“The joke you shared was quite interesting,” remarked Jayel, though her forced smile betrayed her lack of amusement. It was clear that she was rather upset, a reaction that relieved Ruel, who had been concerned she might not react at all.

“I’m pleased that you enjoyed the joke,” Ruel responded with an unaffected smile, seemingly oblivious to Jayel’s tension as she gripped her dress tightly while releasing a deep sigh.

“Lord Setiria.”

“Please, go on.”

“Could we meet separately later, not here?”

“Yes. I will seek you out later.”

“Thank you.” Jayel’s reply was brief as she turned her gaze straight ahead.

“Lord Setiria…?” Treitol expressed surprise, looking at Ruel before breaking into a wide smile.

“I never expected to run into you here. What a pleasant surprise,” Treitol greeted Ruel warmly, while Jayel, who had accompanied Ruel, appeared indifferent.

‘Is this all an act, or are their feelings genuine?’ 

According to the information gathered, it was true that Treitol and Jayel did not have a good relationship. However, in the case of this incident, all information could not be trusted. It was uncertain who truly held power.

Adea glanced at Ruel but chose not to speak. 

‘The feeling is growing stronger.’

Ruel felt a strong sense of resistance to the dense atmosphere. But he had to smile as he greeted the assembled royals with a respectful bow.

“It is an honor to meet the little suns of the Kran Kingdom. My name is Ruel Setiria.”

“I caught a glimpse of you earlier, but meeting you like this is even more delightful,” Adea said, rising to offer his hand in an obvious invitation for a handshake. Ruel reciprocated with a broad smile, contemplating how to shake hands with them anyway.

“Yes, Your Highness, it’s a pleasure to meet you as well,” Ruel responded, shaking hands with the other royals present, including Treitol. Only three people felt the same way.

Treitol, Jayel, and the King of Kran. If his intuition could distinguish the Great Mans, it meant that one of these three was indeed the Great Man.

***

—This body had such a wonderful time! The food was delicious!

Leo patted his satisfied belly.

—Ruel, Ruel, did you see this body’ nimble movements? This body wasn’t caught at all!

“Yes,” Ruel replied wearily. 

Just responding to the questions asked by the six royals was exhausting enough, and the thought that one of them might be the Great Man made it even harder to watch his back. It felt far from an ordinary social gathering. �

“During this welcoming event, there were no signs of surveillance or attacks on you, Ruel-nim,” Cassion mentioned while tidying up Ruel’s discarded attire.

“I feel invincible at the moment,” Ruel chuckled.

When Ganien casually touched the clothes, Cassion swiftly smacked his hand away. Ruel sharply turned his head at the noise.

Nonchalantly, Cassion asked, “Did you notice anything noteworthy? I couldn’t discern anyone appearing suspicious right now. Everyone seemed rather enigmatic.”

“You’re so petty.” Ganien muttered, but Cassion didn’t seem inclined to listen.  

“Still, I’ve narrowed it down. To three people, excluding one.”

The three referred to Treitol, Jayel, and the King of Kran, while the one was Adea.  

“Didn’t Prince Adea sign a magical contract, and as you know, magical contracts are absolute.”

“I know. It’s just… somewhat unsettling,” Ruel inhaled Breath and petted Leo.  

“Hikars.”  

“Yes, Ruel-nim, did you call for me?” Hikars appeared from the floor.  

Unlike an assassin who could blend into the shadows of a crowd, a warlock could only conceal themselves within their own shadow.

He had heard there was another space within the shadows. Normally, one couldn’t move within the shadow, but if a Devotee of Darkness was nearby, the passageways would expand, allowing one to move around within a certain range.

Not just Hikars, but other warlocks were also searching for hidden death within the Kingdom of Kran.  

“Sorry to interrupt your investigation, but I have something I’d like to ask.”

“Feel free to ask anything, Ruel-nim. There’s no need for apologies.”

“What was your impression of the King of Kran?”

“There was a lingering scent of death around him.” 

“Anything else?” When the desired response didn’t follow, Ruel probed further.

“The scent was slightly stronger, but I didn’t detect anything else.”

‘Nothing else?’  

That seemed strange. Leo had said there was no scent coming from the king. Knowing that he wasn’t just making a casual remark, Ruel shifted the conversation.  

“You mentioned before that a heretic could control corpses, right?”  

“Yes, that’s correct.”  

“To what extent can this control go?”

“It is possible to make a corpse move similarly to a living person.”  

“Anything beyond that? Like talking or expressing emotions like a real person?”  

Hikars looked hesitant as he sensed the direction of Ruel’s questions. He knew what Ruel was hoping for but couldn’t bring himself to say it.  

How could he lie to a Devotee of Darkness?  

“…I get it. Thus, it’s not achievable?” Ruel quickly deduced the meaning from Hikars’s distressed look, asking, “But if that were possible?”

“If, if such a thing occurred, this place would already be a land of the dead!”  

Hikars exclaimed in shock, involuntarily raising his voice.  

Immediately, he hurried to lower his head.  

“I apologize. I got a little carried away and raised my voice.”

“What’s wrong? Do you have something on your mind?” Cassion asked.  

Ruel’s repeated questioning usually occurred when he didn’t get the results he wanted.

“Hmm.”  

Ruel furrowed his brows.  

“Leo definitely said that if there are living beings, there should be a scent, and yet there wasn’t any from the king.”  

—That’s right! There was no scent!

Leo said with a bright smile, and Hikars hesitated greatly.

Of all people, it was the Great Purifier who said so.  

“Could it be that the king is the Great Man?” Ganien interjected without missing a beat.

“I can’t say for certain yet, but it’s a strong possibility. I see three potential scenarios. Firstly, as previously mentioned, the Great Man might have taken over the king’s body,” Ruel explained, with Ganien nodding in agreement.

“Another possibility is that someone other than the heretics are manipulating the corpse to mimic living actions.”

“That is impossible,” Hikars cut in abruptly. He glanced at Ruel, who gestured for him to continue.

“Controlling death comes at the cost of life. Just because multiple people are involved doesn’t mean the corpse moves better or anything. The dead can never become the living.”

“So this is impossible then?”

Ruel smiled as he presented his last hypothesis.  

“And lastly, the Great Man has the power to control death. Though there would be many additional constraints to consider, this is the only hypothesis I can think of right now.”   

“That’s also implausible,” Hikars refuted.

“Why?” Ruel pressed on.

“As I mentioned earlier, the deceased can’t be revived,” Hikars reiterated.

“But the Great Man is not human, is it? How do you explain their ability to enter others’ bodies in exchange for death?”

Ordinary heretics were human, so Hikars’ words could hold weight. 

But the Great Man was different. It wasn’t human to begin with.

It didn’t make sense to view him on the same level as humans.

“That is…”  

Hikars couldn’t continue his thoughts and lowered his head.  

Ruel called out to Hikars once more, “Hikars.”  

“Yes. What is it?”  

“You must have fought against the heretics, so you know how to prevent the control of corpses.”

“I do. Our mission is to guide death to its rightful end.”  

“I’m most drawn to the last of the three hypotheses I mentioned. Could you provide a brief hint on how to prevent the control of corpses to support my theory?”  

If the king was being controlled by the Great Man, there was no need to sever that connection just yet. 

It would be better to act once the situation became certain.  

For now, it would be enough to merely confirm the hypothesis.  

“You simply need to sprinkle this powder.”  

Hikars took the powder from the Black Wayfinder.

—Whoop!

Leo, who had been lying down showing his belly, jumped up in surprise.

His eyes sparkled as he looked at the powder.  

Already having heard from Aris about how much cake Leo had eaten, Ruel couldn’t help but chuckle.  

“You ate a lot, didn’t you?”  

Ruel observed Leo closely and thought he seemed to have gained some weight.  

He began to worry about whether Leo might become chubby at this rate.  

‘Do spirits gain weight? Or is it just growing?’

—Ruel, this belly and that belly are different. When this body says it’s full, it’s just expressing the feeling of fullness, but in reality, this body isn’t full at all…  

Ruel grabbed Leo’s moving mouth with his hand.  

Leo tried to reach for his hand, wanting to be freed, but with his short paws, he could only lightly brush against Ruel’s hand.  

“If I use this powder, I can verify things?” Ruel inquired, turning to Hikars for confirmation.

“Yes. It can temporarily sever the connection,” Hikars affirmed.

“What about the aftermath?”  

“It will dissipate naturally, so there’s no need for concern.”

“Alright. Just give me a little.”  

“A little? No, I’ll give you the whole thing,” Hikars insisted, offering the Black Wayfinder itself as if to show respect.

“No, a little will suffice. I plan to share some with the upcoming guests.”

“Guests? …Very well.”

“Give it to Cassion.”  

After pointing at Cassion, Ruel inhaled Breath.  

As the powder appeared in Hikars’ hands, Leo, who had been relatively calm, stretched out 

his front paws and looked at Ruel earnestly.  

—Mmm mmm mmm!

“It’s not that I don’t understand, but aren’t you being too hard on Leo?”  

Ganien spoke up, unable to hold back.  

Having become close during that time, Leo looked at Ganien earnestly.

Ruel said while petting Leo’s chubby belly, “Leo has already eaten more than enough at the welcome party. I don’t think he should eat any more. Don’t you think he’s gained some weight?”

“Yeah, compared to before, he’s definitely gained some weight. He’s grown a bit, too.”  

It wasn’t just his imagination.  

‘Hmm.’  

Ruel looked at Leo, who seemed on the verge of tears.  

—This body wants to eat the powder. Please let this body eat it.  

‘Well, he’s too adorable to resist.’ 

Ruel released his grip, and Leo eagerly moved to sit in front of Hikars.

“Ruel-nim.”  

Cassion called Ruel while putting the bag containing the powder into his pocket.  

“Speak.”  

“I will summon Fran.”  

“Alright.”  

“And there’s something I need to inform you about.”  

“What is it?”

“Adea Kran is indeed a Devotee of the Darkness.”  

Ruel looked directly at Hikars.  

“Yes. That person is a Devotee of the Darkness. However, we prioritize your commands, Ruel-nim, as per our agreement.”

‘Was Treitol’s claim that they were targeting Adea’s body true?’ Ruel frowned.  

It seemed that when Adea came to his room, he would need to have a conversation about this topic.  

Adea would definitely come to accept the deal.  

“What about the heretics?” Ruel asked, turning to Cassion.

“Don’t worry. Although it’s not an official request, the assassination will be handled efficiently.”

Cassion smiled slightly ominous.  

“Anyway, Ruel, are you saying that the people who came out of the gates of the Tonisk Empire were dead?”

At Ganien’s question, Ruel smirked.  

“Most likely.”  

“They played us, didn’t they?” Ganien exhaled heavily, scratching his chin in contemplation.

“Does that mean there are corpses inside the Tonisk Empire?”  

“Given the circumstances, wouldn’t that be the case? How’s the unsealing process going?”

“We’re still working on it discreetly. There’s progress being made, and I’ll let you know when we have concrete results. And Ruel.”  

“Yeah?”  

“Thank you.”  

Some warlocks, including those from Cyronian, had moved towards the Cyronian capital. Even if they had driven away the Red Ash, it was too early to relax. More warlocks were to be dispatched to Leponia. Just as death had loomed over the Kran Kingdom, other nations might not be any different.

“No need for thanks; it just adds to the debt.”

Ruel chuckled softly.  

Knock, knock. 

After a cautious knock, Aris entered.

“Ruel-nim, His Highness Adea Kran and Medeas Tehel have arrived.”  

Aris seemed slightly anxious, likely having overheard Ruel’s conversation with Adea during the welcome party.

‘I guess it was really urgent.’

Ruel stood up and said, “Tell them to come in.”  

“Understood.” Aris retreated after responding.

As Ruel looked at his neatly arranged clothes, Cassion let out a big sigh.  

Since the prince was coming, they needed to maintain proper etiquette.

“I’ll wait outside when the prince arrives,” Ganien chuckled, addressing Ruel.

“Yes, Cassion, you should wait outside too.”

“Tea?” Cassion inquired.

“Hmm. I don’t think so.”  

It didn’t seem like the conversation would be very long.  

After speaking with them, he needed to take care of some matters, so he was a bit busy at the moment.  

He hadn’t mentioned it to Cassion yet, but he couldn’t help but smile at how much he might oppose it.  

—Are you enjoying yourself? Leo asked.  

“A bit. I am enjoying it.”

—This body is happy when Ruel is happy!

As Ruel put on his clothes, he smiled along.  

Hikars faded into his shadow, and with the cane from Cassion in hand, Ruel approached the door.

“Cassion, if their surveillance resumes, regardless of the excuse, come inside,” Ruel instructed.

“Understood.”  

Listening to Cassion’s response, Ruel inhaled Breath.  

The door opened, and Ruel bowed his head toward Adea, who was entering.  

“Your Highness, you have arrived. I’ve been waiting for you.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read