Black Chain

Chapter 11

Tyrell McQueen was the fifth son of King Soruk.

In this land, tigers ruled the throne. When they had cubs, the tigers fought among themselves to decide who would inherit the throne. It wasn’t always the eldest son who became king. As far as Hasollan knew, Tyrell McQueen was likely to become the next king of Soruk in a few years. But for now, he was just an envoy attending a funeral.

“An excellent choice! Everything this customer has purchased is among the finest jewels our department store offers.”

The chief jeweler of Temisi Department Store was thrilled. He was responsible for selecting and purchasing the finest jewelry for the store and was also its top salesman. A customer had just saved his reputation from potential damage, so how could he not be delighted?

“But why return such fine items?”

Ignoring the chief jeweler, Tyrell McQueen turned to Hasollan. A poorly dressed woman had come to return some extremely valuable jewels, yet he didn’t seem particularly suspicious.

“They have some interesting attachments.”

Being a tiger himself, he easily noticed the assassins lingering around her.

“Interesting?”

Hasollan frowned at the word. Assassins? Interesting? Was this a joke? She despised people who made light of serious matters—people like Akelans. He always acted as if nothing truly mattered, discussing politics with an air of boredom and indifference.

“So you know they’re there. Want some help?”

Tyrell asked in a gruff voice.

“No need.”

Hasollan knew she must look strange—staying calm even with assassins following her. It was certainly unusual.

“At least let me accompany you while you’re inside the building.”

Did the future king of Soruk care about such things? Perhaps everyone had both a light and a dark side.

“I’ll be fine.”

“Are you leaving?”

Tyrell’s voice was low. Hasollan did seem ready to leave.

“Traveling alone won’t be easy.”

Hasollan didn’t respond.

“Impel is a rough city, and beyond it, things are even worse.”

“My life has been rough enough already.”

Hasollan replied casually. She looked at Tyrell with some pity. If he had lived in a different time, perhaps he could have been a great king. But as someone from the Lupel Empire, she couldn’t afford sympathy. Every year, reports came in about the bandits from the north that the Soruk king allowed to run wild.

“Sell the jewels to me instead. I’ll pay extra.”

The rough-looking man seemed to pity this tired woman. Hasollan felt a surge of anger—how dare he pity her? She was the Grand Duchess of Solaris, the only Imperial Duke of the Lupel Empire. And yet, here she was, being looked down upon.

“The price and quality are guaranteed here, right?”

The chief jeweler eagerly nodded.

“Yes! These are genuine, high-quality jewels that I sold!”

With no record of the refund, this was a huge win for him. In the cutthroat world of the department store, employees were fired regularly. He had survived for years and wouldn’t let anything stain his career.

“How much?”

The jeweler brought out the records, showing the original price. Without hesitation, Tyrell McQueen added more money. One of his guards handed over a heavy pouch of gold coins to Hasollan, and she pushed the jewels toward them.

“Thank you.”

Pride was useless when survival was at stake. She needed money, and the more, the better. At this moment, she had nothing—there was no room for pride.

“Be careful carrying that. A woman with money is always a target.”

“I know.”

She didn’t bother adding unnecessary reassurances. Seeing that her bodyguard secured the jewels, Tyrell put his hands behind his back and turned to leave.

“I am Tyrell McQueen, fifth son of King Henantel of Soruk.”

He stared at the much smaller woman before him. Hasollan sighed. She had no choice but to introduce herself.

“I am Hasollan Odair.”

There was no point in using a fake name. She was too well-known, and people would recognize her anyway. As someone who had once been considered Akelans’ potential wife, she would be noticed wherever she went. Besides, now that she had left Akelans, building a connection with Soruk’s future king wasn’t a bad idea.

“I’ll remember your name and face. If you ever need help or have nowhere to go, find me.”

Was this the kind of person he was? Hasollan was surprised by his unexpected kindness.

“Thank you.”

For now, he was the only one offering help. She didn’t know if she’d go to Soruk, but with assassins following her, she had no choice but to leave Lupel.

“I hope we meet again safely.”

Tyrell, who had started to leave, turned back and looked at her.

“You’re quite kind.”

“Sometimes. Safe travels.”

And with that, Hasollan parted ways with Tyrell McQueen at the Temisi Department Store.

The rest of the story shifts to the Lupel Empire, where political tensions surround the coronation of the new emperor, Usman. The key conflict is over the timing of Akelans’ oath of loyalty—should he swear allegiance before or after the coronation? The debate is driven by Count Bessa Wiffred, who wants to humiliate Akelans. However, Akelans sees through the scheme and doesn’t care much—his mind is occupied with thoughts of Hasollan.

Meanwhile, Hasollan escapes Impel with assassins trailing her. She notices that they are subtly steering her north toward Roetingen. This suggests that Count Bessa Wiffred wants her dead but doesn’t want the blame. Hasollan, however, is far from naive. She sees through his tactics and refuses to fall into his trap.

“You little brat, you think you can get rid of me that easily?”

She had lived through this before. She knew what would happen. And she wasn’t about to let history repeat itself.