Those Who Live Without the Law

Chapter 55

Hatching

While Dana Watson was approving Irena’s vacation request, Irena stood looking at the completed temporary building.

“What do you think? This is going to be your nest from now on.”

At Kairus’s words, I made a complicated expression.

At least now, I knew that the man standing next to me wasn’t the eldest son of the Randolph family, but Kairus.

‘I’ve heard that name somewhere before.’

I felt like I’d heard the name somewhere, but couldn’t quite recall exactly who he was.

I met too many people, and among them were many important individuals I had to remember. It was impressive enough that I even thought the name sounded familiar.

I stopped thinking and spoke to Kairus again.

“It’s as crappy as you said.”

Calling it a temporary building was generous—this was no more than a cramped cubicle. Despite it being winter, there was no heating, not even a window.

Yet for all that, it was built extremely solid. The only way to enter the tiny room was to open a thick iron door.

“You want me to stay in here?”

Inside the room, which was barely one pyeong in size, there was a single toilet combined with a washbasin.

On the floor sat a lone squat desk. The only thing illuminating the windowless space was a kerosene lamp.

“What’s with that battle gear on the ceiling?”

Lastly, a cheap battle gear was dangling from the ceiling, tied with a string.

That was all the room contained. A bleak, bare space surrounded by white walls.

“What you need to do is simple.”

Kairus handed me a stack of paper, a bottle of ink, and a pen.

“You’ll keep writing the rules you must follow from now on, over and over on the paper.”

“That’s... all?”

“Yeah. That’s all you have to do.”

He gave a small tap with his toe to a narrow slot at the bottom of the iron door.

“Submit the used paper through the slot under the door.”

He would give me new sheets equal to the number I used. Meals would also be provided through this slot.

“Once you’re inside, there’s only one way out. Use the battle gear hanging from the ceiling to break the door down yourself.”

By repeatedly mulling over your own rules in an empty room, those rules would get hammered deep into your subconscious.

You’d end up always being conscious of them. After all, the most important thing in using battle gear was talent. If you had talent, all you needed was conviction.

The conviction that you could use battle gear. Featherwing’s method was to subtly swap the word ‘conviction’ with ‘qualification.’ Once you believed you were qualified, conviction naturally followed.

[If I haven’t broken the rules I set myself, then I’m qualified to use the battle gear.]

This line of thought became the conviction that a talented person needed in order to use a battle gear. Naturally, the moment one thought they were no longer qualified, that conviction vanished and so they couldn't use the gear.

After going through the entire process, you’d finally be able to use the battle gear hanging from the ceiling in the way of the House Featherwing.

Just like a bird hatching from an egg, you’d have to break the door yourself and come out.

To break the door, you had to use the power of the battle gear.

“So you’re saying just by repeatedly writing on paper, I’ll learn how to use a battle gear?”

I couldn’t believe it. The method I used to wield a battle gear now had its flaws, but it was still harder to master than the one Kairus was describing.

“You can think it’s easy.”

It wouldn’t take long to realize that it wasn’t.

“If someone doesn’t already know how to use battle gear, they’ll either succeed or die inside.”

That’s why House Featherwing called it an “egg.” If you managed to break out, it was a birth announcing a new beginning.

If you failed to break out, you’d rot and die inside. No matter how much the person inside screamed and begged to be saved, no one would come to get them.

Either you hatched yourself, or you failed and died. That was the original form of this trial.

But Irena had one more option. In fact, it was because of that option that Simid Kellogg allowed this method in the first place.

“You can still use battle gear right now, can’t you?”

If Irena used the flawed method she’d been relying on so far to break through the door and come out…

She wouldn’t die in there. But that would be the end of it. An egg broken by someone else could never be reborn.

If you didn’t break it yourself, it held no meaning.

“In that case, you won’t have to die in there, but you’ll learn nothing, and I’ll teach you nothing.”

The chance for birth came only once. Life was special because it happened only once. A life you could restart as many times as you wanted, no matter what achievements you made in it, could never be called special.

“You won’t die in there. But you’ll have to endure a terrible temptation.”

Others died inside because there was no way out.

But Irena had a way out. She had to endure that temptation, break out properly, and hatch using the true method of battle gear use.

“Either way, as a knight, failing means death, doesn’t it?”

Irena clenched her fist and stared at the bleak space just barely one pyeong in size. She was already using battle gear in a flawed way.

If I didn’t change the way I used it, then I would die as a knight.

“If you’d rather live even if it means giving up on your dreams and goals, then go ahead and break the egg the wrong way.”

The connection with Kairus, the chance to freely unleash my talent with the proper method of battle gear use, and to live as a knight—all of that would vanish without a trace.

“If you need a bit more time, that’s fine too.”

At Kairus’s words, I responded.

“Get lost. The cubicle’s ready, and I said I’d go in once it was finished.”

I took a small deep breath, then gathered the paper, ink, and pen, and stepped into the cubicle, collapsing into a seat.

“Don’t be shocked if I come out too soon. Now shut the door.”

“Usually, even for the fast ones, it takes at least a month to come out.”

At Kairus’s words, I turned my gaze toward him and gave a cheeky grin.

“Hey, how long did it take you?”

“Me?”

Kairus immediately caught on to my expression and what I meant by the question. A smirk appeared on his face—as if to say, “What are you gonna do with that information, someone like you?”

Still, since I looked genuinely curious, he figured it was better to answer.

After a moment of decision, Kairus replied.

“Three days.”

With that answer, he closed the door. A heavy metallic clang rang out as it locked completely.

While I was trapped in darkness, Kairus headed back to the mansion without much thought.

“Lord Randolph, the person you contacted by phone is asking for you.”

At the servant’s words, Kairus let out a soft “Hm?” and walked over to take the call.

— This is the Rose Garden. The Representative told us to let you know that the materials were received.

“That’s good to hear.”

As the conversation continued, sweat began to form on Kairus’s back. He had taken a gamble—he had deliberately sent false documents to the Rose Garden.

‘Whether it was intentional or not.’

If he got caught, it wouldn’t end well. But it was worth risking his life for.

‘What else am I supposed to do? It’s rebellion.’

If things went well with the Kellogg family’s scheme, Philip IV—Kairus’s sworn enemy—would end up dead.

Was he supposed to cower like a fool, afraid of death, and let such a chance pass?

The grudge Kairus bore ran far too deep.

‘This excuse, that excuse…’

If he kept squirming around like that, he’d never accomplish anything. Even standing still, a rebellion was already brewing within the Empire.

If he was going to use that as an excuse to back out and leak the plan, then he might as well give up on revenge, on ambition, and live like everyone else.

“So, about the item I was supposed to receive…”

After a bit more back-and-forth, Kairus said, “Yes, yes… understood,” and hung up the phone.

Standing in front of the side table where the phone rested, Kairus tapped it with his index fingernail, then frowned.

“This feels off.”

Simid Kellogg had just asked me if I could steal something from the Rezantin Royal Museum.

And now, on top of that, the Cloud Seizing Art manual was also said to be in the Rezantin Royal Museum?

“It’s not like it’s completely impossible, of course.”

While it was true the museum had a vault packed with Imperial battle gear, the exhibition theme wasn’t limited to just that, and not all the storage space was exclusively allocated to battle gear either.

‘Because it’s Featherwing’s swordsmanship.’

Depending on who you asked, it could be a treasure so precious that not even thousands of battle gear pieces would be an acceptable trade.

The Cloud Seizing Art manual was also best kept in the most secure location possible and the Rezantin Royal Museum, with its tight security and surveillance, was exactly that.

“It’s guarded by the knight captain, isn’t it?”

Outside of maybe the presidential residence, I couldn’t think of a place more secure than that museum.

“Maybe I’m being overly paranoid.”

I wondered if I was being too suspicious of the Rose Garden.

I had already done something, and the anxiety that the Rose Garden might’ve noticed it had started to take over me.

‘Still, it’s a fact they’re the kind of organization that could sniff out the tricks I pulled.’

When I thought about their intelligence capabilities, their ability to act, and every single move made by their so-called Representative, Cecilia, I couldn’t help but sigh.

Just imagining they might’ve caught on made my spine tingle.

“…Still, they gave me the promised intel. That must mean I’m not meant to die just yet.”

Even while staying at the Kellogg mansion, I’d been on edge. No matter how powerful the Treasury Chief’s estate was, if the Rose Garden decided to slit my throat, it wouldn’t be able to stop them nor would it have any reason to.

But the Rose Garden had provided me with the information they promised.

Now, the possibilities had narrowed down to two.

“Either the information they gave was fake, or the Rose Garden really did get fooled by me.”

They were not the kind of organization to let things slide knowingly. If they were, they wouldn’t have made it onto the Canal Operations Committee.

To put it playfully, it’s a 50/50 chance...

Kairus scratched his head in frustration.

“I’ll need to wait a bit longer before making any decisions.”

No matter how important the Cloud Seizing Art manual was, Kairus felt the need to be even more cautious.

In the end, it came down to one decision: go or don’t go. He asked Spring Parsley to look into Rezantin City, and spent his time reviewing and organizing the related information.

A week passed like that. Kairus had now completed much of his information gathering and analysis, and was at the point of deciding whether to head to Rezantin City or return to Bennett City.

“Forget everything else. What I need is an escape route.”

If the Cloud Seizing Art manual wasn’t in Rezantin City, he’d need a way to escape from Dana Watson, the knight captain who guarded the city.

At that moment, he heard a loud crash as the door of the temporary building was ripped off its hinges. Kairus couldn’t believe his ears.

And shortly after, Irena’s irritated shout rang out.

“Why does it feel like it’s already been a whole week!”

Something clicked in Kairus’s mind as he was in the middle of thinking.

The Scarlet Leaf Order, Dana Watson... and Irena Kellogg. He hadn’t expected Irena Kellogg to break out of the egg so quickly.

Because of that, she wasn’t even a factor he had kept in mind. But that unexpected variable now gleamed with newfound significance.

“Wait, this might actually work out.”

With that thought, Kairus made up his mind to head to Rezantin City.

Having organized his thoughts, he walked over to Irena.

“A week is already incredibly fast.”

“You were even faster.”

Irena shot Kairus a glare full of annoyance. Kairus looked her over and commented bluntly.

“You should probably wash up first. You look absolutely terrible.”

At his words, Irena gave herself a sniff and then, grinning, spread her arms wide as she approached Kairus.

“Come here, I’ll give you a hug.”

“Back off. Come any closer and I’ll smack you so hard you’ll cough up all four of your molars.”

“You just threatened to punch the only daughter of the Treasury Chief? You sure you can handle the consequences?”

Irena shamelessly leveraged her father’s status for her own protection, making Kairus click his tongue in annoyance.

“I’m going to shower. I’ll tell you my decision after that, so wait.”

A decision, huh. Kairus paused for a moment before letting out an “Ah.”

He had said he’d teach her Swift Blade if she wanted it. Well, it didn’t matter.

She had talent.

If someone with talent desired Featherwing’s swordsmanship, then Kairus, as a Featherwing, would simply teach it.