Chapter 201
Chapter 201: The Master of the Trade Route (38)
"Revenge is already over."
At those words, Tobang looked up at me blankly.
"How can you always be so composed...?"
His eyes were full of disbelief.
We were the same age, yet he looked at me like I was an old soul, far older than him.
I shook my head, denying it.
I affirmed that he and I were the same kind of person.
"Composed? I'm actually a very emotional person."
In truth, I had never had a peaceful day while staying by Eric’s side.
Every day had been a cycle of agony and torment.
To persuade him now, that sense of shared experience was important.
"I was always so consumed by a hundred different worries, I couldn't even sleep properly."
It was kind of surprising that I recently got a good night's sleep in an uncomfortable carriage.
"Can I really entrust my future to this person? Will the master I serve lead me down the right path?"
I looked at the heavy dark circles under his eyes and continued speaking.
With the same tired eyes that had been worn out by fatigue.
"When those doubts and fears grow too deep, you can’t do anything properly."
Maybe because I’d had the same worries so many times...
I didn’t feel a trace of anger from Tobang.
If anything, I looked at him with pity.
Surely, we were the only ones who had become Eric’s secretaries at such a young age.
"So in the end, I came to realize—what matters isn’t entrusting myself to my master."
I reached my hand through the iron bars.
And I fixed the collar of his rumpled suit.
"Try to think of it as a mutual relationship between you and your master. He’s not the one living your life for you."
"……"
Following my touch, he looked down at the Black Lion brooch pinned to his collar.
Today, the beautiful black gemstone seemed dull, like it was covered in dust.
"You, of all people, saying something like that after doing your best for your master..."
"When you give your all and expect something in return, the disappointment hits even harder."
You think, someday, he’ll recognize how sincere you were.
That if you do well enough, you’ll be rewarded for everything.
But Eric didn’t do that.
He used me—no, he used us—completely, and then discarded us cleanly.
‘He’ll do it again this time.’
"Even if you help him, you should think of it as something you’re doing for yourself. Whether you can lead the family together with him or not."
I pointed at his face with my finger.
And asked, with hollow, black eyes,
"Was Eric ever that kind of person to you?"
Tobang stared blankly at the tip of my finger.
Maybe it triggered memories of the eldest son's behavior so far...
He covered his face and let out a faint groan.
‘He’s conflicted.’
Those with no choice always end up blindly following Eric.
But the fact that he was wavering—meant he saw other options.
Let’s try to pull that out of him, little by little.
"Judging by how much you’re thinking, you must already have a way to bring him down, don’t you?"
"A way? Please. What would I even know?"
He snapped his head away.
Trying to persuade him, I tapped the iron bars with my finger.
"You’re a capable guy."
"Are you mocking me?"
"I'm not mocking you."
If I hadn't had memories of my past life, I would’ve been just like Tobang—or worse.
"Let’s be honest. Knowing you, you must’ve had your doubts about Eric’s actions and prepared at least one weapon, right?"
"……"
Tobang remained silent.
That silence told me everything.
He was holding onto at least one of Eric’s weaknesses.
"The choice is yours. Will you let yourself be used and discarded like a pawn in Eric’s game? Or will you seize a new opportunity and aim for a comeback?"
I stood up from my chair.
Then, turning away from Tobang, I spoke.
"There’s not much time. You’ll have to tell me before the evening banquet begins."
Two hours left until the banquet.
If he still didn’t speak by then, I would deal with Eric using only the remaining evidence.
That was my plan as I began to walk away from the detention cell.
But—
I came to a sudden stop.
"Wait… Roger!!"
Of course. Tobang was a smart guy.
There was a reason he had made it all the way under Eric.
"Did you make up your mind?"
"Yeah… but promise me just one thing."
The blond man stood up.
He grabbed the iron bars with both hands and said,
"I already have a criminal record, so it's obvious the family will abandon me. So…"
His green eyes captured my face.
He looked desperate.
"I know it’s shameless, but that mutual survival you mentioned… Could we do it together?"
I smiled faintly at his honest confession.
I reached my hand out through the bars first.
"Of course. Talented people are always welcome."
"Th-thank you… so much!!"
He grasped my hand tightly with both of his.
Resting his forehead against the iron bars.
I patted him on the back, but my expression remained cold and firm.
I was fully prepared to embrace even the enmity of a past life, if that’s what it took to reach my goal.
"Do you remember the dormitory we stayed in?"
"You mean during our cadet days?"
He slowly nodded.
"Yeah. There should be a recording stone in one of the old mailboxes there…"
After the mailboxes were replaced with newer ones, the old ones were left abandoned behind the building.
So it still hadn’t been retrieved.
"After I saw you detain the Nordique director, I started carrying it around in my suit pocket, just in case."
"What’s on it?"
Tobang lifted his head.
His expression was half fear, half anticipation.
"A direct order from the Archduke—to hire thugs and have you attacked."
At last, I had perfect evidence in my hands.
"Yeah. Thank you."
After finishing the handshake, I turned to the knights.
They were Northerners—loyal to Echina more than the Imperial Family.
"He's my friend, so I’m leaving him in your care."
"Yes, understood!!"
The knights all shouted in unison, responding to my request.
Tobang stood there, blankly watching them.
Since leaving the secretary candidacy, he had watched his former peer rise in status—and now, he looked at me in a daze.
But soon enough, he quietly began to realize that he had made the right choice.
After I left,
The knights entered the detention cell and removed his restraints.
Then they even offered him warm tea and a chance to write a letter to his father.
With just that handshake from earlier, he now had far more than he ever got from a master who had completely cut off contact.
「――――――」
It had been a while since I returned to the Grand Duke of the North’s estate.
Perhaps it was because summer had passed and autumn had come.
The golden rye fields stretched out beautifully before me.
Brilliant waves danced gently along the edge of the day.
Mounted on the black horse Echina had once gifted me, I rode through the fields.
But I didn’t head straight for the estate.
There was something I needed to retrieve, just as Tobang had said.
"That's odd. Why are knights around the dormitory?"
From a distance, I could see Black Knights emerging from the dormitory building.
One look at their faces told me who they were.
‘Eric’s subordinates…!’
The elite among the Black Knights.
Special-grade soldiers wearing black lion armbands.
In my past life, these were the ones who meticulously handled all of Eric’s dirty work.
Why had they come here?
The answer was simple, really.
They must’ve been checking to see if Tobang—whom Eric had cast aside—was secretly holding onto any of his weaknesses.
They were probably tearing through all his belongings like hounds.
All while the subordinate sat in a cell, still believing his master would come save him.
And yet, here you are… rummaging through his pockets again.
A wave of disgust surged within me.
For now, I decided to wait until they left.
When they finally mounted their black horses and departed—
I timed it and moved toward the back of the dormitory building.
‘They should be gone by now.’
Once I confirmed they had vanished into the rye fields,
I quietly made my way to the old storage shed.
No need to get a key.
Back when Tobang and his gang had ganged up on me here in the past—
I had stumbled upon a hidden key tucked beneath a flowerpot by the caretakers.
‘Still here in this life, too.’
With practiced ease, I retrieved it and unlocked the storage door.
As I stepped inside,
The scent of rusted metal hit my nose, and old iron tools revealed themselves in the gloom.
My eyes landed on a dented mailbox stuffed away in the farthest corner.
When I opened it,
A softly glowing fluorescent-colored pebble came into view.
The same kind of recording stone I had once used in the past.
"This must be it."
I slipped it into the inner pocket of my suit.
And just as I was about to step outside—
Suddenly, a powerful killing intent pierced through the air beyond the door.
It was instinct, a sense I had sharpened back during my days as a knight cadet.
――――――
Slowly, I stepped out of the shed.
And there they were.
Three Black Knights standing brazenly in the golden wheat field.
"So it was you, after all."
They had hidden themselves behind their black horses, now dismounted.
Each of them approached, swords at their waists.
"I felt a familiar presence. So you’ve returned, then?"
So they had sensed even the faint mana I gave off.
I had always been labeled talentless due to my low mana reserves.
Yet they could detect even that faint trace—no doubt, they were formidable.
Perhaps not quite swordmasters like Echina, but still.
"What did you retrieve in there, Roger Julius?"
"Why have you come back? You’re no longer affiliated with the Grand Duke’s house."
I met their gaze coldly, standing tall.
"I have no reason to answer you."
The one who seemed to be their leader stepped forward.
A scar slicing across his eyebrow—Eugene.
Eugene Helix.
In my past life too, he had been one of Eric’s elite Black Knights, moving on his orders.
‘Even with my skills from cadet days, I can’t beat him.’
“No, I’m afraid you will have to answer. You’re trespassing on private property.”
He drew his sword from his hip.
From a distance, he pointed it at me as he slowly began to walk forward.
“Just admit it. You came to retrieve Tobang’s belongings.”
“And why would you think that? I only came to see His Grace the Archduke.”
Eugene let out a dry, scoffing laugh.
“The Archduke said you know his whereabouts. There’s no reason for you to come when he’s not here.”
As one of Eric’s closest aides, his instincts were sharp.
Which meant I had no choice but to raise my fists.
Now that I had secured decisive evidence, there was no room to back down.
“So you are going to fight. That must mean you really did get your hands on Tobang’s evidence.”
“I’ll be confiscating it immediately.”
All three of the elite Black Knights raised their swords.
Every one of them.
――――――!!
The echo of their cold military boots rang out.
I, too, was about to respond in kind—
“Let’s stop there, all of you.”
The Black Knights and I froze in place.
A man’s voice approached from behind the building.
A man in his fifties, whose voice alone exuded a heavy sense of authority.
“Chief Secretary Debier…?”
“It’s been a while since I last saw you in front of the dormitory, Roger.”
The elderly gentleman adjusted his monocle.
Yet the look in his eyes was still as sharp as an eagle’s.
“What exactly are you doing here? Why are you in a standoff with the knights?”
“This man is no longer affiliated with the Grand Duke’s house, and yet he was rummaging through the storage shed. So we were trying to detain and search him…”
Debier tapped his cane against the ground, signaling for him to speak no further.
Eugene faltered, holding back the rest of his words with a flustered look.
“Tobang entrusted something to me. A piece of critical evidence.”
“Evidence? Evidence for what?”
I stared straight into the chief secretary’s eyes.
A living legend of the secretarial world who had served the Grand Duke of the North his entire life.
A symbol of trust and loyalty.
And I said,
“It’s evidence that Eric ordered someone to kill me.”
“Watch your mouth, you insolent—!”
Eugene could bear no more and lunged toward me again.
No doubt intent on seizing and destroying the recording stone.
A high-level Sword Expert could easily shatter it with a single blow.
And once the stone was broken, the contents inside could never be heard again.
That was why he was trying to act before thinking.
But he made a mistake.
“You’re unusually rash today, Eugene Helix.”
With a swift motion, Debier blocked Eugene’s sword with his cane.
Surrounded by an overwhelming blue aura, he spoke.
“You’re making it seem like what he said might actually be true.”
There was a reason this man was called a legendary secretary.
Anyone serving the continent’s second-in-command must be powerful in their own right.
“Bring it here, Roger.”
A veteran whose skills rivaled the elders of the knight order gave me his command.
I let a small smile form on my lips.
“Of course, Chief Secretary.”