The Terminally Ill Prince is the Mad Dog of the Underworld (Novel) - Chapter 2

Chapter 2. The Discarded Blade

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There was a good reason why I, of all people, became a righteous phantom thief in the middle of the night.

Simply put, I wasn’t being chased because I’d stolen anything in particular. Rather, I stole this jewel box while being chased anyway.

To understand how this came about, we need to go back a bit further in time.

* * *

After receiving Lord Daikin’s forgiveness through sheer nerve, I lived by the sword under him for a long time.

Then one day, I realized I had surpassed the Lord’s fighting ability. My talent was that extraordinary.

Nevertheless, I always respected him. Not because of any great loyalty or affection. It was simply because we undeniably owed our lives to the Lord.

‘Looking back.’

I was just following the words my grandfather had told me in my childhood, words that were like a spell.

Therefore, even when the Lord died one day during a conflict with another organization, we gladly extracted blood payment for him.

‘With this, the debt is paid, Daikin.’

But in the process, I got too much blood on my hands. I made too many enemies. I was no longer in a position to stay in my homeland.

After handing over the organization to those who had watched my back, I boarded a ship. It was bound for a distant foreign country across the sea.

“Farewell, Karzan. You’re a fine man. I’ll take good care of those who remain.”

“Thanks. Live well.”

Some fellows followed me on my smuggled journey to an island nation where I had no connections. They were the same ones who had followed me like brothers since our orphan days.

“You crazy b*st*rds. Why did you follow me all the way here?”

“We had no choice, did we? Where else could we go?”

It’s extremely difficult for someone who’s been in the underworld to leave it. And just as there’s no land where night doesn’t fall, there’s no country without shadows.

We had to dive into another country’s underworld once again.

…And so time passed once more.

Many winds of fate brushed past the sail that was me. I lived aimlessly, navigating the sea of life here and there. Looking back, where was I heading in life back then?

“By the way, Boss, aren’t you going to get married? I know quite a few women who fancy you…”

“Marriage at this age? Come on.”

“Hey, you’re still in your prime.”

I thought I couldn’t hold a child with blood-stained hands.

‘Thinking about it now, I didn’t need to be that extreme.’

I was being too pretentious.

How could I not have had a cherished relationship at some point? But I couldn’t accept her heart.

“Karzan, you’re a coward.”

Maybe that’s true.

I was just afraid. I believed having a family while living on the edge of a blade was greedy. I thought it was better to go alone if you’re walking on a bridge that might collapse someday.

“Damn, this is lonely as hell.”

The lonelier I became, the sharper a blade I became. At some point, I learned to endure that loneliness with dignity.

And so the genius blade wielder without formal training became a renowned master even in the kingdom.

“So you’re the famous Karzan. I’ve come with a good proposal.”

“And who might you be?”

“Ivan. You can call me Ivan.”

Eventually, my fame and skill were recognized, and I was hired as the blade of some great power holder. I wouldn’t have agreed normally, but I needed quick money.

‘The problem was that the employer was an even bigger figure than I thought.’

The real Duke who ruled his house from anonymity without taking the position of head, and the king of the underworld who ruled the kingdom’s night.

People called this man whose name wasn’t even known the Dark King. He was born a noble and achieved his ambition to rule both the light and dark sides.

Of course, I knew of his existence too.

But there were things I didn’t know.

How could I have known? That this country was in the palm of a single man, that even the king was nothing more than his puppet.

‘I should have kicked Ivan’s ass and told him to get lost back then.’

That nobles in power had close relationships with the underworld was a truth known even to three-year-olds, but the existence of a ‘godfather of the underworld and leader of nobles’ was an entirely different story.

“Karzan, try running to the ends of the earth!”

“That’s exactly what I’m planning to do!”

The coldness of spears and swords gleaming in the moonlight sent chills down my spine.

‘Ah, you sons of bitches.’

And I was someone who had been used and discarded by such an incredibly evil b*st*rd.

‘He probably planned to use me for dirty work and throw me away from the start.’

What exactly was this dirty work?

Let me explain it this way.

These days, territory wars between nobles are too burdensome. Since when was war a cheap business?

‘In short, recklessly raising armies isn’t cost-effective.’

Therefore, noble gentlemen developed methods of ‘destroying enemies and swallowing them when opportunity arises’ through hiring underworld bigwigs for assassination, kidnapping, investigation, threats, slander, framing, planting spies, and other such schemes.

How refined a method this was! There was no need to spend money raising forces deliberately. After all, wherever society exists, shadows must also emerge.

‘The slums untouched by nobles and officials, freemen, criminals, assassins, smugglers, mercenaries.’

These residents of the night expanded their business, spreading roots into every field where money and blood flowed.

Therefore, borrowing the power and human resources of underworld godfathers to reduce costs and handle matters quietly was truly an efficient business method.

‘In other words, it’s mutual benefit.’

The same applies from the underworld’s perspective. With nobles as reliable backing, they could expand their organization while receiving preferential treatment in various businesses and rights.

Thus, the cooperation between noble houses and the underworld became, in a way, the most ideal symbiotic relationship. Now they’re inseparable.

‘Still, this Dark King was truly an enormous piece of trash.’

Noble houses that were once his enemies would either be destroyed for treason, have their heirs assassinated, see their heads driven mad, be killed by their vassals, or fall victim to attacks from foreign tribes and pirates.

Meanwhile, those who competed with him for power in the underworld were either suppressed by the military or dissolved after incurring the wrath of the king and nobles.

‘The Dark King used both his light and shadow powers freely to destroy his enemies.’

How many lives must he have taken, how many conspiracies plotted, how many assassinations ordered? How many lives had he ruined? From the moment I learned the Dark King’s true nature, I harbored thoughts of killing him someday.

But I lacked the power. Instead, I ended up being backstabbed and chased like this.

‘How futile.’

While I hadn’t lived such an honorable life myself, I couldn’t simply die at the hands of such trash.

‘Who dares to stab me in the back.’

The moment I sensed the ominous atmosphere, I moved first.

Did I ambush him? No. Who would dare oppose the Dark King?

Defying him wouldn’t end with just one or two assassins coming after me.

‘The kingdom’s proud royal guard and knights would all mobilize to tear me limb from limb.’

His true power came from the very fact that he controlled state power itself from behind the black curtain.

So I disappeared in the night, and while at it, stole a treasure he cherished like his life, running for two straight days.

It wasn’t an impulsive act. I won’t deny I wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine. But I also planned to use it as hostage to buy time and negotiate if things went wrong.

But you see. Just as I could predict betrayal but not its timing or method, there was something I hadn’t anticipated even as the thief of this treasure.

‘I didn’t know it was this important.’

Who would have thought they’d pursue me this far? What could possibly be in this jewel box to cause such madness?

‘Is it your mother’s ashes? If so, I’m sorry.’

Seeing how it wouldn’t open no matter what I tried, it seemed to have powerful protection magic on it.

‘Life rarely goes as planned.’

Looking back, it was always like this. What I truly wanted slipped through my fingers like sand, while unwanted things stuck to my fate like glue. It was a sticky, disgusting life.

‘If I’d been a bit more cowardly and shameless, I’d have lived much better than now.’

I thought some losses were worth accepting. But now with death approaching, doubt and confusion tormented my heart.

‘Grandfather. Did I live a righteous life?’

Grandfather said not to be stingy with small kindnesses.

And grandfather also said there’s no need to live foolishly.

‘I was quite the fool.’

Though I was cleverer and craftier than most, I moved with my heart in the most crucial moments. In short, I ended up in this pitiful state chasing romance.

Remember this. Romance doesn’t put food on the table.

‘…But food eaten without romance doesn’t taste very good.’

There were far more people willing to die trying to save me these past two days than I’d thought. Since there were those who wouldn’t let me die alone, my life wasn’t entirely meaningless.

‘Foolish ones.’

For instance, last night there was someone waiting at the safe house, offering to die in my place so I could escape.

Of course, I knocked him out and dressed him in the pursuers’ clothes.

‘Just creating more troublesome work.’

How many others sacrificed themselves to send him here? Suddenly, regret rose unbearably to my throat.

‘Enough. Life is always about regret.’

I could physically feel that escaping their encirclement was impossible.

Still, it would be too pathetic to not even struggle on my way out.

“Let’s see what happens.”

I still had one final move left.