Chapter 148: Entrance to the Royal Capital (2) (2/2)
Jude was originally around 175 cm, but he now seemed to have grown to around 180 cm.
“Ah, that is…the result of training.”
“That’s interesting.”
There’s a martial art that lets you grow taller.
Adelia was interested in it, but she didn’t ask any further. Moving was more of a priority for now.
“If you’re done, let’s go.”
“Umm, wait a second.”
With her hair all tied up, Cordelia turned to Jude instead of following Adelia.
‘Does it suit me?’
She couldn’t ask him out loud because Adelia was next to her, but she could talk to him with her eyes.
Jude immediately nodded at Cordelia’s shy question.
‘It looks really good on you. You’re so pretty.’
‘Hmph. You’re flattering me again.’
But Cordelia smiled as if she wasn’t offended.
And as for the other person watching the two.
“I’m somehow upset. I want to see Lord Gaël.”
Adelia muttered small before she pulled Cordelia’s wrist in order to not waste time.
“Come on, it’s really time to go. We don’t have that much time.”
“Okay, unnie. But where are we going?”
Did you book a hotel room? Where do you usually stay?
Adelia smiled at Cordelia’s question and then said with a fairly confident expression.
“My mansion.”
***
The heart of the Sälen Kingdom was definitely the royal capital, and it was also the place in the kingdom with the highest population.
For this reason, the current royal capital which was nearing its 300th founding anniversary had become a place where habitable land was scarce.
‘It’s because of the city walls.’
The residential area could be increased, but the walls that had already been built did not allow it.
Inside and outside of the walls.
The inner residential area and the outer residential area.
‘And nobles usually have big mansions.’
They also had to have a garden even if it was small.
“This year, a mansion was finally given to me.”
It had already been several years since she became one of the commanders of the Royal Guard Magic Corps, but Adelia was constantly pushed back in the order of distribution of mansions due to her young age.
“I bade farewell to the dormitory.”
The dormitory attached to the headquarters of the Royal Guard Magic Corps was naturally much easier to commute to and from work, but a dormitory room was incomparable to a mansion.
“What do you think? Isn’t it nice?”
Cordelia immediately nodded after Adelia puffed out her chest and pointed to a pretty 2-storey mansion with a small garden.
“Yes, it’s pretty. It’s cute and picturesque.”
The pretty mansion was actually big by modern standards, but Cordelia had lived for more than a decade as the second daughter of Count Chase.
Compared to the large mansion of their family, the mansion in front of her was small and picturesque.
“I’ll give you two rooms on the second floor.”
When the overly excited Adelia entered her mansion, a young maid greeted the group.
“I am Becky who serves Lady Adelia.”
Cordelia blushed at the greeting of a pretty black-haired girl who looked like a doll. She greeted back and it was Becky who blushed this time.
‘It’s heartwarming.’
Jude thought in admiration before he followed Adelia to the guest rooms on the second floor.
The rooms with a single bed each were small, but he didn’t think that they were uncomfortable to stay in.
“Then I’ll be going back. See you later in the evening. I’ve booked a restaurant for us.”
“Okay, I look forward to it.”
“Yeah, just wait and don’t overeat on snacks.”
“Yes, unnie.”
They had quarreled when they met at the south gate, but they had gone back to being close sisters now.
Adelia hurriedly left the mansion after a hug, and Jude grabbed Cordelia’s wrist as soon as Adelia left.
“Why?”
“Because we have to talk about our plans.”
There was no time to waste as they only had a little more than a month left before the founding celebration.
“Okay, shall we talk in my room?”
“Eh, it’s fine to do it in my room.”
“Let’s do it in my room.”
Cordelia insisted as she took Jude’s hand and led him to her room.
“Should I leave the door open in case Becky misunderstands?”
“I don’t think she’ll misunderstand us. She’s just monitoring us, so let’s just talk with magic.”
Jude quickly spoke as he sat opposite Cordelia with a small table in between them before he tore the scroll.
[So, what do you want to talk about?]
[The first thing we have to do when we arrive at the royal capital.]
[Something other than getting close to Princess Daphne?]
[Yes. The first thing we must do.]
[What is it? You didn’t tell me about this last time.]
[I only thought about it today. Specifically, while I was running with you on my back.]
[Okay, so what is it?]
At Cordelia’s question, Jude took a deep breath and put his hands on the table as he said.
[As you know, the Lord Protector and the Devil’s Hand have been preparing for this operation to annihilate the royalty for quite some time.]
[And?]
[One of the evidences is the control of the underworld. The Black Moon, the largest thief guild in the royal capital, is no different to a limb of the Lord Protector.]
Cordelia nodded at Jude’s words.
In the original, the Lord Protector manipulated the underworld of the royal capital to turn the founding celebration into a mess.
[They not only caused various acts of terror but also blocked roads to make it difficult for the knights and soldiers to move.]
[So? Are we going to destroy the Black Moon?]
[No, that’s impossible. We only have a month left. Assassinating the top leaders is a bit tricky since the Black Moon is not the only one under the command of the Lord Protector.]
[Then, what should we do?]
It was impossible for Jude to have brought up this story if he didn’t have a solution.
As Cordelia looked at him with anticipation, Jude smiled and continued.
[It’s simple. Let’s build an organization too.]
[Wait, build an organization? Against the Black Moon?]
[Yes.]
Cordelia frowned at Jude’s answer.
Because it seemed to be more difficult than destroying the Black Moon.
But Jude clearly said that it was simple.
If so, he must have had a solution to simplify such a difficult task.
[Explain it a bit more.]
[In fact, we do not need to build a complete organization. Our purpose is to prevent the Black Moon from interfering with the founding celebration a month later. We just need enough forces to hold them back.]
[Where are we going to get those forces?]
[From the other thief guilds in the royal capital.]
The royal capital was big, so there were several thief guilds in it.
Obviously, there was no organization that was comparable to that of the Black Moon since it was supported by the Lord Protector, but when all the other organizations were combined, it would be simple to hold back the Black Moon.
[The more I ask, the more questions I have… How would you make the other organizations work together?]
Through the power of money?
We did bring a lot of things here.
But Jude shook his head at Cordelia’s words.
[I don’t want to belittle their job, but our opponents are thieves who specialize in running away with money. Money alone can’t control them.]
[Then?]
[We need charisma. A romance that can even tickle the hearts of jaded thieves.]
Having said that, Jude looked at Cordelia who blinked her eyes. She soon smiled and said.
[Rogue Master.]
[The legendary thief. The king of thieves.]
A phantom thief who could get whatever they wanted.
A legendary person who shook not only the Sälen Kingdom and the Argon Empire, but also the entire continent.
[If the Rogue Master says so, the thieves will move. No, maybe even the Black Moon will have a lot of traitors.]
Because the Rogue Master was such a person.
Because such a person was like a god to the thieves.
[But the Rogue Master is in the Argon Empire now. No, it’s before she became the Rogue Master.]
Her words were a bit strange, but it was true.
Because the soon-to-be Rogue Master was still in training.
She was Scarlet who would become one of the Four Great Swordsmen in the future.
A prospect who would succeed the Rogue Master title.
She was quite a good thief now, but she wasn’t the Rogue Master yet.
Because she had still yet to get the Rogue Master’s treasure that proved that she was a Rogue Master.
[So that’s better for us. A new Rogue Master can appear for the time being.]
[A new Rogue Master?]
[Yes, a new Rogue Master.]
Jude replied with a smile and stood up before he dramatically spoke.
[No one knows where the tomb of the Rogue Master is. Except for us.]
The Rogue Master’s tomb was hidden in the royal capital.
[Rarely does anyone know all the various legends of the Rogue Master. But there is one person here who knows it all.]
It was time for JudeWiki to shine.
Cordelia knew then.
What Jude was planning.
The appearance of a new Rogue Master.
The birth of a new Rogue Master.
[Wow!]
[Do you understand now?]
[Yes! I understand now!]
[Then, I look forward to your cooperation.]
[Huh?]
[Please do your best.]
Because the new Rogue Master will be you, Cordelia.
Jude grinned as he took out a black butterfly mask from his arms and put it on the face of the stunned Cordelia.