Chapter 279: You Are Like Sand (20)

"Then there's no point hesitating. Let's go to Erast tomorrow."

"Together, you mean?"

The old man smiled at me. The moment our eyes met, my mind grew hazy. A warmth spread through me. Comfort, reassurance, a certainty that everything would go well. I felt neither danger nor unease. It was as if decades of trust and unbreakable camaraderie tied us together.

"Do you dislike the idea?"

Of course not.

"No."

If anything, I was about to ask him myself. I had to see Rubia become lord with my own eyes. Hearing it in reports would be unsatisfying.

In this life, Rubia Ray seemed every bit the prepared ruler, proven by the loyal retainers she'd gathered and the influence she held after claiming her uncle's estate. I couldn't help but feel pride if she thrived under my hidden support.

Through the haze clouding my thoughts, a faint image of light flickered in my mind. Rubia. Slanted rays of cold light seeped through invisible cracks. My drifting consciousness paused for a heartbeat.

Is this really the right path...?

No. I was walking it for Rubia. That much was true. The thought soothed me again. The old man stepped outside. I followed, cloaked under the Blessing of Concealment.

They must have been waiting.

"High Priest!"

Black markings. This time, those who appeared bore small tattoos. Not on their throats, but as dots at the brow or around the eyes.

"A special outing, sir?"

These ones hadn't shown themselves last time. Perhaps they only responded outside the weekly excursions schedule. Where had I seen such markings before?

It came back to me, the farm with the worms. They weren't the same men, of course, but the resemblance was clear. Tattoos on places other than the neck. The hatchery flashed in my mind. Worms bred for war, or so I had heard.

Yet at the front against the Free Confederation, I'd never once seen a worm deployed. The only time I had was after killing the tower lords and arriving in the capital. The marquises' faces had swelled grotesquely—warping, transforming, like larvae mutating.

Not... ready... yet...

Those words. Did they mean the worms hadn't been mass-produced at that time? Or that the completed ones had been sent elsewhere, perhaps to Ember? I couldn't know. Not yet. Perhaps I would if I earned the high priest's trust. I trusted him, and trust was comforting.

"Yes." The old man nodded to the newcomers. "We are going south, to the city of Erast. A matter of arbitration in a title dispute. Prepare yourselves."

"Yes, High Priest."

"Erast... will you be supporting Kirk Ray's side?"

"The opposite."

The two subordinates didn't flinch or question him.

"In that case, you need not go yourself. His retainers are all ours. Order them to kill themselves, and if they refuse, simply execute them. It will be done cleanly." Biblio winked at me, waving a hand. "This requires a bit more care. Make the preparations."

"As you command."

They left quickly without further protest. We walked for another ten minutes. A carriage approached in the distance. Lavish, nearly rivaling the emperor's own, the kind I had seen in Gith-Za-Rai's assassination.

It was drawn by four horses. Two coachmen sat proudly in splendid uniforms, while ornate decorations gleamed on every side. However, I saw no real protection. No weapons, no armaments. Naturally, anyone foolish enough to attack it would regret ever being born.

I recalled the square the old man had once created. Bones spread across the ground, flesh swelling into grotesque mounds... There was a lesson in it. Rather than mere slaughter, it was construction, where nothing was wasted. An absolute dominion that surpassed fear itself.

The old man smiled benevolently as he boarded the carriage. I followed close behind. We passed Illien's statue and ascended the sloped road. The vast white square unfolded. By day, its unmarred marble reflected every step, dazzling the eye. Yet in the evening, the square bled red.

Sunset spilled across the stone from an unseen source, as if the very sky had sunk onto the plaza in grief. Through that empty red square, Biblio's carriage rolled on.

Clatter, clatter!

As we approached the great gates, hooves thundered behind us. I turned to see a handful of knights charging across the square. Their armor gleamed a vivid blue, untouched by the setting sun.

At their head rode a man I knew all too well. Discovery wasn't a risk, but I still eased back, keeping my distance. The knights surrounded the carriage in a swift circle.

"What is the meaning of this?"

Biblio's attendants moved to object, but the old man raised his hand, silencing them.

Had they followed me? Had I left some trace they could track?

"Be at ease."

The old man's will pressed into my mind, his words sounding as if they were my own thoughts.

"If he hadn't come chasing after us, I would have been disappointed."

His voice rang directly in my head, like a bond tying deeper with every moment.

"It is nothing."

His calm settled me. The regent diamond had already been sealed. What could the marquis possibly do now?

Miyu, his mount, snorted fiercely at the old man. "

Neigh!

"

"What is this about?"

The marquis stroked her neck. "Nothing unusual. Merely a routine search. We are pursuing the missing relic."

His knights dismounted, closing in tight around the carriage. Their circle left no gap.

Biblio, however, ignored them entirely. His gaze stayed only on Leandro. "To come in person, and in such haste... Do you truly think I've done something wrong?"

"If you can't think of a reason yourself, then no problem. Your residence is being searched already."

"Even my little house?

Hah...

What could you possibly find there? The marquis is far too interested in me."

"You already know why I'm here."

"Not at all. But it is good to see you after so long."

"I don't expect to find anything hidden in a carriage or a cottage. But I must do all I can."

The old man's lips curled, taunting. "Search all you like. You'll find nothing but the smell of an old man. Harassed over a title of honor without lands, how pitiful."

He radiated confidence that the relic could never be found.

As Leandro turned to order the search, Biblio added casually, "

Ah...

Isabelle Simone, wasn't it? Take good care of her. I heard her mother is ill."

The marquis's brow twitched, only slightly, before settling again. A colder composure than he had shown while pursuing me. Perhaps this was his true self, unyielding and unrestrained. While Isabelle and Miyu still lived, anyway.

Their gazes crossed in silence, two predators hiding their fangs.

"Search the carriage. Check every hollow space."

His knights obeyed, ushering the coachmen down and tearing through the interior.

"You're certain you can take responsibility for this?" I asked.

"Do I seem reckless to you?" asked the old man.

Reckless is exactly what you are...

Adding insult to injury, Biblio had brought up Isabelle, scratching deeper at his weakness. Perhaps that was why the marquis no longer bothered to hide his hostility.

"Did I go too far? Hahaha. Either way, your information is sound. Isabelle is his weakness. I even wonder if I should bind the two of them as one."

The old man's suggestion had a twisted implication. If he truly merged them, wouldn't the disparity between their strengths weaken Leandro? Separating them seemed wiser. Not that I had any way to answer. His voice filled my head, while mine couldn't reach him.

***

They scoured everything. So thorough were they that, even with only the diamond left, it should have been found. Yet it didn't. The marquis's sharp eyes lingered on the old man, his brow twitching once more. He didn't order a body search. At that size, nothing would've turned up anyway.

"My apologies," Leandro said at last, forced into formal courtesy before Biblio.

The duke only smiled brightly, patting the marquis on the shoulder. "No need to apologize. This was the only result possible."

"Where are you headed...?"

"You haven't heard? To Erast. A succession dispute. Who better than an idle old man to meddle in such affairs?"

Leandro dipped his head slightly, expression unreadable. He seemed uninterested in such things.

"Do try not to wreck my house too much. An old man cannot manage sleeping outdoors."

"Send me the bill for any damages."

With that, he turned his horse away.

"You."

Biblio's voice brushed against my mind.

"Would you stay in the capital for a short while? Not long. Just watch as the marquis searches my residence."

It was no difficult request. He peered directly into the shadows where I hid.

"We haven't known each other long, but you are my most trusted agent. You can do this, can't you?"

Of course. Being named his most trusted agent filled me with pride. And truthfully, I wanted to see what the marquis would do after being left behind. I nodded silently and slipped after the knights, cloaked in darkness.

Trailing them wasn't hard. The key to shadowing was always distance, close enough not to lose them, far enough not to be seen. With Concealment, even that was trivial.

***

Soon, the knights reached Biblio's house.

Leandro stepped inside the empty dwelling, sighing. "So it's been cleared already."

The marquis exhaled slowly, then began his search. Starting beneath the large plane tree and ginkgo nearby, he then moved inside. He pried open every cabinet and drawer, tearing through every crevice. The house was small. Nothing turned up.

After an hour, he dismissed his knights. "From here on, I'll search alone."

"But, Commander...!"

"Was it really smuggled out? Could Biblio truly be the one? The suspicion is solid, but..."

But no evidence.

"Enough," Leandro cut them off, as if wary of unseen ears.

"Forgive me..."

"You've done well. Withdraw from the operation. All of you."

Hearing his firm tone, the knights fell silent and left. They never found the secret passage where the bald man had emerged, nor the tunnel where the black box had been sealed away.

The concealment here was absolute. After all, Biblio was Botis's proxy, a mage surpassing even the tower lords of Azure. This house was his workshop—his barrier. Leandro looked no more than a butterfly caught on the Demon's silver threads.

Once alone, the marquis seated himself in a chair within the house. He closed his eyes, entering meditation as though to sense something.

A day passed. Two. Three.

How long has it been?

At last, Leandro slowly raised his sword. So slow it seemed even the moonrise was swifter. What was he attempting with such a stance? Yet the sight filled me with unfamiliar dread.

This was a demon's spider web, taunting human senses and warping thought. Invisible to the eye, intangible to the touch, unbreakable by strength, too elusive for speed. It could seize its prey's limbs at any moment and tear them apart from within.

The marquis read the separated layers of the world. He let go of all his strength. His blade leveled at a silent void—between planes, lines, and points. Tiny motes rotated slowly in the air.

Like a crescent moon falling from its tether, his strike descended at a slanted angle. A cut to rend the barrier spun by the demon that sought to devour Isabelle, him, the Empire, and humanity itself.