"Oh, okay, Sis."
"Hm."
"Yeah, it's all right now. We made up."
"Stay safe."
Ending the call, Baldur wrapped his arms around himself and walked into his 'manor' with an unknown fear creeping up his spine.
At least on the surface, his brother-in-law was no longer angry. Things were settled and Baldur made a solemn promise that he had no intention of being a prince.
He was allowed to roam free but Baldur promised to stay in the manor until the mission was completed.
Rudolph appreciated the gesture or so it seemed.
In the end, the reason it all ended so smoothly was that Rudolph never saw him as a threat.
His real interest had shifted to Constantine.
Baldur wouldn't have cared if he wasn't involved with that man. Even if it's just a one-off encounter, things wouldn't have been like this.
But after finally managing to have a talk with his sister, thanks to Rudolph, he felt like someone a veil covering a big secret was being lifted in front of his eyes.
'You know her?'
'A bit. We fought together. Sorry to be rude but her ever-smiling face is creepy as hell.'
That was the first clue.
'Come on, dude. Don't sound so down. I know this tree-girl called Maria. She's beautiful…though her personality is a bit questionable…'
The second clue.
A powerhouse with an unknown identity. Leader of an unknown civilization. Husband of the mysterious princess Isadora.
The third clue.
None of this would've been a point of suspicion originally. But Varian's words revealed the details he otherwise shouldn't have known.
According to his sister—who was rescued two days ago after the restrictions of Lost Spiral were lifted—they did meet a guy who called himself Baldur.
Maria gave him more details.
'He is full of contradictions. I don't know which side of him is true, if any at all. He's young but his battle instincts rival even a thousand-year-old monster. And I've seen up close how his battle style continues to get refined at a monstrous pace.
He's powerful, but he doesn't seem to know a lot of things that should've been common sense to anyone brought up in even a duchy.
He's a weird, weird man. He is handsome but his personality is definitely questionable.
And he…'
Baldur didn't remember her saying anything important later. But from how Maria's voice grew increasingly angry and frustrated, he felt sorry for his brother-in-law Rudolph.
Before, Maria had been impressed by Rudolph's power, political acumen, and personality—though she was annoyed by his habit, she acknowledged it as a screw loose for the perfect man.
But now she had a benchmark.
Even from the short talk, it was clear that the man had left a deep impression on her. In her long life so far, she had never met someone like him. And chances were, she'd never meet someone like that again.
As rumors of his deeds continue to spread, Maria would only raise the imaginary benchmark in her mind higher and higher.
Rudolph was in for a difficult marriage.
'Whatever, I don't care about him as long as he leaves me alone.' Baldur shook his head.
The final piece of the puzzle was that the 'Human Emperor' had been missing during this duration. The official records said he's under a retreat.
But with these clues, plus his own understanding of Varian's personality, Baldur came to a chilling conclusion.
'This son of a bitch is the one who scammed me in Centaurus! Pushed me into this shit storm! Arghh, I'm mad!'
"Yo, Baldur!"
"Arghh!" Baldur jumped back like a cat whose tail had been stepped on and looked at the guest with clenched fists.
"Why are you so stiff?" Varian crossed his legs and adjusted to a more comfortable position on the sofa.
"Y-You…" Baldur looked at the familiar but unfamiliar. "C-Co…why are you here again? More fruits?"
"No." Varian stood up and approached Baldur.
Tap!
Tap!
Tap!
With each step Varian took forward, Baldur stumbled back a step. He hit the wall before he knew it. But Varian maintained a distance of six feet and didn't approach him anymore.
"…Getting close in this situation only calls for suspicion," Varian said. "Anyway, why are you trying to back off?"
"I…" Baldur looked at Varian's gaze and wanted to lie. But looking into his calm eyes, he realized something.
'Y-Yes, he'd have realized that I have realized. He's just playing around!'
Varian tilted his head and looked into the deep darkness through the window. "They're here already. We'll talk later."
With a snap of his fingers, the space around Baldur twisted and he disappeared. The next moment, four people sneaked into the manor, bypassing the security mechanisms.
If he let them be, they'd have assassinated Baldur, assuming him to be the 'Black Rose' agent.
But Varian had other plans.
"Enigma." He called out softly and a woman in black appeared beside him out of nowhere.
"Do I need to lure them out like I did with the scouts?" Enigma asked, her voice now cold and indifferent. She looked like a veteran assassin, who'd reap lives without the slightest pity.
Varian shook his head with a small smile. "I'll take care of this. We aren't the ones who are going to fight. Just hold my hand when we escape."
A ring of black light shot out of his foot and with a stomp, it dissipated into twinkles of black light and spread throughout the manor.
In the domain of the manor, a chaotic law began to take place. Inspired by the tower floor's peculiar rules, Varian decided to create one for this place.
Prince Xoler, Sage Nevar, and Champion Gor, along with his Hybrid who were slowly walking through the backyard using treasures that kept them invisible froze for a moment.
It felt as if something happened. Something unseen just touched them. But there seemed to be no effect.
"It's here! The mark is in that room! Baldur! Baldur is the agent! It makes perfect sense. A talentless prince will do anything for power." Prince Xoler was excited. "If we catch him, we can find where the rest of assassins are hidden."
Sage Nevar looked at his excited expression with a cold gaze. Then, he turned to Champion Gor who was looking at Prince Xoler with a malicious smile.
If the mission was completed, then the next target would undoubtedly be Xoler. The most talented prince would die in the mission due to an accident and they'd return to the duchy in grief.
"Let's capture him first," Sage Nevar said and charged his aura. "With one shot, we'll break the defense formations on the walls, enter the room, capture him and teleport away. By the time the maids react, we'd already be gone."
Xoler nodded in agreement and clenched his fist.
The black talisman pasted on his wrist—the treasure that was keeping them hidden—seemed to buzz a little.
In their hurry, no one noticed these tiny fluctuations. The invisible law acting on the manor continued its work.
"Three."
Xoler took a deep breath.
"Two."
Sage Nevar's space power condensed, about to destroy the anti-teleportation arrays here first so that he could teleport them all away right after capturing Baldur.
"O—"
Boom!
The black talisman cracked and their auras shot into the air like a beam of light before they pulled them back instinctivly.
"Fuck!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The three maids of the candidates were already outside the manor.
Varian watched the collapsing expressions of the Zion powerhouses as he calmly teleported away with Enigma.
