Chapter 85
It was the Divine Command Contract they had written when they made the deal with Canael in the past. How did it end up in Mendel's hands?
Mendel handed over four contract papers to them. As the contents reflected in the light, Remines and Elina began reading them without realizing it, and they were horrified.
"Isn't this Canael's Divine Command Contract?!"
"Why is this still here?! It should have disappeared by now..."
The contract details were clearly written, and Canael's sub-guild master had left his bloody thumbprint instead of a signature. Even their own contracts were embedded in the signature.
They had believed that Canael’s Divine Command Contract would disappear naturally even if they failed, so they were somewhat at ease. But if this was revealed to the world, they would be harshly criticized for ordering the assassination of the current crown prince, their own brother, by a filthy group that committed social evils.
Remines and Elina’s faces turned pale. As Mendel had predicted, he spoke, "It looks like the contract was found just before it was about to disappear in the reagent. The ones who took our commission are already dead."
There was no need to ask who it was. The failure of Canael’s sub-guild master, Fair, meant that they had been killed by the opposing side. The only person capable of that was Sethian, who had been under the threat of death.
To think that he not only survived but also managed to find the contract.
Elina, pale, stammered, "Then, didn’t Sethian have this contract a long time ago? I thought it was submerged in the reagent right after the contract, and it would disappear completely in ten days…"
It had been over a month and a half since they had asked Canael for help. If it had been recently obtained, the contents should have been erased, but the writing was still clear. It seemed that Sethian had already had it at that time, when he was under the threat of death.
So why hadn’t he used the contract then? With the right timing, he could have crushed part of the imperial factions.
"There was an insider."
"An insider?" Remines thought the idea of an insider was ridiculous. Only they and Zair, who was not present, knew about this. Their biggest obstacle from the start had been Sethian, and the evidence of the assassination commission would have strangled them all. Who would be an insider?
Mendel tilted his chin towards the contract, "Look closely at the contract."
As the two of them looked at the contract again, they quickly realized something strange.
"Why is there no name here?" Elina furrowed her brow as she placed her finger on the empty name space of the contract. The name was missing in the content, and the signature at the bottom was also absent. On the other hand, the bloody thumbprint that Canael's sub-guild master had left was still there.
Mendel smirked and gritted his teeth. Even though he hadn't directly mentioned anyone, Remines and Elina could guess who he was thinking of. Of the four contracts, the only one with the missing name was...
"Zair had already been planning to eliminate us all from the start." The words Mendel had spoken while handing over the contract seemed to explain everything.
"Sethian knew he was going to be attacked in advance. That's why he was able to prepare, and he was able to find the location of the contract early on."
"Why...!" Elina raised her voice in anger, but quickly calmed herself. Remines, who wrapped his arms around her shoulders to comfort her, asked instead:
"Didn't you think Zair hated Sethian more than us? Was that not the case?"
"No, Zair really wanted to kill him. But just like he formed an alliance with us, he had also made an agreement with Sethian. He intended to take us out first." Mendel had heard Sethian's words from a large, imposing man wrapped in black. The fact that he had allied with Zair was now clear.
Thinking back, no matter how capable Sethian was, it was unbelievable that he had successfully blocked the attack from Canael’s sub-guild master, Fair, without even a scratch. They had suspected that he might have known about it in advance, but to think it was true. After seeing the contract with Zair's name missing, they could no longer deny it.
‘Zair, you…!’
“Then what about this incident? Sethian was being confined in the Stone Tower because he supposedly tried to poison Brother Mendel...”
Remines trailed off and glanced around. The fact that the inside of the Stone Tower had been stained with blood and Sethian had gone missing might still have been known only to him.
“He was ambushed by the men Zair sent, but he made it out alive. Even though he was badly wounded, he was still as insolent as ever.”
According to Sethian, the knights Zair had sent climbed the Stone Tower killing the guards and wardens one by one and then tried to take his life as well. If it had been a staged act, Sethian’s wounds were far too obvious, and besides, all his close aides and servants had been confined, so there would have been no opportunity to arrange something like that.
Moreover, a few hours earlier, Remines had slipped a large bribe to one of the soldiers who had investigated Sethian’s solitary cell and heard the story. Since the matter was still under investigation, the soldier could not speak in detail, but it did seem true that Zair’s knights had attacked Sethian. Since Tower Lord Roa had uncovered it himself, it was information worth trusting.
“As it was originally supposed to happen, Sethian should have used the Canael contract to bring us down first. That was the content of his alliance with Zair. But he didn’t do that, and Zair decided to deal with us personally before His Majesty dies. By making Sethian, who broke the alliance, the culprit behind everything.”
Remines and Elina pressed their lips together, brows furrowed, as they tried to sort through the situation.
“Why didn’t Brother Sethian reveal that contract?”
For Remines, Sethian was still impossible to understand. Leaving Zair aside, that contract alone would have been enough to drag the honor of the three of them into the dirt. It was not easy to understand why Sethian had simply kept such an obvious weapon in hand.
“In case something happened.”
“In case something happened?”
Mendel let out a bitter sigh.
“Sethian had already known for a long time that Zair was the most dangerous one. So he said he left it behind to threaten us.”
“Threaten... us...?”
Mendel’s face twisted in the lamplight.
“For the sake of that contract and our own lives, we have to form an alliance with Sethian.”
At some point, behind Remines and Elina, a huge man as large as the two of them put together had approached without a sound.
“I’ve confirmed that Prince Mendel has made contact with Prince Remines and Princess Elina.” Kaen, the emperor’s cherished attendant, who was busy with other matters rather than taking care of him, opened the door to the sealed basement and immediately began reporting. A man inside, who had not even lit the lamp, was silently listening to Kaen’s report.
“Quite well put together.”
“I don’t particularly like lies, but sometimes you have to use them appropriately when necessary.” Kaen lifted the lamp in his hand. Thanks to that, the man hiding in the secret underground space of the Imperial Palace was revealed. He was sitting shirtless on an old chair, with bandages wrapped around his waist and arms, which were particularly noticeable.
"So, did you threaten Zair’s knights and injure yourself?" Kaen observed the blood-soaked bandages and looked up at Sethian, who was smirking.
Zair had sent two knights to drain Sethian’s blood. By then, Sethian had already realized through his ally, Kaen, that Zair's knights were no ordinary humans. Additionally, thanks to Joo Yi-Gyeol’s information, he had a rough idea of Zair’s future plans. For his ambitions, Joo Yi-Gyeol was crucial.
Things had already started going wrong with Joo Yi-Gyeol’s body. This meant that Zair would speed up the process of becoming his master. Though it was drastic, Sethian didn’t want to drag it out any longer, so he cut his own arm and deliberately inflicted a major injury on his waist.
Having received the petals of Idelo from Zair, Kaen had already been in an alliance with Sethian at the time, so he had kept half of them as instructed. Thanks to this, Sethian’s wounds had already started healing quickly rather than worsening in this remote location.
"Taking down Zair’s knights is easy. They wouldn’t want to lose the bodies they entered with such difficulty."
Without Joo Yi-Gyeol, it would be impossible to create a new human body. To become Joo Yi-Gyeol’s master, becoming the Emperor was essential.
"...Zair would never become the Emperor, would he?" Kaen’s face subtly twisted. Sethian, who was watching quietly, stood up and walked past Kaen.
Kaen had been the one to propose an alliance and extend his hand to Sethian first, but he was anything but transparent. He always tried to hide something important, and whenever Sethian nudged at it, Kaen would answer with a bitter smile, saying he couldn’t speak due to his “promise with the Emperor.” No matter what questions were asked now, Kaen would keep silent again.
‘It doesn’t matter. No matter who it is or what happens to them.’
Whether it was Zair, his brothers who were about to be used, or the dying Emperor.
The only face that appeared clearly in Sethian’s mind was the one person he wanted to care about. He felt his heart race uncontrollably as he passed by Kaen and left the room.
"It’s about time to move."
If they stayed apart much longer, he might destroy everything, including his plans, just because he missed that person too much.
Mendel handed over four contract papers to them. As the contents reflected in the light, Remines and Elina began reading them without realizing it, and they were horrified.
"Isn't this Canael's Divine Command Contract?!"
"Why is this still here?! It should have disappeared by now..."
The contract details were clearly written, and Canael's sub-guild master had left his bloody thumbprint instead of a signature. Even their own contracts were embedded in the signature.
They had believed that Canael’s Divine Command Contract would disappear naturally even if they failed, so they were somewhat at ease. But if this was revealed to the world, they would be harshly criticized for ordering the assassination of the current crown prince, their own brother, by a filthy group that committed social evils.
Remines and Elina’s faces turned pale. As Mendel had predicted, he spoke, "It looks like the contract was found just before it was about to disappear in the reagent. The ones who took our commission are already dead."
There was no need to ask who it was. The failure of Canael’s sub-guild master, Fair, meant that they had been killed by the opposing side. The only person capable of that was Sethian, who had been under the threat of death.
To think that he not only survived but also managed to find the contract.
Elina, pale, stammered, "Then, didn’t Sethian have this contract a long time ago? I thought it was submerged in the reagent right after the contract, and it would disappear completely in ten days…"
It had been over a month and a half since they had asked Canael for help. If it had been recently obtained, the contents should have been erased, but the writing was still clear. It seemed that Sethian had already had it at that time, when he was under the threat of death.
So why hadn’t he used the contract then? With the right timing, he could have crushed part of the imperial factions.
"There was an insider."
"An insider?" Remines thought the idea of an insider was ridiculous. Only they and Zair, who was not present, knew about this. Their biggest obstacle from the start had been Sethian, and the evidence of the assassination commission would have strangled them all. Who would be an insider?
Mendel tilted his chin towards the contract, "Look closely at the contract."
As the two of them looked at the contract again, they quickly realized something strange.
"Why is there no name here?" Elina furrowed her brow as she placed her finger on the empty name space of the contract. The name was missing in the content, and the signature at the bottom was also absent. On the other hand, the bloody thumbprint that Canael's sub-guild master had left was still there.
Mendel smirked and gritted his teeth. Even though he hadn't directly mentioned anyone, Remines and Elina could guess who he was thinking of. Of the four contracts, the only one with the missing name was...
"Zair had already been planning to eliminate us all from the start." The words Mendel had spoken while handing over the contract seemed to explain everything.
"Sethian knew he was going to be attacked in advance. That's why he was able to prepare, and he was able to find the location of the contract early on."
"Why...!" Elina raised her voice in anger, but quickly calmed herself. Remines, who wrapped his arms around her shoulders to comfort her, asked instead:
"Didn't you think Zair hated Sethian more than us? Was that not the case?"
"No, Zair really wanted to kill him. But just like he formed an alliance with us, he had also made an agreement with Sethian. He intended to take us out first." Mendel had heard Sethian's words from a large, imposing man wrapped in black. The fact that he had allied with Zair was now clear.
Thinking back, no matter how capable Sethian was, it was unbelievable that he had successfully blocked the attack from Canael’s sub-guild master, Fair, without even a scratch. They had suspected that he might have known about it in advance, but to think it was true. After seeing the contract with Zair's name missing, they could no longer deny it.
‘Zair, you…!’
“Then what about this incident? Sethian was being confined in the Stone Tower because he supposedly tried to poison Brother Mendel...”
Remines trailed off and glanced around. The fact that the inside of the Stone Tower had been stained with blood and Sethian had gone missing might still have been known only to him.
“He was ambushed by the men Zair sent, but he made it out alive. Even though he was badly wounded, he was still as insolent as ever.”
According to Sethian, the knights Zair had sent climbed the Stone Tower killing the guards and wardens one by one and then tried to take his life as well. If it had been a staged act, Sethian’s wounds were far too obvious, and besides, all his close aides and servants had been confined, so there would have been no opportunity to arrange something like that.
Moreover, a few hours earlier, Remines had slipped a large bribe to one of the soldiers who had investigated Sethian’s solitary cell and heard the story. Since the matter was still under investigation, the soldier could not speak in detail, but it did seem true that Zair’s knights had attacked Sethian. Since Tower Lord Roa had uncovered it himself, it was information worth trusting.
“As it was originally supposed to happen, Sethian should have used the Canael contract to bring us down first. That was the content of his alliance with Zair. But he didn’t do that, and Zair decided to deal with us personally before His Majesty dies. By making Sethian, who broke the alliance, the culprit behind everything.”
Remines and Elina pressed their lips together, brows furrowed, as they tried to sort through the situation.
“Why didn’t Brother Sethian reveal that contract?”
For Remines, Sethian was still impossible to understand. Leaving Zair aside, that contract alone would have been enough to drag the honor of the three of them into the dirt. It was not easy to understand why Sethian had simply kept such an obvious weapon in hand.
“In case something happened.”
“In case something happened?”
Mendel let out a bitter sigh.
“Sethian had already known for a long time that Zair was the most dangerous one. So he said he left it behind to threaten us.”
“Threaten... us...?”
Mendel’s face twisted in the lamplight.
“For the sake of that contract and our own lives, we have to form an alliance with Sethian.”
At some point, behind Remines and Elina, a huge man as large as the two of them put together had approached without a sound.
“I’ve confirmed that Prince Mendel has made contact with Prince Remines and Princess Elina.” Kaen, the emperor’s cherished attendant, who was busy with other matters rather than taking care of him, opened the door to the sealed basement and immediately began reporting. A man inside, who had not even lit the lamp, was silently listening to Kaen’s report.
“Quite well put together.”
“I don’t particularly like lies, but sometimes you have to use them appropriately when necessary.” Kaen lifted the lamp in his hand. Thanks to that, the man hiding in the secret underground space of the Imperial Palace was revealed. He was sitting shirtless on an old chair, with bandages wrapped around his waist and arms, which were particularly noticeable.
"So, did you threaten Zair’s knights and injure yourself?" Kaen observed the blood-soaked bandages and looked up at Sethian, who was smirking.
Zair had sent two knights to drain Sethian’s blood. By then, Sethian had already realized through his ally, Kaen, that Zair's knights were no ordinary humans. Additionally, thanks to Joo Yi-Gyeol’s information, he had a rough idea of Zair’s future plans. For his ambitions, Joo Yi-Gyeol was crucial.
Things had already started going wrong with Joo Yi-Gyeol’s body. This meant that Zair would speed up the process of becoming his master. Though it was drastic, Sethian didn’t want to drag it out any longer, so he cut his own arm and deliberately inflicted a major injury on his waist.
Having received the petals of Idelo from Zair, Kaen had already been in an alliance with Sethian at the time, so he had kept half of them as instructed. Thanks to this, Sethian’s wounds had already started healing quickly rather than worsening in this remote location.
"Taking down Zair’s knights is easy. They wouldn’t want to lose the bodies they entered with such difficulty."
Without Joo Yi-Gyeol, it would be impossible to create a new human body. To become Joo Yi-Gyeol’s master, becoming the Emperor was essential.
"...Zair would never become the Emperor, would he?" Kaen’s face subtly twisted. Sethian, who was watching quietly, stood up and walked past Kaen.
Kaen had been the one to propose an alliance and extend his hand to Sethian first, but he was anything but transparent. He always tried to hide something important, and whenever Sethian nudged at it, Kaen would answer with a bitter smile, saying he couldn’t speak due to his “promise with the Emperor.” No matter what questions were asked now, Kaen would keep silent again.
‘It doesn’t matter. No matter who it is or what happens to them.’
Whether it was Zair, his brothers who were about to be used, or the dying Emperor.
The only face that appeared clearly in Sethian’s mind was the one person he wanted to care about. He felt his heart race uncontrollably as he passed by Kaen and left the room.
"It’s about time to move."
If they stayed apart much longer, he might destroy everything, including his plans, just because he missed that person too much.
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