Chapter 78

Chapter 78

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"Why...?"

"Surely you don't expect a guard to be unaware of that."

There was a hint of hesitation and a great deal of doubt in the eyes of the young guard who had met his gaze squarely. However, Yuder did not clarify the intent of his question.

"Incredible. He is the kind of person who couldn’t help but tell everything."

After the young guard had given all the answers and hastily left, Nahan, who had been watching him from a step behind all this time, approached Yuder.

"Did you recognize that man as the guard we met last night and targeted him?"

"No."

However, as a result, the intimidation had been even more effective, which was fortunate. Following Yuder, who walked decisively towards the house where Devran had lived, Nahan continued the conversation.

"I never imagined he would take the threat of revealing his name to Zakail so seriously. Why, though? Even if you told Zakail, he would likely not care, as long as things were going as he wished."

"Just because the one at the top doesn't care doesn't mean those below feel the same way."

As an example, he referred to the remarkably stern and intimidating old guard captain.

"...I see."

Nahan's eyes shone oddly, quickly grasping the meaning behind the words.

"So lower-ranking individuals dislike even being mentioned, for fear it could offend those above them. Hmm. How did you know such a subtle detail? Were you perhaps a member of the imperial army?"

"Do I have to answer that as well?"

Yuder quietly retorted, implying that the one losing out wasn't him but Nahan. At this, Nahan gave a low chuckle.

"I'm a bit too curious, you see. Especially when I meet a competent brother like you."

"I would've thought I told you there were no brothers like you."

"Your coldness is almost at the level of a glacier's breath. Surely, you could share that much."

"If you want to know, you should start sharing."

Seemingly annoyed by Nahan's excessive curiosity and reluctance to share his own information first, Nahan quickly shut his mouth. Silence followed until they reached Devran's house.

'Here we are.'

Everything was charred black. The ruins were devastating even from afar, but the horror was more palpable up close. Yuder slowly circled around the ruins, filled with the burnt debris, and inspected it.

The neighboring houses and streets they had seen on the way here were all marked by the same charred traces, but none were as severe as Devran's house. At least the others hadn't collapsed like this.

As Yuder returned to his original position and looked down at the chaotic debris, Nahan stood next to him. Yuder glanced at him and then opened his mouth.

"You must have come this far as well, right?"

"I did."

Nahan casually agreed.

"However, I didn't discover anything beyond the conjecture that the fire here was more purposefully destructive than elsewhere."

Yuder remembered Devran expressing concern to his fellow members that the lord might not grant his request to move their residence due to his sister.

Devran and his family had disappeared, but Zakail Hartan's brother had not died. The visage of the man in the fine brooch discovered in the ruins of Devran's house. What did all this signify?

Yuder closed the brooch and tucked it into his chest pocket.

"Get out. I'm going to restore it to its original state."

"Have we found everything we came to find?"

Quick-witted, Nahan answered and slipped out of the ruins. Yuder followed him out of the burned house, slowly released his power, and returned the remaining debris to their original places.

A large amount of black dust rose with the sound of crumbling, but none of the ashes flew to Yuder, who was enveloped by the wind.

"Where are we heading next? To the back mountain as well?"

"...Yes."

Before they had arrived, they had heard from a young guard that the bodies of executed convicts were buried casually around a large rock in Mount Clayman, extending behind the Hartan territory.

Even if he committed suicide, Devran was a convict, so his body must have been buried there.

Of course, if he truly died.

No bodies of people who were said to have been burned to death in the house were found, so could Devran's body really be fully discovered? He felt like he could bet it wouldn't.

And his thought was confirmed when they reached Mount Clayman after about an hour's walk.

'Just as I thought. Nothing.'

They quickly found the large rock used to bury the bodies of the convicts. As the young guard had said, the rock had a bizarre appearance, looking like a monstrous creature standing on two legs and roaring, making it easy to identify. The guard mentioned that the townspeople called it 'The Rock of Death'.

However, there were no signs around the Rock of Death that suggested something had recently been buried. Just in case, Yuder lightly manipulated the wind and earth to turn the area upside down, but all he found were a few skeletal fragments that seemed to have been buried a very long time ago.

"Over here. Can you come this way?"

Then, Nahan, who had disappeared a short distance away, called Yuder.

"There's a pit here."

The pit that Nahan found was closer to the woods than to the area around the rock. It was narrow and deep enough to bury a person, but there was nothing inside it.

"Was it like this from the beginning?"

"No. When I found it, the fallen leaves were... covering it like this."

Nahan moved his feet to roughly cover the pit with the piles of leaves that had been pushed to the side. It was clear that it had been covered up hastily.

Yuder pushed the leaves aside again and knelt down in front of the revealed pit. When he leaned over to look inside, a foul, damp smell wafted out.

Although the scent was mixed with the strong smell of decaying leaves that had been piled up for a long time, the foul smell was extremely familiar to Yuder.

Yuder reached out and randomly scooped up a handful of dirt from inside the pit. Inside his black gloves, he could see a liquid that had not completely dried out seeping out from between the crumbled soil.

'Blood.'

There was no doubt about it. It was blood.

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