The Bond (1)
Chapter 33
More than ten horses galloped in formation towards the orphanage.
What was astonishing wasn’t just their number but that most of the riders were fully-armed knights.
Didier, who had rushed to the entrance of the orphanage while dealing with the children, couldn’t help but be shocked upon spotting the count’s face among the ranks of knights.
“Exactly… what is going on?”
Didier couldn’t contain his curiosity and asked while receiving arms from a retainer.
The count briefly explained.
“A dark wizard has appeared in Dinor, and the baron requested support.”
Most of the knights present, including Jimy and Matthew, were taken aback.
They had only gathered in response to the count’s summons and were unaware of the detailed situation.
“The defense of the county…”
“Will be handled by mages and soldiers.”
Considering the number of mages residing in Phillip’s County, the defensive force was more than sufficient.
However, the fact that only knight forces were dispatched to support Dinor implied that this matter was extremely sensitive.
While being assisted by a retainer into his armor, Didier opened his eyes slightly.
“My lord, may I inquire about something?”
“Speak.”
“Could Ray possibly be involved in this incident?”
“…Surprisingly, yes.”
With a troubled expression, Didier knelt on one knee.
“May I humbly address you, my lord?”
Though startled by Didier’s sudden action, the count responded kindly.
“Proceed.”
“After winning a bet with me, Ray requested not to leave the orphanage grounds for a month.”
“Weren’t those words about teaching the children well?”
“I thought so too, but Ray specifically limited his range of movement to within the orphanage. It seems like he wanted to entrust the orphanage’s defense to me. I worry that it might be related to this incident. Please consider this.”
“Knight Didier!!”
Jenkins, one of the knights of the House of Phillips, shouted.
It was already shocking that a knight would come to the orphanage to teach swordsmanship, but how could someone summoned by the count behave this way right in front of him?
“Are you injured? What kind of disloyalty is this?!”
Though Jenkins’ criticism was valid, the count silenced him with a wave of his hand.
“Jimy, Matthew, do you have any guesses?”
Despite feeling as if acid was burning a hole through his esophagus, Jimy gritted his teeth and nodded.
“We brought in an orphan from Dinor who turned out to possess a magic circle. Realizing the child had become a target for mages, Ray personally went to Dinor to investigate.”
“You hid this fact from me.”
“We committed a grave offense.”
“That will suffice. Knight Didier.”
“Your orders, my lord.”
“Deploy thirty elite troops to guard the orphanage. Jimy, assist Knight Didier.”
“My lord!”
Jenkins was horrified, but the count waved his hand again.
“If the story about the magic circle is true, some of the dark wizards defeated in Dinor may target the orphanage. Eliminate them immediately if discovered.”
“As you command.”
“Ray, if it weren’t for him…”
The count calmly looked around at the knights who still didn’t understand the situation.
“The discovery of the dark wizard would have been delayed by weeks or even months. He has earned enough merit and deserves respect. And Matthew.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Take over Knight Didier’s position. Can you handle it? There will be compensation.”
Matthew’s pupils wavered at the count’s proposal to stand alongside the knights.
It was reckless and dangerous.
But recalling that Ray was alone infiltrating the Dinor region, Matthew sighed briefly before responding.
“I may be insufficient, but I’ll do my best.”
*
Ray smiled faintly but remained tense.
If Simone instructed her henchmen to dispose of the basement after checking it, he would need to escape immediately.
It wouldn’t matter much if only a gang surrounded Simone, but if several skilled dark wizards accompanied her, they might end up like rats trapped in poison.
Creak
The door leading to the basement opened.
One of Simone’s subordinates, having confirmed the three unconscious children including Ray, shouted upwards.
“Simone-sama, we’ve found three children! What should we do with them?”
“…Are they alive?”
“I’ll check!”
The subordinate, having retrieved keys from Brack’s pocket, unlocked the iron bars.
Placing fingers under the noses of the children, a faint flow of air was detected.
“They’re alive!”
“Wait.”
Sssss!
As Simone descended into the dim basement, an even darker shadow enveloped her.
From the massive sphere of darkness, thin limbs began to trickle out.
Upon discovering the children, the sphere of darkness opened its mouth in joy.
As half the sphere split open, revealing sharp teeth, Ray instinctively clenched his fist.
“Hmm, no, no.”
Simone shook her head.
“Not now.”
Dark spirits once craved only blood and flesh.
What they truly desired were emotions intertwined with chaos and fear.
Feeding them in this state would only result in flavorless chewing.
“Since we’re going to throw them anyway, it’d be better to do so when they regain consciousness.”
“…What should we do? Should we wake them up?”
“Move them to the manor. Even if we wake them now, it will take time for their full senses to return.”
“Understood.”
Ray relaxed his grip.
He considered rushing out, grabbing Simone by the neck, and staging a hostage situation, but decided against it.
Being treated as helpless children, he believed a better opportunity would arise.
With his mouth and limbs bound, Ray was loaded onto a carriage and transported to the baron’s manor.
The manor seemed almost devoid of human presence.
“Lock them up in the basement.”
“Understood.”
In the cold basement of the manor, there were places prepared to confine people.
Most of the space was used as storage, but from deep within, moans could be heard.
Ray and the children were confined inside a rusting iron cage filled with junk.
The subordinate, perhaps trying to relieve stress, kicked Ray repeatedly.
“Damn it, what the hell is going on here! I’m anxious to death!”
Punch! Punch!
Ray, seemingly struck hard, groaned and curled up, feigning unconsciousness.
Relieved, the subordinate spat on the floor and left the basement.
After lying silently for a moment, Ray tensed his wrist.
Thud!!
The rope binding his arms fell off.
Having also removed the ropes around his ankles and the blindfold, Ray looked at the other captured children.
One of them seemed to have regained consciousness, but there was no need to free them now and cause unnecessary commotion.
“Soon, people will come to rescue you. Don’t worry and stay quiet.”
“Uuuh…”
Calming the awakened child, Ray grabbed and lightly shook the iron bars.
Due to lack of maintenance over a long period, they were heavily rusted. The material itself was close to cheap scrap iron, and applying too much force might break rather than bend them.
‘In case I need to come back here…’
Creeeak
Slowly, the iron bars bent under Ray’s grip.
Creating a narrow gap just wide enough for a person to pass through, Ray slipped out.
Looking briefly up the stairs, Ray turned his head toward the direction of the moans.
Anyone imprisoned in the manor’s basement during these times wouldn’t be an ordinary criminal.
Picking up a stray iron rod from the opposite warehouse, Ray stepped further into the basement.
In the deepest dungeon of the manor…
An elderly man was tied up with both arms bound.
*
The clever son showed talent in various fields.
At a relatively young age, he mastered the manipulation of mana and succeeded in communicating with spirits.
I wished for the boy to explore the wider world and fully bloom his talents.
But alas, he yearned to follow in my footsteps.
While there might be fathers who find their children’s admiration bothersome,
I did not wish to see my son standing beside me, bound by the same oath, slowly withering away.
The oath would end soon.
It could have ended with my generation. If I lived a little longer, I could conclude everything without burdening my son.
Because I didn’t want my son to admire me, I distanced myself from him. I made efforts not to show him my armored form.
Looking back now, it was merely my own aversion that I stubbornly imposed on my son.
My unilateral demands caused misunderstandings and rifts between us.
Eventually, my clever son, consumed by hatred and inferiority towards me, began indulging in debauchery.
By the time I realized my mistake, my son had already lost the spark to claim my succession.
Who should I blame? All of this is my fault.
That’s what I initially thought.
However, after the oath bewitched even my master six hundred years ago,
I remained here alone, growing increasingly weary.
I delegated all reports to written forms under the authority of the deputy lord and secluded myself within the manor, reading documents with soulless eyes and stamping seals.
Because of this, I failed to notice until the very end.
The reports were forged, my confidants eliminated, and most of my real power seized.
Titi. Damn Titi.
You are so hateful. You are exceedingly hateful.
When I fled from my crazed son’s blade,
I hid in the deepest room of the manor and strangled you.
What did you say then…?
“Lord.”
“…?”
“Lord, snap out of it.”
Pietro barely lifted his eyelids, dried with blood.
“…Who?”
“Forgive me for asking, but are you the steward of the viscount’s house?”
Steward.
Recalling that glorious yet cursed title, Pietro felt his blurred vision gradually clear.
Confirming a small figure beyond the dim prison, Pietro opened his parched lips.
“…Yes, I am Pietro, the steward. And who might you be?”
“Well, you see…”
Ray scratched his head and grinned.
“I came from Phillip’s County upon hearing that your ‘son farming’ went awry.”
Pietro judged that the youth in front of him was clearly insane.
“…What nonsense are you spouting?”
“Didn’t your ‘son farming’ go terribly wrong? To be honest, I’m worried this might happen to me too. Feeding and raising them only to have them speak differently later—it’s quite troubling.”
Pietro concluded that the youth in front of him was not in his right mind.
“…You said you came from Phillip’s County? On whose orders?”
After a brief pause, Ray hesitated.
Explaining that he was a collector of orphans from Phillip’s County seeking others’ orphans would surely raise suspicion.
So Ray fabricated an answer.
“I am a spy sent by Count Phillip.”
“Ho ho, you try every trick in the book to get me to talk, don’t you?”
In the dim prison, Pietro couldn’t confirm Ray’s face, but even the vague silhouette revealed that his opponent was a child.
A spy with such a ragged appearance?
Pietro chuckled dryly at the obvious ruse.
“Did Simone send you? I already told her I know nothing.”
“…Those who harmed ‘Titi.'”
Pietro’s body trembled.
“Phillip’s County requests immediate military deployment under the authority of the deputy lord. Restore the territory to normalcy. Fulfill the obligations of the covenant.”
“Surely, the letter hasn’t been delivered? Brigitte must be…”
“It was in the possession of the Giorgia Family. I didn’t know the details of the territory when I arrived here. I was dispatched due to unusual signs in Dinor Territory and found the letter while investigating the Giorgia Family.”
“Then why aren’t you hurrying back to deliver it?”
“The letter has already been transmitted to the count via my Brigitte. I am here to gather more detailed information on the situation.”
“…!”
“There’s no time for idle chatter.”
There was no telling when someone might return to the prison.
“Though you haven’t completely dismissed my suspicions, what I seek are the identities and purposes of the mastermind and collaborators behind this affair. This much can be answered regardless of my identity.”
“…Understood.”
“What motivated Simone to carry out such deeds?”
“…She contracted with a spirit of darkness.”
“I’m ignorant about spirits, so why does contracting with a spirit of darkness relate to the motive?”
“Sorcerers and spirits influence each other through communication, gradually resembling each other’s nature. An inexperienced sorcerer who contracts with a spirit will be unilaterally… engulfed by the spirit’s essence.”
The spirit of darkness, embodying unjust emotions, easily induces and amplifies the inner impulses and desires of the sorcerer.
Revisiting knowledge picked up somewhere, Ray pieced together the situation.
‘By the time Simone attempted to contract with the spirit of darkness, she was likely already unstable…’
Her bold actions and descent to the point of imprisoning and torturing her own father were heavily influenced by the spirit of darkness.
Still, since spirits of darkness don’t wander aimlessly, it was reasonable to assume someone guided Simone into the contract.
“Who’s the real mastermind?”
“…Locust. A high-ranking dark wizard and infamous spirit of darkness practitioner.”
“Damn…”
Ray’s brow wrinkled like paper.
He recognized the alias “Locust,” which meant this was a major issue.
Given Ray’s ignorance of wizards, knowing the alias indicated the individual was notorious across the empire.
“Is it possible this is an impersonation?”
“Unlikely.”
“Is there any other information I should report to the count?”
“Locust was chasing traces of Genesis. You understand.”
Coughing roughly from prolonged torture, Pietro urged Ray.
“Escape from here. Before Simone arrives.”
“…Is Simone strong?”
“The spirits of darkness Simone commands are not easy foes. Not one, but two of them.”
“But they die if stabbed with a knife, right?”
“Spirits are immortal beings. They merely temporarily vanish before resurrecting. Moreover, to cut through illusions requires skill in wielding sword aura.”
“How about Simone herself?”
“…Not an opponent for someone like you. Hurry up and leave!”
Ray nodded.
Having identified the magician targeting Luna, he had achieved his minimum objective.
If the notorious Locust was indeed involved, Ray alone could accomplish nothing more.
Swiftly leaving Dinor, accurately informing the count of the facts, monitoring the situation, and devising a plan to protect the orphanage would be wise.
“Tch…”
The imprisoned children momentarily crossed his mind, but he shook his head.
If he fled now, they would undoubtedly be devoured by the spirit of darkness, but he couldn’t save everyone.
Just as Ray made his decision and turned around—
Clomp
“…!”
Footsteps.
Pietro whispered.
“It’s Simone. Hide in the opposite cell. I’ll create a disturbance to draw attention while you escape quietly.”
Ray pondered briefly.
Even if he escaped, it would be noticed within minutes that one child was missing.
They wouldn’t fail to notice if one of the three was gone.
Rather…
“Lord.”
Inspecting weapons left nearby for torture and threats, Ray noted that though most were in poor condition, there was a usable axe and sword.
“I have good news and news that could be either good or bad.”
“…?”
“The good news is that I’m stronger than your son.”
In the darkness, Ray’s eyes glowed icy blue.
Only then did Pietro realize that the opponent before him was a monster disguised as a child.
“The news that could be good or bad is that, with your cooperation, I could sever your son’s head and present it to you.”
“…”
“Will you cooperate?”
Pietro, sensing approaching footsteps, nodded.
“Let my son pay for his sins before accumulating more karma.”
Ray vanished into the darkness.
His work here was done.
Now, he needed to finish Simone and return.
