Chapter 127
Chapter 127
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 127
Chapter Title: Parallel Lines of Emotion 1
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The rebel from the Herald Clan, Arael, is here right now?
Azadin stared at the soldier, half in disbelief.
“How do you know that?”
“Well, we were told to stay on guard.”
“The castle is in an uproar right now with everyone on high alert.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“Well then, should I knock them out?”
The soldiers jumped in surprise at Azadin’s words.
“Sir Guillaumevald, we’ve been hoping for your return.”
“Yes, it might not mean much coming from mere soldiers like us, but...”
“Please let us help.”
“Hmm. I appreciate the sentiment, but I can’t allow that.”
Guillaumevald said that to the soldiers and gestured to Azadin.
“Don’t kill them.”
“No worries.”
Azadin choked them out and laid them down gently beside him.
*********
Count Rantaric’s castle was a fortress built around a grand mansion on a hilltop, surrounded layer upon layer by watchtowers and outer walls. It was the pinnacle of fortification engineering, taking every consideration into account—from the convenience of its residents to its defensive strength.
In the deepest part of that castle, Count Rantaric’s residence, Young Lord Adler had already seized everything and taken his seat.
“So, this is the famous Arael of the Herald Clan.”
Young Lord Adler smiled at Arael, the leader of the Arael tribe of the Herald Clan who had come to his castle.
She wore pitch-black armor that gleamed mysteriously, its thin yet sturdy material hugging her figure.
This beauty, with her long black hair tied back neatly and her violet eyes, gazed at Adler with haughty eyes.
‘A woman who stirs a man’s desire to conquer. So she’s the leader of the Herald Clan rebels? Meaning if I take her, I can command the Herald Clan?’
The moment he laid eyes on Arael, Adler’s surging lust for conquest left him breathless.
“I stopped by to confirm our trade partner. I hear you have many complaints about our handling of things?”
“Indeed. Even though your men were attached to my father, you failed to protect him. Don’t I deserve an apology for that?”
Arael and her accompanying Herald clansmen flinched at Adler’s words.
A chill emanated from them, but Adler had demanded they surrender all weapons and enter empty-handed for this meeting.
Meanwhile, heavy infantry armed with halberds waited behind the curtains of the audience chamber. Even the Herald Clan wouldn’t dare act rashly. That’s what Adler thought.
“You bastard... how dare you!”
“Do you intend to insult us?”
“Insult? You’re the ones insulting. Soulless blasphemers. You and I differ from the bloodline up.”
Arael’s subordinates couldn’t hide their bewilderment at Adler’s words.
“Enough. Don’t talk to them. The young lord is speaking with me.”
Arael silenced her subordinates.
“True, we did let your father go missing. My apologies.”
Arael readily apologized to Adler.
“Yes, didn’t you make a contract with my father? Yet you failed to uphold it and now demand the key to the emperor’s treasury. For a deal to be struck, you give what’s due and take what’s owed, no?”
“That does sound reasonable at first glance. For now, I apologize for what happened to your father, Count Garnahair. We’re investigating the matter ourselves.”
Arael said with a beaming smile.
“Good to see you know manners. Not just your looks, but your attitude has a certain charm. I like you more and more.”
“......”
Arael’s subordinates were dumbfounded by Young Lord Adler’s brazen behavior. If Arael didn’t stop them, they looked ready to tear him apart right then.
“That’s why I came in person—to apologize and show my sincerity.”
“Your attitude is to my liking, at least. But you think too highly of yourself. Do you really believe showing up here will forgive all the damages? We lost soldiers, officers, knights. Above all, losing the head of the family—my father—has caused immeasurable harm. A few words won’t fix that.”
“Forgiveness?”
The listening Herald clansmen furrowed their brows.
They were the top executives of the Arael tribe, holding absolute status among the Herald Clan. And here this arrogant noble youth was devaluing Arael right in front of them, to whom they had sworn loyalty.
“We are descendants of the Yaegas deities, and I stand at their pinnacle. Normally, even trading with the likes of you would be...”
“About that.”
Arael smiled.
“I’m a descendant of Harconia.”
“Harconia?”
“Our Herald Clan’s former leader.”
“So you brag about being the head of soulless blasphemers? If it were me, I’d hide it.”
“......!”
Arael calmed her furious subordinates and said with a beaming smile.
“I figured you’d think that. The blood of the Yaegas deities is supreme, right?”
“Of course. Debating purity within the bloodline of you blasphemers is laughable.”
“But listen well. Harconia was the emperor’s lover. They even had a child together. Get what I’m saying? The blood of the emperor flows in our Herald Clan... and these violet eyes are proof of Emperor Yaeslat. Even by the blood of the Yaegas deities, mine runs truer than yours.”
The defining traits of the Yaegas deities were golden or silver hair and pale blue-gray eyes, but Emperor Yaeslat—who betrayed his siblings and claimed all eight thrones for himself— is said to have had black hair and violet eyes, unlike his brothers.
Adler, who had been boasting about the blood of the Yaegas deities, was suddenly at a loss for words, stammering before clicking his tongue.
“Hah, but the emperor...”
“True enough. What does the blood flowing in one’s veins matter? What counts is the present me.”
Arael subtly mocked Adler, who relied solely on his bloodline, but he interpreted it differently.
“I see. So you have quite the pedigree. Makes sense—otherwise, you couldn’t lead the Herald Clan rebels at your age. Good. How about becoming my lover?”
“...Lover?”
Arael’s subordinates had reached the limit of their patience. Whether Arael stopped them or not, they were ready to kill the blasphemous Adler and then accept punishment.
They moved in rage. At that moment, Arael flicked her hand.
-Smack!
“Ugh!”
With a sharp sound, the heads of two of Arael’s male and female subordinates snapped to the side. Arael had slapped them.
“Everyone, get a grip. Better now?”
“S-sorry.”
“......”
If Adler had even a shred of martial training, he would have been astonished at how swift and precise Arael’s movements were just now. Had her subordinates attacked before getting slapped, he’d have had no chance.
But Adler, drugged and dazed, watched it all unfold as if it were someone else’s business.
“What do you mean by lover?”
Arael calmed her subordinates and asked Adler.
“I want the emperor’s bloodline. The mutated divine blood different from ordinary Yaegas deity lines. But as the future Count Rantaric, I can’t formally marry soulless blasphemers like the Herald Clan.”
Those words enraged her subordinates further. They had barely calmed after the slaps, but Adler’s remark snapped their patience again.
“We’ve heard enough nonsense.”
“Shall we kill him? He’s bound to have the key to the emperor’s treasury on him anyway.”
“No. Wait a moment.”
Arael stopped them.
“More importantly, come on in.”
“......”
The door opened, and the soldiers waiting outside collapsed. Then Azadin, Midiam, and Ismail entered.
“Sorry to interrupt.”
Azadin said that and glared at Arael.
“Arael. Why not keep up the business talk? It was just getting interesting.”
“W-what are you scum?!”
Adler panicked as his men had been silently taken out. He had trusted his armed guards against the disarmed Herald Clan, but now a clear Herald entered?
“Long time no see, little brother. It’s really been ages since you became Kazas’s disciple. Ten years?”
Arael welcomed Azadin.
“Ugh? Little brother? These guys?”
Young Lord Adler didn’t know of Arael and Azadin’s relationship, so he assumed Arael had sent her brother separately to crash the meeting.
Even with his drug-addled brain, he could tell the situation was dangerous.
“You’re the little brother if I say you are. What’s it matter between twins who inherits what? Who’s older or younger is trivial. Clinging to that is pathetic.”
“I agree. So just be the little brother.”
“I hate it. Makes me feel bad.”
Azadin said that and snapped his fingers. Guillaumevald and the others entered through the door.
“Guillaumevald?!”
“Adler...?”
Guillaumevald eyed Adler with unease.
“Hey! Herald Clan! Kill Guillaumevald!”
Arael and her subordinates merely snorted at Adler’s order, ignoring it entirely.
“Ugh...”
“Foolish little brother. You’ve dragged in things you can’t handle. Though I’m hardly one to talk.”
The moment Guillaumevald saw Arael, he knew.
She wasn’t human.
Myth spoke of dragons, jinn, angels, or demons wandering the earth in human guise. She felt just like that. Simply looking at her sent chills down his spine—a beauty and power that chilled the marrow.
In a way, he had to admire Adler. Propose to something like this to be his lover? Was he sane?
It was like bringing a live volcano indoors as a fireplace because the house was cold in winter. How oblivious or brave did one have to be to say such a thing?
“H-how did you get in?”
“Through the underground passage.”
“But that place...”
“You’ve got undead there, right.”
“Yeah! My father’s failed experiments! They’re not to be trifled with!”
Was he talking about the necro-angels?
Scott had broken through them so easily with his undead talisman, but he must have had high confidence in them.
“Arael! If you don’t kill Guillaumevald right now, this alliance is over!”
“But Young Lord Adler, couldn’t we just deal with Sir Guillaumevald instead? What we want is the key to the emperor’s treasury. If he gives it, it doesn’t matter if it comes from you or him.”
“What? You traitors!”
In that instant, Adler began casting a spell. True to a necromancer, a powerful, sinister force swirled around him, but...
-Thwack!
The hands that had sealed the pact with Adler were severed.