Chapter 58

Any light thought, really. Something truly light. Anything will do. Latil, squatting by the window frame, gazed at the dark sky, repeating the same words to himself as if brainwashing himself. "No light thoughts? Besides kissing. No, even something related to kissing is fine." Yes. When it came to kissing skills, Haysins was the best. Of course. He must have had the most experience. Next was the enthusiastic Klein. But his kisses tasted like sea candy, which was nice. As for the order, the High Priestess was the last, but even though she couldn't kiss, she had a cute charm of her own.

"…No. This isn't right."

Latil rested his head against the window. The glass, cooled by the night air, soothed his heat. Craving the cold, he rubbed his head against the window and then sighed, getting up.

'I won't tell anyone this story for the rest of my life.'

A few hours earlier. When Haysins asked, "Have you kissed my brother too?" Latil couldn't bring himself to answer. Of course, Haysins was annoying, but he couldn't say, "I kissed him with a lollipop in my mouth," to those shock-filled eyes.

'Thinking about it, it is quite astonishing. Kissing all my brothers.'

His face heated up again, and Latil covered his cheeks with his hands, running to the bed and burying his face in the pillow, flailing in the air like he was swimming. He suddenly felt he couldn't face Klein. Just a feeling. At that moment, the bell connected to the parlor rang by his bed, signaling that someone had come to visit.

'Could it be Klein?'

He hoped it wasn't Klein amidst this, but most of the sudden visitors were Klein. The urge to pretend to be asleep grew stronger, but Latil reluctantly got out of bed, put on a robe, and asked,

"Who is it?"

A maid answered from outside.

"Your Majesty, Sir Tashir wishes to see you."

Fortunately, it wasn't Klein.

"Let him in."

But why Tashir all of a sudden? * * *

"Queen Aini has gone mad?"

Contrary to expectations, Tashir brought up a serious matter. Moreover, it was about a neighboring country. The story of Queen Aini, Haysins' wife.

"Prince Tlara and Prince Heum may not have had much of a relationship, but since they are both dead, it's strange that stories of them coming back to life emerged almost simultaneously, isn't it?"

While Tashir cooled his hot tea, Latil crossed his arms and frowned.

"Yes."

"It could be a coincidence, but I thought I should inform Your Majesty just in case."

"Good job."

"You still only praise me with words."

"What do you want in return?"

"You know very well…"

Tashir pretended to be embarrassed while overtly unbuttoning his shirt, making Latil burst out laughing in exasperation. Why is he being so casual after bringing such valuable information?

"Seeing you unbuttoning one by one, it seems the clothes that come off with one touch are still in development?"

Latil teased, but Tashir remained steadfast.

"Try it and you'll see. Here."

He pointed to the inside of the buttons, and Latil instinctively frowned. Is it really finished? I want to try touching it once. If I touch it, will the clothes really come off? Then Latil's eyes met Tashir's. When did this happen? The one pretending to unbutton his shirt was now leaning on one arm, looking at Latil adoringly.

"Oh, how cute. Look at you rolling your eyes."

"That's not how you look at an emperor."

Latil frowned and scolded, making Tashir's lips curl up even more.

"Then I must receive punishment."

Does the punishment he's talking about sound like the punishment people usually think of… Is it just my imagination? Latil's mouth twitched, and he said, "Yeah," pointing to the door with his finger. Tashir, looking uninterested, obediently left. * * *

'Queen Aini. We didn't meet under good circumstances, but she seemed quite strong.'

Latil thought Aini wouldn't suddenly go mad unless she had hit her head. Haysins said Aini and her family were suffocating him, surrounding him without a gap. It might not be that bad now, but to bind the emperor even for a moment seemed odd. Apart from personal feelings, to pressure Emperor Haysins to that extent, she must have had a strong mind, right?

'Tashir is right. Aini's situation and mine might be similar.'

A prince in Carisen came back to life, and a prince in Tarium came back to life. Of course, he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, but it was worth investigating. The problem was…

'Not usually in contact. If I suddenly tell Aini that my half-brother also died but seems to have come back to life… She won't believe me, will she?'

They weren't originally close, no, being close would be even stranger. Moreover, to say, "Your ex-boyfriend came back to life? My half-brother also came back to life!" would make it seem like he had been continuously investigating Queen Aini. Would she be upset? If he tried to talk about it despite the risks, he was worried that the news of Prince Tlara being alive would leak from her side.

'I need to think about this part a bit more.'

* * * The next day. After digesting his schedule as an emperor, ignoring Haysins' existence, Latil instructed to set a table on the terrace for a quiet meal alone. He planned to clear his head and fill his stomach while enjoying the garden.

"Your Majesty, I have new news today."

But Tashir came to see him again today, just like yesterday.

"New news?"

"News that will please Your Majesty."

Tashir wasn't the type to visit for no reason. When they met, half of his words were jokes, but they were all said because he had a purpose.

"Prepare a meal for Tashir too."

Because of this, Latil told Tashir to sit opposite him and instructed the servant. A short while later, the servant brought an additional serving of food and placed it in front of Tashir before leaving. Latil invited Tashir to eat and asked,

"Tell me while eating. What news will please me?"

"My clothes will now fall off with just one glance from Your Majesty…"

"Go."

"Just a joke. You're unexpectedly stern."

Latil gave him a sidelong glance, and Tashir picked up a fork and knife, lowering his gaze. Seeing the grilled sole on his plate, he muttered,

"Your Majesty, here?"

"Really, go."

Seeing this, Latil frowned and repeated, making Tashir burst out laughing.

"Really, just a joke. But you are unexpectedly stern."

"Hey! The guest is leaving!"

"It's about the task Your Majesty entrusted to me."

"!"

Latil was surprised and looked at Tashir. The servant, who didn't know the exact situation, came out to the terrace at Latil's call, and Latil waved him away, saying, "No, it's fine. Go." After the servant left, Latil urged Tashir again.

"Did you find out? Was Tlara really involved in the assassination of the late emperor?"

"The culprit who desecrated the late emperor's tomb said that Prince Tlara is alive."

"That's right. But why?"

"So I was investigating that side too, and I found something strange."

"Something strange?"

"People who went missing tried to buy something."

"People who went missing?"

"Ah, the ones Your Majesty captured. They were trying to buy something, and they were caught."

"Oh."

Latil nodded, recalling the people who had attacked him and Pol while he was tailing the First Guard. At first, he thought they were with the fox mask, but they weren't. Since it was done secretly, people thought they had gone missing.

"Look at this."

Latil took the paper Tashir handed him. It was a coded message with a translation written in small letters at the bottom.

"The translation is mine."

"Secret auction… the twelfth item to be auctioned."

Latil handed the paper back to Tashir.

"What is the Secret Auction? I've never heard of it."

"It's an illegal auction."

At the mention of illegal, one of Latil's eyebrows raised.

"Illegal?"

* * *

"That wasn't my intention."

Hearing Tashir mutter, Latil lifted the half-mask covering his face with two fingers to his nose.

"Lie."

"Really. How could I have guessed that Your Majesty would personally attend an illegal auction?"

After hearing about the illegal auction from Tashir, Latil, upon confirming that the Secret Auction was to be held at midnight, decided to go to the location himself. Not knowing who the "enemy within" was, it was cumbersome to choose someone to handle the task in a short time, so he came here himself. Of course, there was one person he could trust. The High Priestess. It wasn't just because she was the High Priestess. Considering the curse of Concubine Anakcha, the events that had occurred, and the timing of her entry into the palace, the probability of the High Priestess being the enemy within was almost zero. However, her personality was like a ball. She was unpredictable, and it was risky to entrust her with such a task. She also had many enemies due to her position. So, he came here himself, but…

"I didn't even know such a place existed."

"It's not a place the royal family would frequent."

"That's true."

Latil clicked his tongue, seeing a person with dark circles under his eyes begging Tashir for drugs. Should he laugh at Tashir being seen as a drug dealer by others, or be angry that such an underground market exists not far from the capital?

"But I've never been to an auction."

"It's simple. The auction takes place in that building. When you enter, you get a numbered paddle. The auctioneer calls out prices in order, and when an item you like comes up, you listen to the price and raise the paddle you received."

"You know this well?"

"Yes. If it doesn't work, I'll step in, so don't worry."

Latil wasn't worried since he planned to do that anyway. There was no need to point it out. After that, the two waited and entered the auction. Many people were already there, most of them, like Latil, with their faces covered. The auction started about 30 minutes later, and contrary to Latil's expectations, all procedures were carried out in a quiet atmosphere.

"I thought it would be intense."

"Why did you think that?"

"It's an illegal auction."

As he waited, the order quickly passed, and finally, the "twelfth item" mentioned in the note came up. What is it? What were those suspicious people trying to buy? Latil yawned a few times until the order came, then straightened up and looked at the stage.

"Now, the next item is an ancient map excavated from the lost city of Adomar."

'A map? An old map?'

Latil tilted his head. Those rough people were trying to buy a map, even specifying the date? It didn't seem to fit.

"Let's start the bidding at 5 million bars!"

The twelfth item was a map, and as soon as the auctioneer finished speaking, Tashir said, "You can raise your paddle from here." However, Latil didn't raise his paddle and just stared at the map on the display stand next to the auctioneer, frowning. Did he forget the method I told him? As others raised their paddles several times, Tashir, unable to bear it, raised his paddle for him.

"No, it's fine."

But Latil even prevented Tashir from raising his paddle, and Tashir, though puzzled, obediently followed Latil's lead. After the auction ended,

"Why didn't you buy the item?"

Tashir, puzzled, asked, but Latil strode off somewhere. Tashir, seeing the direction, was impressed.

"To avoid drawing attention, you're going to make a direct deal, right?"

In the direction Latil was heading, the people who bought the "twelfth item" were there. Moreover, the advantage of a direct deal was not just avoiding the auction record and quietly obtaining the item.

"Indeed. This way, we can also check if those people are in league with the ones we caught. Clever."

Among the people Latil had captured, there was no one who seemed to be the leader. So, if the "twelfth item" was very important, their master would likely send another subordinate to buy it. Latil was clearly targeting this. Tashir was genuinely impressed to see that Latil, who he thought was just watching the auction, had already thought this through. People with great power, like Latil, who were born to it and later gained even more, often try to solve everything with power. Latil, however, used his head, which was surprising. Meanwhile, Latil arrived at the side of the carriage of the person who bought the item and immediately demanded through the window,

"We want to buy the item you just bought at the auction."

The person in the carriage had their face half-covered and, looking straight ahead, only glanced at Latil when he spoke. Then, without answering, they turned their eyes back to the front, silently ignoring Latil. Since the emperor didn't personally make deals, Tashir, seeing this, wondered whether he should step in or observe Latil more. If Latil got angry and called it insolence, everything would be in vain. However, Latil, not minding that a potential criminal was ignoring him, said again,

"You'll lose if you don't sell. I'll pay a really high price."

The person in the carriage, still looking straight ahead, coldly laughed.

"I won't sell no matter how much you pay. Go away."

At that moment, Latil, who had somehow produced a small dagger, pressed it to the person's temple and smiled.

"Even if it's the price of your life?"

"!"

Tashir, watching the situation, was shocked and involuntarily objected.

"You said you were making a direct deal!"

"It is a direct deal."

'What kind of direct deal?'

"That's called robbery!"

"What does it matter? This is an illegal auction anyway."

"!"

"My conscience only works for the legal."

Tashir, who had been impressed by Latil's use of his head, took back his admiration. This wasn't using his head; it was using a sword. However, for some reason, the person in the carriage, who had been coldly stiff, smiled for the first time under their mask.