“What business does a patriarch of the Betlam Family have in the Backwater?”

"Cut your nonsense, Vin. You two already know what I want to do.” Balak threw a Card to the two of them. It is a Coin card that is used as currency to store large amounts of Coin.

Vin, who saw it, immediately kept the card. It could be said to be a bribe to keep their mouths shut about what the two of them saw.

“You are still as straightforward as ever. I don't know how you can have 3 wives with traits like this.” Vin shook his head with a mocking smile. He threw the cards in his hand which consisted of 4 Aces.

"I win. Don't forget our bet.”

“Tsk, I know. Hurry up and do what you want to do.” The other guard immediately put down the card in his hand with an annoyed look.

Vin and Balak walked to the door behind them and went downstairs.

Right after the two disappeared, Zaratul approached from behind the shadows and placed his hand on the back of the head of the guard who was sitting casually. He channeled a small, dense amount of his mana and shot it through the guard's head.

Ring…

The same sound of bells sounded again. It was the same sound he heard when he attacked the guard outside. Although this time it sounded quite vague.

Zaratul saw an amulet hanging from the waist of the guard he killed. He took it and smashed it to pieces.

“So the sound of the bell works in the direction of mana detection. This is a good item to prevent ambush attacks. Although it is useless against the magic of the magic tower of Babel.”

Zaratul destroyed the guard's brain and ate it. After finishing, he immediately went towards Vin and Balak.

Downstairs, Vin and Balak walk down a dark hallway filled with cells and prisoners. Different from the prisoners above, everyone here is chained all over their bodies. His hands and feet were cut off and his neck was chained to one of the walls behind them.

The heads of all the prisoners here were fitted with a head protector filled with spikes that penetrated into their skulls and reached the brain. It was a head protector that wasn't enough to kill them but was enough to make them unable to use magic.

“To be honest, I didn't expect you to speed up your so-called plan. I don't know whether you are crazy or not, but you must know the consequences of your actions.”

“There has been a change in plans. I had to speed it up due to special circumstances.” Balak answered casually.

“Still, you are underestimating the Pendragon Kingdom if you think you can make trouble for what they do. You can't even beat back the Rosemary family. There is no need to say what you can do to the Duke of Bellingham and Countess Flora.” Vin replied while taking out a key in his hand.

Vin opened a door below them that led to another floor. “You know that they are a noble family that is as fanatical as the Rosemary family.”

“There's no need to discuss this anymore. I've decided to do this the moment they dare touch my three sweet wives.”

"Hearing that you want to retaliate against the Pendragon kingdom because of mere love always makes me feel goosebumps."

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The two of them stared at the black, lightless stairs and immediately went down.

Not realizing Zaratul was also following them from behind.

In the dark room, Vin raised his hand and created several balls of light that illuminated the path of the two. After descending a fairly long flight of stairs, Balak saw a person whose hands and feet were chained.

His eyes were covered with a special cloth written with various symbols and irregular languages.

“Balak Betlam, what you are looking for is not here. No matter what you offer me, I will not help you or Vienna Hall.” Angulus said in a cold and expressionless tone. Even though his eyes were closed, he could see clearly that Balak was coming towards him.

“Angulus Wretcher, no… Angulus Betlam, I do not come to you as a head of the Betlam family or a member of the Vienna hall. I came to you as a child whose name was Balak.”

Balak walked and got closer to Angulus who was chained all over his body. He stopped a few steps before Angulus. His right hand, which had been in his pocket, took out a black key that looked old.

“Angulus, you should know that the status I have today is not due to the betrayal I committed against the royal family, nor my weakness as the head of the Betlam family. Even though I came to you as a child named Balak, I command you as the head of the Betlam family.” Balak raised his left hand and took out a pen.

It was the pen he always used. If the people of the Pendragon Noble family saw it, they would know that it was the pen that the heads of the Betlam family always had.

Balak wrote the word Loose on the handcuffs that chained Angulus' right hand.

"By the authority of the head of the Betlam family, I forgive you for the hand that killed 10 children of the Betlam family."

On his left hand, he wrote the word Loose which erased the second chain.

"By the authority of the head of the Betlam family, I forgive you for the blood-stained hands of the members of the Betlam family."

On both of his legs, the balak wrote the word loose destroyed the handcuffs that bound him.

"By the power of the head of the Betlam family, I forgive your two feet for running away from the judgment of the Betlam family."

Balak saw Angulus's closed eyes. Even though it looks like a random and disorderly symbol, it is actually a key that can only be opened by the head of the Betlam family.

“By the authority of the head of the Betlam family, I forgive you for your eyes ignoring our suffering.”

When Balak took off the blindfold in his hand, two beautiful blue eyes seemed to glow in the middle of the darkness which was illuminated by a small ball of light. Angulus raised his head and looked at Balak who was standing in front of him with an indifferent expression.

“Balak, the anger you have towards the royal family will not end the traditions that the Pendragon kingdom has,” Angulus said with difficulty. His eyes seemed weak and devoid of any other desires even as they radiated blue light.

“The revenge you have will only bring the Betlam family to its destruction. Even if you take cover behind Vienna Hall.”

Balak replied coldly. "I don't care. Even if I end up dying, at least my children and three wives will live. Even if I end up accepting eternal torment, it is a small price to pay for the sake of my family.”

“No… You don't understand Balak. Everything that happens is determined by fate. Everything I did, the betrayal I committed, and even what you are trying to do right now is part of the Great Destiny.” Angulus shouted while looking at Balak. His eyes seemed to tell Balak what his mouth could not.

Do not do this. You will only hurt yourself.

It was selfish to ask the person in front of him to understand what was in his heart. But humans were not born to read someone's heart.

“What separates me from you is just one small thing. I dare to challenge fate which wants to harm my family while you hide behind the word fate."

Balak paid no attention to what Angulus said and inserted the key in his right hand into the last chain that handcuffed Angulus. It was a padlock that was right in his heart.

In a low tone, Balak began to say his last sentence. “I free you from punishment for your betrayal. The heart that once betrayed us, I forgive it."

Clank… Clank… Clank…

The chains that bound Angulus' entire body slowly fell apart. The thick iron covered with various strange words fell and revealed Angulus' body which looked weak and helpless.

After all, a terrifying aura radiated from Angulus' entire body. What radiated from his entire body this time was not a ring that ordinary magi had.

He had already exceeded what ring Magi had. Someone who had reached the Great Magus stage.

Angulus saw that Balak still did not give up on his decision, he could only lower his head.

All over his body, strange tattoos appeared and were engraved on his body and filled his body. If Leon saw it, this was the same tattoo that the Slaves had given Leon.

However, the pattern is more complicated and the color of the tattoo is darker.

“You already know what you have to do. Don't disappoint me, father.”