Chapter 47

The Backfired background check

  Imperial Sword Arts, this was the first time Hans had heard the name, Rudolf never mentioned the specifics while teaching him and he didn't care to ask since it became pointless later. To this point, Hans never realised that he was practising the technique that came from the country of Knights, Parv.

He asked in surprise while glancing at the wooden sword in hand,

What imperial sword Art? Is that what this is called?

His expression was clearly stating that he genuinely did not know, so Chris told him,

Yes, its variants are taught worldwide but the true essence of it is not known to many. it is probably the strongest sword art in existence.

Hans looked at his wooden sword with proud eyes and said,

Strongest you say, then how strong a technique would be that breaks this?

He chuckled and continued,

Before knowing your technique I was not sure of how to beat you, but now, pft... I am just a bad match for you brother.

Why?

Because I know every ins and outs to counter this so-called imperial sword arts

Delimira rained on his parade by saying,

Hey, that technique truly shines when combined with aura, so you can't beat him, at least with a sword, idiota.

  Hans just plainly stared at her, he realised the fact and her words truly brought rain on his parade, it was true that he had devised a counter for every movement but he never faced that technique with aura. He became gloomier than Chris after Delimra hammered the hard facts on him.

Hans mumbled,

Darn it.

Chris asked him again,

Hey, who taught you that sword art?

Who cares, can't you see my victory turning to ashes?

Chris annoyingly shouted at him,

You inconsiderate jerk, at least think of me who lost to you.

Hans replied imitating Delimira’s condescending attitude,

Who gives a rat's ass about you?

  Chris was astounded by his words, Hans was getting influenced by Delimira more and more, and he was not in the need of another her. He looked at her who was glaring at Hans, he thought openly imitating her won’t sit well with her but Delimira was thinking some other things.

She was around Hans because the situation needed her to be but this time she was really curious about this brat's origins. She patted Chris's shoulder and whispered to him,

Don't worry Chris, I will know every detail about him tomorrow.

  Chris understood what she was talking about, he thought Hans was not in proximity of having her secretly investigate him, but it turned out that Deimira went ahead and commissioned a background check on him.

Hans pouted at Chris,

Hey where is the nearest dessert shop here, I need my sugar to forget this shitty feeling.

  Chris grabbed Delimra’s hand and urged her to go with them, it was to prevent her from doing things on her own. The trio went on their quest to find the nearest dessert shop and apart from Hans, the two were not interested in sweets but the boy walking in front of them.

  Yesterday after receiving the task from her mother to become close to Hans, she immediately commissioned a full background check on him. Till now she was not much eager to receive the report but today's incident changed her perspective. She might have sunken his mood because he was flying high but she too know that Imperial sword art was not some backwater technique.   

  There existed some organisations that did such work in Concordia, despite it being illegal as long as it paid well it was possible to unearth everything about the target and Delimira was not exactly short on money.

SOMEWHERE ELSE

A damped room, with a lamp flickering the light on the table, and three men were conversing discreetly.

So what is the progress, of the investigation?

Can't we extort some more from clients, I heard it came from some rich brat.

Are you out of your mind?

Tsk, but just who is this kid, there is nothing about him, this needs some extra motivation(asking for more money with a gesture).

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

The room became silent, the other two knew how foolishly greedy this man was. one of the three who was listening till now said,

Are you sure we are not kicking a hornet’s nest?

The greedy one interrupted,

Look at this bastard, there is no gain without risk, you coward.

The timid one replied,

No, but I am just getting a bad feeling from this job

This pessimistic bastard.

The middle one supported the timid one,

Yeah, everything from the top to bottom is faked, Did you find anything discrete?

The greedy one replied,

No, I can't even find where he came from. That's why I am saying we should charge more.

  Someone suddenly knocked on their door and these people got alerted. They were cautiously waiting for the other side to say something but after hearing the secret words they eased up and unlocked the magic seal on the door.

  But what they saw contradicted what they were expecting, a bloodied face and a foot taller man holding that with his one hand. He greeted them with a wicked smile and the three people who were inside, trembled in fear, the timid one recognised the face of the man, he was on the forbidden list of people not to mess around.

He asked while stammering,

Wha.a.t arrre you.u.u doing... Here...Ssir?

  The man kept smiling evilly and threw the battered man on the ground. He entered the room by stepping into his head and crushing it without any struggle. This act instilled more fear in them. His voice was naturally heavy and with that heavy voice he asked the man who spoke earlier,

I didn't know if someone in these boonies could recognise me. I thought of leaving this to my subordinates' hands but I was closer so it's your bad luck.

  The stammering man picked a little courage from the inside and said while stopping his stammering, the man before him was known for generosity and forgiveness so he pleaded as politely as he could,

Please forgive us, we will make amends for whatever we displeased you with, please spare our lives, Hero king Norwin.

  The moment those words left his mouth the whole building froze instantly, and all three of them died without knowing why. A woman in her thirties came beside the man who was still releasing cold breath from his mouth and said,

Do you have to go this far, sir?

Of course, I had to, I made a deal, and I intend to honour it. It is not the time for the world to know about the child.

She became silent and Norwin asked her

So did you find the one who commissioned it?

Yeah, it came from Concordia.

Which bastard wants to die this early? Wait this will be fun, send a word about this to Rudolf, he will make a mess out of this.

  The woman was still surprised that a man who had never taken a step for his children was taking measures for an unknown child. Even if it was some personal deal, his acting on his own was a sign of something else, so she pried into his thoughts

So, you care about the child?

Norwin laughed aloud and said,

When the time is right, I will kill him with my own hands. That thing is just a painful reminder of my past.

ON THE SAME NIGHT, CONCORDIA

Aredhel was anxiously waiting for his daughter. She called her immediately after receiving words from Walter. When Delimira entered she asked repressing her anger,

Did you order a background check on that child?

Delimira replied with annoyance,

Are you keeping tabs on me? finally acting like a mother for a change, I see.

  She had grown up on her own, her mother had left her with her brother’s family since her toddler days. She craved motherly affection but Aredhel never had time for her. She understood her mother had her own troubles but she was absent when she needed her the most. So her acting concerned ticked her off.

  Aredhel was not oblivious to her thought process but she couldn't just blurt out her own problems to her child. It was a parent's duty to make their children's life as worry-free as possible. She replied to her,

That annoying man, Walter, told me about it. Don't do things like this, I don't want you expelled.

Doing this is, of course, illegal but Concordia which boasted discrimination officially put extra effort into preventing this kind of activity. She continued with concerned eyes,

Do you know if Walter makes a molehill out of this, you could get expelled?

  Delimira was always born with high perception and she could feel some subtle worry in her mother’s eyes which was clearly not from the fear of expulsion. she knew that Walter was a political rival of hers in the Board of Concordia which led her to realise that she might have created some troubles for her.

So she just said,

Fine, I won't do anything endangering your position. Are we good?

  Aredhel felt relieved and allowed her to go to her room. Being a staff ward(child of working staff) has the privilege to attend school from their staff quarters.

Walter who was waiting in the shadows came forth and said to her,

I came here in good faith to warn you but you made me the bad guy.

Aredhel apathetically replied,

Aren't you gonna use this leverage?

Walter chuckled and replied,

Of course, I will.

Then tell me what do you want?

Walter put on his business smile and said,

Back out from the position of leading second years in Glory Wars, next year.

  Aredhel could feel her vein bulging in her forehead. 'Glory Wars' was the annual event and from the next year onwards this was opening to the Second Years too. She was competing with Walter to take charge of it.

Backing out from this race would be detrimental to her career but it was a small price to pay for her daughter’s mistake. She added a condition of her own.

Fine but how will you make sure that Rudolf never hears of this?

Walter sighed and told her,

By telling him first.

***