Chapter 108: Act 41 – Incident
“Then I shall take my leave.” Brendel put away the scroll, but after glancing at Antinna’s current state, he felt a pang of sympathy for her awkward situation. He hesitated for a moment and asked, “…Is there anything you need help with?”
Antinna shook her head. “No, thank you,” she replied softly while holding onto the door. “Thank you for bringing me news of my father, Mr.” She coughed a couple of times.
Brendel couldn’t help but think that she was a confident and stubborn girl. He considered that his own resources weren’t exactly abundant, and even if he wanted to help others, he would likely have to wait until Lohn connected him with the auction. Just as he was about to excuse himself, he suddenly heard a clamor of footsteps coming from the staircase not far away.
A few people froze and turned their heads toward the sound. “There are quite a few,” Balthom stretched his hand under his cloak. “Seven, no, eight.”
“Don’t be nervous; this is Bruglas,” Brendel stopped Balthom, fixing his gaze in that direction. However, before he finished speaking, a string of curses came from below the stairwell:
“, I really didn’t want to come to this hellhole. That girl is so stubborn; I think we’re just wasting our time here again.”
“Shh, these noble ladies are all like this, so proud and lofty on the surface. Just scare them a bit, and they’re bound to tremble like little animals. Whatever you ask them to do, they will obediently hand over what you want.”
“I say, since the baron agreed, it wouldn’t matter even if we rough her up a bit. She’s just a down-and-out noble, and if we don’t give that dead girl a taste of reality, she won’t know what we’re really about.”
“You don’t get it, do you? Can you trust what nobles say? They are more treacherous than the demons beneath the ground—”
A group of eight appeared at the corner of the stairwell, coming face to face with Brendel, Balthom, and the others—just as stipulated, all of them were dressed in brand new, light gray uniforms of the city watch. They clearly had not expected someone to be above, and confusion was evident on almost every face.
Their gazes first fell on Antinna behind them, then shifted to Brendel and Balthom, finally resting on Lohn, who was blocked at the back.
“It’s you! Lohn, what are you doing here?” The leader furrowed his brow and asked.
Brendel blocked Lohn and turned to ask, “Who are they?”
“Thugs from Hood District. I didn’t expect them to turn into something resembling a human after just a few days,” Lohn replied, his gaze flickering, fixating on the city watch uniforms. It was clear he didn’t think much of these people either.
“Hmph, a dog’s mouth can’t spit out ivory.” One of them spat contemptuously.
But the leader stopped his companion, as Brendel’s actions had already indicated his status among the trio. This left him feeling somewhat perplexed; although Lohn from Black Pepper Alley wasn’t a notable character, he was known for being a lone wolf in their circle. Today, however, he was involved with these two unknowns—what could it mean?
Especially since they were associating with the daughter of a fallen noble, the situation was becoming a little troublesome.
“And who are you?” he pondered, deciding to test the waters.
Brendel shot him a glance but ignored the question.
He turned back to see Antinna gripping the doorframe tightly, her knuckles turning white. The girl had her head down; though she didn’t speak, her subtle actions revealed her inner fear and anxiety. He thought for a moment and asked, “Are they here to cause you trouble?”
Antinna nodded.
“What’s going on?”
“They said my father owes their lord money.”
“Your father isn’t a gambler, is he? Why does everyone seem to be in debt—” Lohn muttered behind, clueless, but immediately froze under the fierce gaze of the girl, instinctively swallowing the rest of his words.
“Does your father owe them money?” Brendel asked.
Antinna furrowed her brows and shook her head. “How could my father possibly deal with such people?”
Brendel thought for a moment before turning back. “And who are you?”
His words were calm and forceful. The leader felt his heart racing a little as Brendel spoke with reason. He couldn’t see Brendel’s face hidden beneath the shadow of his hood, but could discern by the tone that he was young. After a moment of hesitation, he dared not pursue Brendel’s previous disregard for etiquette. Instead, he organized his thoughts and responded, “We are the city watch under Hader, I am ‘Owl’ Jon, and these are my brothers. We were sent by Viscount Test to recover a debt.”
“When did the city watch start doing this?” Balthom crossed his arms, unable to refrain from letting out a cold snicker from the back.
The seven or eight people opposite felt a surge of awkwardness. Just weeks prior, they had been common street thugs, lacking any real experience, yet now they found themselves before the mysterious young man, unable to retaliate or refute, caught in a dilemma.
The leader only wanted to slap himself; after hesitating, he opened his mouth, only for his words to be seized as a weak point.
Fortunately, someone couldn’t help but complain, “It’s only right to pay your debts.”
Brendel glanced at them and asked, “Who do you plan to collect from?”
The so-called ‘city watch’ fell silent again, exchanging glances. Finally, the leader steeled himself and replied, “It’s the young lady behind you, she’s called Antinna, and her father owes Viscount Test a considerable amount of money.”
Brendel scratched his ear; the name Test sounded vaguely familiar, although he couldn’t quite place it at the moment. He thought that this person must have a certain renown within the ‘Amber Sword’ but didn’t fit into the main storyline—likely a minor character like Lord Jin fruit, or someone well-concealed.
He turned back to ask, “Who is Viscount Test?”
“A young man similar to you; he is the deputy commander of the Silverwing Cavalry Corps, and there are rumors that he is the duke’s illegitimate son,” Lohn’s expression changed a bit as he whispered, “Brendel, we should avoid conflict with these people—those from Test are not to be trifled with.”
The old man couldn’t help but wipe a cold sweat in his heart, relieved he hadn’t been too disrespectful earlier; otherwise, he would have gotten himself into trouble. But upon regaining his composure, this crafty old fox began to think about how to extricate himself from the trouble.
However, Brendel caught the undertone in his words and smiled slightly. “Lohn, it seems you’re quite eager for me to get into a conflict with that unfamiliar Viscount Test,” he remarked.
“Not at all, not at all, I wouldn’t dare.” Lohn, who was feeling embarrassed, chuckled awkwardly. He hadn’t expected that Brendel would see through his little trick. But he wouldn’t have guessed that Brendel was fully aware of his thoughts.
Brendel looked at Antinna again but found her complexion pale—clearly, she had heard Lohn’s words. Compared to her father, both Megusc and Golan-Elsen were towering figures. If these people were looking to trouble her, she might have no choice but to submit to her fate.
But what Brendel considered was that the commander of the Silverwing Cavalry Corps, Megusc, appeared to be a genuine military aristocrat, yet was essentially a pawn of the Everything Returns Society. However, the young master Test had faded into relative obscurity in the ‘Amber Sword’, with only his status as an illegitimate child marking his identity. This was why he had been so unaware of the person’s name.
What puzzled him was that among the nobles of Vaunte, there was rarely a complete eradication—they often played their acts behind the scenes, even in royal power struggles. Test couldn’t possibly be ignorant of Antinna’s plight, so what was his intent in pressing her like this?
Was there a vendetta in their ancestry? It didn’t seem so.
Brendel couldn’t help but wonder if that fellow had taken a liking to Antinna, which wasn’t impossible as nobles often engaged in such affairs. However, that would pose a problem; irrespective of Antinna’s willingness, he himself would certainly not consent. The designer of the magical conduit device held immeasurable value—Brendel would never allow Antinna to slip away from him. Initially, he didn’t want to express such eagerness—first, to keep the girl from getting nervous; second, to play the merchant’s notorious bargaining game.
But now, it appeared the plan would have to change.
He turned back and asked, “Does your father know Viscount Test?”
Antinna hurriedly shook her head; she was a smart girl and immediately understood Brendel’s possible intentions just like him. She had never met that Viscount Test; however, based on the latter’s methods, she felt disgusted and instinctively thought of who she might recently rely on—she couldn’t help but glance at Brendel, feeling a little anxious.
But Brendel didn’t let her down.
As soon as the young man heard this, he immediately drew his sword. The silvery gleam of the elven sword sent a chill down the spines of everyone opposite; brandishing a weapon signified that negotiations had broken down. Yet the leader still wanted to salvage the situation. He cleared his dry throat, preparing to hope that the other side could consider Viscount Test’s influence. But before he could finish, Brendel had already swung his sword—
A ripple swept past everyone like an invisible wind, causing each person’s hair to fly back. In an instant, the ceiling cracked with a loud noise, creating a gap almost five meters long.
The dim corridor fell silent—
(PS. Thanks to all my friends for your concern and support.) (To be continued. For more chapters and to support the author, please visit the website for legitimate reading!)
