Chapter 381

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Due to the complete collapse of the central transfer gate of Baria, Jin could only arrive in Kalon at night with great difficulty.

"Y-Young master Jin...!"

Hurriedly, the first to rush forward was Butler Petro.

After Mary had publicly discussed the contents regarding Temar's tomb at the meeting, Petro had been waiting every day for Jin's return at the central transfer gate of Huphester.

It had already been ten days since the meeting. During those ten days, Petro's worry for Jin nearly gave him a heart attack.

"As expected, I knew you would be the first to come and find me."

While Petro was sweating buckets, Jin smiled with a calm expression.

However, due to the fact that he had been through a fierce battle with the ghost mercenaries, his appearance seemed very exhausted to Petro.

"Where are you hurt!? Hey! Call the medical team immediately, and bring a warm towel!"

"I don't need the medical team."

"Young master, what about that large sack?"

"Oh, this."

Swoosh!

Jin placed the robe he had been carrying on his shoulder like a sack on the ground.

Petro's face immediately changed as he reflexively checked what was inside the sack.

"This... Is this Faye Proch from the Ghost mercenaries?"

Inside the sack was Faye, who was still unconscious, with her limbs tied up.

"She's a hostage for negotiation."

The reason Jin kept Faye alive was that her value as a hostage was extremely high. Killing her would only deepen the Ghost mercenaries' resentment, but keeping her alive could be useful.

"The Ghost mercenaries attacked you, Young master?"

Petro clenched his fists and glared at Faye.

"Yeah. Lata Proch sent her sister and ten mercenaries after me. And as you can see, I captured Faye in the process."

"...It's the Elder council's doing."

Petro immediately deduced the client. At this time, there were no others besides the Elder council who would have commissioned the Ghost mercenaries.

Jin nodded.

"Even before Lady Mary revealed the information that she received from the young master, I had a feeling that the Elder council would make a move after that. I didn't expect things to escalate so quickly, and I couldn't prepare for it. I apologize."

"Do you mean you weren't able to prepare? Is Gilly okay?"

Petro's expression darkened rapidly when Gilly's name was mentioned.

"She is currently detained."

There was a killing intent in Jin's eyes for a moment.

But he quickly regained his composure.

"Where? It can't be in an underground prison, right? If it were, Murakan wouldn't have stayed quiet."

[T/L: 지하 감옥 - underground prison/dungeon.]

"When the order of detention came, Lord Murakan destroyed a part of the Garden of Swords. The Guardian Knights worked hard to restrain him."

"Has any action been taken against Murakan separately?"

"No, Lord Murakan hasn't been punished."

Despite damaging part of the Garden of Swords and having more information about Jin than anyone else, Murakan hadn't faced any consequences.

"It might have been an irreversible situation if Gilly hadn't stopped Lord Murakan."

Being considered the 'long-time guardian of the clan,' the clan had its limits when it came to courtesy. If he had crossed that line, even someone like Murakan might not have escaped unscathed.

"Fortune in misfortune."

"And I heard that Gilly is detained in one of the Elder council's secret hideouts. Chief of guardians of civilians has promised humane treatment, so you don't have to worry too much."

Gilly was detained due to her involvement with Jin in the search for Temar's tomb. Furthermore, as Jin's nanny, she knew more about him than anyone else, so it was only natural for the Elder council to interrogate her.

Information about the 'Tomb of Temar' was sensitive enough to cause a significant reaction in Runcandel.

'It's a relief that Murakan wasn't in the Wantaramo Forest. It was a wise decision to leave him behind in the clan. With him around, no one could have treated Gilly lightly. It would have been dangerous if he had crossed the line.'

Moreover, Tellot, Chief of Guardians of Civilians, had taken good care of Gilly. Although preventing her detention was a stretch, he had tried to be as considerate as possible towards Jin.

"I have a lot of work to do as soon as I return."

Jin wiped away the bloodstains on his face with the towel brought by a servant.

It was time to get new blood stains.

"Let's go."

He traveled to the Garden of Swords in the steel carriage.

The other Guardian Knights at the transfer gate quickly proceeded to the Garden of Swords, informing about Jin's return.

Clang...!

The sound of the gate chain being lifted at the entrance of the Garden of Swords was particularly heavy.

As expected, the Garden of Swords had an unusual atmosphere from the entrance. Hundreds of Guardian Knights were lined up menacingly, with the members of Elder council and flagbearers standing tall in front of them.

Eventually, Jin descended from the carriage.

The blades of four swords surrounded Jin's neck. They were the swords of the enforcement knights.

"12th flagbearer, disarm yourself."

Jin chuckled softly in response to the enforcement knight' low voice.

"Feels like I've become a traitor."

"Disarm yourself."

"And if I don't?"

"You have no choice but to follow the law."

President of the Elder council!

Suddenly, Jin shouted. His resonant, booming voice tore through the silence of the garden.

It was unthinkable.

The youngest of the family, the 12th flagbearer, addressing the President of the Elder council in such a disrespectful manner.

Immediately, a thick vein bulged on Jorden's forehead, and the eyes of Elder council members almost popped out in shock.

'Wow, this crazy guy. Even though he is my youngest brother, he's a really cool crazy guy.'

Among the flagbearers, only Mary felt a sense of satisfaction as she clenched her fists.

The other flagbearers just stared at Jin in disbelief. Even Luntia, who usually found everything bothersome, blinked in disbelief.

"You...!"

"This is outrageous! How dare the 12th flagbearer address the president of the Elder council with such disrespect!"

The Elder council members, who had come to their senses belatedly, looked at Jorden's mood.

Jorden seemed quite shaken, still looking at Jin with a somewhat vacant expression.

The enforcement knights, with their emotionless faces, still held their blades to Jin's neck.

"...Sir!"

"Ahem, h-hmm."

Eventually, Mary couldn't hold back her laughter and let out a suppressed cough.

In reality, she had been quite angry with Jin for not appearing at the meeting, but her youngest brother always provided so much amusement that she couldn't bring herself to hate him.

"Since you probably won't kill me right here, how about treating me a little more lightly?"

"What...?"

"The clan must have a lot to hear from me. How will you find the Tomb of our ancestor without me, and how will you recreate the former glory of the clan?"

Jorden's forehead narrowed.

He was barely holding on to his sanity and glared at Jin as if he wanted to kill him.

"Do you believe in that and act so recklessly, 12th flagbearer."

Despite the killing intent in his eyes, Jorden's tone was quite composed.

"Yes."

"You don't seem to value your life. Whether the information you gave to the 7th flagbearer holds any value remains to be seen."

"It seems the president of the Elder council is the one who doesn't value his honor."

Each word Jin uttered scratched at Jorden's nerves. The bulging vein on his forehead seemed like it would burst at any moment.

"Do you think you can talk to me about honor?"

"What can't I talk about? I actually mentioned honor because I wanted to help the president of the Elder council. You even brought the Black Sword Association's enforcement knights to put a blade to my neck..."

Tock, tock.

Jin continued speaking while tapping the blades of the enforcement knights.

"This. If you don't cut me down here, what kind of humiliation would you face? It's not like there are just one or two people watching. It means you won't be able to contain the rumors."

Standing beside Jin, Petro felt like his lifespan was decreasing with every word he spoke. Beads of cold sweat streamed down Petro's pale face.

But Jin was certain.

'The president of the Elder council won't kill me.'

It wasn't that he couldn't.

It was entirely possible that Jorden, unable to contain his anger, would order the enforcement knights to kill Jin.

But it was only a possibility, and it wouldn't benefit Jorden in any way.

On the contrary, he would incur significant losses. Not only would he lose the means to keep Joshua in check, but if other factions benefited from the Tomb of Temar in the future, the consequences would be dire.

Even if Jorden were determined to kill Jin, it wasn't a certainty that he could do so.

'Even if the president of the Elder council orders the enforcement knights to kill me, there's a high chance that Mother will stop them.'

Unless Rosa had more information about the Tomb of Temar than Jin did. From her perspective, Jin shouldn't die just yet.

There wasn't a 100% chance that Rosa would stop Jorden if he loses his composure, but Jin was confident.

Jin glanced up briefly and looked at the main house within the Garden of swords. He even smiled as he focused on Rosa's office.

The silence passed.

This unprecedented situation was beyond words to describe.

"...your arrogance and recklessness have no bounds. To think that someone like you could raise the flag of Runcandel, it seems times have indeed changed."

When Jorden had made the decision to pressure Jin with the enforcement knights, he hadn't expected this outcome.

What he had hoped for was that Jin would realize the gravity of the situation and request assistance from others to rectify it.

If Jin had proposed a deal, asking other flagbearers or Tellot for help to alleviate the Elder council's pressure, Jorden intended to use it as a pretext to find out exactly who Jin's potential allies were.

He never expected Jin to come out this boldly. Just like everyone who had dealt with Jin before.

So, Jorden had no choice.

If he simply allowed this to pass, as Jin suggested, it would undoubtedly lead to a severe loss of honor, just as Jin said.

"Adapting to change is not an easy task, president of the Elder council."

"True, you're right. But you, you still haven't disarmed yourself."

Jorden lifted his chin slightly and spoke softly.

"Cut off both of his arms."

Squick-!

The enforcement knights, without hesitation, severed Jin's two arms upon Jorden's command.

Thump, thump.

The severed limbs fell to the ground with a dull sound.

And Jin didn't even spare a glance at his fallen arms.

One step at a time, Jin approached Jorden.

"Is that all you have to say?"