NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 28
(28)
Whether fortunate or unfortunate, there were no further pursuits, and we were able to safely step into the inn near the north gate.
The inn, built brick by brick, was luxurious and stately, fitting for a building in the capital.
In an era where it was difficult to find buildings taller than three stories, this simple inn boasted an impressive five stories, as befits the capital.
Though the ceiling height made it look much more cramped than a casino building, it felt that much more comfortable and safe.
I generously used the budget that Jeilliris had provided there.
“How many rooms are available on the fifth floor?”
“There are none occupied on the fifth floor at the moment.”
“That’s good. I’ll rent them all out for the next ten days. Aside from the room service I request, do not let anyone else up and don’t say a word about our arrival. If you do, I’ll have your head.”
The innkeeper, upon seeing the color of my eyes and Lady Trentia’s armor, immediately averted his gaze and nodded.
The cost of lodging was quite high, but Jeilliris had provided a generous budget, allowing me to move about comfortably.
As we ascended the stairs, Aquinas asked.
“If those types come again, isn’t it more dangerous for the fifth floor to be completely empty?”
Lady Trentia looked as if she didn’t know where to start explaining, and I replied in a sharp voice.
“I warned you not to let anyone up, so if someone dares to come up, it means they are suspicious. If anyone is seen wandering this floor, we can immediately chop them down without doubting whether they are guests or assassins.”
“But that could lead to unjust victims, couldn’t it?”
Our eyes briefly met, and I calmed my bubbling insides and said.
“Shut your mouth. The most wronged person in this empire is me, having to protect two children.”
After repeatedly urging Lady Trentia not to stray from the two, I left the room.
She, too, seemed to have realized that there were many entanglements in this situation after seeing the mentally contaminated flock of crocodile birds, nodding with a serious expression.
I rode back alone towards the Imperial Palace.
“Milady! Please help me!”
“Stop! Riding is prohibited in this area!”
“Do you remember me?”
Someone tried to stop me from all corners of the street.
They all seemed suspicious, and I kept placing my hand on the hilt of my sword.
Feeling like I was developing a paranoia, I passed them by.
Fortunately, at the palace, the documents regarding Aquinas’s renunciation of his inheritance right were being diligently prepared.
“I received Your Majesty’s signature this morning, and my signature is here. All we need is Duke Aquinas’s signature here. Please place Lord Valenciaunos’s signature beneath where it says notarized.”
The court official smiled kindly and handed me the prepared documents.
As I checked each one, I came upon a clause and let out a sigh.
“Why is the effective date three days from now?”
“Because the Duke’s family will arrive that day. Until then, it’s better in various ways to remain a member of the imperial family.”
The royalty had many small and various privileges, such as unrestricted nighttime passage and permission to enter the palace.
However, if things continued like this, the Duke’s family might take Aquinas away before the child’s birth was reported.
I would have to plead with them to take at least a day or two to rest for their fatigue.
“Is something the matter?”
“No.”
I gritted my teeth and calmly received the documents from the court official.
The documents were written on parchment that had various magic spells cast upon it, including preservation magic, and the ink was made by alchemists who mixed golden powder with dozens of dyes to prevent forgery.
Lastly, I hid the special pen well in my clothing, declined the tasteless coffee, and headed back toward the inn.
It wasn’t that early since I had met the crocodile birds, yet it was already quite dark despite it being the long days of summer.
“Let’s go.”
In the darkness, small sparks flew every time the horseshoe struck the ground.
Screeee—!
“The sun will set soon! The sun will set soon!”
Night watchmen blew their horns and began patrolling the alleys with hunting dogs, while the lamplighters hired from the wealthy district opened air holes in the oil lamps and lit the wicks.
In the empire’s cities, a curfew was the norm.
This was an essential and common measure to catch thieves, arsonists, and spies.
Except for the wealthy shopping streets mainly visited by nobles who had their own security guards, the nighttime city fell entirely silent as all the lights went out.
Dodging through the bustling citizens heading home, I rode my horse.
“Damn it.”
Smoke was rising from the inn in the distance.
* * *
Sensing the pungent smell, Lady Trentia stood at the door, leaving behind the now crying baby.
“Milady. Shouldn’t we go out?”
Aquinas, holding the baby, also asked in a trembling voice.
She listened intently to the sounds coming from outside the door and replied briefly.
“They may be trying to lure us out. Please remain calm and wait here.”
Trained for a long time, Lady Trentia instinctively analyzed the surroundings.
‘As it’s a stone building, there’s not much that can catch fire. The building is not at risk of collapsing. If it’s a coincidence, it will go out soon. We are holding out, waiting for Lord Valenciaunos inside.’
Thud, thud, thud.
Heavy footsteps echoed down the hallway.
Clatter, clatter, a noise like a large insect quickly escaping.
Aquinas swallowed a scream and pointed at the smoke beginning to creep through the crack of the door.
“Milady! Shouldn’t we go out now? If we stay here, either the baby or I might suffocate!”
“If we go out, the baby could suffocate. If a trained assassin takes aim at Your Highness and the baby among this pungent smoke, I may not be able to respond. If a situation arises that must be avoided, I will jump out with Your Highness and the baby, so you can rest easy.”
“Jump out? What do you mean? It’s at least over 12m high here!”
Aquinas’s words were nearly a scream.
However, Lady Trentia did not flinch.
“I jumped from 15m during training.”
Thud, thud, thud!
The footsteps were getting closer.
Steeling herself, Lady Trentia drew her sword and aimed it at the door.
‘The Emperor is checking the relatives, and Duke Aquinas is trying to renounce his inheritance right because of the illegitimate child. The bandit Duke Valenciaunos brings strange incidents, and the Duchess may want to take her nephew.’
The Emperor will likely try to kill the illegitimate child, and the Duchess may need the child.
If a third force, which Duke Valenciaunos suspects, really exists, they will target Duke Aquinas.
“Is the objective a civil war?”
She muttered to herself.
“What did you just say?”
Ignoring Aquinas’s question.
Then.
Knock, knock, knock, knock.
There was a steady knocking sound.
“Your Highness?”
“It’s me.”
Lord Valenciaunos’s voice came from beyond the door.
“I heard there was a fire from a pot of oil while frying in the dining hall on the lower floor. Looks like it’s just a little burnt oil and will go out soon. Please open the door.”
Lady Trentia narrowed her eyes.
“Didn’t you leave the key outside?”
With a short sigh, the sound of the doorknob turning was heard.
She quickly placed a chain on the door from inside.
Clank, the door halted midway, and Lord Valenciaunos showed a surprised expression upon seeing her with a drawn sword.
Then he smiled happily.
“You’ve been guarding well.”
“You’re right, Your Highness. That’s a relief. I was quite startled when the smoke suddenly poured in.”
“I was surprised myself seeing it on the way here. I thought we were being openly attacked. Did you notice anything unusual other than the smoke?”
“Nothing particularly noteworthy… Ah.”
Lady Trentia opened the chain and stepped into the hallway, pointing towards the ceiling.
“I heard a sound like some multi-legged insect crawling from that direction.”
“If you heard it, it must be something. It wouldn’t have been a mistake.”
The two of them, whose eyes met, swiftly drew their swords and poked around the ceiling.
They lived lives beyond the reach of chance.
Thud, whoosh.
A clean blade emerged from a lightly pierced ceiling several times, and Lady Trentia first let out a low sound.
“Your Highness. Look.”
On the tip of her sword was a severed centipede’s body and some bodily fluid, with a bit of silver dust stuck to it.
“It’s smaller than a monster. I don’t sense any strange energy.”
“But even just a poisonous insect would be dangerous for the baby or Aquinas. Besides, I don’t know why there’s silver coming out.”
“We must prepare for poisonous insects as well. Don’t stab any more where the silver dust is, as the innkeeper may have sprinkled it as a measure against undead or ghosts.”
With that, Lord Valenciaunos shrugged as if satisfied.
However, Lady Trentia had seen him checking the ceiling and corners every night, standing guard.
The sight of him, his tired eyes glowing coldly as he looked around all day, sent chills down her spine.
It felt as if he had an obsession with protecting Aquinas.
Despite that tension, three days went by without any issues.
Finally, it was the expected arrival date of the Duchess, and around 2 PM, someone came from the court office.
“Lord Planiities is expected to arrive at Wyvernfit around 4 PM today. The court official will welcome him modestly yet neatly, and Your Majesty will not be present.”
“I understand. Make sure he arrives on time. Aquinas, pack your things.”
Lord Valenciaunos said to Aquinas.
Aquinas awkwardly covered the pile of blankets with his body and replied.
“Ah, understood.”
The administrative officer from the court office squinted at the pile of blankets.
“Um, Your Highness. Is someone inside there? I thought I saw the blankets moving.”
Lady Trentia considered whether to knock the officer out in her heart.
Lord Valenciaunos, seemingly embarrassed, avoided the officer’s eyes and replied.
“I’ve brought a girl from the street. She’s going to have to live like a ghost once she enters the Duke’s household, so she ought to enjoy herself a bit before that, shouldn’t she?”
“Excuse me?! But that’s not big enough for a person to fit in! How small of a child did you bring?”
Lady Trentia wore an expression of not knowing whether to laugh or cry, while Lord Valenciaunos’s facial muscles trembled.
If someone who knew him saw it, they would have realized that it was not anger but immense shame.
“Alright, alright. Let her out!”
Lord Valenciaunos kicked the administrative officer out the door and shot Aquinas a cold glance.
“Valenciaunos…”
“Feel free to keep floundering around like the stupid dog you are.”
“What did you just say?”
“If you want to die with the child.”
“!”
“Don’t act like that when you’re with me. Do you think this is a game? I’m supposed to deceive His Majesty because of your child. I’m about to deceive a Swordmaster and a Level 6 Archmage.”
Aquinas froze as he met Lord Valenciaunos’s seething golden eyes.
“Quickly pack your things and hide the child. Your aunt is almost here. And sign here. It’ll take effect from midnight today.”
With that, Lord Valenciaunos took out the documents, an ink bottle, and a special pen.
Aquinas silently finished signing.
Watching this, Lady Trentia thought.
Duke Valenciaunos was definitely not a reckless fool.
Perhaps she could teach him a sense of honor.
* * *
Lady Trentia gazed up at the colossal structure made of rust-resistant steel against the increasingly dark sky.
It was a place she had visited a few times since receiving her title, and a place she would visit often in a few years when she too would receive a wyvern, but for now, the grandiosity was still unfamiliar to her.
Wyvernfit, literally translated as “Dragon Pit,” was a symbol of imperial power.
The buildings in the vicinity had been neatly torn down, and high fences were erected over 100m away from Wyvernfit to prevent riffraff from approaching, with the empire’s elite soldiers, high-ranking priests, secret court magicians, and senior knights of the Silver Knights stationed there.
The entrance alone was so large that thirty knights could ride side by side.
From below, it resembled an enormous coliseum, but with a structure that resembled an upside-down spider leg, covered with multiple layers of magically enchanted steel mesh, making it appear like a dome or cage.
Imperial Emperors had reared wyverns inside there for generations.
“Go on. It’s Zone 3, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Lord Valenciaunos stepped into Wyvernfit with more ease than Lady Trentia.
He did not seem lost at all inside the building that was as large as the Imperial Palace.
Lady Trentia thought that he didn’t have a good sense of direction; it seemed he had been here several times before.
They climbed the stairs and reached the rooftop of the coliseum, which served as the landing area for wyverns.
“Have you arrived?”
“Please sit and wait.”
Court officials, elderly court magicians, soldiers guarding Wyvernfit, and court magicians awaited them in a designated area.
“It’s magnificent.”
Aquinas swallowed as he looked around.
Inside the coliseum, the pit-like area appeared to be at least 700m in diameter.
The other side was barely visible.
Looking from above where they stood, the coliseum appeared in a circular shape, and its width reached 100m.
“How many wyverns are raised here?”
One of the silver knights answered.
“We have 180 adults. Including juveniles and hatchlings, there are over 500.”
“How magnificent.”
Aquinas alternated glances between Lady Trentia and Lord Valenciaunos.
Lady Trentia showed a mixed expression of overwhelmed admiration as she looked at the wyverns below, while Lord Valenciaunos wore a look as if he were reminiscing.
What was he recalling?
Before Aquinas could resolve that question, the soldiers and officials grew restless.
Both Lord Valenciaunos and the court minister simultaneously rose from their seats.
In the distant sky, five wyverns were approaching.
“Kiieee!”
Whether they were excited to meet their kin from afar or asserting dominance, an unearthly cry echoed.
Even though it wasn’t an ominous sound, the officials and Aquinas felt their knees trembling.
No matter how diluted their lineage might be, wyverns were still dragonkind.
“Open it!”
At the wizards’ signal, a massive mechanical device began to turn, and the net on the three-o’clock side where they stood parted to the left and right.
The five wyverns slowed down and flew inside.
Their colorful scales, numerous horns, and tough wings spanned 20m wide.
“Woah, woah.”
As the wyverns landed, trainers rushed to grab their reins and lead them down the stairs for wyverns inside the pit, while five men and women approached them.
Whether one was an official or a magician was unclear, but there was one woman among them, and one knight in full plate armor each for men and women, along with the Duke and Duchess.
Everyone gathered there felt a halo shining behind the Duke and Duchess.
The Duke was a robust middle-aged man with short black hair and a well-groomed mustache, while the Duchess was a graceful beauty with long silvery hair.
Both were dressed in a knights’ outfit embellished with gold thread and colorful tassels, as they were once aristocrats of royal blood, their blood was mixed deeply with that of strong heterogeneous races, so their ears and fingertips differed slightly from ordinary people.
Aquinas was undoubtedly someone who had survived in the palace until now.
He knew well that the Duke would have no reason to warmly welcome him.
“It’s been a long time, Aquinas. I am Marthé Apalensa Planiities. I’m grateful that you are willing to become my son.”
Thus, when the Duke warmly embraced him, Aquinas could only widen his eyes in shock.
— Eight hours left until the revocation of the inheritance right.