บท 28: 31st of The Black Sun (1)
"This way, Inspector James!"
Baron Lernon was all smiles as he politely escorted the newly-arrived Militant Inspector.
The man was a tall and well-built man; He wore an expensive-looking black ensemble made of leather, silk, and golden buttons. It was the standard outfit for Inspectors of the Militant Syndicate, they represent power and authority. Not even nobles would dare act arrogant or provoke a Militant Inspector, no matter his or her rank.
Just as the messenger had informed him, Inspector James of Donkrig arrived at dawn of the third day and was warmly welcomed into the Baron's grand manor. The place was cleaned beforehand and everything was decorated accordingly as to please the esteemed and much-awaited guest.
"Greetings, Inspector."
Feylord Lernon was right at the entrance too. He elegantly bowed toward the man and spoke with a respectful tone. James of Donkrig nodded at the blonde-haired noble and even faintly smiled, which was a rare thing from his part.
"I've heard good things about you, boy. Your talent in Magic has caught the Consortium's attention, therefore, I expect good things from you."
"Yes, Inspector. I shall not disappoint."
"Good." James patted Feylord's shoulder and added, "The new semester will begin in a month. If you visit the capital first, I'm sure 'some' individuals would offer you a good escort and provide you with useful things…"
"Thank you for the advice, Inspector!"
Feylord was rejoiced after hearing this, but his father, the Baron, didn't look particularly proud or happy. Once their brief conversation ended, James was led to the private office of Xander Lernon, the head of this estate and the ruler of this region.
***
"Master, the Militant Inspector has just arrived."
"Oh?"
Arthur put down the book and looked at his maid. There were quite the ruckus as the Inspector did not come alone but was accompanied by a group of black-armored knights, all solemn and domineering.
They were stationed right outside the Baron's estate and their presence caught the attention of the rest of the aristocracy, Arthur included.
"So it's finally time, huh."
"For what, Master?"
"For things to get spicy, of course!"
Arthur chuckled and abruptly got up, startling his confused maid. As she stared at him in silence, he walked to the bookshelves and began pulling specific books and throwing them on the ground.
"Master?"
"Don't mind me. Would you be so kind as to return 'there' and keep me informed if something happened? That would be most appreciated."
"... as you wish, Master."
Before long, Arthur picked the books he was interested in but did not get the chance to read and put them all in a special magical bag. This bag wasn't generally used by nobles but by adventurers, though that was due to its plain appearance and low price.
There were special rings designed to store a limited number of objects but Arthur did not want to pay a hefty sum just for that. He found the bag useful enough for his needs.
****
"Here she is, Inspector!"
After a thorough discussion in the office, Xander Lernon brought James to the basement, where Julie was. The sixteen-year old Julie was chained to the walls, but she wasn't in an enraged state. Quite the opposite, in fact, she was calmly staring at the ground and only lifted her head when her father and the guest had arrived.
James of Donkrig approached Julie and crouched down, carefully scrutinizing her. He gingerly stretched his hand and lifted her chin, his jet-black pupils focusing on her face as he pondered,
"Your letter mentioned a cure… but then you told me there was some complication. Still, the fact that you managed to stop the transformation by locking her up is a fascinating discovery. Then again… it could be attributed to the subject's willpower."
"Inspector?"
The Baron expectantly looked at James, but he was met with a long silence.
"Very well. Today is the 31st of the Black Sun. We should be expecting a full moon. If she doesn't transform, then I will be taking her back to the capital with me."
James stood up and looked at the exhilarated Xander before continuing, "As promised, I will personally write a letter of commendation to the Consortium. However, you already know that whatever the response will be, I will not be to blame."
"Yes yes, of course! You have my sincerest gratitude, Inspector!"
"Good."
…
The cell was closed again and the basement returned to its eerie silence. Julie wriggled for a couple of moments then sobbed, afraid of what might happen. She had tried many times to break free from her shackles but, even in her half-transformed state which empowered her physique, she wasn't able to escape.
Time crept by and when she no longer had the strength to cry or do anything, for that matter, Julie heard a subtle noise. As she directed her hollow eyes to the source of the noise, she saw the cobblestone floor shake ever-so-slightly before a rotten hand surged forth.
Instead of freaking out or calling for help, Julie looked at the hand in surprise. Soon enough, the owner of that hand opened a human-sized hole and an ugly zombie head popped out.
"I maaaadde ittttt…"
The talking zombie looked around and quickly spotted the chained girl. It creepily cackled then revealed the rest of its body. Surprisingly, it did not help Julie but actually picked the fragile pieces of the broken cobblestone and returned whence it came after putting them back in their place, making it look as if there was never a hole to begin with…
****
"How did you know, Master?"
"About?"
"About the banquet. How did you know the Baron will organize one tonight?"
"Come on, it's obvious, isn't it? You have to throw a fancy party to welcome a Militant Inspector. I expected no less from dear old Xander."
"..."
Arthur checked his pocket watch then clapped his hands, "Alright! Once they are done 'having fun', I want you to summon my servants to the main hall. We shall meet anon."
After he said his piece, he exited the office and went straight to the basement. Evelyn quickly got to work and went around informing all the servants.
Over the past couple of days, Arthur went to a lot of effort to treat his servants nicely and interact with them more. In fact, he would invite them to eat breakfast together everyday and, slowly but surely, they opened more and became more energetic and less fearful.
He didn't have enough time to cause a stronger impact, but it should be enough to gain their temporary trust.
Arthur, with Leonis Sanguis' body, crawled through the tunnel dug by Latif's zombie and checked all the three destinations. When he made sure everything was clear, he returned to the basement and, looking a bit troubled, looked a nasty corpse.
It was that of a recently deceased man; It looked absolutely disgusting but it was relatively intact, fortunately.
"It's been a while since I did this."
Arthur collected his thoughts and mentally readied himself before exiting Leonis' body and possessing the corpse. He received a torrent of notifications, informing him of the slight increase in Stats and the acquisition of the host's skills.
*You possessed 'Human Corpse': Halric.*
*You have gained a new skill: [Woodworking(Passive) Lv3]*
*You have gained a new skill: [Axe Mastery(PassiveLv2)]*
*Your stats have increased. Please check the Status Window for more details.*
*TITLE(S) : NONE
NAME : Arthur Bilgart
RACE : Blood Parasite
Lv: 4 (50%)
-
Strength : 72
Intelligence : 46
Agility : 59
Wisdom: 44
Vitality : 69
Dexterity : 58
Skills: Vampire Bite (Active Lv10) - Full Moon [Passive-Active] - Physical Enhancement (Passive Lv7) - Blood Succor (Active Lv6) - Mana Control (Passive Lv4) - Possession (Passive LvEX) - Universal Human Language (Passive)- Basic Arman Language(Passive)- Sadistic Torture (Active Lv5) - Corpse Dissection (Active Lv12)- Medical Field (Passive Lv4) - Knife Mastery (Passive Lv2)- Sanguis(blood) Barrier (Active Lv3)- Axe Mastery (Passive Lv3) - Woodworking (Passive Lv2)*
It took him a couple of breaths to get accustomed to the new host and stand up. Although he was controlling a rotten corpse, Arthur was able to move with ease and crawl his way through one of the three tunnel routes.
Before he even possessed the body of this deceased 'Halric', Arthur made sure to make him wear large, relatively clean clothes, but he didn't have to wear a mask or hide his face.
After dragging his feet and hands through the narrow and barely lit tunnel for fifteen minutes or so, Arthur reached his destination. He looked at the wooden planks above his head and took deep breaths before gently pushing his arms and returning to the surface.
He found himself in a basement not unlike his own, though this one was dusty and clearly unused. It was filled with old furniture and the presence of squeaking rats and cobwebs reassured Arthur.
This was the estate of one of Wilsden aristocracy; To be more exact, it was the manor of Lord Samron, who- as it happened- was away for business. Therefore, it fell to his foolish son to take care of things here, but it's not like there was anything to manage.
Samron's son, Brandon, was someone Arthur met once, back in the 'after-party'. He was the perfect target for Arthur, which was why he embarked on this slightly dangerous mission.
He would have liked to do this at night, but even now wasn't particularly bothersome since Brandon was notoriously known for partying till dusk and only waking up in the evening.
The remaining issue were the servants, which would spot Arthur… were they present, that is. Leonis Sanguis might be a loner, but it wasn't a secret that almost all the servants of the town's aristocracy knew each other and would sometimes hang out with each other.
Therefore, Arthur 'offered' his servants to invite those of Lord Samron and enjoy their time for today. Put simply, he gave them half a day worth of vacation, provided them with a bit of money, and asked them to invite other servants so they could, as he said, 'have fun together'.
So, excluding one or two servants that stayed behind, the rest were currently outside of Lord Samron's manor. With no worries of getting spotted, Arthur snuck around the unfamiliar place and soon found Brandon's room.
The large doors were half-open and the young noble's snoring could be heard from the hallway. Arthur, with a knife in his hand, crept closer to the bed and spotted the loudly sleeping young man. He was embracing a half-naked elf, who, unlike him, was awake but did not dare to run away.
As she saw a black-robed silhouette enter the room, the girl twitched but soon covered his mouth as Arthur motioned for her to stay silent.
Brandon Samron did wake up even when Arthur pulled him off the bed and bound his arms and legs with a tight rope. Within two minutes, the young man was resting on Arthur's shoulder, still enjoying his dreams.
"I wouldn't stay here if I were you."
Arthur left the elven girl with those words before he disappeared as suddenly as he appeared…
The mission proceeded flawlessly and took no more than forty minutes. Arthur made sure to block the exit but it was only an act of precaution. Brandon is known to wander around and linger in the 'after-party' so people would notice his disappearance only after a day or two.
"Yes, keep sleeping."
Arthur tied Brandon next to the cage the blood-sucking rabbit was trapped in and returned to Leonis' body. By the time he headed to the main hall, all his servants were cheerfully waiting for him.
"Hello hello there! I hope you enjoyed your afternoon."
"Yes master! Thank you!"
"Hahaha we did we did!" Chef Holms patted his bulging stomach and heartily laughed.
Without exception, all the servants had smiles of satisfaction plastered on their faces, which, in turn, made Arthur reciprocate with his usual wide smile.
"Good. Evelyn, the ledger please."
As they saw their master focus on the ledger, the servants returned to silence and, with confusion and apprehension, waited for him to speak again.
"When you hear your name, please step forward and claim the money. Understood?"
"..."
Instead of responding, they gave him a dumb and surprised look, thus forcing him to offer a clarification.
"As of this moment, you were all excused from your duty. But, do not misunderstand my intentions, I'm neither angry with you nor unhappy with your work. I just think it's time we part ways. Each of us needs to pursue their dreams."
Still, no one talked. Some looked nervous and others were fearful of what might happen.
"Again, I assure you this is not out of spite or rage. You will be provided with enough money to live comfortably for the rest of your lives. I suspect that not all of you want to serve me forever, yes? If that's the case, then I wish you see this as an opportunity rather than a misfortune."
"M-master, this is too sudden for us…"
The young guard Joshua voiced his thoughts, and from the expression of many of the others, it was apparent they agreed with him.
"I understand… but fortune always favors the brave, and never helps a man who does not help himself. This is a chance for all of you."
Arthur looked at Chef Holms and continued, "Chef, didn't you say you want to open a bakery? What about you, Miranda? You told me you loved books and stories, then go open a library! It's unwise and boring to work here everyday, never chasing after what you seek. Alright. I'm done with my speech. Let us begin…"
Arthur focused again on the ledger and started calling the servants one by one,
"Joshua of Wilsden, 750 Blakin Gold Coins."
With every servant that stepped forward, Evelyn would have them a pouch filled to the brim with shiny Gold Coins. Even as they received this so-called 'prize', they were still in disbelief, unable to process what was happening.
In ten minutes, Arthur was done handing the Gold and calling names.
"Evelyn. 1,000 Blakin Gold Coins."
The maid looked at the last remaining pouch then at her master. Instead of accepting it, she put it to the side and shook her head.
"Master, as your personal maid, my duty is to follo-"
"Tututut, stop right there. Unfortunately, this is not up for discussion."
"...."
She stubbornly looked back at him, and though she did not speak, her eyes conveyed her unsaid thoughts.
"The gold is there. I will not force you to take it, however. It's your choice, after all."
Once he was done talking to her, he looked at the row of servants, cleared his throat and declared,
"You are no longer under the servitude of Leonis Sanguis. Your written contracts have been officially terminated. It is sudden, but you will only be given till this evening to pack your things and leave. Before you do that, I must ask you to leave either in pairs or alone and don't go around flaunting your gold today. If you want to indulge yourself then wait till tomorrow. This is my last order… or rather, last request."
Arthur expected a bit of objection but, after receiving the gold, none actually said anything. They respectfully bowed for a couple of seconds then dispersed.
"Ah! Joshua, Sakker! Meet me in my office in ten minutes."
The two young guards halted their steps, looked at each other in confusion, then obediently nodded.
Before long, only Evelyn remained by his side. She was as motionless as a statue, still refusing to be 'fired'.
"Anything you want to say, my dear Evelyn?"
"Why are you doing this, Master? Did you not tell me that you will stay here till you die?"
"I most certainly did! For all we know, I could die now or tomorrow. I wouldn't want to endanger my servants now, would I?"
****
The Astrian Calendar.
1st Month: The Golden Sun
2nd Month: The Red Sun
3rd Month : The Black Sun
4th Month: The Golden Moon
5th Month: The Red Moon
6th Month: The Black Moon
7th Month: The Celestial Star
8th Month: The Silver Star
9th Month: The Golden Star
10th Month: The Red Star
11th Month : The Fallen Star
12th Month: The Black Star
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