Chapter 16 – The Nobles Who Are Not Afraid of Death
The noise of people talking woke Dareen, huddled in a tight place, reducing his body and it challenging to stretch his muscles.
"When will they come?" asked a bandit, brandishing a gun to keep him from running.
"They're still on the road." another answer.
Slowly untying hands behind his back, it wrapped tightly around him as he felt the cold hard surface looking for patterns and keyholes.
Dareen tried to expel Mana to escape by opening a gap, but the beads absorbed everything released.
The sound of people and the metal door opening made him more nervous; the person still wielding his spear didn't move an inch from there to greet the guest in question.
"Hey! Are you awake?" the man asked, looking into the coffin as he thrust the spear's tip at Dareen, only giving him a piercing glare.
The nobleman came with a woman looking like his mistress; they walked over and conversed with the bandit chief.
"Hey, get him out of there!" the nobleman ordered.
Dareen was curled up, mistreated, and pulled using a chain tied around his wrist.
Their dungeons are large enough to have tools for torturing humans from whips, iron ropes surrounded by small spikes, chains with weight balls, and others.
A man was standing from afar, looking at Dareen's stature, wearing luxurious and neat clothes, making her stand out among the people there. He was accompanied by a hanging woman holding a fan covering her face.
"No! This isn't the person I'm looking for," he said, pointing at Dareen, his face red and his eyes bulging.
"We believe we have caught the person as you ordered," said the bandit leader trying to calm down.
"All my men have followed him in and out of the same inn."
"They are stalking and watching him; it's not clear that sometimes this child uses a cloak to cover his face," he said again.
"I won't pay! If you catch the wrong person," the man shouted, standing in front of Dareen, kneeling.
"I lost enough to lose gambling with the person I was looking for! "he added again.
"Hey!" shouted the bandit chief loudly, walking over.
"We are overwhelmed enough to catch him and get hurt, then you don't want to pay!" snapped the bandit chief.
Infuriated by the attitude of noblemen who easily accuse them of lying and underestimate their hard work, the bandits prepare to attack by pointing various dangerous objects at him.
The man who came with several bodyguards also didn't want to lose; they protected their master by putting up their sword-wielding bodies.
The people there panicked and got angry, preparing to attack each other.
Dareen ignored their fight; it crossed his mind that the noisy humans fighting over were just after another form because they lost at gambling.
He couldn't believe that the nobleman was the one who lost a bet with him, even though he used magic and Mana stones to deceive the dealer when playing poker, plus flirting attacks with three women at once.
Dareen, his co-star, couldn't hold back his inner turmoil, wanting to ambush them when they were beside him and take him to bed, licking their curves and sweating sweetly.
He could still tolerate Mana stones and magicians; however, it was difficult for him to contain his passion for a woman who was still not used to the new circumstances.
"Hahahahaha…" those who were struggling with nerves were distracted by annoying voices. Suddenly everyone's gaze turned to him. The overflowing emotions made the nobleman approach Dareen and slap him.
[Plaak]
Dareen's head felt dizzy from the blow; blood was flowing between his lips; feeling weak did not make him not give up on being able to escape. After repeatedly hitting him in the face, the noble showed a grinning look as he recognized him.
"You are the son of Duke Leon Moore's family," he whispered.
His eyes widened at his words, annoyed at the noble, then she stood up and said, "That's right! He's the one who stole all my money." he said to the bandit chief.
Then he took a handkerchief from his shirt pocket and tied his mouth so he wouldn't do anything wrong.
"Don't cause trouble," the hiss in his mouth made Dareen nauseous, then he walked away and walked over to the head of the bandit.
They were seen negotiating according to the agreement using the services of bandits from outside the empire, seen from the clothes worn only with animal skins to cover the bodies that lived in the desert.
The middle-aged man knew that for the price of a Mana Control successor to be so promising, he could earn a lot of money if the Moore family would exchange it for a high price.
The noble and the bandit chief left the shabby room to continue the rest of their conversation, leaving the guards watching Dareen's every move.
Agreeing, the people followed the noble, and his soldiers ordered them to be carried away from the room.
Dareen, escorted by four men on each side of him if he tried to escape, passed through a narrow wooden staircase leading to a room that looked like an ordinary house and furnishings.
[Krieeek..krieeek]
Coming out of that place, his hand ties were further strengthened by the soldier in charge of carrying him, tied up to ride a horse. The noble and his mistress got into the horse-drawn carriage they left the house alone in the thick forest.
Dareen couldn't put up a fight because it was so tightly guarded; the force restrained by that damn thing left her with no way to run.
On parade...
"Why did you bring him?" asked the woman, leaning smugly on the shoulders of the nobility, almost covered in grey hair.
"Didn't you say they caught the wrong person?" he asked again.
"He is a descendant of Moore, a Magic Mana Controller. If I can make an exchange with his family, I can ask them for a lot of money," he replied happily.
"Ohoo… really?" said the woman happily.
"Then spend it for me, okay, dear?" she whispered seductively.
They laughed happily in the carriage; Dareen was still trying to escape from there throughout the journey. However, her efforts were in vain, accompanied by feelings of discomfort.
The journey only took half a day because the meeting location was close. A very familiar big wall appeared in front of his eyes. The aristocrat got off the carriage he was riding and walked towards the checkpoint to open the gate so they could all go inside.
"Hey! Open the door!" see the guard.
"Who are you?" Asked a guard ready to point a gun at him.
"I think they lost something of value there," pointing to Dareen on the horse, his hands tied, covered with a cloth so as not to look suspicious.
With little question, he finally opened a very high gate, those who realized he was an essential person by recognizing the characteristics of the Moore family had little to say.
"Disgrace." Whispered one of the guards as he passed the soldiers.
Greeted by the lavish and sprawling gardens, several maids tended the flowers and the Moore family's farm.
After arriving at the mansion, the noble and the woman got off the horse carriage; they walked towards the greenhouse containing the beautiful plants of Duke Leon's wife.
"Good afternoon, Duchess Margaretta," the woman said, standing up in salute from the entrance.
"Good afternoon, Ms. Philia," replied the Duke's wife.
One of the honorable ladies was having a tea banquet with other noble people; she stood up to greet the uninvited guest with respect for the guest.
It's different for a man who comes to a gathering containing women.
The eldest daughter, Liliana, was busy drinking a cup of tea in front of her, not the least bit interested in the two people's arrival.
"Greetings, Duchess. I have come here to meet with the Great Duke Leon to negotiate," the man said as he gave a greeting.
"Duke Leon is in the tower; if you want to talk about something, come to the place provided," Duchess Margaretta replied.
"I'm just an ordinary noble who lives deep in the capital city of Rhodes," he said again.
"Isn't it proper that someone who has come from far away still has to meet such a great person in a faraway place as well," he added slyly.
The people at the party whispered about the nobles, and some regretted Duchess Margaretta's behavior that did not respect the guest's wishes.
He smiled slyly to provoke the situation there; he didn't want to take the risk too far to enter the Moore residence, which might accuse him and imprison him for bringing Dareen to his home tried to take it safely.
Which only brought a handful of bodyguards, whereas they must have a thousand more troops guarding the mansion alone.
Seeing the reactions of her guests, Duchess Margaretha gave up.
"Please call Duke Leon; there is a noble-looking for him downstairs," ordered one of the male servants while holding his head.
Ordered the maidservant to get two chairs for the aristocrat and his mistress.
Duchess Margaretta's guests shifted their seats away from the uninvited guest. They don't want to get into trouble, especially the status of their mistress.