"Let her in," Announcing to the guards, Haruki allowed Moriyana's stay.
Gasping confusion soared all around him. Amongst the bystanders, the guards especially were the most perplexed. However, with their authority near to none in front of the young duke, they had no choice but to keep their lips shut. Asuka on the other hand reached for Haruki's shoulder.
"But master Snow…" She mumbled, but as soon as her eyes met with his, she couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence.
"Would any of you rather take the blame if these slaves die in those cages?" Declaring that question, he threw his hands wide and looked around for any volunteers.
Unsurprisingly, no one was ready to take on such a duty. Possessing the body of a young duke along with having all of his memories restored, he felt profusely confident.
'I spent my days fighting against the corruption in the empire, not knowing that there was nothing left to be salvaged. The only thing left is to lace every path of Atlas with lust, envy, and corruption myself!'
Since he couldn't save the damned and was only shunned by them for his effort, he felt from the crux of his soul an immense desire to burn these fools to the ground.
"I'm grateful for your generosity young duke, and I'd be happy to return the favor any time you'd need anything from me," Bowing her head, Moriyana made her way back into the carriage.
Concluding that her presence alone was greatly valuable, he decided to keep her close as long as nobody got too suspicious. An abrupt change in the dukedom's policy, like the presence of a prominent slave trader, was surely going to draw people's attention.
'Don't stick your head where it doesn't belong.' He thought, glaring at Moriyana as she waved to him through the carriage window. Despite her help so far, he was reluctant on relying too much on the generosity of a succubus working directly under Asmodia.
"Keep an eye on her," he whispered to the guard standing beside him. "If she moves even so much as a finger, you better let me know."
A bit disoriented by the sudden order, the guard looked at him blankly, unsure about what Haruki just said to him.
"Y-yes! Yes sir!" Composing his demeanor, he pressed his fist against his heart as a salute. "I'll take a few of my companions and keep you informed."
Watching the guards as they followed Moriyana's carriage, Haruki turned around ready to head back into the castle. The treacherous stroll down a lifetime of painful memories had given him more than enough to ponder over. Distracted by his own thoughts, he had completely forgotten about something far more important at the moment.
"W-what's that?" Asuka's eyes widened as her mouth gaped open in surprise.
Looking over his shoulder, Haruki heard a thunderous roar screeching through the skies. It jolted him into a state of shock and forced his eyes to be closed shut. As ear piercing sound rang squeamishly in everyone's ears a bolting thunder struck the ground right in front of them. With the earth itself quaking from the impact, whatever it was had left everyone a bit jittery in their legs.
"Apologies Young Frost, and companions," What had landed shooting from the sky was not any sort of celestial object, but a man adorned in a glinted silver armor. "The convoy's carriages ran into some issues, so I had to use other means to make it here in time."
Fanning the dust off of his face, Haruki turned around to get a better look at the man. Encased in a paladin's armor, his eyes gazed down at Haruki. Brushing a pair of sapphire earrings to the back he swiftly tied his lush blonde hair. His peculiar way of travel had obviously fiddled with his formal appearance, that much was abundantly clear.
"Michael Arc, it's an honor young Frost," Throwing out his name, he walked closer to Haruki before extending his right hand towards him. "And again, apologies for the unconventional entrance."
'Michael? My instructor and later…a coward.' Haruki's eyes were flaring in anger, but noticing a concerned twitch on Michael's face, he immediately dropped that expression.
Shaking his hand, he put on the facade of innocence on his face.
"Very well, it's an honor sir, I mean…" unsure how to address him, Haruki glared at him in confusion.
"Michael is fine, there's no need for a future duke to address a soldier so formally," While glancing around, his eyes caught the long file of carriages strolling down the path that went right through the front gates. "Do you have any other guests at the moment?"
"It's a long story, perhaps we can discuss it on our way back to the mansion?" Haruki quickly replied before gesturing to the guards to ready the carriage.
"Of course," Although still curious, Michael agreed.
While making their way to the carriage, Haruki's mind wandered in thought, trying to figure out just what kind of magic or skill Michael had used to travel such a far distance. No matter how much he mulled it over, he lacked the knowledge to reach any plausible conclusion. Settling down in the carriage with Michael, he noticed slight pain seeping through his heart. It appeared as though simply being close to him was inflicting damage on him over time.
"You're quite an intriguing character Michael," With a smirk on his face, Haruki decided to press Michael for some answers.
"I suppose so, wouldn't be the first time I've heard such a remark," Laughing it off, he gazed out the carriage window. "Anyway, the carriages, what's the story behind them?"
Coincidently, it seemed Michael had similar plans, to push the other party for answers. Although a bit frustrated after the events of the day, Haruki began to explain to him everything about the carriages and Moriyana. Of course, he made sure to exclude any parts of the story that might make him suspicious.
"Compassion is a virtue heralded by those burdened with great responsibility," Resting his hand over Haruki's shoulder, Michael smiled warmly. "You will be one fine ruler, Snow Frost."
His words may have been sweet and encouraging, however, his touch sent a feverish cold down Haruki's body. All of a sudden his heart began to soar and his breaths grew heavier by the second.
"Snow? Hey, are you okay?" Noticing the change in Haruki's demeanor, Michael grabbed him by the shoulders. "Stop the carriage, and bring me that girl with healing touch!"
Unaware of the fact that his own abilities were causing Haruki distress, Michael called for the coachman to get Asuka.
'Carnal curse level one activated.' With that announcement ringing inside Haruki's head, his condition worsened in a matter of seconds. He knew what was happening to him, after all, Moriyana had taken her sweet time explaining everything about his abilities.
'All demons of lust suffer from this curse, and the only way to keep it from consuming your soul is to extract the essence of a human' . Reminding himself of her words, Haruki knew he had to make a demon servant of his own. Not only to satiate his carnal lust but also to serve Asmodia and fulfill his part of the contract. That is to say, populating the world with as many lust demons as possible.
"A-Asuka…" He mumbled on the verge of fainting.
"Yes, that girl, get that Asuka girl to me!" Michael shouted out to the guards.