CH 20

(3rd person pov)

Haron has been in a pretty tiring situation for the past few days. It was quite exhausting to lead troops to the borderline, for he was in charge of all the miscellaneous matters, including being the lord’s escort and commanding the soldiers while finding a place to rest.

Thanks to that, the lord was able to move around comfortably in the carriage.

“Warrior, where should we take our next break?”

“That last village near the border is coming soon. Let’s take a break in that place on the open street.”

“Okay.”

Even though Haron had a lot of work to do, he didn’t feel less tired than usual, but instead, he felt more encouraged today.

‘Come back.’

He smiled as he remembered what she said and felt a tickle in his heart. Anyone would say that she was a natural beauty, but that wasn’t the only thing he liked about her.

“Come… back.”

He felt those words ringing in his ears again and again. Those words meant that she will be waiting when he gets back. Every time he chewed on that fact, he felt some unknown feeling rise in his heart.

The job of the warrior is to wander around. It can be a battlefield or a dungeon, for he was always busy fighting with his sword and had nowhere to return. He was still staying at the lord’s castle, but it wasn’t a place where he would want to go back to, and the same goes for the duke’s residence.

But now, he had a place to go back to, for a person is waiting.

“… Let’s get going.”

The break lasted for less than 30 minutes, but Haron hurried to be on the way again. He wanted to go back as soon as possible, and it’s been a while since he had felt this way.

He rode the horse and guided the wagon for a couple of more hours to the border. Originally, the person who is there for pickup needed to be there earlier, so he waited for Mr. Altor, who had not yet arrived.

Marquis Altor is the central noble of the empire. In addition to not knowing who will be coming and when they will arrive, they have to make sure the deal goes smoothly. Fortunately for Haron, that’s the part the lord will take of, for he’s a very reliable person in that area.

“You can see the pattern at the top over there!”

A soldier’s cry could be heard from a distance. Looking more closely, several luxurious carts and wagons were coming this way on the hillside road.

“Let’s get ready to meet.”

The lord, who has been stretching around in the carriage, crept out and said. Then, as if he had been waiting, he climbed onto the horse and drove it out to the front. Meanwhile, Haron was busy leading the other soldiers.

Before long, someone had stopped in front of them. The person riding on the horse at the front was a young man.

“Oh – Lord Elves. Long time no see.”

“Gosh. Isn’t it Carl. You could’ve just sent an agent if you’re going to this countryside yourself.”

Carl Altor. The young man is the eldest son of Marquis Altor and one of the people who have a strong influence in the present empire. He is said to have taken the forms of courtesy and morality although his business skills and behavior are outspoken because he resembles his father.

There was also a saying that if the Marquis fell ill from eating something and died, Carl would succeed in his position, and there would be no successful business in the empire without his involvement. Someone had called him a deadly poisonous spider, for he spreads his legs so wide.

Carl laughed while sweeping his hair away from his eyes. Anyways, he was a man whose only weakness was his personality.

“I’m here just to increase the number of Mahone stone businesses. I heard that there are many of them you prepared this time, right?”

“Yes, you’ll be very satisfied!”

The two of them spoke openly while riding the horses. The soldiers led by Haron escorted the front of the carriage followed by the people who were brought by Carl in the back. While the two of them were having a pleasant conversation, Carl glanced at Haron who was following behind.

“Blakes throw-away.”

What was contained in his murmur was an obvious mockery. The lord next to Carl noticed his mumble.

‘You still don’t seem to get along.’

The story of Carl’s dislike of Haron was famous. There were quite a few nobles who hated the warrior for his unknown origin, and among that were severe rumors. The lord bit his lips while trying to contain his laughter. They say that the enemy is on your side.

Carl was protected by Duke Blake for his outstanding ability, and unfortunately, Duke Blake cared more about Carl than his adopted son. He also used to faithfully obey the Blakes except for Haron. So at the moment, the lord did not have a strong alliance.

Carl then glared annoyingly at Haron a couple of more times.

“Why is his face like that when I sent him to catch the Devil?”

“What?”

At Carl’s words, the lord turned his head and looked at Haron. His face was as smooth as usual. Haron had an ordinary expression that looked neither good nor bad in the lord’s eyes, but he nodded sharply and sympathized with him.

“Did something good happen to him recently?”

“Well, if it’s work… maybe that’s it.”

“That’s it?”

One of Carl’s eyebrows went up sharply at the lord’s answer, and he made a slight chin gesture as if to keep talking.

“Not long ago, he hired a maid exclusively for himself… well, it’s embarrassing since that has been circling around.”

“That guy?”

“That’s right. He didn’t send her anywhere. I thought he had hidden a treasure love.”

“That’s hilarious, lord. Have you seen her?”

“Of course! I’ve seen her face-to-face for I’ve moved his room near mine…”

“Oh, really?”

The lord was so excited that he spat out the words quickly. The thought that he had shared too much information crossed his mind slightly, but Carl had already heard the information he needed.

“Anyways, you can’t fool the blood anyways. She was so shallow when I met her, and you’ll always feel inferior to her.”

Carl laughed leisurely as he drove his horse. When he comes back, there will be twice as many cartons, so he had to speed up a little for it’ll take longer to get back.

But, it was Haron who suffered the most during the long drive.

“Now let’s take a look at the precious Mahone stones that you have.”

Upon arrival, Carl, who headed towards the VIP reception room, sat cross-legged and muttered.

Mahone. The name itself sounds so greedy. He rolled his tongue as he enjoyed the taste of the tea he was drinking. It was bitter and sweet at the same time. Did they say the tea leaves only come from this area?

If they could successfully trade the Mahone stones, maybe they could also trade the tea leaves on top of that. He was in a good mood.

“You’ve been waiting for a long time! Here’s the box of the Mahone stones.”

The lord brought a small box while smiling from ear to ear. Although the box was small, it had enough space to be filled with hundreds of small Mahone stones.

“Don’t worry. Open it up quickly.”

“Okay. Then…”

As the lord spoke, he opened the box with a sound.

The inside was empty, and the only sound made was the squeaky box that opened.

“… Ha ha ha! My lord, you have improved your pranks since the last time I saw you. It was a lot of fun, but this is very important, so you’re going to do it properly and show me the real thing, right?”

Carl answered quite pleasantly, but towards the end, a slight grinding sound could be heard. However, the lord did not answer immediately. No, he couldn’t. He began to hiccup unknowingly.

“You, you, you, you, this…!”

The lord couldn’t tell if it was a dream or reality, for he didn’t know what the hell happened. His head felt empty.

“What, what the hell…!”

“Hey Elv! Did you know that I’ve been at the capital for the longest?”

“Carl, Mr. Carl…! This is not what it looks like…!”

It was very annoying for someone much younger to call out the lord like that, but that wasn’t important now.

The hundreds of Mahone stones he had collected. The thing that the lord cared for more than his life disappeared. Everything, gone.

“Obviously, there was a thorough security measurement and settlement right before we left…!”

The lord tried putting his hand in the box to see if there was even visible magic on the jewelry box, but all he could feel was air. All the jewels had disappeared into thin air.

“Lord Elves!”

Carl, who couldn’t stand it anymore, stormed out of his seat. The lord fell flat on the floor with a whimper.

“How dare you screw me, my family, the Altors? Did you think you’re going to be okay after this?”

“Oh, no! I really think someone stole it!”

“What… What am I supposed to do about it? I’m here to make a deal, so give me the deal!”

“Oh my gosh!”

Once again, the lord fell flat on the floor.

Haron then came into Carl’s eyes, who was glaring around and staring at him because he couldn’t control his anger any longer. Haron was just standing by the wall on the side and looking at the two as if they were irrelevant.

He wasn’t related to the situation at all. Anyways, the deal was going to take place between the lord and Carl. It had nothing to do with the warrior or Haron Blake. Carl knew that, but he still got emotional and got into a quarrel with him.

“What are you looking at as if nothing’s going on?”

“…”

Haron remained silent despite Carl’s provocation. It was because he knew that if he said something, it would be taken the wrong way nevertheless. But, his apparent disregard made Carl even more furious.

“There’s a man who’s the warrior, but the castle was robbed. Is that something that can be true? Aren’t you ashamed?”

“I didn’t even know where the lord kept the Mahone stones. He kept everything from me. Isn’t that right, my lord.”

Haron asked, but the lord was too nervous to answer. His quiet and calm reply made Carl’s anger soar. That man can’t make noise, let alone rebel.

Carl fumed. The anger from the deal and the frustration that seems to burst due to an incompetent human being all boiled up at one moment.

“Hey, lord.”

Carl touched the lord who was still lying on the ground.

“Yes… Oh, please speak…”

“Do you want to keep doing business with us?”

“Yes?!”

The lord’s eyes suddenly widened at Carl’s words, which seem to be his savior.

“Yes, yes! Of course! Please, please!”

He felt like he wanted to hold on to Carl’s legs. How many hundreds does he want? That’s all he needs to collect again. Of course it hurts him to be like this, he had to bear it.

In the first place, Mahone stones were a gem that comes out whenever a monster was killed, and its mana overflowed the estate, so it would be necessary to kill and get them again.

However, the moment this was photographed with Carl Altor, who was called the poisonous spider, the territory could collapse and they would suffer beyond loss.

Even if the Mahone stones are collected again, the lord, who is out of Carl’s sight, will not be able to find a new client, and that’s the last thing he wants.

While the lord was having all those thoughts in his mind, Carl read those fears from the lord’s eyes.

“Then listen carefully to what I’m about to say.”

“Yes! Just say it!”

“I think… the warrior in front of us is the one who stole the Mahone stones.”