Chapter 12
Inside the dark building, a faint light shone from the ceiling.
Iris looked up and was able to identify what the source of the light was.
“Is that an everlasting mana stone?”
“Yes.”
“It must have cost a fortune.”
An era where magic was disappearing.
Hiring a wizard was like grabbing a star from the sky, and the price of magical goods was skyrocketing.
“Of course, the Divine Kingdom supported me. It’s also a building that was built when mana stone wasn’t as expensive.”
There were no rooms inside the building. It was just a large space. And in the middle were several illustrious shelves.
Even as Keivrand walked ahead, he had to lift the traps before they could reach the shelves.
It wasn’t long before Iris arrived in front of the shiny displays and four objects placed on them could be seen.
A cup. A sword. A cane. A robe.
The visible objects didn’t look any special, rather, they looked shabby and useless.
“You must never touch them, Irie.”
Even if Keivrand hadn’t warned her, Iris had no intention of touching them.
If an ordinary person touches a sacred relic wrongly they would either die or wish that they were dead.
There are records of dangerous things happening just from being near the presence of a sacred relic.
“There are many records about the sacred relics. In the past, there were professionals called treasure hunters who would search for them. There were even cases of commoners possessing sacred relics.”
The Divine Kingdom, who had judged that the sacred relics were too dangerous, began to collect and manage them. But one day, a war broke out, and many sacred relics were destroyed or disappeared.
These four sacred relics that were in Keivrand’s possession now were those that the Divine Kingdom had struggled to protect despite the chaos.
“Each sacred relic has its own ability. A long time ago, there were people who could use such powers…”
“Are there none now?”
“No. There may be, but it’s too dangerous to even try.”
“Will I die just by touching it?”
“Dying would be a blessing…There are times where a person becomes trapped in their own body.”
“Trapped in their own body?”
“Conscious but can’t move their body at all. Not even their eyes. In other words, it’s like a prison.”
Iris tried to imagine such a situation. Conscious but even their eyes can’t move.
“That’s terrible.”
“Of course, not all sacred relics are so dangerous, and sometimes it’s okay to touch them, but you never know.”
Keivrand began to explain the four sacred relics.
The golden wine cup where grain constantly flows.
The Sword of Death, which perfectly cures those who are injured or sick by stabbing it into their heart.
The Wand of the Wild that could command any beasts.
And Jerius’ Robe that could make the body transparent.
Keivrand, who was explaining in a quiet voice, suddenly stopped and looked back.
Iris also looked back, but she saw no one.
“It looks like we’ve got our long-awaited guest, Irie.”
“Huh?”
“Viscount Alfred Hutch.”
“Oh, how do you know…?”
Keivrand tapped his ear.
“Wolves have good hearing.”
Keivrand held Iris’ hand.
“Do you want to come with me? To show our affectionate side.”
“No.”
Iris smiled quietly.
“Go alone, Kei. I wonder if you can take the gold mine from Viscount Hutch without my help.”
* * *
Alfred didn’t enter the drawing room but stood in the hallway and chatted with the servants who had passed by. He told them how passionate his and Iris’ relationship was.
The maids who didn’t know Iris too well went ‘Oh, oh my.’ They listened to Alfred’s story with interest.
Among the maids was Juliette.
“In front of a lake. We had our first kiss…I can still vividly recall Iris’ blue eyelashes trembling. I had made up my mind then. That I was going to marry Iris! And she said that she felt the same way about me.”
No one stopped Alfred from talking. The past that their mistress wanted to hide was an interesting story to the servants.
Jamie, who thought Alfred was just an ordinary steward, also stood next to him and listened.
He had a subtle smile on his face, but in actuality was checking the faces of the maids with a keen look.
“…Hey, let’s go.”
The servants scattered as they noticed Keivrand walking down the hall from afar.
Jamie was the only one left next to Alfred.
Alfred stood tall and waited for Keivrand to come closer.
“I’ll wait inside.”
Eventually, Keivrand arrived in front of Alfred and then muttered as he entered the drawing room.
Alfred wanted to say something, but for now he followed Keivrand inside.
As soon as Alfred sat down on the sofa, he got to the point.
“I need to talk to you about Iris…”
“Sell me Lavent’s gold mine, Viscount Hutch.”
Alfred frowned when he was cut off.
He didn’t like how Keivrand, who looked so young, spoke impolitely to him.
Although Keivrand’s title is higher, it was polite to speak formally to each other when the other person is older these days.
“Excuse me, Count Green. I’m…”
“I’ll give you a good price.”
“Let me talk…”
“I am.”
Keivrand crossed his legs gracefully.
“I don’t want to talk unless it’s about the gold mine.”
“Iris is my woman!”
Alfred shouted at the same time as Keivrand had spoken.
He shouted loudly while Keivrand spoke leisurely without batting an eyebrow.
“I will give you 10% more than market value for the gold mine, Viscount.”
“Count! I’m talking about Iris right now. The poor Iris that you stole from me!”
“I suppose so. But what can I do? I’m more drawn to our talk about the gold mine.”
“In the first place, it wasn’t even me who brought up the gold mine!”
“All I could think of is the gold mine.”
Alfred looked at Keivrand, wondering if he was joking, but there was no smile on his face.
Keivrand only repeatedly talked about the gold mine with a languid expression.
Thinking that there would be no end at this rate, Alfred spoke.
“I’m not selling Lavent’s gold mine. I won’t sell it even if you give me 10 million in gold.”
“I heard you were going to give it to Duke Whittle.”
“That’s…!”
He couldn’t say that it was the price for buying Iris.
“He was going to be my father-in-law.”
“Hmm.”
“Anyway, let’s stop talking about the gold mine here and talk about Iris. I don’t know if you know, but Iris had promised to marry me long ago. We met three years ago…”
Alfred repeated what he said in front of the servants earlier.
Keivrand listened to Alfred this time without interrupting him.
Originally, several plans were made for the transfer of Lavent’s gold mine. He had also investigated various corruptions run by Alfred. If it had to come to it, he was going to blackmail him.
That was originally the case. However, as he walked to the drawing room, he heard Alfred talking about Iris and had a change of heart.
It would be better to show Alfred a more harsh taste. So that he will never talk about Iris again with that filthy mouth of his.
“Now you understand, Count Green? Iris can only smile happily when she’s with me.”
“She smiled a lot in front of me.”
“That’s because Count forcefully took Iris, and she was scared. Iris is a coward and delicate person.”
Scared? Iris?
This guy really doesn’t know a thing about Iris, he thought.
“You can’t force a woman to come with you, Count. People will curse you if they know that the guardian of the sacred relic used his authority in this way. If the Divine Kingdom finds out, you may be removed from protecting the sacred relics!”
When Keivrand didn’t say much, the spirited Alfred now began sneaking threats at him.
Keivrand slowly stood up.
“There’s something I want to show you. Viscount. Come with me.”
“First of all, the problem concerning Iris…”
“Follow me, Viscount.”
As Keivrand left the drawing room, Alfred was forced to follow him.
Keivrand winked at Jamie as he walked down the hall. Jamie nodded and disappeared.
Alfred was busy catching up to Keivrand, so he didn’t see him and Jamie exchange glances.
Keivrand seemed to be walking leisurely, but Alfred was having trouble keeping up with him.
The two walked for a long time.
‘Was the mansion this big?’
They went up and down flights of stairs. Then to the right side of a hallway and to the left.
It didn’t look this wide from the outside, but it was like walking in a giant maze.
It wasn’t long before they arrived at a room with thick iron doors.
The door, which seemed difficult to open by oneself, was easily opened by Keivrand.
Alfred hesitated before carefully entering the room.
Boom-!
The door closed with a heavy sound and Alfred jumped in surprise.
Keivrand looked toward Alfred with a mysterious expression.
“W-what’s this place?”
It was dark, so Alfred couldn’t see the surroundings well.
When Keivrand pressed a button on the wall, the room brightened and the scenery inside caught Alfred’s eye.
“Heuk!”
Alfred breathed in.
“It’s called the torture chamber. It’s my favorite place.”
Keivrand spoke softly as he walked in front of a gruesome looking chair. There was strange equipment installed on the chair.
“This goes over the head and is tied around the neck. Pressing this button will tighten the neck, and if you press this button, the hook will slowly lift up.”
Listening to Keivrand’s vivid explanation, Alfred became horrified when he imagined such a scene.
“Since you have a short neck, it would be a good idea to stretch it with this hook.”
“W-what kind of joke is that…hahahaha.”
“It’s not a joke.”
Alfred, who heard Keivrand muttering under his breath, decided to think he had misheard.
“This statue here is famous. It looks like a normal statue, but there’s a sharp needle inside…”
“Lock people in this round barrel. Put them inside and set it on fire underneath…”
“This tool here is for the teeth…”
“And these are for the fingernails…”
Keivrand explained every instrument and tool in the room.
Alfred couldn’t stand it anymore and shouted.
“What the hell is it that you’re showing me? Are you trying to threaten me?”
“Oh!”
Keivrand, who was fiddling with a sharp tool, widened his eyes.
“That’s a relief. You aren’t as stupid as you look.”
Keivrand quickly approached Alfred.
However, he didn’t do anything. He just stared at Alfred.
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But strangely enough, Alfred was so overwhelmed by the indescribable fear that he peed himself.
Gently staring at Alfred in that state, Keivrand whispered.
“In the same room as a man whose face is oozing with oil, I didn’t want to have a long-winded conversation.”
== Translator’s Note ==
1. Please report any typos, grammatical/spelling errors, sentences you find weird, and other etc…in the comment section .