....
My pace slower than usual.
I walk down the path I had just moved alongside her, yet I'm on my own.
The middle lands are now nothing but another piece of land.
...
Suddenly my body shivers.
A sensation which I could only remember hits me.
Looking up at the sky I remember, "Right... he has been killed.".
.....
I do not remember how long it took, but I eventually got out of the middle lands.
Outside 4 men standing in a semi-circle were waiting for me.
As soon as I had become close enough they started clapping.
"Congratulations!" they said all smiles.
"What is this?" I ask the men who suddenly appeared in front of me.
Once they were done with their 'congrats' one of them spoke "We are here to celebrate the conclusion of the 15th's will. Many generations, many lives, and many holders later finally it's done." With the look of a proud father he gazed at me "Humanity, Terrans even, had once again reclaimed their spot at the top. Our ego is now complete.".
"And? Does that guarantee you safety in anyway? I hold none of your admiration nor ambitions, if anything I'm the vic--... I'm here against my will.", I point my index finger at him, " Tell me one reason as to why I shouldn't kill you this very moment."
His smile disappears, but not to be replaced. Instead his face looks relaxed, as if he truly didn't care about anything.
"Please, do as you wish. Ever since the start of this 450 some years ago, our people have done nothing but follow you just as the 15th wanted. As more generations had passed, more had lost their motivation and admiration to the human ego. Many had went their own way, from starting a family, to starting a bloodline. And now, all this time later, only us 4 remain. Our teachings and power has grown weak, using the hidden knowledge unknown to many, we could pull strings from the shadows, but nothing more." He steps towards me. "You were our reason to live, or rather the 15th within you. Now that it's over, please do us the honor."
....
All I can do is heave a sigh.
This man couldn't be more obvious if he wanted to.
His body is trembling, and not only his but all the other 3. Not because of my presence, but because of the looming death they sense breathing down their neck.
One of them is even looking at a keepsake...
I sigh and leave "Leave, I do not hold anything against you all, not your families at least. 450 years later, the motivation and admiration was long dead, you all just grasped onto a family tradition, probably under some kind of threat, and didn't want anything to do with it. I commend you for coming all the way here to keep your family away from this." Waving from my back I say my last words "your children deserve your presence.".
I leave the remnants of the 15th behind.
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A couple of years later.
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I walk home under the moonlit night, a manor with 13 of it's 15 rooms locked. I close in and push the 2 massive doors open. As I walk in I can imagine her smile as the usual line plays in my head, "Welcome home.". Everyday without fail I was greeted in that manner, back when she was with us.
"Welcome back, sir." The maid welcomed me back as usual, "I hope everything went well?" she approached me as I handed her my coat.
"Yeah... It was fine." I answer superficially. "How is she?" I asked the maid who raises her.
Hesitant she speaks. "...She's well."
"Please, tell me." Noticing her hesitance I push her.
"...She wishes to see you more... She keeps asking as to why you do not spend time with her." The maid says with an apologetic tone.
"...That so." A smile escapes me. "That little thing... is she asleep?"
"Yes. I sent her to sleep right at her bedtime." The maid bowed.
"Well then, please you can go ahead to your chambers if you wish to, I do not need any more assistance."
Raising her head the maid went to the only room left unlocked on the first floor of the manor.
I can hear the thud of the door closing behind her.
....
Only 2 rooms of this manor are left serviceable, the rest have been locked. One of them is for her, and the other is for the maid. I believe even with that, leaving only a single maid might be too much work for her, but she never complains and I do wish for this place to get crowded.
I walk towards the hall, where I like to sleep. Ever since the day she had passed, not a day had passed without me thinking of her. She had changed my outlook on life, and had made my life what I always wanted it to be... But, because of me hers was lost.
Walking into the hall I place my hand over the switch only to find myself stunned in place.
A silhouette. The outline of a man sitting, hidden behind the darkness of the unlit room.
I cannot make his features nor his stare.
"D-did he send you?" My body frozen in place I ask. "I-I'm doing exactly as he wants! So why?!" I quietly shout.
The maid might've been in on this as she, but she isn't. I do not want to wake her up, I do not want her to see this.
The shadow continues to sit in silence.
is this it? Is this really how I will leave her?
Or... no... he won't...
Not again...
He won't take her too...
Terror overwhelms me.
Using the only thing I could to fight back, I beg. "P-please... Please... not her... take mine... please..."
The silhouette sits in silence, audible breathing.
'At this pace I might actually lose her.' As this thought enters my mind I break down.
"I-if you take her, I will just kill myself! That isn't what he wants right?! HE needs me!"
The silhouette moves.
From his straight sitting pose, he slightly bends his back slouching forward.
I quickly raise my arm with what little strength I could muster, fighting someone is nothing I can do, but it's the only thing I can do.
But, finally, The silhouette spoke. A sound that took me by surprise.
It's voice was filled with... sorrow.
"Calm down. I'm not here for anything like that."
Hearing it's voice I fall to my knees give out, relief overwhelms me.
"Thank you... Thank you..." I thank the person.
"Why are you thanking me? Just turn on the light and sit down." The sorrow voice spoke straightening it's posture once more.
Gasping for air, I stand up and do as it demanded.
flipping the switch, a man I had never seen sat in my house.
His eyes were dead, his whole look was wrong. He looked right through me, and didn't feel the least bit hostile.
As the person has just told me, I sat opposite of them.
Once I had sat down, it spoke once again "I'm only here to complete the picture, Wagnon ladenwirg."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kouko's husband sat opposite of me.
He was still shaken from how we had met a moment ago, "H-how did you get in here?" He asked me still breathing heavily.
"Do not worry about that. I have my ways."
"Who are you?"
I'm supposed to be the one asking the questions here...
"You don't know me, you shouldn't at least." I decided to answer him "Your wife shouldn't have had any reason to bring me up, as it would only paint in her a bad light."
His eye's widened, but before speaking he made sure to calm down "And who are you to kouko?"
Once again with the questions...
"It's none of your concern, my story has been long over. Today I'm here so that I can know hers. Tell me, wagnon ladenwirg, the wealthiest man alive, How did your wife, Kouko ladenwirg, come to meet her end?"
The man in front of me bites his lips. I guess that wasn't a pleasant memory to be reminded of.
"It's for someone dear to her, a lost girl. I'm sure she would like to know how kouko had come to pass." I speak averting my eyes.
To my surprise my words spark a light in his eyes.
"You couldn't mean?! Lena?! She's alive?! You know her? Is she well? How is she doing? Does she need anything?!" a barge of questions escaped his mouth.
"...." I go silent.
"Ever since that incident, the one that plagued the newspapers, up until the moment of her death, kouko didn't stop worrying about her. She would swear up and down that she was innocent, that their is no way Lena would ever do anything like that." A gentle smile forms on him calming him down "She would do everything she could to find the slightest piece of information, so that she could get ahead of the bounty hunters. Even in her state she still worked herself to the bone."
He is nothing like me.
He cherishes does memories with her, Unlike what I did.
To give the man a silver lining, "Yeah, she's alive." I lied.
The man looked satisfied "I see... so... it wasn't a waste... the time kouko spent... she was out there...".
"She grieved for Kouko's death, when she read of her passing on the papers. I too couldn't believe it myself." I played it for the man's well being.
"...Thank you." His previously shaken self had completely disappeared.
Now let's get on with this.
"So, as I said, I would like to know of how she had come to pass."
Hearing my words the man relaxed himself in preparation for a long tale. Seeing him, I do as well.
....
he took a moment of silence as if preparing himself, and then started.
"Her cause of death." He calmed his expression. "Just as the papers had said, she was indeed assassinated, but, I know who did it, I always have. The man who ordered it, is none other than the lord of this land, Torik." his expression grew distasteful.
"He didn't like her, from the moment I started going out with her, long before our marriage, he didn't like her one bit. I always thought it was something about taste or personality, but the true reason behind it was so much deeper, it was so much worse."
"I should tell you more about me and torik for you to understand where it all came from, so allow me to speak to you of an anecdote. A long time ago, a wealthy man with more money than he could ever know what to do with, was approached by a man who looked as if he hadn't seen the light in years. As would be expected the wealthy man pushed him away, and continued on with his life. But, the man didn't give up, every day he would approach the man in riches hoping for a chance to talk with him, despite that never was he given the time of day. As if a bug, he was always ignored or kicked away."
Wagnon rested his arm on the armrest, and then his head on his fist. "One day, the wealthy man had found himself in a bore, waiting for the slightest bit of amusement, that's when the mess of a man took his chance, and it worked. Given the time of day, he spoke about all his ideas, his inventions, and his creations, and how all he wanted was a sponsor. He needed someone with money, while he racked his brain, and he thought the bored man was perfect. Despite showing no respect to the genius previously, the wealthy man saw opportunity in what he was told, and took it with greed."
Wagnon sighed. "...and the rest's history, the genius delivered and more, bringing the already wealthy even more wealth. Time passed and they only grew more powerful. The story had gone stagnant and repetitive, they were smoothly growing without a hint disruption. But, one day, a sudden event had lead to the gears to stop. The man of wealth had found himself distracted, he had found something else he would like to pursue."
Wagnon glanced to a certain spot of the room and spoke. "That's when I had met her. At first, I saw someone I can use. Approaching her that's all I could think, but..." A smile formed at his face as his continued to look at that one certain spot. "Her clueless and lost attitude, had charmed me. She would ask me, a person she had just met, about every single little thing, as if she had spent the last 30 years in the woods..."
'...'
"And that's when I realized, That it wasn't a partner that I needed. But, someone who depends on me. After all, what is this wealth and glory worth if not for someone to protect? I had long satisfied myself, and what I needed is someone else to satisfy. She had made every little thing seem precious, and it had made life fun. For the first time in my 37 years I had found myself having fun, so much fun that I had grown selfish, I wanted to dedicate myself to her, and her only. So slowly I had started ignoring work, slowly moving towards my retirement. She was happy as I had started spending more time with her, and so was I. "
His expression grew grim "...But I was naïve. I thought that I could just move on, that I could just leave it all behind me and enjoy life... That's not what he wanted. That's not how he's plan went, so he waited. He waited until I had something else to protect, and then took her... then he took her away from me..." Wagnon clenched his fist
"On a night without a moon, Arriving to my bloodbath of a home, all my guards and maids were slaughtered, even one of considerable status, I ran through the sea of blood horrified following the cries that could be heard from the outside...." Silence filled the room as his hand started to bleed.
"I froze in place the moment I opened that door. Inside, he was there. Sitting on chair above the gory remains of my wife, he held my infant daughter, she cried with her mother's blood covering her face. 'Welcome back.' he mockingly said. I tried to rush at him, but he effortlessly threw me down right towards the blood of my wife. As I laid in despair, my wife's lifeless face stared back at me."
"..."
"Despite my daughter's crying, I could hear the droplets of blood as they fell. For the first time in my life, I sensed true horror. I held my head and screamed in horror. 'We are no friends Mr. Wagnon, we are partners, and when one strays away, it's the others job to get him back.' his words rung in my head while I continued to scream as my wife's lifeless corpse stared at me. He then placed my daughter in her crib, still crying, and walked away with one final line. 'Stray away one more time, and she will meet the same fate.'."
...
Wagnon went silent and so did the room.
"I'm so--"
Before I could say anything he spoke.
"Please, Do not say your sorry. I don't want any of that empty shit. If you truly cared you would've appeared a lot sooner." He put his hands to his face he rested it his elbow on his knee.
"..."
"I didn't know he was capable of such strength, one my guards was even a custom gold, yet he barely had a scratch on him."
'Lord torik is an Outsider, and no one knows how much he has progressed with the system. If the rigid could hold his tenth's spot with ease with a maxed system, even a level 90 could be terrifying.'
I decide to make some small talk since I've gotten what I came here for, "So, you and kouko had a daughter?"
he slightly lifted his head with a father-like expression "...Yeah, she's my everything." all hints of his previous grim expression disappeared "She's always so cheerful, running around the big manor she gives life to this otherwise lifeless manor. She spends most of her day with the only maid taking care of the manor, and sometimes gets to spend the mornings with me."
"Is she asleep right now?" I ask out of curiosity.
With pride in his eyes the man nodded "yeah... she is a good girl, so she always sleeps on time." .
I couldn't help but smile myself "That so."
"She always complains to the maid about me not being home, but it's the best I can do. Sometimes I even fear I'm not doing much with that monster, that he might send someone, or even come himself again... But... It's all for her, Because I love her... I really do... I do not want to lose her too..." Wagnon slowly breaks down.
*tap*
A small tap could be heard. It's source shortly revealed itself.
"I-I Love you too, dad" A girl with tears pitter-pattered her way to wagnon and hugged his foot.
"I-I'm sorry, I'm being a bad girl, I should've went to bed... But I really wanted to see you..." The girl had left wagnon speechless as he gazed at her.
He softly placed his hand over her head and caressed it "don't worry about it sweetheart, dad is still very happy with you." He lifted her up and sat her on his lap.
"Why don't you say hello to the nice mister now, Lena?" He spoke to his daughter.
'That kouko...' She really went ahead and did it.
"Nice to meet you..." The girl slightly turned her head towards me.
I waved back at her without saying anything.
she quickly went back to hugging her dad.
"haha. It was Kouko's idea, she was really keen on it. I told her how I didn't really agree, but she was ready to fight back no matter what, so I ended up just giving in to her demands. This is Lena, Lena ladenwirg." He lifted her and placed on the ground.
"Go and shake his hand, he was a friend of mom you know!"
Hesitantly nodding, she spun around and approached me while holding her little adorable pajamas.
I went ahead and stretched my arm towards her, she place her little hand over mine and we firmly shook hands.
"Nice to meet you, Lena."
"..." To my surprise she went silent.
I thought of it as a child being shy and dismissed it, but to my surprise she was building up her courage.
"W-..."
'W?'
"What was mom like?" The kid asked her hand is still in mine "Dad never talks about her, and there is no drawing of her around, I asked miss lola, but she says she also doesn't no... but, your a friend of mom right? You know right?" She looked at me with pleading eyes.
He glanced at wagnon who looked guilty and back at the kid...
"your mother, kouko... What was she like now..." I playfully lift the girl up. "I think... She looked exactly like this." With the girl in my hands I lifted her towards a mirror on a side of the room reflecting her.
The girl stretched her arm towards the mirror, "So I look like mum?!" Lena was excited to hea, her eyes lit up. Her long blonde hair, and her blue eyes did indeed very much resemble that of Kouko.
"Oh you don't just look like her, you're basically her!" I put Lena down.
I then lower myself to her level and playfully whisper to her ear "Also, between you and me... I would say you're even prettier."
Bashfully she started fidgeting "hehe... That so..."
I Couldn't help but smile at the innocence of this kid.
....
Alright now to finish up with this.
I walk towards Wagnon with Lena ahead of me running with taps
He quickly bent and held her up in his arms.
I then handed him something I just pulled out of my pocket, "Here, have this."
"W-what is this?" He took it hesitantly and looked at it suspiciously.
"It's a device I found a while ago, there's two of them." I quickly flashed my own "Click one and the other with burst into an alarm."
"A-and what is this for?" He said in fear.
"Currently, I'm busy with something, so I can't help you right now, but I will be back. I will come back to help you two. Until then, try not to get on torik's nerve, and if you do for any reason, quickly click on it. I will be there before you know it."
His fear grew.
"W-what?! And what are you supposed to do? Die with us?! I'm telling you that man is a monster!" He shouted leaving Lena slightly disturbed "s-sorry sweetheart..."
"...Then just don't get on his nerves. Soon enough I will come, and when I do you can kiss your riches goodbye, but at least you will able to spend time with Lena much more. The choice will still be yours, so until then think about it."
He averted his eyes.
"You might not trust me, and understandable so. But please, If the moment comes, make use of it. Give me a chance at redemption." I say my final words to him
I then turn towards the main door, It's about time I leave.
"you can stay the night if you would like." Wagnon made me an offer quickly as he held Lena in his arms.
"Nah, I have somewhere to be, and I want to finish up quickly."
I open the door and step outside, It's cold.
I pick up the sword I left outside, and walk away with my next destination in mind.
Suddenly, the door of the manor opens and Lena shouts.
"M-mister! Who were you to my mom?!" She asked shouting as I had gotten far.
I unsheathed the sword I had laid on the ground outside, and raised it to the sky.
"A party member!"