"Wait, but how did you know that my guys were looking into Alu?"
"I would know since the Seven-Colored Peacock agents came to ask me, Sir Kashimir. It seems that I was categorized as an affiliate of Tesing."
"Hmm, Sir Kashimir. What do you think? I don't think it's a bad idea to take Jet under your wing as an official agent."
"If you say so, then I will accept him. Well, he does seem to be a talented fellow since he deciphered our code by himself. Someone bring me the form."
A servant ran out the door and returned with a packet that contained the thick 50-page entrance form. Around ninety percent of its contents were terms and conditions at the event of an information leak.
Jet signed without giving a glance at the thick paragraphs.
"I will make sure to meticulously read the terms and conditions at a later time, Master!"
"An agent does not call me 'Master'. From now on, call me 'Sir' or 'Mister Kashimir', Jet. And after your training, you will be deployed in the Third Intelligence Team."
"Yay! This man will volunteer his life for Sir Kashimir, the Seven-Colored Peacock, and the Young Master!"
For the first time in his life, Jet got an official, professional job.
A great achievement. Although he successfully got recruited with Jin's special recommendation, becoming an agent of the best intelligence agency in the world was harder than joining the Vermont Special Forces.
"Let's leave the new recruit training for a later time. First, give the information regarding Young Master Jin's request on Spiderhand Alu's past. If it's nothing groundbreaking, then your application will be revoked."
Jet began to start talking about Alu while rubbing his two hands together.
Spiderhand Alu.
He was born in the Delki Kingdom, part of the Huphester Alliance. In his early years, he passed the Runcandel guardian cadet exam.
Back then, he was known as Tagan Marius.
That was Spiderhand Alu's true identity before it got wiped off the face of the planet.
—Alu is an extremely dangerous individual. Rumours say that he even has connections with pureblood Runcandels beyond the sea. About the underground auction house…
Jet told the Young Master this when they first visited the underground auction house.
Jet's suspicion of Alu's ties with the Runcandels as well as its alleged high probability were based on Alu's past experiences.
Only those at the top of the Tesing Clan and some underlings knew of this information. They were the select few who had a spot at Alu's drinking table.
The Seven-Colored Peacock couldn't figure out the Spiderhand's true name and birthplace, which Jet knew about.
After the fall of the Tesing Clan, all of the surviving higher-ups of the clan either died or were being tortured in the hands of the Zipfels.
Apart from being tricked by the Beradin impersonator, they were trading ancient magic tomes and artifacts under the Zipfels' nose, which angered the clan of magicians the most.
Excluding Jet, there was basically no one left who was affiliated with the dark organization known as Tesing. Thus, a challenging investigation was imminent for the Seven-Colored Peacock.
"This fellow—Jet… He did indeed bring some useful information. We found out our target's true name and place of origin. Information that my agency couldn't find for a long time… He will be a useful one in information collection."
"Tagan Marius… Marius, Marius… I think I've heard of that name before…"
"You have, Young Master?"
"Yes. It doesn't sound foreign at all."
"Since that guy passed the Runcandel guardian cadet exam, maybe you saw his name in a related document?"
"Alu attempted the guardian cadet exam twenty years ago—before I was even born. Any related documents around that time would be stored deep inside the archives. And before I become an official flag-bearer, I cannot access such documents."
Constantly saying the name 'Marius' out loud, Jin felt very unsatisfied. At that moment, Gilly walked in with a cup of tea.
"Marius, Marius…"
"Oh? Young Master, why are you repeating that name?"
"Ah, it's Spiderhand Alu. Apparently, his real name is Tagan Marius, and I felt like I've heard of it before."
"Haha, Young Master. That's the last name of Lady Luna's nanny, Miss Taimyun. It's not the most common surname, but not the rarest. It's definitely something you've heard."
Jin froze while in the middle of receiving his tea.
"…That's right, Nanny Taimyun's surname is Marius. Taimyun Marius. Wait, Gilly, do you know Nanny Taimyun's place of origin?"
"Let's see, hmm. Oh! Delki. She said she was from Delki. Now that I think about it, I remember she used to send Delki's special exports to the Storm Castle when you were young."
Jin and Kashimir stared at each other.
"Young Master, do you think…?"
"What's wrong, you two?"
"Tagan Marius. Spiderhand Alu is also from the Delki Kingdom."
"What?"
"It's possible that Alu is related to Nanny Taimyun. No, it's very likely. On top of that, apparently, Alu attempted the Runcandel guardian cadet exam as well."
Putting her tea cup down, Gilly covered her mouth with her two hands.
"It's very strange that he even took the guardian cadet exam… When was this again?"
"1776. Exactly 20 years ago, according to Jet."
"If my memory serves right, at that time, every single sword-wielder was sent into battle due to some internal conflict in the Delki Kingdom. Even princes and princesses were engaged in the battle, but a normal commoner taking the Runcandel guardian cadet exam is…"
"Ah, I remember that too. The kingdom was split into two factions: one for the emperor, and the other for the prince. All press releases were about that civil war, and the Runcandel Clan announced its support for the victor."
Sifting through his old memories, Kashimir nodded. Twenty years ago, he was a prince of the Vermont Empire, so he kept his nose in many foreign affairs.
Even though the others were not as invested in intercontinental history, the Delki Civil War was a big issue. The world watched as if there were a war between the Runcandels.
"If it's true that Alu took the guardian cadet exam as a Delkian during wartime, it could only mean that he used his connection with Miss Taimyun, who was already working for the Runcandels at the time."
"Probably. Since the Delki Kingdom locked down its borders during the war, it was impossible for an outsider to come in and an insider to go out. Until the war ended, that is."
The nannies of Runcandel were not just some regular guardians for the children in a noble family.
By taking care of the pureblood Runcandels, they wielded tremendous power within the clan and had a say in all kinds of decisions.
On that note, Taimyun's power within the clan was above a normal pureblood as the time she joined and started working for the Runcandels was also when people determined 15-year-old Luna as the clan's prospective successor.
At the time, even Cyron wanted to present Luna as his successor at a public gathering.
"If Alu shares the same blood as Nanny Taimyun…"
'Then the one who cursed me with Bladed Illusion could be Sister Luna…'
With that ominous thought, he remembered his final conversation with Alu once more.
—It doesn't matter… You—You can't stop 'em…
—What?
—Even though it failed back then…
Alu could have been talking about Luna. If it weren't for that conversation, Jin wouldn't be speculating about this.
Blood began to rush to his brain.
'Eldest Sister Luna came to the Storm Castle when I was 9… Maybe she came because I wasn't cursed?'
In his past life, Luna never visited the Storm Castle. Even after leaving the Storm Castle, she never met with him, who was being treated like garbage.
Of course, she never showed any interest in him in the first place.
From far away, Jin questioned why he couldn't be like his sister; why he couldn't even be half as talented as her.
'Then what about the things Eldest Sister Luna had done for me after I left the Storm Castle? She trained me multiple times. Saved my life a few times as well. Did she change her course after finding out that I'm immune to curses?'
As he continued his thought, Jin jolted, then shook his head.
'What am I thinking? We only just discovered that Taimyun and Alu were somewhat blood related. Even if they are blood related and are associated with my curse, Eldest Sister Luna wouldn't know anything about it.'
He felt pathetic for doubting his sister.
Still, the uncomfortable feeling didn't pass. It was true that her demeanor towards Jin in this life was completely different from her behavior in the past.
The painful life before his regression, his loveless family, the finger-pointing and snickers during his expulsion, and the neglect from his siblings. Luna was definitely included in that mess.
These memories made Jin very uncomfortable.
"…We should confirm first whether Alu and Taimyun are truly blood-related. After that, find out why he became the boss of a dark organization even after passing the Runcandel guardian cadet exam. We also need to know if somebody is behind them and what their motive is."
"Isn't it easiest to just ask Lady Luna? Through a message of some sort."
Gilly did not know about Jin's exposure to Bladed Illusion when he was only one year old. Not just Gilly, but everyone else as well.
"No, that would put her in a dilemma. If they are blood-related, then I'm basically exposing Nanny Taimyun's ill intent."
"Ah, that's a good point. Since the First Lady really loved Miss Taimyun. If the question isn't too important, then we can keep it concealed."
"Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. If Taimyun's malevolence is exposed, even if Eldest Sister stays still. The other siblings will rip Nanny Taimyun apart like dogs on a corpse. Especially Eldest Brother Joshua, Elder Sister Myu, and Elder Sister Anne."
The best conclusion was that Taimyun made Alu go through the guardian cadet exams because she didn't want her relative to be used in the war. And, despite passing the exam, Alu did nothing for a while and settled in the Akin Kingdom. Without any connections to the curse, Taimyun would be linked to a normal scale of crimes.
Jin could just look over it.
"Please send the agents to the Delki Kingdom. If we get good information from there, we will start moving ourselves."
"Understood, Young Master."
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