Chapter 1 Part 2 : Encounter
Translated by Gigi
Edited by Schwarzel
As the call bell rang loudly, a dark shade casted over Marshall’s face. He swept his dry face down and checked his watch.
10:30 PM.
It was bedtime for Edwin Kabelheider, the master of this mansion. A genius who took over the August estate from one of the masters of the 12 estates at a very young age. Youngest and brightest of the twelve people who received the title of ‘Great Duke’.
A knife-like kid with sharpness, toughness, and beauty all over. He was one of the royals. He was always accustomed to getting attention wherever he went, and he was a man who had no choice but to pay attention. A young genius, a great handsome man, and the devil of August.
Various and colorful modifiers always followed his name. Next to his name, which often adorned the front page of manuscripts, the names of numerous women constantly chased him up and down. Of course, most of the scandalous scandals ended with short and concise words such as factless and falsehood, but the popularity of his name in the marriage market soared without him knowing. That’s why his life was always upbeat. Just like now.
“I am gonna be scolded.” Marshall sighed.
Now that he heard the call bell ringing, something must have gone wrong. It only has been 30 minutes since he sent the newly hired priest to see his master… Marshall took a deep breath, firmly holding his chest. Then he carefully knocked on the door of his master’s room twice, and went inside.
“Did you call, My Lord?”
“Who chose this woman?”
Instead of answering, Marshall identified the woman sitting on the floor. He saw the woman was trembling with a bloody dagger. He saw Edwin’s white gown and white bed linen stained with red blood and the amount of blood shed was considerable. Marshall sighed.
“Remove her!” Edwin ordered.
“Everything you picked is not normal.” He yelled at Marshall.
Immediately, soldiers went into the room and tried to grab the woman and drag her out. But the scared woman took something out of her scattered clothes and put it in her mouth. Her eyes rolled up and down and fell down with foam in her mouth.
Her body got stiff as she was having a seizure. However, this was a situation which Marshall had seen so often, so he wasn’t surprised anymore.
“It’s all the same in the end. Is loyalty extraordinary as a man who serves God?”
Edwin’s voice was very gentle and calm. It was too calm for a person who had just been stabbed by a priest who got hired with a high price at night. He was neither in pain nor angry or resentful. He was just looking at the woman’s body being dragged away with cold eyes.
“I think we’re going to be in big trouble at this rate. Just pretend to cooperate with the church…” Marshall spoke.
Edwin groaned at Marshall’s words. “Now, what’s the difference if I pretend to cooperate? I will be fooled by the church.”
“Hah, I am sorry. I will try to find another priest as soon as possible.” Marshall said.
“Is it so difficult to hire a person who has no contact with the church?” Edwin asked.
“But… The majority with divine power cannot escape the eyes of the church. It is difficult to find a person who is not a member of the church right away. On top of that, there is a limit to completely filtering out the spies of the church who approached and disguised their identities…” Marshall explained.
“I know it’s not easy. But I don’t have time, and I’m saying that because I trust my talented subordinates more than anyone else.” Edwin told him.
Marshall bowed his head. “I am sorry.”
A holder of divine power that is not controlled by the Church. That was the only thing Edwin needed. Because he was born with a body that would die without divine power. Edwin gave up a short breath. The chronic pain that had constantly plagued him since birth was tearing his limbs again.
“Are you okay, My Lord? I will contact the monastery and convent immediately and bring the priest.”
“Why can’t I use my manpower for my personal business?”
Edwin annoyingly wiped the blood from his neck. He was born a cursed being under the guise of blessings. He hated and was annoyed with his weak body, which he could not live without relying on others, and the sensitivities that no one could be able to care for. He had to suffer from pain all his life and insomnia, where he could not sleep properly once.
Not only Edwin, but all other royal births suffered the same fate. Chronic pain that came constantly, insomnia and frequent illnesses that were killing their bodies slowly. So, each Royal had a divine power holder who took care of them. Edwin also had a priest of his own. However, two years ago, that priest had died in an accident.
How many priests dedicate their lives to an individual? It was not easy to find such a manpower itself. The number of priests was so small that Edwin was not able to have the precious divine power holders come and go every day. Because of that, he has been hiring a temporary priest to come at night. But the end was a repetition of the situation as it was tonight. Either the priest woman was bought or was a spy sent from the church.
“I will try to find a new priest as soon as possible.” Marshall knew well that he was fortunate to be greeted with a bitter nagging of his master because he could have lost his life due to what just happened.
“How about your wound, My Lord?” Marshall was rather concerned about his owner’s wound. But, as if it didn’t matter, Edwin roughly bandaged and wiped off the blood from his body, and headed out the door.
“My Lord, where are you going?”
“To get some fresh air”.
“Now? But it’s dangerous to go out at this late hour with such a body. Let me treat your wound first…”
“How much pain can a small wound cause when I already am living with bigger pains everyday? Don’t worry and take a rest .”
“Please be careful, My Lord.”
Even though it was only five minutes or so after Edwin left for a walk, Marshall sighed exhaustively as if all the energy had left his body. He was relieved that the day had passed with his head still intact on his neck. He then ordered the soldier standing next to him.
“Pick a list of divine power priests who have no contact with the church and those who have been blacklisted. Sort out their personal information separately. Then search all over the country and put it all up as soon as possible.”
*******
The streets were busy. The tranquility of dawn was one of Edwin’s favorites, but today his mood wasn’t improved.
“It’s helpless.” He sighed.
His life has always been a struggle. There were only those who always weighed the pros and cons around him. Those who want to take away his riches and those who want to buy his favors. He had lived fiercely among those who wanted to get anything and those who wanted to steal anything from him.
Although Edwin had been living without lacking any materials, and with abundant support, his life was always poor and harsh at the same time. He had been fighting against his opponents who constantly tried to kill him, a huge enemy called the church was created, and now he is facing a problem directly connected to his survival. It was natural that his heart was stuffy.
He kept walking absentmindedly. When he came to his senses, he was in front of a stone wall.
“How did I come all the way here?”
His estate, August, is on the outskirts, facing the wall that divided the world. A huge wall was intentionally built by men. A wall that thoroughly divided the area where the abandoned people live and the area where the chosen people live. And beyond that wall live the outcasts. Has the outside world changed? Edwin, suddenly curious, approached the wall and looked down at it. His ears were sore from all the screams of those who were desperate to live.
“It’s still the same.”
A place called a dump by people here and so was the land beyond the wall. That filthy land began with pursuing sinners who had committed vile sins. However, over time, they abandoned the unbearable children, the senile parents, and the sick. Various kinds of people have been mixed into the present form. However, the resources inside the wall are limited and cannot handle all the abandoned people. It was a reality that he had turned away because it was almost impossible to sort them out. However, whatever their personal circumstances, how pitiful, how much anger and sorrow. Edwin did not like the land beyond the wall called the garbage dump. He felt frustrated and offended.
“Throw him some rotten bread!”
“Why give them bread?”
“It’s funny how he runs like a bee!”
There was a crowd inside the wall looking down at the abandoned, exchanging words. It was clear that some of the family’s immature children were able to afford to be drunk at this time of night. They were gathering next to the dump and ridiculed the abandoned. The mere sight of it was a tiring and unpleasant combination. Edwin was about to leave the unpleasant place when something below the wall caught his eyes. He looked down with careful eyes. There was a woman sitting a little farther away beyond many people and looking right at him.
The woman, who was wearing a worn-out white dress and unwinding her dazzling long blond hair, remained silent alone in the midst of the uproar. She didn’t beg for her own situation, reaching out like everyone else, but just sat still. It wasn’t because of her white skin and blond hair, or because of her beautiful appearance that caught Edwin’s eyes but because she looked at him with straight, unshakable eyes.
“What is this?”
A familiar energy was felt from the woman despite their distance.
There was no energy of plague that lay around her. To be precise, it seemed to avoid her. There were only two beings where the energy of the plague cannot reach. A person born with divine power, or a royal born with some tolerance to the devil itself. Edwin groaned and raised his head.
“It’s a mysterious woman.”
There was no way a Royal would roll around the garbage dump outside the wall like that. That meant she could be a person with divine power. Why was a person born with power living outside the wall, but not in the church? Edwin turned openly and looked at the woman. She, too, was watching Edwin closely .
“A woman outside the wall with the power of Hebeia?”
It was like discovering a gem in the trash. Edwin’s curiosity immediately became an interest. Edwin raised his hand and gestured somewhere. Suddenly, Marshall popped out of nowhere, not knowing where he was hiding. Marshall stood in front of Edwin, scratching his head.
“I am sorry. I was so worried so I couldn’t help but follow you here.”
Edwin smiled and beckoned where the woman was.
“That woman.”
“Blonde hair woman?”
“What do you think?”
“Well, she is quite a beauty. But why is that woman …?”
To Marshall’s embarrassed question, Edwin replied with a smirk.
“I know about her.”