My Lord Who Is Being Prudent! [EN]: Chapter 241

241. An Unexpected Guest (2)

Kuner was in a very bad mood.

Rather than just being in a bad mood, it would be more accurate to say he was extremely annoyed.

“Haa…”

A sigh escaped involuntarily.

“Let’s talk for a moment.”

It was a voice from the side.

Kuner frowned slightly and turned his gaze.

And what he saw was a silver-haired woman.

“…What is it this time?”

Kuner replied in a weary voice at the sight of Diana.

“I said, let’s talk for a moment.”

“I clearly stated that I would no longer offer assistance.”

“It’s not about that. I really just want to talk.”

“Then we can do it here.”

“There are too many eyes watching.”

Kuner slowly scanned his surroundings.

As he did, he noticed the soldiers’ gazes were intensely focused.

A rare silver-haired woman.

Especially since Diana’s beauty was extraordinary.

Far from ordinary, it was a beauty that was hard to come by.

It was natural that attention was focused on her.

“Haa… I understand.”

Kuner sighed and said to the surrounding soldiers.

“I’ll be away for a bit. Finish up your tasks.”

“Where are you going? Are you going on a date…?”

“Did Instructor Kuner have a girlfriend?”

“She’s so pretty! I’m so jealous!!”

Then, as if they had been waiting for it, the soldiers shouted from all directions.

Kuner scowled and replied.

“A date? Do you even know who this person is to be saying such things?”

“Who is she? I can tell she’s incredibly beautiful, but…”

“She’s really pretty!”

“Just let it be, you guys. You’ll get hurt if you know, so just let it go.”

Kuner turned his gaze back to Diana and said.

“The guys are just saying things without knowing. Don’t pay them any mind.”

“I’m not paying attention, so don’t worry.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. Aren’t you the one who’s worried?”

Diana replied.

Kuner shook his head and started walking.

Diana followed Kuner, slowly matching his pace.

They arrived at a secluded place.

“Now, tell me. What did you want to talk about?”

At Kuner’s question, Diana asked.

“What kind of person is Count Cyan?”

“What are you talking about now?”

“Just what I said. Count Cyan. What does he do?”

Kuner tilted his head and asked.

“Didn’t you just come from talking with the Lord [Count Cyan]?”

“That’s true, but… I was actually kicked out.”

“What? Kicked out?”

“To be exact, he said he’d think about it and then kicked me out.”

“What the… What did you say to make the Lord say that?”

Kuner asked, but Diana didn’t answer.

She lowered her gaze slightly, subtly avoiding Kuner’s eyes.

“Don’t tell me you tried to assassinate the Lord?”

“No. Why would I assassinate Count Cyan?”

“Well, if you had, the Guild Master wouldn’t be alive right now.”

Kuner nodded as if it were obvious.

And Diana tilted her head.

That was because if Diana had wanted to assassinate Cyan, she could have easily done so.

Diana, at the pinnacle of the underworld, was also at the pinnacle of her skills.

It was no joke that she could even assassinate a Master-level knight.

Let alone Cyan, it would have been instantaneous.

Of course, Cyan wasn’t the complete dullard he used to be, but there were still limits.

Diana was confident that she could assassinate Cyan if she set her mind to it.

“If you’re even thinking about it, don’t even dream of it.”

But Kuner didn’t seem to think so.

Diana felt a slight blow to her pride, but she didn’t dwell on it.

“I’m not doing anything like assassination. I just… asked for some help.”

“Help? From the Lord? What kind of help are you talking about?”

Kuner asked with a puzzled expression.

And Diana didn’t answer this time either.

“Weren’t you the one who called me to talk?”

“Well, yes, but…”

Diana was just avoiding Kuner’s gaze for no reason.

Kuner sighed softly and said.

“I don’t know what it is, but don’t expect any help from me. I will follow the Lord’s decision entirely, whatever it may be.”

Kuner’s words were not only firm but also cold.

And in those words, there was a tremendous trust in Cyan.

It was more than trust; it felt like blind faith.

And that was a completely different side of Kuner than before.

Diana, who had once been Kuner’s superior, knew it well.

The current Kuner was a completely different person from the past Kuner.

“You must trust Count Cyan a lot.”

“I trust him much more than the Guild Master.”

Diana didn’t know why, but she felt a little hurt.

“So don’t even think about harming the Lord.”

“Hey, I took you in, remember?”

“I told you I’ve already repaid that debt.”

“How did you repay it? I don’t know why you─.”

“There’s a reason.”

Kuner shook his head and cut off Diana’s words.

“If you have nothing else to say, I’ll be going.”

And then Kuner turned his back without hesitation and left.

Diana quietly watched Kuner’s retreating figure.

The changed Kuner.

She really didn’t know why, but she felt inexplicably jealous and frustrated.

More than anything, she couldn’t let Kuner go like this.

“Do you perhaps like me?”

Diana said this to Kuner’s back as he was leaving.

Then Kuner’s steps stopped abruptly.

The expression on Kuner’s face as he slowly turned his head was truly a sight to behold.

It was truly an expression as if he were looking at a crazy woman.

“Are you out of your mind?”

As expected, that was exactly the expression.

“What’s the logic behind your thought process that leads you to that conclusion?”

“Well, they say men tend to tease the ones they like. I’ve heard that’s how it is.”

“That’s something only kids do. And when have I ever teased the Guild Master?”

“Right now. You’re threatening not to help at all.”

“Is that teasing? And besides, does it even make sense that I would tease the Guild Master? Do I have a death wish?”

“Hey, you wouldn’t actually kill me for teasing─.”

“I’ve seen dozens of people die with my own eyes.”

“…”

Diana was momentarily speechless.

“Of course, those bastards were nothing more than criminal dogs, not people.”

Kuner shook his head.

Diana looked at Kuner and opened her mouth again.

“Still, I’m not so bad, am I? I actually think there were quite a few people in the guild who liked me.”

Kuner sighed inwardly.

But on the other hand, he didn’t deny it.

To be honest, it was true.

No one in the dark city of Vener knew Diana.

She was at the pinnacle of the underworld.

And Diana’s beauty was hard to come by.

Silver hair that seemed to hold the moonlight.

Diana’s beautiful appearance, combined with that silver hair, had a somewhat dreamlike beauty.

So there were many guild members who secretly had a crush on Diana.

However, the problem was that these guys were criminals from the underworld.

And the way those criminal bastards flirted was obvious.

They tried to do all sorts of terrible things to Diana.

And the result was all too obvious.

Anyway, Diana’s beauty was objectively beautiful.

“But do you have to say that yourself?”

“Why not?”

“There’s nothing you can’t do, but I’ve never seen someone who says that and is mentally sound.”

“What? Are you saying I’m not in my right mind?”

“Isn’t it strange for someone at the pinnacle of the underworld to be in their right mind?”

“…”

Diana was speechless once again.

“And I have someone else I like.”

“What? Who is it?”

“The Guild Master doesn’t know her. She’s from Ruben.”

“Ruben… the territory you live in now?”

“Yes.”

Kuner nodded, avoiding eye contact as if he were embarrassed.

Diana felt a mischievous streak in Kuner’s appearance.

“Is she prettier than me?”

“What kind of question is that?”

“If you don’t even glance at me, does that mean she’s prettier than me?”

“She’s not prettier than the Guild Master. Do you think there are many people on the continent prettier than the Guild Master?”

“What? So you like me after all…”

“But the Guild Master doesn’t even catch my eye.”

“Why not?”

Diana asked out of pure curiosity.

Kuner continued as if he were saying something obvious.

“Don’t you know that the Guild Master took me in when I was young? No matter how pretty the Guild Master is, she’s just like a mother to me. And besides, she’s only young in appearance, but if you consider her actual age…”

“Okay, okay, that’s enough. I was just asking as a joke. You’re taking a joke too seriously.”

“I was just saying it as a joke too. It seems the Guild Master is taking it too seriously.”

Somehow, Kuner didn’t back down at all.

He was no longer a member of Shadow Moon, nor a subordinate.

He had completely become a person of Ruben.

Perhaps that’s why.

“You. You seem a bit different from before?”

Diana could feel the change in Kuner’s atmosphere.

“What do you mean?”

“You don’t seem like the Kuner I knew. The Kuner I knew was burdened with all the pessimism in the world. As if there was nothing fun in my life. But now…”

“I used to be like that.”

Kuner chuckled.

He was once a Kuner burdened with all the pessimism in the world.

She didn’t think he knew how to make such a smile.

“…You’ve definitely changed.”

And what made Kuner change.

Diana was only becoming more curious about Ruben and the man named Cyan.

“On the other hand, the Guild Master hasn’t changed at all.”

“I know. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.”

Diana chuckled.

And Kuner, who was looking at Diana, said.

“It might be presumptuous of me to say this…”

Kuner slowly opened his mouth.

“I hope the Guild Master will also look at the world from a slightly different perspective.”

To look at the world from a different perspective…

Diana could only chuckle.

Kuner smiled back and opened his mouth again.

“Since I’ve already been presumptuous once, can I be presumptuous one more time?”

“What are you trying to say?”

“I’m just going to help the Guild Master.”

“Help me? Didn’t you say you would never help me?”

“My mind has changed. I also want to try to be filial to my mother.”

“Are you going to keep calling me mother?”

Diana scowled.

But she soon shook her head and said.

“What is it?”

“I don’t know what the Guild Master talked about with the Lord. But if you’re going to ask the Lord for something… be sure to prepare money.”

“Money? Are you talking about gold?”

“Yes.”

Her mind went blank for a moment.

“How much are you talking about?”

“The more, the better. It seems like almost hundreds of millions are moving around these days.”

“What, what? Hundreds of millions?”

Diana couldn’t help but widen her eyes.

Hundreds of millions wasn’t just some dog’s name [insignificant amount].

What nonsense was this?

“Don’t you have it?”

“No! Wouldn’t it be strange if I did?”

Even for the best information guild in the Empire, hundreds of millions of gold was impossible.

Especially now that it was almost on the verge of dissolution.

“Um… then don’t you have any place to get hundreds of millions of gold from?”

“Is there even such a place in the world─.”

At that moment, Diana paused.

A place to get hundreds of millions of gold.

A certain place flashed through Diana’s mind.

None other than the Guardian’s Nest.

She hadn’t been there herself.

But from what Diana had heard, the Guardian’s Nest was said to contain enormous treasures.

Not only were there various jewels, but there were also countless rare items that seemed to come straight out of myths.

Rumor had it that the legacies of the six heroes who saved the world a thousand years ago, the Arnices, were also sleeping there.

It could be dismissed as a lie, but it was highly likely to be true if it was the Guardian.

The Guardian was an absolute being who had directly experienced the myths.

The value of all those treasures was inestimable.

Not only hundreds of millions, but perhaps even billions.

That was the only way Diana could currently raise hundreds of millions of dollars.

But at the same time, it was also an impossible method.

To covet the Guardian’s treasure. What nonsense was that?

“You don’t have to go out of your way, Guild Master. If there’s even a possibility, try mentioning it to the Lord.”

Whether he knew that fact or not, Kuner was just saying incomprehensible things.

“What does that mean? Are you saying that Count Cyan will steal it on his own if I just tell him?”

“There’s a reason. Anyway, if you want help, be sure to mention it to the Lord.”

“No, what does that─.”

Right then.

“Instructor Kuner!!”

From afar, the voice of a soldier calling Kuner could be heard.

And the soldier’s voice was heard again.

“The Lord is looking for a beautiful woman!!”

It was none other than a voice looking for Diana.

“It seems the Lord is calling for you. Then I’ll be going.”

With those words, Kuner left the spot.

“Hey, hey! Kuner! You have to finish what you were saying before you leave!”

Diana tried to grab him, but Kuner didn’t stop walking.

Kuner’s figure quickly disappeared into the distance.

“That bastard, he’s not even my guild master anymore.”

Diana could only sigh deeply.

Diana slowly moved her steps towards where Cyan was.

One step, two steps.

Why was it that every time she took a step?

The conversation with Kuner just now flashed through Diana’s mind.

‘Perhaps I’ve only been looking at the world from the perspective of an assassin.’

‘I hope the Guild Master will also look at the world from a different perspective.’

Looking at the world from a different perspective.

It couldn’t have been that Kuner knew something and said that.

But why did those words sound different?

The name Luna and the name Diana.

If I had looked at the world as Luna.

If I had lived without abandoning that name.

Perhaps I could have lived a different life.

Or could I do that even now?

“…Tch.”

A bland feeling.

“That guy just had to say unnecessary things.”

Diana forcibly shook her head to shake off her thoughts.

#

Inside the empty barracks alone.

Cyan was sitting quietly in a chair inside the barracks, lost in thought.

The story Diana had told him earlier.

“Elandur is looking for the kingdom of the beastmen…”

That story made Cyan’s head complicated.

To be honest, it was hard to believe.

But it was also true that it couldn’t be dismissed as a lie.

First of all, the fact that Diana was a Yongin [a member of the Dragon race] was like that.

“No wonder the White Wolf Knights aren’t showing their faces.”

So far, Elandur’s elite forces had to show their faces.

“Then Elandur is really looking for the kingdom of the beastmen…”

Even mobilizing all of the White Wolf Knights.

Even in this urgent war.

There were two main reasons for that.

One was that they thought they could win the war against Ruben even without the White Wolf Knights.

“Or there’s a reason why they have to.”

There was a reason why they had to find the kingdom of the beastmen even at the cost of bleeding.

And now that Ruben was pushing Elandur away.

The answer was something that anyone who wasn’t an idiot could know.

“Was this why they were using the people to buy time?”

Because Elandur’s elite forces were absent.

Until they returned.

Until they achieved some purpose.

There was a need to buy time.

I don’t know why Elandur is looking for the kingdom of the beastmen.

I also don’t know what they’re going to do with the kingdom of the beastmen.

To be honest, there’s no reason to help the beastmen.

It’s better to focus on the war with Elandur.

“…”

But why this uneasy feeling.

Even though they were being pushed back in a sweeping manner, Elandur was unmoved.

Even though there was a huge bleeding, they continued to look for the beastmen.

It wasn’t certain. It was just a guess.

But perhaps Elandur thought it was most important to find the kingdom of the beastmen.

Even though the front lines were being pushed back, the elite forces weren’t showing their faces.

Perhaps this situation was also part of a strategy.

Elandur was putting on a smoke screen.

Giving up flesh and taking bones [sacrificing minor gains for a major victory].

Perhaps the place that would determine the victory or defeat of the war wasn’t here.

“…”

Deepening thoughts.

It was right then.

Knock knock.

-Lord. That… a beautiful woman has come to see you.

The soldier’s voice was heard from outside the barracks.

But a beautiful woman?

“Who…”

For a moment, Cyan knew that the beautiful woman was Diana.

Of course, there were others besides Diana who could be called beautiful women.

The dark elves, including Sera, could certainly be called beautiful women.

But if it was Sera or the dark elves, they would have said their names.

“Tell her to come in.”