had forgotten to worry about Shutra’s birth secret. Shutra wasn’t the child of the demon king. Although the demon king had admitted Shutra was his child, Shutra didn’t have a single drop of his blood. This meant that In-gong didn’t share a drop of blood with Felicia.
'No, I was thinking about that anyway...’
She shared blood with Shutra but not In-gong himself. The Felicia of Knight Saga was a stranger to him. However, it felt different. Whether it was because In-gong was already Shutra or because of an unconscious thought, but at that moment, something changed. He had no choice but to think so.
“Shutra?”
Felicia’s call restored In-gong’s senses. Felicia stared at In-gong, who was slightly shorter than she, and stepped closer.
“Aren’t you a little strange today?”
"Yes, I am drunk. Isn’t Noona really drunk?”
In-gong stepped back reflexively, and Felicia laughed.
"Yet you seem fine?”
She took a step forward just as In-gong took a step back, maintaining the same distance.
"Hrmm?”
Felicia’s eyes once again narrowed as she closed the distance. In-gong took a few steps back before eventually giving up and allowing Felicia to approach.
“Good night, Felicia noona.”
He patted Felicia’s head awkwardly, causing her eyes to widen. Then she smiled.
"Yes, good night, Shutra. Sleep well.”
Felicia was definitely drunk. He could smell the alcohol on her breath as she turned around. As he watched Felicia leave his room, In-gong sighed before catching up to her. He went ahead and opened the door, causing Felicia to ask,
“What is it?”
"I’ll walk with you. There is a long way for you to go.”
Felicia's room was on an entirely different floor. Felicia blinked at In-gong’s words before bursting out laughing. She grabbed In-gong’s arms and squeezed it gently.
“Then please take care of me, Sir Knight.”
There was a pleasant feeling of pressure, and she felt surprisingly soft and warm.
In-gong coughed and started taking slow steps. For some reason, Felicia chose to walk quietly instead of talking, so In-gong could think seriously.
‘I wonder why the demon king recognized Shutra as his child. Isn’t he simple a child born out of an affair? And... does he know about Caitlin?’
In Knight Saga, the demon king had been gravely ill when the lycanthrope subjugation took place and couldn’t participate in any political matters. Therefore, the slaughter of the lycanthropes could be called the decision of the nobles and the children of the demon king, rather than the demon king’s decision.
‘Should I just ask the sword duke?’
In fact, it was highly probable that the sword duke knew the secret of his birth. The sword duke’s blunt nature wasn’t a bad thing.
'Right now, there are no big changes.’
The demon king already knew. Despite that, he had acknowledged In-gong as his child and planted the Seed of Extreme Nothingness.
‘The demon king is the one who protects the Demon World, and the strongest person will become the demon king.’
That had been said by the demon king, not someone else. The demon king didn’t oppose In-gong becoming the demon king. This was a story from Knight Saga, but the demon king recognized Zephyr even as Zephyr killed him.
‘The problem isn’t the demon king.'
It was similar to Caitlin’s situation. If the scandal of In-gong’s birth broke out after the demon king had succumbed to his illness, then an incident similar to the Day of Massacre might occur.
‘Slaughtering the gandharva is no different from slaughtering the lycanthropes.'
Moreover, if such a situation really occurred, what would the children of the demon king do? Would they all become In-gong’s enemies, just like the lycanthrope subjugation in Knight Saga?
‘That won’t be.’
In-gong couldn’t believe it. He didn’t think that even the likely Chris would turn into an enemy. Additionally, Felicia, Silvan and Caitlin already belonged to the King’s Knights.
Sylvia wouldn’t be able to throw away Silvan and Felicia, not to mention Elaine.
‘But a civil war won’t be good. I need to secure the support of the sword duke.’
Even after the demon king had fallen, In-gong could overturn the situation if he had the support of the sword duke. In-gong needed to look for an opportunity to have a conversation with him.
“What are you thinking about so intently?”
Felicia asked suddenly. Her red eyes were more cloudy than usual due to the alcohol, but they were full of care.
‘Never an enemy.’
She wouldn’t become his enemy. He couldn’t imagine such a future.
"I think that Noona is very pretty.”
"Are you trying to be like Silvan?”
Felicia laughed as though she liked the praise. Normally, she would’ve spread open her fan, but Felicia seemed to have become more honest due to the alcohol.
'By the way...’
While he was joking around, they arrived at the corridor where Felicia’s room was located. A dark elf maid was coming toward them.
"Well, we’re here. Good night, Shutra.”
“Yes, good night.”
In-gong nodded and stroked Felicia’s head once before leaving. However, she felt sorry to leave like this and looked at him several times while walking to her room with the maid. In the end, In-gong waved and sighed as Felicia entered her room.
"I am a complete stranger.”
Although the blood connection had been severed, he felt oddly happy when he pushed away the complicated problems. As In-gong turned around, Green Wind’s voice was heard as if she had been waiting.
‘Master.’
“What is it?”
"I am also a stranger to Master.”
Green Wind became solid and hugged In-gong’s neck. As always, it was a pleasant touch, but In-gong pushed Green Wind away playfully.
"Yes, you are a stranger. So, I should put a distance between us. Don’t stick to me.”
Green Wind blinked with confusion at his cold words. She sweated for a little bit before hugging In-gong again.
"When I think about it again, that isn’t the case. That’s right. Absolutely not.”
“Didn’t you say that I am just your temporary master?”
It was something he had heard the first time he met Green Wind, and she just hugged In-gong tighter. Then she said,
“You are permanent. Permanent. You aren’t temporary at all.”
In-gong didn’t reply and continued patting Green Wind on the head.
&
The morning sun shone. In-gong opened his eyes and asked in a sullen voice,
“Where were you last night?”
"For men, sometimes, there are secrets that need to be kept even with a knife to his neck.”
Carack declared with a man’s smile. It was foolish since In-gong had already suspected it.
"Stop looking so silly.”
Despite the harsh words, Carack didn’t stop smiling. He laughed as he looked down at In-gong and asked,
“Prince, did you sleep well last night?”
"I slept well. It was a very good sleep.”
"I'm glad you slept well. Now, here is the cold water.”
Carack handed him cold water. In-gong sipped the cup and glanced at Carack, wondering what he had done last night.
"Carack, did you sleep even a little bit?”
"Prince, a man should have great stamina.”
He once again gave a man’s smile. In-gong was afraid to ask who he was with last night.
"Anyway, let’s eat.”
The children of the demon king gathered together at lunch time. In-gong had a monster-like stamina, so he acted like nothing had happened. However, everyone else was different. They were all suffering from extreme hangovers. After finishing a brief lunch, the party headed toward the landing area where the Black Flame Dragon was.
At the landing area, 20 dark elves and Alita, Felicia’s aunt and the leader, were waiting.
'Master, the orc’s eyes are shining.’
In-gong didn’t want to know who Carack was looking at. Therefore, In-gong stared up at the sky.
Then after a few minutes, Sylvia, queen of the dark elves, and the sword duke entered the landing area.
"Shutra, please stay safe.”
Sylvia said sweetly as she embraced In-gong. She was also hugging Felicia and Silvan, so he replied instead of pushing her away in embarrassment.
“Yes, Omamama.”
Sylvia laughed like she preferred the title of Omamama over Queen. Then she approached Chris who was standing stiffly.
"Chris, please look after yourself as well.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Chris responded stiffly, but Sylvia hugged him as well. It was a funny sight to see the huge Chris stand still and not face Sylvia.
'He is nervous.’
Rather than dislike, the look on his face was closer to embarrassment. Chris seemed a bit shy. In-gong then turned toward Caitlin, who was waiting for her turn. She smiled warmly when Sylvia hugged her.
"Then, we will be going.”
Finally, Silvan boarded the Black Flame Dragon and gave Sylvia a salute, with Sylvia returning the same salute.
The Black Flame Dragon rode the wind.
&
The Black Flame Dragon flew quickly at a high altitude. Beatrice looked at Locke from a corner of Sky Forest as he looked up at the flying ship.
"What do you want to do? Follow?”
“I guess we have to follow.”
The direction was somewhat different, but it was clear that they were heading north. Even if they didn’t join up with the Demon World’s Drakon Kechatulla, it was necessary to overlap the paths.
"Then let’s hurry. It will be sad if we miss them.”
Carlov said as he got on a draco. The Black Flame Dragon was really fast, so they could easily miss it with the draco’s speed. Beatrice got on her draco after Carlov. Lastly, Locke boarded his draco and looked toward the south.
‘I will be back.’
Locke greeted Guardian Queian in his heart before turning around. He rushed forward along with Carlov and Beatrice.
&
Zephyr, who was in the barracks, folded a letter containing the signature of the sword duke. Sektum didn’t ask about the contents of the letter, and the normally talkative Altesia was also calmer than usual. She just quietly asked which direction they were heading in.
"To the west.”
Zephyr answered briefly before preparing his soldiers to move. Based on the sword duke’s letter, a large army would be needed.
‘Arch Lich Shutenberg.’
Zephyr grabbed the magic stone refined from the heart of White Dragon Callosa and looked toward the north instead of the west. His gaze was directed toward the Northern Limit Line far beyond the Aegis Gate where Baikal was.
&
Three different groups headed to the same place.
The War Knight and Death Knight finally felt like the time was coming. While the Death Knight stayed on his throne...
The War Knight hastened to get there before the three groups.
The Half King, Shutenberg...
The flow of fate, which had split into several streams, started to gather together.