C523

All the transfer gates of the empire were closing.

The armies of the imperial family's vassal states were also seen heading towards the empire by land and sea.

Clearly, the Empire was preparing for war without a doubt.

A war with Hairan.

Bang-!

A white dimensional portal formed in Tikan's front yard, and Mort, the snow toad, appeared.

As soon as Talaris realized that the atmosphere was unusual, she visited Sword Emperor Castle.

Mort looked quite tired because he had moved too many dimensions in a short time.

"Talaris-nim!"

As Jin and his comrades approached, Talaris shook her head bewildered.

"The emperor has gone mad. It's really a atmosphere for a purge."

"Have you seen Ron-nim?"

"I've been told he wasn't there. I haven't heard other details. But Sword Emperor Castle was also completely poisoned... War is inevitable. All the knights following Ron are also gathering at Sword Emperor Castle."

War between Hairan and the entire Empire.

Originally, Talaris thought that as long as Ron was there, the outcome of the war would surely be Hairan's victory.

However, now that she had been to Sword Emperor Castle herself, she wasn't sure either.

It wasn't because she hadn't met Ron in person.

"Strangely, few clans have decided to help Hairan. I don't know what trick the imperial family played, or if Ron lost his reputation without me knowing."

Jin knew why.

"Talaris-nim."

"What?"

"Talaris-nim told me to let you know if something bad was going to happen. Could you tell me what might be the reason?"

The Hidden Palace has always been neutral, but now it must be called Jin's ally.

But the relationship of the Hidden Palace with Hairan was not clear.

In fact, the Hidden Palace didn't have to step forward even if Hairan was destroyed.

It shouldn't step forward exactly.

The Hidden Palace would turn the empire into an enemy for no reason.

So Jin would tell Talaris about Ron's ill health only after she had fulfilled her purpose of aiding Sword Emperor Castle.

Talaris shrugged and looked at Jin's allies.

"Everyone, go out for a while. I need to talk to my son-in-law."

Jin's companions left.

"Son-in-law."

"Yes."

"Do you remember what I told you about the duties of the Hidden Palace last time?"

-The Hidden Palace has maintained its neutrality for most of the years, but it hasn't always been that way. We also made a vow when the First Hidden Palace Master was chosen by Full Ice and Mort for the first time.

-The same goes for the power of Full Ice that our Endorma clans obtained. In exchange for gaining too much power for a human, we were tasked with helping to resolve the anomalies of the world.

Jin nodded as he recalled the story.

"The previous masters recorded that Hairan had something that could be a threat to the world."

White stone.

That's what it was.

It is Hairan's secret that was passed down only to the patriarch, but the Hidden Palace had known about the existence of the stone for a long time.

"Our Hidden Palace presumes that the object Hairan has is from the witch Helluram. And as I said before, preventing the disaster that Helluram brings is one of the representative duties of the Hidden Palace."

"So, Talaris-nim's main purpose in this war is to prevent the danger that Hairan harbors as the Hidden Palace Master."

"Yes."

Talaris responded calmly.

Talaris's words about fulfilling her duty as the Hidden Palace Master could be interpreted in many ways.

It's perfectly reasonable to say that for Talaris-nim, handling the white stone takes priority over Hairan, but if you think about it another way...

'It means that as soon as the white stone reveals its danger, Talaris-nim might attack Hairan instead.'

Jin has no idea what the condition of the white stone is right now.

Also, when the situation reached an extreme, he wasn't sure what decision Hairan would make.

Jin believed in his friend Dante, but the patriarch of Hairan is Ron, not Dante.

If Hairan is at its worst in this war.

Ron is a person who might use the power of the white stone if he could to protect his beloved grandson.

-I don't think there's any reason for the imperial family to covet something that is all there is.

-That's right.

-I understand in broad strokes. The stone must be dangerous enough for no one in the world to know about it. That's why the patriarch of Hairan who acquired the object for the first time tried to cut it and failed. After that, he only left the order to destroy the object without informing them of its identity so that future patriarchs wouldn't become greedy.

-Do you mean you deduced all that from my brief explanation? That's surprising.

-It's even more surprising that not even all the patriarchs in the history of Hairan have been able to cut the stone, not even Ron-nim. Where did the stone come from?

A conversation with Dante about the White Stone.

In that conversation, the danger of the white stone was already revealed.

The same was true for the emperor's actions to obtain the stone, even forsaking Hairan.

'Yes, by chance, if the stone threatens the world, and Talaris-nim is on the side of stopping Hairan.'

There's no way to stop it.

That's why Jin hesitated to give Talaris information about Ron.

After Jin remained silent for a while, Talaris smiled mischievously, as if she knew everything.

"Son-in-law."

"Yes."

"I think I know what worries you. It's easy to read your thoughts."

"Yes, I am worried. I will help Dante as a friend no matter what."

"Even if there's a conflict with me during that process?"

"Yes."

A heavy silence fell between the two.

"... Ron, that fool might use Helluram's things to save his grandson. Because nothing is more important to him than his grandson. But, Jin. Just as Dante Hairan is your friend, Ron Hairan is my friend."

Cyron and Ron, and Talaris.

For those three, the closest friends or companions were each other.

That's how life with absolutes is.

The higher you go, the stronger you become, and the deeper you enter the realm.

And people become lonely.

They gained absolute power at the cost of falling into the deepest solitude.

Only those who entered the realm could understand each other.

However, just like stars collide and disappear when they get too close, their relationship was no different.

If one of the three could embrace them all, they would have become more affectionate friends than anyone.

However, Cyron, who could assume that role, ascended to a higher and solitary realm and lost his emotions as a human being, and since then the three couldn't get closer.

There still exists a feeling of friendship.

That's why Talaris hoped she would never have to fulfill her duty, and she was willing to let things work out like this if possible.

"So be a bit more honest with me, tell me everything you know. Right now, we're talking about the worst situation, but isn't it just an assumption? We have the power. The power to discard the worst."

Jin felt her sincerity.

Moreover, realistically, Talaris's abilities were needed to help Hairan as soon as possible.

The fact that all transfer gates are closed means that land and sea routes are also blocked.

Jin was prepared to approach Sword Emperor Castle by land and sea while fighting the imperial army, and he trusted in making his way through without difficulty.

But it's too late to follow that path.

If Hairan can't hold out until then, it will only make enemies with the Empire, let alone help his friends.

To hurry and fight together was also something to lose to the Empire, but if it brings the war to victory, then it might make quite some sense.

Jin is the Flagbearer of Runcandel.

As the Flagbearer, Jin intended to support Hairan without the permission of Rosa, the acting matriarch.

"And maybe, you and I are complicating things too much. Although there are fewer Knights of the clan with Hairan than I thought, but if it's Ron..."

"Ron-nim... has not recovered at all from the internal injuries suffered during the terrorist attack at Sword Emperor Castle."

Talaris's eyes widened.

"... What?"

"Ron-nim's condition has not improved at all after fighting against the Leader of Kinzelo and suffering internal injuries. I don't know the details of the situation, but he may be worse than back then. And the only ones who know this are me, Talaris-nim, and five of Ron-nim's closest aides."

"Sigh, I was aware that Ron hardly had any external activities after the attack on Sword Emperor Castle... Could it be for that reason?"

"The reason why the Emperor is carrying out the purge and why there are few Knights with Hairan may also be the same. Perhaps those within the Empire know that Ron-nim is not in normal condition."

"...Contrary to appearances, Ron is good with tricks, so maybe he's doing it on purpose. Pretending to be sick, and right now, he intends to deal with Hairan's enemies, and maybe even the emperor... Damn, things are not so good to think about it. Ron is not one to covet power or even force a fight."

Well, Talaris sighed.

Hearing about Ron's condition worried her even more.

Even assuming he enjoyed good health, it was only natural for her to be concerned about the danger of the white stone.

"Talaris-nim."

"Speak."

"Please help me and my comrades get to Sword Emperor Castle with Mort's help."

"Agreed. But right now it's impossible. Mort is tired from traveling so much. He needs time to recover."

Jin nodded.

"Anyway, I need a bit of time. I have to gather all my comrades and men, and I also have to create means to protect Tikan while we're away."

Jin intended to dedicate all his strength to Hairan.