Chapter 61

Chapter 61. The Yellow-Haired Beast (1)

Basil, the head of the archery noble family, House of Sephira.

He had a mission to protect his declining family.

Basil chose ‘defense’ as his strategy. Ignoring the provoking enemies, he firmly hunkered down in the family’s territory.

Thanks to such efforts, it was true that the nobles couldn’t easily bring down House of Sephira. It was also true that peace had been maintained for a long time.

But how long could this peace last? Basil had no answer to that.

He just thought that if he kept holding on, maybe someday the situation would improve. Maybe the nobles, tired of the stalemate, would stop attacking, or a war would break out again, increasing the value of archers.

Of course, Basil knew there was another option: to attack instead of defend. That was what Panir, the elder of House of Sephira, had argued for. Not defense, but offense.

But Basil couldn’t run the family aggressively. That path was uncertain. It would inevitably create sacrifices.

Of course, defensive management was also an uncertain path, but at least there were no sacrifices. This was extremely important to Basil.

Basil feared sacrifice.

His command would move thousands of soldiers and hundreds of knights. This was no child’s play with toy soldiers.

‘If sacrifices are made in any way, House of Sephira will be trapped in a cycle of hatred under the guise of honor and revenge.’

In its 500-year history, House of Sephira had never fought with anyone. To stay away from power struggles, they even refused the title of Marquis. It was an old tradition for House of Sephira to remain a Count’s family.

No one explicitly stated it as House of Sephira’s policy, but implicitly, all past heads had valued peace and harmony over conflict.

So how could Basil ignore and break that history?

What right did he have to push the peaceful House of Sephira into a pit of hatred? Basil couldn’t do that.

Maintaining the status quo was the safe path. Even if the soldiers and knights had to endure humiliation, they wouldn’t die from it.

Basil thought that was enough. That this was sufficient, that his role was just this. That the future of House of Sephira would be solved by the next generation, not by his incompetent self…

He had lived believing that protecting House of Sephira intact was the best he could do.

But recently, Basil completely changed his mind.

Keter.

The child between Akra and himself, raised in Ruquer.

He had only been in House of Sephira for three days.

But three days were enough. Keter shattered the solid silence that Basil had built over decades.

It wasn’t just the silence that was broken. He lit a fire in Basil’s hardened, dried-up heart and breathed new life into it.

Thanks to Keter, Basil realized.

Maintaining the status quo, defense, was not the right path.

But neither was the offense that Panir pursued!

It was counterattack.

The middle ground between offense and defense!

That was the best way to save House of Sephira, and Basil realized it thanks to Keter.

“No.”

Basil grabbed Keter’s wrist.

The usual Basil would have just said that one word and left it at that.

But he had learned from Panir and Subid that if he didn’t express himself clearly, his feelings wouldn’t get through.

“House of Sephira needs you.”

At that moment, the curse of silence that had been eating away at House of Sephira was lifted.

“Please don’t leave.”

Basil tightly held Keter’s wrist, as if he would never let go.

Keter approached Basil. Then, with a deep gaze, he said,

“What if I say no?”

“……”

Basil’s face grew even more serious.

Seeing that, Keter waved his hand.

“Can’t even take a joke. Just kidding, just kidding.”

“Will you not leave House of Sephira?”

“I have some business outside, so I need to go out for a bit. Wait, did you think I’d never come back?”

“You said you were leaving.”

“I didn’t say I wouldn’t come back.”

“……!”

“Now let go of my wrist. It’s going to break.”

“Ahem.”

Basil, who had let go of Keter, unnecessarily smoothed out the wrinkles in his clothes. Keter’s wrist had clear marks from Basil’s grip.

“Honestly, you should listen to people till the end. You might kill someone like that.”

“It seems you don’t think there’s a problem with your choice of words. You could have just said you’d be back after going out for a bit.”

“To me, it’s the same. Oh, by the way, I’m taking Luke with me.”

“Just tell me where you’re going and when you’ll be back.”

“I usually never say this, but I plan to return to Ruquer. So I need to receive my mother’s keepsake now.”

Originally, Keter was supposed to stay in House of Sephira for a year to receive his mother’s keepsake, an artifact that would allow him to freely leave Ruquer.

But since he needed the artifact immediately, he boldly requested it.

“You’re going back to that dangerous place?”

“I’ll invite you to Ruquer someday. It’s hard to get attached, but once you do, there’s no place like it.”

“…Akra.”

Basil took out a black ring from his chest pocket and handed it over.

“That’s your mother’s name.”

“Aha.”

Keter, who had been so curious about his mother’s name, now found it outside his interest and just accepted it.

“If you need support, let me know. I’ll even assign you a Lunar Knight.”

“No thanks. It’s cumbersome.”

Basil was really curious.

Was Keter ignoring House of Sephira’s strongest force, the Lunar Knights, out of ignorance or confidence?

Moreover, he didn’t seem to care about disrespecting House of Sephira even in front of the family head. If Anis or Taragon had said something like that, Basil would have severely scolded and punished them.

‘Maybe he just doesn’t care.’

The thought that being part of a prestigious family didn’t matter.

Or maybe House of Sephira just wasn’t attractive to Keter?

Basil thought that might be the case. After all, Keter had seen the signs of decline in House of Sephira from the very first day.

‘I admit it. House of Sephira isn’t as attractive as other noble families. But.’

Things will change now.

“Get into some trouble, but come back safely.”

If Keter doesn’t find House of Sephira attractive, forcing him to stay would backfire.

Basil decided not to cling to Keter.

No, he decided to pretend not to cling.

“I’ll bring you a gift, so look forward to it.”

Keter left, planting a seed of anticipation in Basil’s heart until the very end.

* * *

Splash!

The eldest son of House Baydant, Bolos, had cold ice water splashed on his face.

The family head, Patra, threw an empty cup and said,

“Say it again.”

“The Silver Leopard Knight Order’s captain, vice-captain, and five others have been captured by House of Sephira.”

“Why?”

“We received reports that it was the doing of the bastard Keter and the holy knight Luke, but it’s highly likely that’s not the case.”

“I haven’t punished you since appointing you as the branch family head. Do you know why? It’s not because you’re the branch family head. It’s because you’ve done well on your own.”

“Father, this time it’s my fault…!”

“Shut up! Bring them back yourself. What will you use to fight?”

The walls of the family head’s room were lined with numerous weapons. As if to show they weren’t just decorations, dried blood was caked on them.

Bolos bit his lower lip. He would be thirty next year, and outside, he was called the branch family head.

But now, he was being punished?

Crack.

Bolos clenched his fists until they almost broke.

In his mind, he shouted to resist, but his body couldn’t. He stumbled, picked up a club from the wall, and handed it to his father.

Patra, holding the club, stood up and said,

“Raise your arms. Do you want your arms broken?”

Bolos raised both arms in a humiliating posture.

Whack! Thud!

Patra’s club mercilessly struck Bolos’s entire body.

Bolos staggered with each hit but straightened up like a不倒翁.

Patra was an old man with almost no muscle left. He couldn’t swing the iron club for long. Soon, tired, Patra pretended not to be exhausted and said,

“…I’ll give you a chance to explain.”

“Elder Leganon seems to have betrayed us.”

“Are you sure?”

“Not… entirely.”

“Only say what you’re sure of.”

“First, I’ll rescue the Silver Leopard Knight Order from prison. Even if it’s not Elder Leganon, there are other helpers inside.”

“House of Sephira has caught our family’s weakness. The security will be tight. Is it possible?”

“No matter how tight, it’s still House of Sephira. This time, I won’t fail.”

“There’s no chance the captives will leak our secrets, right?”

The secret of House Baydant’s rise and fall, one of the Seven Evil Tribes, the Moon Beast Tribe. If House of Sephira found out, House Baydant would face annihilation.

“The regular members don’t know about the elders. Only the youngest, Jordic, and the vice-captain, Arbold, know, and they have resistance to torture.”

Resistance to torture.

That didn’t just mean they could endure pain well. It meant they had learned techniques to block pain. Since this didn’t require aura, it didn’t matter if their aura was suppressed.

“I’ll also send a letter to House of Sephira’s head requesting the return of the prisoners. That passive guy will pretend to give in under pressure.”

“Truly wise.”

“Hmph, even so, that Basil guy will drag it out as long as he can. It would be more humiliating for House of Sephira if they escaped from prison boldly. Understand? Don’t fail.”

“I’ll remember, and remember again.”

“Go. I don’t want to see your face.”

Bolos, soaked and beaten, formally bowed and left the family head’s room.

“Gasp!”

The knights guarding the door gasped at Bolos’s state.

“Heh, I must look funny to you guys.”

“N-no.”

The knights quickly lowered their gazes.

Bolos walked down the corridor, clenching and unclenching his fists. He pondered the report from the two Silver Leopard Knights who had barely escaped Hakoz Village.

‘Lawless City Absinthe. A thug strutting around in that garbage dump and a 1-star holy knight defeated the Silver Leopard Knight Order’s captain, vice-captain, and five members?’

The Silver Leopard Knight Order was a secret knight order for House Baydant’s elders, the Moon Beast Tribe.

Their formidable power and spirit surpassed House Baydant’s representative knight order, the White Panther Knight Order.

“What the hell happened!”

Bolos roared.

The two survivors weren’t at the battlefield. They were ordered by Jordic to wait in the village.

They clearly heard the sounds of battle outside the village. But since they only heard the sounds, they didn’t know the Sword Wing Tribe had appeared.

What they saw and heard was that Keter and Luke defeated the Silver Leopard Knight Order’s strongest forces.

The news from House of Sephira’s internal spy wasn’t much different. Without anyone’s help, Keter and Luke subdued everyone. That was all the outside world knew.

“Leganon…!”

Bolos thought Leganon was the mastermind. Otherwise, it was impossible.

No, even if Leganon had acted, it didn’t make sense. Even if he had mobilized the Lunar Knight Order, it was hard to believe the Silver Leopard Knight Order lost to the Lunar Knight Order.

But for now, the premise that Leganon had betrayed them was important.

‘You betrayed me after I asked you to deal with Keter?!’

I won’t let this slide. I won’t let Leganon or anything related to House of Sephira get away with this.

“I’ll kill every last one of those brats.”

Suddenly.

Bolos stopped walking and looked back.

‘You’re next, you greedy old man.’

Bolos decided that after this was over, he would definitely become the family head. Even if it meant bypassing the proper procedures.

* * *

House of Sephira’s deep prison.

In this place where every cell was solitary, the knights of House Baydant were imprisoned.

They had regained consciousness early but were stuck in their cells.

It wasn’t just because they were wearing aura-suppressing bracelets.

“Why can’t I use my strength… What the hell did they do?”

Jordic, the first among the Silver Leopard Knights to wake up, immediately tried to escape.

Even without aura, his pure physical strength could easily tear through wooden planks. The prison bars weren’t thick either, so it seemed possible to bend them and escape.

“How sloppy. No guards, no shackles.”

Jordic grabbed the bars and exerted force.

“Ugh!”

They didn’t budge.

“What, what’s this? The bars won’t move. Is this not ordinary steel?”

Jordic tried with all his might, but the bars remained unmoved.

And then he realized.

It wasn’t that the bars were strong.

“My strength has weakened.”

What the hell did they do to my body?

Jordic felt around his body, but there were no signs of muscle removal or curse marks.

“Damn it. I can’t even handle a single bar?”

Jordic finally looked around the cell he was in. There was a hole in the corner that seemed to be a toilet and a straw bed. That was it.

It was an extremely simple cell.

“Is this what they gave me to eat?”

There was a bowl in front of the cell door.

Stirring it with the spoon beside it, it was flour porridge. The lumpy appearance. Even without tasting it, he knew it was disgustingly bland.

“Is anyone there? Call the person in charge! I am Dragon Spear Jordic!”

He shouted at the top of his lungs, but only silence answered.

“Damn it!”

He kicked the innocent wall, but with strength weaker than an ordinary person’s, it only hurt his own foot.

With no window to tell if it was night or day, Jordic felt an unbearable stifling.

The lantern on the wall beyond the bars only pushed back the minimal darkness, making it twice as suffocating.

Then.

Creak.

A door opened in the distance.

‘Finally, they’ve come for me. Is it Head Basil? Or an elder?’

Jordic knew he was a prisoner, but he wasn’t particularly afraid.

Who was he?

The youngest son of House Baydant, Dragon Spear Jordic. House of Sephira couldn’t possibly do anything to him.

Even if he was a criminal, a prisoner, there was no reason to bow!

House of Baydant must have grasped the situation by now. He could be out today, or at most in a week.

Jordic believed that without a doubt.

Dragging sounds.

Something was being dragged, and a person stopped in front of Jordic’s cell.

Jordic, who had been standing with his back to the door to show his dignity, was about to turn around when,

“Why is this criminal bastard standing so stiff? It’s annoying.”

It wasn’t Head Basil. Nor an elder.

Jordic turned to see who it was.

“Ke, Keter!”

Keter, standing in front of the cell door, said with a solemn expression,

“Jordic. It’s time for torture.”