“You have a magic tool to dampen sound?” Ivo asked.

Ivor nodded, took out a magic scroll and handed it to Ivo. “Is this possible?”

Inside the magic scroll, Ivo could see the pattern of the magic circle and easily identify the type and what magic was inside. Although the language and form were a little unfamiliar, Ivo could remember seeing this somewhere.

A work of the House of Shadow. Low-level shadow magic, Whisper of Shadow.

“I didn’t expect you to have something like this still. Didn’t you decide to run away from that father of yours?” Ivo asked as he circulated the magic on his body.

“None of your business. Just use it.”

“Tsk, you’re so cold.” Ivo shook his head.

The magic scroll in his hand slowly disappeared into grains of ash that were burned by the fire. The shadow that was previously at his feet slowly rose and merged with his body.

Now, everything he said could be heard by the other party who also used similar magic. Ivor also used the same magic scroll and the two slowly connected.

“Before that, let’s discuss what you can give me.” Ivo started the conversation before Ivor could speak.

“The information I have is not something that comes cheaply so I will not accept any form of negotiation that you offer. Besides, the consequence of you not paying for it, not only will I go back on what I said when you gave me this potion, but I will leak more information to people who might be interested.” Ivo smiled as he added the last sentence. “And trust me, you won’t like it.”

The voice seemed like a whisper, Ivor shivered when he heard the warning. He nodded slowly and did not ask what consequences this person would give.

No! He would be an idiot if he asked. Once he asked that, he would underestimate what this person could do.

‘First, let’s see how much information he has.’

Ivor slowly took a deep breath and exhaled. When he spoke, his voice seemed like a whisper that only Ivo could hear.

“Before you tell me anything else, I want to ask you one thing.” Ivor paused for a moment before continuing.

“What do you mean by Raven being cursed with the truth?”

“Ah, that. This is an easy matter. But before that, do you want full information about this or just a part of it?” Ivo asked.

Depending on Ivor's answer, this would bring about even greater changes. The more valuable information this person asked, the more he would benefit. Ivor would have to pay a huge price if he asked.

Of course, he would not rashly give out information. Something that was so sensitive that Ivor could not bear would not be said. Anything that involved the secrets of the world and various things would not be said.

For example, the problem of Raven being a Regressor. Ivo would not tell this because the trouble that would come would be even greater. Especially since this problem would involve the Powerhouse of this world which was rumored to be outside of time.

If Ivor acted rashly and spread this matter, then regret would be useless.

After a moment of silence, Ivo asked again. "So, what is your choice?"

"Just tell me everything. I want the truth." Ivor said with a calm gaze. He had thought about this for a while and decided.

"Alright. The term cursed with the truth is actually how we describe the condition that Raven faces. He is a person who was born with special eyes. The eye that can see the truth is called the Eye of Truth.”

“Eye of Truth? I’ve never heard of it.”

“Of course, you’ve never heard of it. Even the House of Shadow and your father have never heard of it. Even the White Snow Academy or the people in this world have never heard of it. Your perspective is too narrow if you look at it from a small scale like the House of Shadow.” Ivo laughed a little.

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

“Back to the topic, the Eye of Truth is an eye that looks directly into the truth. Nothing can hide from those eyes and no lies can escape. With just one look, all secrets will be revealed and all truths will be revealed.” Ivo explained while deploying magic in the air.

He manipulated the magic energy quite casually and showed a human figure trapped inside a box.

“Let’s put it like this. The human inside this box sees the box as the world. No matter how far he looks, what he sees is limited to that box. Even the life he spends is limited to that box.” Ivo explained and slowly changed what he displayed.

Now, the box was gone and the human figure was looking up at the sky. There, two unspeakable giants that the figure could not define were driving him crazy. In fear, he wanted to run but couldn’t. He wanted to duck but his body wasn’t his. The human figure was just looking out of the box and was about to die, but he couldn’t even die.

Everything was controlled by Ivo the owner of magic. And that human figure, he couldn't do anything and slowly went crazy.

"This... what does this mean?" Ivor asked while pondering what Ivo meant by showing this.

"It's simple. This is a depiction of what Raven will face when his eyes fully awaken. When he sees the truth shown by those eyes, he will be completely destroyed because he can't bear the burden. He will go crazy so that all rational reason he has will be destroyed without a trace. Those eyes, they are cheats but also curses." Ivo explained it in detail.

"This... So this is what you mean by a curse?" Ivor who saw the projection in front of him seemed to refuse to accept it.

"Raven is not so weak that he will be destroyed after experiencing this. He is not a weak person like you think. He will face any danger in this world and will not give up no matter how difficult the problems he faces."

Ivo who heard it couldn't hold back his laughter. He laughed at the words Ivor said. Even his laughter made Ivor a little uncomfortable.

“You really don’t know anything about Raven, don’t you? Not giving up? I would even be grateful if that person didn’t go crazy after his eyes awakened. But as much as I wish it, I know that it’s impossible. He’s a time bomb that is accelerating his destruction.”

“If you think that Raven can hold back from the truth that he will see when his eyes fully awaken, just imagine what he will do when Raven finds out that Rachel will be killed in the future,” Ivo said with a loud laugh. Although no sound came out other than a whisper in Ivor’s ear, he didn’t hold back.

“Rachel died…?” Ivor couldn’t comprehend what Ivo meant. But when he imagined it, he was a little scared.

The feelings that his master, Raven Astrea had for Rachel were very clear. It was a feeling of love that was so great. Raven even assigned several talented people to protect Rachel from the shadows.

Ivor really didn’t like Rachel because Raven’s attention was mostly focused on the woman to the point of endangering himself. The master he served really had to sacrifice a lot in taking care of the woman. Even something that should be logical would lose to his feelings.

That was why he didn’t like Rachel. She was a burden to Raven and was of no use to his Master. There were many genius Alchemists that Raven recruited but Rachel was Raven’s first priority.

“Does this answer satisfy you?”

“This…” Ivor fell silent.

He knew Raven had a secret. Even so, he had never once peeked or tried to find out.

Assassins only took orders and did their jobs. Investigating their past and secrets wasn’t something Assassins did unless it was an order they received.

That was why he never once questioned how Raven knew so much. There were times when Raven acted strangely and visited people she didn’t even know and recruited them.

Ivor didn’t know the reason behind those actions or questioned them. Now, everything seemed so clear.

If the Eye that Raven had was really something like that, then it was no wonder that her development was so amazing.

This even made him a little scared of his Master.

One thing still confused him.

“What do you mean the eye hasn’t fully awakened?”

Ivo didn’t answer the question. He clapped his hands and dispelled the mana projection he was doing.

“Enough for now. Now, let’s discuss the payment for the information earlier.”

“Wait! You haven’t answered my question.”

Ivor was about to protest but the words he heard silenced him.

“Any more than this and you might not be able to pay me what I want. Do you really want to continue?”

“No. That’s enough.” Ivor fell silent after saying that. He remembered that this information didn’t come cheap and he had to pay this man.

Whether it was money or doing his bidding, he had to pay.

It never crossed his mind to ignore the warning Ivo gave him at the beginning. The man in front of him was a mysterious person he didn’t know and there was no information about his origins or who was protecting him.

He came with information that even Ivor himself didn’t know, knew secrets, and was very cunning. Whether he would take this man’s word for it, Ivor needed to show that he was the first to be trusted.

This was a relationship based on trust. And Ivor was the one who was at a disadvantage.

“Say it. What do you want.”

Ivo raised his index finger. “Heart of Pure Shadow.”

When he heard that, Ivor’s eyes widened and he slammed his hand on the table. He looked at Ivo with great hostility and almost swung the dagger in his hand at the neck of the Bastard in front of him.

But the memory of Masha and the chains that bound her that day came back and held him back.

“I can’t give you that.” Ivor said in a low voice.

“Why? You should have that heart, right? Besides…”

The cheerful gaze and smile he showed earlier disappeared. Only deep, cold eyes without any ripples were in his eyes now.

“Are you saying that you will break our agreement?”