Chapter 208: A Quiet Farewell

Being young is no excuse. Some things age and ignorance can pardon, others they cannot. Mine was the latter.

As the utter sinner I am, I was obligated to grant your wish. That’s why I’m grateful. Had you wished for life, I’d have been bound to obey.

Gently stroking his hair, I gave a bitter smile. I’ll live a life without regrets, just as you wanted. So, hyung.

“I’m alright.”

Until the day I join you.

“Sweet dreams.”

Get some rest.

No need to ward off nightmares or curses. I’m an adult now, a grown-up. Well, not quite ‘grown-up’ yet, but having come this far, I won’t act like a child, shirking responsibility and whining about how overwhelming it is.

In other words, this is solely my burden. I have no intention of begging for help from anyone, living or dead.

The stench of blood filled the air. Hallucination, or was it coming from hyung? Ignoring it, I stroked his hair a few more times, then slowly pulled my hand back.

Rememver, ever perceptive, approached and closed the coffin.

“I will make the grave in the Northern style.”

“I’m in your hands.”

He’d come straight from carving the inscription on the tombstone. Deon turned back to finish it, only to freeze at the sight before him.

Everything was red. No wonder the stench of blood had intensified; this was the cause.

‘…So, this is the extent of my guilt over Cruel.’

The world was drowning in blood.

The blood-water was still just ankle-deep, sloshing around my soles, but…

Testing it, I stepped onto a nearby rock. Instantly, the blood-water surged, reaching my soles. When I stepped back down, it receded just as quickly.

How strange. Deon chuckled softly, bent and picked up a wooden stick from the blood-water. It was dry to the touch, completely devoid of moisture.

Returning to the tombstone, he carefully resumed carving the letters. It wasn’t a long inscription, and with newfound certainty, it didn’t take long to complete.

Forgoing formalities, he simply poured his heart into the response to his brother’s message.

[Noli metuere, una tecum bona mala tolerabimus.]

Fear not, for I will endure both good and bad with you.

He lightly traced the well-carved inscription with his fingertips. This sentence and its meaning would fit. No, it was perfect.

It was a childhood memory, but he remembered it clearly. He remembered watching his brother recite up to this part before closing his eyes. Afterwards, his brother had read a few more lines before carrying him, half-asleep, to bed.

He’d thought it was a dream in his drowsy state, but looking back now, it was likely reality.

“Have you finished?”

“…Yes.”

“Will you wait to see the grave completed, or leave right away?”

He had no intention of leaving immediately. Deon responded to Rememver’s question with a deliberate upturn of his lips before settling down on the spot.

The sloshing blood-water and the intensified blood scent were intrusive, but his pants weren’t actually wet, so it was fine. Pretending not to see or feel anything, he smiled naturally and spoke.

“I thought I’d stay a while longer since this might be our last meeting. Would you indulge me in some conversation?”

“What could you possibly find interesting about talking to this old man?”

“What’s not to find interesting in a conversation with an old man who has traded his youth for wisdom? Besides, Rememver, you’re a man of many secrets, aren’t you?”

The Demon King had placed an anti-decay spell on Cruel’s head on the condition that Esperance would withdraw their mercenaries from the Empire. If they returned now, the spell would be lifted.

‘Though I’m not sure if the spell was cast specifically on the ‘head’ or on the ‘wooden box’ containing the head.’

Looking at the wooden sticks placed around the grave and the amulets attached to them, Rememver’s magic to slow decay was area-of-effect rather than targeted. Now that Cruel’s entire body was intact, his head would also be within that range.

‘Whether the spell is on the ‘head’ or the ‘wooden box,’ I was planning to ask Rememver to remove the amulets that slow decay just before I arrive at the Demon King’s castle, as a final favor before returning.’

If the magic was on the ‘wooden box,’ then the moment the magic that stopped time disappeared, Cruel’s body would decay uniformly, head and body together, according to the natural flow. Even if the magic was on the ‘head,’ the Demon King would likely lift the time-stopping spell around the same time, so Cruel’s entire body would no longer be forcibly held on earth, and would naturally return to the soil.

And his soul would finally find peace.

‘If it’s going to be canceled anyway….’

Wouldn’t it be better to cancel it after draining a bit more of the Demon King’s magic?

The anti-decay spell steadily consumed the caster’s magic. To deplete even a little more of that damned Demon King’s magic, it would be better to delay returning as long as possible.

Feeling disgusted with himself for still calculating even at this moment, he didn’t dismiss the thought. As he idly fiddled with his lips, Rememver, who had been shoveling, looked up, met his gaze, and offered a gentle smile.

“You’re declaring outright that you’re going to dig for secrets.”

“It’s the last time, isn’t it?”

“‘The last time’ is a convenient excuse. It makes it feel like I have to grant any request.”

“……”

“But it’s not like we’re parting through death, so why are you so sure it’s the last time? The way of the world is unpredictable.”

“So, are we just parting ways once the grave is completed?”

He feigned disappointment and slumped his shoulders. A soft chuckle, as if in trouble, reached his ears.

“They say age softens people; it seems I’ve certainly grown old.”

Such sentimentality.

Deon looked up at the muttered affirmation. The old man, once his butler, was looking at him with gentle, silver-blue eyes.

Deon’s face instantly brightened as if responding in kind. The old man simply smiled.

Rememver remembered the young Hero who used to bristle at his teasing.

He remembered him desperately trying to avoid taking bitter medicine, and the young man who, though no longer a child, would subtly soften his expression when given candy, even while pretending to frown.

Knowing the arduous life he had lived, he couldn’t help but ask.

“What are you curious about?”

Looks like it’s time for me to retire too.

Deon, oblivious to Rememver’s self-deprecating thoughts, grinned and patted the spot beside him.

“Instead of standing there, why don’t you sit here and talk? We can leave the grave to the person Rememver brought.”

“…You knew?”

“Yes. He probably made the previous Southern-style grave too. Surely a nobleman of your status wouldn’t be doing manual labor.”

“……”

Rememver narrowed his eyes at Deon before snapping his fingers.

A man in black attire appeared from somewhere and took the shovel. Rememver lightly patted his shoulder, as if entrusting him with the task, and sat down next to Deon.

“Since when did you know?”

“Wasn’t I supposed to be asking the questions? You asked me what I was curious about, and then—”

“That’s right, you did. But you are being quite mischievous. If you knew, you should have told me sooner. Just leaving an old man to shovel dirt, watching him do the work.”

“It’s Rememver’s fault for hiding it. Besides, Rememver is too healthy to be called old.”

It wouldn’t have been too much strain on your body at that level.

Deon, hugging his knees to his chest, leaned his cheek on his arm and smiled slyly. Rememver chuckled softly.

“Before I take your questions, might I ask how long you intend to stay…?”

“I plan to stay for about three weeks before leaving. With Rememver, of course.”

“Heh.”

“Surely you won’t refuse such a small request, will you?”

“…I suppose I should re-check the mansion rooms then.”

It was a brazen request, but what could he do? It felt like just yesterday that he was the young Hero’s butler.

The one who gave their heart first was destined to lose.

Deon’s eyes crinkled into a soft smile, acknowledging the consent.

“Then, now that you know that trying to change the subject and stall for time is pointless, shall we start our conversation in earnest?”

“My, you knew that too? You’ve grown so much since I last saw you.”

“As long as one is alive, one can’t simply stay in the same place forever. And what I asked for was a conversation, not an interrogation. There’s no need to be so tense.”

Instead of answering, Rememver laughed. Three weeks of intense verbal sparring was ahead, it seemed.

“Conversation it is. What’s the topic?”

“There’s something I’ve been curious about for a long time.”

He had been curious ever since he realized Rememver was no ordinary person.

Now that he had the chance to ask, he’d be a fool to miss it. Deon closed his eyes slightly, basking directly in the moderately warm sunlight. A gentle voice was added to the peaceful atmosphere.

“Did former Emperor Eudoardo Deserte know Rememver’s true identity?”

Emperor Eudoard hadn’t simply granted him the mansion. He had also sent servants to manage the mansion and provide for his needs, and Rememver was one of them.

Did the Emperor know his true identity when he sent him? And if so, for what reason?

Red pupils, filled with clear questions, silently urged for an answer. Rememver slowly opened his mouth.

“You said it wasn’t an interrogation… the topic of conversation is quite sharp, isn’t it?”

“Are you going to change the subject again?”

“No.”

Silver-blue eyes gently curved into a smile.

“He knew less than even Hart-nim knows now. His first impression would have been of a suspicious Esperance person with a guard, and if he had searched through ancient texts for investigation, he would have roughly guessed ‘broker.’”

“If he knew you were a broker, why would the Emperor request mercenaries from… no, before that, the Emperor wouldn’t have allowed a suspicious person to be by my side.”

Former Emperor Eudoardo Deserte cherished his swords, his faction’s talents.

And it might sound boastful to say it myself, but back then, I was his prized sword. There’s no way that Emperor would have placed a dangerous element in my sanctuary.

“Esperance’s strict neutrality is very famous, and those who know, also know that Esperance people cherish their country. What Esperance person would risk their own country by provoking the Empire’s beloved Hero? With such safety assured, their reputation as a warrior race would have been an advantage.”

Hmm, as ‘people,’ there could be exceptions, but how could he be so sure?

As if noticing his doubt, his voice continued.

“Esperance is a very closed kingdom. In other words, it’s very difficult to get in or out. Would such a kingdom send out just anyone? Especially a broker?”

“That’s true.”

“And to answer your question about why the late Emperor didn’t request mercenaries, it’s because there were very few cases of mercenary support, so he wouldn’t have been certain. And above all…”

His composed tone spoke in a whisper without the slightest waver.

“If someone wants to die, they wouldn’t try to find a lifeline, would they?”

“……”

***

Three weeks passed in the blink of an eye.

Cruel’s grave was completed on the same day Deon and Rememver began their ‘conversation.’

That day, after needlessly brushing off the tombstone in front of the completed grave, Deon returned to his former mansion and peacefully lived with Rememver. Apart from not being buried in paperwork, visiting Cruel’s grave whenever he had time, and the absence of anyone other than Rememver, it was an everyday life no different from before.

Occasionally, Rememver brought news about the Demon King’s army, but Deon didn’t even bat an eye at news of either victories or defeats.

‘There’s no way the demon race, with the magic prohibition order lifted, would be utterly defeated.’

In the first place, he didn’t have any particular attachment to the ‘demon race’ or the ‘Demon King’s army.’

Rather, for my plan, it’s better if the number of demons is moderately reduced. I wish only enough would remain to completely trample the Human Realm, and all the rest would die off. I wonder if the legion commander will die? They are the biggest problem.

Later, news came that the tide of the Demon King’s army, which had been losing ground, completely reversed with the arrival of the legion commander. Deon quietly nodded.

As expected, the legion commander is the problem.

“Are you leaving now?”

The unchanging, calm voice shattered his thoughts.