EWH Chapter 60

“How was it?”

“What Caravan said wasn’t much different from what we heard from Nover. The problem is that the part mentioned by Luce’s brother seems a bit more serious. If we’re not careful, this could escalate. That’s not good…”

As he spoke, Lamiya raised an eyebrow, noticing that Azar was still wearing the robe without taking it off. Even at a glance, the high-quality robe was clearly a mage’s robe. It wasn’t hard to guess who the original owner of this robe was without having to ask.

What was a bit puzzling was the fact that Azar hadn’t taken off the robe even now that they had returned to the villa from Luce’s house. So Lamiya reached out and slightly lifted the robe. The hidden face peeked out briefly. Familiar golden hair and blue eyes sparkled in the shadows. Seeing this, Lamiya tilted her head.

“Hm? Why do you look like that? You’ve already returned to normal.”

“Ah, it was a mistake.”

Azar smiled slightly awkwardly and brushed off his hand holding the robe.

“So I don’t think I can move around freely.”

“Then you should just stay at the mansion. We don’t all need to get involved anyway.”

“I guess so. Then I’ll just stay and guard the mansion.”

“…You’re backing down more easily than I expected?”

Azar merely shrugged at Lamiya, who narrowed her eyes suspiciously, as this wasn’t like him to back down so easily.

“As you said, there’s no need for me to get involved too. Well, if I had changed my appearance, I might have thought about it more and ended up following you guys, but…”

Azar fiddled with the faded ring on his finger. According to the original plan, he would have continued to change his appearance for a while, making the most of the ring’s effects. If he had done that, he could have moved around freely until the matter was resolved. But one mistake had tripped him up like this. Why did he do it? He made an uncharacteristic choice, unable to stop the sudden impulse. He could only blame himself, knowing full well that acting without thinking of the consequences would lead to this.

“Excluding me, the daughter of the guild master, who would benefit the most from causing such a situation in the Greyson Caravan?”

Azar’s gaze naturally turned towards Remberton, then to Berry who was sitting in front of him, raising her voice repeatedly, and the man quietly answering. Keeping his gaze on them, Azar whispered quietly so that only Lamiya could hear.

“…It’s not like that now, is it? What could I do in this form? If I stepped in using the Marquis family name, it’s clear as day that my eldest brother would be pleased and chase us here, so I gave up willingly. At least my brother has close ties with Barcella… Even if not me, he’ll look kindly upon Remberton.”

Even though he said this, he wasn’t certain. Still, Azar thought that as long as he didn’t get involved himself, the damage to those around him would be minimized. Moreover, the Barcella Marquis family was originally aligned with the First Prince. Although the second son Remberton was treated as an outsider for being an illegitimate child, he was still a member of the Marquis family. Therefore, to avoid embarrassing the Marquis family that supported him, the First Prince would likely turn a blind eye to some extent, even if he might find fault.

“Besides, the Marquess is a flexible person.”

But Azar was different. He had already fallen out of favor, far too much. If Azar moved with them, it would surely cause trouble. Perhaps this time, Remberton might even be expelled from the Marquis family. Azar found it utterly lamentable that he was of no help and could only hide behind and watch.

So, as soon as possible. He needed to find ‘that item’…

As he thought this, Azar’s mind naturally turned to the secret auction. He thought he had just barely grasped a small clue, but circumstances weren’t cooperating, and he thought he might have to give up reluctantly. But looking at how things were unfolding now, it seemed he might not have to give up after all. If this matter could be resolved well, perhaps…

At that moment, Remberton, having finished talking, stood up first, brushing off his seat. He gestured for Azar and Lamiya, who were leaning against the wall, to follow him and headed out the door. The two followed suit and left the reception room.

Click.

The three moved out of the reception room. Remberton called Basent, who was waiting nearby, gave a brief explanation of the upcoming events, and then hurriedly prepared to go out again. Arranging his coat tails, Remberton spoke to the two.

“The Greyson Caravan is quite large. So it would be helpful for us in many ways to create a debt with them on this occasion.”

“Hmm, I’ve been thinking about that…”

“You two stay here. I’ll end this matter at my level.”

At those resolute words, the two shrugged their shoulders. Not only Azar, but Lamiya’s position wasn’t much different either.

“I’ll handle the outside matters, so I’d like you to deal with the mercenaries. It would be even better if you could get a confession out of them…”

Tap.

At that point, Azar raised his eyes that had been lowered. His finger that had been tapping on the table suddenly stopped. Azar looked alternately at the soup that hardly seemed to diminish and Nathan, and said:

“Nathan, what are you doing not eating?”

“Hmm.”

Honestly, Nathan felt his already minimal appetite diminishing even further. But under the silent, steady gaze watching him stir the soup with his spoon, he had no choice but to move his hand to his mouth. Only then did Azar shift his gaze elsewhere and speak.

“Listen to the rest, I originally intended to go about this simply, you know? I was planning to use the Marquis family name a bit to resolve things comfortably.”

His finger tapped on the table again.

“Since Centiar is a small territory of the Marquis family, it’s easier and quicker for Remberton to move among us. I can’t move publicly anyway, so I’m not much help, and Ali and Laya are in the same position. Especially Laya… No one even knows that the young lady is here right now. Even the servants of this mansion, except for Basent and Speni, don’t know. They just think of her as the second young master’s academy friend.”

I know, Nathan inwardly replied. That was mentioned in the original work too. Lamiya Lionheart, who was extraordinary from a young age, ran away from the Duke’s family of her own accord at the age of 8 and had been on the run for 11 years until now, at the age of 19.

…And being such a character, she became the protagonist’s companion.

“Well, the others’ stories aren’t important right now, so let’s skip that for now. So, right after you collapsed, we immediately returned to the villa. Luce and ‘Leonard’… Ah, Leonard is the name of the person you saved.”

Nathan paused for a moment at those words. The phrase ‘the person you saved’ somehow struck him deeply.

‘Didn’t I not save him?’

He couldn’t help but keep thinking that. Nathan thought that he hadn’t really done much. Well, he did discover Leonard who was dying, so it wasn’t like he hadn’t helped at all. But in the end, it was Azar who saved him using holy power.

…Come to think of it, if Azar hadn’t been there, wouldn’t Leonard have died then? So Nathan didn’t feel entirely comfortable with others saying he had saved him. Somehow, it felt like something was stuck in his chest.

“It seemed dangerous for those brothers to stay there, so they came to the villa with us. They’re still staying here, so you’ll be able to meet them soon? For now, we’re keeping them away for your stability.”

“I see. It’s fine if I don’t meet them though…”

“It seems they have something to say to you. Wouldn’t it be good for you all to have a conversation?”

At those words, Nathan nodded. He couldn’t quite imagine what Leonard might have to say to him. He had already thanked him then, so what else could Leonard have to say to him? No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t predict anything.

“And right after arriving at the villa like that, we were able to meet Miss Berry Caravan, whom you mentioned.”

“What did Berry say? I thought the information she knew might be helpful…”

“That’s right, it was helpful. She pointed out someone who seems just like the culprit.”

Azar detached himself from the backrest and, resting his chin on his interlocked hands, looked at Nathan and said:

“The name is ‘Emerson’. He’s a commoner man who has worked for the Greyson Caravan for a long time. About 10 years ago, Baron Caravan took pity on him who was wandering the streets and took him in.”

“Well, that’s…”

“A bit much, right?”

Nathan silently nodded.

“Still, it seems Baron Caravan was grooming him to be the next guild master. You’re probably wondering why, when Miss Caravan is there, right? It’s because she intended to become a mage and work at the magic tower or for the royal family, so she had no intention of inheriting the family business, and Baron Caravan accepted that decision.”

That was news to Nathan. But thinking about it, Berry certainly didn’t seem like she would inherit the guild. Didn’t she say her goal was to get a job at the magic tower in the royal palace?

Those who graduated from prestigious academies, especially from the magic department, usually aimed for the magic tower or to become royal magicians. While there were some who inherited their family businesses, if that was the case, they would have gone to a different academy in the first place, not Aurora Academy.

“But something seems a bit strange.”

Nathan muttered, scraping the now empty bowl with his spoon. After hearing Azar’s story, he felt a bit puzzled.

“Even if it took some time, the guild would have fallen into his hands anyway, so was there really a need for this…?”

“Exactly. We were a bit puzzled by that at first too. We wondered if he was impatient to wait because Baron Caravan was still in good health, or if not, if someone else had put ideas into his head. To cut to the chase, it was closer to the latter. It wasn’t something he did alone.”

Nathan blinked blankly at those words. That was something even Nathan didn’t know.