Those Who Live Without the Law

Chapter 58

The Crimson Lady (2)

Dana Watson.

It was hard to believe she was someone who breathed the same air and ate food under the same sky as everyone else.

“So, you're saying you’re going to teach our little cutie.”

“Well, it just sort of happened…”

The moment I tried to continue speaking, Dana Watson's hand moved.

No—more like a mountain moved.

A mountain was pushing toward my face.

A dire sense of crisis shrank my pupils. Clutching the hilt of the Stained Glass, I desperately ramped up my output.

‘This isn’t an attack I can block.’

Defending was not even an option. I had to evade before the situation became irreversible.

From that one slowly but steadily approaching fist, I saw myself being crushed in dozens of ways.

The moment I made a mistake, one of those countless deaths I glimpsed would become reality and sweep through me.

…

There wasn’t time to dwell on it. Among the choices available to me now, I chose the one with the highest chance of survival.

I had to step forward with my left foot. Only by overcoming my fear and moving toward that terrible fist could I hope to survive, even a little.

The moment I moved my foot, the fist that had been stretching toward me came to a halt.

The crushing pressure that had weighed down on me like a mountain, and the vivid forms of death that had almost taken shape before me, melted away like a mirage.

“Barely made the cut.”

A monster in human form approached me. Then she casually placed her left hand on my shoulder.

“Not bad. You’re at least qualified to say you’re teaching someone else.”

The oppressive force from moments ago was gone. Dana Watson had already assessed my ability. There was no reason to intimidate me any further.

After completing her evaluation, Dana Watson tossed me two keys.

“One is for the room you’ll be staying in.”

Since Irena was part of the Scarlet Leaf Order, Dana Watson had provided lodging at her garrison.

Naturally, since I knew Irena and was now acting as a mentor, I was also granted a room there.

“…What about the other one?”

In response to my question, she winked and replied.

“My room. If you're up for it, come by tonight.”

No matter how attractive the exterior, the contents were still a monster. I barely suppressed the instinct to recoil and forced a smile.

“Would someone like me dare to enjoy such an honor?”

“Huh? As long as the night servant is sturdy and good-looking, what else do you need? You need qualifications for that? Or is it small? If so, forget I said anything.”

She said it so bluntly that I had no idea how to respond anymore.

“Just don’t even think about wandering around carelessly.”

Dana Watson’s words piqued my interest.

“Is something going on?”

At my question, Dana Watson nodded.

“A few hours ago, we got an anonymous tip. Apparently, someone is targeting the storage vault at the Rezantin Royal Museum.”

As soon as I heard her words, it felt like ice was flooding into my head.

“They must be out of their mind. To target the Rezantin Royal Museum, guarded by the captain of the Scarlet Leaf Order…”

But I managed to pull off an expression of disbelief without showing any panic on the surface.

“Must mean they think I’m just some weak piece of shit. Whoever the bastard is, once I catch them, I’ll blast their skull out past the atmosphere and turn them into a star in the sky.”

I imagined the horrifying sight of my own head tearing off, piercing through the stratosphere and drifting through space.

“Anyway, welcome to Rezantin City. But until the situation settles down, you two will have to stay put.”

Dana Watson’s words earned a nod from both me and Irena.

Only then did I start to get a sense of how this whole situation had come together.

‘So that’s it. The Rose Garden wants me dead.’

Just a few hours before I arrived, Dana Watson had been contacted by an unknown informant.

‘If they’d contacted her even a little earlier, I might never have come to Rezantin City.’

That’s why they timed it like this. The moment I arrived, the trap would spring shut.

But even so, I couldn’t leave. If I suddenly tried to turn back now, it would raise suspicion.

For now, thanks to my connection with Irena, I had managed to avoid any real identity check.

But if Dana Watson became even slightly suspicious, she would immediately look into my background.

‘This isn’t good.’

I quickly ran through ideas in my head while sneaking a glance at Irena’s face.

If I used Irena, a squire of the Scarlet Leaf Order, wisely, I might just manage to escape the city alive.

But…

‘The timing right now is... disturbingly perfect.’

The Rezantin Royal Museum was currently preparing to bring out some of the items stored in the vaults for the first time in years.

They weren’t going to display all the masterpiece battle gear kept in storage, but even this partial unveiling was a rare event.

“Things are already hectic with the preparations for the international expo.”

That was something we’d talked about back at the Kellogg mansion. The glass conservatory in the Kellogg estate garden was built in the same style as the main building of the upcoming expo.

The expo wasn’t just an event to promote international cultural exchange. It was also a warning to other nations—don’t get any ideas, because this is how powerful we are.

‘They’ll probably prepare a few usable masterpiece battle gears.’

The number of masterpiece battle gears a nation possesses is directly tied to its military strength.

And this time, the host of the international expo was the Valorn Empire. There was no way they’d want to be underestimated at an international event held on their own soil.

‘Right now is the peak time when the most people are moving in and out of the vault.’

Experts from all kinds of fields were examining the items inside the vault, appraising their value, and deciding whether or not to include them in the expo display.

Unless it was during a time like this, entering the vault was incredibly difficult.

It would take several more years before the next expo would be held and even then, the host wouldn’t be the Empire.

‘If not now, there won’t be another chance. I know that, but…’

Everything was working in my favor—everything except for one thing: a monster named Dana Watson was standing guard at the Royal Museum like its gatekeeper, and that shattered everything.

“Ha.”

After arriving at the Rezantin garrison and unpacking in the provided lodging, I sat on the bed, let out a quiet sigh, and stirred instant coffee into hot water.

The dark liquid swirling in the cup was trembling—because my hand was trembling.

“She’s terrifying as hell.”

Someone like Dana Watson wasn’t an opponent I could handle right now. She possessed a battle gear many times more powerful than Stained Glass…

No, even if I were holding the Veil of Plumed Mist at this very moment, I’d still suffer an overwhelming defeat. This wasn’t a matter of equipment—it was a matter of skill.

I couldn’t leave a single scratch on Dana Watson’s skin.

“So what, you’re not going to do it?”

I muttered quietly at the wall, then gave a bitter laugh.

“Shit.”

Not doing it wasn’t an option. The reason was simple. This entire situation was something the Rose Garden had thrown me into.

‘They fed me false information about the Cloud Seizing Art manual to provoke me, waited for me to arrive, then leaked the tip that the Rezantin Museum would be targeted.’

The Rose Garden, Representative Cecilia—they wanted me dead in Rezantin City.

‘If I try to run away, I’ll just end up dying at Cecilia’s hands instead of Dana Watson’s.’

Only the executioner would change—the outcome would not. But there was still hope.

‘They didn’t spill everything.’

It’s exactly the kind of move the Rose Garden would make.

[Kairus is pretending to accompany Irena, a squire of the Scarlet Leaf Order, while planning to raid the Rezantin Royal Museum.]

A single sentence would be enough to report it cleanly. But Cecilia—the Rose Garden—didn’t play an absolute death card for me.

They left me an out. Why?

…Honestly, the reason didn’t even matter.

‘I need something to bargain with.’

I had to pull something out of the Rezantin Royal Museum—something valuable enough that the Rose Garden would consider retracting my death sentence.

I couldn’t let fear cloud my judgment and lead to a wrong decision.

Fleeing from Rezantin City would be like slowly walking into the gaping maw of death.

― So that’s how it is. I understand. I’m sorry, but I won’t help you any further.

As soon as I reached out and explained the situation, Spring Parsley made it clear that he would no longer cooperate.

“…I understand.”

It was only natural. Maybe not for me, but Spring Parsley might still be shown some leniency if he acted fast. I was the one who stirred things up and passed along false information.

If it had been Lukas’s Children we were dealing with, it would’ve been over already. But the Rose Garden, at least, adhered to the principle of only punishing the ones truly responsible.

In this case, the one who needed to die was me. As long as Spring Parsley stopped cooperating, the Rose Garden wouldn’t come after him.

― It’s been a pleasure working with you. And thanks for contacting me.

The truth was, I contacted Spring Parsley fully expecting him to cut ties. That’s why he thanked me.

“No problem. We all have to live, don’t we? Take care.”

It wasn’t even betrayal. It’s not like we were close enough to die on the same day together.

That was the end of my conversation with Spring Parsley. There was no point in saying anything more—nothing good would come of it for him.

Still, I had gathered a decent amount of intel through him before the Rose Garden turned openly hostile.

‘From now on, I’ll have to carve out a survival route on my own.’

It wasn’t like I had absolutely nothing to work with. At the very least, Dana Watson didn’t know the identity of the person targeting the Rezantin Royal Museum.

And anyway, I still had the card called Irena, and a good deal of information I’d managed to collect with Spring Parsley’s help before he pulled out.

“The total site is 40,000 pyeong, with 10,500 pyeong of that being developed buildings.”

I didn’t know the exact number of vaults. But based on the information I had, there were definitely up to Vault No. 5.

There was one main building and three annexes. The only way to access the vaults was through the main building—there was no alternative path.

“In addition to the knight captain…”

Three hundred fifty Imperial soldiers were stationed specifically for museum security and immediate response.

On top of that, they were linked to nearby Imperial garrisons via an inter-communication system. If an emergency occurred, reinforcements would arrive within thirty minutes.

‘In the event of a museum emergency, the commander would naturally be…’

The knight captain on duty. Also, if an intruder was detected while the museum was closed, blast barriers would immediately descend to block escape routes.

There was actually a simple way to avoid all the danger I was facing.

‘If I don’t get caught, it’s over.’

The problem with stealing is always getting caught. If I could get in and out without being discovered, there’d be no issue.

The hard part, of course, was doing that.

“Breaking in after the museum is closed? That’s just asking for trouble.”

They had explicitly warned not to go in. Going in when I’d been told not to would never end well.

I had to make my move while it was still open. Fortunately, there were still a few exploitable factors on my side.