Chapter 180
Cali's question caused another stir in the courtroom.
William tried to maintain a calm expression as he looked at Dario.
If they were outside, he would have found some way to intervene, but this was the Draker Court, boasting the strictest security even within the Draker clan.
A rash move could raise suspicions towards the Siemens clan and backfire.
Everyone in the courtroom waited for Dario's answer.
Dario slowly opened his mouth.
"I cannot say."
Cali asked again in response to his answer,
"Does your inability to answer mean that there is a Draker bloodline clan colluding with the Nostra clan?"
"I cannot say that either. All I can testify to are the various crimes I committed as a boss of the Nostra clan."
Cali nodded and returned to her seat.
Although Dario didn't confirm it, the message she wanted to convey had been delivered.
William clearly understood what Cali was implying through Dario.
'Is this a threat to expose the relationship between the Nostra clan and Siemens if they touch them?'
Cali was not only an excellent knight but also a shrewd politician capable of turning unfavorable situations around.
By bringing Dario to trial, she had gained another card to check the Siemens clan.
William tried his best to conceal his emotions.
He found some comfort in the fact that Abel was not present because of his baptism.
If Abel had lost his composure and used powers he shouldn't have in this place, the Siemens clan's long-laid plans would have been ruined.
Dario began to testify in detail about the crimes he had committed as a witness.
From human trafficking to investment fraud, illegal hiring and placement, threats, illegal solicitation of curses, contract killings, murders, and more, a tremendous amount of criminal activity was revealed.
The judge accepted Dario's testimony and delivered a guilty verdict.
Originally, his crimes would have warranted the death penalty, but his voluntary testimony was considered a mitigating factor, and he was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Furthermore, due to the severity and quantity of his crimes, it was decided that he would not be extradited to the Empire but instead be imprisoned in 'Manmaok,' a special Draker facility from which escape was impossible.
The Empire would be notified immediately.
After the trial ended, Cali approached Zeke and patted him on the shoulder.
"Zeke, you've worked hard. To extract a confession from a Nostra clan executive... What an amazing achievement."
It was truly a remarkable feat to carry out the mission alone without knights and bring one of the bosses of a massive Mafia organization to trial.
"It was nothing, sister. I apologize for being late."
"It's alright since you're safe. But Zeke, what I'm worried about is what comes next."
Cali continued slowly,
"The fact that it was Zeke Draker who brought Dario Nostra to trial, along with his testimony, will soon spread throughout the continent. You could become a target of the Nostra clan. Will you be alright alone?"
Even Draker knights couldn't always be under the clan's protection.
It might be different if he had his own forces and knights like Cali, but it wouldn't be easy for Zeke, who moved alone, to defend himself if he became a target of the Mafia.
Zeke shook his head at Cali as if to reassure her not to worry.
"I'll be fine, sister. For the time being, I plan to stay in Mycenae and be under the protection of the Agamemnon clan. If I need help, I'll let you know right away."
Cali nodded at Zeke's words.
"Alright. If you're okay with it, you can stay in my territory. His Highness Carus often asks about you too."
Carus, the fourth prince of the Empire, was currently under Cali's protection.
Zeke smirked as he recalled Carus, who called himself an artist and a romantic.
"Please give my regards to Carus. I'll visit your territory soon."
"I'll be waiting, so come anytime."
Cali said goodbye to Zeke and left the courtroom to take care of the aftermath of Dario's case.
Zeke slowly exited the court.
Just then, William Siemens, who was waiting for him at the court entrance, approached.
"Zeke Draker."
William glared at Zeke with sharp eyes.
"Sir William."
Zeke met William's gaze without flinching.
William said to him,
"I don't know what trick you used, but it would be wise to be careful. The Siemens clan is not to be trifled with."
Zeke smirked and retorted,
"I'll look forward to it."
It was an expression of confidence, inviting them to bring it on.
William gritted his teeth as he watched Zeke leave Artemfel.
'I need to eliminate him before it's too late.'
William, with his cold personality, instinctively felt a sense of fear towards Zeke.
His instincts told him that the longer he waited, the more difficult it would become to handle Zeke.
William gestured, and an agent from the Strategic Headquarters, who was waiting nearby, appeared.
"You called, sir?"
"Prepare the carriage. I'm going to the main house."
"The main house, sir?"
"Yes, permission has been granted, so I need to see the head of the clan as soon as possible."
William Siemens' eyes gleamed as he looked in the direction Zeke had disappeared.
***
"Phew."
Zeke was in the carriage, recalling William Siemens' gaze.
'William, that cold-hearted guy... It was the first time I saw him trembling like that. He must have been furious.'
One of Zeke's specialties was provoking his opponents and disrupting their composure.
The more Abel and William lost their composure and attacked him, the more vulnerable they became.
Zeke planned to exploit those openings to uncover their connection to Narak.
Narak was a place where people made contracts with devils and used demonic powers.
If he could just reveal that Narak had a direct relationship with Siemens and the Empire, he could not only bring down Abel but also purge the pro-Siemens faction within Draker.
'If Abel falls, the right to succeed as the head of the clan will naturally go to sister Cali. Until then, let's focus on breaking through the Black Knight's wall and becoming the strongest on the continent. I can swallow Draker after that.'
Just then, he heard a strange sound from under the opposite carriage seat.
"Ugh!"
Zeke kicked the seat with his foot, and the seat cushion flipped open, revealing a hidden compartment.
Inside, Sion was bound and restrained with chains.
Sion, seemingly regaining consciousness, was wriggling his body, trying to escape.
Zeke looked at Sion and said,
"I've sealed your ability, so no matter how much you struggle, you won't be able to use your bloodline ability."
It was Soul Binding magic, which even bound the soul of the demon Arataus to the physical realm.
No matter how powerful Sion's bloodline ability was, he couldn't do anything while sealed by the soul-binding chains.
Zeke clicked his tongue as he looked at Sion, who was still struggling.
'If I hadn't prepared in advance, it would have been a disaster.'
He recalled the time he transported Dario.
Actually, the person he had loaded onto the specially crafted wagon wasn't Dario, but Richmond disguised with the Transformation Cloak.
Sion, one of the Six, beheaded Richmond disguised as Dario, assumed he had been dealt with, and left in a hurry.
However, Richmond was a Lich, so he didn't die from having his head cut off.
After Zeke declared that he would transport Dario himself, he entrusted the real Dario to Arina.
Boris supported Arina, and they safely transported Dario through a different route than Zeke, arriving in Atlas before him.
After the attack, Zeke quickly traveled alone to Atlas, joined Arina and her group, and appeared in court with the hidden Dario.
To prevent any information leaks, he didn't even inform Cali, which created a dramatic scene.
Zeke rested his chin on the window and made a bitter expression.
"It was a lot of work, but I finally found the traitor."
The reason Zeke used the fake Dario as bait was to identify the traitor.
As he suspected, the attackers knew the location of the inn Zeke had designated and had already deployed Night Killers, mercenaries, and even bloodline ability users from the Six there.
Zeke's expression hardened as he recalled the attackers.
'If I hadn't prepared in advance, I would have been in serious trouble.'
Zeke divided the detour information into several parts and spread it among those he suspected of being the traitor.
Among them, only one person knew the information about the inn.
Zeke looked out the window with a grim expression.
The carriage he was riding in was heading somewhere at high speed.
***
"Welcome. Judging by your expression, the trial went well."
Kay put the documents she was working on aside, got up, and sat in front of Zeke.
She gestured, and the servants brought tea. Zeke savored the aroma of the tea before slowly taking a sip.
Kay looked at Zeke and asked,
"But what brings you here so suddenly? Without any notice."
Zeke looked at her and said,
"Where's Paynun?"
"That alchemist twin said they needed something again, submitted a budget proposal, and went out to check on it himself, grinding his teeth."
"I see."
Zeke put down his teacup.
He looked at Kay and asked,
"Kay, is the security here okay?"
"Why are you suddenly asking about security? There's no problem with eavesdropping or anything like that. Senior Paynun personally installed layers of defensive and security magic."
"Paynun installed it..."
Kay's expression changed at Zeke's serious tone.
"What's wrong? Did something happen?"
Zeke looked at Kay and said,
"I found the traitor."
Kay's expression hardened.
"T-traitor? What do you mean?"
"Information has been leaking. It's been happening for a while. I thought it was strange how Abel's side was grasping my location and information so quickly."
Kay regained her composure and asked Zeke in a calm voice,
"Oh my god, a traitor? Is it true?"
Zeke nodded.
"I finally found them through this transport operation."
"Transport operation? You mean Dario's transport?"
"Yes. Dario's transport was a matter of utmost security, so I paid a lot of attention to it. You know that, Kay."
"Yes, that's right. But how in the world... That's impossible. There's no way information could have leaked."
Zeke slowly got up from his seat.
"Kay, remember? How Don Juan used to deal with traitors?"
"What? Why are you bringing that up now?"
Zeke slowly walked behind Kay and said,
"Shark Dragon. That bastard Don Juan always bragged about it. He would paralyze anyone he suspected of being a traitor with nerve poison and throw them into that cage. Shark Dragons, despite their size, don't eat their prey in one bite. They nibble and slowly cut it into pieces."
"I... didn't know that."
"It was that bastard Don Juan's twisted hobby. At some point, he stopped throwing in real traitors and started throwing anyone he disliked into the cage, enjoying the sight. Thinking about it now, he was truly insane."
Zeke, who was now behind Kay, grabbed her shoulders.
Kay, who was wondering how Zeke knew such things, was startled by his touch.
He brought his face close to Kay's ear and said,
"Finding traitors is a really annoying task. It's the thing I hate the most, but ironically, it's also the thing I'm best at."
Hearing Zeke's voice in her ear, Kay sensed that the situation was serious.
"Wh-what are you..."
"Kay, I gave you several security instructions when we transported Dario. Remember?"
Kay slowly nodded.
Zeke asked her again,
"Then you remember the information about the inn I designated in the outskirts of Atlas, right?"
"Yes, I remember."
"Have you shared that information with anyone else?"
"No, I haven't. You emphasized it so much that I even went there myself to prepare in advance."
Zeke's grip on Kay's shoulders tightened slightly.
"Kay, the Nostra clan was ambushed at that inn. Dario almost died because of it."
Kay's face turned pale at Zeke's words. She turned her head sharply and opened her mouth.
"Zeke, I..."
Suddenly, chains erupted from Zeke's hand.
Clank!
Soul Binding magic tightly bound Kay's body.
At the same time, Kay's magical power was also sealed.
"Ugh!"
Kay, completely restrained, struggled.
Zeke spoke into Kay's ear in a cold voice,
"Why did you betray me, Kay?"
