CHAPTER 199

Vvvvt!

Cyron ripped the seal from the letter with his index finger.

It had been seven months since he last received a letter, so he felt a little excited. This was the first time he had positive emotions in seven months.

'Good thing I walked through all those monsters. I can't believe the patriarch looks so elated.'

Khan suppressed his smile. He had been a little uncomfortable and impatient since Kashimir had not written anything for the past half year. He really wanted to know what they were up to.

And coincidentally, the letter had meaningful content all over it.

'Illustrious Bladeworks and Shadow Blade. I see…'

Those two phrases caught Cyron's eye.

"Did you hear about the Vamel guy recently?"

"Yes, Lord Patriarch. His name was also brought up during the clan meeting. People suspect he is Peitel's Contractor. Although we don't know if he had a crew or was fighting alone, we know five assault-general White Wolves died from battle. He doesn't seem like the usual person."

"If anyone finds out he's my youngest son, people will freak out."

"Yes?"

"Try to keep this low. Make sure the other flag-bearers don't get too interested…"

"Understood."

Cyron read the rest of the letter. The text didn't include any information regarding the Compass, but it did include Jin's journey to Lafrarosa and his fight with the Kinzelo Group and Zipfel Clan. Of course, credits to Syris were included as well.

Cyron didn't feel offended, even when he knew that Kashimir was hiding some information. After all, the Ghostblade was not his subordinate but Jin's.

"Kuhaha!"

Cyron laughed, causing the ground around him to rumble.

"You seem very amused, Lord Patriarch."

"You would laugh as well if you read this."

Cyron passed the letter to Khan. 

(Most respected Lord Cyron,

Young Master Jin said these words at the drinking table last night, and I quote him, "I think I can clash swords once with my father." Ah, such shocking words.)

Khan's face turned into stone.

"The Ghostblade must've lost his mind. Even if Jin said such words, he should've at least interpreted the meaning behind them! I shall immediately warn—"

"Khan, have you heard of the Illustrious Legends?"

"Yes, Lord Patriarch. They conquered the land five thousand years ago."

"Well, Jin went through Solderet's trials and met them. Among them, there exists the Battle Goddess, and according to Jin, she is debatably strong. A worthy opponent of mine."

Khan fumbled with his words.

How could anyone with such a short stature even stand a chance against Cyron? On top of that, the king of the beastmen from five thousand years ago? To Khan, this all felt like a fantasy. However, the youngest Runcandel son and the Ghostblade wouldn't lie.

Khan stood still and awaited further explanations.

"Jin reasoned that, since he clashed swords with her, he can do the same with me. Hoho, he's so cute, I'm going to cry."

"In my honest opinion, I think the youngest does not have enough insight about true swordsmanship. I understand that he is growing at an insane rate, but he is still only seventeen."

Khan knew all the Runcandel children since they were infants, and even the strongest among them—Luna—couldn't last even one strike against Cyron.

It was obvious that Khan wouldn't believe such words from the letter.

"Khan."

"Yes, Lord Patriarch?"

"That brat said to me that nothing is impossible for him."

From those words, Khan lowered his head.

"I have spoken wrongly."

"I didn't mean for you to apologize. However, I am still pretty curious. Will he truly stand by his words? I will be greatly disappointed if he is just arrogant."

Khan immediately knew where their conversation was headed—what Cyron was implying.

He wanted to test Jin.

"Shall I bring the young master to the Black Sea?"

Cyron shook his head.

"No, no need."

"Will you be going to Tikan yourself…?"

"That would be horrible for him."

If Cyron went to Tikan, the entire world would have eyes on the city. In doing so, Tikan would no longer be a safe homebase for Jin, since all kinds of empires would plant people inside the city.

Cyron stroked his beard once, then smiled.

"Got some paper?"

"Right here, milord."

Cyron's hands danced across the parchment. His smile never receded as he wrote.

Khan was astonished at the sight of it. The patriarch had lost his smile ever since Luna gave up on the throne.

Cyron finished writing and handed the letter to the guardian knight.

Khan's eyes widened when he saw the recipient's name.

'This is…!'

There was no seal, nor did Cyron mention not to read the letter. However, Khan immediately stored the letter into his armor. He knew he should never check the contents of a private message.

"Khan."

"Yes, Lord Patriarch?"

"Send the message, and tell Heinz to send some Royal Wine to Talaris. Bring one to me too after ten days."

"Understood. I shall take my leave."

* * *

July 21st, 1797.

Two men in red masks and blue uniforms sought Tikan.

The Vermont Special Forces wore this outfit when they were conducting 'official' activities or duties. And the red masks were only worn by Division Leaders.

The 3rd Division Leader, codenamed 'Wratch', and the 4th Division Leader, codenamed 'Chris'.

As soon as the two appeared at the Transfer Gate, they were caught by the Tikan Central Defense Force's alarm. This was the only outcome when two Division Leaders appeared in a peaceful city.

It didn't even take ten minutes for Alisa to find out.

'I know they aren't here to chase down Miss Quikantel and Enya.'

Currently, those two were unofficially wanted criminals. If the Division Leaders came for them, the forces would have appeared in bigger numbers and probably at night.

'Wait, did they find some clues on Young Master Jin?'

It probably wasn't that either.

The visit shocked her, but they just visited Kashimir's residence in a calm manner.

Kashimir's residence was the dwelling for the 'Big Seven' of the Seven-Colored Peacock. The group consisted of very important intellectuals and officials from the Vermont Imperial Family. Most had been from the Vermont Empire and knew Wratch and Chris.

However, being acquaintances didn't equate to friendship. The Big Seven were kicked out of the Imperial Family along with Kashimir, which meant that they didn't have a good relationship.

The Seven-Colored Peacock agents around the city alerted Jin's crew about the visit.

"It doesn't seem like they came to search for me. Hm… I don't have any theories either."

"Since we don't know, please go hide with Miss Enya and Miss Quikantel. I will identify their objective and notify you as soon as possible."

The Big Seven and Kashimir came out to the lobby. Neither party had weapons, but a strangling anxiety suffocated everyone. The evicted imperial prince and important imperial officials meeting current imperial subjects.

There would be no way for the confrontation to be short of awkwardness.

"Thank you for inviting us in, Sir Kashimir."

Kashimir smiled.

"What brings you here? I'm sure Division Leaders are very busy people… Why don't you state your business?"

To the point, but cold.

Wratch revealed a note from his pocket; one that bore the emperor's insignia.

Kashimir's eyes filled with rage.

"…What… is this?"

"The emperor requested assistance from the Seven-Colored Peacock. The compensation is fifty thousand gold for Vamel's identity. After the investigation concludes, he plans to offer double the amount."

"Hahaha…"

Kashmir ripped the note in half. 

"Sir Kashimir, this is showing contempt to the Imperial Family, specifically to the emperor himself."

"I don't think the current emperor is someone who deserves to be free of any criticism, Chris. It seems like he wants you to tease me then ask me to come back. Tell the emperor that you succeeded with ease."

"There seems to be some misunderstanding, Sir Kashimir. Don't you know? Vamel recently caught worldwide interest. The emperor only wants to speak to him before the Zipfel Clan could. So we would like—"

"You…!"

Kashimir slammed the table and stood up.

"Do you bastards not see the contempt from the nation? I lost my power as an imperial prince, and these people were betrayed by the Empire's politics! Have you no sympathy? Do you think you have a single right to ask us for help?"

With bloodshot eyes, Kashimir shouted at the Division Leaders. However, the Division Leaders remained calm.

After a moment of silence, Wratch spoke.

"…I shall ignore your disrespectful actions towards the emperor. Instead, please forgive us for disturbing your nation's peace. We shall take our leave."

The two Division Leaders gathered the ripped pieces of paper and stood up to head back the way they came from. Kashimir calmed down only when their silhouettes disappeared.

"I didn't act badly for once."

Kashimir's anger was fake. Well, his anger might've been real, but showing such rage in a professional setting was an act.

"I could hear your burst of anger from out here."

"If I wield my old feelings and repent, then the emperor will probably leave me alone."

Jin still didn't know why Kashimir had been deemed the 'Fallen Prince'. Kashimir said he would tell Jin someday.

"The emperor definitely didn't send people just to annoy me. If he asked for the Seven-Colored Peacock's cooperation, then he really wants to see you, Young Master."

"Probably Miss Quikantel and Enya as well. Wratch saw me with them before. If the Imperial Family gets ahold of me, then they can get to them as well."

"Fifty thousand gold… It's a bit of a shame. It was an opportunity to recover the money we gave to Cosmos."

At that moment, Jet frantically burst through the doors.

"Milord!! Sir Kashimir!"

"My goodness, Jet."

"An unknown old lady said she wants to support the Seven-Colored Peacock."

"Hm? Couldn't the agents deal with that? And what do you mean by 'unknown'?"

"That is… The donation isn't exactly ordinary. It's a ship filled with gold. No one seems to know who she is."

"No one? A lot of special guests today. Where is she?"

"She's on her way to the residence."