Act 45

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“What in the world is going on, Master?”

Early in the morning.

The servants, having arrived for work, could not hide their astonishment at the sight of the mansion’s disarray.

Some of them, alternating their gaze between the state of the mansion and my appearance, began to whisper among themselves.

“When we first arrived, the mansion was in complete chaos,” they murmured.

“Right. The bloodstains were no joke.”

“Did you actually spend the night in this place?”

“Moreover, according to the head butler who arrived first, there were more than ten intruders… Did you handle them all by yourself?”

I looked back at the servants with a look of shock. Their eyes bore into me as if they were looking at a monster, but I paid them no mind.

Wasn’t I also scared of the intruders? Even now, recalling yesterday’s events causes my hands and feet to tremble.

The only reason I was able to maintain my composure was simply because of my mindset to perfectly act out ‘Julian’s’ physical presence.

Despite being faced with topics that would normally startle an ordinary person, such as blood and corpses, I acted indifferently because of this.

Today’s events were bound to spread rumors throughout the empire, despite any efforts to prevent them.

All I could do now was to further solidify my image as ‘the smiling executioner.’

“So, Master, how should we deal with this?”

“If it’s unnecessary, there’s no need to bother me with it…”

Upon the servant’s inquiry, I turned my head to see what she was holding.

A broken orchid pot with the name ‘Angelica’ on it.

Seeing its messy state, I couldn’t help but feel a sting in my nose.

“Just bury it in the yard…”

***

As expected, rumors of my repelling the mansion’s intruders spread like wildfire.

“That ‘smiling executioner.’ He killed all the intruders who broke into his mansion, didn’t he?”

“Who in their right mind would break into Julian’s mansion?”

The rumors quickly circulated among the nobility, who relish in gossip.

In an attempt to lighten the atmosphere of the noble society, filled with strife and conspiracy, or to gain an upper hand in conversations with others, the rumors grew more exaggerated.

“Lord Julian, the royal court is all abuzz because of your actions. I heard you annihilated an entire knight order…?”

The rumor inflated like a bubble, becoming astonishingly huge. Starting with a basis in truth, it eventually morphed into something resembling wild gossip.

“Annihilate a knight order…? Even I couldn’t achieve such a feat in a single day, could I, Sir Odwin?”

“Well, that would be the case, wouldn’t it?”

“Yes. It was merely a matter of dealing with some despicable intruders who had entered my mansion.”

Odwin let out a slight chuckle at my matter-of-fact tone.

“That incident… ‘merely’ seems like an understatement for something that’s far from ordinary, doesn’t it?”

“Is that so? To me, it feels like just another day.”

“How could that possibly be a part of anyone’s daily life…”

I agreed with her mumbling. A life where one is ambushed by enemies harboring grudges in the dead of night.

It seemed like a completely failed life.

I wanted to respond in kind to Director Odwin’s words, but I managed to hold back.

Instead, I just shrugged my shoulders with a confident attitude.

“Given what’s happened, how about taking a break from work for a while? Another member can handle the practical training instructor position at Bayer Academy…”

“No, it’s alright.”

Odwin tilted her head slightly at my refusal.

“I’m not so frail that I need to stop working just because of something like this.”

While I did have a strong desire to take a break and let things pass, it didn’t seem likely that ‘Julian’ would take a break from work over such an incident.

‘Besides, if I pass the academy work to another member, I might get drafted for the victory celebration.’

Regardless, my desire not to encounter ‘the Sword Saint’ was still as strong as ever.

“Well, it’s your body, you know best. Alright, I’ll contact the academy.”

After receiving Odwin’s confirmation, I briefly greeted her and left the director’s office.

This concluded the external report on the ‘Julian assault incident.’

What remained was tying up loose ends regarding ‘the replicas.’

‘I can’t just leave this be.’

The ‘replicas’ that Joshua had found and the ‘Bishops’ who attempted to attack me are deeply connected to the Dawn Society.

In that sense, I cannot overlook the Dawn Society’s executives who ignored this situation.

‘Damn it! I don’t want to do anything!’

Yet, ‘this world’ whispered to ‘Julian’ not to overlook such incidents.

***

“Bishop Elenoa, it’s been a while.”

“Oh my! Isn’t that Bishop Aiden? What brings you to the Gennel Monastery?”

Elenoa greeted with a smile, but her smile was laden with blatant thorns.

Bishops, entering the Dawn Society for their own interests, saw others of the same rank as competitors.

“Is there any other reason to visit the Gennel Monastery? To see Arch Bishop, Sir Tenellon, of course.”

Aiden’s seemingly friendly smile was long understood by Elenoa to conceal cunning.

“Aiden de Donassien.”

A direct descendant of one of the empire’s four major magical families, the Donassien family, and mentioned as the next head of the family. He is also someone who emphasizes competence above all in his quest to create the ‘Elixir,’ the Philosopher’s Stone, which is the family’s greatest desire, leading him to advocate for extreme pureblood ideologies.

“Is that so? But what to do? It seems I was the first to secure an appointment with the Arch Bishop.”

“Ha, then there’s nothing to be done but wait in the audience room.”

Continuing to smile affably, Aiden and Elenoa headed to the audience room where the Arch Bishop was staying.

‘Wait a moment.’

Elenoa sneakily turned her head to glance at Aiden’s face.

Her reason for coming to the Gennel Monastery was to discuss the replicas of horns floating around the slums and the empire, known as ‘replicas.’

Though inferior to the horns produced directly by Tenellon, filled with impurities, these were still capable of ‘demonization.’

‘It’s impossible to create such replicas without the original.’

The one producing these ‘replicas’ is likely a member of the Dawn Society with access to the ‘horns,’ probably a bishop.

And while it’s just a suspicion, Aiden in front of her is one of those ‘candidates.’

‘The horns made by the Arch Bishop are similar in nature to Aiden’s ‘Elixir.’

If that’s the case, Aiden is conducting human experiments on civilians, unrelated to his organization, in order to complete the true ‘Elixir.’

‘Hmm… No, let’s not be too certain yet. I don’t have any evidence. If what he’s doing is true, then it’s a matter of simply reporting it to the Arch Bishop.’

But then again.

Would the current Arch Bishop of the Dawn Society, Tenellon, truly be appalled by the ‘replica horns’ situation and seek to punish the responsible party?

Perhaps he himself had ordered another bishop to produce the ‘replica horns.’

For the downfall of the empire.

To deal with the hated Sword Saint, ‘Hayden Reich,’ as quickly as possible.

‘If Tenellon is involved, then bringing up this topic here would do me no good.’

As she was lost in thought, Elenoa, having arrived at the audience chamber, decided as she looked at Tenellon.

“Have you been well, Arch Bishop?”

“Yes, Bishop Elenoa. I’ve heard you have something you wish to tell me.”

“No, it seems I was mistaken about the information. My apolog…?”

Crash!

In the midst of her sentence, the door to the audience chamber was violently opened, and a man entered.

With a restrained but noble posture and a confident stride.

A man with half-closed eyes that made it impossible to read his expression, Julian.

“Bishop Julian! Oh, there are already other bishops here…!”

A member of the clergy, in panic, tried to stop Julian, but he quickly drew his sword from its sheath and pointed it at the clergyman.

“Hiik…!”

As Julian drew his sword, the audience chamber was filled with a tense atmosphere.

Drawing a weapon in the room where the Arch Bishop resides is an act that could justly be considered sacrilege.

Yet, no one dared to approach Julian, possibly due to the overwhelming aura he exuded.

“Bishop Julian, what is your intention?”

With a deadly atmosphere.

Tenellon spoke with a voice laced with displeasure.

Julian looked intently at him, wearing his mask, for a few seconds.

Then, putting away his sword, Julian rummaged through his belongings and threw something onto the floor.

Clatter!

It was a ‘horn’ he had acquired from his attacker, William.

“Respected Arch Bishop. Are you aware that inferior replicas of horns, which only you can craft, are circulating within the empire?”

‘Oh? That was supposed to be my line.’

Julian voiced the concern that Elenoa was supposed to have.

***

As the clergy’s attention focused on me in unison, I felt it was too late to turn back.

‘I’ve done it.’

Though I had only drawn my weapon on a common member of the clergy, drawing a weapon in the audience chamber itself is an act against the Arch Bishop’s authority.

Because of this, the audience chamber felt as if it was on the brink of combat, not odd if a fight were to break out any moment, with a palpable murderous intent directed at me.

But what’s done is done, isn’t it?

For me, who cannot overlook the current situation, this was a necessary step.

“The inferior replicas of the horns…”

Hearing my words, Tenellon didn’t act rashly but looked at me intently.

“Hmm.”

As Tenellon hummed thoughtfully, pondering, another bishop suddenly interjected into the conversation.

“Bishop Julian.”

A middle-aged man with a gentlemanly air, Aiden de Donassien, spoke.

“Before we ascertain the truth or falsehood of your words, the dishonorable conduct of drawing a weapon in the audience chamber, Bishop, is something that can indeed be questioned.”

As our gazes met, Aiden slightly smiled with his eyes.

Aiden spoke with a natural ease, attempting to demonstrate his composure and confidence, yet he could not hide the ‘fear’ lurking behind his demeanor.

“I am aware that you are favored by the Arch Bishop, but your action of drawing a sword upon entering the audience chamber unannounced is… isn’t it the act of a rogue?”

Despite the purple miasma rising above his head, Aiden continued steadfastly, certain that I would not dare to wield my sword in the audience chamber.

“Haha, how amusing.”

At my scoffing, Aiden showed a slightly uncomfortable expression.

“What is so funny?”

“Isn’t it amusing? Bishop Aiden, who has caused unrest within the Dawn Society with the counterfeit horns, is the one saying such things.”

I glanced briefly at the horn I had thrown, then shifted my gaze back to Aiden, who then nervously shifted his eyes and cleared his throat.

“What, what are you talking about? I know nothing of…”

“It is commendable to fulfill the desires of one’s family.”

I continued, letting a faint smile play across my lips.

“Desire is a splendid driving force that energizes this ‘Dawn Society.'”

“Cough.”

“But! If because of that desire, we are exposed above the surface…?”

I trailed off intentionally, examining Aiden’s face. Despite clearly exhibiting a color of ‘fear,’ he nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders as if it were nothing.

“Bishop Julian, I fail to understand. What does the Donassien family’s long-standing wish have to do with the counterfeit horns you mentioned?”

Is he pretending not to know now?

Aiden’s evasive response began to make my head heat up.

‘Producing ‘replica horns’ haphazardly will eventually catch the attention of the Sword Saint or the royal family!’

Whether you die in the process is of no concern to me, but if the Dawn Society’s true nature is exposed…

‘The whole world will know I’m associated with the Dawn Society!’

Even if I’m known as ‘the smiling executioner,’ turning the empire against me leaves no room for survival.

Expect me to condone such a situation? Absolutely not.

“The Philosopher’s Stone, the Elixir of Life, the mythological artifact the Donassien family aspires to create, I am well aware of it. And the demon horns that the Arch Bishop creates…”

“Thank you for acknowledging our family’s aspiration,” Aiden cut in.

“Sir Aiden, what I’m trying to say is…”

“Still, I fail to see your point. Why you would proceed in such a manner…”

⇒ The unique trait “Opened Eyes” has manifested.

“I am speaking right now, am I not?”

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