Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Still Pretty
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When the lady tore apart the wraith, people felt as though the world had stopped.
It was a sight so unbelievable that everyone was struck with shock.
"Gaaah!"
The man who had summoned the wraith screamed.
It was because the death of the wraith, connected to him by blood, had come for him too.
"Why, why is this happening!"
The man went berserk and started biting indiscriminately at his companions.
"My, my."
As yet another mess unfolded, Rena clicked her tongue and approached.
Those who were still sane struggled to flee, while those with rolled-back eyes changed targets and charged at Rena.
The rampaging man's momentum was chilling, but Rena didn't dodge.
Instead, she calmly struck the back of his head with the hilt of her dagger.
"Huek!"
The men gasped, thinking their comrade's skull had split open.
But upon second look, it wasn't the blade that had struck his head—it was the handle.
"Urk..."
The man spat foam and collapsed, and the other men paled and hesitated.
Rena whispered toward them.
"Why do you go touching just anyone? So dangerously."
"Ugh...!"
One man turned in horror.
At the same instant, a dagger flew and grazed his cheek before embedding in the door.
"You can't go yet, everyone."
Rena spoke kindly after throwing the weapon.
That alone was eerie enough, but white mist began to spread around her.
It was fog formed from the evaporated blood of the wraith.
Rena pushed through the thick smoke and approached the fallen man.
The unconscious man clutched a palm-sized stone etched with intricate patterns.
A bizarre rock.
"How long have you had this altar?"
Rena called it an 'altar' as she asked.
The men stammered but gave no answer.
So Rena tilted her head and asked again.
"Is it a hard question to answer? Or did I ask too kindly?"
As Rena muttered, the men finally jumped and replied.
"Th-three months. About three months ago."
"Do you know its origin by any chance?"
"W-we picked it up by chance..."
"By chance?"
Rena laughed as if to say there was no way.
But since they all seemed clueless, she didn't press further.
"Confiscated."
Rena wiped the blood off the altar and pocketed it.
Then she turned to the fidgeting men.
"I hope you all take responsibility for your actions."
At Rena's words, the men's gazes wavered.
That was when Uni crawled out from under the bed.
The little girl patted off her pajamas and toddled right up to the men.
"It's okay. Mistakes can be made up for."
Then she held out her hands toward them.
The meaning was clear.
"Hand over everything you've got."
. . . Uni even turned their socks inside out and extorted a hefty sum.
Thoroughly fleeced, they left sniffling, and Uni saw them off with advice to live righteously.
Until then, Lin had been strangely sidelined, standing blankly in the corner of the room.
Once the men were all gone, he muttered while touching his bruised face.
"It was all an act?"
"What do you mean...?"
At the word 'act,' Rena's eyes widened innocently as she asked back.
Her resolute demeanor had returned to pure innocence, leaving Lin stunned at the change as he retorted.
"You were pretending to be weak the whole time."
"I never pretended to be weak. I was just politely following normal etiquette."
"Getting quietly dragged off by thugs is normal etiquette...?"
As Lin pressed, Rena and Uni exchanged awkward glances.
Then, with faces like shrewd merchants, they made excuses.
"It was necessary for everyone."
"For them, for us, and for other innocent girls."
"They'll have learned a lesson from this."
"Don't mess with someone who looks easy."
"That'll make others safer."
"A form of justice?"
"Of course, we took a small service fee in the process."
"Unavoidable due to travel expenses."
"Good things are good, right?"
The duo said this with beaming smiles.
They looked harmless and cute, but Lin wasn't fooled.
"That's robbery..."
"Out of all the words, you pick 'robbery.'"
When Lin hit the nail on the head, Rena looked sad.
Lin stared at her pitiful face and finally realized something he'd overlooked.
Rena had never asked for help.
Not once.
It was all Lin's own misunderstanding from her looks, her eyes, and the situation.
And it wasn't just a misunderstanding—thank goodness it was.
—Safety device.
—Use when needed.
—Stab if I approach.
His own past words flashed through Lin's mind.
At the same time, a chill swept over his entire body.
Safety device? Stab if he approached?
In front of whom had he been playing the gallant hero?
Realizing his blunder, a flood of shame poured over him.
'Ugh...'
Lin bit his lip to stifle a scream.
The stifled cry was thankfully muted, but he couldn't stop his neck from flushing.
Seeing Lin suffer, Rena blinked before chuckling softly.
At her laugh, Lin muttered with his face burning.
"I... stuck my nose in where it didn't belong..."
"Didn't belong?"
Rena's eyes widened as she asked back.
But Lin was too sunk in shame to hear.
Rena silently watched him for a moment, then pretended not to notice and changed the subject.
"By the way, is this it? The business you mentioned here, Mr. Lin."
Rena shook the altar she'd obtained earlier.
Lin wasn't even surprised anymore and replied weakly.
"How did you know?"
"I figured since you were heading to the capital. You handled it so adeptly, and I heard His Majesty the Emperor is looking for this."
Lin let out a long breath at her straightforward answer.
Why had he ever thought Rena was naive?
Far from it—she was sharply perceptive.
As she said, Lin had been searching for that altar.
The altar. The key to opening the gates of hell.
A horrific stone that had appeared in the world exactly a century ago and changed human history.
Lin had heard rumors of one in this city while en route to the capital and had been searching.
As Lin silently affirmed, Rena asked delightedly.
"This is mine now—what will you do?"
"Do about what?"
"Take it?"
Rena asked innocently.
But Lin just shook his head without a word.
"Not that important to you?"
"Not exactly."
"Then?"
"Important, but I won't take it. Why would I steal it in the first place?"
Lin dismissed firmly, and Rena smiled faintly.
"As expected, you're pretty, Mr. Lin."
Lin's brow furrowed at the unexpected words.
Rena met his face kindly and held out the altar.
"Your meddling wasn't unwanted. Didn't need saving, but kindness was needed."
With that, Rena wrapped Lin's hand in hers.
"Thank you so much. This is my humble token of gratitude."
Her hand lingered briefly before departing, and the altar was now in Lin's grasp.
Lin looked at Rena in surprise.
Humble? How?
His kindness was just cheap lodging and meals at a rundown inn.
The altar, meanwhile, was something the emperor sought.
The scales were way off, but Lin couldn't refuse.
"If you're giving it, I'll gratefully accept. But it's too much as thanks, so I'll repay it. Somehow."
"I'll look forward to it."
Rena replied with a bright smile.
But Lin couldn't smile back.
He averted his gaze, as if dazzled.
***
The noisy night passed, and day broke.
Early morning, Rena and Lin exchanged goodbyes in front of the inn.
"I thought you'd ask to go together."
Rena muttered in a disappointed tone.
Lin knew it was a joke but apologized anyway.
"My companions are waiting."
As he'd said last night, Lin didn't travel with Rena.
Even though his business in the city was done, even knowing she wasn't some runaway wild child, his decision stood.
"It wouldn't help you either. If you plan to meet the marquis."
At his meaningful words, Rena's eyes widened, dropping her feigned sulk.
Yesterday and now, Lin spoke as if he knew her father.
It made Rena newly curious about Lin's identity.
'Should I ask what he does again?'
She pondered but swallowed the question.
Then, acting oblivious, she said.
"We'll meet again in the capital, right?"
"Probably."
"You'll be at the imperial palace?"
Not a question—a confirmation.
Lin thought he was no match and answered.
"Yeah."
"Then see you at the palace."
At Rena's warm farewell, Lin hesitated before turning away.
As the young man receded down the road, Uni beside her chattered.
"Rare to see such an upstanding young man."
"Yeah."
"At first, I thought he was chumming the waters to pounce."
Rena burst into laughter at Uni's cheeky suspicion.
Uni glanced up at her genuine laugh.
"You seem happy, miss."
"Hm?"
At Uni's words, Rena smiled ladylike, as if nothing happened.
It was obvious evasion, but still so pretty that Uni let it slide.
"By the way, he seemed to know your father."
Uni recalled Lin's words and prattled.
"Going to the palace, collecting altars. What does he do? His clothes were all cheap, though."
"We'll find out when we meet again."
Curious about Lin's identity, Rena decided to save her curiosity.
Now heading to the palace, she'd see her father after six years and reunite with Mr. Lin.
Her father's reaction was unknown, as was kind Mr. Lin's true nature.
Uncertainty had grown.
Thanks to it, the journey to the palace felt more enjoyable.
***
Having left the city, Lin stopped where the forest began.
He glanced down at the altar in his hand.
'This one's no good.'
Lin sighed briefly and rolled his shoulders.
Then, with a coldly set face, he stepped forward.
No sooner had he taken a few steps than a man in a black uniform emerged to greet him.
"All well, Your Highness?"
"No incidents?"
"Yes. Everyone's standing by. How was the search?"
Instead of answering, Lin tossed the altar he held.
The man caught it reflexively and exclaimed in admiration.
"You found it. How?"
"Thugs were using it for robbery."
Lin replied curtly and crossed the underbrush.
There, the knight order waited in formation and revealed themselves.
The knights saluted with sword-sharp precision.
Lin nodded acceptance, and three or four attendants rushed forward with garments.
They stripped off his shabby cloak and dressed him in black uniform and coat.
Black was the symbol of the East.
The emperor had divided the empire's vast lands into four, assigning each to a duke.
The master of the East, Rig-nan Aiterner, was the youngest, most ambitious, and ruthless among all past dukes.
Now back as Eastern Duke, Lin ground his teeth silently.
"Your Highness found the altar after two days of searching. Mission accomplished—move out to Grandis Grasha."
At the greeting man's order, the knights mounted.
Lin mounted his massive black steed.
As he turned its head, a massive rumble of hooves followed.
It felt burdensome anew.
—You're pretty too, Mr. Lin.
Amid his tension-stiffened mind, Rena's voice suddenly surfaced.
Lin nearly smiled unwittingly, then suppressed it and grumbled inwardly.
Who was calling whom pretty?
What a strange lady.
Pretending innocent while robbing, yet oddly righteous.
Lin wondered how Rena would react upon learning his identity.
Would she welcome him as a fellow hypocrite?
"Something good happen?"
"Good?"
"You seem in high spirits."
The man riding beside him asked.
Lin glanced at him sidelong before fixing ahead again.
A rebuke to cut the nonsense.
But soon, Lin called the attendant beside him again.
"Deka."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Does Rubel have a daughter?"
"The Northern Marquis Rubel, you mean?"
Lin's secretary, Deka Monil, asked back.
An unexpected question.
The North and East were on bad terms, and Marquis Rubel belonged to the hostile North.
Deka thought it odd but answered diligently.
"He did. But I heard she died a few years ago."
"Name?"
"Name was..."
Deka trailed off, rummaging his memory.
He combed through the lineages in his head, then answered vaguely.
"Lena, or maybe Regina. I'll confirm."
Lin clamped his mouth shut at Deka's reply.
To hide any smile.
Truly beyond imagination—this lady.
He'd thought bastard child, but she was a deceased one.
So yesterday's encounter was with Lena Rubel's ghost?
'We'll find out when we meet again.'
A spark of curiosity pierced the heavy pressure weighing him down.
Thanks to it, the journey to the palace felt a bit more enjoyable.