Hwee-Mun, the head of the left ministers, was 65 years old, and she was also a living record of the royal family who had assisted the kings of the past three generations.
Her hair had already turned completely white, and her influence made it so that the left ministers, the right ministers, and even the king couldn’t treat her however they wished. She could be seen as the celebrity of the palace as all the left ministers of different species under her command, including the Humans, Elves, Halflings, Nixes, Dwarves, Kobolds, and Frogmen would follow her in a heartbeat.
Unlike what the rumors would suggest, however, Hwee-Mun was looking somewhat anxious.
The Hwee family was one of the most well-known in Black Scale. What set the Hwee family apart was the fact that all the other famous influential families in Black Scale were Lizardmen.
A member of the Hwee family would always assume the role of the lord and margrave of Automation, and the family also had the reputation of always being given the position of left ministers. They were noble and high-ranking officials, but above all, the Hwee family was a great merchant family. This was because the merchants entering Black Scale had to go through Automation, and that was also true for the merchants leaving Black Scale for other countries.
There was no aspect where the Hwee family was lacking in, but their great fame didn’t come without darkness.
‘The cursed antlers.’
Automation had gotten big in Hwee-Kyung’s time, which was about 150 years ago. Hwee-Kyung had a pair of deer antlers that grew on her head, which was now considered a historical myth much like the story of Lakrak killing the evil god. And there was also word that Hwee-Kyung and Sairan Muel, the Lizardman, had a child between them, and that the mixed blood had become part of the Hwee family. But of course, a Human and a Lizardman could not have a child, and thus people interpreted the branching antler crest of the Hwee family as a wide range of powers. However, the adults playing important roles in the Hwee family knew that a part of the legend was true.
In the Hwee family, there had been children born with antlers just like Hwee-Kyung in the legend. Only the antlers were dealt with in accordance with the family rules because all children born with antlers would become crazy. There wasn’t a single exception. Children born with antlers would talk to the air, or show talents that defied common sense. They would go through a battlefield of pouring arrows completely unscathed, or they would be perfectly fine after falling from tens of meters high. Those were surely powers that arose from Ancient Evil.
The Hwee family had decided to contain that power before the congregation of Night Sky became larger. And luckily, the method was simple. Within the Hwee family, parents with children born with antlers had to periodically cut and grind the antlers. That way, the child would be able to grow into an adult normally. However, that method could not prevent others from being born with antlers. There had been debates within the family that perhaps those people should refrain from continuing their bloodline, but that idea was dismissed because it was too harsh.
According to the legend, Hwee-Kyung was able to become a wealthy merchant with the mysterious power, but considering that her end was miserable, people were more inclined to think of it as a curse. There was also word that the wealth and glory Hwee-Kyung had accumulated all derived from Ancient Evil. And it was believed that the power led to the birth of a child between Hwee-Kyung and Sairan Muel, the Lizardman; that it made an impossible love possible. Due to the shameful matter leading to the existence of children with antlers, the elders of the Hwee family considered it a sin they had to carry forever.
The children born with antlers would have Muel added to their name. And the Muel collateral line was treated the same as the Hwee family, but they had to live somewhere deep in Automation and not show themselves. .
‘It would have been good if the story ended like that, but…’
An outlier was always destined to be born. And Hwee Ravina Muel was one such child.
Ravina, who had run away from the castle when she was only nine years old, had gotten onto a merchant’s freight wagon setting out for the continent and left. And her parting words were, ‘I can’t live in a place like this forever.’
Ravina abandoned both her surnames of ‘Hwee’ and ‘Muel’ and aimlessly wandered the continent. She had followed a Satyr merchant as their errand girl, had been captured by a band of bandits and sold as a slave, and had also studied under a Gnoll aristocrat in Danly.
The Hwee family made the judgment that they couldn’t just let her be and hired people to chase after her. When the hired mercenaries caught up with Ravina, she was working at an Alchemist Tower located in Asbestos as an assistant. The mercenaries informed the Hwee family of her whereabouts, and the elders could not be more shocked.
The Alchemist Tower. Past the fortress walls that had been built crudely on the top of a mountain was a storage with all the rare medicines and treasures, a library with all the knowledge in the world, and a school where alchemists taught forbidden knowledge that outsiders were not even allowed to observe.
If these alchemists were simple scholars, people wouldn’t avoid them. However, they were all non-believers on top of that. Although gods didn’t manifest before everyone, their miracles were undoubtedly real. And in particular, priests who borrowed the powers of gods were living proof of their existence. Moreover, there had been stories passing down from generation to generation about the guardians of gods appearing at critical points of battles when the fate of the countries depended on it; while it was a debate whether the stories were true, many believed them.
However, alchemists denied the obvious existence of gods and prioritized their knowledge. In the eyes of those who believed in gods, they were irreverent individuals who likely had something to do with the Ancient Evil.
The current lord of Automation, Hwee Do-Young, said that Hwee-Kyung going to the Alchemist Tower was perhaps a natural end. There had been many cursed individuals like Hwee Ravina Muel at the Alchemist Tower. And the elders of the Hwee family, including Hwee Do-Young, decided not to chase after Ravina anymore. The Alchemist Tower was one of the few places where the cursed antlers of the Hwee family could be forgotten, and there was another realistic issue involved.
The Alchemist Tower was able to remain there even when it was full of non-believers because they had enough power to not be conquered. Even the nearest Trolls of Asbestos had made a few attempts, but the alchemists defeated the soldiers by shooting flames with their mysterious power or using a horrible poison that would melt people. Asbestos did have the strength to defeat them, but considering the amount of soldiers that would be lost in the process, they judged that it would be better to leave them be and collect tributes instead.
All stories about the Alchemist Tower and Hwee Ravina Muel seemed to be getting forgotten as a part of history.
‘Until His Majesty asked for Ravina.’
Hwee-Mun looked at the woman with antlers in front of her.
***
Hwee Ravina Muel seemed like an ordinary woman in her mid twenties. She had black hair, deep maroon eyes, and skin darker than those of Elves, which showed that she was originally from Automation. She also bore a resemblance to Hwee-Mun when she was younger as they were from the same family.
‘Except for those antlers.’
Hwee-Mun was born and raised in Automation, and she had seen Ravina’s mother, the one with cursed antlers, but because she had always cut them, it was the first time Hwee-Mun saw fully grown antlers.
Ravina asked, “Are they amusing?”
Hwee-Mun sighed.
“I’m sorry. There are so many mysterious things in Orazen. I wasn’t looking at them because I found them amusing.”
“That’s okay, Elder. It’s common for people to stare at my antlers when they meet me for the first time. I mean, you can’t help but look at them when they’re this big. They catch attention.”
The pair of huge deer antlers were divided into several branches.
Hwee-Mun tried her best to ignore Ravina’s antlers and said, “To be honest, I didn’t know you would come as soon as I contacted you. I’m asking just in case there’s a misunderstanding, but you know why I called you, right?”
“Yes,” Ravina replied.
It was a months-long journey from the Alchemist Tower, located at the edge of Asbestos, to Orazen, so one wouldn’t make the journey unless there was a special occasion.
Ravina then said, “I heard that His Majesty is looking for an alchemist.”
“That’s right.”
Hwee-Mun nodded. 𝘪𝘳.𝘤𝑜
Kyle Lak Orazen, the king of Black Scale, wanted to find an alchemist. But unlike Asbestos, Black Scale was harsher to non-believers like alchemists. All knowledge related to alchemy or Ancient Evil would be confiscated by the palace, and those with the knowledge would be punished. Therefore, the king had to turn to foreign countries to find an alchemist. However, alchemists also lived in hiding in foreign countries, and the most well-known homebase of alchemists, namely the Alchemist Tower, banned outsiders from coming and going as they pleased.
Hwee-Mun was puzzled by the fact that Kyle was looking for an alchemist, but fortunately, the only alchemist she knew was hiding in the Alchemist Tower, where normal people could not enter or leave from. She had thus thought that Kyle, the king, wouldn’t learn of Ravina’s existence, but someone from the Hwee family must have leaked information to him. And soon, Kyle learned of the cursed antlers and of Ravina’s existence, and an order was given to the head of the Hwee family and lord of Automation, Hwee Do-Young, to call Ravina to the palace.
Hwee Do-Young, Hwee-Mun, and the rest of the Hwee family hoped for Ravina to ignore the order, but surprisingly, Ravina traveled the long distance and arrived at Orazen’s palace today. While Ravina was part of the Hwee family, she and Hwee-Mun were no different than strangers who just met today. Ravina was rather a person that Hwee-Mun should be wary of since Hwee-Mun was responsible for palace affairs and assisting the king. And above all, Ravina’s intentions were not yet known.
‘I can’t let her face His Majesty this way.’
Ravina coveted forbidden knowledge and was a non-believer, and she could be punished by national law. If Ravina showed any signs of irreverence, Hwee-Mun planned to summon the palace guards right away.
“I’ll stop beating around the bush and cut to the chase. Why have you come?”
“Because of His Majesty’s order.”
“You abandoned your family, wandered around for more than a decade, and are associated with the Alchemist Tower that no one could go into or out of unless they belong there. And you’re an alchemist who doesn’t serve any god. What are you afraid of that you would obey His Majesty’s will?”
Ravina met Hwee-Mun’s eyes with a look of surprise.
“Pardon? His Majesty is a fearsome person.”
“That’s right. But how would you, who lives far away in the land of Asbestos, know that? You didn’t think His Majesty would lead an army to find you if you hadn’t come, did you?”
Ravina blinked with embarrassment.
“His Majesty probably would have done that.”
“What?”
“Even if the method is different, he would have tried to enter the Alchemist Tower in any way possible. I came because I was afraid of that happening.”
“What do you know about His Majesty that you would say such a thing?”
In response to that question, Ravina said something irrelevant, “I see you aren’t familiar with the forbidden knowledge.”
“Huh, of course. How can anyone covet such knowledge when they know the glory of their family and know to fulfill their duties to Black Scale? And what does that have to do with His Majesty?”
“His Majesty might be disappointed to hear that.”
“What are you saying?”
Ravina reached into the bag next to her. Hwee-Mun flinched and kept a wary eye on Ravina, wondering if she was going to take out an alchemist tool, but what Ravina pulled out was a letter.
“The same letter has been sent to the Alchemist Tower since a few years ago. It is filled with questions about ancient forbidden knowledge. The letters always came from different locations, so the alchemists of the tower had thought that it was another alchemist outside of the tower who wanted to hide their identity.”
“So?”
“However, this letter then came, and only then did the alchemists find out where they were from. Orazen. There is only one person capable of doing such a thing while knowing the most about the forbidden knowledge of Orazen.”
Hwee-Mun immediately got up and said, “You dare not… Don’t say anything you can’t be responsible for.”
“No. I must say it.”
“You…!”
“His Majesty is already the best alchemist with no rival in Black Scale.”
Hwee-Mun yelled, “Is anyone out there? Call the palace guards!”
At that moment, the door opened, and a Lizardman came in.
Even from a Human’s perspective, the Lizardman was short and thin, which made it clear that he wasn’t an adult yet.
“Hwee-Mun, that’s enough.”
It was Kyle.
.