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Chapter 53
Luca and the man arrived at the room at the end of the second-floor hallway.
Unlike the bustling first floor, where servants moved busily, the second floor was calm and quiet.
As they opened the door at the end of the hallway, they saw a long, large dining table.
At its end sat Jane Heretia and Ren Arzen, having a meal.
“Luca Rogers? And…”
Jane’s eyes twitched.
She set down her knife and stood from her seat.
“Sir Jeffman? Why are you…?”
The fact that Jeffman Albert, the current commander of the Royal Knights, appeared here alongside Luca Rogers meant one thing: he was one of the Black Star cultists who had infiltrated the capital.
“I’m sorry, Princess.”
Shiiing—
Without hesitation, he drew his sword.
A fierce metallic sound echoed as blue energy rippled across the blade.
Jane, stunned, could only stare blankly at the sword pointed at her, unable to speak.
“Get a hold of yourself, Princess.”
Ren, who had been sitting next to her, also drew his sword and stepped in front of her.
“Ren Arzen. I heard rumors—you tried to kill the third son of the Carr family, didn’t you?”
“You must be mistaken, Jeffman. I don’t kill the innocent. Bad karma, you see. But you… I think I can make an exception.”
Ren grinned as he spoke.
“Confident, are you? I’ve heard you’ve been hiding your skills… Let’s see just how good you really are!”
Tatadat!
Jeffman kicked off the ground, stepped twice on the long table, and launched into a leap, slashing downward with his sword.
But suddenly, something burst out of thin air and aimed for his side.
Detecting the threat, Jeffman shifted his blade and blocked it.
Clang!!
Sliding backward, Jeffman glared at the figure now standing before him—Sica.
“So you’re the strong bodyguard who’s been protecting Princess Jane? Hmph.”
Clang!!
Ignoring Jeffman’s taunt, Sica lunged at him.
An intense exchange of blows followed—so fast and precise it was dizzying to watch.
Plates and chairs shattered around them, wooden fragments scattering through the air.
Ingredients from the kitchen spilled onto the floor in a cascade.
Meanwhile, Luca Rogers approached Jane, his sword wrapped in black mana, and struck.
“Kh!”
Ren deflected the blow upward and spun forward, aiming for Luca’s chest.
Luca narrowly dodged and retreated slightly.
“Black magic? He’s a completely different person.”
Luca Rogers was known to be timid and cowardly—and it showed in his swordsmanship.
He had some talent with a blade, but due to his personality, he barely scraped by at the bottom tier of the knights.
But now, he was at least at the level of a mid-ranked knight.
Maybe even higher.
No wonder Hamilton was defeated so easily.
His reflexes and agility were impressive.
Ren was already aware of the dangers of black magic.
It had never made sense that someone like Luca Rogers nearly killed a bishop in a previous life.
‘I need to end this quickly and help Sica.’
Havenberg Swordmanship
-First Form
-Veil Thrust
A sudden veil of energy blinded Luca, causing him to flinch in panic.
From within the mist, Ren’s sword flashed and pierced through, stabbing Luca in the chest.
Thud! Slash!
“Gahhh!!”
Staggering, Luca couldn’t keep his balance.
Ren didn’t miss the opportunity and sliced off Luca’s right arm.
“Aaaahhhhhhh!!”
Luca screamed in agony, blood spurting like a fountain.
Creaaak—
The tightly shut door opened, and a middle-aged man stepped inside.
“What’s going on here?!”
Seeing his son lying on the floor, missing an arm, he rushed over—his name was Kelvin Rogers.
The head of House Rogers.
Luca Rogers’ father.
“F-Father…”
“Luca! What happened?!”
A faint smile crept onto Luca’s face.
He had been the one to summon Kelvin.
Before entering the dining room with Jeffman, he had sent a message via a servant—just in case.
“Stand aside. Your son conspired with black mages to assassinate Princess Jane.”
“What…?”
“Lord Kelvin! If you want to protect your son, kill those two now!”
Jeffman shouted while blocking Sica’s blade.
Kelvin froze, stunned by the incomprehensible demand.
“Luca Rogers has already committed an unforgivable crime. And so have I. If you don’t want the Rogers family to be wiped out, kill them before anyone else gets here!”
“Jeffman! How could you do this?!”
Jane cried out, unable to believe his betrayal.
Clang!!
Jeffman’s violently glowing sword aura battered Sica.
Sica’s strength lay in stealth and ambush.
In a head-on duel, it was hard for her to beat Jeffman.
With maddened eyes, Jeffman turned his gaze to Jane.
“This is what it means to be powerless, Princess. I gave everything fighting for this kingdom! But what did it matter? I can’t even save my dying mother!”
He screamed with a voice full of pain.
His reddened eyes revealed the depth of his emotions.
“The black mages offered me a way to save her. Unlike the useless, pathetic Brillant royal family.”
He breathed heavily, gritting his teeth.
Jane closed her mouth, finally understanding his reasons—but she had no hope of convincing him.
“You’ll have to die here. Lord Kelvin, think carefully. If Princess Jane survives and walks out of here, House Rogers is finished.”
“Lord Kelvin! That’s not true. We—”
“Enough!”
His conflicted feelings were etched across his face.
His wavering eyes slowly steadied.
He swallowed hard and placed a hand on his sword’s hilt.
“I don’t know how it came to this…”
Shiiing—
He drew his sword, gathering his energy.
“But I must stand with my child, mustn’t I, Princess?”
A crimson aura began to swirl around his blade.
“…I already knew. That Luca was involved with the black mages.”
Boom! KRAAAAA!!
The crimson whirlwind tore toward Ren.
He barely managed to deflect it using Veil Thrust.
“Kh!”
“I knew… that the First Prince also made a deal with the black mages.”
‘Damn it! Taking on Kelvin too is way too much…’
Ren gritted his teeth, overwhelmed by the unexpected situation.
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Then, once again, the door opened—and Cohen Trevis entered, unleashing a wave of pure white frost directly at Kelvin Rogers.
KRAAAAA!!
A powerful shockwave blasted through the room.
Kelvin, caught off guard, shook off the ice clinging to him and glared at Cohen.
“Lo-Ren. Are you alright?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
At Ren’s reply, Cohen let out a sigh of relief and ground his teeth as he looked at Kelvin.
“Kelvin, I didn’t expect you to step in.”
“Administrator Cohen? I heard you retired from the front lines… What are you doing here?”
“Who said that? That I retired?”
He grinned, exuding a chilling aura.
“I needed a place to unleash this cold anyway. You’ll do just fine.”
“What are you—?!”
Boom!!
With a harsh explosion, Cohen and Kelvin collided.
‘I'll leave that to Lord Cohen.’
With Luca Rogers incapacitated, all that was left was to capture Jeffman.
Ren dashed straight at Jeffman, who was locked in a clash with Sica, and summoned his spiritual energy.
[Curse of Frailty]
The Spirit Stone of Summoning glowed red, and a crimson wraith clung to Jeffman.
“Ugh!”
Suddenly feeling weighed down, Jeffman staggered and barely deflected Sica’s blade.
At that moment, Ren lunged with a Veil Pierce, stabbing Jeffman in the thigh and rendering him immobile.
“Sica! Don’t kill him!”
“……”
Sica, who was about to stab Jeffman in the throat, changed direction and stabbed his right shoulder instead.
Jeffman, now completely neutralized, dropped to his knees and collapsed.
Meanwhile, the fight between Cohen and Kelvin was also nearing its end.
Boom!
The table in the middle of the dining hall was completely smashed, with Kelvin Rogers embedded in the wreckage.
He trembled as he pushed himself up, only his upper body emerging.
Realizing the battle was over, he let go of his sword.
Clatter.
“Haa…”
Ren gasped for breath.
Having used Veil Pierce repeatedly and cast the Curse of Frailty, the fatigue now hit him all at once.
“You… alright?”
Cohen asked, and Ren nodded before approaching Kelvin.
“Lord Kelvin Rogers.”
“Are you going to take me to the tribunal? Or hand me over to the Holy Kingdom?”
Ren shook his head.
“Neither. I plan to let you go.”
Kelvin's eyebrow twitched, and he turned to look at Jane.
She gave a small nod, as if she completely trusted Ren’s judgment.
‘What is going on…’
It was as if Ren Arzen was the leader of this group, and no one found it strange.
No one questioned him or showed any sign of discomfort.
In such a natural atmosphere, Kelvin stared intently at Ren’s face.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Do you want to save the Rogers family?”
He couldn't tell if Ren was mocking him, testing him, or being sincere.
His mind was too clouded to make that judgment.
Princess Jane and Cohen Trevis simply observed in silence.
“…I do want to save it.”
Kelvin decided to be honest.
When things become too uncertain, simplicity often works better than overthinking.
“Cut ties with the First Prince completely and cooperate with the Third Prince. You must confess everything.”
“If I do that, the First Prince will expose everything tied to the Rogers family. He’ll use it as leverage to destroy us.”
Ren scoffed at that.
His expression turned cold, and he looked down at Kelvin with a frosty gaze.
“Then would you rather be executed here for conspiring with black mages, attempted assassination of the First Princess, and high treason? Your entire family and everyone connected to you will either die or rot in an underground prison for life.”
Kelvin’s cheek twitched.
His eyes flickered with rage, shame, and humiliation—emotions that quickly vanished.
‘Truly… that’s how nobles are…’
Though his composure cracked, he calmed himself within moments.
Ren thought even that level of restraint was something to learn from.
“Then let me ask one thing.”
“What is it?”
“…Can you defeat the First Prince?”
His burning gaze sought an answer—not from Jane or Cohen, but from Ren.
Kelvin had fully grasped the situation and drawn his own conclusion:
Ren Arzen might be the true leader of this faction.
“Of course.”
Ren’s confident smile spread across his face.
“I don’t fight battles I can’t win.”
He extended a hand to Kelvin, still seated amidst the wreckage of the table.
“What will you do?”
Kelvin took a deep breath with his eyes closed, then reached out and grasped Ren’s hand.
“I accept your offer.”
“Father!! What are you saying?!”
Luca, collapsed on the ground, cried out in despair.
Jeffman, kneeling nearby, hung his head as if he had already accepted everything.
“Shut up! You idiotic brat!”
Kelvin spat the words with rage, then picked up a fallen sword and approached Luca.
Ren, Jane, and Cohen flinched in shock.
Slash!
Without hesitation, Kelvin sliced Luca’s throat, breathing heavily before letting go of the blade.
Clang. Tink…
“This… is my proof of resolve.”
“Kelvin, you…”
“I must protect my family. If I keep covering for filth like him, my people will suffer.”
Sadness tinged Kelvin’s voice.
“When I learned he was entangled with black mages… When I found out he was carrying a handwritten letter from the First Prince just in case… I turned a blind eye. He was family. I didn’t know what to do. I thought that if the First Prince was also involved with the black mages, we could somehow survive.”
“That was foolish. Those who get involved with black mages only meet destruction in the end.”
At Ren’s words, Kelvin nodded.
“You’re right. It was foolish. I should’ve locked Luca in the basement, or sent him to the far north or south… What about the First Prince’s handwritten letter?”
“I won’t reveal it. If I did, the Rogers family would be in danger too.”
“That letter could ruin the First Prince’s stronghold. You’d give that up?”
Ren shook his head.
“We could definitely shake the First Prince’s standing in the short term. But we’d lose allies. I believe the Rogers family is just as important as its long history in Brillant.”
Jane and Cohen slowly nodded in agreement.
Kelvin’s eyes trembled.
“Didn’t I say earlier? I don’t fight battles I can’t win. We don’t need that letter to defeat the First Prince. His Royal Highness the Third Prince is the one who truly deserves the throne. Isn’t that right, Your Highness?”
“Of course.”
Kelvin nodded and looked at Ren again.
The man once known only as the gravekeeper of Decaine, the illegitimate child of Arzen—Ren Arzen was nothing like the rumors.
‘Hah…’
For a moment, Kelvin saw an image of Ren sitting on the throne, before shaking his head and dismissing the irreverent thought.
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