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chapter 54
“Thank you all for gathering here.”
In the secret underground space beneath the old building,
Cowen opened the meeting before ten nobles.
He hadn’t brought all of the former retainers to avoid Vares’s attention.
“I still find it hard to believe. Does a method truly exist to reveal their crimes?”
The middle-aged man seated closest, Henry, spoke while rubbing his brow.
The contents of the secret letter Cowen had sent said that the time had come to clear William’s name.
“Yes. We discovered a Holy Nation temple in the underground waterway.”
“A temple?”
“A temple, you say?”
“How could that be possible!”
Shocked voices grew louder at the revelation.
Henry, still wearing a grave expression, asked again,
“Are you certain it was a temple?”
“Yes. It was a temple of considerable scale. It seems Kamon was forced by Vares’s threats to lead its construction.”
“…Kamon? The Kamon I know?”
“Yes. The craftsman who handled the renovation of Lord William’s mansion. Only you, Sir Henry, would know that he was also a friend of Miss Riventia, but… for now, please take a look at this.”
Cowen took out the crystal orb and placed it on the table.
When he activated it, light burst forth and began projecting a scene.
“What is this…!”
“A forward base—does that make any sense!”
“And what do you mean, traces of the Spirit King?”
The conversation between the bishop and Vares echoed from the projection magic tool.
Those watching couldn’t hide their shock.
When the light from the crystal orb faded, Henry clenched his fist tightly.
“…So it really was all Vares’s doing.”
Even if he had expected it, hearing the truth directly in the man’s own voice made his teeth grind.
William, whom they had sent off in emptiness and powerlessness.
The past self who could do nothing to protect his lord and friend was always contemptible and shameful.
Even if William had asked him to protect the city.
“As you can see, the tragedy that befell Lord William was a scheme by Vares and the Holy Nation. Without this magic tool, reaching the truth would have been extremely difficult.”
“Was this something Kamon left behind?”
“Yes. But the one who found it was not me, but an adventurer from outside. Black Dragon, come in.”
With those words, the viewpoint returned to Hanbit.
Pushing open the installed partition, he stepped inside.
“Nice to meet you. I’m the adventurer Black Dragon.”
-It’s me, appearing.
-Natural entrance.
-But why do their expressions look like that?
-How is his name Black Dragon. lol
-Let’s meet the real Black Dragon and bet on a name change.
As he greeted them, all eyes turned to Hanbit.
Expressions mixed with suspicion, concern, confusion, and expectation.
“Could you explain how you came to find that item?”
Henry asked politely.
It was completely different from how nobles usually treated adventurers.
However, his sharp gaze, as if peering into one’s insides, carried pressure.
“A cat named Ruby ran away in the slums. While chasing after her together with a child named Ria who lives there, we discovered a secret passage in the waterway. That’s where we found the temple.”
“…The slums?”
The sudden mention of the slum district raised doubt.
Seeing his expression, Hanbit continued explaining.
“Beneath the temple, there was a place that perfectly recreated Miss Riventia’s room. It was a space created by Kamon.”
“Why is Riventia’s name coming up?”
At that moment, Henry’s voice sank coldly.
William’s only daughter, sacrificed to Vares’s filthy scheme.
Her bright smile flickered before his eyes, and pain and despair washed over him again.
“You’ll understand if you see this.”
Hanbit took out Kamon’s notebook and handed it to him.
After briefly meeting his gaze, Henry accepted the notebook and opened it.
“…….”
Heavy silence settled as he read.
The other former retainers present also wanted to understand the situation, but they silently waited for Henry to speak.
After William’s execution, he had been the one who held the group together.
“Hoo.”
After some time passed, Henry lifted his gaze from the notebook.
Then he muttered with distant eyes,
“William went this far……”
In a sense, it was meaningless.
Even if such a space was created to preserve memories of his daughter, the people of those memories no longer existed.
Even if former retainers like himself found the place, only sorrow would surge forth.
Yet in the end, what Kamon left behind became something of immense meaning to those who survived.
“We followed what was written in this notebook and found Kamon’s workshop. That’s where we discovered the projection magic tool.”
“The workshop… you mean the sealing stone kept in Harpen’s mansion? You managed to obtain it?”
“It felt like there would be important evidence there. We used rather forceful methods, but our faces weren’t exposed.”
“…A remarkable level of initiative. Or perhaps I am simply incompetent.”
-Why is his mental state like that;
-Self-reflection is HenryTube.
-Has anyone seen this NPC before?
-You pass by him once in a while if you watch the city.
-He’s super blunt but looks tired.
Henry let out both a sigh and self-reproach.
Even that alone raised his evaluation of Hanbit considerably.
Though there was still something far greater to come.
“Isn’t it about time she came in?”
“…Indeed.”
Meeting Hanbit’s gaze, Cowen slowly nodded.
Then he turned to the former retainers and said,
“There is someone I would like to introduce.”
“Introduce? Is there another helper?”
Henry imagined someone similar to Hanbit.
Without answering, Cowen slowly approached the partition and opened it.
“Did we really have to set this up?”
A blonde girl entered while complaining.
She looked slightly nervous.
Behind her followed an old man with a sword at his waist.
“……?”
Henry’s expression changed strangely when he saw Ria.
A sense of familiarity—as if he had seen her somewhere before, no, as if he could never forget her.
Yet no matter how he thought about it, it was impossible.
“This is really awkward.”
Ria, too, spotted the one face she recognized.
In confusion, Henry rewrote his thoughts several times before uttering an impossible name.
“…Riventia?”
“It’s been a while, uncle.”
Ria greeted him calmly with great care.
Those words shook Henry’s mind violently.
“No, how is this… is this a dream? Or my hallucination? How could Riventia…….”
Unable even to reach out, Henry fell into confusion.
Meeting his gaze, Ria spoke while recalling old memories.
“The small harp you gave me as a birthday present. You remember how I broke it right in front of you, right? The three of us tried to fix it, but it ended up completely broken.”
“Ah…….”
Henry let out a low sigh.
With William gone, a secret story that only he now knew rang out vividly.
A mirage.
Or a specter that appeared to punish his powerless guilt.
Even if he died because of it, he could accept it silently.
And yet—
“Riven… tia.”
The girl before his eyes truly existed.
Even when he cautiously reached out and stroked her head as before, she didn’t disappear.
Only Riventia’s emerald-green eyes looked at him with a hint of sadness.
“Why are you crying? I’m alive and well.”
The tears flowing silently were something Henry himself hadn’t noticed.
He simply couldn’t believe this miracle-like situation.
-ㅠㅠㅠ
-Vares, you bastard.
-We smashing his head right away, right?
-Ah, I really want to replay the story.
-Reincarnation at Han River party recruiting (1/100).
“Miss Riventia?”
“Is it really true!”
“To think you survived…….”
The retainers who hadn’t seen her face were also shocked and moved by Riventia’s survival.
The legitimate bloodline of Northton, thought to be lost.
Memories of William and the despair carried up to today overlapped, sending emotions into turmoil.
“Taking the young lady and fleeing was an order given by Lord William.”
Cowen, who had quietly watched the reunion, spoke.
He explained the events of the past and the situation afterward.
“…So that’s how it was. As expected of William.”
They could feel the anguish of William Northton, both mayor and father.
A decision made in a situation where trusting anyone was difficult.
He had to protect Edlen while also protecting his daughter Riventia’s future.
That was why he left each retainer—including Cowen, Kamon, and Henry—with their own roles.
So that even if one side failed, the other would not collapse.
“…….”
Henry looked at the surviving Riventia.
He had assumed countless possibilities, yet never allowed himself to accept failure.
An unspoken trust lay in the belief that his retainers and comrades would carry out their roles.
All of it had been preparation for the day Riventia returned to her rightful place.
“What a doting fool.”
When his thoughts reached that point, a hollow laugh escaped him.
He could vividly picture William boasting about his daughter every single day.
“Are you okay? You’re crying and laughing at the same time.”
Seeing the confused uncle, Ria asked worriedly.
Henry stroked her head and turned his gaze to Cowen.
“What’s the current situation? Has Vares begun pursuing you?”
“The Holy Nation’s assassin attacked first. It seems they’ve developed technology to detect the traces of the Spirit King contained in the ring.”
“…So the traces of the Spirit King are in that ring.”
His gaze moved to the ring on Ria’s finger.
The identical ring William used to wear was vividly etched in his memory.
He had never heard any details about it, but he could guess the reason.
The immense power called the traces of the Spirit King was dangerous even to know about.
Seeing how Vares and the Holy Nation coveted it, knowledge itself was poison.
“And who might that gentleman be?”
Henry’s gaze shifted to the white-haired old man.
His face looked as if his stomach hurt, but his eyes were sharp, vigilantly surveying the surroundings like cutting wind.
“He is my master. A spirit mage and swordsman. He is currently serving as Miss Riventia’s guard.”
“…A spirit mage?”
Henry’s eyes widened at the introduction.
An existence whose very rumors were hard to hear in this era.
If even his disciple were one, then the adventurer Black Dragon could also be considered part of the spirit mage lineage.
To have such people by Riventia’s side—
There could be nothing more reassuring.
Henry turned his gaze back to Cowen.
“Do you have a concrete plan? As you know, it’s difficult to rely on Edlen’s laws.”
“Yes. That’s why we intend to borrow the power of the Royal Guard. It may be difficult to meet them face to face, but if we present this projection magic tool as evidence, they will move.”
“The Royal Guard… I see. Was this too a foreseen fate?”
Listening, Henry closed his eyes briefly, then opened them.
With a resolute expression, he continued,
“I have a promise I obtained from Vice-Captain Leon. I’ll use that to create an opportunity.”
