Chapter 30 - Light and Darkness
"You've been waiting a long time."
After being bound to the chair for a while, the blindfold was removed.
Pale blinked, scanning his surroundings.
"So, this must be the infamous counter-intelligence unit's interrogation room."
"Something like that."
Across the table sat the man who had dragged him here.
The commander of the counter-intelligence unit.
His name was unknown.
The man was staring at a bonfire burning in one corner of the room.
"Oh dear, someone's stuck a poker in that bonfire."
"..."
"You know what? I've been very busy lately. And a busy counter-intelligence unit isn't a good sign."
"This is a false accusation. You must know that, right?"
"Of course. I know."
The man chuckled, turning to Pale.
"How could I not know? I'm the one who framed you, Inspector Trace."
"What?"
"Nyx Highwind."
"What?"
"Nyx Highwind. Commander of the counter-intelligence unit."
The man introduced himself with a smile.
"Heard that before? Security is important here, you see. Even with an important position, I can't really boast about it anywhere."
"I didn't know the Highwind family was in charge of the counter-intelligence unit."
"Not the direct line. But I was permitted to use the surname."
"Framing someone, then revealing your name... Does that mean you don't intend to let me live?"
"Hmm? Ah, well."
Nyx frowned, feigning disappointment.
"A typical reaction. I was hoping for something more fresh."
"..."
"You seem to be fully prepared... What a pity. To disappoint your expectations."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean this."
Nyx stood up and came around behind Pale.
"Welcome to the counter-intelligence unit."
Click!
The restraints on his wrists were cut and fell away.
Freed, Pale felt an urge to elbow the man standing behind him.
"What are you doing? Is it a trap, perhaps..."
"A trap, you say. For example, deliberately releasing the restraints to provoke a counter-attack, then lawfully disposing of the target?"
"..."
"A troublesome method. Though it is plausible."
Nyx, having released the restraints, returned to his original seat with an unperturbed expression.
"First, I apologize for the rough methods, Inspector Trace. I hope you'll understand that the situation was urgent."
"...What do you mean?"
"You saw it too, didn't you? Those shadowy figures surrounding the Inspectorate."
"You mean the Black Knights? Weren't they on the same side as the counter-intelligence unit?"
"The counter-intelligence unit and the Black Knights? Impossible."
Nyx scoffed in reply.
"We follow only one person. He commanded us to save you. Before you fell into the hands of the Black Luna family."
"The Sword King commanded me?"
"We obtained a kill order issued by the Black Luna family. Your name was at the top. It seems digging into this incident provoked them."
"Then the reason you brought me here was..."
"To save your life. Under the guise of an arrest." Nyx leisurely propped his feet on the table.
"Feeling a bit less tense now? We just put on a show to fool them. Though I doubt it'll fool them for long."
"Phew..."
Pale let out a long sigh.
He didn't want to pretend to be strong now.
"You scared the living daylights out of me. I thought I was a goner for sure. Though I did feel something was off..."
"Why? Because we didn't openly hit or torture you?"
"The atmosphere changed the moment I entered the interrogation room. The surveillance presence also disappeared."
"No one can come down here. We don't need to worry about them."
"Them? Are there Black Luna spies in the counter-intelligence unit too?"
"Spy is a bit strong a word. Among our own kind, I mean. It's better to understand it as Black Luna's ears being spread everywhere."
"But you're not?"
"Well, I'm a Sword King loyalist."
"A Sword King loyalist? Aren't we all Sword King loyalists?"
"That's quite..."
Nyx chuckled, stretching.
"A pure reaction. I miss it. There was a time when I was as pure as you. And here I am, dragging another innocent lamb down the path of corruption."
"..."
"A Sword King loyalist refers to a faction that does not belong to a specific family and acts for that family's interests, but rather moves solely according to the command of His Excellency, the Sword King. And by 'specific family'... well, I don't need to spell it out, do I?"
Nyx shrugged.
Pale frowned and closed his mouth.
Black Luna.
The head of the Eight Great Main Families of the Sword King family, ranking first, and the sole entity possessing immense power, enough to contend with all other families alone.
And the root cause of the Granvelle incident that Pale had investigated.
"The Black Luna family opposes His Excellency the Sword King... Is that how I should understand it?"
"Yes."
"And you are just His Excellency's hands and feet, following his commands?"
"Something like that."
"...My apologies."
Pale adjusted his posture, changing his tone.
"I beg your forgiveness for my impoliteness until now. I too am merely an Inspector, following His Excellency's command. Does he also know about this act of rebellion?"
"Huh? Rebellion?"
Nyx squinted, playing innocent.
"Suddenly using polite language, are we? But rebellion, what do you mean? I have no idea what you're talking about?"
"I'm referring to the act of rebellion where the Black Luna family conspired with the enemy to leak information and destroy the Granvelles."
"Oh, come on, you shouldn't just say things like that out loud."
Nyx dramatically scanned his surroundings as if in a play.
"Be careful with your words and actions. I told you, didn't I? They have ears spread throughout the entire Sword King family. Even in the counter-intelligence unit's headquarters."
"..."
"Such conversations can only be held safely down here in the underground interrogation room. We're currently in the process of weeding out their ears, so it's best to be careful. Anyway, it wasn't outright collusion, but..."
"I found evidence that they siphoned off information."
"Hmm?"
"Furthermore, I confirmed circumstances where they manipulated schedules to pull out the Granvelle family's security personnel. They diverted all the skilled and competent knights to other regions. Additionally, I confirmed their collusion with a specific merchant guild, suspected of being a spy organization of the Poison King Cult."
"Already that far? You found a lot."
"Did you already know?"
Nyx shrugged, changing the subject.
"As expected, you're capable, Inspector Trace. It was worth the effort to save you."
"If you knew, shouldn't you eliminate them all? This is clearly an act of treason."
"Eliminate? The Black Luna family, you mean?"
Nyx shook his head, scolding.
"Don't even think about it. That would immediately lead to civil war. The Sword King family would split and fight. And what's more, it would be a losing battle for us."
"Losing battle? Why is that? No matter how prominent the Black Luna family is, they belong to the Sword King family..."
"Because there's a real enemy out there."
"..."
"The Black Luna family's base is in the southern empire. It's practically no exaggeration to say they control the entire south. So, naturally, we'd be attacked from above and below."
"Below would be the Black Luna family, and above... You mean the Poison King Cult? They'd conspire and invade simultaneously?"
"They probably wouldn't go as far as outright conspiracy. But if civil war breaks out, the Poison King Cult would definitely push south, wouldn't they?"
"..."
"Even a three-year-old could predict that. So, we can't recklessly accuse the Black Luna family of treason. Even if it's frustrating and annoying for now, there's nothing we can do. How about it, have you understood up to this point?"
His tone was like an Academy professor's.
Pale nodded, feeling anger welling up.
"I understand. It's a terrible situation. But isn't it ultimately just a matter of time?"
"Valor is ambitious."
"Valor Black Luna. The head of the Black Luna family..."
"That fellow isn't doing this to hand over the Sword King family to the enemy."
"Then why is he doing this?"
"For the right of succession, of course."
Nyx sat askew, frowning.
"Valor's succession rank has been stuck at 8th for ten years now. Considering his age, this is his limit. The possibility of him suddenly getting stronger in his 60s and climbing higher is low."
"Succession right? He's causing all this trouble for just that reason?"
"Just that reason? I think it's a pretty important reason."
"Isn't the future already the Black Luna family's anyway? Just look at the mid-level succession ranks, half of them are from the Black Luna family. No other family has as many young talents as they do. In just ten years, the entire top ranks might be dominated by the Black Luna family..."
"It will be to late for them by then."
Nyx replied with a sigh.
Pale belatedly understood the situation, holding his breath.
"Surely His Excellency the Sword King..."
"He turned 110 this year. It's been several years since he stopped external activities."
"Is his health in critical condition?"
"They say six months at shortest, a year at longest."
"That's... regrettable."
Pale genuinely mourned, bowing his head.
The 4th Sword King of the Sword King family, Dive Serces.
Dive was respected by many for a long time due to his excellent character.
In addition to his heroic myth of achieving monumental success from the Serces family, which was the weakest of the Eight Great Main Families, he was also praised for his successful reign in bringing harmony without conflict with other families.
But the reign of such a Sword King was soon coming to an end.
The biggest tree was falling in the most chaotic situation.
Pale, desperate, cautiously spoke.
"I don't think it's my place to say, but... do you happen to know about a medicinal herb called Eternal Life Grass?"
"We already used it."
"Huh?"
"We already used it. The only reason His Excellency has lasted this long is because of that root. One root of Eternal Life Grass extends life by one year. But that's only if the body can endure it."
"Ah..."
"He tried hard too. To hold out until a more suitable person could rise as the next Sword King candidate."
The problem was that the number one ranked successor hadn't changed in twenty years.
Pale sighed reflexively, recalling the person in question.
"Phew, Raul Delta..."
"The moment that old man becomes the Sword King, war will start immediately. In terms of danger, it could be even greater than the Black Luna family."
Raul Delta.
The head of the Delta family, which ranks second among the Eight Great Main Families of the Sword King family, and an extreme hardliner.
He's the type of person who insists that all the Sword King family's resources should be mobilized to push north right now.
Regardless of his family's power, he received fanatical support from many who agreed with him.
The problem was that the current Sword King wasn't avoiding it because he didn't want to.
The Poison King Cult had dug various traps for hundreds of years, just waiting for the Sword King family to push north.
They had indeed fallen into traps several times, suffering great damage.
Only after losing tens of thousands of personnel and warriors of precious talent did the Sword King family realize that the north was their grave.
The key was the Forbidden Zones.
There were incomparably more Forbidden Zones in the north, where Aura could not be activated, than in the south.
Once you stepped into a Forbidden Zone, it was over.
No matter how powerful an Aura user, they would be reduced to the same state as an ordinary person.
"We still lack information."
Pale sighed, recalling events from a few months ago.
"If we push north now, we will surely be annihilated. The previous rescue operation only succeeded because it wasn't far from the border. Because it was a region where we at least had some information. Even then, we almost fell into a trap and were wiped out."
"I heard that too. That the Poison King Family used a deception, pretending to retreat?"
"It's the Poison King Cult, not the Poison King family. Anyway, at that time, not only the special forces but also part of the reconnaissance unit almost got caught in a Forbidden Zone while chasing the retreating enemy. So information is paramount. We need to find accurate information about the Forbidden Zones spread throughout the north. If we launch an all-out war without information, annihilation is only a matter of time."