Chapter 11
After Harumasa was temporarily confined in the most heavily guarded area, Wise was told the full story by Lycaon.
Harumasa was just a normal name he called himself, nothing special. But the name Asaba Harumasa in the Aku Empire was known to almost everyone in the empire. The most elite scout, never letting his prey escape his sights. He was good at using both bows and dual swords, proficient in magic, and possessed a unique magic that could rejuvenate himself, almost starting a new life. It was still unclear whether his poor health was fake or he had actually traded it for youth. If he really sacrificed his health for the sake of the mission, then perhaps he was truly loyal to the Aku Empire.
Wise was absent-minded the entire time Lycaon reported all the information he knew. He also didn't know what this prince was thinking, but they definitely felt the same.
Disappointment, sadness, and betrayal.
Was the love of all these years just a play that the Aku Empire had arranged?
After Lycaon finished reporting and left, Wise looked back at the gift Harumasa had given him. The sword was inlaid with magic, if Harumasa really considered these actions necessary for the play to gain Wise's trust, then was it really worth the effort to spend on this thing. Harumasa could have given something else, it wasn't necessary to make something that he had never researched before.
Now Wise also didn't know clearly from the beginning to the end whether Harumasa had been sincere to him or not. Or was Harumasa just pretending to go along with his one-sided feelings.
“You liar, you clearly promised you would never hurt me…”
Wise clenched his fist and threw the sword towards the wall. But instead of it hitting the wall and getting stuck there, a barrier appeared around the sword. So the sword didn’t go through the wall, instead it fell to the floor with a sharp metallic sound.
As if realizing something, Wise approached and checked the spell on the sword. Since it was written in ancient mage language, he had to find a dictionary to translate each word. There are only two spells on it, one is [Power Enhancement] and the other is [Protective Shield]. From the beginning, this sword was inlaid with two types of magic, which could be used to protect the user and attack the enemy.
At the moment Harumasa pushed Wise onto the bed, Wise was still holding the hilt of the sword in his hand. As an elite scout and the one who had inlaid magic on this sword, Harumasa should have known that the attack would not reach Wise, since the sword would activate a protective barrier when something attacked Wise.
No, if Harumasa was an elite soldier, he would have had plenty of chances to kill Wise. Then why did he choose such a risky timing? An assassination had just happened, Lycaon would obviously send elite soldiers to protect Wise, so the fact that Lycaon, soldiers, and high-level magicians would appear at that time should have been expected by Harumasa.
Furthermore, wasn't Harumasa's specialty archery? He could have shot an arrow from afar and killed Wise when Wise was alone in the royal garden. Having a butler as a companion was unnecessary, he would still have to take a hit.
The more Wise thought about it, the more he realized that Harumasa's plan was unusual. It was clearly not a murder plan devised by the Aku Empire's most elite scout. There were too many risks involved. If Harumasa had received so many medals, he must have known that the chances of being caught while carrying out that plan were very high.
Wise immediately picked up the sword, put it back in its sheath, and quickly put on his robe. He opened the door, hurriedly ran out of the room, and headed to his armory. He had to confirm a few things before coming to a final conclusion.
When Wise arrived, the soldiers guarding his armory saluted him. Wise didn't have time to bother with the cumbersome greetings, so he told the guards directly, "Check my weapons again. Especially the swords, check the quantity carefully."
"Understood, Your Highness."
Although they didn't understand Wise's intentions, the guards still proceeded to check the quantity. It took them a while to finish, and a guard ran out and reported back to Wise.
"Your Highness, a sword is missing. We will go look for it."
“No need.”, Wise interrupted the guard, then showed the magic sword in his hand, “This is the sword. No need to search.”
The guard was a little surprised, but then nodded in agreement. Wise held the sword in his hand tightly, he had not heard wrongly, there was really only one sword used to inlay magic on the sword and that was the one he was holding in his hand.
According to Lycaon’s report, Harumasa was not proficient in inlaying magic on weapons, even when he was in the Aku Empire, he only knew attack magic and his own unique magic. Inlaying magic on a weapon like this was his first time doing it.
Even the most powerful magic genius today couldn’t succeed in inlaying magic on the first try, let alone someone who had no foundation in inlaying magic on weapons.
A thought flashed through Wise’s mind, but he was in no hurry to confirm it was correct. Right now he needed more clues, this was not enough. Perhaps the decisive clue was currently in the hands of the emperor of the Aku Empire. Only he knew what Harumasa needed. Perhaps it was also proof of his unusual behavior.
After three days of imprisonment and torture, the emperor decided to publicly execute Harumasa by hanging near the border between the two countries, as a warning to the Aku Empire not to conspire with the Eridu Kingdom. The punishment would be carried out in a few days. Worryingly, Wise had yet to find any evidence that would support what he was about to do. He would not let Harumasa die.
"It seems that the emperor of the Eridu Kingdom has decided to hang you."
The guard standing outside the cell sighed, rolling his eyes, looking at the teenager who was chained tightly to the chair. Blood was everywhere, a strong fishy smell permeated the cramped space, lacking light and clean air.
"Hmm? Can't you hear what I'm saying anymore? That's understandable, without medicine for three days, your hearing and eyesight have obviously gone. Perhaps you don't even know that you're about to be hanged."
The guard smiled, a purple smoke escaped from him, seeping through the bars and into the cell. The guard's body remained standing there, unmoving, as if he was unconscious.
The purple smoke approached Harumasa, it hovered around him and silently transmitted sound into his mind before disappearing.
[Ah, since you failed, the transaction is canceled. Even if you succeeded, you wouldn't have gotten that thing.]
[Because we didn't keep that thing from you in the first place.]
[I'm curious about 'their' expressions when they found out about this. Ah, don't worry about your 'family', they've all been mobilized to the battlefield, including Princess Miyabi, Knight Yanagi, and Mage Soukaku, all participating in the upcoming battle.]
[Hahaha, I suddenly feel excited thinking about their expressions when they see you hanged~]
[By the time they realize the truth, it'll be too late.]
[Farewell, Grand Mage of Eridu.]
The smoke dissipated, leaving no trace behind. And a stream of bright red blood flowed from the corner of the mouth of the person sitting on the chair.
Looks like he won't be able to escape this time.