"Now, explain yourself."
Sierra slammed her palm on the huge table that was being surrounded by eight people aside from herself. Her gaze was fixed only on one person: Adrienne.
She was finally able to meet him after a whole ten years. It surely would've been a heartwarming reunion if not for the details Adrienne had told her.
They were back in the room, which had changed its appearance. It looked like a huge dining hall. Sadly, it didn't have any food.
"It's just as I said... They are after you."
Adrienne's eyes never wavered while he spoke. She couldn't understand at all why he had gotten involved. If she were the target, those people would've definitely come looking for her.
In fact, whatever he said was the truth. Just like that, there were a few things that even he had no idea about. Sierra's eyebrows furrowed, making her forehead wrinkly.
Adrienne kept his hand on his own mouth, thinking deeply. He was aware that there was no way that they would've trusted his words, which sounded illogical.
"Hah... Maybe I should explain it from the start."
He let out a sigh because of the helpless situation. Seeing his reaction, Sierra flinched. She was the only one who could tell what his actions implied.
There were times when Adrienne would sigh before saying something he didn't want to. It was him showing his dislike for talking about certain topics.
"You don't nee-"
She spoke, only to be interrupted by Adrienne. He knew that she was just concerned about him, but this was his choice to make.
"No. It's something you people need to know."
Claire and Aliana were the only people, aside from Sierra, who were being attentive. Jaden dove deep into his own thoughts.
Eleanor and Diona were looking at their faces since they weren't aware of whatever Adrienne had mentioned. They felt disappointed in themselves for it, despite being the main people behind getting their sources to slip inside the kingdom.
This talk was too much for Melanie, who had already passed out. She laid her head on Claire's lap while resting her body on her chair.
Even within this heavy atmosphere, one person was being indifferent. It was none other than Blaise. His thoughts were seriously something else.
'Why is he more handsome than me?'
He couldn't deny that Adrienne was handsome. This was like seeing a narcissistic person praising someone else. But the darkness dwelling within Adrienne made even Blaise tremble.
"This was after I returned to the kingdom..."
Adrienne began sharing his experience after returning. This was something no one in the world knew of. Others who had known were no longer in this world.
-10 years ago-
Adrienne had sneaked inside the kingdom by getting mixed up with merchants at the east gate. For that, he had to go around the kingdom's walls, reaching the eastern part.
The first thing he would've done was rush to his parents, but the rumours that fell on his ears made him not do so. Those weren't things he was expecting to hear someday. No, he had never even imagined that.
-"You heard about that? The crown prince is turning 13 this year. They are planning to hold his coronation ceremony."
It was in a tavern that Adrienne had stopped by to drink some water after running to reach the eastern gate. He couldn't comprehend the words he heard.
'What does that mean...? I'm still...'
He bit his lips, telling himself that those were just rumours, which weren't ever true. There was no way that they could've just placed the second prince as the rightful heir to the throne when the first prince was still alive.
Or so he believed. Every time he remembered Sierra's words, he shook his head, trying to forget them. His heart never wanted to believe that it was the truth.
The second prince, Gerard Agustus, was the blood-related son of the emperor and the empress. That fact made Adrienne even more anxious.
He kept on lurking within the alleyways, hiding himself from others. It went on for a long time. The minutes had turned into hours, then hours into days, and finally days into months.
The things he had studied for all those five years were proving to be quite handy. He still had no clue which attributes he had affinity for, but the basic magic spells were more than enough to hide himself.
The thing Adrienne had been doing for over three months was digging out all sorts of rumours and information related to the first prince. He had heard almost everything related to the incident of his castle burning and all.
'It must be the work of the people who tried to kill me.'
That's how he thought of it. He was no stupid person, but he couldn't bring himself to believe that his parents, whom he thought to have cared for him, had abandoned him.
Little did he know that the people trying to kill him were people he had never even imagined.
And then one day in late evening, something unexpected happened.
"Are you the one going around asking about a dead person?"
Adrienne flinched as he went into the alleyway. This voice was one he would've remembered no matter how long passed.
He could feel goosebumps rising on his skin. And more than that, he could feel his blood boiling with rage. After all, the voice that rang in his mind belonged to the same person.
-"Did you make sure to check if he is dead or not?"
He vividly remembered his consciousness slipping away when he heard those words. This was about the time he almost lost his life.
-"Let's head back. We need to report it to 'that person'."
And the person talking right now was the very person who had stabbed him with an intention to kill.
---------------
"What? There is some bast*rd trying to get intel on the dead prince?"
His voice echoed within the silent room. The candles flickering made his huge figure visible in that darkness. Aside from him, there were three of his companions inside the room.
The worn-out shirt made from animal fur had become dark brown because of all the dirt. One wouldn't be able to tell when the last time it was washed was.
The huge man scratched his own head with anger. The scar on his left eye made the brown iris of the other one stand out. His brown hair looked rough to see.
"Second has gone to take care of him. What are you even so worried about, boss?"
One of them scoffed it off as if it were nothing. But they all knew what mess they would've gotten involved in if something related to them was to be revealed.
The sum of money they had received from the client after accomplishing 'that' task was quite huge. Using that money, they began running illegal businesses while hiding in the slums.
Originally, this man being referred to as their boss was the person who had kicked Adrienne to check if he was alive at that time. The person 'second' who the man just mentioned was his younger brother.
These people were told to leave the kingdom and never show themselves again. But which thug would leave a perfect ground to run illegal activities on?
Thanks to the emperor's incompetence, criminals committing grave crimes were common within the kingdom. The emperor never truly cared for his country's people.
"Hmm. I think we should go and check on him."
Another one of them said this. He was the only person getting a bad feeling about this. Why would someone appear out of nowhere just to look into someone who had died five years ago?
"Hahaha! Fifth, don't worry about that. He is way stronger than you."
They had been changing their names on several occasions, which made them decide on each other based on their ranking of strengths. The fifth was the weakest out of the five.
"But..."
He didn't say a word further, as he heard some sounds. It came from behind him. It was the only way out of the room.
Knock knock
Someone was knocking on the door lightly. The fifth was the one who used to open the door whenever a client came to their place to hire them.
Upon opening the door, he saw a strange man wearing a shabby robe stand there. He held a sack made up of jute fabric filled with something on his back.
"I need you to take care of something..."
It was certainly a voice that belonged to someone in their teens, but the tone was too mature. How could one feel creepy at a child's sound? Why was he getting chills down his spine?
He saw the boy placing the bag on the ground before him. It was right at the entrance because the boy never went into the building.
"What is thi-?!"
As he was going to ask, an old-looking pouch came flying towards him. He managed to catch it with his left hand somehow, but it was heavy.
He quickly opened the pouch and noticed a bunch of gold coins. That made him flinch as he called his other companions.
"BROTHERS! COME HERE! WE'VE GOT A HUGE COMMISSION-!"
The rest of the three people within the one-story building's single room rushed upon hearing those words. It had been quite a while since they had received such a huge amount of money.
Their boss's gaze fell upon the sack from which blood flowed out. At first, he was smiling, but that soon faded away. The pouch that 'fifth' held in his hand was something he recognised.
His hands trembled as he kneeled down to open the knot on the sack right next to 'fifth'. Then, very soon, his yell made everyone there flinch.
"YOU BASTARD! WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MY BROTHER'S DEATH?!"
The rest three looked behind at the ground, where lied the grotesque pieces of a corpse with recognisable fabric of clothes on. The coins in their hands dropped to the ground along with their smile.
The boss's gaze shifted to the anonymous boy standing before their hideout's entrance. He gritted his teeth with rage. This person was the one who had killed and severed the body of his brother.
"GET HIM!"
At his one word, 'third' and 'fourth' unsheathed their swords. They took their steps towards the boy while swinging the sword. But then again...
Thunk
"Huh...?"
Their two swords got parried by a single sword in the boy's hand. The strangest thing was that the movements he just showed were something they were familiar with.
They couldn't help but wonder how the boy was able to use their dead comrade's swordsmanship. Both of them could feel their hands numbing from the clash of their swords.
The 'third' gulped down his own saliva and glanced at the 'fourth'. He didn't move, letting the 'third' jump at the boy. The next thing they knew was that it was a bad choice.
The sword the boy had swung sideways, making a semicircular shape, was identical to how the 'third' had a moment ago. It was as if their moves were being copied.
On top of that all, the sword held by the boy was the one they had gifted the 'second' on his birthday. Unlike the three strongest, 'fifth' the weakest was able to tell that the boy was far stronger than them all.
He wasn't the type to pick fights either way. A single thought in his mind left him trembling in his spot. What he was seeing at the moment didn't seem like a human being at all.
Two adults were attacking him with swords, but he had no expression on his lips that was visible slightly. The most scary fact was that the boy hadn't moved an inch from his spot.
Looking at the creepy shadow cast on the floor before him, the man's thoughts leaked out. He muttered to himself while his whole body shivered.
"What is that monster?"