Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: I Thoroughly Protect What's Mine. (3)
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I explained it to him in a kind tone, as if speaking to a child.
"As you know, that lord hates anyone who covets what belongs to him."
"......"
"And it just so happened that I was on my way to the capital. As his proxy, no less."
I pulled Diego's seal from my pocket and waved it lightly.
"I need to report everything to His Majesty the Emperor. About what happened in Bezerc Territory."
"Th-the Emperor...?"
"Then it won't end with just prying open one drawer."
"N-now!"
Lord Marco's voice cracked. Even a cornered rat will bite a cat, they say.
"If you're threatening me right now..."
"Threatening?"
I murmured low, as if amused.
"Threatening."
The rat named Marco hadn't even left a tooth mark where it bit. His resistance was that feeble and foolish.
"I'd be offended if you think that. I'm giving you an opportunity right now."
I let out a musing chuckle and roused the energy that had been dormant deep within me.
Saaaa—
A sound only I could hear, one no ordinary human could perceive, brushed past my ear.
Pitch-black killing intent stretched out toward Lord Marco, as if to engulf him. It crept up from his instep, pulling him into a black, deep fog.
"......Hng!"
Lord Marco's beard vibrated roughly, as if an earthquake had struck. Cold sweat poured down his pallid cheeks like rain.
"My lord?"
The guard captain standing beside him tilted his head in confusion.
To his eyes, the lord must have looked like he had suddenly turned pale and started trembling.
He had no idea what state Lord Marco was truly in.
*Because I directed the killing intent solely at Lord Marco.*
The past week had elevated me to a realm where I could wield this energy freely.
Especially Requiem's energy—I kept it fully dormant at all times, so it never showed on the surface.
No matter how powerful the opponent, they would see me only as an ordinary noble youth.
They could never imagine that I carried Requiem, the calamity capable of destroying the Empire.
"Hng, haa, haa!"
But right now, Lord Marco was facing that energy head-on.
An abyss yawned before him, one unlike anything he'd encountered in his lifetime—bottomless, impenetrable, impossible to fathom.
His vision would spin, his throat constrict as if strangled, chills rack his body, the ground seem to cave beneath him. He couldn't possibly keep his wits.
"My lord, my lord?! What's wrong all of a sudden?"
The guard captain called out to him in a panicked tone. But Lord Marco was in no state to heed him.
His hands clutched his knees tightly, teeth chattering. He couldn't tear his gaze from my glowing blue eyes.
"Yes, this is your opportunity."
"......"
"A chance to give me what's rightfully mine."
I asked him gently.
"Does it still sound like a threat?"
Lord Marco's lips parted as he trembled violently.
"......Ah, heung."
Only strained, incoherent sounds leaked out.
"U, uheung."
He struggled repeatedly to force out words, but failed each time. Eventually, he began weakly turning his head to the side.
"......Heung, haa."
I watched Lord Marco's desperate flailing with a faint smile. When his feeble movements reduced to mere side-to-side head shakes, "Hm."
I withdrew the killing intent, thick as fog.
"Hueeok!"
Lord Marco clutched his chest and gasped for air. His face was ashen, like someone who had been strangled for ages.
"My lord! Pull yourself together!"
The guard captain tried to soothe him, his face full of bewilderment.
*Was that a bit much?*
I scratched my chin, then snorted dismissively.
*If you're trying to swallow my money, even the Emperor wouldn't let it slide.*
Why had I gone through all that trouble hunting monsters? I couldn't let it go to waste.
"So you should have been prepared for the consequences before trying to steal from others."
At my sharp words, Lord Marco's face darkened like rot setting in. His head drooped like a tree felled from the roots.
"I understand......"
It was always satisfying to see an opponent's stiff neck bend so pliantly, as if tanned soft.
"I'll somehow prepare the money. So please, this matter..."
His voice was utterly defeated, drained of strength.
"Of course."
I waved my hand agreeably.
"Just pay the exact bounty. It's only receiving what's due, so no issue."
With that, I grabbed Halphas's head and stuffed it back into the sack.
"Oh, and."
As I tied the sack shut, I spoke to Lord Marco, who looked a decade older in an instant.
"I've been away from home for a while now. I miss my room quite a bit?"
"......?"
Lord Marco strained to widen his hazy eyes.
"If this longing gets worse, well. I might want to leave this territory quickly and head to the capital."
Urgency flashed across Lord Marco's face. I watched the change with delight, reciting leisurely.
"Lay out a bed with the finest central mountain mattress, and pile on at least three layers of quilts stuffed 100% with goose feathers."
"......"
"Prepare at least three kinds of scented oils for the bath. I like mixing various fragrances."
The listening guard captain's face grew more crumpled by the moment.
"And for meals, always have at least three main dishes, and desserts must include lemon."
I chuckled and laced my hands behind my head.
"You can manage that, right?"
❖ ❖ ❖
The Empire has grand roads stretching east, west, south, and north from the capital, Magiore.
And on one of those roads lies Dabanti, a city west of the capital Magiore.
A mandatory passage for anyone entering the capital from the western territories. A hub of transportation, thriving in trade and commerce.
Before Dabanti's massive gate.
People of all ages, genders, and appearances stood in line.
Among them was,
"Uwaaaah."
A man with a bushy beard and hair matted from days without washing.
"What if he's not here either?"
It was Knight Yonas Klein.
Gone were his radiant blond hair and sky-blue eyes like cornflowers. His disheveled state was so grimy that even someone from the Ovest Knight Order wouldn't recognize him.
"If he's not here, I'm really out of options. Damn it."
Unlike a knight, he chewed thick curses and tapped the ground impatiently with his foot.
"Please, please be here."
He muttered incessantly, anxious at heart. People stared at him pacing and talking to himself like he was some weirdo.
But he was too deep in thought to notice.
"Did I miss somewhere?"
His steps halted abruptly. He pulled a blackened, finger-smudged map from his filthy backpack.
"From here,"
His trembling finger pointed to Ovest Territory.
"Cader, Ayk......"
Then slowly moved eastward.
"White...... and Dabanti."
The cities he murmured were those along the main road from Ovest Territory to the Empire's capital.
The shortest, safest, and most efficient route from the west to the capital.
Yonas had raced along this path nonstop. Pushing his horse to top speed, swapping mounts at every city, resting not a wink, advancing as fast as possible.
"Young master, where the hell did you go?"
All to find Abel Ovest Kindriel.
The day Abel vanished with the lord's seal, he and Philip had scoured the territory like rats in a trap.
They realized Abel had left no trace.
Worse, the gate guards hadn't seen him pass.
It was maddening.
*It's not like he evaporated into thin air.*
Either way, he couldn't just sit idle.
Yonas had Philip continue the search while he procured a horse and set off immediately, backtracking the path Abel likely took.
But.
*'Abel Ovest Kindriel? Never seen him.'*
Every territory's guards gave the same answer. They checked every visitor's ID—they couldn't forget a man of Abel's status.
*'No, really haven't. Please believe us.'*
But truly, no one had.
*'Blue hair, bluish-purple eyes? Haven't seen anyone like that.'*
They acted as if they hadn't glimpsed even a hair of him.
Yonas finally had to believe them.
Passing gates unnoticed with Abel's striking looks was near impossible.
"This can't be."
Yonas gnawed his lip. No matter how he thought, the situation was implausible.
"There's no way he could ride faster than me."
His horsemanship was well-regarded even among the knights. Racing with scant sleep should have let him catch up, in theory.
"Plus, Philip said he injured his arm."
That would have slowed Abel further. Yonas should have crossed paths somehow.
"But why hasn't he?!"
Unable to bear it, Yonas bellowed. Passersby startled and backed away.
"Damn it!"
Overcome with frustration, he hurled the map to the ground. Its corners were already frayed from dozens of tosses.
"Damn, damn!"
Yonas clawed at his hair and slumped to the dirt.
"This is driving me insane."
It was infuriating.
He'd exchanged messenger birds with Philip midway, but no good news—just the same frustrating report of Abel missing.
"Where the hell did he go? There's no other path but this."
His gaze fell on the map splayed open on the ground. He'd stared at it so often, he could draw the mountains from memory.
"......No."
Frowning, he muttered suddenly.
"There is another way."
He snatched the map and buried his nose in it. His bloodshot eyes turned to the southwest.
"You could skirt this mountain range coming down, then climb up."
Muttering like a madman, he soon burst into hollow laughter.
"Yonas, you've truly lost it."
The empty chuckle turned to giggles.
"Ridiculous. How many monsters swarm the western mountains? Taking that route is suicide."
Above all, you couldn't reach the capital on time that way.
It meant punching through a monster den, and it was a detour, not straight.
The Noble Conference was just three days away. He needed to be in Dabanti by today at latest.
"What if he's not heading to the capital? Maybe enjoying himself elsewhere?"
In utter frustration, Yonas even considered that.