The Minstrel of Ages, Aerin, had a blast recounting his adventure with Evelyn. He seemed to have exaggerated his role and contribution, nevertheless, he had a knack for making things interesting to hear.
Both Arthur and Christopher attentively listened to him while Evelyn was sitting by the side, looking particularly grumpy and unhappy with how things were unfolding. Still, she did feel pleased that she had escaped the South.
Even if Faceless Death sent assassins after her, it would be much harder to find her now that she had been teleported to the far North of the continent.
As the night was getting darker, Aerin took out a magical tent and went to sleep. Evelyn too, looked tired after fighting dozens upon dozens of the machine-infested dwarven ruins.
She put a small cloth on the ground and used her bag as a pillow as she laid down and soon fell asleep.
Meanwhile, Chris, still grinning from ear to ear, stood by Arthur’s side as a short bout of silence between the two of them.
“You know who she reminds me of?”
“I know what you’re going to say. And no, you’re wrong. Evelyn and Xu haven nothing in common.”
Christopher shook his head, “I disagree. They have the same temperament. Cold and stoic. Is that not the reason you took her along? To replace the gap Xu had left?”
“Let’s not talk about this, Chris. Xu was a dear friend of ours and her death saddened me greatly, but I’ve never seen Eve as her replacement.”
Although Arthur clearly didn’t want to talk about it, Christopher wasn’t the type to back off. He was used to his friend’s attitude and the way he liked to avoid touchy subjects.
“So you’re telling me you had no romantic feelings for Xu?”
“Why would I have had any?”
“She certainly loved you. That’s why I got rejected so many times.” Chris chuckled and shrugged his shoulders.
“Anyway, if Evelyn isn’t the same, then you wouldn’t mind if I tried to win her heart, right?”
“Be my guest.”
Christopher scrutinized his friend for a bit and then nodded. He wasn’t actually serious about his statement, he just wanted to gauge Arthur’s reaction and response.
Even from his perspective, Chris found it difficult to guess if Arthur’s ambiguous feelings toward their deceased secretary, Xu, were romantic or not. However, he most certainly treated her kindly and better than his own wife. Admittedly, it might’ve been sympathy and the fact that Xu had a tragic childhood similar to theirs.
“I’ll sleep for a bit too.”
Arthur walked a distance away and leaned against a tree, falling asleep surprisingly quickly.
Christopher fiddled with the stick and poked the campfire, seemingly lost in thought. He wasn’t tired or sleepy, but it wasn’t like he expanded a lot of effort during his earlier escapade.
He broke out of his daze when Evelyn suddenly sat up and solemnly stared at him.
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“Is there something you want to ask, Miss?”
“Are you really Master’s brother?”
“Why would I lie?”
Evelyn thoughtfully looked at him and then retorted, “It could be a facade.”
“I assure you it is not. Arthur, in his past life, was a human and the person I loved and trusted the most. There’s nothing I do not know about him. Do you want to learn more about him?”
The maid, expressionless, sat there for a whole minute without giving any response. Eventually, she shook her head and laid back down again.
As he saw that, Christopher softly laughed and mumbled, “I guess you’re right, Arthur. Xu would have wanted to learn more. She was one crafty girl…”
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15th of the Red Star (10th month)
Skywall Fortress, Castellan Office
“19 dead, 68 injured, and half of the crop fields were destroyed either by the ogres or the magical explosions.”
Castellan Julian read the report in his hand with the usual nonchalant smile. In total, 2 2nd-floor, 3 5th-floor, and 1 6th-floor inmates either disappeared or successfully fled. 13 Prisoners were killed and the rest were captured and dragged back to their cells.
Although what happened in the Shadow Keep Penitentiary concerned the Warden more than Julian, it was still a big and troubling matter.
Bernard Capilla sat opposite Julian, however, contrary to his young friend, the old man was red-faced and absolutely livid.
The Parasite on the 6th-floor was weakened and imprisoned again. The Voidspawn had calmed down but was fatally injured, soon to die.
They had lost an important asset, possibly the only ‘key’ to accessing the underground city beneath the prison.
“You’ve got to help me, Julian! The Southerners must be on their way already!”
Bernard shouted and banged on the desk, his clenched fists trembling.
In response, the Castellan raised his hand and motioned for the Warden to calm down.
In addition to the two of them, the Captain of the 2nd Sky Legion, Melina, as well as the Black Guard were present in the office too.
The Black Guard had sustained quite a lot of injuries, but he was still standing. He had fought two parasites and managed to survive, which wasn’t something anyone could do.
Melina, on the other hand, looked bitter and ashamed. The horde of monsters was successfully fended off, but soldiers died in the process.
Relatively speaking, the casualty rate was surprisingly low considering the fact that they fought orcs and ogres. The 2nd Sky Legion had more than a thousand soldiers, nonetheless, Melina’s idealistic nature made any loss of men seem like a great loss.
The Captain of the 1st Sky Legion was absent, strangely enough. He was probably sent to Donkrig City to meet with the Duke, whose daughter caused quite the mess in here.
“Sir! Please let me give chase. I swear that I will return with their heads!”
The Black Guard, with his left hand on his chest, saluted while speaking loudly and with a clarion voice. Sadly for him, Bernard completely ignored him.
It was only Julian who deigned to respond.
“Finding and catching that parasite isn’t within your capabilities, Mister Jia. You wouldn’t even know where to begin. However, Daren must be captured again.”
The Castellan paused for a couple of breaths as he washed the smile off his face and glared at Bernard.
“I am part of the Global Azakin Empire, Bernard. I do not want Southerners loitering around here and ordering people around. I will keep them at bay, but only for a while. After that, the Imperial Court will issue a decree… one which I will follow to the letter. If I could take a guess, they will want me to clean up everything, you included. You have, at best, two months to try and bring back Daren here. Additionally, I’ll let Captain Melina assist you.”
“B-but sir!”
The red-haired woman wanted to protest, but she was quietened with a dismissive wave of Julian’s hand.
“This will be a good opportunity to leave the Skywall Fortress and aim for a better military status, Melina. Use it well.”
“...”
Once he was done saying that, Julian turned his chair around and looked at the wall-sized paintings.
“You have ample resources at your disposal, Bernard. You’ve got political connections, money, and a decent amount of strong subordinates. What happened yesterday was your fault and your lack of attentiveness. You shouldn’t have been fooled by that girl.”