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Chapter 134: Those with Poison (2)

Volume 6 Chapter 134 – Those with Poison (2)

[Translator – jhei]

[Proofreader – yukitokata]

“Are you hurt anywhere, Eldest Sister?”

“Hm… no. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have been able to control my anger and would’ve gotten injured.”

Luna fell onto her sofa and put her hand on her head.

The murderous intent and fighting energy that swelled after visiting Joshua’s residence was all gone. A shadow darkened her cold expression.

“Ha.”

Then, her eyes began to water.

Only a day had pa.s.sed since Taimyun’s death, and Luna couldn’t give her a funeral.

The poisoned corpse slowly shriveled up and acidified, only leaving a black puddle behind. Luna couldn’t take her soulless eyes off that spot.

She didn’t know if she should even honor her nanny in a funeral despite what she’s done.

Because she tricked her and tried to kill her brother, the person she loved most.

“Joshua didn’t seem to care about Taimyun’s death. He was just filled with fear and wanted me to strike first. It was as you expected. But he had gathered all of the clan’s dark knights.”

Dark knights.

Among the Runcandel guardian knights, only the best of the best could obtain the dark knights’ black robe. They were immediately under the patriarch and his wife. If the two didn’t permit it, these strongest warriors wouldn’t obey anyone else.

And Joshua already had them under his wing.

‘Even the dark knights? Did Mother give them to Joshua since Father isn’t very satisfied with him? Persuading Father should’ve been hard.’

Jin earned new information about his foe, but he pushed off the new intel. Holding his sister’s hand and offering a handkerchief was his current priority. 

Although Taimyun was a traitor, she was still family to Luna. And although Joshua was garbage, he was still Luna’s brother.

Luna lost both of them simultaneously. One had died, and the other became a clear enemy.

“Haha, Nanny… If you betrayed the one who cared for you, I would understand a little. No, it’s my fault. If I just understood you a little more…”

The heart that was unable to forgive Taimyun stung, and the never-ending sadness punctured it.

With what can she erase this loss?

With what can she cover up this scar?

Even when she confronted Joshua, these questions were running through her head.

“It’s all my fault. My nanny betraying me, Joshua cursing you, my servants dying to our siblings’ rampage… None of this would have happened if I had only kept everything in check.”

That was wrong.

Following Luna’s logic, if they were to find the root cause of everything, it would be Luna’s birth.

And most of all, Jin thought Luna was unrelated to the curse.

Because he experienced it even when he had no relations with Luna in his past life.

‘Even though that crazy b.a.s.t.a.r.d wasn’t Taimyun, he ultimately ordered someone to curse me. But I still don’t know the motive behind it. It can’t be explained even if I consider choosing Barisada at the Selection Ritual as the reason.’

For this life, the most probable root cause seemed like Barisada.

However, at the time, Joshua was already gaining power among the siblings.

It was thanks to Rosa who slowly supported him as the prospective successor after Luna forfeited the throne. 

‘Joshua’s main source of power is Mother. I didn’t know that he already got the dark knights, but Mother looking out for the other siblings is a well-known fact.’

She also showed this when Cyron came to the Garden of Swords to organize the banquet the previous year.

—Rosa. It must’ve been quite exhausting preparing all this.

—Not at all. Our reliable children were the ones who arranged this, so I had nothing to do with it.

—If our children were truly so reliable, I wouldn’t have needed to leave the Black Sea. The guests visiting today are only coming here to stay on my good side, not out of fear of our children.

Even then, Rosa’s ‘reliable children’ mainly pertained to Joshua.

On the other hand, Cyron’s ‘our children’ were all of the siblings. They had conversed at a place where all of the elders and purebloods were listening.

‘Even though he didn’t earn Father’s trust, Mother was already supporting Joshua before I was born. I was never a rival to begin with.’

Attacking a young pureblood was the most heinous crime. 

If people found out that this rule was broken, even the patriarch would be punished.

The myths regarding ‘Barisada’ were deep, but there was still no benefit for Joshua to kill Jin just for that reason.

‘When I return to the main house, killing or cursing would be the most safe and stable.’

After his regression, Jin thought that the curse would come after he turned 10. Or that he would be cursed while he was still inside Rosa. Which was why he was worried that the curse that Solderet dispelled was still there.

The moment Jin worried about his next move, a red marble came into his cradle. 

Solderet’s powers activated, which helped him evade the curse.

Jin realized that his contract and innate talent were still intact, and soon after, he pursued the culprit.

Leaving him in this spot. 

‘Why would he break the clan’s rules and go for me? I will find out his true intentions when I become a flag-bearer and get to take him down.’

Concluding his thoughts, Jin was about to tell Luna that she had no fault.

“…Jin.”

Luna called his name.

“I never wanted to have my siblings’ blood on my hands. No… I was scared. Knowing that our parents wanted to watch us purebloods kill each other… It was too hard for me.”

“So you became the blade that guards the clan so that our siblings wouldn’t cross the line. Thanks to you, unlike the older generations, all of our siblings are enjoying life.”

Cyron’s children, the current Runcandel Clan’s second generation.

They were special compared to what could be seen in the clan’s thousand-year history. Especially since in the older generations, when ten were born, only five would survive, and one would lead the clan. 

However, Jin’s siblings didn’t suffer this b.l.o.o.d.y fate thanks to Luna. It wasn’t that the Battle for Hegemony didn’t exist, but it progressed without killing one another.

Because Luna stopped them from ‘killing’ each other with her exceeding power.

In other words, she was basically the balancing weight in Runcandel.

However, the other siblings didn’t really enjoy the presence of this balance. It was obvious since Luna’s intentions didn’t really align with the Runcandel Clan’s values.

To the siblings, it just seemed like Luna was playing with them with her power.

“Yeah. Thanks to me, everyone is alive and well. But now I know. I just ran away because I was scared of fighting and enjoyed my leisure.”

Luna scoffed and shook her head. 

“A hypocrite. There is no other word that fits me. I am being punished for the disgusting hypocrisy that I committed so far.”

“The hypocrite is not you. It’s Nanny Taimyun. And Joshua will need to face the punishment.”

“While my servants died, my nanny betrayed me to stay alive and received orders from Joshua to harm you. What did I do? I just looked away, acting all nice.”

“Sister…”

“Nanny is right. If I hadn’t forfeited the throne, this wouldn’t have happened. Rather, it’s better that I shouldn’t have been born at all.”

“Do you feel better after saying that?”

“No. Whatever I do, I will never feel better.”

Although the situation was different, Jin was currently looking at a reflection of his past self.

‘Why was I born? Why was I forced to suffer in the clan without any talents?’

The same misery applied to Luna.

‘Why was I born? Why couldn’t I adjust to the clan with this power?’

The two worked their entire lives to improve their skills and character. Jin never let go of his sword even after facing contempt, and Luna protected her own interests despite the clan’s provocations.

And from that, Jin lost Gilly in his past life, and Luna lost Taimyun.

‘What consoled me the most at that moment…’

He immediately remembered that voice. 

—Young Master, whoever you are, wherever you are, I will always love you.

The words Gilly gave Jin in his past life, telling him that she would never give up on him.

And Jin also remembered the words Luna told him when she came to the Storm Castle.

—Remember one thing, Jin. My brother. Whatever you do, whatever you become, I will always cheer you on.

Jin spoke these two sentences from his memory, and Luna covered her face, crying like a child.

“I’m here, Sister. I will take the blood of our siblings, so you can run away for now. If you still don’t feel ready after running away, please rely on me.”

Luna’s tears stopped, and she shook her head.

“No, I have no thoughts of running. Joshua has to die by your hands. But if the other siblings come for you, then I will cut them all.”

“If I become a flag-bearer and have to fight our siblings, would I not be stronger than you?”

“Starting today, I am no longer the blade that guards the clan, but the blade that guards you. Jin Runcandel, my youngest brother. I will make you the patriarch no matter what.”

“Please don’t push yourself. And I don’t mind if you love Taimyun, so please don’t hold back. Although I only have bad memories of her, she is still your family.”

And after listening to Luna’s countless stories and memories with Taimyun, Jin left Luna’s land.

Returning to Tikan, he constantly thought of revenge against Joshua Runcandel—of the steps he needed to take to stomp on his filthy elder brother.

‘Taimyun said that he knows about my contract. The one who revealed that must have been the magician who noticed that the curse didn’t go through.’

Kidard Hall.

The 9-star magician who tried to curse Jin with Bladed Illusion.

He was a grand magician Jin often heard of in his past life, but he never thought that magician would be related to his curse.

‘I should kill him first to send Joshua a message.’

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