TFLMLD 12

The Suspicious Letter

Ever since returning from the States Battlefield long ago…

Shupen had disappeared without a trace.

After that, the former head of the Knight family died under mysterious circumstances.

Shupen inherited the title and became the new Duke.

“Yes. He’s an outstanding swordsman. If Kai learns from him, it will help him greatly.”

Makaron stared at me for a moment.

Then he spoke with complete confidence.

“He won’t come.”

I didn’t even need to ask why.

I already knew what Makaron was thinking.

After that battlefield…

Shupen Duke had never appeared in public again.

Not even on the day he officially became the head of the Knight family.

People even said the Knight family held the celebration banquet for their new Duke…

Without the Duke himself attending.

Would someone like that really agree to come?

The teachers who normally gave private swordsmanship lessons were usually talented people from small noble families…

Or retired members of prestigious families.

Someone with Shupen Duke’s ability and status?

No matter how much money was offered…

There was almost no chance he would accept.

Time was money.

And his time was priceless.

Makaron spoke firmly.

“Someone as skilled as Shupen Knight would never come here just to teach Kai.”

Although he sounded certain…

It almost seemed like he hoped Shupen would refuse.

Do the two of them not get along?

Honestly…

Makaron’s opinion was realistic.

But I had my own reasons for choosing Shupen.

I’d explain them later.

For now…

I confidently declared,

“I’ll try.”

“Then I’ll leave it to you.”

“If it doesn’t work, let me know.”

“I’ll find someone else.”

His tone clearly said he wasn’t expecting much.

He insisted on carrying the tea table and followed me all the way to the kitchen.

When we arrived…

His lips moved slightly.

It looked like he wanted to say something.

As I watched him…

A shy smile appeared on his handsome profile.

“Um… thank you.”

…What did I just hear?

That was probably one of the three hardest sentences to ever hear from Makaron.

I hadn’t even found a teacher yet.

I’d only promised to try.

Makaron wasn’t the type to thank someone over something so small.

At least…

Not the Makaron I’d known until now.

He still watched me with caution and suspicion.

I wasn’t solving Kai’s education problem for Makaron’s sake.

But…

Being acknowledged by him…

Didn’t feel bad.

No.

To be honest…

It felt nice.

Just one unexpected word of thanks…

Made my heart flutter.

People say unexpected words can leave you speechless.

I finally understood what they meant.

Before I could answer…

He had already walked away as if escaping.

*

Maybe…

Makaron was actually a warm-hearted person.

People who barely knew him feared him.

They called him the Monster Prince.

But those close to him praised him endlessly.

Wasn’t that what people called…

A good person?

There were plenty of fools who treated strangers kindly…

Only to hurt the people closest to them.

Thinking about it…

His handsome face looked nothing like the “monster” described in the rumors.

He could have easily corrected those rumors.

So why didn’t he?

If he did…

He would probably become even more famous than before.

Countless noble ladies would surely confess to him.

Being misunderstood by so many people…

Couldn’t have been easy.

But…

I stopped thinking there.

I didn’t need to worry about Makaron.

That wasn’t my place.

The distance between us now…

Neither too close nor too far…

Felt just right.

Turning toward the window…

A beautiful view spread before me.

Below…

Kai was placing a flower crown on Coral’s head in the garden.

Have they made up already?

I smiled at the heartwarming scene.

Then turned back to my desk.

After writing and tearing up letter after letter…

I finally reduced everything to one simple sentence.

“Request: Information regarding Duke Shupen Knight.”

I sent the request to all 133 information guilds known throughout the Empire.

But every reply was the same.

“Search impossible.”

“We apologize, but we cannot locate him…”

“We do not accept requests like this.”

…

Only a few days later…

A mountain of rejection letters had piled up.

I sighed.

There was only one option left.

I really didn’t want to contact this place…

The Empire’s greatest information network.

And its greatest assassination organization.

The Luna Guild.

The Luna Guild accepted requests from both the Empire and neighboring kingdoms.

They handled impossible jobs.

Most mysterious murders in the Empire were never solved.

But every clue eventually pointed toward the Luna Guild.

Even so…

They always erased every trace perfectly.

That alone proved how capable they were.

The reply arrived the very next day.

It came much sooner than expected.

Without much hope…

I opened the envelope.

Inside was something completely unexpected.

“Please visit. 11:00 PM. 233 Bard Street, Moonlight Library.”

A visit?

An assassination guild is asking me to come in person?

Wouldn’t keeping their identity and location secret be their highest priority?

I’m only asking them to find someone.

Why would they need to see me?

Why insist on meeting?

It was strange.

But there wasn’t any reason not to go.

Of course…

People would ask,

“Is it really worth visiting such a dangerous place just to find a swordsmanship teacher?”

Yes.

Because there was a reason.

In the original novel…

Kai survived countless life-or-death situations because of Shupen Duke.

Shupen was Kai’s swordsmanship master.

Not only that…

After Kai became Emperor…

Shupen stood beside him on countless battlefields.

I never learned why Shupen became loyal to Kai.

But…

In the original story…

Kai didn’t begin learning swordsmanship until adulthood.

Those training days had been worse than death.

Even after all that…

He never completely mastered the sword.

Because he had started far too late.

No matter how brutal the training…

He couldn’t overcome the limits of his body.

But this time…

Kai would start learning while he was still young.

So he would never have to suffer in the future.

So Coral would never have to cry while watching him fight.

No matter what…

I had to bring Shupen here.

*

233 Bard Street.

Deep inside a narrow alley…

A gloomy sign read:

Moonlight Library.

If Makaron hadn’t assigned Sir Aint as my guard…

This place would have been terrifying.

The street was completely silent.

Not a single person was around.

Inside stood an old but spacious library.

As soon as I stepped inside…

A hand suddenly reached out from between the bookshelves.

“Ah!”

The owner of the hand opened his palm.

“Three gold.”

He asked for money as naturally as if I already owed him.

The moment I handed it over…

The hand disappeared.

Then…

The entire bookshelf rotated.

A hidden passage appeared.

Wow… they hid something like this behind the library?

Perhaps it was magic.

The inside was far larger and grander than it looked from outside.

Sir Aint tried to follow me.

But another hand blocked his path.

Despite Sir Aint’s protests…

I entered alone.

Holding the defensive magic tools I had prepared over the past few days.

Inside the elegant room…

Only one man sat waiting.

At least…

He was the only one I could see.

Carefully…

I looked him over.

Although he wore a mask…

His blue eyes were visible.

His fitted suit showed off his strong build.

The room looked like it should smell damp.

Instead…

A faint pleasant fragrance filled the air.

The atmosphere itself gave him a mysterious charm.

For a long moment…

I simply stared.

Is this the Guild Master?

His bright red hair looked obviously fake.

Definitely a wig.

But beneath it…

He was surprisingly handsome.

Too bad.

The moment I remembered his nickname—

“The Mad Killer.”

A chill ran down my spine.

Still…

The Luna Guild never killed its clients.

Only their targets.

His long pale fingers brushed through his hair.

His little finger bent slightly.

If he’s hiding everything like this… maybe I should’ve worn a mask too.

But I immediately realized how foolish that thought was.

“Calypse Patuang.”

“Born into a baron’s family.”

“One previous divorce.”

“Currently remarried to Prince Makaron.”

He continued reading.

Then suddenly paused.

A moment later…

His magically altered voice continued.

“Terrible reputation in high society.”

“Rumored to be a villainess…”

Wait…

Isn’t a voice changer supposed to sound ridiculous?

Why does he somehow sound even more handsome?

“Height: seven point five bart.”

“Weight: six point one five piton.”

“Other body measurements are…”

This bastard…

What exactly is he reading?

“Wait!”

“What’s wrong?”

Although his voice was magically disguised…

I could hear amusement underneath.

He even spoke casually.

Normally I’d complain about that.

But right now…

That wasn’t the important issue.

“Why are you reading information like that?”

“The Luna Guild proves our credibility before accepting requests.”

“Is anything written here incorrect?”

He casually handed me the document.

It even included my exact body measurements.

Along with every rumor…

Every scandal…

Every story about me supposedly being a villainess.

I frowned and put the papers down.

He smiled.

“So it’s all correct.”

“You really believe every rumor?”

“It says which ones are false.”

• Villainess of high society (False)
• Silver hair and purple eyes (True)
• Bust size (True)
  …

Seriously.

The more I looked…

The more unbelievable these people became.

Ridiculous as it was…

There probably wasn’t a better information guild anywhere.

“Do you always make clients come here?”

“Sometimes.”

“For high-level information.”

Just as Makaron said…

Finding Shupen Knight was an extremely difficult request.

“Why are you looking for Shupen?”

“Do I have to tell you that too?”

After taking so much of my money…

Now he wanted information from me too.

“The price of high-level information…”

“…is information.”

So…

He wanted to dig into my secrets.

Honestly…

It wasn’t anything worth hiding.

“…I’m looking for a swordsmanship teacher for my son.”

He burst into laughter.

“You want someone like Shupen…”

“To teach a little kid?”

“You don’t need to worry about that.”

He nodded casually and flipped another page.

“He isn’t even your real son.”

“Yet you’re going this far for him.”

I couldn’t see what he was reading.

The file he held was different from mine.

Its cover was dark red.

…Does it mention our contract marriage too?

Maybe I was just being paranoid.

But…

The way he spoke…

Almost sounded as if he already knew.

I’m probably overthinking it.

“But why Shupen?”

“Because there isn’t a better swordsman in the Empire.”

For some reason…

Every time Shupen’s name came up…

He looked strangely happy.

“Well…”

“There really isn’t anyone better than Shupen Knight.”

He kept talking in circles…

Without revealing the information I actually came for.

Don’t tell me…

He doesn’t know either?

No.

If that were the case…

He wouldn’t have called me here.

“If you’ve finished digging into my life…”

“Then hurry up and tell me about Shupen Knight.”

I only wanted to leave this dangerous place as soon as possible.

If I stayed much longer…

Sir Aint might break through the wall to rescue me.

I only meant…

Hurry up.

Instead…

He said,

“Go home.”

“I’ll send it to you.”

“Go home?”

“You called me here without even having the information?”

“…”

“Then why did you make me come?”

He thought quietly for a moment.

Then looked at me through the mask with his blue eyes.

“Information like this… is given only after I judge the person.”

“So your guild actually chooses its clients?”

“I thought money was enough.”

He simply smiled.

As if he had no intention of explaining.

“I’ll contact you.”

*

After Calypse left…

The room fell silent.

Then…

A hidden wall slowly opened.

A shadow stepped out.

At that moment…

The man removed his mask.

Under the moonlight…

His true face was finally revealed.