Chapter 84: The Lord is With Us (5)
Chapter 84: The Lord is With Us (5)
Inside the reception room on the second floor of Sun's Rest, furniture and decor were strewn everywhere.
The dining table had been snapped in half, and teacups lay shattered. Sharp fragments of wood and glass were scattered in every direction.
When the servants arrived tonight, they would likely be frightened out of their wits and report the incident to the Holy Kingdom.
The victor and the vanquished had been clearly decided, but the aftermath was bound to be terrifying. The Saintess held the highest office in the Holy Kingdom, and her public image was impeccable.
What if she decided to accuse Ian?
He was merely the second son of a rural viscount; there was no way he could withstand the fallout. Yet, Ian remained perfectly composed.
That was what gave the Saintess chills. She couldn't read this man’s intentions at all.
Suppressing a groan of pain, she twisted her lips into a smirk.
It was a look of pure mockery. She asked him, "Can you really handle the consequences?"
His golden eyes looked down at her blankly. His gaze was still filled with nothing but exhaustion, as if his very emotions had been excised.
The Saintess gnashed her teeth and leveled the greatest threat she could muster.
"I am the Saintess... Regardless of what you say, I have the political power to crush you and see you sent to the pyre. For instance, what if I told people you tried to assault me?"
She had never framed anyone like that in her life, but driven by humiliation and shame, the words tumbled out. It was also an effective weapon.
She had lost in terms of martial prowess, but the world did not revolve around the strength of a single individual. Nations, politics, and the various structures accompanying them supported and simultaneously constrained the individual.
Ian was no exception. He might be showing monstrous skill in practical brawling, but that was only applicable in small-scale skirmishes.
If true powerhouses moved as a group, even he wouldn't be able to withstand them.
However, even at the Saintess's threat, not a single ripple of change could be detected in Ian's eyes. His golden eyes were like a still pond, showing not even a hint of interest.
The man simply spoke in an indifferent voice.
"Go ahead."
Ian’s voice was so flat that it was the Saintess who became flustered instead.
"……What?"
"I told you to go ahead, if you can."
With that, he slowly straightened his body. Seeing this, the Saintess’s eyes momentarily filled with dread. She seemed afraid that he might lash out at her again in anger.
But Ian showed no particular interest in the Saintess. He simply walked toward the window and stood with his hands behind his back, admiring the garden outside.
Was it confidence, or a bluff?
The Saintess wore a confused expression, unable to tell. Her eyes met Yuren’s for a moment, but Yuren only shook his head.
First, they had to uncover his identity. The Saintess spoke again, her voice sharp.
"Who the hell are you? That technique you just used—it was the Holy Kingdom's Secret Martial Art."
Yuren, who had remained silent after Ian’s warning, joined in. Suppressing a groan, he directed a look of blatant suspicion at Ian.
"And that trajectory of the axe, snapping at right angles… that’s a secret art of the Sword Circle, isn't it?"
Both were secret techniques of organizations that followed the principle of Secret Transmission—never to be shared with outsiders. Naturally, it was impossible for one person to master both.
And yet, this man had. Because they couldn't understand how, neither the Saintess nor Yuren could easily guess his identity.
Ian remained indifferent to their questions.
"Who do you think I am?"
"I'm not in the mood for word games—"
The Saintess, about to snap back in irritation, flinched the moment those golden eyes turned toward her. Her mouth clamped shut instinctively.
Was there any human who could remain unfazed under that chilling gaze?
The man walked over without a word. He stopped in front of the Saintess and knelt to meet her eyes.
"Both the Holy Kingdom and the Sword Circle are places that boast long traditions. Given how strictly they've guarded their security over those long years, it is normally impossible to learn the secret arts of both organizations simultaneously."
"Then how on earth did you—"
As she started to speak, the Saintess trailed off as a possibility flashed through her mind.
Right, it was normally impossible.
But what if it was possible? That could only happen if someone stole the secrets of both organizations. Somehow obtaining secret arts from places teeming with masters and boasting ironclad security.
At least by the Saintess's common sense, it was impossible. However, her eyes widened again as the air beside her began to bleed crimson.
It was blood-red mana. It was drawing complex characters in the air. The letters radiated a faint heat.
But the Saintess knew. Those characters were currently in a suppressed state.
If he willed it, the power dwelling in those characters was enough to incinerate this entire room. The Saintess’s shock continued.
"……D-Dragon Blood Runes?! You’re part of the Imperial Household?"
'Dragon Blood Runes.' It was a secret magic passed down within the Imperial Household of the Empire.
The characteristic of this magic was that the recipient could use it immediately upon being granted the runes, without any need for magical understanding.
In other words, a swordsman, a priest, or even a commoner from the streets could use the magic engraved within the Dragon Blood Runes once they received them.
It was a magic that only the Imperial Household, who claimed to be descendants of dragons, could bestow. It was a secret among secrets, surrounded by rumors that it was the preserved language of the ancient dragons who first conceived magic.
It was a magic used only by the Imperial Intelligence Agency or the Imperial Guard Knights. If that were the case, there was only one logical conclusion the Saintess could reach.
This man belonged to the Imperial Household. If she adopted that hypothesis, everything fell into place.
No matter how great the Holy Kingdom or the Sword Circle were, they were nothing compared to the Imperial Household. If the Empire set its mind to it, it wasn't strange for them to have stolen the secret arts of both organizations. The same went for how he had obtained intelligence on Archbishop Aindel.
Furthermore, his status as the second son of a rural viscount was likely a fabrication.
He was probably a man who had been forged into a blade for the Imperial Household since childhood; assuming that, his monstrous brawling skills made sense.
Confusion swirled in the Saintess's eyes, but the man didn't bother to deny her words.
"Is there really a need for us to be enemies? All you have to do is provide the information about the orphanage, and that will be the end of it."
His voice was subtle. Had she heard such a proposal from the start, she would have rejected it flatly, but the thought that her opponent might be part of the Imperial Household made the Saintess hold her tongue.
Conflict flickered in her eyes. Even for a Saintess, the burden of clashing with the Imperial Household was too great. Moreover, the man had even gone so far as to casually reveal the fact that the Holy Kingdom's secret techniques had been leaked to him.
It was a sign of confidence. A sign that even if the secret were exposed, he could escape the consequences one way or another.
The Saintess gnashed her teeth and asked, "Does someone who wants cooperation shatter my guard knight's shoulder and break my arm?"
"Weren't you the ones who attacked first?"
"……You threatened me!"
The Saintess shouted in indignation, but the man only shrugged. He spoke lowly.
"Information is also a form of power. Now that the victor has been decided, stop acting like a child."
That was his final word. Though her shoulders trembled with humiliation, the Saintess had no choice but to declare her surrender.
"……Fine, I'll cooperate. In exchange, keep the matter regarding Archbishop Aindel a secret."
"That goes without saying."
With his business concluded, the man stood up without hesitation. The Saintess bit her lip as she watched him.
It was a total defeat.
And not just in terms of martial force. She had been defeated even in information gathering and negotiation, areas where she had felt inwardly confident.
If the opponent was the Imperial Household, it couldn't be helped, but she couldn't stop the surge of resentment and sorrow.
It was while she was chewing on that sense of defeat.
When the Saintess looked up again, the man was holding the doorknob. He stood still, his eyes hesitating.
That look was unfamiliar.
It was because it was the first time the man had shown a human emotion. Until now, he had only displayed two:
Hostility, or murderous intent.
Neither was a truly human emotion. They were merely instincts possessed by any animal that pursued survival.
But when those golden eyes turned toward the Saintess again, they held such pity and even pain that she gasped.
The Saintess went blank. The change was too dramatic.
The man remained silent for a moment before speaking as if squeezing the words out.
"……Are you resentful?"
A surge of emotion hit the Saintess, and she wanted to snap back at him.
Of course she was. She had been unilaterally tormented until she was forced to surrender.
Yuren’s shoulder joint was shattered, and she herself was barely suppressing groans from the pain radiating through her crushed nerves.
She was resentful. She was humiliated.
Because of that, she couldn't bring herself to spit the words out. She simply turned her head away, avoiding his gaze.
As if he had expected as much, the man pulled the doorknob again.
However, he left her with one last word.
"Obey."
Unable to understand the meaning behind those words, the Saintess simply remained slumped on the floor for a long time.
For a very long time.
I walked in silence after hearing Yuren's statement.
The story was full of things that were hard to understand.
The Holy Kingdom? The Sword Circle? Even the Imperial Household?
It all sounded like nonsense. I was a free man who belonged nowhere. However, there were too many points of concern to dismiss it all as a simple side effect of possession.
I remembered the question Senior Delphine had asked me. I had brushed it off at the time, but that question had also included two specific terms.
The secret arts of the 'Holy Kingdom' and the 'Sword Circle.'
How on earth?
Yuren claimed that I had been possessed by a high-ranking mage belonging to the Imperial Household. But that didn't explain everything that had happened in the past.
I was walking along, lost in thought, when—
"……Oh."
At the sound of that small exclamation, I turned toward its source.
It was a boy with brown hair that suited him well. His green eyes reflected my shadow like a mirror. Though his complexion was pale, he had an impression that would earn anyone's favor.
As if he had been waiting, the man waved at me warmly. His expression was as relaxed as ever.
With a faint smile, he spoke to me.
"You're back, Ian!"
Reto Einstein.
I had seen his face not too long ago, but he was a friend I was always glad to see.
I was about to greet my close friend immediately. But in that instant, he grabbed my hand.
Before my puzzled gaze could even reach him, Reto spoke.
"Follow me. I've found out something about your amnesia."
It was a sudden statement. Stunned, I could only stare at Reto blankly.
But with a somewhat more serious face, he simply added one more thing.
"I had a conversation recently… with that guy."
There was no need to wonder who 'that guy' referred to.
It was the 'me' from the time I had lost my memory.
It was the moment a decisive clue to resolve the mystery appeared.