Something That Bothers Me
Jinhyeok stroked his chin as he observed Sophia's group.
Olivia swallowed dryly.
If this had been a few hours earlier, she would have shouted at him with a face full of suspicion.
Telling him to get away from Sophia at once.
But now, she couldn't.
If she did, she would become the sort of despicable wretch who repaid a life-saving kindness with hostility.
"Hmm!"
Jinhyeok nodded, looking satisfied.
Charles had taken some injuries, but his life wasn't in danger.
They had managed to save everyone in time.
"Sir Charles. Try applying this to your wound."
He took a small lotion container out of his inventory.
"Vaseline…?"
The three of them stared at Jinhyeok with bewildered expressions.
They knew Vaseline was a decent moisturizer, but it wasn't exactly something you put on a stab wound.
"Ah, the container is Vaseline, but the contents are different. It works really well."
Whenever she had spare time, Elia crafted various items in the Star Workshop.
This was a new all-purpose ointment she had recently developed.
"Thank you."
"Just a moment."
Jinhyeok took out a towel and handed it to Charles.
"Hold this in your mouth."
"Pardon?"
"Bite down. Like this—ah."
He did as he was told, though he looked puzzled.
Was a gag really necessary just to apply some ointment?
After washing her hands clean, Olivia took a small amount of the lotion and applied it to Charles's wound.
At that moment—
"Mmph!!!"
Charles's eyes went bloodshot, bulging as if they might pop.
"C-Charles?!"
Startled, Olivia jumped back.
This was Charles.
A superhuman who wouldn't even let out a groan when run through by a blade.
And yet he was in agony like this.
Olivia and Sophia both looked at Jinhyeok.
Is this really okay?
"Don't worry. That reaction is completely normal."
Whenever Elia developed something new, there was a procedure she never skipped.
Testing it on Jinhyeok—the human guinea pig who stubbornly refused to die—to check for any potential side effects.
He had personally tried it, and there were no side effects. None—but it hurt like hell.
Even when he applied it to a lightly scratched wound, he'd foamed at the mouth.
'Ah… I forgot to mention that it hurts.'
He had put the gag in but failed to deliver the most important warning.
Vowing to explain it properly next time, he observed the treated area.
The torn flesh knit itself back together at a rapid pace, and the bleeding quickly stopped.
"…!!"
Sophia and Olivia's eyes widened as they watched.
An external-use ointment with such immediate effects.
The performance was so unbelievable it made them doubt their own eyes.
"Huff… huff."
Charles, who had been writhing in pain, gradually regained his composure.
Jinhyeok smiled.
As expected of medicine made by Elia Posen, the Alchemist of the Stars.
"Have some of this as well."
He poured tea he had received earlier from Momo and handed it to the three of them.
After taking a sip, Sophia let out a quiet breath.
Perhaps thanks to the warm liquid loosening her body, she began to accept her current situation little by little.
"I don't know how to thank you."
Death had been right in front of her.
No—more precisely, she should have died.
It had been a hopeless situation where survival was impossible no matter what she did.
For a brief moment, Sophia had even seen what people called a life-flashing-before-your-eyes vision.
And yet, she was alive.
With the appearance of Eugene Jinhyeok before her, a situation she had accepted as fate had been overturned in an instant.
"How did you know we were in danger?"
Even Sophia's group hadn't realized it when they got off the train.
They hadn't known that the person there to greet them wasn't the real Edward.
So how had Jinhyeok, who was inside, sensed the danger?
"Well… how should I explain this."
Jinhyeok pointed at his head.
"You could call it an instinctive hunch. Something like sensing killing intent?"
The three nodded with blank expressions.
If anyone else had said it, they might have tilted their heads in doubt.
But the speaker was a Runner.
If a Runner said so, they had no choice but to believe it.
Gulp.
The very person who had said it broke out in a cold sweat.
It was a lie.
You needed to be at least somewhat close to sense killing intent—he hadn't felt anything of the sort.
The real reason he got off the train was Seira.
—There's something bothering me.
Saying that, Seira had repeated the name Sophia Marcia Windsor once more.
Even then, Jinhyeok had only been confused.
He hadn't known that Windsor was the surname used by the British royal family.
Someone interested in the British monarchy would have recognized it immediately,
but Jinhyeok certainly wasn't one of those people.
He was too busy just trying to make a living—how was he supposed to know what surname some foreign king used?
Later, he learned that even Seira hadn't known that fact either.
She had simply said she'd seen it before.
That there had been a knight in the Order who bore the name Windsor.
—I have a favor to ask. I want to help that child.
When Seira went that far, what choice did he have?
He had to help.
So he'd jumped off the train without hesitation.
All to help Sophia, who might have been in danger.
And now, with Sophia's safety secured—
He realized that Seira's intuition hadn't been wrong.
Ding!
The quest window lit up.
[You have cleared the Epic-grade Sudden Quest, "Save the Child of Windsor!"]
An English royal lineage passed down over countless generations.
The founder of this dynasty was a man named Aman Leonhardt. Later known as the Conqueror King, Aman had nearly lost his life as a child when barbarians attacked his castle.
The one who saved him was Berid Windsor.
A knight of exceptional skill, Berid took in the orphaned Aman, taught him swordsmanship, and through that foundation, Aman went on to become known as the Conqueror King, uniting England for the first time as its founding monarch.
Having fulfilled his duty, Berid Windsor quietly departed.
Watching the place Berid had left behind, Aman made a vow.
That his name would never be forgotten.
Aman changed his own surname to that of his father and teacher, Berid, and thus, the Windsor dynasty was born.
As the message narrated this tale, a faint hologram appeared.
Scenes from various eras, impossible to pinpoint in time.
"Huh?"
Even as he watched, Jinhyeok could only fill his head with question marks.
The surname Windsor of the British royal family had been created by a Black Knight?
Even after reading it properly, his mind felt numb.
He lowered his gaze to Sophia, who was sitting there.
She wasn't actually a direct descendant of Berid.
But without Berid, this bloodline could never have continued to the present day.
"Hmm… I don't know."
Jinhyeok wore a vacant expression.
Just how far did this world connect to others? And if it did, how was something like this even possible? He couldn't begin to grasp it.
Ding!
[As a reward for completing the Epic Sudden Quest, you have received a structural map of Windsor Castle! Deep within the ancient castle, the sword once wielded by Berid Windsor lies hidden!]
Berid Windsor, known as the Iron Knight. He possessed the ability to wield any weapon he had defeated as if it were his own.A sword imbued with the full power of its master.
"H-Holy…"
Jinhyeok clapped a hand over his mouth.
How the world worked was something he could figure out little by little.
What mattered was that something existed which could significantly increase his combat power.
He now had a reason to go to Windsor Castle.
Of course, since he was already so close, he'd stop by Snowdonia Park first.
"Sir Jinhyeok? Are you okay?"
Sophia asked with concern.
Jinhyeok had suddenly frozen as if possessed by something.
"I'm fine. Just lost in thought for a moment. Sir Charles, how are you feeling?"
"I feel much better than before. Thank you."
"That's a relief. Then shall we get moving? You said you're heading to Conwy Castle, right?"
Jinhyeok smiled at the three of them, who were still dazed.
"I'll escort you. All the way to Conwy Castle."
He had heard that Sophia's faction was gathered there.
If he got them there, they would be safe.
After that, he planned to head out separately to Snowdonia.
"Let's go. To Conwy Castle!"
He stepped forward lightly.
The unintended possibility of acquiring a sword.
A grin was already spreading across his face.
Crash!
Everything on the table scattered across the floor.
As if that wasn't enough to vent his anger, Widrick grabbed a sword and swung it wildly.
After venting his fury for quite some time, Widrick finally lifted his head, breathing heavily, his eyes blazing.
"What did you say?"
"I-I'm sorry!"
The pale-faced man quickly lowered his head.
"Did I tell you to apologize? I asked what you just said."
"W-We discovered Joypin's unit wiped out near Rose Station. Including Commander Joypin, all of them are dead."
"Does that make any sense?"
"Pardon…?"
"Does that make any sense at all? All that was with Sophia was one old escort and one girl who isn't even a combat-type awakened!"
The man swallowed.
There was no way he could answer that question.
He was just as close to losing his mind.
Joypin's unit had been operatives who had worked in the shadows for Widrick for a long time.
They were unquestionably skilled—and yet they had been annihilated. No matter how he thought about it, it was impossible.
But it had happened.
And in the end, Sophia had reached Conwy Castle, where her support forces were gathered.
"Relax your expression."
"Y-Yes…?"
"Relax. Nothing changes just because you look like that."
At the murderous tone, the man forced his stiff expression to soften.
Widrick Phelam Windsor—the madman.
If you provoked him right now, there was no telling what he might do.
"Haa…"
Letting out a deep sigh, Widrick closed his eyes.
"You know, Mr. Lugal. I want to be king. Very badly."
"Y-Yes!"
"So I killed my mother and my father. I killed my brother too. I even took the risk of putting my grandmother into a coma. I slaughtered all of her aides who got in my way. You know all that, don't you, Mr. Lugal?"
"Yes!"
"So does it make sense that I don't become king?"
"No! Of course not!"
"Right?"
Opening his eyes, Widrick ran a hand through his hair.
For a legitimate succession to the throne, Sophia had to come to Windsor Castle, where the current monarch, Elysia, resided.
In other words, if Sophia were to disappear before that happened, the crown would pass to Widrick—the sole remaining blood relative.
Even if Elysia were to awaken later and grasp the situation, it wouldn't matter.
By then, everything would already be over.
"Contact every single one of the people listed in the ledger. If they don't want all the money I've poured into this to go to waste…"
Trailing off, a chilling madness crept into Widrick's eyes.
"Tell them to do everything they can to make me king."
"Yes! I'll contact them immediately!"
Lugal hurried out of the room.
After steadying his breath, Widrick curled his lips into a greasy smile.
'Foolish little sister. Do you think hiding there will amount to anything?'
If she thought that, she was gravely mistaken.
Conwy—the ancient castle that symbolized Wales.
From this moment on, he would burn that name pitch-black, until nothing but ashes remained.
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T/N:
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