They never talked about the incident again. A tacit understanding silently existed between them to not bring up anything reted to the attack. Karel observed the brunet’s demeanor every time he interacted with his people and he seemed cheerful now as if no worries weighed him down.

  Better than before, he thought and closed his eyes.

  It’s the fifth day now and the City of Norn came to view right after they passed the meadows. The others sighed in relief while hesitation bubbled inside the blond.

  This would mean I have to depart by the end of my endeavor.

  “This is a fine estate,” Karel remarked as he hopped off the carriage. He offered his hand to assist Kani down and the tter gdly held onto it.

  He stood and looked at the estate before them. “Yes, but this was the cheapest estate I could afford way back then. I thought of giving it up many times but I just can’t.”

  The crimson eyes roamed around, taking in the breathtaking view of nature around them. “It’s nice here.”

  “Yes. Norn is known for its scenic meadows and grandiose architecture.”

  “Give me a tour ter on?”

  Kani chuckled. “Sure.”

  The merchant did inventory at once and tasked the others to distribute the goods to their clients while Karel wandered in the vicinity.

  “Ah, you must be the master’s new companion!”

  He put his hands behind his back. “I’m afraid we’re only acquaintances.”

  The servants frowned. “Is that so? That’s too bad.”

  The women also giggled near them.

  “I thought he’s the master’s lover,” one of them whispered.

  Karel turned his back then, not even bothered by the statement but pondered on it.

  Well, I don’t find that idea bad.

  By te afternoon, Kani asked Karel to accompany him to the city.

  “So, we’re going to tour around?”

  “As I’ve promised.”

  Karel smiled. “Alright.”

  The edge of Kani’s lips twitched when he saw the ramrod back of the blond as he rode the horse. Just by the posture alone, one would know he’s an extraordinary man.

  A nobleman will always be a nobleman.

  Kani led them to the forests near the estate as he asked, “So, you’re going to stay for a while?”

  “Yes, until I finish what I came for.”

  “A personal endeavor?”

  “You could say that,” Karel answered as he took in the breathless view of the calm forest.

  “I hope you don’t mind me asking about it?”

  Karel reined the horse to match Kani’s pace and stared intently at the brunet. “Are you really just curious?”

  “What?” Kani slightly scrunched his nose, annoyed by the other man’s question. “You know, it’s rare for Ramayans to go out of their way to have a vacation. You get me, right? Ramaya doesn’t ck scenic ndscapes as far as I know, so, yes. I am curious why you are here.”

  Karel chuckled at his sudden outburst. “You don’t need to be offended, dear sir.”

  He huffed. “You have trust issues, don’t you?”

  “You could say that. However, my intuition says otherwise when it comes to you.”

  “What?”

  He looked forward. “I can’t say any more details other than I’m looking for something. That’s just it.”

  “An enough reason to travel to Grantierra?”

  “Yes.”

  “Which means, it’s very important to you.”

  “It is.”

  Kani kept quiet and then led him to the edge of the city. “I won’t ask, alright? For now, follow me. We will enter through the northern gates to the city.”

  They passed through the luxury shop district after entering. Karel noticed how the people adored Kani and some also vied for his attention.

  Karel had to move a little bit closer, reminding him of their tour.

  “I know luxury shops bore you, Sir Karel, knowing how prosperous Ramaya is. I’ll take you to the local market and pza instead. I’m sure you’ll have a lot of fun there.”

  He smiled to himself. “I have to follow Sir Kani’s suggestion then.”

  Kani smiled at him. “Leave it to me.”

  After leaving the horses at the back of his store near the market, the two men walked side-by-side as they strolled around.

  Karel had already visited a lot of pces during his earlier travels but he always found himself charmed by every destination.

  Norn boasted a grandiose architecture made of stacked stones painted by natural hues. Buildings stood at least four to five floors high with gabled roofs. The massive structures, which Kani pointed out to be government-owned, had rge towers unlike the towering spires of buildings in Montes.

  As they turned towards the main road, the bustling city life assaulted Karel’s senses. With his acute hearing, everything seemed so loud and had to muffle his auditory sense. He looked over to Kani and noticed how uncomfortable he was.

  “Are you alright?”

  “Fine,” he gritted out. “I’ll never get used to this—”

  Karel reached out to him, both rge hands covering his ears for a few seconds then gone.

  “Is it fine now?”

  Kani looked up to him, to those crimson eyes staring at him with concern. He choked out the words, “A little… better. Thank you.”

  “If I knew this would affect you that much, I should have called off the—”

  “I’m fine,” Kani insisted.

  “Your face bnched the moment we stepped into the busiest part of the area. I could only guess you have a sensitive hearing sense.”

  “I do…”

  The blond sighed. “We should return. I’ll just visit it some other time.”

  “But…”

  “Come on.”

  Kani stared at his hand before holding onto it. “Thank you for your consideration.”

  “Think of it as a payment for letting me stay.”

  Kani huffed then smiled to himself.

  Uneventful days went on during his stay in Kani’s estate. On some days, he helped out and often strolled elsewhere until he felt a twinge in his chest. He looked towards the northwestern direction with furrowed eyebrows.

  This feeling…

  Kani continued his work for his trading company while Karel wandered the streets of Norn on some days. He gathered more information and noticed the ck of patrols around some areas. Like in Weissdel, the knights might have been dispatched elsewhere that required more of their attention.

  “They closed off the northwest shore. A lot of beasts roamed the area.”

  Karel smirked to himself as he heard of a possible lead.

  “Did you hear about the beasts who went innd a few weeks ago? I heard someone killed them all.”

  “Really?”

  Karel raised his eyebrows, wondering about their next words.

  “They said it was an immortal and they never got to see his face.”

  “Is the king looking for him?”

  “He did at first but seeing how the immortal vanished without a trace, he said he would leave it be and be grateful to the man forever.”

  “Ah, the king is too kind-hearted.”

  “I know.” The man sighed. “Maybe that’s why the court worries a lot.”

  Karel walked back to the estate while pondering about what he heard. He needed no rewards for what he did. Besides, the battlefield satisfied the thrums beneath his skin and that’s enough.

  At the thought of another battlefield nearby, however, Karel beamed with renewed vigor. With the signs of a magical rose, he also anticipated what he would be gathering next.

  “Is there anything I can do to help?”

  Kani turned to Karel with papers in his hands. “Nothing for now since we’re staying.”

  “I see. Can I go elsewhere for a while?”

  “To where?”

  Karel leaned onto the door sill. “Something caught my attention nearby…”

  “How far?”

  Karel smirked. “If you ask anymore details, dear sir, I would interpret it that you have separation anxiety—”

  Kani sputtered. “Separation… what?”

  Karel chuckled. “I need to go to the northern shore to investigate something.”

  Kani scrunched his nose. “Is that the reason why you’re here?”

  He nodded.

  “All right. Off you go, dear sir. Please take care.”

  “Thank you. Don’t overwork yourself, Sir Kani.”

  The sign he passed by a little while ago spoke of the truth. Although a little far off from the city of Norn itself, the evolved monsters indeed pgued the said shore.

  He hummed to himself and noticed the mountain peaks at the northwestern horizon.

  Empress Chen enclosed Ethys, a small kingdom in the southeastern part of the Ramayan Continent and near the isnd of Astadvran, with the highest tier of barrier magic to ensure none of the negative energy would leak out. With the annihition of the said kingdom, even the beasts remained unspared and unlikely for beasts to come to Astadvran from Ramaya.

  Makes me wonder where they came from.

  Karel cautiously moved closer to not disturb the wandering beasts until something pricked in his chest.

  Resonance.

  A magical rose hid in the vicinity.

  At the confirmation, the monsters noticed his presence and flocked around him.

  Karel ughed and summoned his sword. When he pnted it on the ground, magic circles began emerging one after another above the area. Lightning struck the monsters down and manhandled those who survived.

  Ashes and blood littered the ground as Karel wiped out the blood smeared on his sword.

  During the fight, he noticed something.

  The magical rose hiding in the vicinity amplified the magic surrounding the supposed evolved monsters. As per a magical rose’s behavior, it would never taint anything with magic. Sure, it would possess an inanimate object but not to the extent of corruption or wreaking havoc.

  So, the conclusion: someone found the magical rose, knew of its capabilities and used it to control the monsters. Whoever they were, Karel definitely would want to talk to them. It would have been better if the perpetrator was also present so he could also get rid of them.

  Ramayans dared not to harness negative energy because it could corrupt any being but a human audaciously did. With how pious the Grantierrans were, it’s fbbergasting to know someone dared to create a taboo.

  After clearing the vicinity from monsters, he located the magical rose inside a cave. A glowing stone sb rested onto the rge, pteaued stone. Detaching the magical rose from any medium posed a great difficulty to anyone but for those people bound to and had resonance with it, just a touch would do. It would reveal itself and merge with the retriever.

  Karel touched the stone sb until it crumbled and the magical rose materialized. He cautiously held onto it, letting it assimite with himself.

  Just a little more, little cousin… we will get to see you again…

  He grunted in discomfort as memories came rushing in. Karel, despite the magical roses he had gathered throughout the years, found himself unable to adapt to the sensation.

  Series of fshes appeared in his mind about a war between the Ramayans and the Heavenly Winged. The Ramayan Princess fought against the said heavenly beings alongside Bael, the man from the Underworld who accompanied her when she returned to Ramaya.

  He held half of his face as he heaved deep breaths.

  Ah, so that’s why the beasts were so ferocious.

  A wolf in sheep’s clothing—Karel called her as such. An unforgiving and merciless warrior in the battlefields, despised schemes and always fought head-on. They always held her warrior-like attitude in high regard and it somehow influenced them too.

  Karel slowly stood up and calmed himself.

  “It doesn’t matter if it takes years.”

  As long as you live again, I don’t mind waiting for millennia.

  In the midst of his journey back to the city of Norn, he thought of showing gratitude to the merchant for kindly letting him join the party and took him in as his guest.

  I need to bid my farewells.

  Karel found Kani an interesting man, full of stories and mystery. Despite the attraction he felt for the said man, getting closer to another person deemed disadvantageous for him, but also for the tter. Karel wished no ill will upon such a kind and humble person.

  Right, the man deserves more.

  At the thought of it, Karel’s fingers twitched and the unnerved feeling during the ambush returned.

  Don’t get too close—his mind reminded him again and again as he held onto the choker on his neck.

  Let’s stop at this.

  Twilight came and only then Karel arrived at Kani’s estate. He didn’t dally and immediately looked for him.

  Karel took a deep breath before knocking on the door and Kani invited him in. He pried open the door, closed it for courtesy and said without further ado, “I think it’s about time to say goodbye.”

  Kani looked up and Karel noticed the round eyegsses he wore. He dropped the quill pen on an empty inkstone then leaned back on his chair. “That’s too bad then. I actually want to hire you as my personal bodyguard.”

  Karel opened his mouth to say something but no words came out as he saw those expectant eyes staring at him.

  He’s making it harder for me, huh?

  “You have your own bodyguards. I also could tell that you’re not weak as you appeared to be.”

  Kani chuckled. “Nothing really escapes your scrutinizing eyes.”

  “And what do you even gain from employing me?”

  “Protection? I can pay you handsomely, don’t worry.”

  Karel ughed this time. “It’s not like I’m cking anything, dear sir. I’m a noble of an empire, remember?”

  Although the Kingdom of Ramaya transitioned to an empire, they retained his rank since only a few remained from the st regime. True, he’s not fond of funting his title elsewhere but found it absurd that someone offered him to be their bodyguard. In the end, Karel couldn’t bme Kani since he said nothing about his ancestry. For the merchant, he’s just a traveling Ramayan and nothing else.

  “How can I convince you to stay?”

  Surprise painted Karel’s face when he heard those words. He stared at Kani, at his expectant expression.

  No, this got to be a joke.

  Both of them stared at each other, unwavering, waiting for the other to acquiesce. Unfortunately for Karel, the question turned out to be a sincere inquiry.

  The blond intently stared at him, gauging his expression as questions flooded his mind of why would the brunet ask him of such. His bodyguards proved themselves to be just as skilled. He didn’t even lift a finger during the ambush and they dealt with the bandits skillfully.

  In the end, he slightly shook his head. “I don’t understand. Why me?”

  Kani hummed. “I don’t know but I trust my intuition.”

  He scoffed. “Using my words against me, huh?”

  If words failed to work, then intimidation might do the trick. Karel materialized and pnted the intricately designed sword in front of him, holding it with two hands and slightly tilting his head. His expression turned stoic as they continued the stare-off.

  “Intimidation?” Kani asked a few seconds ter, not the least perturbed by the action. His amber eyes widened a little, gleaming in excitement as light bounced on them. “You’re making me want you more, Sir Karel.”

  Karel’s resolve to leave slightly wavered and his fingers twitched.

  Ah, what have I gotten myself into?

  “You’re a traveler and I can take you to pces. However, I need you to pose as my bodyguard to bypass government protocols in some kingdoms, especially in Shimhazril.”

  Karel sighed and stowed away his sword. He stepped forward and leaned on the desk, staring down at Kani who slowly backed away from their sudden distance.

  “You know how capable I am, right? That’s why you’re asking me to be your bodyguard.”

  As Kani turned his face away, it answered his question.

  “Well, whatever.” He stood up to his stature. “I have a lifetime to waste and this is a good opportunity to actually pass up. Now then, does this settle your deal?”

  Kani gaped, astonished by his words.

  “Trojka to Kani?” Karel waved his hand before his face.

  When out of his stupor, Karel held out his hand to seal the deal. “Accept it or I’m walking out now.”

  The brunet stared at it first before standing and shaking hands with him. “I look forward to working with you, Karel.”

  The satisfied smile he tried to suppress finally painted his lips. “Likewise, Kani.”