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Chapter 13
Cliff and Theobald
He finally made his move!
Cliff had never truly withdrawn the surveillance on Aren.
He had merely made it look that way.
Since Aren had already recognized the original spies, Cliff used that to his advantage.
From the very beginning, Cliff had assigned two separate groups to monitor Aren.
And his gamble paid off perfectly.
Believing the surveillance had disappeared, Aren left the village.
“What should we do?”
“What do you mean? You go report this to the Acting Lord. I’ll continue following him.”
The man assigned to watch Aren silently tailed him.
The pursuit went smoothly.
From a distance, Aren’s group moved through the darkness carrying torches.
Though few in number, their lights shone clearly like ghostly flames.
Just as expected. They’re heading into the mountains?
The spy, Old, couldn’t help admiring Cliff’s foresight.
Beluman truly had hidden many things.
Or perhaps Aren himself had secrets he was concealing.
Either way, the truth was finally about to reveal itself.
So there was a lodge up here…
The lodge stood within the territory of the Shadow Wolves.
Old’s expression darkened.
But what happened next shocked him even more.
Aren approached a man staying at the lodge.
And in the next instant—
He was cut down.
“…!”
Old’s eyes couldn’t even follow the movement.
Fast.
And powerful.
A man worthy of surviving in the land of the Shadow Wolves.
Who is he?
His heart pounded.
He couldn’t identify the stranger.
What made matters worse was that the man’s gaze turned directly toward Old’s hiding place.
Don’t tell me… I’ve been discovered?
Surely not.
He wanted to believe that.
But things rarely unfolded as hoped.
“I know you’re there. You don’t seem to be one of these fools’ companions… Did the lord send you? To follow them?”
Old stiffened.
“If you intend to keep hiding, that’s fine too. But then I’ll assume you’re my enemy… and cut you down as well.”
“I-I’m coming out!”
Old hurried out from hiding.
At that moment, he met the stranger’s eyes.
What kind of eyes are those…?
Theobald’s eyes resembled ruins.
Empty eyes that seemed to have lost all color.
Old saw himself reflected within them.
He hesitated.
He still didn’t know which side Theobald was on.
“Did the lord send you?”
Theobald asked again.
After a brief moment of consideration, Old nodded solemnly.
He knew nothing about Theobald’s intentions.
He didn’t even know who the man truly was.
There was no benefit in lying.
“Just as you said. I was ordered by Acting Lord Cliff, the new master of Elimis, to watch Aren.”
“Hmm. I heard a new person would be arriving. The one marrying the lord’s daughter. So he’s finally here. Then… does that make him my master now?”
Theobald muttered as he nodded to himself.
Even then, Old remained tense around him.
This mysterious man finally spoke again.
“Guide me. I wish to meet this Acting Lord.”
After speaking, Theobald searched Aren’s body and took something from it.
Old couldn’t see clearly, but it appeared to be parchment.
Theobald tucked it away and urged him forward.
“Let’s go meet the Acting Lord. You need to report this matter anyway, don’t you?”
“Well… that’s true…”
Was it really safe to bring Theobald before Cliff?
Ah, whatever.
The man had a point.
Aren, their surveillance target, was dead.
Reporting that fact was unavoidable.
And saying he had been killed by this man was better than claiming an unknown assailant had done it.
Please don’t let him be dangerous.
Though judging by how casually he’d killed someone, he clearly was dangerous.
Old decided to ignore that fact.
And so, they headed back to the village.
Even during the journey, Old secretly observed Theobald.
I thought he’d say something…
It was an incredibly uncomfortable trip.
Theobald didn’t utter a single word.
The two simply walked in silence until they reached the village before dawn.
Old led him toward the lord’s residence.
“…Huh?”
Old froze in surprise.
Nigel, the territory’s second-in-command, was already waiting outside.
“So you’ve finally arrived.”
As if he’d expected them.
Nigel’s eyes widened slightly upon seeing the suspicious Theobald following behind Old.
But that was all.
“I’ll guide our guest inside. The Acting Lord will join you shortly.”
Old was bewildered.
Nigel’s attitude suggested he’d known someone would come.
This time, even Theobald showed a flicker of confusion.
Yet he remained silent.
He was simply escorted into the drawing room.
“Please wait here for a moment. The Acting Lord will arrive shortly.”
“…Very well.”
“Old, come with me for a moment.”
“Yes, Steward.”
Nigel and Old stepped outside.
Naturally, Nigel would question him about Theobald.
Theobald grinned.
“…Impressive for an old man. That’s not the sort of efficiency I’d expect from the steward of a frontier estate.”
He admired Nigel’s composure.
A complete stranger had appeared.
Yet Nigel hadn’t shown the slightest panic.
Only a brief moment of surprise.
Gone in an instant.
He had calmly received Theobald while simultaneously gathering information behind the scenes.
It’s almost as if I’d arrived by appointment.
He had behaved like someone expecting a guest.
The thought intrigued Theobald.
With his heightened senses, he overheard the conversation outside.
Who is that man? He doesn’t seem ordinary at all.
There was a lodge in the wolves’ mountain. We met him there.
A lodge?
Yes. Since Aren went there…
Then it must have been Beluman’s hidden base.
That appears to be the case.
They discussed his identity without pause.
Then another presence entered the area.
And this newcomer felt different.
The scent of mana.
A mana user.
His power wasn’t extraordinary.
But in this territory, merely possessing mana was noteworthy.
More importantly, although weaker than Theobald’s, this person’s mana was pure.
Mana cultivated through an advanced technique.
At first glance, he seems like someone from a distinguished family…
Nigel and Old soon revealed the man’s identity.
The Acting Lord.
The person Old had mentioned in the mountains.
The Acting Lord listened to Old’s report with obvious exhaustion.
Or perhaps “report” wasn’t quite the right word.
“Aren is dead, isn’t he?”
“Huh? Ah… yes. He’s dead…”
“And the one who killed him is currently here as our guest.”
“Y-Yes, exactly…”
Old stared at Cliff in confusion.
How did he know?
Inside the drawing room, Theobald shared that same bewilderment.
Did he sense my presence?
Perhaps.
If his senses were sharp enough.
And since he’d appeared alongside the watcher, maybe he’d assumed Aren had died.
While Theobald pondered this, Cliff entered the room.
“Yaaawn. What a shame. I was hoping it would be a beautiful female knight, but it’s a man…”
“…Hah. My apologies for disappointing you.”
Cliff stepped inside.
After yawning and looking Theobald over, he genuinely seemed disappointed.
Then he continued rambling.
“You know, the protagonist is supposed to have a stoic female knight at his side who says things like, ‘Tch. Kill me if you must.’ That’s the classic formula. Instead, what I got is… a rugged man radiating the aura of a beast. Well, I heard you killed one of my subjects. Could you explain why you killed him?”
“…I feel as though I’m being interrogated.”
Theobald frowned.
It was absurd.
Cliff had clearly suspected Aren.
Yet now he called Aren one of his subjects.
And the nonsense about female knights was ridiculous enough already.
Theobald was certain Cliff understood the difference in their strength.
Even knowing that, he’s trying to pressure me?
Incredible.
Theobald stared at him.
Then he felt something strange.
…It feels as though I’m committing an act of disrespect.
As if he were doing something he shouldn’t.
Standing before Cliff’s casual shrug, Theobald finally answered.
“…He claimed to be my master when he wasn’t. So I cut him down.”
The suffocating feeling in his chest vanished as he spoke.
Theobald found it strange.
He examined Cliff again.
A handsome young noble with blond hair.
He could still only sense pure but weak mana from him.
His cultivation method is excellent, but the amount of mana he possesses is pitiful. He’s clearly not someone who should threaten me.
It was odd.
This time, Theobald asked:
“…Did you know I would come here?”
Though Cliff was a noble, Theobald wasn’t ready to bow just yet.
He intended to surrender his slave contract eventually.
But until then, he would maintain this attitude.
Cliff didn’t answer directly.
“…A Slave Knight?”
Instead, he uttered a single phrase.
Seeing Theobald flinch, Cliff nodded.
“I see. Beluman had hidden a knight-class fighter. I don’t understand why he’d use someone like you to guard a warehouse instead of protecting himself… although, perhaps I do.”
A man like Beluman valued wealth above his own life.
His hired mercenaries had been enough to protect him within the territory.
And above all, you can’t entrust your wealth to just anyone.
It had to be someone who wouldn’t betray him.
Cliff continued.
“Maybe that’s why you killed Aren too. Was it your master’s final command? If anything happened to him, kill the person responsible.”
“…Damn. The Acting Lord of this place is a ghost.”
How had he revealed everything so easily?
Ignoring Theobald’s crude remark, Cliff said:
“In that case, there should be something you need to give me first.”
Cliff looked directly at him.
Theobald sighed in resignation.
He pulled a document from inside his clothes and handed it over.
The document he’d taken from Aren’s corpse.
His own slave contract.
A smile spread across Cliff’s lips as he accepted it.
I never imagined I’d find someone like this here.
It was disappointing that Theobald wasn’t a female knight.
But even a rough man had his value.
After all, Cliff’s greatest weakness was his lack of martial strength.
And now, that weakness was about to be remedied.
Cliff reached toward the slave contract.
“So now… would you finally tell me? You already knew I was coming, didn’t you?”
Theobald’s tone had become noticeably more respectful.
Cliff finally answered.
“Rather than knowing someone would come… I knew Aren had died.”
“…?”
Theobald stared at him in confusion.
Cliff smiled.
That was all there was to it.
Because the quest had suddenly been completed.
The moment the quest was completed, Cliff’s status window had changed.
This time—
His Lord Level had increased.
And before coming here, Cliff had invested the newly earned points into his lord status.
