Chapter 33

-‘I heard that His Majesty Duke Anais was playing with his young benefactor.’

-‘The people close to him said he changes every time. Sometimes he doesn’t even remember the name of his aide.’

-‘Well, he’s not interested in the rumors circulating in the Duke’s Castle, he’s a man with a lot of schemes. Maybe he’ll lose interest soon.’

The Duke of Anais was indifferent to everyone and had no desire for anything.

-‘It wouldn’t be a big deal for his Excellency to protect that person. Don’t you think so?’

-‘What would happen if the Duke abandons that human?’

-‘Hahaha…!’

Cassian clenched his fists as he recalled the vulgar words of the beast knights, which became the spark of the fight.

The beast were effectively sentenced to death by the Duke of Anais.

With just one fight, their knighthood was stripped and was dealt with according to the military law of the Duke.

Thanks to this, the anger he felt calmed a little, but Cassian was still puzzled.

In the first place, such remarks are dismissed as trivial among the knights.

Also, since it was a society of beasts who abhor humans, it wasn’t that wrong to gossip about humans.

So now, the actions of the Duke were excessive.

Cassian mumbled as his lips twisted in confusion.

“That’s a little too much.”

…What if Astel wasn’t just a toy for the Duke as the other beasts in the Castle assume?

Duke Anais took a step forward. Their eyes met head-on.

“Yes.”

“…”

“I’m willing to go overboard in the future. So, answer me.” (Anais)

It was dangerous.

“Don’t approach Astel for dating or any relationship purposes.”

“…Astel wasn’t my lover.” (Cassian)

‘Of course, because she’s my sister.’

Whatever the reason, a satisfied smile spread across the lips of Duke Anais hearing the answer from Cassian.

With that smile, Cassian felt a warning ring in his head…

“I hope you’ll stick with that attitude forever.” (Anais)

This bastard was definitely out of his mind.

“…I would make sure that no one dares to speak easily about Astel.”

Cassian stared at the possessiveness in the Duke’s eyes, continuing to recall the chatter the knights had made.

-‘None of the things the Duke was interested in were intact.’

-‘… Aren’t most of them destroyed?’

-‘He’s a great man in many ways.’

Destroyed…?

That was the kind of guy he had to keep away from approaching Astel any further.

But how could I face such a man?

Duke Anais frowned as he looked at Cassian’s puzzled expression.

Even if he’s evaluation of Cassian was upgraded from ‘human trash that rips money from women’ to ‘human trash that knows how to deal with the insult against Astel, who he takes money from,’ he didn’t want to talk more about it.

It was the same for Cassian.

He muttered slowly as he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

“Of course. Then I’ll get going, Sir.” (Cassian)

“Yes, don’t be safe and get lost.” (Anais)

They seemed polite, but didn’t forget to give each other a warning, and they turned their backs at the same time.

And that night, Cassian received another letter from Rachel.

[Cassian, please leave for the capital immediately…] (Rachel)

But Cassian couldn’t leave right away. Because he had to help build a base camp.

As Cassian tried to answer that it would take longer, the commander of the Knights, who seemed to have just gotten out from the barracks bed, tapped him on the shoulder.

Cassian hastily hid the letter.

“I’ve been thinking about it, but I’m forced to issue temporary probation anyway.”

“…they ignored it first.”

“Anyway, as much as the Duke of Anais has taken excessive action, you should cover your eyes when he does something like this. So let’s go back to the capital for now.” (Ropa)

Cassian glanced at the Knights Commander.

He immediately recalled Rachel’s letter that he had hidden.

It wasn’t enough, but he had gathered quite a bit of information needed for revenge…

“I’ll be right back, then…”

He made a slight frown and nodded.

“Yes, like a handsome knight, be careful not to hurt your face.” Ropa muttered staring at Cassian’s face.

Those words did not reach Cassian’s ears. He’s been serious for a long time.

What the hell awaits you in the capital?

Cassian couldn’t figure it out exactly.

✤

Astel had a peaceful day while the Duke was gone.

Thanks to staying safe and not overdoing it, Astel fever did not rise and she was fine.

‘I wonder if my brother was doing well, he must have heard the shocking news by now.’ (Astel)

I wanted to convey the news through the cello, and I also wanted to use this recording device. But I had to be careful because I didn’t know who was around.

So, I spend an hour a day, except for going to the treatment center, and having a surprisingly peaceful time…

“What’s that, Astel?”

It’s not called ‘that‘…

What Sally was looking at was my hand.

I shoved the <Revenge Manual> into my arms and laughed.

“Guess what?”

“I don’t know! What was it? Sally’s head tilted curiously.

What I had in my hand was a magic device that could detect the Artifact Appraiser.

Artifact Appraiser. It’s a rare job, but if I ask carefully, it’s possible to find a competent appraiser.

However, even if it was any outstanding artifact appraiser, it was far short of the person I was looking for now.

His ability didn’t just end in assessing artifacts.

He should have a great talent for analyzing, destroying, restoring, and even creating an artifact.

There’s no way I wouldn’t know someone with such ability.

He flaunts his talents to the fullest, and a few years ago, he destroyed an artifact of darkness.

‘Maybe he had been hiding for fear of being harmed by the people who entrusted him with the artifact.’

…In conclusion, it meant that there was a long way to approach him unless the appraiser contacted me first.

Since I had not yet officially become a healer for the swordsmanship competition, I still couldn’t identify the knights, and in many ways my situation was stagnant.

But I couldn’t stand still though.

Getting an artifact appraiser first makes it easier to solve future situations.

So, in the absence of the Duke, I thought of various tricks to summon the Artifact Appraiser hidden somewhere.

The first method was to save a lot of money and hire an information guild to find it.

…this project has failed due to lack of funds.

It was also uncertain whether Rachel, who was my brother’s competent informant from the original, would be able to find one of the information guilds I hired in the field where she failed.

The second method was to spread rumors that I have a high-grade artifact that might interest him.

But for me, the only high-grade artifact I have was this brooch artifact.

Besides, if the fact that I own a brooch artifact leaks out, the final villain would take me seriously.

So, there’s only one thing left, the last method was…

…to develop an item that he might want.

As a human being, even in the midst of hiding, there must be something he desperately wants.

‘What would be better?’

Astel contemplated the most capable Artifact Appraiser in history.

In the original <Blood Revenge>, my older brother failed to find the artifact appraiser in the end.

However, my brother has acquired some characteristics about him.

However, with only those few hints, it was truly like a search for Mr. Kim in Seoul.

(N: With a lot of Koreans with the family name Kim, this simply means searching for a needle in a haystack.)

Sally, who was looking sadly at me as she squeeze her brain, carefully spoke,

“Hey, Astel. Would you like to go for a walk? Let’s go to the garden and have tea.”

Astel swept her hair behind her ear and nodded.

‘How could I get that great appraiser on my side?’

✤

A few days passed…

In the meantime, having regained my energy, I went around the castle listening to all kinds of rumors while the Duke was gone.

“A flea market would be held in the Castle this afternoon and even outsiders would be invited.”

As a result, I got prior information about the small flea market held among the beasts of Duke Castle.

“Yes, but it’s…”

“Could I participate in that flea market?”

Astel smirked remembering a game she made to entice the artifact appraiser.

“…Was the reason you’re smiling so sweetly because you wanted to visit our flea market?”

‘Huh? It’s not a sweet smile…?’