3 bar menu

Ruler Vol 6 Chapter 21

Author: Anit666

Editor: Weasalopes

【3rd person’s POV】

Despite his tremendous speed, the breeze hitting his face was gentle and calming. The white of the clouds obscured his vision, and he decided to change his altitude to be freed of their clutches.

He left behind a streak of white clouds as he exited them, and what filled his vision was the sky dyed crimson by the setting sun. The crimson reminded him of blood, and blood reminded him of Serasta La Graes, his former partner.

He floated for some moments, taking in the scenery around him and being disgusted by its… emptiness.

A long time ago, these skies were filled with the brown feathers of the Faes. The Faes freely frolicked about as if they were the master of these skies. The children flapped their wings furiously while competing to see who was the fastest. Couple soared across the clouds as they flirted with each other.

Alas, the sky was empty now, just like his heart. Who was to blame? Those filthy mongrels? Those traitors? Him? Or no one?

Perhaps all of them.

Finishing his reminiscence with a sigh, he flapped his wings again and continued on his journey. He was on a mission right now, granted to him by the Sun of Asmaria, His Majesty Bachuss Ray Constantine, and failure was not an option; not that he could actually fail at it.

Well, theoretically he could, but the series of events required for that to happen would need the intervention of a God.

He almost missed his destination as he was lost in his reveries, but recovered at the last moment and dived straight down, entering the sea of clouds again. The white clouds blurred his vision once again, until they suddenly disappeared to reveal a large city spanning beneath.

The arial view of the Painia Duchy was a bit different than what he remembered. The market had simultaneously expanded and become more crowded. Some of the iconic buildings had undergone some renovation, while the security around the mansion of the Archduchess- it was more like a fortress with the appearance of a mansion- had been increased.

The reason for the rise in the number of guards was probably Serasta, who was currently under de-facto house arrest in the mansion.

After contemplating a bit, he decided to land in front of the mansion instead of just barging in; even if he was the envoy of His Majesty himself, the owner of this mansion was the Archduchess, so a proper procedure needed to be followed to avoid any complications.

The guards at the post at the gate flinched a bit upon Leige’s arrival, but recovered upon learning that the one who had landed was the Fae Lord and not a monster.

“I want to meet the Archduchess.” He declared.

“R-right away, sir. Please follow me.” He left the post, opened the gate, and started walking towards the mansion through the garden.

The guard knew who Leige was, not to mention that he had been informed about Leige’s arrival beforehand. So he didn’t bother with asking whether Leige had an appointment or not.

When they entered the mansion, the guard went back to his post and his place was taken by an old butler.

“The Madam is waiting for you.” With that, he led Leige to her office on the second floor.

He opened the door and beckoned for him to go in. After he was inside, the butler closed the door, leaving only Leige and Elizabeth. The latter put her pen down and took off her glasses, and leaned back in her seat a bit.

“Welcome, Mr. Leige. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“As was informed to the Archduchess beforehand, I’m here for the inspection of Serasta La Graes.”

As the Commander of the Zeroth Order of Knights who worked directly under His Majesty, Leige was not required to bow or show excessive courtesy to anyone but the King.

“Yes, the inspection. But there’s no need to make haste, is there? You’ve come here after a long journey, so I think it would be fine to rest a bit. Would you like some tea?”

“Pardon my impudence, Archduchess, but the King demanded the inspection to be finished as soon as possible, so I must decline your offer.”

“That’s a shame.” Elizabeth stood up from her seat. “Allow me to lead the way.”

Her? Personally? Leige mentally furrowed his brows, but decided not to voice his opinion.

And so, she left her office with him in tow. They were joined by the butler who showed him the way, and together, they walked down the stairs. After descending for what seemed like 7 floors, they finally left the staircase.

They stopped in front of a magically reinforced Adamantium gate, which was being guarded by two soldiers. A single glance was enough for Leige to know that they were as strong as Platinum Adventurers, the second rank from the top of the hierarchy.

“Serasta La Graes is behind that door.” Elizabeth pointed towards it and took out the key to the door from her pocket. “Go ahead and chat as much as you like. I will be waiting outside to open the door when you’re done.”

She probably kept the key to herself to ensure that no one would be able to steal it from the guards and free Serasta. Of course, the key could be stolen from her as well, but she had made appropriate arrangements to ensure that such an event wouldn’t come to pass.

“If you will, could you please leave us alone? It would be easier for me to talk to her alone.”

“…Very well.” Elizabeth signalled to the guards, and together all of them left, leaving Leige outside Serasta’s room.

He took a deep breath and knocked on the door; he remembered the last time he went in unannounced and almost lost his eyes, though one could argue that the sight he laid his eyes on were worth it.

“Who’s there?” Came the voice from inside.

“It’s me.”

“Who… come in.” Her tone had sharpened a bit.

Leige gripped the handle and pulled the door open. As he stepped inside, the door closed in on itself, leaving him with the former Dark Hero, Serasta La Graes. He didn’t hear the click of the lock, so it probably didn’t have a self-locking function.

“Well, well, to what do I owe the pleasure of a visit from the humans’ lap dog?”

“His Majesty’s orders.” He replied unflinchingly; he had long since prepared himself for this reception.

“Ah, right. Why else would you want to meet the poor old me?”

“No, I had the desire to see you as well.”

“Oh?” She furrowed her brows.

“…I’m sorry for-”

“Don’t bother. You’re too late for that.”

“…Right.” Leige exhaled, and took on a neutral expression. “I’m here on His Majesty’s orders to investigate your… defection to the humans’ side.”

There were still a lot of things he wanted to ask her as Leige, but as she had said, they were too late for that. Besides, he didn’t think he had the right to do so considering he had been the one to snatch her world away.

“I’m not siding with the humans. I’m here because of Samael.”

“As a slave, that is.”

“A slave contract was necessary to establish trust between us, and to let me live with the humans. Not that you would understand the meaning of trust.” She scoffed.

“I see.” Leige nodded. “So, you mean to say that you no longer want to end humanity for the death of your daughter?” He deliberately avoided saying the name Neia.

“You could say that.” Serasta smirked.

He knew that smile, and so he understood the meaning behind that.

“I would like to know the contents of your contract.”

“I’m not required to answer that.”

“Oh, yes, you are. My investigation here would decide the fate of you and Samael. His Majesty may be fond of Samael, but he’s adept at keeping his personal feelings aside and making decisions beneficial for the kingdom.”

“…” Serasta narrowed her eyes. “The contract basically boils down to a single clause; I’m not allowed to hurt a human unless he permits me to do so.”

“In other words, you could wipe out the entire humanity as long as Samael allowed you to do so, correct?”

“Yes.”

“And who is he to decide the fate of another human?” Leige’s tone sharpened. “Indeed, he should have forbidden you from killing humans at all.”

It would be beyond troublesome if Serasta ended up hurting a certain someone, after all.

“He isn’t, and he admits that.” She shrugged. “But according to him, reality is not so kind that it’d allow us to ponder over such philosophical questions. There would be times when I would have to kill- not because of my grudge, but because of something more important. Samael gave me a way out so as not to cripple me.”

“Such as?”

“For example, a situation where I’m the only one who can protect the Heroes.”

“You certainly wouldn’t need to protect the Heroes from us humans.”

Us, eh? Serasta smiled derisively.

Leige truly had betrayed her. She was prepared for this, but it still kind of hurt, considering he once was someone she trusted the most.

“I used to think the same, actually.” Her bitter smile turned into a smirk. “But as Samael said, humanity’s ability to shove their foot into a cannon and fire it cannot be underestimated.”

“…I see.” Leige managed to stop himself from smiling- to think a single sentence could summarise an entire race so accurately. “So you are willing to protect the Heroes.”

“If Samael asks me to, then sure.”

“You truly do listen to everything he has to say, huh?” Leige frowned. “Just like a slave.”

“How rude! We are equals in our contract- we both have something to gain.”

“And what is it that you would gain from your equal relationship, Serasta?”

“He would let me fulfil my dream.” On her face blossomed a beautiful, yet terrifying smile.

Is she in love with him? He pondered.

“Your dream of wiping out humanity, you mean?” His brows creased dangerously.

“Of course not. Why would we do something that crude?” She let out an exaggerated sigh and donned a coy smile. “Revenge is a subtle thing, Leige. It would never be fulfilled by wiping out you humans.”

Aaahh… Leige understood what she was getting at.

“I see.” With that, he turned around.

His inspection was over. He determined that she wasn’t lying, while his evaluation of her slave mark as they were talking told him that the slave contract was what she claimed it to be. There were no hidden clauses which would cause any problems down the road. This allowed him to reach his conclusions.

“Oh, going back already?”

“My work here is done.”

“And what was the result of your inspection?”

“You’ll know soon enough.” He answered without looking back and left the room.

She’s not ready yet… He couldn’t help but sigh as he made his way back.