My Lord Who Is Being Prudent! [EN]: Chapter 284

284. Beginning and End (1)

Aria asked if Kyle was the same.

Rea’s expression didn’t soften at the question she couldn’t understand.

Whether Aria knew Rea’s feelings or not,

Aria spoke again.

“Did Kyle perhaps dislike Muriel too?”

-Why are you asking that all of a sudden?

“Oh, come on! What’s wrong with just telling me?”

-Did this girl eat something wrong or what?

Rea slightly covered her ears.

And shaking her head lightly, she continued.

-Well? I don’t think he particularly liked her… but he didn’t dislike her either? Kyle didn’t really dislike anyone in the first place.

“…Is that so?”

-No, but why are you asking this all of a sudden?

Then Aria paused slightly.

Rea waited without urging, and soon Aria slowly opened her mouth.

“For some reason… it feels like we keep drifting apart.”

-Hey, you! Don’t just ramble on, explain it so I can understand.

Rea finally frowned.

And then Aria sighed softly and said.

“Cyan is Kyle’s successor, right?”

-So?

“And you said before that Cyan and Kyle are quite alike.”

-That’s true too.

“Back then… was Kyle the same?”

It was the same question as before.

But this time, Rea could vaguely understand that it had a slightly different meaning.

“It feels like the closer I get, the further away he seems. Not just because of those feelings… it’s like…”

-Like he looks like someone who will leave someday?

“…That’s right.”

Aria nodded calmly.

“So, that’s why you couldn’t hold onto Kyle back then?”

Kyle, who had suddenly left a thousand years ago.

Rea at the time couldn’t hold onto Kyle as he left.

She didn’t even know the reason why he had to leave.

-Why are you suddenly curious about that?

“Just…?”

-What do you mean, ‘just’? What’s there to hide now? Come on, tell me. Why are you suddenly curious about that?

Aria was silent at Rea’s words.

But soon Aria opened her mouth.

“The war with Elan Dur has ended. And now it feels like the end is gradually approaching.”

Now, all that remained was the fight against the demons.

Only the task of removing the seeds of demons hidden within Elan Dur.

And that was a battle that started with the Arnises.

A battle that had continued since a thousand years ago.

A battle that even the Arnises couldn’t finish.

The battle passed down through generations was being continued by their descendants.

They were fighting the same battle as the Arnises of a thousand years ago.

The final battle that had approached in that way.

It was impossible to know if this was the end.

But it would be the last battle we could fight in our generation.

Thus, if this was a battle that had been continuing since a thousand years ago.

If it was an endless cycle of infinity.

And if we had to face the same fate as the Arnises.

“At the end of all this… I’m afraid Cyan will leave us too. Like Kyle did, I’m afraid Cyan will disappear without a word…”

Aria looked at Rea with an uncharacteristically serious gaze.

“I’m… just a little curious.”

With that, Aria finished speaking.

Rea could only stare at Aria in silence.

Silence descended.

The silence continued longer than expected.

How much time had passed?

-Kyle…

Rea slowly opened her mouth.

-Like you said, he looked like someone who would leave someday. Like someone who was never originally in this world. Like someone who had a separate place where he was supposed to be. If Cyan follows the same path as Kyle…

Rea’s unfocused, grayish-white eyes turned downwards.

-Well, I don’t really know.

Silence descended once more.

But this time, the silence didn’t last long.

-But I won’t let that happen this time. Even if the same thing happens as before. This time, I won’t helplessly let him go like before.

Soon, Rea made a determined expression and shouted at Aria.

-And you. I don’t know why you’re suddenly asking that, but if you’re thinking of snatching Cyan away, forget about it. No, that’s not it.

Rea shook her head violently and corrected herself.

-Get a ticket and wait a thousand years, you little brat.

“As if being old is something to brag about.”

-Who knows? If you live for about 500 years…

“Yeah, yeah. It must be nice to have big breasts.”

Aria immediately cut off Rea’s words.

Rea’s expression went blank for a moment.

“Since we’re on the topic, can I ask you one more thing?”

-Why is she being like this today, really?

“You said it yourself. What’s there to hide now?”

-Sigh, go ahead. What is it, you little brat? What else are you curious about?

“Muriel, you know.”

-What about Muriel?

“She actually liked Kyle, didn’t she?”

-What kind of novel nonsense is that?

Rea really thought she was talking nonsense.

It was a question she hadn’t expected at all.

She hadn’t even considered the possibility, let alone expected it.

“Why aren’t you answering?”

-You’re asking something that doesn’t make sense. No, why are you asking that out of the blue?

Rea didn’t open her mouth easily at Aria’s urging.

She wondered if she should even answer this.

Why is Aria being like this today?

Rea stared at Aria in silence.

Aria also stared at Rea in silence.

A moment of silence followed.

Rea finally opened her tightly closed lips.

-She didn’t directly show it. But you could say it was a woman’s intuition.

“Does that mean Muriel liked Kyle?”

-Probably.

“I knew it.”

Aria nodded as if she had expected it.

-You didn’t see it, but any woman couldn’t help but fall for Kyle.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m sure.”

-This girl is really something. No, but how did you know that? How does someone who’s barely over 20 know about something from a thousand years ago?

“A woman’s intuition.”

-…

“Or maybe I’m really Muriel’s reincarnation.”

At Aria’s words, Rea’s expression went blank.

Aria burst into laughter at Rea’s expression.

“Think about what you’ve done to me all this time. You’ve been incredibly wary. Every time, it’s ‘Muriel this’ and ‘Muriel that’.”

-You’d have to resemble Muriel a little to say that. You don’t know this, but Muriel was really… really too pretty, even for another woman.

“More than me?”

-Yes, more than you.

“What? How can she be prettier than me when you say we look alike?”

-Muriel wasn’t just pretty in the face. Unlike someone, her personality was a benevolent saint and goddess. Especially when she smiled with her eyes…

If I were a man, I would just…

Rea waved her hands around and shouted.

“Sounds like you’re saying that for someone to hear?”

-I didn’t say anyone’s name, so I don’t know why you’re feeling guilty?

Aria and Rea glared at each other.

And this time, Aria was the first to relax her expression.

“But in the end, you won.”

-I won? Against Muriel?

“You were engaged to Kyle, right? Then that’s the end of the fight.”

-What’s the point? I couldn’t even get married, and Kyle left.”

Rea made a slightly gloomy expression.

Aria couldn’t bring herself to speak at Rea’s expression.

An awkward silence descended, and once again, silence flowed.

How much time had passed again?

“I’ve said it many times, but I’m not Muriel.”

-Who said you were?

“So, I’ll be different from Muriel.”

And then Aria turned and left.

Her platinum blonde hair swaying as she walked away with a haughty air…

-Did that girl really eat something wrong? Why is she being like this all of a sudden?

She wondered why she was being like that.

Rea watched Aria’s retreating figure.

Blankly and silently again.

While watching Aria’s retreating figure, she suddenly thought.

-…It reminds me of the old days.

Rea wore a faint smile that contained both nostalgia and sadness.

#

Cyan’s office located in Lord’s Castle Lv.4.

“Here are the materials related to Elan Dur that you requested.”

Cyan accepted the report that Diana handed over.

It was a report summarizing the things that Elan Dur had done in the shadows.

It hadn’t been long since the war ended, so he thought it would take some time.

It seemed that Diana had moved faster than expected.

“Good work. What about the guild members and children?”

“We brought them to Ruben, only for those who wanted to.”

“There were no problems?”

“Yes.”

Diana nodded.

Cyan didn’t ask any further about it.

He assumed she had already done a background check.

“I’ve already told Grayson, so he’ll guide you when you take the children.”

Grayson, who represents the humans among the territory residents of Ruben.

Diana, the guild leader of Shadow Moon, was a beastkin [a humanoid race with animalistic features].

However, the guild members and children under Diana were naturally humans.

Although they were territory residents of the same Ruben, the environments in which they lived differed depending on the race.

And since there were orphans in Ruben as well, facilities related to orphanages were also well-equipped.

To be exact, Cyan had spent a lot of money to upgrade them.

“If you need anything else related to this, tell Hans and he’ll take care of it.”

“Thank you… thank you so much, Lord.”

Diana bowed her head with sincerity.

Cyan waved his hand and turned his gaze to the report.

The report was so thick that it resembled a professional book.

“So, these are the things that the Elan Durs have done.”

Cyan flipped through the report, page by page, and checked its contents.

He couldn’t fully confirm the contents because they were written so densely.

However, he could tell what the contents were even with a cursory glance.

“Murder, corruption, embezzlement, kidnapping, torture, assault, confinement, theft… they’ve done so much.”

The targets ranged from commoners to nobles, regardless of status.

The number of cases amounted to 1,472.

He had expected there to be many, but there were far more than he had anticipated.

Even this was only the work that had been organized since Durak became the head of the family.

In other words, the things that had been compiled since Isabel took over the internal affairs of Elan Dur.

Durak had practically taken his hands off the family’s affairs since then.

In short, the number of crimes committed by Isabel alone was 1,472.

“Elan Dur, not Vener, was the city of crime in the underworld.”

At this point, the fact that they had colluded with demons seemed like a minor offense.

“Was Isabel the key?”

And the existence that could practically be called Elan Dur was Isabel.

In the end, Elan Dur could only be destroyed by capturing Isabel.

Still, since the evidence was so clear, only one thing remained.

He only had to go to the Imperial Palace and discuss it with the Crown Prince.

“This should be enough. Good work, Diana.”

With that, Cyan put down the report and looked at Diana.

But why was that?

Diana’s atmosphere was slightly strange.

He wondered what it was for a moment.

“Um…”

Diana hesitated and spoke.

Her expression showed that she was deeply troubled and wanted to say something.

However, she didn’t know if she should say it. To be exact, she didn’t know if she could say it.

Diana was deeply troubled and didn’t open her mouth easily.

He was very curious, but Cyan didn’t urge her.

He just waited silently for Diana to open her mouth.

How much time had passed?

“Please… accept this.”

Diana took out a piece of paper from her chest.

Cyan accepted the paper, and the paper he received was not much different from the previous report.

It was just a report on one of the thousands of atrocities committed by Elan Dur.

Why was she taking the trouble to show him this separately?

Cyan calmly read the report.

And.

“…”

He could immediately understand why Diana had hesitated so much.

The content of the report was simple.

More than ten years ago, Elan Dur wanted to purchase poison from Shadow Moon.

The types of poison they wanted were two.

A poison that leaves no trace.

A rare poison that is not known to the world to the extent that it cannot be traced.

Shadow Moon eventually found a poison that met the conditions.

And that was the end of the transaction between Shadow Moon and Elan Dur.

But perhaps it was because they couldn’t resist their curiosity as an information guild.

Shadow Moon investigated where Elan Dur had used the poison.

Because the purpose and intention of the request were suspicious.

Thus, the place where the poison was used was written at the end of the report.

[It is believed to have been used on a woman named Cecil.]

It was a short sentence.

And perhaps they couldn’t thoroughly investigate Elan Dur.

The sentence also contained speculation.

“…”

However, Cyan couldn’t bring himself to speak.

The woman named Cecil written in the report.

She was none other than Cyan’s mother.

Therefore, the content of this report was simple.

Cyan’s mother, Cecil, was poisoned.

The client was Isabel, and Isabel poisoned Cecil.

And the one who obtained the poison was the Shadow Moon Guild.

“I’m sorry… Lord.”

Now, it was Diana in front of him.

Diana was kneeling down at some point.

Cyan looked down at the report and looked at Diana, who was kneeling.

“Why did you tell me this?”

And asked.

“If you could have hidden it, you could have hidden it.”

That was true.

Diana could have hidden this fact sufficiently.

She could have just not given the report to Cyan.

If she had destroyed the report alone and kept her mouth shut, it would have been a fact that would never be known.

“I thought… I shouldn’t hide it.”

However, Diana thought she shouldn’t do that.

The reason… honestly, she didn’t really know.

Was it because of the way Cyan had shown himself in the Beastkin Kingdom?

Was it because of the way Cyan had shown himself in the war with Elan Dur?

Or was it because of the way Cyan had shown himself as the lord of Ruben?

She didn’t know.

Diana just.

“I will accept… any punishment.”

She just didn’t want to deceive Cyan.

Diana knelt down silently.

As if she was prepared to receive any blame, she knelt in that place, prepared for death.

A heavy silence descended in Cyan’s office.

Breaking the silence, Cyan got up from the table in his office.

He walked towards Diana, who was kneeling.

At the same time, crackle─! Black lightning erupted from Cyan’s hand.

Before she knew it, the Sword of Annihilation was in his grasp, and whoosh!

Like a bolt of lightning, the Sword of Annihilation flew towards Diana.

The Sword of Annihilation instantly reached Diana’s neck.

The cold blade dug into her neck, and bright red blood flowed down Diana’s white neckline.

Diana closed her eyes tightly.

She couldn’t resist, nor did she have any intention of resisting.

But contrary to what she thought, the Sword of Annihilation suddenly stopped.

Drip, drip. Blood droplets flowed down.

The Sword of Annihilation was stopped in a state where it had slightly dug into Diana’s neck.

A deadly place where her neck would be cut off if she moved even a little.

Keeping that precarious line, the Sword of Annihilation no longer moved.

Diana carefully opened her eyes.

And she could see Cyan’s cold face looking down at her.

“If I kill you with this sword.”

Cyan’s words came next.

“Would that be me killing you? Or would it be the Sword of Annihilation in my hand that killed you?”

Diana couldn’t say anything.

She couldn’t understand the meaning of those words, nor could she open her mouth itself.

If she opened her mouth even a little to speak.

If she moved the vocal cords in her throat even slightly.

It felt like her neck would be cut off as it was.

“Answer me.”

“L, Lord… it is.”

However, Diana finally opened her mouth at Cyan’s urging.

As expected, the Sword of Annihilation dug further into Diana’s neck.

Accordingly, the blood flowing down her neckline became thicker.

Diana’s silver hair, which contained the moonlight, was now stained with blood.

And Diana’s answer to Cyan’s question.

Of course, it was Cyan who killed her.

The Sword of Annihilation was just a sword, after all.

The sword itself could not kill Diana.

There had to be someone wielding the sword.

There had to be a will to wield the sword.

Only then would the act of murder be accomplished.

The sword was merely a tool, and the responsibility for the action rested solely with the person.

But why was he asking such a question?

“It’s the same.”

Soon, Cyan uttered quietly.

“Diana, you were no different from the Sword of Annihilation in my hand right now.”

Cyan’s gaze was on the Sword of Annihilation, not on Diana.

“It was Isabel who held and wielded that sword.”

It was Isabel who held and wielded the sword called Shadow Moon.

Therefore, Cecil’s death was Isabel’s fault.

She could never pass the blame onto the wielded sword.

Just as she couldn’t blame the blacksmith who made the sword for being murdered by the sword.

If she were to follow that logic, she could say that Cyan also had some responsibility.

For not preventing Cecil’s death. For being known as the worst dullard in the world. For not being noticed by Durak.

For having to be abandoned by the family as a result.

If Cyan hadn’t been abandoned by the family, Cecil wouldn’t have died.

Isabel wouldn’t have easily touched Cecil.

But that was a ridiculous claim.

It was a pathetic self-blame, and in some ways, it was arrogance.

In the act of a person murdering another person, the only one who can be held responsible is the murderer who killed that person.

“No one else is at fault.”

Swoosh─!

A chilling cutting sound reached Diana’s ears.

Diana didn’t even realize that Cyan had swung his sword.

She just saw below her.

Diana’s silver hair fell down as if it were scattering.

Diana’s silver hair, which had been cut into a bob, contained the moonlight.

However, the silver hair that had fallen to the ground contained a blood-stained red moon.

“You are the head of the intelligence department of Ruben, and a territory resident of Ruben.”

Cyan scattered the Sword of Annihilation.

“I am the lord of Ruben.”

Looking at Diana, Cyan spoke again.

“As the lord of Ruben, as the son of Cecil.”

And as a family living together in Ruben.

Although he couldn’t forgive Durak.

He couldn’t do it to the family that was connected by blood.

But now.

“I forgive you.”

#

Cyan’s office after Diana left.

Cyan watched Diana’s retreating figure as she trudged out of the office.

Diana’s appearance with her bobbed hair.

That appearance was quite unfamiliar, but it suited her quite well.

And there was no strength in Diana’s steps as he watched her.

Even though Cyan had forgiven her, accepting it was a separate matter.

“She’ll get better with time.”

That’s why time was needed.

For Diana and for Cyan.

Cyan quietly watched Diana leave.

In fact… Cyan also knew to some extent.

To be exact, he had noticed.

That Isabel had killed Cecil.

It wasn’t that he had any material evidence.

However, Cecil’s death at the time was too sudden.

Also, they didn’t continue a detailed investigation within Elan Dur.

Just treating it as the death of a mere commoner.

The young Cyan could only watch it.

He had neither the strength nor the will to resist by raising his voice.

Only Hans raised his voice, but it was still buried.

Cecil’s death was covered up like that.

However, Cyan had vaguely noticed that Isabel had killed Cecil.

At the very least, he didn’t not know that she was involved.

And now, the fact that Isabel had directly killed her was revealed.

He thought he had cut off all the past as Durak…

“Did I still have a past left?”

The past of the evil relationship called Isabel.

Cyan looked at Diana, who was disappearing far away, with lowered eyes.

At the same time that Diana disappeared from his sight, Cyan also turned his gaze away from the window.

“…Tsk.”

And he shook off the tangled thoughts.

Now was not the time to be immersed in mere sentimentality.

How could his mother’s death be mere sentimentality…

Honestly, it had already been a long time.

Above all, it was a past that could never be reversed.

It was a memory that he could not return to under any circumstances.

Now was the time to move forward.

He had to move towards the future, not be caught up in the past.

To destroy Elan Dur and thus capture Isabel.

That was truly what Cyan had to do.

Thereby, the battle that had continued since a thousand years ago.

Along with the Arnises, even Cyan.

To liquidate the last remaining past that he had not cut off.

Although he didn’t know if this was the end.

In the endless cycle of infinity, it might be just one passing process.

But it would be the last thing Cyan could do.

It would be the last thing he could do in Cyan’s generation.

The truth that Kyle faced.

The battle with the demons that had continued since a thousand years ago.

The place where that end begins, the Imperial Palace.

“Shall we go?”

Cyan slowly walked out of the office.