Chapter 234

〈 Chapter 234 〉 Part 1, Chapter 11, Section 4

Though we talked about the truth of the world, nothing really changed much.

Battling against the Heroes was still no easy feat, and I tried my best to answer their questions satisfactorily in hopes of gaining their trust.

The Association’s Heroes left Seoul. They were deeply shocked to learn that Cheongnyeon, whom they had worked so hard to protect, was actually the Villain Phoenix.

– We can understand you killing Light Blade, but that doesn’t erase the evil deeds you’ve done as a Villain.

They needed time, and so did I.

While the Association members were lost in thought, my gaze shifted toward the Round Table – especially Gawein, who had just learned my true identity.

“So, Sir Gawein.”

I wanted to speak with Gawein, and it seemed he wanted to talk with me as well.

“Would you like to have a private conversation?”

“Sure.”

I found a quiet place for us to talk, moving away from the others. The sun was setting on the horizon, and the moon was slowly rising in the sky.

Paju, Gyeonggi Province.

This area, untouched by the Blue Wind Sect’s restoration efforts for over a decade, stretched out as a vast plain where the city once stood. It was also a potential battlefield for any unforeseen events.

Whether this place would become a negotiation table or a battlefield depended entirely on Gawein’s response.

Standing against the sunset, I immediately confronted Gawein.

“Did you know that the Royal Tomb Keeper <Catesby> was actually <Penril of Gale>?”

“…No, I didn’t.”

An S-Rank Ability user like Gawein not knowing? That didn’t make sense. The first human to reach SS-Rank in the original story wouldn’t have missed a senior officer right under his nose.

“Why are you lying?”

“…Guess I can’t fool you, can I?”

Gawein kept insisting on his innocence. But the magic power emanating from him clearly revealed whether he was telling the truth or not.

He was lying.

“Why go through the trouble of lying? There must be a reason.”

“…Well…”

Gawein seemed hesitant to answer.

“Because…?”

“…Whenever I saw her, she was always with ‘Princess.'”

“Princess?”

Oh no. Please don’t tell me. But as usual, my “Don’t tell me” became a prophecy of the future.

“Aruel Elizabeth Mary… She was the Princess’s pet tomb keeper.”

“I see.”

Now I understood why Gawein hesitated to get involved. And now I understood why he avoided giving a clear answer. He was testing whether I really came from the future.

“Do you want the short version or the long version?”

“Please, keep it short if possible.”

“Princess is your daughter. Her mother is the current Queen.”

KAAANG!

Gawein drew his sword.

“That was way too brief!!”

“But you asked for the short version, didn’t you? Ah, sorry.”

I called out his real name, which had been taken away by the queen.

“Adulterer Lancelot du Lac, shortened to Sir Lancelot?”

“…!!”

Gawein’s face turned pale. He wanted to figure out how much I knew about him, and I willingly shared everything I knew.

“…So, you didn’t commit adultery willingly?”

“No! It was completely voluntary!”

“What are you talking about?”

In the abandoned ruins of Paju, I exposed all of Lancelot’s dirty laundry right in front of him.

“Queen forced herself on you, got pregnant, and you were naturalized to England-”

Right in front of him.

Lancelot raised his sword to the sky.

***

Of course, the Round Table is based on the legend of King Arthur of England. The First Round Table was originally a group of twelve heroes who secretly gathered to defeat Seongju. They fought across national borders and eventually all died due to the aftereffects of battle.

Lancelot created the Round Table to honor them and to operate officially while seeking help from people.

The French Hero Lancelot wanted to create a group of twelve knights, including himself, to form a righteous knight order that would protect the world. Regardless of the name or title, Lancelot set the number of knights at twelve to honor the eleven other ability users who had died.

However, at the time, Lancelot was only in his early twenties.

Having survived alone, he didn’t know how to create a worldwide knight order, so he consulted a close British friend.

Unfortunately, that friend was a princess hiding her identity while studying abroad in France,

who already had a fiancé,

and who somehow seduced the then world’s strongest person, got pregnant, and returned to England to ascend the throne.

That’s when Gawein became Lancelot, and finding himself unexpectedly the father of the queen’s illegitimate child, he decided to serve as a Knight of the Round Table to protect the queen out of a sense of responsibility.

***

“So, please don’t blame yourself too much. You were completely victimized-”

“No! The Queen is not someone who would do such vulgar things!”

Covered in cold sweat, Gawein swung his sword. He seemed intent on silencing me by overpowering me, but of course, I wasn’t going to let him off easily.

“Alright then. Let’s say you forcibly took advantage of the Queen. Is that settled?”

“Haaah… Haaah…”

Gawein stuck his sword into the ground and panted heavily. His composure was already shattered, and I had only used my silver tongue to break it down further.

“Are you going to keep wasting your strength like this? I’m trying to cooperate with you, not fight.”

“…Can you promise me something?”

Desperate, Gawein pleaded with me. Though it looked awkward seeing the blond middle-aged man lowering himself, I zipped my lips to show that I supported his pure love.

“Don’t worry. If the truth ever comes out, I’ll testify that you’re the one who committed adultery. I’ll protect Her Majesty’s honor.”

“…Thank you.”

“What’s there to thank me for? That’s why I pulled you aside to talk privately. I was worried I might blurt everything out back there.”

It would have been embarrassing for me to expose the sordid relationship between the respected leader of the Round Table and the Queen right in front of everyone, who were already shocked by my true identity.

Didn’t I appropriately dramatize the affectionate yet tragic love story between Light Blade and Rusalka?

“So, now you believe I’m from the future, right?”

“Yes. That’s convincing enough.”

“Then could you help clarify some confusion I’m having?”

Through network searches, I questioned about the British Royal Tomb Keeper <Catesby>.

“How did Penril end up by the Princess’s side?”

“…Let me clarify one thing before I go. I thought Catesby was just a cat who awakened special abilities, and never suspected he was a senior officer of the Dark Legion. Like Unjang’s red earth.”

“Why not?”

“Because he never engaged in that kind of activity.”

“…”

This didn’t make any sense.

“Isn’t it said that Penril has been around for 20 years?”

“Yes. In the year the Princess was born, there was an incident where the baby Princess grabbed the tail of a cat that entered through the window. I still remember it vividly – the look of panic on Catesby’s face when his tail was caught.”

“….Wow. So he just let a human live? Even after getting his tail grabbed? Isn’t he supposed to be an assassin brainwashed to kill humans on sight?”

“An assassin, yes. Armed with dangerously adorable cuteness that assaults one’s heart. But Catesby is far from the villain you imagine. Rather, he was more like a nanny cat who watched over the Princess since she was a baby.”

The more I listened, the more astonishing it became. I summarized what Gawein was saying.

“So, you’re saying that Penril stayed awake for 20 years without doing any villainous deeds, instead befriending and protecting the Princess since she was a baby? Is that what you’re saying?”

“Exactly.”

Kim Penril wasn’t idle all these years. Rather than carrying out operations as a senior officer, he was apparently loafing around for 20 years.

“Seriously, he didn’t pull any tricks? Like secretly gathering forces?”

“He did gather stray cats near the palace to clean up trash.”

“Didn’t secretly create a terrorist organization or anything?”

“On the contrary, he mobilized stray cats to catch rat swarms.”

“You…ugh…”

I couldn’t even finish my sentence I was so exasperated.

“So basically, instead of being a senior officer or spirit, he was just a house cat?”

“A house cat with special abilities. Far from terrorism, he even saved the Princess from a terrorist kidnapping, earning a knighthood for his efforts.”

“Huh.”

I’d have to check later what Kim Penril was really up to. I was genuinely speechless at how irresponsible he was.

“So, he was just living in the palace until he snapped at Mint scent… Wait, that doesn’t make sense. Reports say he was coordinating with two other senior officers.”

“How am I supposed to keep track of where a cat wanders every day? If it were a person, maybe, but it was just a cat.”

“Never suspected anything?”

“I did. I wondered if this cat might be a spiritual guardian sent by God to protect the Princess.”

“This is insane.”

“That’s exactly what I want to say. Having an SS-Rank assassin next to my daughter for 20 years… Can you imagine?”

“…”

“…”

We fell silent for a moment, having reached a mutual understanding.

“So, Penril was wrong to pretend to be a real cat and deceive people, right?”

“Exactly. If he had acted according to his role as a senior officer of evil, I would have taken action much earlier! Even at the cost of my life!”

“Then let’s go capture Kim Penril. Okay?”

“Yes. On that point, I have no objections.”

After trapping me inside a barrier, both <Catesby> and <Penril of Gale> disappeared simultaneously. Apparently, having revealed their true colors, they judged it impractical to remain in the palace any longer.

“But the Round Table fighting alongside the Villain <Phoenix> is unthinkable. You’re an enemy who has tarnished Britain’s pride.”

“Fine. As long as we’re not enemies, that’s enough. Then we should probably discuss this within the Round Table too?”

“Yes. Since you’ve caused an issue by coming forward, we can no longer hide the Dark Legion.”

“If we reveal this to the public, the senior officers will likely go even deeper into hiding.”

“Then let’s discuss this among the Round Table first. Some members believe villains must be killed without exception.”

Not all members of the Round Table recognize gray areas. Among them are those who have lost family to villains, so internal discussions are necessary.

“Don’t forget. Though our paths may differ, our final destination is the same.”

“I understand. But there’s one promise I need from you.”

Gawein pointed his sword at me.

“If anything happens to tarnish the Queen’s honor, I will cut you down immediately.”

“Understood.”

Since my ultimate authority lies with Chang-yeom, he too regards the Queen as a sun-like presence worthy of reverence.

“Then I look forward to working with you, Father-in-Law.”

CHING!

The sword was drawn from its sheath. I subtly turned my head to dodge the sword strike and transformed into monster form while glancing at the audience who had followed me to Paju.

[Seriously, why do fathers with daughters get so worked up?]

I dodged Gawein’s sword and swung my fist.

***

And back to the present.

Having ended in a “draw” with Gawein, I checked my reflection in the glass window just before entering the conference room, trying to compose myself.

“I hope today goes well.”

“What’s your plan if it doesn’t?”

“Hmm…”

I pushed open the door to the meeting room. The clock showed exactly 8:59. The main hall was already filled with senior officers of the Blue Wind Sect taking their seats.

“Oh, new face. Hello there, <Dark Magistrate>? Puheheh.”

“…That’s a hastily made alias. Damn Yeonghuo, I don’t know how he comes up with aliases so easily.”

“In that case, let me suggest one. How about <Rabid Dog>?”

“…I’d rather die.”

Light Blade recoiled in disgust. The existing senior officers were clearly uneasy about the new addition who had decided to take a more active role.

“With that much confidence, you should show your daughter- cough!”

A golden sword pierced Dukbae’s stomach. The unofficial SS-Rank sword moved faster than light, instantly knocking Dukbae down.

“Is it okay for SS-Rank to bully B-Rank?”

“Dying.”

“What I’m doing is love as the Chief Director. I can’t tolerate discord among senior officers. Avoid it.”

“Tch.”

I patted the fallen Dukbae’s back and removed the sword before blood could spill, using magic power to heal the wound.

“Return to your seat, Deputy #2. You know about the tardiness fee if you don’t sit down.”

8:59:57.

I took my seat at the chairman’s position.

“Hey!”

“3, 2, 1, ding.”

I clapped my hands and stood up.

“July 18th. Let’s begin the Blue Wind Sect morning meeting. One latecomer: Dukbae. Everyone’s here, so let’s skip attendance. The meeting topic is…”

-What kind of challenge will the Association’s Heroes bring?

The Association has challenged the Blue Wind Sect with a “challenge” as part of their battle for world peace.

I slammed my hands on the table and spoke.

“Any guesses on what they’ll propose?”

Annoyingly, Executioner Baek Hee-a hasn’t revealed what kind of challenge they’ll offer.