CH 40

(Haron’s POV)

“Welcome back Warrior, I’m glad that you’re back safe and sound.”

‘Indeed, it’s the face of the one that I didn’t want to see.’

Haron thought as he looked at Duke Blake, who smiled politely at him, no, pretending to be smiling at him.

There were no more than ten people, including the Duke who came out to greet him.

Haron replied indifferently, to the crowd of people who were eager enough to greet him, the triumphant general.

“Yes.”

After uttering one word, the horse that he’s riding scurried past the Duke and immediately entered the Grand Duchy.

The knights who followed Haron and the servants who were with the Duke, had no choice but to ignore what had happened.

Since the both of them were displaying such audacity to the other.

The Duke had no choice, because if a family member as high ranking as the Duchy came back, they needed to decorate and fill up the road with a lot of people.

The amount of people that had gathered in the square to see him was not enough to accommodate all of them, which was why they held a banquet for three day and three nights.

But the way they greeted each other was unexpected.

Not to mention, instead of showering the road with flowers as a greeting, the path towards the Duchy was full of dirt and dust.

Another thing was that even though it was dinner time, the Duchy was dark and silent.

However, the people from Haron’s side were also formidable.

The most shocking behavior between these two people was, of course, none other than Haron.

Since the people of the Duchy were already used to how Duke Blake ignored and trampled on Haron when he was still a child, his actions came as no surprise to those who worked in the castle for a long time.

“How dare you come and greet me, with such arrogance.”

But Haron ignored his words and moved away, Duke Blake then looked at his back without saying another word. The Duke’s assistant, who was standing by his side, witnessed everything and thought.

‘He really did change a lot, before a single word from the Duke would have already made him tremble with fright. But now you even ignore his threat, so you must be having a lot of fun out there.’

It all started two years ago.

From then on, the Warrior started changing, as if he were rebelling.

This all happened after he failed to subdue the Devil and killed the Lord.

The Duke remembered the time he was escorted back to the Duchy after killing the Lord.

“Warrior… Didn’t I make myself clear before? That if you failed, or stained the name of the Blake Family..’

“Then what?”

“…”

“Who are you going to kill this time?”

He looked at the person right in front of him, seeing Haron spoke with a smirk on his face, Duke Blake couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He was speechless.

“Is it going to be the Nanny that I followed like a mother? Or will it be my Master who I treated like a father?”

‘This, this child…!’

“If not, then are you going to attack those people around me, and harm them just like what you did when I’m still a kid?”

“You sure have lost your mind.”

The Duke’s assistant thought that he might have taken medicine for the pain of defeat. If not, how could a normal person turn into a madman overnight?

Haron was still gently sarcastic to the Duke with his shrill tone.

“How about tormenting me instead? Just like what you did back then.”

“Haron Blake.”

Finally, the upset Duke shouted loudly and then Haron’s face suddenly turned cold.

After that, he kicked off his seat and left.

It was from then on, the gentle hound who had always listened well, suddenly cut off its leash and started to attack the Duke.

Duke Blake then took out a poultice, cut off the tip and put it on his mouth. The aide quickly lit up the end like it was tobacco.

“This can’t be… No….”

Smoke billowed the evening sky.

“This isn’t how I raised you. You can’t betray me like this, Warrior.”

‘That is why I never raised you like a beast, so that you wouldn’t bite back.’

He thought that he had everything under control, but where did things go wrong? The Duke was very annoyed.

He needed him, that’s the reason why he adopted Haron and gave him the last name Blake.

“I am your father, Warrior.”

He had no intention of giving up on the son that he had trained.

~*~

On a day just like any other day, the atmosphere inside the Duchy was rather precarious like everyone was standing on a piece of thin ice.

No celebratory banquets were held. Rather, the air was more intense, as if the Imperial Castle or the Temple were competing to praise his achievements more beautifully.

The Duke was very quiet, without any of his minions around, as if nothing had happened.

Haron was alone in a dimly lit room. His face shows a white complexion from the reflection of the moonlight that anyone would have easily mistaken him for a ghost.

He sat quietly by the window, staring out into the distance.

[Why aren’t you sleeping?]

“…”

[Huh, are you saying my words aren’t even worth answering anymore? Whatever, you bastard.]

Rigg’s muffled voice gradually faded away.

In the midst of sharing consciousness, there were times when Rigg became very quiet.

Just like how human beings need sleep, Rigg would be sleeping, once every few days.

It was very close to a sleep mode rather than someone dozing off, so sharing consciousness was still possible, but Haron was satisfied with these moments of silence, even if it was just for a little while.

Haron’s eyes trembled for a moment, while looking at the distant night sky in peaceful silence.

“I’m here.”

As he slowly got up from his seat, a small thump was felt on the floor.

It was such a subtle vibration that ordinary humans would not have even noticed it.

After a while, a hole about the size of a human appeared in the middle of Haron’s floor and a white rabbit’s ears popped out of the hole.

“Hello! It’s Anne! Long time no see, Warrior!”

“…Yeah.”

Contrary to what he said, Haron greeted Anne with a cold face. But, the corner of his lips were more relaxed than earlier.

Anne was a messenger who secretly connected him to the Devil. An opponent who had no reason to dislike him.

If the people of the Empire knew that the Warrior and the Devil were secretly communicating with each other, they would be engulfed in great confusion…

‘It’s none of their business, even if everyone knows.’

In a way, he was having some sort of quarrel with the Devil, but there’s no sign of guilt or regret in Haron’s face.

Moreover, if he was asked what’s the most important thing to him now, of course he would say that he was only focused now on one side and it had been like that for a long time now.

“Here you go. The Devil sent this.”

Haron accepted Anne’s letter.

A soft piece of paper rustled and unfolded in his hand.

[Writing to each other now. That’s a good development for the both of you .]

Riggs, who he had thought had gone to sleep mode, quietly murmured. It was difficult to determine if he was happy or not about this.

It didn’t matter for Haron whether or not he was talking to him. Since his whole attention was on the contents of the letter.

「To Haron.

How are you doing? I’m sorry if I’m a bit late to congratulate you. I know that you had just finished a tough battle at my request. But, I’m sure that you wouldn’t get hurt anywhere regardless.

Still, I heard that the border around Markel’s estate has been cleaned up thanks to this battle.

It will soon be revealed that it was not our Demonic Spirits that attacked the small villages around the Markel Territory. I am always grateful for your help.

I hope you will reconsider the plan you have decided to implement next. Lately, it seems more and more humans are coming into my realm to steal the mahone stones.

I know that you’re busy, but please reply.

-Lucia.」

Her voice seemed to be heard softly throughout the letter.

The content of the letter simply conveyed the purpose without adding any extra rhetorics to the message. If it was a letter between aristocrats, it would be strange if he would not be offended.

[Wow, that’s a very direct command as if she was ordering you. She’s the Devil, right?]

Riggs grunted as if he didn’t know the content of the letter.

“Yes, she can also do and say what she wants, since she’s no longer my maid.”

Haron just smiled quietly, as he continued to read through the letter with his eyes over and over again, for a short letter that had only a few lines in it.

[Hey, you can put a hole in that letter, since you’ve been re-reading it multiple times now.]

“I’m glad that I was a little bit of a help.”

[A little bit? We fought that fierce battle, and we just helped only a little bit…?]

“…You’re so noisy, Riggs.”

[You’re such a pushover, I helped you beat those bunch of foolish people, but you’re still treated as nothing by that Devil. Human, haven’t you changed at all for the past two years?]

“For me to decide on who I should be following is already a big step for me.”

He continued to read the letter several times until he folded it up and held it with gentle touch, as if holding a piece of fragile glass.

“Wait there, Anne. I’ll write down a response, right away.”

“Okay!”

Anne smiled and sat down on the sofa. However, after a brief moment, she began to wander around Haron’s room, without content.

[Why does that rabbit beast not know how to stay still? I’m going crazy.]

At Riggs grumbling, Haron rolled his eyes and looked at Anne.

Even he admitted that she’s insane. However, she’s their precious messenger that can travel between Lucia’s Castle to him. That’s why he won’t reprimand her.

“Riggs, why don’t you keep your mouth shut.”

[Why are you only annoyed with me?]

Riggs grumbled in protest. But, now for Haron, he doesn’t care whether Anna was crazy or Riggs was being loud.

Since all his attention was focused on the letter that he was writing.

Unlike Lucia’s letter, the much softer and sweet words were being written down like a steady stream of water.