Chapter 263
Chapter 263
"Do you have a reason for thinking that, Evana?"
"At first it was simply a suspicious level. That was because he was someone Cellinne and Bailies met while tracking an assassin."
Although Cellinne and Bailies had somewhat emotional tendencies,
She didn't think they were foolish enough not to recognize someone who could harm them.
Moreover, from a medical perspective, she could immediately tell that the person called Yesung had never held a weapon.
Hands without calluses, serious physical decline, poor posture, an attitude of not wanting to form intimacy.
Of course, there was also the possibility that he used poison or light concealed weapons rather than weapons,
But Cellinne would know better about that side.
Judging various situations, she had thought Yesung wasn't an assassin targeting the 3rd Prince. "I see. But was there something that raised suspicion?"
"He said he knew how to ride horses."
This afternoon.
A question thrown without much thought before leaving the campsite and the answer that came back.
-Do you know how to ride horses?
-To some extent.
Given his self-proclaimed origins, it was definitely a strange answer.
Learning to ride horses cost a lot of money.
Riding horses couldn't be compared to simply riding donkeys or cattle.
First, horses were needed, and there had to be someone to teach horse gear and riding.
Considering supplying stables to raise horses and quality grass...
It was definitely not money that a commoner from an individual mountain valley village could pay.
"From there I felt a sense of déjà vu, so I changed my thinking a bit. For example, what if the person called Yesung hadn't originally come to kill His Highness the 3rd Prince?"
"Conversely, that means even if he doesn't kill, he can do all other actions."
"I think it makes sense. There's nothing wrong with us being careful."
At Dardin's accurate guess, Evana showed her habitual smile.
The Queen probably knew that the 3rd Prince had come this far,
But there would be almost no information about 'what he was doing.'
As a Queen, it was quite something to be anxious about. Especially considering the child in her womb.
Dardin covered his mouth with his hand, lost in thought, then asked.
"Let's not tell Cellinne or Bailies. Especially since Cellinne favors people she likes."
"I agree. I'll subtly probe Grandpa Walter. And it seems we need to grasp the movements within the royal family."
"You're asking me to find out as quickly as possible, right? Even though you know that's difficult."
"But you always manage well. Dardin, I know it's a matter between you and His Highness the 3rd Prince, but... did you plant spies in the royal family?"
Dardin only smiled with a good-natured face without saying anything.
Seeing this, Evana sighed deeply as if she couldn't help it.
"You'll never tell me."
"I'm glad we won't have a useless war of attrition. Then please go first, I'll look into the Queen's recent situation as you requested."
"Thank you."
Evana turned around immediately.
Just before she opened the shabby farm door and left, Dardin asked her casually from behind.
"Will this be alright? The 'time' will come soon."
"......"
"Will you really be alright, Lady Primavera?"
Primavera.
At that name, Evana slowly felt her insides twist.
Everything from that day was still echoing in her ears.
The Queen's cruel order. The moment when the house and family that seemed like they would be happy forever shattered in an instant.
Her father and older siblings were innocent.
Then the one who had to prove that was herself, who was here.
Evana answered as she always did.
"What wouldn't be alright?"
Leaving behind a smile as lonely as the red sunset, Evana departed.
Dardin somehow thought that smile was painful.
* * *
The room was simple and clean.
The fact that there was a proper inn, even if small, in such a small village was surprising,
But the lifestyle that had developed in the meantime was also worth seeing.
First, there were lamps instead of campfires.
There were beds stuffed with straw, and windows that could be opened to look outside.
It wasn't glass windows, but so what. What was important was that he could ventilate when he wanted.
While he was looking around the room with curiosity, Yurik went in first and put down a wooden box on the bed.
When he opened the small door, Naga slipped out and lay down long on the bed.
After letting the snake rest, he put the empty box in the corner and glanced at him.
He had pretended to be a wealthy young master's servant and entered the same room for now.
After putting down the luggage bag in his hands, there really was nothing to do.
"What should I do now?"
"Whatever you want."
Having said that, Yurik took out an old map and sat on the edge of the bed, starting to examine it.
He didn't know if it was studying or what, but somehow it felt like an atmosphere he shouldn't disturb.
He thought this probably meant he should just go play anywhere.
When he quietly grabbed the door handle, Yurik asked.
"Where are you going again?"
"Me? I'm going to look around outside."
"You're probably going to find out about that mage anyway."
"Did you learn mind-reading magic while I was away?"
He asked seriously out of curiosity, but Yurik showed no reaction, as if thinking he was making a useless joke.
He was slightly disappointed and was about to turn around.
-Ting!
"Take this."
With a clear sound, something flew toward him.
When he caught it reflexively, it was a small gold coin.
While he was looking at the currency he hadn't seen in a long time, holding it up with both hands, Yurik spoke irritably.
"Aren't you going out?"
"I'm going now."
His temper had gotten even worse.
He was about to leave the precious Yurik alone, but stopped because he felt he should say this.
"Thanks for the allowance. I'll use it well."
He didn't know how much money Yurik's group had,
But it didn't seem like they were well-off enough to give him a gold coin.
If not, how did it make sense that they still hadn't bought torn blankets?
Vaguely recalling what Evana had said, he left the inn and quickly went to find places with many people.
Where there were people, there were rumors, and where there were rumors, there was information.
Perhaps among them, stories about Eibon might be heard.
He walked energetically with hope.
But after wandering around for about half an hour, the fact he realized.
The village was small... very small. He had thought it was a miracle that there was an inn when it was this small.
Why had he firmly believed there would be general stores or taverns in such a village?
The village was nothing more than a group formed when farmhouses clustered together,
And naturally, merchants rarely came to places where demand was extremely low.
At most, there were only stalls made for village residents to barter among themselves.
When he asked someone if they knew the name Eibon, they just blinked.
When he tried asking if they knew people called Grand Mages, they just shook their heads.
To put it nicely, they were people devoted to labor,
And to put it badly, they were people who didn't care about anything except their main job.
After wandering around the village like that, on his way back to the inn without any gain, he encountered someone.
"Yesung. Seeing you in such a place."
"Dardin... that was your name, right. What were you doing alone?"
"I'm supposed to sleep at the farm. Before that, I have something urgent to discuss with the Young Master, so I'm on my way back."
"Ah. You're sleeping there. It must be cold, if you want, should I switch places with Dardin?"
"Aren't you using the same room as the Young Master?"
"Right. But I don't sleep much. Wouldn't it be better for someone else to sleep more comfortably?"
In his own way, he had suggested it wanting to let them sleep in a good place,
But Dardin put his hands behind his back and shook his head.
"I'll gratefully accept your consideration. But it might seem strange to other people. For the Young Master's servant to sleep outside."
"Is that so?"
"It probably would be. Where were you coming back from, Yesung?"
"I went somewhere because I was curious about something, but I didn't gain much."
"What would that be? If it's alright, how about telling me too?"
"But Dardin also-"
No, wait. Dardin might know.
He looked somewhat smart, and somehow had the appearance of a strategist type, even wearing glasses.
Wasn't he exactly the type of character who 'knew everything'?
If not Dardin, the only person to ask would be Yurik.
But since Yurik didn't seem like he would answer obediently, he hadn't bothered asking him.
Right, just asking didn't cost money.
"-Do you know about magic, Dardin? Like mages and such."
"Magic?"
He widened his eyes, then seriously looked around for a moment before answering.
"A little. Ah, not that I'm a mage, but about magic as a field of study. Is what Yesung is curious about related to magic?"
"Precisely, it's not magic but I'm curious about someone related to it. I just went to find out about that."
"Who would that person be?"
"A mage named Eibon. Do you happen to know?"
"Eibon?"
As expected, Dardin didn't know either.
As soon as he asked back like that, he withdrew all the expectations he had been holding.
What should he do now? To find out about Eibon, would he really have to go to the capital?
While he was seriously considering a solo trip to the capital, Dardin asked back as if puzzled.
"If it's Eibon, that's a famous ancient mage. Wasn't he someone who wielded tremendous influence even in the ancient Acheron Empire that existed before the Thurian continent split?"
"Ah, you know?"
"Besides magic, when studying history, his name comes up frequently. Of course, since he didn't stay only in Acheron, there are mysterious gaps in his activities."
"He was that famous?"
"That's right. Ah, of course, people who haven't had the opportunity to study history deeply might not know. But for people who have had some education, it's a name they couldn't not know."
Eibon, that guy. He succeeded in the end.
Somehow he felt like tears might trickle as if watching successful kid's news on 7 PM television.
If Dardin knew this much about Eibon, there would be no need to go to the capital.
"Then what's the reason Eibon is famous? There must be achievements or legends."
"Of course there are. First, Eibon is famous as a Grand Mage and for establishing the theories that became the beginning of all magic."
"Yeah."
"Also, he's famous for traveling around outside the Thurian continent and recording rare flora and fauna."
That was probably because of Aphoom-Zhah. He had gotten along well with Aphoom-Zhah to the end.
"And?"
"Besides that? Ah, that's right. I mentioned the story that he had great influence on the ancient Acheron Empire. It's also the reason why a mage had to appear in history books."
"Uh-huh."
"Grand Mage Eibon gained tremendous trust from the Acheron Emperor at the time, and because the trust was so deep..."
"Uh-huh-huh."
"There's a story that he gave birth to three princes in a man's body. Eibon's mysterious tale of helping the first Acheron Emperor create royal bloodline alone without combining with any external forces is well known."
The moment he heard Dardin's words, his thoughts temporarily stopped.
What? What did he say? What did he just say?