Chapter 41 – The Lawless City (2)

Indeterminate Polyhedron.

It had an odd name, but it was what Heretia was looking for. The item in question was a dark purple gem that was disproportionately carved and gave off an ominous vibe just by looking at it. There were even rumors that said the owners of the gem were all cursed after possessing it.

“The most well-known owner of the gem was Bishop Rietto. He acquired the gem, then he went insane. The next one to possess the gem was the owner of the Tantil colosseum, but he burned to death soon after selling off the gem. I heard the gem has now made its way over to Earl Henborn in Hiveden now,“ Heretia whispered.

“There is even a saying that the very first owner of the gem was His Majesty the Emperor himself. Apparently, His Majesty was possessed by the gem after he found it during the war against the northern clique, which is why he did not see the signs of the Six Apostates' betrayal.”

“Well, that’s an interesting rumor.”

Juan had never heard of the gem before, but if it was such a precious artifact, there would be no way he hadn’t been aware. Juan guessed that the gem must have a short history.

“Why are you looking for such a horrifying gem?”

“I wouldn’t be looking for it if it was just any ordinary gem. But that gem has a strange ability.”

“A strange ability?”

“It absorbs dark energy. It’s not an ability for normal people like you to be interested in. But it’s worth coveting when it comes to the fanatic followers of His Majesty; they believe that they are surrounded by danger and darkness ever since His Majesty’s holy body was enshrined. Although I feel like what they are thinking inside their head is much darker and twisted.”

Just like Heretia said, Juan was not interested. He might have been somewhat interested if the gem contained power inside, but it was useless to him if it only absorbed energy.

“Why do you need me to get that gem in your possession?” Juan asked.

“You are a good-looking black-haired boy.”

“...Okay, and how does that help?”

“Because of the current owner of the gem who I mentioned before, Earl Henborn. Stop frowning; it’s not as weird as you think. Earl Henborn and his family are the extravagant and profligate kind. They hold a banquet almost every week, and I have to approach them through that banquet so as to avoid their suspicion since I have no ties with them.”

“So?”

“It just so happens to be that black-haired boys are popular among the nobles of the capital these days.”

“...”

“Their scarcity due to them being from beyond the border where His Majesty’s blessings don’t reach, as well as the glory earned from taming the black-haired people famous for their violence, as well as a few other reasons make them popular among the nobles of the capital. Black-haired people are countless times more valuable than tamed lions or black panthers. And so, I was planning to bring a black-haired boy to the banquet, but they were so hard to find that I was about to give up on it. I was even thinking of hiring a good-looking boy and dyeing his hair black since it wouldn’t be too dangerous anyway.”

“It won’t be dangerous?” Juan asked in suspicion.

“Some crazy nobles might try to make you fight their black panther, but I can just turn them down. Even if you end up having to fight, I don’t think I need to be worried after seeing what you did to that huge man,” Heretia shrugged.

Heretia was basically asking Juan to attend the banquet as her pet.

“Do you really expect me to consider your request?” Juan questioned, dumbfounded.

“I think it’s a pretty good trade for the information on the Order of Huginn if you know how they are treated within the empire. Or is it because of your pride? Don’t you think you’re putting your pride too high?”

“I get to decide where I put my pride. I think we are done here.”

“Wait,” Heretia stopped Juan in haste just as he was about to turn around and leave.

“You can tell me if there’s anything else you want. If money is the issue, I can provide as much as you need.”

“Why don’t you just find a suitable kid and dye his hair black?”

“No, I feel like it has to be you. After talking with you so far, I can tell. You grew up in the capital, not beyond the border, didn’t you?”

Juan raised his eyes, and Heretia nodded as if she knew she was right.

“You’re not the only one who knows how to analyze people. I thought you talk the way you do because you weren’t educated, but I was wrong. You are just plain arrogant. You speak in a manner befitting of someone from the capital with no dialect and have a good vocabulary. I can also tell you’ve learned proper swordsmanship from the way you walk. I’m sure you belong to some powerful family from the capital. Maybe an illegitimate child of a nobleman or something?” Heretia spat out her words, but then shook her head. “No, you don’t need to tell me who you are. What’s important is that you are in that league; good enough to not embarrass me. I need you, so help me. That means the Helwin family will owe you a debt.”

“My lady!” The old man tried to restrain Heretia, but she simply raised her hand to shut him up.

“The Helwin family?” Juan asked, breaking the silence.

𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

“Let me introduce myself again. I’m Heretia Helwin. You ought to know my last name anyway if you were to join me. I promise that my family will support you as much as we can if you join my plan.”

Juan stared at Heretia’s face for a while.

Heretia felt a little pressured from Juan’s eyes thoroughly studying her, but she didn’t look away.

Meanwhile, the old man and the young man looked at Juan with an anxious expression.

Juan noticed the old man was tightly grasping his sword to the point his hand got sweaty. While wondering his reason for showing such hostility, Juan noticed that he was also grasping his short sword, with the bloodthirsty spirit inside ready to burst out at any time.

However, externally, he was simply standing with his hand placed on his short sword. The old man seemed to be the only person who read Juan’s bloodthirsty spirit.

‘

To kill him, or not to kill him.

’

Juan took quite a long time staring at Heretia before finally opening his mouth.

“...It must be a family tradition to be rude and stubborn,” Juan muttered.

“What?”

“Fine, I’ll join. I owe a debt to the Helwin family anyway.”

***

Juan was invited to the tavern where Heretia was staying. It wasn’t big, but it was quite clean and cozy, unlike the city’s atmosphere.

As Heretia booked a room for him, she told him that she would cover all expenses and asked him to stay inside the tavern rather than wandering around the city.

“It’ll be a problem if other nobles see you on the street and get greedy over you,” Heretia said just before she left Juan’s room.

The room was average-sized, which was a little big for Juan to use by himself. Juan felt strange sleeping on a comfortable bed as he had gotten used to sleeping on straw beds among the fleas or on a bare floor ever since he started his journey.

‘

The Helwin family, huh?’

Grand Duke Harmon, who was delegated to administer the internal affairs of the empire back when Juan was the emperor, also belonged to the Helwin family. To be more precise, he was an illegitimate child of the Helwin family and had been wandering around the plains after being shunned by his family. The emperor acknowledged his talent and entrusted him with the task of administering internal affairs. Although he wasn’t popular among his colleagues due to his aggressive character and language, his political power in being able to dominate the local powerful families, business acumen in developing a framework for law and economy, as well as diplomatic power to connect the scattered people were outstanding.

The emperor had once complimented him for having the best talent among his colleagues, but now he was now one of the Six Apostates who took lead in the assassination of the emperor. Juan still had a hard time accepting it.

He couldn’t believe that any one of the six people who were known to have betrayed him did what they had done; he even felt as if Gerard Gain stabbing him was either a dream or hallucination.

Juan contemplated whether he should kill Heretia or not.

The fact that Juan owed a debt to the Helwin family made his decision-making more difficult—well he specifically owed a debt to Harmon.

‘I don’t know what to do.

’

Juan decided to accept Heretia’s offer for now. If Juan wanted to get revenge, it wouldn’t just simply end with a pool of blood. Juan planned to further think about it while accompanying Heretia; he might be able to find out Harmon’s reasons for betraying him. Furthermore, Juan was quite curious to know how the Helwin family got away with betraying the emperor.

Juan examined mana condensed within his body while lying on the bed. The mana he collected through the gray cloak, Talter’s mana, and Juan’s own mana weren’t fusing together. While mana separated like this was useful on its own, it made it difficult for Juan to demonstrate his natural power. But on the other hand, Juan felt that it might be better to leave it as it is, since the mana ought to be in the right place.

There were side effects, such as the time Tatler’s mana was exploited, but Juan thought it might come in handy one day. Juan decided to put some effort into trying to integrate all his mana into one.

As Juan had lots of time, he decided to enjoy the break he was given for two days.

***

Sina was swinging her sword on the Laus Mountain’s north main road. The sweat on her forehead scattered across the ground. She hadn’t been practicing her swordsmanship for too long, but her breathing was rough and her steps were heavy. Sina soon stumbled and toppled down with her sword stuck on the ground.

“...That’s impressive.”

Sina turned to the voice she heard from behind. There stood Ethan Etil, the Captain of the Order of the White Crow, as he watched her while stroking his chin. Sina quickly saluted him. Although Ethan wasn’t her superior, it was a way of showing respect to one’s seniors in swordsmanship.

“Do you normally swing swords with your left hand? Baltic Sword isn’t really suitable for left-handed people.”

“I am right-handed, Sir,” Sina answered as she lifted up her right arm that was filled with scars from being pierced and stabbed wildly. Her arm was still broken with a splint applied to it.

After looking at the traces of stitches and cauterization, Ethan realized she could no longer use her right hand.

“Pardon my rudeness. How long has it been since you started practicing your swordsmanship with your left hand?”

“...Ever since my right hand got injured, Sir.”

“That means it’s only been around two weeks, hasn’t it? Huh, that’s pretty impressive. Although it seems a little off from Baltic Sword, you seem the best out of the left-handed knights I know. “

Sina agreed by nodding in silence. She had also noticed that the way she handled her sword was far from the standard Baltic Sword. But she was automatically drawn to move the sword with her left hand, unlike when she used the Baltic Sword. It was just like how she swung her sword back in the chaos in the fog.

“It’s foundation comes from Baltic Sword, but it’s a little more sharp and violent. It looks similar to what the mercenaries call hands-on swordsmanship. It’s almost the best of them all.”

“Thank you, Sir.”

Sina considered his compliment as hollow words to comfort her for the injury on her right hand. Sina felt that she would never be able to regain her skills.

“Speaking of, I want to briefly test your skills. Kamil!”

As Ethan called out her name, Kamil stepped out from standing behind him.

“Would you mind lightly sparring with Sina? I want to see how she fights with humans.”

Both Kamil and Sina were baffled at Ethan’s suggestion.

“Captain. I don’t want to spar with a patient. If this is a joke, it’s enough,” Kamil protested.

“I’m not joking, I am genuinely curious. Hmm, let’s see. Why don’t you take off your armor and use wooden swords? We can’t do much about His Majesty’s Grace within your body but it shouldn’t matter too much.”

Despite Kamil’s hesitation, Ethan gave them both a wooden sword. Only then did Kamil and Sina realize he was serious.

Kamil took off her armor as she had no choice. Wearing just a shirt and shorts, she stood in front of Sina with an apologetic expression, while Sina was confused.

‘Is he serious? Is he actually asking an injured person to fight a Templar?’