Chapter 266: Victory is a Side Reward (3)

Right after Keter’s group departed from the royal palace, the knights thoroughly searched the guest room they had stayed in to make sure they hadn’t simply pretended to vanish and were hiding somewhere. Of course, they didn’t find anyone, since they had really opened a portal and disappeared. However, one of the knights found a piece of paper that was torn into tiny pieces in the trash.

“This is...”

It had been shredded too finely to read, but it was clear this wasn’t an ordinary sheet of paper. Something was written on it.

The knight who found it sniffed it. He smelled the scent of opportunity, of advancement. He carefully gathered each scrap together and delivered them to Crown Prince Rukan.

Upon seeing them, Crown Prince Rukan had the same thought as the knight. He felt certain this would be a clue to something. However, it had been torn into hundreds of pieces. Even if they called in experts to reassemble it like a puzzle, it would take at least half a year.

“

Hehehe

... Keter, in the end, you’re just an ordinary man. You must have thought tearing it up like this would be enough.”

Rukan immediately summoned Krona, the Lord of the West. Krona appeared clearly annoyed, but knelt on one knee before Rukan.

Rukan handed her the scraps of paper and said, “Restore this for me, Lord Krona.”

“You summoned me for something like this...?”

“It’s urgent.”

Krona let out a small sigh, then rotated her right hand counterclockwise. The shredded pieces of paper floated up and reassembled themselves, restoring the document. Krona was a wizard of time and space, so she simply reversed the time of the paper itself to return it to its original state.

“Is that all, Your Highness?”

When Rukan nodded, Krona immediately left. After she departed, Rukan wore a displeased expression.

“Krona, the power you wield ultimately came from my mother’s help. Let’s see how long you remain so arrogant.”

For now, it was unwise to antagonize any of the lords, so Rukan let it go and checked the contents of the restored paper.

A crow crying at dawn, a silent sheep, a bet between an ant and a mountain, a waterfall of lava, a falling star.

Rukan furrowed his brows.

“A code, is it?”

He bothered to bring in a lord to restore the paper, only for the content to be cryptic nonsense.

“The only person who would write something this full of meaning is Keter. Then who in the world was he secretly communicating with?”

The idea that Keter had someone inside the palace to exchange secret messages with was something Rukan couldn’t wrap his head around. It would have been Keter’s first time visiting the palace, after all.

No matter how long he stared at the coded message, Rukan couldn’t understand any of it. He was beginning to think he would simply have to spend time deciphering it when one phrase caught his eye.

“Wait...”

...a silent sheep, a bet between an ant and a mountain.

“Doesn’t this have to do with Rakan?”

Although their ideals were different and led them down separate paths, Rukan’s relationship with Rakan wasn’t bad. Thus, Rukan knew Rakan hated silence more than anything, and that he loved bets.

“That can’t be... a coincidence.”

Rakan had never officially met Keter, so how could Keter possibly know that? Even Rakan’s close aides barely knew this about him. After all, he never revealed his thoughts to others.

“No way...”

Then, a strike of thought shot through Rukan’s mind. Everything had been strange. How had Keter, who was visiting the palace for the first time, managed to find his way through the palace’s maze without a guide? Who opened the portal for him? According to the investigation, even the location where the portal had opened was the place where the restriction of the divine region was the weakest.

“It would be impossible unless he had an informant inside.”

Escaping by his own power was impossible. That was the conclusion Rukan reached.

“And that informant... was Rakan...?”

Nothing was confirmed, but the circumstances all pointed that way.

“I can’t believe it.”

If it were Keter, maybe, but Rakan’s movements were impossible to hide. The princes monitored each other thoroughly. Doing anything in secret right now would be nearly impossible, especially something like meeting someone. Even if he had somehow met Keter secretly...

“Why would Rakan bother associating with someone like Keter...”

Even if Keter had opened a new horizon in archery, even if he had become the knight representing the south, he was still a nobody from a prince’s perspective. The kingdom had more than enough people who could replace Keter.

“Even if Rakan joined forces with Sefira rather than Keter, it still doesn’t make sense.”

Noble family or not, Rakan already had a prior agreement with Rukan to eliminate the neutral factions before engaging in the Family Wars. Among those, the biggest prize was Sefira, and that would go to Rakan, while the rest of the families would belong to Rukan. That agreement was still in effect, especially now that the Bydent family who was aligned with the second prince, had formally challenged Sefira to a Family War.

Rukan gripped his forehead. One of the two, Rakan or Keter, had to be lying. And that made it all the more maddening.

“Keter... If that troublemaker pulled this stunt just to sow discord between me and Rakan...”

There were certainly reasons to think that way. Why had this paper, of all things, been left behind in the guest room? If it were an important document, wouldn’t one normally take it with them?

“He may have thought it didn’t matter since it was torn into hundreds of pieces and written in code. He’s just an ordinary man.”

The so-called coded phrases could even be nothing more than random scribbles.

“But still, using words like silence and bet together can’t be a coincidence.”

Out of the tens of thousands of words in the world, what were the chances that silence and bet would appear together? Moreover, if Rakan had helped Keter’s group escape the palace, the whole thing became entirely plausible. No, in fact, Rakan was the only one who could have made that possible.

Just as Rukan let out a sigh, his hand gripping his throbbing head caused by the chaos of Keter’s schemes, his expression noticeably brightened the moment he heard that the vice dean of Dranark was coming.

“Your Highness, a message has arrived from Dranark. The vice dean wishes to come to the palace immediately.”

“Excellent. Tell him to come. I’ll go out and greet him myself.”

***

Dranark University was the most reputable academy in the field of the arts, and was also a name referring to the International Art Association.

Rukan was delighted to hear about the vice dean’s visit, not only because he enjoyed collecting artwork as a hobby, but also because he wanted Dranark’s influence.

Dranark held global authority. Whether it had become a trend at some point or was simply instinctive, art had become incredibly popular among Transcendentals. Because of that, having connections to Dranark meant having more opportunities to interact with Transcendentals, so Rukan frequently submitted portraits he painted himself to Dranark. Now, those efforts had borne fruit, and the visit of the vice dean was proof of that.

A middle-aged man dressed in uniquely colored clothes stepped out of a portal and greeted the crown prince.

“

Oh

, Crown Prince Rukan. It is an honor to meet you. I am Zioran, the one fortunate enough to hold the position of vice dean at Dranark University.”

Others nearby whispered among themselves, asking one another who he was. Ordinary people, and even most nobles, didn’t know much about Dranark. Dranark was such a secretive organization that only royalty ever heard its name or its rumors.

“Sir Zioran, it is an honor to have you visit the Lillian Kingdom.”

“No, Your Highness. I am the one honored. You sent us something so wonderful, yet I am truly sorry that I was the only one who could come. The dean was very sorry as well, and he promised he would personally visit next time.”

“

Hahaha,

is that so?”

Rukan interpreted that as the dean having acknowledged his artwork, so a smile naturally spread on his face.

“Then shall we head to the gallery first? I have many more of my works displayed there.”

“Pardon?

Ah

, I’m sorry, but before that, there is someone I wish to meet first. Would that be alright?” the vice dean asked.

“Whom...?”

Rukan grew tense, as he hoped it wouldn’t be Rakan. But the name that was spoken was entirely unexpected.

“Hissop El Sefira. I heard he was at the palace. Would it be possible to meet him?”

Rukan turned to his aide. “Hissop? I didn’t mishear, did I?”

The aide cautiously answered, “I also heard him say Hissop, Your Highness.”

Why would the vice dean of Dranark want to meet Hissop?

Unable to understand, Rukan asked again, “I’m sorry to ask, but may I know why you are looking for Sir Hissop?”

“

Hm?

Were you not aware? Sir Hissop donated the final masterpiece of the late Pigasso,

Widow

, known to have been lost centuries ago, to Dranark under your name, Your Highness. The dean and I wished to come and pay our respects to you, who generously donated a priceless work of art, and to Sir Hissop.”

After hearing Zioran’s explanation, Rukan rubbed the bridge of his nose, then let out a long breath. “Wait, wait just a moment. To think Sir Hissop would show such goodwill... Honestly, this is my first time hearing of it.”

“I assumed so. Do you perhaps regret giving

Widow

to Dranark?”

“No, not at all. Had I obtained

Widow

, I also would have donated it to Dranark.”

“As expected of you, Your Highness. So then, would it be okay to meet Sir Hissop?”

“That is...”

“Please, I earnestly request it. If I simply went back this way, Dranark’s reputation would suffer terribly. Sir Hissop freely donated something worth at least five million gold, so how could we respond with just a simple ‘thank you’? Additionally, this is an invitation from the dean.”

Zioran pulled out an envelope from his pocket. The invitation was for the Dranark Exhibition, an event attended only by the world’s most renowned authorities and Transcendentals. It was also exactly what Rukan had wanted.

“Very well.”

He received the invitation, which had been his true objective, so he could no longer refuse to show Hissop. The value of that invitation far outweighed the value of Hissop, after all. Thus, Rukan ordered that Hissop, who had been confined in the grand meeting hall, be brought to the reception room. There, the three of them met face-to-face.

“

Oh

, Deputy Patriarch Hissop. I finally get to meet you in person. My name is Zioran, vice dean of Dranark.”

Hissop couldn’t understand what was happening as he was simply dragged to the reception room without any explanation. He wondered why the vice dean of Dranark, an institution of global reputation, stood before him, and why Crown Prince Rukan stared at him with such a strange expression. Then, Hissop recalled the small talk he had shared with Keter.

“Big Brother, you know how the opposite of suicide is to live, and turns into something positive, right?”

“Hm? That’s right.”

“Then what do you think would be the opposite of opportunity?”

“I’m not sure. Is there an opposite?”

“No. There is no opposite. So when an opportunity comes, don’t do anything weird and just take it.”

Hissop had assumed Keter was simply offering kind advice at the time, but now everything suddenly clicked as the situation unfolded.

Keter, it was you. You gave me this chance.

A chance to escape the palace. Keter had predicted even this and prepared everything.

Hissop collected himself and looked back and forth between Zioran and Rukan. Even if Keter had created the opportunity for him, he was the one who needed to take it. If he let it slip, it would all be wasted.

“I’ve heard much about you. I am Hissop El Sefira.”

Hissop calmly extended his hand for a handshake as if he had expected this moment to come.