CH 263.

Goldrake was supposed to reach Mangsk Castle at any moment, but for some reason, he had stopped and wasn’t coming any further.

“Are you telling me to come to you?”

Kim Seon-Hyeok felt like Goldrake was calling to him. And as long as he thought that, there was no reason for him to hesitate. 

“I’ll be going out for a while.”

“Sir, you mustn’t!”

The Imperial Guards attempted to stop him from leaving the room. 

“It’ll only be a little while.”

Having been severely reprimanded over the duel against Marek, the Imperial Guards tried their best to stop him. 

“I’m not going out to fight this time. Just pretend you can’t see and let me go.”

“If that’s true, then please go with escorts, sir.”

After arguing for a long time, the guards finally yielded. However, Kim Seon-Hyeok wasn’t happy with their concession.

“I’ll be his escort.”

At that moment, Marek stepped forward.

“Hm.”

No one knew when he had appeared, but Marek was staring at them through the open door. The Imperial Guards didn’t seem particularly pleased by his words. Since it had been Marek who turned Seon-Hyeok into a bloody mess, there was no way his proposal would please the Imperial Guards.

“Absolutely not, sir.”

A knight of the Imperial Guard, who had been hesitating, turned to Kim Seon-Hyeok as he spoke with a voice that was even more determined than before.

Ah, what an ignorant old bastard without a lick of tact.

It was natural for Kim Seon-Hyeok to feel frustrated. Although Marek had been trying to help in his own way, it had only made things more complicated. 

“Sir, you can either take one of us with you or not leave the castle. There is no other option.”

At the guards' increasing persistence, Kim Seon-Hyeok’s frown deepened as he turned to look at Marek. 

“Very helpful.”

Marek’s expression made it clear that he still didn’t know what he’d done wrong. Even as the Reclusive Duke and not the Adjuster, Marek wasn’t very good at reading the mood of a room.

“Then, can I be the escort?”

At that moment, another person stepped forward. It was Julian.

“Mm. Since the Countess of Mangsk is not yet fully recovered…”

“I’m fully recovered.”

Julian took a coat hanging on the side of a wall and handed it to Kim seon-Hyeok as she responded firmly. Her attitude was so natural that it never occurred to the Imperial Guards to stop her.

“The wind is cold, sir.”

Now that the border had been pushed far into the West, the Mangsk territory wasn’t on the frontline, however, the House of Mangsk had long been a family that guarded the borders of Adenburg for generations. It was quite a strange sight to see the head of such a great House serving someone else. 

“Or will you not allow me to go either?”

The Imperial Guards were speechless as they watched Julian tighten the ties of Seon-Hyeok’s coat so naturally.

Unlike the Reclusive Duke, whom they still had no idea what he was thinking, the Countess of Mangsk was one of the most powerful allies of the Imperial family.

But in the end, the Imperial Guards found a suitable excuse. 

“Ma’am, while we could trust you, I’m concerned that if something were to happen, the Countess of Mangsk would also be swept up in the unfortunate incident.”

Although the knight was speaking in a roundabout way, in the end, it meant that he wasn’t confident in Julian’s strength.

“If something were to happen that the strongest person in the entire Empire, the Indomitable Duke, wasn’t able to handle, then wouldn’t it be the same for me or for you, Sir Knight?”

“Um…”

The Imperial Guards became quiet again. Just as she said, if it was something that Kim Seon-Hyeok couldn’t handle, then there was no one here who could step forward and handle it.

“And there’s something that all of you are mistaking.”

She had been helping Kim Seon-Hyeok prepare for the outing when she took down the decorative sword hanging on the wall. 

“Who said that I was weaker than you?”

As soon as she finished speaking, a sword light exploded from the sword she held tightly. It was as vivid as a blazing flame.

“What on earth…”

Julian was known to be at the level of an apprentice knight so when she produced a powerful sword energy, the Imperial Guards’ jaws dropped. They were so shocked that they completely forgot how close she and the person they were supposed to be guarding were.

Well, even if they hadn’t forgotten, the knights of the Imperial Guards wouldn’t have stood in the Countess Mangsk’s way. Even when Theodore was alive, the House of Mangsk had always been able to freely wear swords within the royal’s castle.

The trust the Imperial family had towards them didn’t change in Ophelia’s generation either, and it was enough to send Kim Seon-Hyeok, the husband of the Empress and the Grand Duke of the Empire, to the far west to mourn the death of the previous count.

“Hm.”

Kim Seon-Hyeok was just as surprised. Although he knew that by accepting the fate of an Adjuster, she would be inheriting Marek’s power to some extent, he was equally amazed as the knights when he actually saw it.

With this, she was at least at the level of Marquis Reinhardt.

Julian’s sword energy was so powerful that it went beyond radiating just light and manifested fire. 

“I understand what you’re saying, so Countess Mangsk, please pull it back.”

At the words of the Imperial Knight, Julian called back her sword energy. It was surprising how easily and naturally she pulled back the energy as she had called it forth.

“I beg your pardon for being rude in front of the sword and shield that guards Adenstein.”

Julian apologized dryly, then stared at the Imperial Guards.

“I stake the Mangsk name that I will take good care of the Grand Duke so that he will not be swept up in any trouble.”

Truthfully, the knights of the Imperial Guards hadn’t really been concerned about Kim Seon-Hyeok’s safety. Just as Julian said, he was the number one knight in the empire and a powerful man who had beaten the Sword Star. There was no way that he would be involved in something dangerous here. 

“As this is something I’ve been doing since before I took over Mangsk, you can trust me.”

The Imperial Guards had no choice but to withdraw when Julian said this. 

“Why can’t I do it?”

The inept Marek grumbled but no one gave him the answer to his question.

Accompanied by the Imperial Guards and Julian, Kim Seon-Hyeok headed towards an empty field by the Mangsk Castle.

“Why is the Grand Duke here again…”

Roland was bewildered by the sudden visit when he was taking care of his griffin. His face looked like he bit into something unpleasant when he saw Kim Seon-Hyeok. 

He had been shocked when Devon returned covered in blood, but now, it seemed like that shock had turned into resentment. Of course, the blood covered Devon that day hadn’t been the griffin’s, but Kim Seon-Hyeok’s, Roland still felt his heart drop whenever he saw Seon-Hyeok’s face now. The saying that once you get a big shock, you’ll react sensitively to even the smallest shock[1] described him perfectly right now. 

“Let me borrow Devon for a bit.”

At those words, Roland looked resigned, as if what he knew was coming came, and blocked the griffin.

“Grand Duke, where are you going this time?”

Roland looked briefly at Marek, who was standing at the edge of the procession. He seemed worried that Devon would be swept up in another battle between monsters.

“He suffered a wing injury last time and it hasn’t properly healed yet, so flying will be difficult for the time being…”

Before Roland finished talking, Devon flapped his wings and jumped over Roland to stand in front of him. Contrary to Roland’s words, Devon didn’t look like he was worried about his injuries.

“Devon, you…”

Roland looked wounded as he looked at Devon. When he belatedly realized who Devon’s actual owner was, he dropped his head.

“I’ll be as careful as possible, so don’t worry too much.”

Kim Seon-Hyeok comforted Roland appropriately. Except for himself, the only people in the Empire who could properly utilize a rare resource as a griffin were the Knights of the Sky. There was no need to offend such high-quality personnel who would take his place in case of an emergency. 

“Please come back safely.”

Roland seemed to be aware of his position because he didn’t continue to presumptuously insist. 

“Then, I’ll be back.”

Kim Seon-Hyeok glanced at the poor Griffin Rider whose shoulders were drooping and at the knights of the Imperial Guards before climbing onto Devon.

“Hup.”

Since there was only one saddle, he ended up hugging the small statured Julian from behind, but neither of them cared. 

“Um.”

Only the knights of the Imperial Guards looked uncomfortable.

“Don’t trouble yourselves by thinking nonsense.”

Kim Seon-Hyeok saw their expressions and expressed his discomfort. Only then did the Imperial Guards bow their heads. 

“Then, I’ll be off.”

“Please come back as soon as possible, sir.”

The Imperial Knight was telling him that should he take too long, the knight would have no choice but to report it to the Imperial Palace. Kim Seon-Hyeok responded with his understanding before taking off on Devon.

“Your advisors didn’t try to stop you?”

“The advisors? Of course not, sir.”

As if they had returned to the past, Kim Seon-Hyeok and Julian talked comfortably once they were alone. 

“Even if it’s just a bit, my advisors dearly wish for our relationship to deepen. Although they say it, I’m sure there are some who harbor wicked delusions as well, sir.”

“Delusions?”

“It’s obvious, sir. They hope that we will have a special relationship and that it will help Mangsk to develop a little more in the future.”

Contrary to her dry tone, the content of her words were quite embarrassing.

“No way. You and me?”

When Kim Seon-Hyeok laughed in embarrassment, Julian turned from her seat in front of him and tilted her head as she looked at him.

“Why is that weird?”

While he looked for something to say in response to the unexpected question, Julian added one more sentence in a polite tone.

“I’m joking, sir.”

It wasn’t a very good joke considering how he had almost caused a big problem with Ophelia over Najima.

“It’s a different story when we are talking about you as a knight, but as a man, you are actually the worst, My Lord. Day in, day out, you’re always getting into trouble, and once you go out, you never return. Now that I think about it, you really are the worst. You weren’t really looking forward to it, were you?”

“Stop fooling around.”

However, she didn’t seem to have an ulterior motive for her joke and in the end, Kim Seon-Hyeok could only laugh in the end. It felt as if his relationship with Julian had returned to the way it used to be.

“More importantly, your power, is it the power of the Adjuster?”

“More or less, yes.”

When he tilted his head in response to her rather vague answer, Julian explained further.

“Duke Roachim said that he was only sharing his experience, but I still don’t know what exactly he means. The only certainty is that this power is something that I’ll one day achieve if I work hard at it.”

“Ah…”

It seemed like an Adjuster’s transfer was sharing the experience needed for leveling up. Julian, who wasn’t a foreigner and therefore ignorant of things like status and experience, grumbled saying that it was an unfamiliar concept to her.

“It felt a bit strange because the middle process disappeared, but I feel a bit relieved knowing that this power isn’t someone else’s power.”

For Julian, who had devoted her life to becoming a lady knight like Asha Trail, becoming stronger all at once would be no different from her effort being fruitless. In fact, she looked rather bitter as she said that.

“I’m…”

“You needn’t apologize. I believe the timing has merely been pushed forward.”

Despite being deprived of the sense of accomplishment and worth she would have gotten as she improved herself bit by bit as she devoted herself, she remained steadfast and didn’t blame him. But that caused him to feel even more sorry.

“More importantly, where are we going right now, sir?”

“Right now?”

Kim Seon-Hyeok had no choice but to accept it when she purposefully changed the topic. 

“We’re on our way to find my missing Goldrake.”

He turned to look at somewhere far into the north for a moment.

Unlike when he had vaguely felt Goldrake’s presence in Mangsk Castle, Goldrake was much farther away than he had expected. If he had been on horseback instead of Devon, it would have taken him several days. 

“This punk is arrogantly demanding his owner to come to him and won’t come to me.”

Kim Seon-Hyeok seemed embarrassed at first glance, but his expression couldn’t hide his joy.

“Anyway, let’s go quickly.”

Seemed like he was feeling rushed now that he thought about Goldrake. Kim Seon-Hyeok grabbed Devon’s reins and pushed him even faster.

It wasn’t long before they reached where Goldrake was at.

“Goldie!”

Now, Kim Seon-Hyeok wasn able to clearly feel the Earth Qi without consciously looking for it. He quickly had Devon descend while he called out Goldrake’s name.

“Hm?”

But for some reason, Goldrake didn’t show up even as Devon reached the ground. 

“How odd. I’m sure this is right.”

“Are you sure, sir?”

He nodded at Julian’s question. Then, he exclaimed.

“Underground!”

As soon as he finished talking, the earth began to shake as if there was an earthquake. From the middle of it, a monster covered in golden scales appeared, his splendor couldn’t be hidden even as he was covered in dirt.

“Huh?”

However, the dragon’s appearance was so different from the last time he saw it that Kim Seon-Hyeok exclaimed like a half-wit without meaning to. 

1. The author used a Korean idiom 자라 보고 놀란 가슴 솥뚜껑 보고 놀란다 but instead of translating the idiom directly, I’ve translated the meaning of it. 자라 is a soft shelled turtle, and should a person get startled by it once, then even a cauldron lid would startle them (they both a round shape)