The Knight Who Devours Magic - Chapter 27

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 27. The Vanished Noble Lady
“The Noble Lady has disappeared!”
“Damn it, where are the knights!?”
“She’s not here!”
“Here, here is Noble Prince Drasen!”
At dawn, amid the chaos and clamor, Muno’s eyes opened slowly.
And then.
‘Damn this…….’
Bound to a tree with half his face still throbbing, the sight of himself was so pathetic that his head drooped of its own accord.
A soldier shook him awake.
“Noble Prince! Muno, Noble Prince! What in the world happened here!?”
“Nngh…….”
“All the night sentries are unconscious too…….”
Murmur, murmur.
Hearing the soldiers’ voices thick with confusion, alarm, and urgency, Muno drew on his best pitiful performance and slowly opened his mouth.
“The……the Noble Lady…….”
“Yes? The Noble Lady?”
Meeting the soldier’s wide, attentive gaze, he uttered the decisive word.
“……ran away.”
“What!?”
Grinding teeth.
Reflecting on the night’s events, his teeth clenched involuntarily.
And with good reason.
Rokam swinging a fist the size of a human head as though to crack open his skull, and then Karina appearing suddenly after, striking the back of his head with the insistence of “let’s make sure,” — the memory rose unbidden.
True, he’d asked them to hit him, but the fact that the back of his head hurt far worse only made him angrier.
‘That spot won’t even show a mark, so why……?’
The thought brought Karina’s pouting expression back with strange clarity.
‘What did I mess up this time? Hell.’
She won’t explain unless I ask.
Muno sighed heavily at the memory of the beautiful but temperamentally odd woman.
“It was Rokam and Karina who did this to me!”
He hurled the accusation with full force.
Lifting his surely bruised face as high as he could.
“Oh, well, I…….”
Clearly not expecting such a declaration, the soldier before him could only stammer with a blank expression.
“For now, untie this rope for me.”
Snapping a rope would have been easy enough, but he needed to appear thoroughly exhausted.
That way the beating he’d taken would really drive the point home…….
“But I don’t see any injuries……. How did you end up so thoroughly overpowered?”
……Huh?
At that moment, the soldier untying the rope said something unexpected.
“What do you mean? Your face is so badly swollen……. Oh…….”
A fragment of memory flashed through his mind.
When he’d taken that blade from Ilai, the wound had sealed shut not long after, leaving only a scratch behind.
True, the throbbing pain had lingered for days, but he’d learned then that this body possessed abnormal healing power.
So if he’d only taken a fist to the face, not a blade……?
“……They must have held back. I don’t think anyone else took serious damage.”
“That’s……that is correct.”
Grinding teeth.
Hearing the answer, he found his teeth clenching involuntarily.
So why did I get hit in the first place?
‘What a stupid blunder.’
The throbbing pain in his face felt bitterly unjust.
‘It’s like Phantom Pain.’
Either heal completely or keep the pain — why split the difference? Hell.
Making a mental vow never to make such a mistake again, Muno tore through the binding rope.
Rip-snap.
“We wouldn’t have needed to help you either……it seems.”
Flinch.
Right, that’s enough.
“……What are you saying? Didn’t you untie everything? Ah, but what’s this?”
“Pardon?”
“A. Let. Ter. In. Your. Pock. Et……?”
The rehearsed surprise came out awkwardly, even by his own reckoning.
“Ah!?”
Damn it.
‘I just looked like a complete idiot…….’
But he’d already committed to this path.
“This looks like the Noble Lady’s handwriting…….”
“You can recognize our Noble Lady’s handwriting, sir?”
“Hmm? Ah, yes. I glimpsed it once before. She writes beautifully.”
“I see…….”
The soldier’s suspicious gaze made him want to slap his own cheek.
‘Damn it. Ugh…….’
……Well, people stumble over themselves when they panic—it happens.
And truthfully, deceiving someone without malice went against his nature anyway. Besides.
He’d do better from here on out.
“Ahem. Ahem. In any case, let me read this letter.”
Muno read through the letter—whose contents he already knew perfectly well—in front of the soldiers, and then
announced with conviction:
“……It’s clear beyond doubt that the Noble Lady left of her own free will.”
“Ah…….”
The soldiers and attendants who had gathered round—including the one who’d untied the ropes—all exhaled in unison at his words.
Muno glanced over them briefly and held up the letter, letting it flutter.
“I’ll take personal responsibility for delivering this letter to Count Enok. I’ll make certain that none of you face blame for this.”
The worry etched into their faces eased somewhat at his promise.
Yet there was nothing to be done about the heavy atmosphere that settled over their journey south toward Trian.
The temperature grew warmer as they traveled, and unfamiliar landscapes emerged, but the company saw none of it.
‘I wish the Demon Cult would attack. Seriously.’
The procession was so quiet that even Muno found himself entertaining such grim thoughts—and it remained that way for five days.
And at last.
“There!”
“It’s Trian!”
The Noble Lady’s entourage, minus the Noble Lady herself, approached the gates of Trian, the capital of the Trian territory, their expressions weighted with grief.
* * *
“What!? The Noble Lady!?”
News of the Noble Lady’s flight set the knights of Trian’s inner castle into rapid motion.
As a result.
“The Count requests your immediate presence!!”
Less than an hour after arriving, Muno found himself being led into the inner castle by what appeared to be a senior knight of the Trian Knights.
Clop, clop.
‘Quite grand. So this is the heart of a Count’s domain.’
He followed the knight down the corridor, feeling almost like a condemned man.
The ornate decorations, paintings, and ceramics hanging along the walls looked like genuinely valuable works of art, even to someone like Muno who knew little about such things.
‘They say it’s the largest city in the north.’
Trian, the north’s largest city with a population of nearly thirty thousand residing within its walls, was larger than all the other cities in the territory combined.
A vital hub connecting the Iron Kingdom’s center to the north, and a major metropolis that merchants traveling between south and north had to pass through.
‘I thought it was a small city, comparatively…….’
Of course, to Han Munho, who had lived in Seoul—a metropolis of ten million—it was still just a somewhat larger fortress.
But seeing the interior design of the castle, he had to admit it lived up to its reputation as a central city.
‘Paintings must be expensive in this world too.’
He still couldn’t fathom how abstract works from his past life sold for tens or hundreds of billions in value.
Perhaps that’s why.
When he found himself confronted with paintings equally devoid of meaning—their surfaces covered in incomprehensible lines and colors—a question burst out unbidden.
“How much would paintings like these cost?”
The blue-haired, handsome middle-aged knight escorting him—Klam—answered with proper courtesy.
“They are treasures beyond price.”
“So art, after all…….”
Muttering to himself about the incomprehensible minds of the wealthy, he scarcely noticed what he was saying when
“Miss Roanna has been painting those since childhood, you see.”
“……Cough.”
Klam let out a soft laugh as he watched Muno, flustered, try to cover it with a throat-clearing.
“It may seem amusing, but please mind your words in the Count’s presence. Those are treasures he wouldn’t trade for any work of art.”
At least the rumors about Enok Trian being besotted with his granddaughter seemed to have merit.
And now Muno was on his way to meet the Count to report that his granddaughter had run away without permission.
The weight of the situation crashed down on him anew, and he exhaled heavily.
‘Damn it. Damn this…….’
He was almost beginning to think fighting the Demon Cult bastards would be less of a headache.
From the far end of the wide corridor, someone was approaching, attended by five or six knights.
The moment Klam saw the blonde, middle-aged man with sideburns neatly groomed down to his jaw, he stopped in his tracks.
Snap.
“I pay my respects to Noble Prince Kain.”
Ah.
Only then did Muno, now aware of who this was, offer a proper bow from behind Klam as befitted a guest.
The middle-aged man, Kain Trian, turned to address him first.
“Black hair and such a young knight……. You must be that Muno Drachen?”
Muno’s expression naturally tightened just a fraction.
Though he’d only recently come of age, he stood nearly 180 centimeters tall—hardly young-looking by any honest measure.
Even setting aside his memories of a past life, most young men freshly past adolescence resented being treated like children. This was simply rude.
But the other man held the advantage.
……Hell.
“Yes. It is an honor to meet you, Kain Trian, Crown Prince.”
At that, Kain’s eyebrow twitched.
“Crown Prince” was a sore point for a man past forty who had yet to inherit his title due to an overly vigorous father.
“……Call me Kain. I have a connection with your father as well. I’m pleased we finally meet.”
He deliberately avoided mentioning that Muno’s mother was his sister.
‘A signal not to think of us as family, then.’
He wondered how the daughter could be so different from him.
– A third-rank Hard Body Technique master, with abilities and administrative skill deemed more than sufficient. But he lacks breadth of spirit and cannot tolerate what offends his pride or embrace people of merit. That is the Count’s only concern. He dislikes those who surpass him.
– Like your father?
– Hmm. Well, not exactly in those words…….
Because of his father’s assessment, his first impression wasn’t particularly favorable, but there was no reason to make an enemy of him either.
“I am likewise honored to meet you.”
Muno bowed again with measured politeness.
“At least you have better manners than Rion.”
At Kain’s faintly amused words, Muno felt his own brow furrow slightly despite himself.
But Kain pressed further.
“You’re on your way to see your grandfather?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Klam, I hear this fellow has the letter my daughter left behind. I’d like to confirm it myself before you see grandfather.”
Klam, upon hearing this, shot Muno a look of dismay.
It clearly meant there was no way to refuse.
But Muno smiled bitterly, shook his head, and answered for him instead.
“I apologize, but the Noble Lady asked that this letter be delivered first to Count Enok. I cannot disregard her wishes.”
At that, Kain’s face darkened again.
“……The young man lacks flexibility. In that respect, you do resemble your adoptive father. I find it exasperating.”
This bastard…….
“……I apologize.”
He lowered his head again to hide his rising irritation.
With Kain’s sigh came words he hadn’t anticipated.
“Well. My wild daughter may provoke grandfather’s temper again, so I was merely worried. I had no intention of asking you to break your principles. Forget my request.”
……Not likely to be forgotten, but.
“Understood.”
“You must have had a difficult time accompanying my daughter. Did you notice anything particularly strange about her?”
“Pardon?”
What was this supposed to mean?
“Before she ran away, I mean. Her words or behavior must have been somewhat unusual? Most people can’t handle her.”
When Muno raised his head, he saw Kain’s blue eyes gleaming meaningfully, but having grasped the implication, he tilted his head in feigned ignorance and replied.
“I’m not certain. I recall her being quite brilliant. At least until she ran away.”
“……Hmm. Is that so? There’s nothing unusual in the letter’s contents, I suppose?”
“You expressed only disapproval of the marriage.”
“……I see. And she mentioned no destination?”
“……No.”
Tsk.
Kain watched his expression carefully, then clicked his tongue with a faint look of disappointment.
“I was prepared to apologize, but since you’re being diplomatic about it, there’s no need for that. Still, my father holds my daughter in such high regard that you must exercise particular care with your words and actions.”
“Thank you for the counsel.”
The unwelcome interloper who had inserted himself into the conversation departed as abruptly as he had arrived, leaving only those words behind.
An unexpected entrance and an unexpected exit.
‘Why did he come at all?’
It was natural enough for a parent to take interest in a letter left by a runaway daughter, yet there was a curious distance between this conduct and the image of “Father Kain Trian” that Roanna had described to him.
‘Was he simply curious about where Roanna had gone?’
Muno watched Kain’s receding figure, his eyes narrowing slightly, but—
“You handled that difficulty quite well, I must say.”
At Klam’s words, he straightened his expression.
“No, that’s not— let’s go.”
“If his Excellency should press too forcefully, I hope you’ll understand it as a measure of his affection for the young lady. If you simply remain composed, he will settle down soon enough.”
Klam offered this piece of advice with a warmer expression than before, almost like a helpful tip.
Muno answered with a slight smile and followed quietly behind him, lost in thought.
‘Kain Trian. I’ve heard he rarely moves personally when dealing with subordinates.’
The sudden appearance of Kain weighed on his mind.
But before that thought could reach any conclusion—
“Your Excellency, I have brought Noble Prince Muno Dracen.”
– Come in.
Creeeeak.
The door of a chamber far too vast to be merely an office began to open.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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