Chapter 213: Lainella's Fate is Decided by Lainella (6)
Chapter 213: Lainella's Fate is Decided by Lainella (6)
“From this point forward, I am in charge of the Imperial Intelligence Bureau’s Academy branch.”
Those were the first words the man uttered.
His voice didn't waver in the slightest.
The few words he spoke indifferently felt like a proclamation. It was language stripped of every element except the facts he intended to convey.
It lacked emotion, inflection, and even context or explanation.
But the man had the authority to speak that way.
He was the possessor of the Dragon Blood Runes, an individual who had arrived carrying the Imperial Seal as the Agent of the Emperor. The authority of the Imperial Household resided in his every word.
Only the weak felt the need to provide long-winded explanations.
A true powerhouse only needed to deliver the conclusion.
After all, he had no need to make the other party understand.
Rather, it was the listener who had to force themselves to accept it. As if to prove that truth, the prospective agents belonging to the Academy branch immediately bowed their heads.
“We look forward to working with you!”
Ian merely responded to their fresh, energetic greeting with an indifferent gaze.
His eyes looked incredibly weary.
Anyone who met those golden pupils would have felt the man’s profound exhaustion. They were eyes whose depths were as unknowable as a swamp.
Neris, in particular, was terrified to meet those eyes.
Ian had always been a frightening opponent, but today was especially bad. Neris’s intuition was ringing alarm bells.
Do not defy this man.
At least, not right now. Neris realized that she shouldn't provoke him even slightly, and she immediately reflected this in her behavior.
While cursing the man inwardly, Neris respectfully dropped to one knee.
It was the proper etiquette for the Agent of the Emperor.
“……I accept the command of His Majesty the Emperor.”
Fortunately, Ian didn't go out of his way to find fault with Neris.
With an expressionless face, he gave a single nod and gestured with his chin for Neris to stand. Neris rose and stood politely across from Ian.
This was the grand conference hall located beneath the Newspaper Club.
Ian had visited once before after his raid on the club, but now that the Agent of the Emperor had been appointed to the branch, every member of the Newspaper Club was present.
It was a significant moment in its own way.
The Academy branch of the Imperial Intelligence Bureau was merely a temporary outpost.
It was a place where interns received training, and its existence was partially known to the Academy; it was far from the core of the Bureau.
Yet, for the Agent of the Emperor himself to be appointed to this Academy branch...
The disparity in rank was staggering.
Without exaggeration, the man sitting in the seat of honor and looking down at Neris possessed terrifying power.
Literally, the matter of whether an agent lived or died was merely one of his many prerogatives.
Conversely, he could put someone on the fast track to success with a single word.
This was why the Academy branch interns couldn't help but be stiff with tension.
The man seemed far too accustomed to such gazes of admiration and fear. In a voice devoid of any sentiment, he handed down his first directive.
“First, let me say one thing. Do not doubt me for no reason. It could lead to disaster. Also, you all need to start your training over from the beginning. We’ll start with the most urgent: torture resistance training.”
At his decisive tone, the stiff atmosphere grew turbulent.
The eyes of the interns, who had been breaking out in cold sweats from tension, widened. They exchanged panicked glances with one another.
Some of them turned pale.
What was torture resistance training?
To put it simply, it was training to ensure one didn't leak secrets even under torture. It included every process designed to dull the sense of pain and forge mental strength.
It was, without a doubt, the most hated exercise among the agents of the Imperial Intelligence Bureau.
The reason was simple.
Because it was predicated on a situation equivalent to torture, one had to endure excruciating pain.
No human liked being in pain. Even if they did, it was a preference shared only by a few deviants. And even they couldn't welcome pain that crossed the line.
It was bound to be terrifying for fresh interns who were only in their twenties.
Neris, who had been preparing the approval documents to formally confirm Ian’s appointment, spoke up cautiously on behalf of the interns.
“Um, Lord Ian…?”
The man’s golden eyes turned slowly toward Neris.
The moment she met that indifferent gaze, Neris instinctively flinched. She broke into a cold sweat and muttered curses under her breath.
Of course a violence-obsessed freak would have such a savage look in his eyes. Crazy bastard.
Naturally, Neris didn't have the courage to say that out loud.
She continued in an even more polite, stuttering tone.
“Th-the truth is, torture resistance training was abolished several years ago at the request of the agents. O-of course, I’m not denying its value… but it’s a training that only some agents receive based on necessity, and Marquis Findleston specifically banned it at the Academy branch, where there are many interns……”
“……Neris.”
At the man’s short call of her name, Neris immediately bowed her head, her body trembling.
Was I too arrogant?
He might have taken more time to persuade her. Or, he might have been angry that a mere branch manager dared to contradict the Agent of the Emperor while he was introducing himself to the agents.
She deeply regretted speaking up.
But surprisingly, the situation Neris feared didn't happen.
Ian said nothing; he merely gave Neris a slight nod. After standing there blankly with a questioning expression for a moment, Neris’s thoughts finally landed on the documents she was holding.
Come to think of it, Ian’s formal appointment to the Academy branch would only be official after he stamped these papers.
Perhaps he meant he would let it slide until then.
Having reached that conclusion, Neris’s complexion brightened instantly.
She thought that serving under Ian might not be so bad after all, as she placed the documents on the desk in front of him.
And just as she was about to politely push the papers toward Ian.
Thwack! Blood splattered into the air.
It happened before the look of relief on Neris’s face could even fade.
She didn't even notice it.
A flash of pure white light was already tracing a trajectory as it fell. At its destination were Neris’s slender fingers, which had been resting on the documents.
Several of those fingers went flying into the air.
Neris’s eyes, failing to grasp the situation, gradually turned vacant.
What just happened?
Before that question could form, a spike pierced through Neris’s mind.
A pain as if her brain were being crushed by a red-hot poker.
Along with it, the man’s indifferent voice rang in her ears.
“I told you… not to doubt me.”
A scream erupted from Neris’s mouth.
“Ugh… Kya, kyaaaaaaaaah!”
Neris collapsed where she stood, clutching her hand as blood dripped from it. Exactly two fingers, from the index to the middle, were gone. Neris’s trembling gaze fixed on her hand.
It hurt. And she was terrified.
With dark green eyes now brimming with tears, Neris looked up at Ian.
He looked shockingly unchanged, showing no emotion whatsoever.
The atmosphere turned icy in an instant.
Some interns were so shaken they even took a few steps back.
Regardless, the man commanded in a bone-chillingly cold voice.
“……Stand up.”
“Ugh, h-hic… Y-yes!”
The sudden pain triggered nightmares from her past, and Neris was on the verge of bursting into tears.
But for now, her fear of Ian was greater. Though she stumbled, she scrambled to her feet and bowed her head deeply.
“Does Marquis Findleston’s directive rank higher than the authority of the Dragon Blood Runes?”
“N-no, it does not!”
Neris answered immediately in a tearful voice.
You stupid girl, why did you provoke this psycho?
A single tear, soaked in regret, trickled down her cheek. Neris only wished for this moment to pass quickly.
Ian watched Neris trembling for a moment without a word, then pulled the Imperial Seal from his coat and stamped the document.
He didn't even need an inkpad.
The paper was already soaked with Neris’s blood.
The only downside was that the shape of the seal, stamped as the blood smeared, soon vanished. Of course, the man didn't seem to care.
“Good. As of now, I am Ian Percus, officially appointed to the Academy branch. First, investigate the disappearance incidents occurring in the Percus Territory and its surrounding areas.”
“……U-understood!”
The interns’ response was thunderous.
And for good reason—even Neris, the strongest among them, had collapsed helplessly under the man’s axe. How much more so for them, who were weaker and lower in status?
Vows filled with resolve flowed out of them from instinctive fear.
Neris, who had been gasping for breath and hiccuping for a while, eventually asked her superior as she always did.
“Lord Ian, then for what purpose… K-kyaaaaaah!”
Thud! The hand axe flashed once more.
This time, it was Neris’s shoulder. The hand axe, thrown from where he sat, immediately crushed the cartilage in Neris’s shoulder, causing blood to spray.
Neris cursed inwardly.
You crazy bastard, did you mean I shouldn't even harbor doubts?
Then he should have told her sooner. However, Neris’s anger vanished like morning dew the moment she met Ian’s golden eyes.
Tears welled up in her eyes.
That man seemed to feel no emotion even after inflicting such pain on her. His attitude of having simply done what needed to be done—a gaze that lacked even a flicker of humanity—triggered Neris’s primal fear.
Trembling, she immediately bowed her head.
Even when the hand axe pulled itself out with a squelch and flew back into the man’s hand, she only let out a faint groan. Having taken two consecutive strikes, Neris found it hard to maintain her sanity.
She was scared.
She just wanted this moment to end.
Hoping that her desperate prayer would reach the heavens, Neris squeezed her bleeding shoulder tightly with her hand.
She felt like the pain might be slightly more bearable that way.
To her immense relief, Ian didn't seem to have anything else he wanted to say.
He slowly stood up. The Newspaper Club members hurriedly bent their waists in a parting gesture of respect.
Neris thought it was a blessing.
She had been thinking that she might break down and cry pathetically if this continued. No matter how she looked at it, Ian Percus was the worst superior imaginable.
The sight of the woman shivering while clutching her shoulder was pitiful beyond words.
But unfortunately, Neris’s ordeal was not over.
“And Branch Manager Neris will accompany me to the Percus Territory.”
At that short directive, Neris’s breath hitched.
She looked up at Ian, who was tidying his clothes, with a look of utter despair. Her eyes, filled with a mournful light, were even moist with tears.
“……P-pardon?”
“I said Branch Manager Neris will accompany me to the Percus Territory. However, do not reveal your presence outwardly. It is strictly for information gathering.”
Neris finally couldn't hold back the tears that came surging up.
How could he do this?
In just the few minutes she had faced Ian, two scars had already been carved into her body. And now he wanted her to accompany him to the Percus Territory, a trip that could take who knows how long?
She simply couldn't take it.
And so, Neris made a mistake she would never have made if she were in her right mind.
“B-but why… Ah.”
Once again, silence fell over the conference hall.