Chapter 28

Surprisingly, it was not the maid who opened the door, but Ricardo, the previous head of the Jaguar family.

“Didn’t you say there’s something you want to ask Sam?”

I nodded as I looked at his sparkling eyes.

“Yes!”

“Alright, let’s go straight to hellfire!”

…it sounds a bit strange, though.

Anyway, I followed Ricardo with a satisfied smile on my lips and moved to the citadel where the Jaguar family stayed inside the Duke’s Castle.

It’s been a while since we arrived at the entrance to the old palace-like citadel.

“Well, here’s the prison key, as promised.”

Ricardo opened the prison door for the Jaguar family located at the end of the Duke’s Castle.

“I’ve tortured him so much that I called you in a hurry because I thought he might die. It’s almost half dead. Are you sure about this? He asked me to spare him and not to kill him.”

The Jaguar family’s method of torture was famous for its cruelty, so it must be a natural reaction.

Astel clasped the key tightly.

“I’d like to ask you a favor instead. Get rid of all the guards and recording artifacts.”

According to the Imperial law, prisoners have recording artifacts, as well as guards residing inside the prison to monitor them.

‘If you say no, what should I do?’

Ricardo grinned as he agonized seriously.

“Well, if that’s what you want. It’s dangerous, so be careful.”

Fortunately, Ricardo, who lived regardless of the law, willingly said yes, and allowed it.

A few minutes later, I was able to get into the prison where everything was perfectly set as I planned.

“Wake up, Sam.”

“…what.”

His eyes were puffy and his head was swollen with blood. I looked down at him calmly.

“Are you here to ask about what’s behind it? I don’t know how you got me in here, but…”

Sam groaned and opened his eyes, then grumbled again.

“Ugh… I could never tell you what’s behind me. I didn’t even know in the first place. I was just following orders! Bro- brooch artifact, the orders came out of that… Damn, where the hell did the damn brooch go?”

How tortured he had been, there was a rustling sound in his voice.

Ignoring his words, I remembered the hint of the second villain, ‘The Swordsman’, that my older brother couldn’t catch in the novel.

Reflecting on the scabbard remnants of the artifact’s surface.

[He had lightning-shaped scar under his eyes, and he was always wearing a medal under his chest. The medal was very important to him.]

He’s my next target.

“Okay, not the one behind it, but your friend.”

“Friend?”

“Your friend with a lightning-shaped scar under his eyes.”

“…”

Sam looked at me with a burning stare. Like Sam, who was good at treachery, his envy was enormous.

“He must be very free now, unlike you are now.”

The eyes staring at me glistened. There was also a rustling breath.

I made the last point.

“You don’t have to tell me who’s behind you. Just talking about that one pyramid, it’s a survival state. You know, I’ve been a benefactor of two people, the Duke and the Jaguar family, that’s about it.”

My voice was almost crooked, but now was the time to be bold enough to look a little arrogant.

Astel raised her chin proudly.

Sam paused his groan in pain and asked quietly.

“Jin, Sim, will you spare me?”

“Yes, you know, legally, every prison in the Empire has recording artifacts. That would be a witness to my words.”

Sam looked around.

I didn’t miss seeing the light of relief on his face.

I don’t know because my judgment was blurred, but all the guards, including recording artifacts, had already been cleaned out at my request.

Besides, Ricardo of the Jaguar family was a great person who kept the laws of the Empire.

But Sam, whose head was spinning due to torture, looked around and muttered lowly.

“Then, I have to wash my identity as well. Otherwise, I’ll really die.”

Destroying our family and poisoning others to death. But all you cared about was your own life?

Astel stared silently at Sam.

“It depends on the information you give.”

“Hey, I’ll tell you. I mean… You mean the one with the lightning-shaped scar under his eyes? He’s an excellent swordsman, but he became a knight and got a fake job. I don’t know more than that.”

“And?”

“…more, I wanted to tell you more, but I and that swordsman just did what he told us to do!”

If it were him, it would be the final, unidentified villain.

Astel stared at Sam with eyes wide open.

Sam, limping, mumbled as he grind his front teeth.

“I don’t know what his goal was. I only know my job. The job he set for me was to destroy the Jaguar family. Considering that I often communicated through the artifact…”

“Why did you follow him without knowing exactly who he was?”

“That’s because… he changed my life. His abilities were amazing! I couldn’t see his face, but he certainly did. He knew exactly what I wanted, and all the money I got after choosing me to value my abilities. I gave them all…”

Sam scurried out the words.

I’ve heard everything Sam’s been talking about ever since.

It was raw information that didn’t appear in the original, and that my brother at this point would never know.

“Yo-you’re gonna spare me, right?”

“…”

“Come on, I’ll ask when the guards come in. You swore to spare me!”

Staring at him screaming, I quietly stepped outside.

My nickname was a pushover, a fool.

I’m a little less distant than others, and have a weak heart.

So I thought that my heart would be very weak when I face Sam.

I thought my brother would be there if I didn’t come forward first, so I was able to get stronger somehow.

“Astel!”

Outside the prison, Ricardo stood waiting.

It had been a restless day, and I hurried forward.

“That ugly bastard isn’t something for you to see with a weak heart, it’s true.”

“…Grandpa, I have a favor to ask of you.”

“Why, if you ask me to save him, I won’t accept it. You’re such a nice kid. But we couldn’t let him live!”

“No, that bad guy doesn’t know how to reflect. So please kill him neatly.”

No matter how much I was a pushover, I couldn’t show mercy and compassion to the man who destroyed my family.

“You know, there’s a pulpit…”

He looked at me unexpectedly.

Ricardo seemed to be quite fond of me now.

He looked at me with a proud look and opened his mouth as he gently stroked the top of my head.

“Okay, do whatever you want. Shall we go for a walk?”

Wall. Yes, let’s take a stroll…

“…then, shall we go around the swordsmanship practice?”

Ricardo’s eyes shone brightly with a bright smile.

***

According to Sam, the swordsman was now disguised as a knight.

Then, like it or not, I would visit the knights often.

So, I was going to take a look around the knights’ quarters in the Duke’s Castle and the swordsmanship practice ground attached to it.

But…

‘It’s too far, where the hell is the lodge…!’

It was almost like an aerobic exercise and a marathon, not a walk.

From the Jaguar family’s prison at the far end of the Duke’s Castle to the knights’ swordsmanship training center located next to the main castle.

I walked to the point where my legs were shaking.

Ricardo glanced at me and coughed again.

“Are you okay?”

“Huh? Oh my. Yes.”

“…I have asked his excellency to let my family support you.”

Astel stopped with her eyes wide open.

When I stopped, Ricardo also stuck his foot next to me and stopped.

“…Yes, su-support me?”

Ricardo coughed constantly.

The tip of his ears near his grayish beard were red.

“Yes, to sponsor you. However, his excellency may refuse…”

“Ahhh…”

For a while, I wondered whether it would be okay because of the imprint.

“Even if I can’t sponsor you, didn’t you say you were a healer?”

Confused about what he wanted to say, I stared at him.

Ricardo said quietly.

“Well, I think your talent is a bit good, and I thought I should bring you into my family. Actually, permission for moving your residence is something that needs to be obtained not only from the Duke, but also from your parents. Although I should let your parents know too…”

To his cautious suggestion, I acted as if nothing was wrong and bravely opened my mouth to answer.

“I don’t have my parents.”

“…Huh?”

His eyes opened wide and immediately looked at me sadly.

The expression was only for a moment.

Strange…

Originally, when I say I don’t have parents, people secretly ignore them or excessively sympathize with me, but Ricardo didn’t.

It was a little cute, like a cat, to be nervous and startled that I might have been hurt by his words.

“But thank you for the great opportunity.”

I smiled brightly at him with a lighter heart.

Astel smiled sincerely.

As a healer, it’s always been something I’m proud of when a patient whose life I saved thanked me.

With Ricardo, who became a little less talkative, we continued to walk.

We walked slowly towards the battleground.

But as I went to the battleground, I felt a strange sensation.

“It’s a little humid.”

Sweat dripped down from my forehead.