บท 64: An Old Favor
"Halric… you listen to me, and listen well. I'm not going to deal with your crap right now. You're getting paid more than a king's ransom so why is my city in total chaos?! I want silence and peace!"
Having had enough of the boy's nonchalance and unwillingness to lend any help, the Duke angrily lashed out, his face red from anger.
Halric furrowed his brows but did not give a mocking retort, as was his wont. He crossed his arms and, with a serious look, said,
"Alright. What do you exactly want me to do?"
"The undead! I need it dead or alive! I don't want to hear any complaints from the public tomorrow morning!"
"Sir."
With one hand on his back and the other clasped near his chest, the boy performed an elegant bow of respect, "No matter how much you pay me, I will not endanger myself and leave the city for an undead. I could, however, procure a believable decoy to fool the masses."
"..."
Halric softly smiled and continued, "I told you before that unexpected variables have shown up in Blackcrest. Unfortunately, you were busy with the 'shipment'."
"What was I supposed to do? Marjory is one impatient woman. Armen and Amare were still not back so I had to send Jack in their stead. My duty is to ensure the safety of the shipment."
"Sir… I understand that a covenant with an Original Vampire would take the utmost priority. Still, it is high-time you started managing the mess in your yard."
"Maybe if you start expla-"
Their conversation was prematurely interrupted by a thin white mist that flew from the window. It spun around then transformed into a cold-faced Addy.
Halric took a step back and watched with an inscrutable smile whereas Terden glared at the Private Investigator.
"This is not a place you could barge into whenever you want, Addenlard."
"Pardon my sudden intrusion, Mister Sidus."
Addy faked an apologetic tone as he sat on one of the two empty chains across the Duke's desk. He looked as exhausted as ever before, but the most noticeable thing was a fresh bite wound on his poorly bandaged hand.
After a brief silence, in which Terden scrutinized the frail-looking man, he sternly questioned him,
"I don't have the patience to deal with you. If you want something, we'll talk later."
"I'm afraid that won't do, Mister Sidus. As per our agreement, you owe me a favor and I have come to claim it."
"For the love of-...ugh! Fine! Speak."
"I want you to dispose of someone for me. He's a new arrival. His name is Edward and he travels with a woman. I've checked and they both have no official identification and are using fake names."
Terden wasn't interested in hearing anymore, but he did not refuse Addy's request. After all, the two share quite the secret and have been working together for a while now.
"Halric, you deal with it."
As his name was called, the black-haired boy appeared right behind Addy. Clearly, the private investigator expected this, so he took out a vague portrait of a middle-aged man with dark red hair.
It took Halric only one glance to recognize Leonis, or specifically, the Parasite roaming Blackcrest.
"This is your target?"
"Yes. I'd like for him and his female companion to be killed tonight."
"..."
Halric did not agree on the spot, he took the portrait and approached the absent-minded Duke, who returned to his rapid pacing.
"Sir, do you recognize this person?"
"Hm?"
Terden halted his steps and, slightly annoyed, looked at the portrait. His expression drastically changed and the annoyance was replaced by an uncommon seriousness.
"Isn't this Leonis Sanguis?"
"Indeed he is. However, he is not the real Leonis, per se."
"What do you mean?"
This time, both Addy and Terden were confused as they stared at the smiling Halric.
"It's a Parasite."
"I beg your pardon?"-Addy
"..."
"He really is a Parasite, though I was unable to determine his 'nature'. So far, except for leading tracking and orchestrating of the Bloated Murderer, he has been mostly harmless, so you need not worry, Sir."
With shaky clenched fists and noticeable signs of flames sparks emitting from the Duke's body, he slowly sat down, his eyes glued on the portrait.
"So you mean to tell me a Parasite and an Undead were roaming my city without my knowledge? You've really outdone yourself, Halric."
"Don't forget the favor you owe, Mister Sidus. I don't know what a Parasite is, but I want him dea-"
"Shut up!"
Addy's attempt to speak was cut-off as the Duke shouted at him with a hoarse and enraged voice.
The Private Investigator did not even dare to protest as he felt a suffocating heat emanate from the Duke. In fact, even Halric took a couple of steps back, though he still seemed awfully composed, unlike his employer.
"Leave… both of you."
Halric immediately vanished, not bothering to even offer an explanation. As for Addy, he turned into a white mist and left the same way he came.
...
"What a shame… I couldn't take the body."
"Don't bite more than you can chew, Master."
Evelyn was obsessively cleaning the new black dress she had recently bought while giving the complaining parasite reproachful glances and words.
They had moved to a different inn to avoid arousing suspicion or being tracked. The plan should have been to acquire the Blood Crystals then bail, but Arthur took a slight risk and successfully got his hands on Amare's blood.
He did not expect [Air Decay] to work so wonderfully. It was potent enough to incapacitate all four of them, which meant that a target's physical strength was inconsequential against the skill.
Indeed, as he stared at the shiny crystals, Arthur was satisfied with how everything had unfolded. The chase of the Bloated Murderer and the subsequent acquisition of his skills were a great boon.
[Mist of Decay] was perfect for obfuscation and offense, and if it was coupled with Leonis' Barrier Magic, Arthur was confident in protecting himself instead of constantly running away.
"You're ready to leave, yes?"
"Of course. I've had enough of the city-life, and with a target on our backs, it won't do us any good to linger around."
"Oh, come on. We've had a bit of fun here… more than I had anticipated, in fact."
He grinned at the maid as he fiddled with the Blood Crystals. Surprisingly, the vampiristic snow-white rabbit was disinclined to touch the shiny crimson crystals, but it nibbled on the dim black ones.
Although Arthur wanted to rest and spent some time experimenting and examining the changed crystals and the original ones, he held himself back and packed everything in the magical bag, which became so full it couldn't store anything else.
Nevertheless, the provisions were readied beforehand and their objectives were completed.
Unfortunately, Mort's sighting consequently led to the temporary closure of Blackcrest, which meant that leaving through the main gates was no longer a viable option. As he needed Leonis' body, Arthur could not simply fly using the Little Bunting, but, as usual, he had thought of leaving the city before even thinking of how to acquire the Blood Crystals.
"I hope all of that was worth it, Master."
Unlike the parasite, Evelyn saw no benefits in his actions. While the Blood Crystals were undeniably rare and priceless, they were useless if one did not know how to process them. To go against the Vampires and even abduct an Aristocrat… they had provoked two frightening parties.
Fortunately, Arthur's real face wasn't known and the only clue was Addy, who, from their perspective, was a harmless individual.
Leonis and Evelyn, properly dressed, were about to finally leave Blackcrest, but at the doorstep of the inn, they were intercepted, much to their surprise.
It wasn't Militant Guards or the vampires, but that did not alleviate Arthur's surprise. What stood before them was an extravagant carriage, driven by what could only be described as a chubby penguin.
Quite literally, it was a penguin wearing fancy clothes and behaving no different than a human.
Their disbelief deepened as another penguin got off the carriage and approached them.
"The gracious and benevolent Mistress has invited you to her private quarters. You are not at liberty to refuse."
Even the few passersby had stopped walking, though they didn't look shocked. It was more accurate to say they were admiring the penguins while keeping their distance.
For a moment, Arthur suspended his disbelief and looked at the crest on the carriage, informing him that it belonged to Fleur Rouge. Still, he was disinclined to go along and was thinking of forcing his way through.
Such an fortuitous timing could not be a coincidence, which meant that someone, in this case, the aforementioned 'Mistress', was aware of his plans.
Evelyn's twin blade glistened under the moonlight as she changed her posture, clearly ready to fight.
"Tsk tsk! Don't be like that!"
With a squeaky masculin voice, the penguin before them clicked its tongue as it looked at the maid. It did not seem fearful or worried about the two 'guests' as it wiggled its bulging stomach and shook its head in discontent.
Arthur spent several seconds of silence trying to figure out what was happening. Eventually, he faintly smiled back at the penguin a head shorter than him.
"Sure. We'll go."
Evelyn turned her head and looked at him with a frown, but he motioned for her to play along.
It was plain clear that the penguins, whatever they were, weren't worried he might escape, which meant they had the strength to back their overflowing confidence. Additionally, since the invitation, although a bit forceful, was courteous, then their host possibly wanted to talk. Then again, the possibility that this might be a trap still existed.
Arthur did not have sufficient knowledge about Fleur Rouge to determine the motive behind this unexpected invitation. Nevertheless, the odds were against him, therefore, it was safer to not offer any semblance of resistance.
As his plan of escape, which he had deemed as almost flawless, failed before it even began, Arthur felt incredibly disheartened and blamed himself for not taking more extra precautions.
He and Evelyn made sure they were not followed after the Faceless Death Agent had been killed. Furthermore, they changed to the new inn only half a day before the 'operation', so it didn't make much sense that they were so easily tracked.
Arthur realized that he had severely underestimated the hidden dragons nestled within Blackcrest. He had been paying close attention to the Duke, the Vampires, and the agent, but they weren't the only potential enemies. The city was big and crawling with influential, secretive, and powerful parties.
'Perhaps our brief visit to Fleur Rouge was a mistake? It could only have been th-... no! There's also Sancha Sanguis. Did she already manage to track me? I didn't use Leonis' body that often in here so how did she know I'm here? No no… I'm overthinking this.'
Alas, Arthur was unaware that Blackcrest was under the ever-watchful eye of Halric.
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