Chapter 50 – The Eve of War (1)

“You still haven’t left. I was worried that you would’ve long since run away by now,” Juan said sarcastically.

“Well, it’s best to stay put in chaotic times,” Heretia replied.

Juan went to find Heretia right after he finished meeting up with Ras.

Hiveden was still very chaotic due to the news that the Lord had died from having a heart attack upon hearing that his precious item got stolen. Furthermore, Hiveden became even more rowdy as the Order of the White Crow searched for the culprit of the theft.

In the midst of such chaos, Heretia went back to the tavern in Hiveden where she had previously stayed. It was unknown whether she had someone credible behind her to protect her, but her confident attitude was unlike that of someone who had met the Captain of the Order of the White Crow just the day before.

“What happened to the Indeterminate Polyhedron?” Heretia got straight to the point.

“I can’t give it to you yet,” Juan said as he reached out his empty hand.

Juan had considered getting the Indeterminate Polyhedron for Heretia before he met Ras, but this was not an option anymore now that he knew Ras’ life depended on it.

“But you promised. I was supposed to get the Indeterminate Polyhedron and you were supposed to get information about the Order of Huginn,” Heretia bit her lips and complained.

“Yes, but the Order of Huginn found us first. At that point, our deal became meaningless. Here, why don’t we think about it this way? You obtained the Indeterminate Polyhedron through your plan, and faithfully informed me about the Order of Huginn. However, the Order of Huginn stole the Indeterminate Polyhedron from you—don’t you think it was bound to happen in the future anyway?”

Heretia remained silent as if she couldn’t think of anything to say back at Juan, and bit her lips.

“Besides, the Order of Huginn are in desperate need of the Indeterminate Polyhedron. And I’m not just saying that they will be the only ones in trouble without it—the whole empire will be in chaos. Also, I have personal reasons which make it hard to hand it over to you,” Juan continued.

“Shit. Indeterminate Polyhedron had only been an item that passed through the hands of the wealthy gangs or the collectors with bad taste for the past several years. Why in the world would people start looking for it now…”

“Sometimes things like this happen. How had you been planning to use it?”

“Why does that matter to you? Anyway, I need the Indeterminate Polyhedron. All my efforts could be wasted without it, and I might have to delay my plan for at least another ten years,” Heretia put her hands on the temple of her head as she sat on the couch.

Heretia knew that sometimes some things were inevitable, and she would have no choice but to compromise. She did not want the Order of Huginn to be at risk, nor did she have the strength to steal the Indeterminate Polyhedron from them.

The only option left for Heretia was to give up.

“Are you trying to gift it to someone similar to how Earl Henborn had been planning to gift it to the Bishop? Then how about this? It’s a short sword that once belonged to Talter, the god of madness.”

Juan drew a short sword from his waist and placed it on the table.

Heretia’s eyes widened at the sight of the sword that had its hilt decorated extravagantly with silver. Heretia was about to reach for the sword without realizing, then stopped.

“...Is this authentic?”

“Why would I carry around a fake sword?”

“I guess it doesn’t matter anyway. It might be a valuable sword, but nothing can replace the Indeterminate Polyhedron…” Heretia retracted her hand with a wistful expression.

Although Heretia was tempted when she saw such precious treasure in front of her, it wasn’t something she needed. Besides, Juan wasn’t armed with any other weapons besides Talter’s short sword. Heretia didn’t want to take away his only weapon.

“Then what about this? It’s a Grunbalde’s gray cloak. If you have enough mana, you can control the fog and create demonic slaves if you put in the effort to train yourself.”

Juan took off the cape on his shoulders and flung it across the table. The white fog it released covered the top of the table in the form of a curtain as if it was melting.

The expressions on the faces of Heretia’s young guard and old guard changed in an instant upon seeing such a sight—it was something they had never seen before. The cloak was in the form of gas rather than a solid. It was a precious item that couldn’t be found anywhere else, not to mention its special abilities.

“Where did you even find such a thing…” Heretia asked with a stunned look as she realized the worth of Juan’s cloak.

The gray cloak was immeasurably more valuable compared to the Talter’s short sword; the cloak could be used for military purposes while the short sword was simply a personal weapon. The gray cloak ought to prove its worth during war.

However, Heretia shook her head in rejection.

“Uh… Umm… Juan, I’m turning down your items not because I don’t like them. I know that I don’t deserve to get any of these valuables from you. In fact, if I really needed any of these items, I would’ve shamefully accepted them, but that’s not the case.”

The two guards who stood beside Heretia were very much saddened by her refusal of Juan’s offer.

“I prefer to solve my issues politically while shedding as little blood as possible. Considering that, I don’t need either of these two items.”

“But you don’t completely avoid shedding blood, right?”

“It would be nice to completely avoid bloodshed, but sometimes you need to do what you need to do. Anyway, do you have any other items that could help me out politically?”

Juan hesitated, but soon grabbed out another item from his pocket—it was the ring he had received from Ras last night.

Heretia opened the small box Juan handed over with a curious look. When she saw what was inside the box, she was dumbfounded, and then soon kicked the table to get up.

“Juan! This is?!”

“Is that good enough for you?”

“Good enough? Did you really just say good enough?! Do you even realize what it is that you just handed over to me? This is…!”

The moment Heretia was about to continue to say ‘the seal of the emperor,’ Juan hastily placed his hand over her mouth. Heretia blinked her wide open eyes as she soon realized that she had almost made a terrible mistake. Although she only had reliable people around her, this ring could put her in danger just having come into possession of it.

Heretia clenched the box with both of her hands drenched in a cold sweat.

Juan reached out to close the box, and his action showed just how valuable and dangerous the ring was. Juan’s attitude confirmed the ring’s authenticity.

“It seems like you know what this is. You’ve been well taught.”

“Well, it’s something that I see everyday. Though of course, what I see is only a fake…” Heretia muttered as she wiped off the sweat on her forehead. Unlike the cold sweat dripping out due anxiety like the first time, it was sweat dripping out of excitement. “I-is it really okay to give this to me?”

“Yes, as long as you make good use of it in your plan.”

“Good use? With this, I can shorten the time required to execute my plan from three years to one year, or maybe even half a year,” Heretia looked at Juan with a blissful expression, but then soon became confused.

“Why are you giving such a valuable item to me? I had thought I would have no choice but to accept that this journey was for naught. Of course, I do really need this item, but…”

“It doesn’t have any value to me right now. Rather, the son I reunited with is much more important.”

“Son?”

Juan bitterly smiled. It was a hard decision for Juan to hand over the ring that Ras had cherished and protected for decades. However, Juan couldn’t treat Harmon’s descendent poorly in a situation where he actually might not have been a traitor.

But more than anything, the ring was useless for him at the moment. Juan didn’t think the seal could prove the fact he was the emperor, nor did he think it would grant him any real authority like Harmon said.

Meanwhile, Heretia was busy thinking of what she could do with the seal. She didn’t have to think hard, since she already had many options in her head. Of course, she couldn’t pretend to be His Majesty with the seal, but the seal ought to play its part in a different situation.

Heretia calculated the worth of the seal, and nodded her head seriously.

“Juan, no matter how hard I think about it, this is unfair.”

“I thought you said it was good enough earlier?”

“No, I mean it’s unfair for you. I am unworthy of this item, and this is beyond my control. Metaphorically speaking, it's like you just bought an entire bakery for me when I just wanted to eat one piece of bread. I have to leave right away, so I won’t be able to repay you right now. But if you ever need the help of the Helwin family, I swear to help you with all my power—think of it as me paying you back for the change.”

***

Sina Solvane tried to ignore the tingling sensation near her eyelids. However, she couldn’t help her body flinching whenever she saw the needle moving in front of her eyes.

Eventually, the task was finished, and only then did Sina let out a sigh of relief and stood up.

“It’s all done. It’s a relief that it ended well.”

The area around Sina’s left eye now had a black tattoo. The scars left behind due to being pierced by an arrow and then the wound being cauterized by Juan were covered with the tattoo and were no longer visible.

Sina didn’t mind the scars, but she had no choice but to get the tattoo after Kamil’s strong recommendation.

“Would you like to see the mirror?”

“Ah…sure.”

Sina picked up the mirror and looked at her own reflection. As Kamil had already told her, the rune for ‘the emperor’s watchdog’ was clearly engraved in black ink.

Sina felt a little strange, and wondered if it was a good decision to tattoo the rune that Juan had engraved on her eye.

Nevertheless, the news about Sina’s tattoo had spread amongst the Templars. It seemed that the tattoo was quite likable to them, and even to Bishop Rietto.

“Long t-long time no see, Sina Solvane.”

Sina was surprised to see Bishop Rietto at the training ground all of a sudden.

Although one could still witness strange sights such as him frowning in a bizarre fashion or abruptly tilting his head, he seemed to be much more stable than the time Sina had seen him at her inquisitorial trial.

“You seem surprised. I’m on my way to Hiveden for some business. I stopped by to deliver His Holiness’ words to Ethan Etil. But it looks like he isn’t here at the moment.”

“Bishop Rietto, I apologize for not atoning enough.”

“I-it’s okay. I was told the Order of the Blue Rose suffered in your stead.”

Sina once again felt heartbroken as faces of Ossrey and the other knights crossed her mind.

“It was an unnecessary sacrifice resulting from my rash judgment. I’d have nothing to say even if you decided to give me the punishment you had been pushing off.”

Instead of responding to Sina, Bishop Rietto reached his hand toward Sina who was kneeling down.

Sina flinched upon seeing Bishop Rietto’s hand reaching for her left eye, but she remained still.

Bishop Rietto put on a smile as he traced the scalded scar with his hand.

“The scars left behind by your enemy are the highest level of praise. If His Majesty has given you such an ordeal, it surely means that you have established yourself as an axis in His Majesty’s grand plan.”

Sina remained silent. She could still hear Juan’s voice that claimed himself to be the emperor in her ears. However, she couldn’t figure out the reason behind why he had engraved the mark ‘the emperor’s watchdog,’ on her face.

“I he-heard that you were critically injured in the battle and that you wouldn’t be able to use your right hand to hold the sword anymore.”

“That’s correct, sir.”

“I will do my utmost to heal you with the Grace that I’ve been bestowed by His Majesty. You have earned the right. I believe the reason for your survival against the herald of darkness is because His Majesty’s will to continue fighting lies within you. With his Grace, you might be able to use your right arm again.”

Sina’s eyes widened in surprise. Although the Bishop’s Grace was powerful enough to fix disabled legs to walk again, they rarely ever used their Grace—it was because the power given by His Majesty was no different than his asset, and therefore it would be considered a crime to carelessly use his power. Sina thought that Bishop Rietto was simply saying this out of kindness.

But at that moment, Rietto lifted Sina’s right arm. A faint flame rose from Rietto’s hand and began to spread to Sina’s right arm.

Sina was surprised, but the flame was not as hot as she imagined. The warm flame covered Sina’s scar, and its energy penetrated under her skin. Sina flinched as she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her arm and held back her groans.

“It’s the pain from new skin growing, broken bones reconnecting, and the broken nerves regenerating. It’s a pain for healing, so you must bear it,” Rietto said.

Sina felt as if all the pain she could ever feel was striking her paralyzed arm. Sina gasped in pain for a long time and even almost fainted, but was finally released when the healing process was over. Sina’s body was drenched in sweat.

Sina inadvertently looked at her right hand as she placed it on the ground. Although her sensations were still dull and it couldn’t move properly, she could feel her fingers faintly moving as she wanted.

“Th-this is only the beginning. You would have to get the same treatment at least five more times…” Rietto said.

Her arm definitely felt much better compared to the past when it used to feel like a club hanging from her shoulder.

Meanwhile, Rietto’s expression was quite strange. He stared at his hand with a curious look on his face.

“Is there something wrong, sir?”

“Th-this is quite strange. Sina, have you been healed by someone bestowed with His Majesty’s Grace other than me in the past?”

“No, sir,” Sina said as she shook her head.

Juan’s first aid was also considered a healing treatment, but what Rietto meant was healing treatment through Grace. Rietto tilted his head in curiosity and continued.

“I felt His Majesty’s power from you. It would take a long time, but the Grace inside your body will eventually heal your arm completely. Perhaps His Majesty has recognized your bravery and his power already lies with you.”