Fairy Trap

−Did you get hurt?!

Seth thought that Yi-Gyeol would be here tonight, and he came as expected. The corners of Seth’s eyes, which were always indifferent, moved slightly.

“Welcome back.”

−Forget ‘Welcome back’ or whatever, where and how did you get hurt?! Your handkerchief is completely wet!

The voice in Sethian’s head is stained with worry and frustration. And Seth felt that that tone of voice is quite pleasing. Perhaps because his current point of interest has finally come.

“It’s just wet because a servant got injured.” 

It wasn’t wrong, but it was also different from saying that the servant’s hand was stained with blood because he cut it off. 

Yi-Gyeol, who believed the words as they were, finally softened his voice that was full of agitation.

−That’s a relief…. You aren’t hurt anywhere, right? Is that person all right? 

Seth’s eyes twitched as he listened to Yi-Gyeol’s words mixed with relief, then he threw the blood-stained handkerchief on the floor. For some reason, he didn’t like him worrying not only about himself but also about others.

Seth did not show it and walked down the hall while listening to Yi-Gyeol’s voice.

−Actually, I was worried a lot.

Yi-Gyeol’s much calmer voice slowed Seth’s footsteps.

“Worried? About what?”

−There’s a lot to be worried about. I wondered whether you safely met with the knights that day, or whether you were met with danger again.

It was a heartfelt remark, but even though Seth already knew his personality, it still didn’t make sense. He has only met him twice, so how can he worry about him so much? 

“Come to think of it, you suddenly disappeared during the middle of the conversation that day.” 

−…Sorry. I didn’t mean to leave you behind. I still don’t know exactly how long it will take me to wake up there yet….

The more they talked, the more interesting he became. Seth could hardly figure out why he was sorry to him.

‘What an interesting personality.’

He didn’t hate it because he has never seen anyone around him who has the same personality before. To treat him without showing any signs of fear without any hesitation. 

−Seth, please take note of how long I’ll be able to stay today.

Calling him with a nickname and approaching him in a friendly way.

Everything about him was interesting.

⋆♚⋆♛⋆♚⋆

In the middle of a garden full of beautiful roses.

There were four people sitting at a silver table. They were the three princes and one princess, dressed as colorful as the garden. A little further away from them, stands escort knights and a few servants, each dressed in different uniforms. 

“I heard Sethian is acting weird these days.”

It was Raminez, the third prince, who was the first to speak up. As soon as he took out Seth’s name, the first prince Mendel, as if poked at his sore spot, snorted lightly. 

“And what day or two isn’t that bastard weird?” 

“I heard he goes in and out of the Magic Tower these days.” 

He added, but Mendel’s reaction was lukewarm. 

“He’s just playing chess with old people who can’t even implement any magic properly. Even then, it won’t be long before I overturn that board.”

“Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s just simple chess. From what I heard, it seems that brother Sethian goes to the Magic Tower for a different reason.”

Elina, the only princess of the Kinellian Empire and the youngest of the siblings, greeted with a smile.

“What other reasons could there be?”

Mendel, who was well aware of Seth’s personality, snorted sarcastically. 

All the successors to the throne that was currently present in that place know enough what is there to know about Seth. For him, the highest priority is always interest and stimulation. And the fact that even the threats of assassination were considered a stimulus in life by him made others get tired of it. 

Not only that, but they also knew that Seth had no interest in the throne. Perhaps unless something big happens, he probably won’t be greedy for the throne. Since he was young, he has already been saying that the emperor’s position was ‘the most boring position.’ And those thoughts continued to this day. 

Nevertheless, the reason he continued trying to assassinate him was because he has the first-order legitimacy of the succession to the throne. If it wasn’t for that, there would be no need for him to deal with the 4th Prince, who was not interested in the emperor’s position.

“Brother Mendel knows too, right? About the Golden Art of the Magic Tower.”

Mendel’s face looked displeased at the words ‘golden art’ that came out of Elina’s mouth. Then, all of a sudden, his eyes opened wide and flashed like a lightbulb.

“Don’t tell me that Sethian, that bastard, is interested in the golden arts?”

“I think so.”

Any heir to the throne knows this. The emperor is the only one who can perform the soul magic called ‘Golden Art.’

And Seth is going in and out of the tower, showing interest in such ‘golden magic.’

He doesn’t know how far Seth’s interest goes, but if he couldn’t delve too deep in the arts because of its restriction and still covets the magic itself….

Mendel’s face, which thought so far, ruthlessly crumpled.

“I hate being hit in the back of the head when I’m not expecting it.” 

“That’s the same for me, brother.”

Raminez curled her long, purple hair between her fingers and curved the ends of his eyes.

“After all, aren’t we supposed to have a truce between us for a while? But instead of a truce, why don’t we just form an alliance and eliminate Seth completely?”

To his surprise, Mendel did not readily answer that he would. Mendel, with his arms crossed and his eyes narrowed, tilted his head.

“Even if we hold hands, will it be any different from now? After all, it would just be the same, picking out those who show potential and sending them his way.”

It wasn’t like the probability of getting rid of Seth would increase just by holding hands.

There was still no reliable way to kill Seth. And although there is the aspect that he is not resistant to most poisons, it’s impossible to see the effect of that tactic since he has good eyesight and is very cautious. Even when the people around him change, he could recognize them like a ghost, and his ability to catch signs is also excellent, so even a surprise attack didn’t work. 

He has sent famous and powerful men as assassins, but they could not surpass Seth’s natural martial arts and his knights. And when he goes outside, he is always accompanied by his knights, so even if he sends dozens of people at once, the results are always the same. Just in case, he also tried to send people at night to see what would happen, but the next day, they turned into a piece of meat that was hard to recognize and was thrown away. 

None of his methods worked out properly. When Seth was still young, there were times when he almost succeeded, but now he felt like he had no place to poke and go through even though it looked like he was full of holes. He wished he had killed him sooner when he was still younger.

He hates to admit it, but the various assassination attempts actually made him stronger instead. And because of his bizarre personality, he even enjoyed it happening to him.

“I don’t know if we could come up with a way by holding hands, but if there isn’t….”

“There is a way, that’s why I’m suggesting it.”

The blunt-faced second Prince, Zair, who had been quietly sitting still all this time, opened his mouth. In fact, it was none other than him who proposed an alliance to his other two siblings before meeting Mendel.

“Perhaps, does brother know ‘Canael’?”

Mendel’s face wrinkled at once. The mere mention of the name made him seem to have witnessed a pest in front of his eyes.

“What about that filthy group?”

Canael, which is a famous assassination group, has actually done anything other than assassination if you give them what they want.  Kidnapping, fraud, rape, torture, and all sorts of unethical things.

As a result, the aristocrats and even the royal family viewed Canael as unclean people to even speak of. They considered them more lowly and terrifying than slaves, so if someone made a mistake in saying that they had a connection with them, even their acquaintances would leave them.

“Actually, not too long ago, I contacted ‘Canael’.”

“What…?!”

Mendel jumped up to his feet in shock. 

“Are you out of your mind?”

Their other siblings were born to the second concubine, so whether he called for Canael or not, they could not show such a reaction to his own brother, Zair, who was born to the first concubine. It was surprising that his younger brother, who had been quietly following the standard and straight path all this time, reached out to such a filthy group. 

“Why don’t you calm down first, brother?”

“Yes, brother. Calm down first and listen to brother Zair.”

Raminez and Elina dissuaded the enraged Mendel. Mendel, who had been catching his breath for a while, sat down again with an unhappy face.

“It was just a request simply to test them. It’s been rumored, but there was no information on how their commissions were set, or exactly what would happen if they failed.”

“Are you saying that you commissioned them just to know that? Even if it could stain your reputation?”

Zair remained calm even though Mendel quickly poured words into his seething anger.

“I still had to try. It’s impossible to maintain the current situation forever, and if the throne gets vacated in a state where nothing has been properly decided, Seth will be the first to be appointed under the pretext of legitimacy.”

Zair’s eyes gleamed with ambition, unlike the usual.