“What? Please! Sir Soldier!”
“…….”
“Handsome soldier! Dashing soldier! Please! I beg you!”
“Ah, damn it…”
After shouting to the point it could rupture someone’s eardrums, the guard muttered a curse under his breath and hurriedly climbed the stairs.
It was clear he’d realized that ignoring this would only prevent a normal conversation from taking place.
One second felt like an eternity.
Latian nervously bit his nails.
[92 minutes remaining until death.]
Latian was someone who, by all accounts, should have died.
If someone destined for death managed to stay alive and then that event occurred, Latian would have to bear the full brunt of Claude’s grief—the one who would mourn an enormous sacrifice.
Whether it was a rightful act of vengeance based on suspicion or just a reckless outburst, it didn’t matter.
Latian wouldn’t live long enough to find out.
He’d either endure brutal torture before death or be killed swiftly, leaving no need to ponder it.
[91 minutes remaining until death.]
As the overwhelming anxiety began to stretch, all that was left was a strange calmness.
Soon, the sound of footsteps echoed down the stairs.
When the tips of polished shoes stopped in front of the cell bars, Latian, who had been crouching, lifted his head.
“What the hell are you trying to pull here?”
Having been called back down, Claude looked decidedly irritated.
“You sent a ranger out on reconnaissance just now, didn’t you?”
Claude didn’t respond, but his twitching brow gave him away.
Latian was certain.
“You need to call that ranger back. Immediately.”
“Have you finally gone insane?”
“The area they’re scouting still has enemies. They’ll die if they’re left out there!”
Claude’s perpetually cold eyes showed a moment of surprise, though doubt quickly replaced it.
He frowned, crossed his arms, and tilted his chin.
“Even if that were true, there’s no reason I should listen to you. That ranger… is someone I trust implicitly. They wouldn’t go down so easily.”
Exactly—because you care about them, you should recall them!
Latian suppressed the anger welling inside and tried his best to stay calm as he explained.
“There’s a mutated creature still lurking nearby. It’s different from normal monsters. It’s the result of decades of forbidden magical research conducted in secret by the Empire. These creatures, pieced together from monster corpses, don’t die easily, nor do they feel fear. Without knowing their weakness, they’ll kill anything in their path.”
“…How do you know this? You were a hostage, weren’t you?”
“Does that really matter right now? If that zombie-like creature kills the ranger and comes down here, countless others will die.”
“…….”
Claude uncrossed his arms.
He, too, was aware of the Eastern Empire’s experiments with the forbidden magic of “corpse reanimation,” a topic of mutual tension with the Kingdom of Kesid.
There had even been recent reports of suspicious movements.
If this research had truly reached the level of success…
“Hughman.”
“Yes.”
“Bring Wibner back. Now.”
“!?”
“I’ll go on reconnaissance myself.”
The guard dashed off immediately upon receiving the order.
Moments later, an unfamiliar notification sound and message appeared before Latian’s eyes.
━━⊱⋆⊰━━
[Meaningful turning point detected.]
[Sub-Quest unlocked!]
━━⊱⋆⊰━━
[Sub-Quest (2): Path to Earning Trust]
You have proactively detected a crisis and offered your assistance to the lord of Winter Castle. When your actions are proven correct, the quest will be completed.
– Upon success: ???
━━⊱⋆⊰━━
“Do you know the creature’s weakness?”
“They have an artificially implanted mana core. They move by drawing mana from it, so if you destroy that core, they’ll stop functioning.”
“Where is it located?”
“Probably… in either the left or right eye.”
“If this turns out to be nonsense, I’ll snap your neck myself.”
Though uneasy, Latian nodded silently.
After Claude left, Latian was alone once more in the prison cell.
The death countdown still hovered in his peripheral vision, flickering like an unwelcome reminder.
Pretending not to notice it, Latian lowered his gaze and hugged his knees, closing his eyes to pass the time.
‘Sigh. How did it come to this?’
Though he was desperately clinging to survival, he still couldn’t make sense of anything.
He had died in an accident, yet somehow ended up in this world, possessing this body.
Why?
The original story didn’t include a system like this that displayed notifications or issued quests.
Why was it happening to him?
‘Why is this my fate…?’
Exhaling a long sigh, Latian buried those unanswered questions deep within himself.
Dwelling on them wouldn’t yield answers right now.
‘…I need to recall the original story in greater detail.’
After what had just happened, it was painfully clear: to survive, he needed to rely on his knowledge of the original plot.
Thankfully, he remembered more of the story than he thought he would.
When he tried to recall specific details, they all came back, as if replaying vivid scenes from memory.
Latian strained to remember even the smallest things, his thoughts swimming upstream like a salmon, when an unexpected voice interrupted his concentration.
“Hey, you. Over there.”
“…Whoa!”
“I’m a person, calm down.”
Startled, Latian jumped, having assumed he was alone in the cell.
He raised his head and looked toward the dark cell diagonally across from his.
A figure came into focus—freckled face, thin slits for eyes.
A man.
An actual person.
“You seemed to be putting on quite a show earlier.”
“?”
“You’re from the Empire, aren’t you? Lucky you made it out alive.”
“…….”
“Are you here to steal information from the Kingdom as well?”
The fact that he would ask that meant he must be an operative for the Empire.
If someone like him was locked up here, it implied he was a traitor, a double agent.
“…….”
Latian wiped the expression off his face entirely.
As though his earlier outburst had been pure theatrics, his calm, pale features now exuded an almost tragic beauty.
“Yes. I was worried you might misunderstand, but the information I shared earlier was just to lower the lord’s suspicions.”
“Figured as much. Doubt it worked, though.”
“That won’t be easy. But who are you?”
“…Tch. Just a grunt, huh? Don’t even know who I am.”
The man clicked his tongue, leaning against the bars in a more relaxed pose, now fully convinced Latian was an ally.
“My name’s Lucas. I used to smuggle classified intel from the North to the Empire. The success of this recent raid? All thanks to me.”
Ah.
‘So you’re the mastermind behind all this chaos.’
“Well, everyone else is dead except me.”
Lucas flinched, clearly stung by Latian’s retort.
“Damn it! We would’ve pulled it off if we hadn’t been discovered midway.”
While Lucas banged his head against the bars in frustration, Latian quickly wracked his brain to recall who this guy was in the original story.
‘Ah, right. He’s the stoic extra who was tortured to death by the Kingdom for information but never said a word. Unexpectedly tight-lipped for someone so chatty.’
But what if Latian could make this “ally” spill everything?
With a sly grin, he tilted his head and spoke in a sugary tone.
“Ah, you’ve had it rough, haven’t you, Hyung?”
“Ahem. Well… thanks for noticing.”
“You’re amazing. Truly. So… how did you usually communicate with the Empire? I’d be way too scared to pull something like that off.”
“Hm-hmm, I’m quite bold. That’s probably why His Majesty the Emperor personally entrusted me with this task. Besides, I’ve got allies in the kingdom too.”
“Wow, really? Who are they?”
“The Earl of Aesistan.”
‘Thanks for sharing. Not that I didn’t already know. I asked just to confirm the informant I’d need to tattle on to Claude.’
Latian put on a deliberately sympathetic expression.
“Hyung… What will happen now?”
“If I die?”
“Yes.”
“They’ll send another spy through the Earl of Aesistan.”
“Is that even possible?”
“Of course. The Empire is a magic superpower. It’s nothing like this kingdom that does nothing but recklessly swing its aura around. For the Empire’s mages, stealing memories and altering appearances is child’s play. You really don’t know anything, do you?”
“Well, at least I have unmatched loyalty!”
Lucas let out a small laugh.
“Since fate brought us together, I hope you’ll be my successor.”
“Wouldn’t I just follow you to the grave soon after?”
“Try using the fact that you shared information earlier to bargain for your life. Once the Earl of Aesistan sends his emissary, make contact with them. That’s your ticket to survival. And if you make it out alive… could you deliver a message for me? Tell His Majesty the Emperor that I remained loyal to the very end.”
At Lucas’s wistful gaze, Latian bit his lower lip and furrowed his eyebrows.
The way he bowed his head heavily stirred a sense of strong camaraderie.
At least, that’s what it looked like on the surface.
Claude appeared about five minutes before Latian’s imminent death.
Sticky blood marked each of his footsteps, the stench of rotting monster corpses filling the air.
Covered in blood yet exuding an air of elegance, Claude narrowed his eyes as he stood before Latian’s cell.
“Everything you said turned out to be true.”
At that moment, Lucas gestured toward Latian.
“Now answer. How do you know all of this?”
“…May I say one thing first?”
After a brief hesitation, Claude gave a slight nod.
Latian glanced at Lucas, their gazes briefly locking, before turning to Claude with a determined expression.
He then extended his arm, pointing directly at Lucas.
“The Earl of Aesistan is connected to that guy.”
“…What?! Hey, you can’t just—!”
Lucas clung to the bars, eyes wide with shock.
Even Claude, who had been ignoring Lucas entirely, glanced back with a twisted expression.
His face promised murder.
Meanwhile, the system window flashed busily.
━━⊱⋆⊰━━
[Quest Complete: “The Path to Trust”
…Evaluating the results of your success…
Results have been calculated.]
━━⊱⋆⊰━━
– Your genuine assistance has shaken the cold, unyielding heart of the lord. Perhaps it’s a first step toward significant change.
– Is this person an enemy to doubt or an ally to trust?
– (❗) Claude’s trust in you has slightly increased.
[(❗) Your status window has been updated.]
━━⊱⋆⊰━━
Basic Info: Latian Dimerlos / Male / 28 years old
Traits: Strong will to live / Opportunistic tendencies (new!)
━━⊱⋆⊰━━
[You are currently marked as “A Traitor with Meaningful Intentions.”]
[(❗) The death flag has been removed.]
━━⊱⋆⊰━━
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