Chapter 175 - Identity Discovered

"The front garden" actually looked like a dense forest and the neighborhood was really close to the central square, of course, after going through a strange storage street.

One would imagine that at night that street would be a hotspot for prostitution, drugs, and gangsters.

"Don't think too much, at least we're a little isolated, and we can do whatever we want" James said, patting Emery's thin shoulders.

"I don't have time to fix a house, I need to get back to my world" Emery said with irritation in his voice, shaking James' hand off him.

"There is no rush, the time here is different from the time outside"

"How do you know this?" Emery said suspiciously and backed away from James a little, afraid the man would pull him back.

"Because I'm the Second Prince Jhonatan," James said very calmly, he breathed in the pleasant scent of the weeds around the house.

Jhonatan's story was basic, he won the crown prince from his brother, but that had been unforgivable... He didn't say how or when, but in his soft and calm speech, Emery realized how painful the accident that burned had been on his face and he was frightened by the palatial plots of the Aurore Empire.

Being isolated after such a calamity and of course, the case was hushed up by the royal family, became a joke to the nobles and the family, or it was the subject of pitying and apologetic looks, which made him feel even more aware of his falling power status. So, wanting to clear his mind off problems and mockery, he decided to travel alone.

Only, he somehow ended up in this temporal ghost town, which was pretty unlucky of him.

"After all, my incompetent, magic-addicted brother didn't get the throne... I also didn't expect our fourth brother to be strong enough to take the throne. All this for him to be pathetically chased out of the palace." James said with a smile so sardonic and a sour look in his eyes that it made Emery feel sorry for the man.

"But your eyes..."

"Oh, we have similar eyes. My maternal family is the Darcy Family, I am the nephew of the current Archduke Darcy... Or not so current. I'm Ethan's best friend, and we're cousins, so I know you're not Ethan" James said looking intently at Emery.

"So you already knew... Why didn't you say anything?" Emery asked, even more, wary of the other man, he raised his arms to keep the young men behind him.

What did that man want with them?

James or Johnathan smiled at Emery's suspicious gaze, but he didn't act and did nothing, just remained silent for a moment.

"I know you're off the main bloodline of the Darcy Family, even though you're not Ethan, so I had no reason to harm a relative of my maternal lineage" Johnathan with calm indifference.

Only Johnathan didn't explain how he knew Emery belonged to the main bloodline of the Archduchy of Darcy.

"Shall we go in now, cousin?" Johnathan said lightly and shook his hand a little, the earth rose, creating a clean staircase and a straight path to the house that looked dangerously slumped.

"Aren't you supposed to be the fire master?" Emery questioned, he knew about it thanks to Josephina, who talked a lot about the second prince earlier.

"I am a master mage and a Knight of the tenth circle, I only chose the fire element as my symbol, but I can also master the other elements with average quality, as I spend my whole life dedicating myself to the fire element... But isn't it ridiculous to have a burnt face and be a Pyre Master? Ah, the earth has been a more faithful and less fierce companion than cunning fire," Johnathan said with a soft laugh, but the bitterness in the words belied such lightness.

The Fire Skull Knight didn't seem to exist anymore.

Only one man was left, with a disfigured face and a bitter voice.

On the other hand, Levi Mulder, who was in slightly better health; he was receiving information from subordinates about the investigation behind his poisoning.

"Captain… It seems that the abbot of the church put the poison in the drink" Alberto Silvano said, sitting in a chair next to Levi's bed.

Alberto was the vice-captain of that unit that was allocated at Matteo Abbey, he has been with Levi for years, the two started as knights in training together and have been friends ever since.

Therefore, Levi had great confidence in Alberto and in the information, he gathered, after all, the two were not just friends, but knew each other's secrets, some were too dark secrets that could throw their lives into hell.

This was the kind of friendship that Levi considered real and loyal.

"For what purpose?"

"I have no way of specifying the purpose of the abbot, but by about the morning it could be to throw the scapegoat on his back"

"It's possible, he wants to get rid of me, after all," Levi said with a bitter smile, but his gaze remained calm.

A cold calm that made Alberto shiver with fear, he well knew that his friend behaving like that could only mean big trouble.

"The morning situation... Still haven't found the missing people?"

"Yes, even the people who disappeared on the night of the demonic attack haven't been found yet. From the evidence, this could be a case of some sinister cult that needs human sacrifice..."

"It's possible, we found a demon baron not far from our area. As if the force that separates the demons from our world is weakening, and it is getting more and more chaotic."

What Levi was talking about was right, demons with titles of nobility that rarely walked underground now appeared in towns and villages, with an attack on the abbey itself that was supposed to be a holy land.

"As if you don't like this chaos" Alberto commented sarcastically. Levi looked at his old friend and the two smiled at each other.

Levi and Alberto talked some more before they were interrupted by a light knock on the door asking to come in, the novice Francesco and Father Gian were at the door.

"You know how to proceed, just don't kill the old man," Levi said with a look as calm as stagnant water in a puddle.

"Okay, are you going to need anything else?" Alberto asked getting up from his chair and stretching, he spent a lot of time sitting.

"Yes, you can investigate what Father Rutger is doing these days"

Alberto stared at Levi for a moment, seeing emotions in those eyes that only showed a monstrous, almost inhuman calm, but when he talked about this Rutger guy he didn't seem as cold as before.

"Of course, but what do you want to know? I guess you feel it would be better not to know what he's eaten or what he's been drinking, right?" Alberto asked jokingly. The door was opened to let the doctor and disciple in.

"I want to know everything," Levi said with a sharp tone, and for a moment his gaze looked hot and crazed, which made Alberto both surprised and wary.

Who the hell was this Rutger guy?

"Okay, I'll find out," Alberto said, greeting Levi formally in a short farewell and nodding to Father Gian and Francesco.

The new guards that were posted outside Levi's room were warned by Alberto not to let anyone but himself and the doctors into the captain's room.

Even the abbot or other priests could not enter the captain's room without his permission.

"What if it's Bishop Darcy?"

"Yes, Vice-Captain, people here comment that he is very arrogant and has powerful items with him"

The two new guards said this excitedly, they were young and had just been sent from the capital's abbey to increase the strength of Matteo Abbey, which had lost many people to the pandemic.

They had that adventurous spirit, and they admired heroes, strong, proud and arrogant people.

"Yes, yes, even Bishop Darcy cannot enter. But you can ask him to talk about his adventure defeating a Dark Sorcerer... They say it was legendary" Alberto said, patting the young knights on the shoulders.

On the other hand, Father Rutger and Father Dante were quietly eating lunch in the canteen, despite the tension keeping most tables quiet.

"People are disappearing..."

"Even the priests… Should we ask for a transfer?"

"Disappearing is not enough, they are killing priests. Those who disappeared must be dead too!"

"Transfer? Don't make me laugh, with your qualifications and reputation you should be grateful you weren't expelled!"

"What do you mean by that? I have always been a very upright person!"

"Just because the novice was transferred doesn't mean people don't know what you've done... It's people like you who tarnish the reputation of us clerics!"

"You two stop making noise. Do you want to attract Abbot Eurico's attention now? Or worse, the killer could be among us and target us..."

"Tsk, if the assassin wants to take this scum, I don't see any problem"

"Brother Mauro!"

Rutger overheard the conversation from the next table which ended with one of the very offended priests standing up, his face red with rage, but the look of fear was visible as he looked around as if trying to figure out if the killer had overheard their conversation, but everyone was still eating if they raised their heads and he with visible relief left with his head down.

Of course, the superiors of the clerics were pressing to keep the "news" inside the abbey.

The priests prayed that the capital team would arrive soon, at least they felt safer, than dying or disappearing with the administrators hiding what happened.

Priests who were already distraught did not imagine that things could only get worse.

Well, they didn't know they were in a Dark BL storyline!