Turning Chapter 1003
“Did you have a good time with your friends?”
The moment Yuder stepped into the Commander’s office, a playful voice greeted him, halting his steps.
“How did you know?”
“You, who stayed behind out of concern for your friends being sent to interrogate someone over the forged invitation, returned much later than expected. If something serious had happened, your footsteps would have sounded heavy before you even entered—but instead, they were quite the opposite. So I simply guessed you must’ve had some kind of pleasant conversation aside from the matter at hand.”
Kishiar’s eyes sparkled with confident amusement, as if asking how accurate his deduction was. Yuder glanced briefly down at his feet and spoke.
“This is the first I’ve realized I’m someone whose mood can be read from their footsteps alone. I suppose I’ll need to be more careful.”
“I can’t read everyone’s mood by their footsteps, you know. It only works with people I’m paying very close attention to.”
He said it casually—like it was nothing—that Yuder was someone he devoted his full attention to.
“So? What did you talk about for so long?”
“First... may I report what we found from the one who brought the forged invitation?”
Technically, the conversation about the invitation came after his talk with Kanna and Gakein, but Yuder chose to begin with business. Kishiar, who had been watching him with a smile tugging at his lips, nodded.
“Of course. Did they discover anything unusual?”
“No. The information they uncovered wasn’t much different from what we anticipated when you decided to send Kanna.”
Gakein had gone down to interrogate Megdolgen Mizelskhan shortly before the party ended. Entrusting his family to his comrades, he quietly descended beneath the mansion with knights from House Hern. Kanna had followed later upon receiving a call for assistance.
It had been Kishiar who decided to send Kanna, and Yuder had agreed with that decision. Truthfully, they had already anticipated the situation as soon as they confirmed that the invitation found in Megdolgen’s pocket was forged.
“Megdolgen couldn’t remember who gave him the forged invitation—not properly, at least. Kanna seemed quite certain there were others who entered with similar ones. And among them, surely...”
“There must’ve been some real intruders who wanted to observe the succession ceremony and party from within, while evading suspicion.”
“Yes.”
“That’s enough. Thanks to Megdolgen causing a scene before the party ended, we gained time to set a trap to catch both the new Duke of Hern and the culprit. One might even call him a true patriot.”
“...Pardon?”
Yuder’s eyes subtly narrowed. Kishiar chuckled, loosening the formal sleeve draped over his arm with an amused, yet sharp-edged smile.
“Yes. I just received a report—right before you arrived—that one of the tails we attached to today’s guests has made a move.”
Yuder hadn’t stayed behind to talk with Kanna and Gakein solely of his own volition. After deducing that the forged invitation might point to something more, Kishiar and Yuder had drawn up a plan to secretly attach surveillance to every guest who had attended the succession ceremony. Naturally, this had only been possible with the cooperation and approval of the new Duke of Hern, Mayra.
On the surface, they had pretended to focus the investigation entirely on Megdolgen Mizelskhan’s filthy little crimes. Behind the scenes, however, they consoled the guests under the guise of concern, while assigning covert trackers.
Given the large number of attendees, tracking everyone hadn’t been easy—but fortunately, many capable Awakeners who had distinguished themselves in the recent battle were also present.
Kishiar had handpicked a team of Cavalry members with abilities suited to stealth tracking and tasked them with monitoring any suspicious individuals. While he managed the external operation, Yuder stayed nearby to guard against potential retaliation—if Megdolgen’s interrogation drew too much attention, their enemies might move to silence him. Yuder had also been tasked with safely bringing Kanna and Gakein back. He’d simply told them he stayed out of concern—but in truth, he had been watching over them.
“If their enemies were bold enough to infiltrate the succession ceremony using such a method, they might easily resort to assassination upon realizing Megdolgen was caught.”
Even if Megdolgen himself knew nothing, it didn’t matter. Just having any involvement was enough reason to get him killed.
Fortunately, nothing happened during the interrogation—but Yuder didn’t think their caution had been excessive.
“So... which of the tails was caught?”
“There was one person suspected of entering with a forged invitation—someone who wasn’t a noble. They claimed to be part of a trading company, but it turns out only two companies were officially invited: one that helped us, and one closely tied to House Hern.”
This individual had blended in by pretending to be from the company associated with House Hern. But the Awakener assigned to trail them reported that they began acting independently—and then suddenly disappeared.
The last place the suspect had been seen was a deserted alley.
“We tried to get a clearer description, but even those who saw them struggled to recall their appearance.”
“Either an ability to blur perception, or they used a magic tool. And if they were able to detect and shake the tail, they must have had at least one accomplice standing by.”
“Exactly.”
“Then... were there any reliable eyewitnesses?”
“Just one.”
Kishiar folded his hands leisurely atop one crossed knee.
“Someone noticed that this person paid particular attention to the Cavalry and Imperial Army—and they even got a good look at the face.”
There weren’t many attendees today with the ability to ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) perceive something like that. Yuder paused, and one name came to mind.
“...Was it Suns?”
Kishiar smiled. “Correct.”
“As you know, he’s been relying heavily on his clairvoyance since he’s living with only one eye now. Thanks to that, whatever method the culprit used to distort their presence didn’t affect him much.”
Suns had reported this to the Cavalry once asked.
“He said the man struck him as a merchant from the Southern Nation. His hair was dyed, and he wore glasses to obscure his eyes—but he kept fiddling with a travel pass from the Southern Nation in his pocket. It caught Suns’s attention.”
Though now promoted to Captain of the Kakheop Unit, Suns had originally served as a regular soldier in the Southern Army. One of the tasks soldiers like him performed most frequently was inspecting merchants arriving from the deserts and seas in the South. He was intimately familiar with the appearance and habits of Southern traders.
He even recognized their travel passes instantly—something most people wouldn’t notice even after a long look.
Yuder was truly grateful that Suns had attended the ceremony today.
“Then it’s increasingly likely that the enemy’s backing is from the Southern Nation.”
“Yes. Though we’ve temporarily lost them, unless they have someone like Hosanra aiding them, I doubt they’ve gotten far.”
“Agents like that rarely leave the target region unless ordered. I’m sure we’ll find them still within Sharloin.”
“We’re also working to identify everyone else who received an invitation like Megdolgen’s. We’ll catch them soon.”
Yuder nodded. The tension in his eyes—which always surfaced when discussing business—gradually eased. Watching this, Kishiar spoke up with a smile.
“So, now that the forged invitation business is settled for now... is it time to hear the tale of your delightful time with friends?”
“You may not find it so delightful once you hear it.”
“I doubt that. I could probably find joy in listening to my aide recite the first chapter of the Sun God’s scripture, line by line.”
Yuder couldn’t help but think that, coming from Kishiar, it didn’t even sound like a joke. He stared at the man, whose radiant face still sparkled under his formalwear, and took a quiet breath.
“...I told Gakein and Kanna about our relationship. They’d both already picked up on things in their own way, and I thought it best to tell them myself rather than let confusion fester.”
“...”
“Fortunately, they responded positively. They both promised to keep it a secret—though I told them there was no need.”
That had been the final conversation, right after they embraced him in a warm and unfamiliar way.