Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

Chapter 1003: The Shadow Of Kevlon

At last, the meeting between Olivia and the Duke of Kevlon was arranged. Disguised as the girl, Amedith was led into the noble house of Raslo Kevlon–the third of his name and the man currently responsible for all policies of his city. Not a leaf could quiver in the wind without his permission; he was a known cynic of the people directly under him.

When the two were seated in a rather casual meeting room, both Amedith and Liliyana couldn’t help but notice the swimming pool. Magical lights from the base of it were illuminating the whole room, and the shadow of the ripples from it was waving over the entire room, casting it in a constant shift of dark or glow.

A taste for the color blue, the duke seemed to have. Even the wine glasses before them were blue, as were the chairs that they were sitting on. Shades of white and silver painted the rest of their surroundings, but the prominent shade still remained the cold, dark night blue.

His obsession masked the minds of the two until they heard the man’s footsteps approaching them from the foot of the spiraling staircase in the corner. A single glance at the duke was enough to stun their minds, for he had no flesh, and yet he was–a creature of spirit like the djinn, or more specifically.

"A spirit?" Lily muttered to herself.

"And you must be the devil," he smiled, approaching the two.

The duo’s nerves turned to steel as they heard his acknowledgement of Lily’s race through her disguise, and yet, noting no signs of hostility, they remained seated. Taking a seat in front of them, the duke of Kevlon crossed and gave them both a once-over before crossing his legs. With a trained smile, he bent forward, tapping against the glass table while staring at the two infiltrators.

"The sob story that you sold one of my underlings-I can’t believe he bought into it. Timing didn’t help you either, did it? Just when we lose contact with Charammer, a noble lady from the same city wants to make a deal as long as we keep their path back home clear." Laughing with a grumble, the handsome yet grizzly visage of the glowing spirit leaned back into his chair. Patting the lapel of his white suit, he drew a breath as he sank into his chair.

"Your attempt is commendable, but anyone glancing at the whole picture could sniff you out easily."

"Easily?" Liliyana narrowed her gaze at the spirit, her eyes trying to read the creature’s emotions.

Alas, not being a creature of spirit, her powers seemed to fail against him. With a click of his boot, Raslo snapped her out.

"Thanks for taking care of those vermin bandits, but let’s not distract ourselves any longer." Steering away from the topic of their disguise, Raslo brushed back his hair, each strand of it a striking blue, far deeper than the glow Viola had.

"We’re getting to the capital either way, whether you like it or not, so yeah, let’s make this quick." Undoing the disguise, Amedith sat in front of the duke as his real self, with the sword of Judgement by his side. As he tried to draw it, however, the duke stretched his arm forward and began removing the leather glove.

A swirling aura quickly encompassed his hand, revealing a secretive mark that sucked in all mana to glow with pure white light for just a few seconds. In that time, the two could barely make out what the mark was, but the one prominent feature was unmistakable. A feather and a knife holstered in a skull’s eyes on opposite ends. Now, what did it mean exactly? Neither of them had a clue.

"Melodia and Malice, have you heard those names?" He asked.

"The duchess’s maids?" Lily answered, batting her eyes in confusion.

"What about them?" Still unsure where their conversation was headed, Amedith drew the sword and placed it on the table in front of him. "You can speak plainly and answer our questions and comply, or I have means to make you."

"Ha! Of course, but threats of violence won’t help you, little magus. We both know that your enemy isn’t me or any of the citizens, but the man on top–the emperor, the only person who can stop all hostility towards Aurum and its people."

"So what? Are you gonna help me? Why?" Amedith asked, his voice venomous as a viper.

Closing his eyes in response, the duke chuckled and put on the glove.

"Those maids, they’re followers of Lord Jestrus. The god of chaos and calm." Opening his eyes, Raslo stretched a hand forward with an eerie smirk. "And as you might have noticed, Charlotte was chaos–though she is no fool–and you could say that I am calm. The dog that bites its own tail receives nothing more than injury. I’ve heard his call, my lord of knowing and unknowing, and as his follower I must simply learn to live in his dance of chaos."

Although at a loss, the two looked at each other, contemplating whether to believe him or not. They had nothing but his word to go by, but ideally, if bloodshed could be avoided, then why not?

"So you follow Jestrus? How come nobody knows?" Voicing his concern, Amedith equipped the sword of judgement to ensure that Raslo could not lie.

Eyeing the blade for a spell, the duke’s lips curled upwards.

"We, the servants of our lord, show our faith by placing ourselves at the heart of the enemy. To live in chaos is to strengthen him, and through him we learn the art of moving people, soldiers, and even kingdoms to our whims. All it takes is a lie and some acting. That’s how you got into the city, and that’s how I’ve remained the duke of Hamleth’s city while serving Lord Jestrus right under the enemy’s noses."

Wasting no time, Amedith reached with his blade at the duke’s hand and sliced the skin of his finger. It bled at once despite the man being of spirit; his luminous blood fell on the table, but nothing else happened.

"And what do you want from us?" Liliyana asked, taking over for Amedith, for he could not ask another question unless one is asked of him in return after using the blade.

Shifting his head to look at the devil, the duke discarded the now bloodied glove and dropped it on the table before answering.

"Kill Hamelth–the emperor of this Hamleth Empire. You will find him on an empty throne in the capital, but neither his soul nor his body must you destroy. Lord Jestrus demands it be brought to the heavens once he’s dead. Sowing chaos amongst the council and to humiliate the dead god’s undead spirit."

"Not possible." Amedith didn’t even have to think the deal over; it was a deplorable attempt at exploitation.

"I knew you would say that." Looking at Amedith again, Raslo licked the blood of his finger and laughed once more. "How about leaving control of the empire to its own people? The chaos of losing the emperor and any structure of governance will please Lord Jestrus."

"Don’t you want to rule the empire?"

Shaking his head at Lily’s question, the duke of Kevlor explained the essence of Jestrus’s worship in just a few simple words.

"To live in chaos and still relish every moment, that is what I wish for–not titles nor anything else."

Raslo’s philosophy was too foreign for the duo to fully comprehend. Their whole lives they’d fought against chaos, but as a follower of Jestrus, the duke yearned to live in it. Even so, after talking to each other alone, the two finally decided that it wasn’t their job to rule over the entire kingdom, and thus, if the people were to be left to govern themselves, then so be it.

’We have enough cities to look after anyway.’ Striking the deal at last, Amedith had finally secured the path to the capital. Now the only thing left was for Raven to make his way to the emperor with Helga and deal with Hamelth once and for all.