"The Ann Castle has a long historical significance. As you can see, most of it is covered in significant artifacts you cannot find anywhere else. Now, if you would like to step forward, we can see other items that decorate the palace-"
"There is no need for you to guide us. I would prefer you to leave us alone to look around this place. Your presence here is distracting me from being able to look around in peace."
Fenrir smiled as the Second-in-command advised him to leave.
On his side, the temple master almost choked at the harsh tone his partner used. But there was little the temple master could do if Fenrir took offense to what his partner had said.
Luckily for him, Fenrir only smiled at the temple master before he looked forward again. It did not seem as if he had taken offense to what the rude man had said.
It stuck the second in command as odd. He had never seen a human like this patient before, and it made him wonder how that was even possible. What kind of witchcraft could make people become this patient in the first place?
'The more time I spend with this man, the more I am sure that he cannot be real. There is something about his presence that makes him stand apart from the rest of the world around us. He almost feels…unreal…'
It was a feeling the Second-in-command had never gotten before. The only one he could compare this to was a high-ranking cardinal from the central church. But even then, the feeling he got did not make his insides burn in fear and excitement.
"I will leave you all alone to look around the castle now. But make sure you step carefully. Many of the floors around the back parts are not safe for people to walk on. We have put up signs to keep people outside, so make sure you follow them as well.
If you enter that area, then we will not be responsible for your safety or well-being. Please, give me an oath regarding this."
Fenrir smiled before he wheeled himself away. He got his promise, and now, it was no longer his concern what happened to the pair.
The Countess was nowhere to be seen, but her presence lingered around them as well.
Being in this castle made the Second-in-command's insides itch. It was almost as if something was crawling inside his body and trying to take root. But before he could focus on that feeling, the temple master decided to voice his displeasure.
"Look, I know that you don't trust nobility, but you need to be careful with how you deal with them. Plus, this palace had been standing here for longer than we have been around. If nothing has happened thus far, then do we need to be this vigilant?"
The temple master asked, and his Second-in-command sighed.
"It is because this place is so old that we need to look around it carefully. Usually, these places hide a lot of secrets that are waiting to be discovered. I don't trust that Countess and servant of his."
The Second-in-command spat these words out. The more he spoke, the more he convinced himself that he was right.
In the end, the temple master could only sign and follow after the younger man. They walked around the castle in search of clues the whole day, but they were not able to find anything of value.
Even if it looked as if they were close to discovering something, another distraction found them until they could no longer remember what they had been initially chasing.
It did nothing to the temple master, but he could feel his second-in-command losing his temper quickly.
"Hey, I told you that it might all be useless. Now, let's head back so that we can have dinner. I feel my stomach complaining…."
The temple master complained as he held his stomach. He was hungry, exhausted, and ready to return home.
Seeing him in such a condition made his Second-in-command look pressed. The man wanted to look more, so he had a brilliant idea.
"You should head back without me. I will look around a little more before I can bring myself to try this place. Don't worry. I promise I will find something suspicious about this place for sure."
The Second-in-command promised before he walked away. Seeing how the younger was not going to listen made the temple master shake his head. He wanted to teach the younger that there were times when one needed to take a step back.
But if someone was not going actually to listen, then what was even the point?
______
"How can I find nothing, even after searching this hard? Even if there is nothing, I should still find something of value. How can it all end up as nothing?"
The Second-in-command raged in the empty corridor.
Any place that was accessible to him had been checked and plundered. There had been countless spells cast to check the authenticity of items around this palace.
But he had ended up finding nothing in the end.
"Should I check the back section? I am sure that it is not actually dangerous for humans to go because of the weak floors. I am sure these people are hiding something in the back, and this is their excuse to hide it from me."
To say that the Second-in-command was suspicious of that back area would be an underestimation. But the excuse he gave to check this place did not cover him going into the back area.
It made him hesitant to enter that place, but he quickly gathered his courage to take the leap into the forbidden.
What if that area was designated as off-limits to most people? He could still enter that place if he were careful enough to do that.
He started walking toward the barrier before he crossed the threshold. His feet touched the ground on the other side and he waited for something to happen. But no matter how long he waited for things to happen, nothing did.
As a result, the second-in-command gained some courage and kept walking deeper and deeper into that area.
He only paused when he felt a presence heading his way. It made him pause before he gripped a small knife in his hand and attacked the presence.
The Second-in-command had expected his attacker to be a heavy-bodied man, but it was a younger and crippled person instead. It caused him to miss his mark and overshoot his attack.
He lost his balance and fell down. And once he was down, he kept his eyes down. He could not bring himself to look up at Fenrir's face and admit what he had been about to do.
"Excuse me, but are you alright? And what are you doing here? I'm pretty sure I told everyone that this area was off-limits."
Fenrir asked, and the Second-in-command cursed under his breath. He gathered himself quickly and decided to face Fenrir head-on after he was caught.
"I got lost walking around and accidentally entered this area. It was not my intention to enter his place. But now that I am here, can I have a look around? I will be extra careful while I walk around."
The Second-in-command promised with a shameless look on his face. He did not even feel ashamed that he had walked into an area he was not supposed to.
Since he did not look ashamed, Fenrir did not ask the man what he was doing there. It was easy to figure out that the man was trespassing where he should not be.
"Well, since you crossed the barrier already, I cannot stop you from heading down this path. I need to go and help my mistress with something, but you are free to take a look around this place. Just don't turn around to look at me."
Fenrir cautioned the man, and he waited for the Second-in-command to turn around and start walking.
The older man took a few steps before he could not control his curiosity and had to turn around. It turned out to be a huge mistake, and before he knew it, his heart exploded, and a hand exited his chest.
Unseen wide eyes looked at Fenrir from a white face and all the young could do was sigh in regret.
"Well, I did tell you not to look back. Because of your blunder, I ended up spoiling my appetite. You need to take responsibility for it and sate my hunger now."
Fenrir dropped the heart he had dug out of the human chest into his shadow. A mouth opened up to swallow that heart, and the body in front of him fell down.
The demon king could have left that body there, and no one would have questioned him about it. But he did not want to do so.
Instead, he cut his wrist open and dropped a few drops of blood into that dead body's mouth. As soon as the Second-in-command's dead body drank that blood, it stood up and corrected its position.
Another puppet had been created by Fenrir, but this time, he had a witness watching him do his work.