chapter 02
“Blood will always tell, won’t it?”
The woman exhaled a thick cloud of cigarette smoke before offering me my first real choice.
“This is a memory-erasing drug. Give it to your little brother, and he’ll forget everything that happened here. If you want, it can even wipe all of his memories.” She smiled faintly. “In exchange, you’ll belong to me for the rest of your life. So? Which will you choose?”
My blue eyes trembled.
The rest of your life.
To a nine-year-old child, a lifetime was too vast, too heavy to even imagine.
Even so, I made my choice.
“…Thank you.”
It was better for only one of us to fall into the abyss than for both of us to be swallowed by it.
And if someone had to make that sacrifice…
I was glad it would be me, not Seniel.
Still, I allowed myself one small act of selfishness.
I could have erased every memory Seniel had of me and let him begin an entirely new life.
Instead, I left our family’s memories intact and erased only everything related to the training camp.
Afterward, I left Seniel at an orphanage in a distant region.
“Noona…”
His tiny hands clung desperately to my clothes.
“I don’t want to be alone. Take me with you…”
“You’ll find a wonderful family soon, Seniel.”
“I don’t want to be apart from you.”
“Even if we’re separated, we’re still family. Never forget that. I’ll come see you every year.”
“Noona…”
With his striking appearance, Seniel was adopted much sooner than anyone expected.
Only six months after entering the orphanage.
The couple who adopted him were kind-hearted provincial nobles. Their family had a respectable lineage and an excellent reputation.
From that day on, Seniel grew up as the beloved son of a noble house.
And I…
I walked an entirely different path—
the promising heir to the Raven Guild of the underworld.
Ten years passed.
***
Masked from head to toe, I stood hidden in the shadows, only my eyes visible as they swept across the surroundings.
The abandoned mansion, normally deserted, was suffocating with tension.
Judging by the clothing alone, at least four different factions had gathered here.
The reason was simple.
Rumor claimed that this mansion concealed the map of the Great Thief—a map marking the location of an enormous cache of magic crystals.
No one had ever actually seen the legendary map.
It had existed only in whispers.
But everyone knew that whoever possessed it would wield enough power to ignite another war.
“Prince! Over here!”
The instant I heard Railey’s voice, I drew my sword.
While I waited for the perfect moment, Railey’s subordinates burst out from the opposite side.
They were bait.
Their job was to draw away the rival groups that had come chasing the same rumor.
As expected, the moment our guild members appeared, blades and projectiles rained toward them.
Now.
After confirming the area around the mansion had been cleared, I concealed my presence and slipped into the rear garden.
All the flowers had long since withered.
Exactly as I’d been told, one section of the garden wall protruded slightly.
I pressed it.
A round doorknob emerged from the stone.
Turning it carefully, I opened a narrow passage—just wide enough for one person.
Inside the hidden chamber, lying squarely in the center, was a rolled piece of parchment.
The seal stamped across its surface left no doubt.
It belonged to the Great Thief.
Without hesitation, I lunged forward.
The instant my fingers seized the map—
Shing!
Throwing knives erupted from every direction.
“…A trap.”
An ordinary thief would have died instantly.
For me…
Dodging attacks like this wasn’t particularly difficult.
I’d entered because I knew I could avoid whatever awaited.
After evading every knife, I tucked the map into my spatial artifact.
I immediately turned toward the exit—
Then a longsword suddenly thrust through the wall.
One step—
No.
Half a step slower, and it would have pierced my throat.
Grinding my teeth, I pushed my senses to their limit.
The moment I sharpened my awareness, I detected the hidden attacker.
“…How did you dodge that?”
The stranger gave me no time to breathe, pressing forward with relentless sword strikes.
He was astonishingly skilled.
So skilled that even I—someone with no equal inside the guild—was being pushed back little by little.
I met his blade with my full strength, forcing him backward to reclaim my escape route.
“So you’re the Prince of the Raven Guild.”
His voice remained calm as our swords clashed.
“They said your body was impossibly swift… and that your sword carried no wasted weight.”
He smiled beneath his mask.
“Now that we’ve crossed blades, I understand.”
I answered by accelerating my sword.
He smoothly deflected every strike before speaking again.
“Hand over the map.”
“It isn’t something an individual should possess.”
…
What nonsense.
The map itself belonged to a single person.
What was he talking about?
I shot him a cold stare—
—and met a pair of eyes as red as fresh blood.
Like me, he wore a mask, hiding his face.
But those eyes…
They belonged to someone who had spent his entire life standing above others.
Without saying a word, he looked down at me with effortless authority.
“Who does the Raven Guild support?”
“The Teroid Empire?”
“The fallen Seundel Kingdom?”
“Or some third nation?”
Although most members of Raven came from the Teroid Empire, we had never taken sides in any war.
We followed only money…
…and justification.
Apparently, he wanted to know where our loyalties truly lay.
While he was occupied asking questions, his attacks became ever so slightly less oppressive.
I seized the opening and abruptly reversed directions.
Got you.
I slipped through the open doorway and burst outside.
Could I have continued fighting?
Certainly.
But against someone evenly matched, a prolonged battle always carried the risk of defeat.
Especially when I had something I absolutely couldn’t afford to lose.
“Wait!”
His voice rang through the mansion.
“I’ve wanted to meet you for a long time, Prince with the blue eyes!”
“I know who you are!”
“Just a moment! I only want to talk—!”
I glanced back only once before sprinting away at full speed.
Fortunately, I soon met up with Railey, who had been searching for me nearby.
The moment he spotted me, he gave a sharp whistle.
Guild members hidden in ambush immediately emerged, cutting themselves between the masked man and us.
“The map?”
“I got it.”
“It’s inside my artifact.”
Railey grinned.
“Knew you’d pull it off. That’s our Prince.”
“That guy’s dangerous.”
I kept my eyes fixed behind us.
“Fight him just enough to buy time, then signal everyone to retreat.”
“Oh?”
Railey raised an eyebrow.
“If you’re saying that, now I’m curious.”
“Never seen him before?”
“No.”
“I don’t know where he’s from.”
“Wanna bet I can take him?”
“You’d lose.”
My blunt answer made Railey bristle before he sighed and shook his head.
“…My pride wants to prove you wrong.”
“But not today.”
“We’re heading straight back to headquarters.”
“Why?”
“The Queen sent for us.”
I frowned.
The old woman had summoned us?
Never—not once—had she interrupted an active mission.
Something had happened.
Something serious.
Without resting for even a moment, I rode back to headquarters at full speed.
The person waiting for me…
was the old woman lying in bed, struggling for every breath.
“…Old lady.”
The moment I saw her, I knew.
She was dying.
No medicine in the world could save her now.
The light in her eyes had nearly gone out.
“…About two years now.”
She coughed violently.
“…I brought the map.”
I placed it beside her.
“You wanted this so badly.”
“Heh…”
A weak smile appeared.
“I knew you’d succeed.”
She coughed again.
“Everyone… leave.”
“…Except Prince.”
Once the room had emptied, she reached up and pulled away my mask.
The cloth hiding everything but my eyes slipped free, exposing my face.
Her rough, calloused hands cupped my cheeks.
“You’ve grown.”
A bitter laugh escaped me.
“…How can you just die like this?”
“You told me I’d belong to you for the rest of my life.”
Wasn’t that what she’d promised?
Someday she would die.
Of course she would.
But not like this.
Not so suddenly.
What was I supposed to do with the life I’d entrusted to her?
“So I did…”
She chuckled between bloody coughs.
“How was I supposed to know… that your ‘lifetime’ with me…”
“…would only be ten years?”
“Heh…”
“That’s what makes life interesting…”
Her laughter dissolved into violent coughing.
Blood spilled from her lips.
“Do you remember?”
She struggled to breathe.
“I told you…”
“…the weak have no choices.”
“Now…”
“You can choose everything.”
As her strength faded, I gripped her hand tighter.
“I know.”
“There isn’t anyone here stronger than me anymore.”
“So…”
“I’ll give you one final choice…”
“Stop talking.”
Blood continued pouring from her mouth.
I clenched my teeth and wiped it away with my handkerchief.
She laughed again.
“You’re such a kind child.”
“Me?”
I let out a dry scoff.
“I’ve killed more people than I can count.”
“Even stray dogs would laugh hearing that.”
“You can’t hide your true nature.”
Her fading eyes softened.
“I know you’ve secretly looked after the families of the people you killed.”
“And how you’ve quietly helped those in desperate situations.”
“I knew all of it.”
“…”
“Either succeed me…”
“…and become the Guild Master…”
“…or leave this world behind entirely.”
“Leave?”
I stared at her.
“Now?”
“Yes.”
She smiled weakly.
“You…”
“…never belonged in this darkness.”
“When I die…”
“…you’ll finally be free.”
“You’re stronger than I ever was…”
Her voice stopped.
Her head slowly fell to one side.
“…Old lady?”
No response.
“Old lady!”
“Open your eyes!”
“…Are you really dead?”
“Just like that?”
I desperately squeezed her hand.
Nothing.
No strength remained.
Only coldness.
As the warmth left her fingers, I remembered my parents’ hands ten years ago.
They had grown cold just the same.
“…The old lady…”
“…is dead.”
I remained frozen, staring blankly into empty space.
Then—
The door slowly opened.
