SHV 06

Episode 6

Uninvited Guest (3)

‘The author really works hard, but there’s a serious lack of detail.’

‘No, like this, the characters just aren’t fun. If you’re going to imitate something, at least change it a bit.’

‘The flow is too jumpy, but filling it with content that feels like something I’ve already seen isn’t right either.’

‘If the protagonist is too perfect, it’s boring. There need to be proper obstacles and tension.’

‘No, writer? If you just keep feeding them “frustration soup,” who’s going to enjoy that?’

I was clearly struck by a stranger’s blade and collapsed right there, but that unpleasant editor was now standing in front of me, scratching at my nerves.

I was grateful for the feedback, sure—but I really wanted to ask how I was supposed to fix it. Yet no sound came out of my mouth. So I wondered if this was the moment right before death, where I was recalling unpleasant memories—like a dark life-flashing-before-my-eyes kind of thing.

“Brother.”

I don’t remember that editor ever calling me brother…

“Brother!”

The familiar voice felt like it was tearing through my eardrums.

“Brotherrr!”

That voice belonged to my useless younger brother, Orléans. So I really was still inside the novel.

“Huh? Ah! He’s awake! He’s awake!”

Orléans’ voice was mixed with relief, joy, and panic all at once. With unfocused eyes, I looked toward the source of the sound. The person hopping around excitedly must be Orléans.

“Are you alright?”

Another voice spoke. I turned toward it. My vision was slowly returning, and the face of the second speaker came into focus.

It was the ugly-looking Denton.

“My stomach hurts all over.”

“Well, you were stabbed, so that makes sense. Apart from that, no nausea or anything?”

“I’m not sure yet, but it’s not extremely painful.”

“That’s a relief. I honestly have no idea how this even happened…”

Denton let out a sigh filled with relief.

I exhaled as well and looked at where I had been stabbed. It was bandaged, but there was no blood stain. Even the material of the bandage didn’t look familiar. It didn’t seem like I had been transported to a hospital and treated in a conventional way.

I quickly scanned the room I was in. It wasn’t my room. And it didn’t look like a hospital either. Aside from the bed I was lying on, there were no other beds, and the furniture was far too luxurious to be a hospital room.

I looked for Orléans to ask where I was, but he had already left the room. Typical Orléans.

“You’re awake? Are you alright?”

The door opened and Lady Marianne entered. It was strange to see two people who had been arguing in the assembly hall now standing together.

“There’s a healer nearby who is famous for medical magic, so we were lucky. If we had been even slightly later, it could’ve been serious.”

Ah, so I was in a magical hospital room. That explained the overly luxurious interior—only rich bourgeois or nobles could use such a facility.

In this world, magic was extremely rare. Ancient texts recorded offensive magic, but in the present only healing magic, small fire spells, or minor wind manipulation existed.

Why? Because the amount of mana in the world was too small.

In ancient times, mana stones were abundant, allowing magic to flourish. But back then, no one realized that mana stones were finite.

Overuse depleted them, and nature without mana stones could no longer emit the same abundant mana as before.

Naturally, as mana decreased, the magic available to magicians also diminished.

“Ugh… I used up months of gathered mana, squeezing it like a wet rag just to heal him.”

A healer mage entered the room grumbling. Judging by his expression, he wanted to charge a high fee.

That’s the problem with magical hospitals. There’s no fixed price, so whatever the mage demands becomes the treatment cost.

“Don’t worry, we’ll pay you well. And no one outside the relevant personnel is to be told who was admitted.”

At Marianne’s words, the mage smiled brightly and left, satisfied.

“I asked your younger brother to go to Congressman Karayan’s house to fetch clothes for you.”

That explained why Orléans was gone. She also said not to worry about the treatment cost.

“I’ll repay it once I’m discharged.”

“Forget it. Just do me a favor someday.”

It was obvious—Marianne, who lacked nothing financially, was trying to gain a personal favor instead.

I didn’t like the idea of being indebted, but becoming close to Marianne would be beneficial, so I accepted.

“Yes. Then I’ll gratefully accept it.”

“Good. By the way… do you have someone who hates you enough to do this?”

There were 32 lawmakers in the assembly hall, but only I had been attacked. Marianne seemed to think it was a personal grudge.

It did seem that way. If someone wanted to shake the Rechef Party, they would have targeted someone like Denton, a top committee member.

“None?”

Denton also asked the same question.

I didn’t know Karayan’s past relationships. Since I arrived here, the only emotional conflict I’ve had is with… Tonali.

“I can’t keep track of everything I do. You should probably look for whoever benefits most from my absence.”

“Someone who benefits…?”

Marianne fell into thought.

“Hmm. We’ll need to observe the situation. The fact that a mage was involved suggests a coordinated group might be targeting Congressman Karayan.”

Denton focused on the mage involvement.

Even an insignificant mage would require a substantial payment for something like this. In modern terms, at least the price of a luxury foreign car—probably something like a Mercedes E-Class.

So Denton assumed it wasn’t a hired random mage, but an organized group. That also made sense.

“Is the Three Estates Assembly still about two weeks away?”

I asked, looking between Denton and Marianne.

“Yes. But are you sure you can attend in your condition? Don’t you need more recovery time?”

Denton looked worried. Even with magic healing, full recovery would take about a week. He also seemed concerned about post-traumatic stress.

“I was elected by party vote. I can’t skip the Three Estates Assembly because of this level of injury.”

If the attackers knew I was fine, they might strike again.

But fear couldn’t stop me from acting. And I couldn’t skip it anyway because of the mission—there were clergy supporting electoral reform who needed to be swayed.

“Understood. You don’t need to attend the general committee meeting. The important thing is the Three Estates Assembly.”

Denton smiled in satisfaction, unaware of my real intentions.

I now had two weeks.

I needed to use this time well.

“Lady Marianne, I have a request.”

Since I already owed her, adding another debt wouldn’t make much difference.

“What is it?”

“I want to meet the editor of The Citizen’s Gaze.”

Marianne and Denton looked at each other in surprise.

“May I ask why?”

Denton asked on her behalf.

“I’ve wanted to meet him for a while. The timing might seem strange, but I’m not planning to talk about the attack, so don’t worry.”

If this incident became public, the impact on the upcoming assembly was unpredictable—and unpredictability is terrifying for those preparing political meetings.

That’s why Denton asked.

“Alright. But don’t expect too much. Few people even know where he is. Even if you find him, he might not agree to meet you.”

I nodded.

I then thought about the editor of The Citizen’s Gaze.

Nucky Leland—the journalist I would inevitably meet, though I wanted to delay it as much as possible.

Not only because of his eccentric personality, but also because of what he would write.

Nucky had fiercely criticized the Tilio Republic ruled by Karayan. His writings had fueled Christian’s uprising, indirectly contributing to Karayan’s downfall.

Meeting someone who had helped bring about my death was hardly pleasant.

But right now, I needed him. No one in the Kingdom of Tilio had more information across all sectors than he did.

Three days after being hospitalized, Marianne arranged a meeting with Nucky.

“Seriously, he’s got such a weird personality.”

I muttered to myself from inside the carriage, watching the winter rain pour endlessly.

Meeting Nucky was complicated. The reason I couldn’t simply go to him was his personality.

He never met strangers unless introduced by someone he trusted. And even then, he changed meeting locations every time to protect himself—since he mostly wrote aggressive, critical articles.

“It seems we’ve arrived, Congressman.”

The carriage stopped in the middle of a road stretching along a river. I looked outside, but the heavy rain blurred everything into a curtain.

I stepped out with an umbrella. The sound of rain hitting the river was loud.

“Is this really the place?”

There was nothing here except open fields and the river.

“Yes.”

A voice cut through the rain.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Nucky Leland.”

He walked toward me confidently and extended his hand, without even confirming my identity.

Well, on a day like this, standing alone in the rain in such a place, there wasn’t much else to doubt.

“Yes, nice to meet you. Maximilian von Karajan.”

“You were introduced through someone quite trustworthy. Good approach. I don’t meet just anyone.”

He emphasized that he wasn’t an easy person to meet, trying to establish dominance in the conversation.

So I decided to play along. I was the one who needed him.

“An honor to meet you.”

“So, why did you want to see me?”

Nucky smirked and went straight to the point.

“I’d like some information.”

“Information? You mean I receive information, not give it.”

“Yes. I’d like to share information.”

Nucky frowned as if I was incomprehensible.

“I thought you were going to talk about being attacked. You’re a strange man.”

“I promised not to publish that as news.”

“If we reported it as royalist sabotage, it would be useful for us.”

Nucky sounded frustrated.

“Not yet. If it was an internal act rather than external sabotage, it would become manipulated reporting.”

“Internal? Do you have a suspect in mind?”

“I’m keeping all possibilities open.”

“Not Tonali’s faction?”

Nucky smiled eerily, his eyes sunken. He seemed to know something about the case.

“I’ll observe that carefully.”

Nucky tilted his head at my calm response.

“Aren’t you curious about the culprit?”

“If I stay fine, they’ll show themselves.”

As long as I remained unharmed, the attacker would surely strike again.

“Then what do you want from me?”

“Kangt, Teresa, Meldi, Boshu, Tillon, Mandaru, Xeser.”

I listed seven city names from the military map.

Nucky’s brows tightened.

“I want to know if there’s anything special about these cities.”

— To be continued —