Chapter 53: A Secret Covenant

“We’re heading to Croshen’s Third Warehouse.”

Marquis Fabian cast his gaze out the window.

A vein bulged right in the middle of his forehead.

“Yes, sir! Understood!”

His attendant knew well that this only happened when the Marquis was furious to the core.

Once the order was given, the carriage began to move at once.

Inside the warehouse were lists of illegal transactions, records of funding sources, and ledgers for moneylending.

Just in case, the documents had to be moved quickly.

“Shakan.”

At his call, a voice echoed from the empty space.

[Yes, Your Excellency.]

“That Elphyrian woman from earlier. She didn’t seem like an ordinary Elphyrian.”

[That’s correct. She’s among the higher ranks of the Blood Elphyrians.]

“Is she someone even you would have trouble killing?”

[It wouldn’t be easy.]

“Hmph.”

The Marquis rubbed his forehead, looking exhausted.

An Elphyrian so powerful that even Shakan had difficulty facing her, and she had to appear at a time like this?

‘Could she be by Rohan’s side?’

The timing was strange.

“I need to find out more about that Elphyrian. Why she’s here, and where she’s staying now.”

[I’ll look into it when I return to Shurium.]

The emotionless, clear voice replied.

“Haa.”

Marquis Fabian let out a deep, short sigh.

He found it increasingly difficult to restrain the anger welling up inside him.

“Rohan. Watching you, you keep crossing the line.”

Upon further inquiry, the knights who had entered the auction house earlier turned out to be from the ‘Boronia Order of Knights’.

He knew that Rohan had formed a knight order, but it was a relatively recent development—he didn’t even know the insignia.

“It seems he’s joined hands with the Princess as well.”

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have known about, much less entered, the auction house.

‘I’ll have to accelerate my plans a bit.’

He had been putting off certain schemes as long as the Emperor remained healthy, but now he decided it was time to move forward.

Rohan was becoming too much of a nuisance to simply ignore.

“Your Excellency, we’ve arrived at the warehouse!”

The carriage stopped, and the attendant tapped on the window.

Clack.

The Marquis opened the window and spoke.

“Grian. Once you go inside, you’ll find piles of documents in the very back. Look for the black envelope among them and bring it here.”

“Huh? Just that one?”

“Yes. Just bring me that.”

“Understood!”

The Marquis watched the attendant scurry off into the warehouse.

Grian Prolan.

The eldest son of Count Prolan, Grian was a dropout who hadn’t even graduated from the academy due to his dull mind.

He’d been brought in thanks to the alliance with the Count, but everything he did was so foolish it grated on Fabian’s nerves.

“Shakan.”

[Yes, did you call for me.]

“Lock the warehouse door and set it on fire.”

[Understood.]

A figure in a black hood appeared like the wind and locked the warehouse door.

Clang!

He then brought an oil lamp and tossed it through the window.

Perhaps only then realizing something was wrong, the warehouse door rattled.

“Let’s go.”

The Marquis turned the carriage around without the slightest concern.

This time, it would appear that the fool Grian Prolan, blinded by greed, had acted behind the Marquis’s back.

Of course, this death would be chalked up to his suicide out of fear after the illegal auction was exposed.

The Marquis pulled a black envelope from his inner pocket.

“Rohan. You’ll never find any evidence.”

Unknown characters were written in a circle on the envelope.

---

“Damn, I’m too late.”

Rohan stood before the warehouse, staring at the ruins left only with scorched marks.

The smell of ash stung his nose, carried on the wind.

‘The information from the auction house was far too limited.’

So he’d gone looking for the warehouse where the real evidence was stored, only to find it already too late.

When news came of a fire on the outskirts, Rohan knew immediately.

This was definitely the Marquis’s move to destroy evidence.

And his hunch was exactly right.

“So this is where he kept all the evidence.”

It was called a warehouse, but it was little more than an abandoned ruin.

Perhaps because it was built of brittle, dried old wood, the fire had spread and consumed it in an instant.

Just then, Martin, having checked the scene, ran over to Rohan.

“Your Highness, it appears someone was inside. The body is so badly burned, it’s impossible to tell who it is…”

Rohan gazed at the half-incinerated human form being pulled from the warehouse.

“Can I take a look?”

“Of course.”

Martin led the way, and Rohan examined the charred corpse.

Then he noticed a tightly clenched fist.

Rohan opened the blackened hand and pulled out what was inside.

“This is…”

Rohan stood up, nodding.

“…That’s enough. I’ve seen all I need.”

“Yes, then we’ll move the body.”

Most would have twisted their faces at the stench and sight.

Yet Rohan remained calm as ever.

“So he killed both the evidence and the witness.”

The Marquis had moved one step ahead.

As Rohan was about to get back into his carriage, Renata arrived.

She had just returned after ensuring the safety of her fellow Elphyrians.

“I need to talk to you.”

Rohan nodded and entered the carriage.

“What’s wrong?”

“There’s someone by the Marquis’s side who isn’t human.”

“Someone who isn’t human?”

Rohan’s eyebrows shot up.

“You said before: there’s a shadowy expert by the Marquis’s side, whose name no one knows.”

“I did.”

“I just met him.”

Letina’s tone changed.

She spoke quietly, but with certainty.

“He… was a Blood Elphyrian. Just like me.”

“Really?”

That was certainly surprising.

The deadly expert by the Marquis’s side wasn’t human, but a Blood Elphyrian!

“He’s not Silvarenian like me, so technically there’s nothing wrong with him mingling among humans. But the problem is…”

Letina let out a small sigh.

“He bears the ‘Red Covenant Sigil.’ It’s a mark bestowed upon the strongest of an entire Elphyrian generation… something like that?”

“Huh. Someone like that, by his side?”

What kind of fate had led him to serve the Marquis?

“Wait. Then you must know who he is?”

At Rohan’s sharp question, Letina nodded.

“If he’s someone who mainly uses a bow… I think I know.”

But for some reason, her expression looked conflicted.

“Who is it…? Is it someone you know well?”

Letina hesitated for a moment before replying.

“Do you remember when I said I shattered the Board of Destiny?”

“I remember.”

He wondered why she was bringing that up now, out of the blue.

Letina shook her head as if troubled.

“The destined partner pointed to by that Board of Destiny… It was that ‘Shakan’ guy. I thought I’d never, ever meet him again…”

“What?”

Rohan’s eyes widened.

He fell silent for a moment, then spoke up.

“Do you think he recognized you?”

Letina touched her chin lightly, deep in thought.

“I’m not sure. The arrow he fired at me was just a warning, nothing more. But if he did recognize me…”

Her voice trembled slightly.

“…Next time we meet, he’ll come with the intent to kill.”

“What? Why?”

He was supposed to be her destined partner, so why would he come ready to kill next time?

Didn’t it seem contradictory?

“Hey, Rohan. Do you still not get what it means that I shattered the Board of Destiny?”

“…?”

“Shakan. Because of me, he’ll never find his life mate.”

“…”

---

“For the forty-three nobles involved in this illegal auction, I sentence you to 120 days’ imprisonment.”

A solemn voice rang through the grand hall.

“Simultaneously, I order Marquis Fabian, lord of the territory, to 60 days of disciplinary probation and impose a fine of 2,000 gold crowns under the ‘Territorial Management Law.’”

At the Empire’s largest and most prestigious legal institution, the ‘Guardian of Balance,’ the Chief Judge struck his gavel on the bench.

“This is His Majesty the Emperor’s decree, and all subjects of the Empire are obliged to accept this judgment.”

Forty-three nobles whose guilt was publicly exposed.

The court concluded that all the incidents stemmed from the solo crimes of the Marquis’s attendant, Grian Prolan.

Blinded by greed, he supposedly threw himself to his death after everything was revealed.

Marquis Fabian, for his part, received only minor punishment for negligent management of his territory.

It seemed like a light sentence at first glance, but 2,000 gold crowns…

That was enough to ruin an entire minor noble house.

Rohan shrugged his shoulders as he received all this news.

“The Marquis must be feeling quite the sting.”

He hadn’t managed to hit as hard as he’d wanted, but that amount of money would surely delay the Marquis’s ambitions.

“2,000 gold crowns—that’s the entire fortune of most small noble families. He’s probably burning up with more than just a stomachache,” William replied with a vindictive smile.

But it didn’t last long.

“Still, disciplinary probation and a fine alone aren’t much of a blow.”

“True.”

At that discouraging remark, Rohan grinned.

“But the best attack is one delivered when your enemy’s off-guard.”

“Pardon? Surely you’re not—”

At that moment, an attendant entered and delivered the Emperor’s summons.

“His Majesty requests your presence, Your Highness.”

“Understood. I’ll go at once.”

Rohan dressed himself and left his office.

He had already expected that his father would summon him the moment the trial ended.

And…

“You’re here, Rohan.”

Emperor Beltar greeted Rohan warmly.

“Greetings, Father.”

Rohan offered a respectful bow.

Emperor Beltar looked even worse than before.

Watching his father gesture with his emaciated hand, Rohan was keenly aware of how close the end might be.

With a strained breath, Emperor Beltar spoke.

“I never imagined the hint you gave me then would develop into this.”

Before heading to the illegal auction, Rohan had visited Emperor Beltar.

He’d said he was planning to do something, and when it was all over, asked his father to handle the aftermath.

Just as Rohan had asked, Emperor Beltar went personally to the ‘Guardian of Balance’ as soon as he heard about the raid on the illegal auction.

“How did you learn about the illegal auction?”

“I found out by chance while investigating the Marquis. Once I dug deeper, I realized far more nobles were involved than I’d expected.”

“I see. They set up a small merchant guild and cunningly skirted the law… despicable scoundrels. And trafficking other races, at that.”

Beltar fiddled with the ring on his finger as he spoke.

“I’ve managed to silence everyone for now, but if the Prana Confederation hears of this, I worry about their reaction.”

He looked troubled.

“Again, the Marquis slipped out alone. He’s a crafty one.”

Rohan shook his head and replied.

“It’s not over yet.”

“What do you mean?”

“Anyone can see it was the Marquis’s doing, wasn’t it? He must receive the punishment he deserves.”

“Do you have a way?”

The usually powerless Beltar’s eyes sparkled.

“There is one good method, but…”

Rohan whispered quietly to the Emperor, and soon—

“Ho! So that’s how.”

Having heard the full story, Beltar slapped his knee.

“A brilliant idea. If you need anything, just say the word. I’ll help you.”

“Yes, Father.”

Rohan bowed his head.