Gin slowly followed the stretch of Spear's weapon to who it was pointing at. The servant looked more troubled than previously, and Gin could easily understand why. If he was in his shoes, he would have already soiled his pants without further delay. However, what couldn’t be overlooked was, so far, the servant had managed to hold his own against Spear. Gin didn't know whether to praise, 'as expected of the servant of his Master' or fear for the servant because Spear decided to get serious by revealing his specialized weapon. Currently, said weapon was shimmering in the moon's chilling glow that touched Spear's eyes and added on to his killer vibes.
Chuckling, the servant spoke up, "I'm but a mere servant, and I have to say, to make the one and only Spear take out his weapon, it is indeed a glorious honor."
"Ah, of course, by all means, do enjoy it while you can. I do have to give you some praise for those message birds. I honestly did not expect that," Spear waved his free hand towards the heavens, his wide sleeve following the motion.
The servant bowed, eyes still locked on Spear, and said graciously, "I will accept your praise with a contented heart."
"Mm, I'm sure you will, and 'contented', eh? If I recall correctly, one of the birds did not succeed to be delivered to its intended person," Spear mused in slight ridicule with a sweet smile that didn't reach his murderous eyes plastered on his lips.
"Yes, that is indeed unfortunate. Luckily, however, the other two did. So either way, I could say that the mission is about 80% successful," the servant summarized with a gentle smile that enhanced his handsomeness even through his disheveled look.
"80%... that's a rather huge accomplishment. Congratulations, you really should feel contented. May your heart burst with pride," Spear said this with a mouth full of venom.
Seeming to feel cheeky, the servant replied with a heartfelt 'thank you' and a slight bow of his head.
"If you don't mind my asking—especially since you will be dying anyway—who did those birdies go to? As they hold 80% of your mission success, they must be pretty influential individuals in this Nation of ours, yes?"
When Gin heard this question, his puzzlement over the entire conversation cleared up, and one word kept repeating itself in his head: spy.
The bloody servant was a spy. But how? With Spear's meticulousness, and let's not forget to mention his stinginess, he would have thoroughly checked every person or insect under the Distant Jade's roof. One thing of note as well, the servants had little to do with the outside. Gin had heard from Spear that he would take only one servant dedicated for the markets to go shop for food and whatever else that was needed for the estate. This meant that the servants would stay in the estate and not take a step outside at whatever instance.
Also... all of the servants were orphans recruited from orphanages since young. Likewise, their agreement to be employed in the Distant Jade made outside relations nonexistent. So then, how could a spy infiltrate from such a setting? What was the motive behind such a risk and, not forgetting, perseverance? More importantly, for how long had he been supplying information?
Was it through those ‘message birds’ that he supplied the intel to the outside? The 'bird', Gin mused, seemed too flashy to be missed if they tried to send out any information, however. What held even more importance was, how many of them were there? Was it only this one servant? How much information did the servant manage to leak out about the Distant Jade? How crucial was the information shared, rather, what crucial information could be in the estate to warrant a spy? How would this all blow over? How? How? How...
"True... it won't do any harm to my clients either way... but I would like to ask for a payment for this information," the servant grinned with evident mischief.
Spear laughed dryly at the servant's words, "How bold, you wayward swine. Fine. Name your price."
The shock from hearing those words got Gin’s attention away from his musing. This bundle of shrewdness was willing to pay for something? And to a man he supposedly wanted 'dead'?!
"Make it a painless death, Sir," the servant bowed respectfully.
"Deal," Spear agreed quickly with a wave of his hands, "at least you have some shred of shame left in you. Now, answer my question."
Gin’s eyebrows furrowed, a crooked smile tugging at his lips due to the humorous exchange of their dark banter. He found it strange how the two were handling the whole situation. To his understanding, the chances of the servant giving out all the information were truly slim. Even if he did, keeping him under lock and key could bring about interesting tides. In any case, him getting apprehended for further interrogation was far more likely than 'death'. And honestly, how could those ‘influential individuals’ compare to their old Master?
"It's the King and Prince for the successful birds. The other one was for someone even I don't know of, but I was given good benefits for delivering that information. So, I agreed. This mission was risky anyway, so the more I could get out of it the better. The truest fact about this mission was that the chances of me getting out alive were no more than 0."
When Spear heard this, he had sucked in a deep breath. Il San, who still stood beside Gin, had visibly stiffened. Gin himself had all his previous thoughts erased to a blank slate. He wasn't sure what to think of the answer given. One thing was clear though, the servant wasn’t lying, using the Royal family's identities to throw them off would be ridiculously unwise. The folly would yield far more harm than anything else.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
"Let me guess... Did you give out information about young Gin?" Spear inquired with a grim expression.
Gin stopped his brooding over the unexpected revelations to favor staring at Spear in utter bewilderment. This favor changed recipients when the servant gave an affirmative answer. Gin, rim rod straight, looked at the servant with tripled bewilderment and confusion. Right at that moment, the servant turned to look at Gin and smiled sadly.
"I'm sorry, young Lord Gin. I hope you will find it in your heart to forgive me..."
°°
Gin didn't understand what he meant. He intended to ask for an explanation, to ask why would this whole situation revolve around him of all people. He had all the ‘whys’, ‘whats’, and ‘hows’ set together in a jumble of cobbed questions. But, before he could utter anything, he felt a hand seize his shoulder then heavily press down on him. Pinching his lips tightly to not say a word, Gin looked at his Master with an aggrieved air about him.
"Silence," Il San mumbled the same command as earlier, however this time he did so with a gloomy gaze in his eyes. The nonchalance he had been shrouded in before was nowhere in sight.
Biting his bottom lip in dejection, Gin could only do as ordered.
"How much did you report?" Spear demanded, his earlier grim appearance had turned a notch murderous. He looked like he wanted to spring towards the servant and tear him apart more so than previously.
"Everything I observed from the young Lord. His habits, his favorite foods, clothes, and the like. Whatever information I could get my hands on I sent out."
Feeling weird, Gin scrunched up his whole face. He didn't know how to describe what or how he felt. All his current state could afford him was to stand there and look at the servant incredulously. Soon, the most powerful figures of the continent knew what he liked to eat, drink, wear, and do… He truly didn’t know how to process that.
As Gin started to shake his head at the ridiculousness of everything that had happened, especially from the moment he stepped into the Distant Jade, a sudden epiphany hit him. It was a heavy hit that lessened his headaches but increased his annoyance. Gin sent a sideways glance at his Master and then to Spear. Releasing a silent breath, he made firm efforts to not think too hard about what was happening. The reasons why a spy was hired to get such and any information were easy enough to figure out. Those reasons were standing beside and in front of him.
What crucial information? What secrets? Perseverance? All the cloaks and daggers? None! There were none whatsoever! If Gin could have kicked himself, he would have. The crucial pieces of 'information' were walking and talking beings. Their very existences were beyond secrets!
The previous Chief of the Palace's Defence and one of the 5 legends. What more could the Nation need as a basis to keep an eye on such people? He was sure the King and Prince had gotten wind of his Master taking in a village riff-raff and got curious.
'The child’s parents went to the Royal Capital to get their new home ready, you say?'
'And Il San agreed to take in the lad?'
'Ah, is that truly all?'
'What if the almighty Il San was cultivating another trouble maker to the Nation?!'
'Could this country bumpkin become another headache to the King and Nation?!'
Thinking up to here, Gin had to nod to himself in understanding. He even felt sorry for the King and Prince. If he placed himself in their position, he would have had everyone in the Distant Jade be a spy. He already got to experience the 6 people’s annoyance, so would he spare any resources if he was placed in the same position as the King? Of course not!
Clicking his tongue, Gin made more goals for himself. He had to make sure that he didn't turn out the way the 5 did. He had to make sure that after finishing his business with this Master of his he would hole himself up in a quiet corner of the continent—away from Yerek—and live a simple life! But then again... looking at Spear, Gin had his mind stray to something else.
Maybe the five were just going through their rebellious stages that lasted a few years too many. He felt like it would be possible, especially with the way Il San handled things. Now, he really couldn't guarantee that if things continued as they were, he too wouldn't decide to spring up to his rebelliousness as well.
Benefactor and all be damned, Gin closed his eyes and sighed. He shook his head again, but this time in pity and sympathy. He really felt it for the King and her people...
Ignoring his monologue, Gin turned to look at Spear and the servant. Spear had a contemplative look and the servant didn't seem like he had anything else to add on. Finally, as if gaining feigned enlightenment, Spear spoke up:
"I see... That explains a lot, your little mistake from Gin’s second day here was rather telling if I do say so myself. You should have continued to keep a low profile, but, I guess you must have been pressed for time, and the pressure on you to get the information must have been immense. I can imagine how that must be especially with the people you were serving. Not able to contain your excitement, you finally got a chance to test out young Gin, ol' 'I was only trying to help him out since he seemed lost' was very snarky, cute, but snarky. I have to admit, however, it could work to your advantage if I wasn't your teacher.
"From then on, I saw your eyes drifting to Gin with every opportunity you got. To be honest, I at first thought you were interested in the lad, but then you started working with such unnecessary diligence. Then I wondered, why? There is zero need to be ambitious in our Distant Jade. We make sure you are well taken care of, so why would you go out of your way to do the most needless things… And similarly making me take needless actions..."
Spear paused, his focus unmoving from the young servant.
Shrugging the servant spoke helplessly, "And here we all thought you were in a bad mood from your business losses, but it turns out I was the one making you impatient."
"Well, your employers are hardly the only ones that can put pressure on you," Spear agreed. "Don’t be mistaken, all this act cost me dearly. So you have to understand, you need to make it worth my while to erase the bitterness of losing all that money just to corner a rat."