Epic Of The Demonic Sage

"Then we should report this right away to the Count…" Kiana stood up, but then hesitated. Even if she was a niece, there was still some reservation in going there to inform the Count about the sudden development.

"Best to wait until tomorrow. Since father is trying to calm himself down, we shouldn't try to provoke him any further. If he hears wind of this, he might just erupt again and it would be difficult if he cleaves through this man in rage." Lucius said.

Even though Asher said it with a calm voice, Kiana couldn't help but imagine it actually happening and knew that would put their chance of getting revenge against the Bergan's Band into something more difficult to achieve.

Kiana was confident about the Plow Worm attack that Asher was going to launch, but the Bergan's Band was a powerful group and having the side of the king was better than tackling it on by themselves.

"… For now, shall we take care of this by ourselves?" Kiana asked. "We can arrest this man, put him in jail and just inform the Count and Countess by tomorrow."

"You said that the Black Rose Knights are in the soldier's barracks and training at the moment?" Lucius asked.

Kiana nodded. "Yes, they are."

Since these knights were people who served the king, it was her utmost importance to serve them to the best of her ability especially with the Count and Countess both preoccupied.

"Then I suppose we'll need to have some guards discreetly leave the barracks to capture this associate. It wouldn't do us any good if the Black Rose Knights were to discover where our information came from, won't it?"

Kiana nodded and understood Asher's wish to be discreet.

Even though the Count and Countess were outraged by Asher being nearly assassinated, they wouldn't resort to working with those who associated with criminals.

It was also important to uphold a good image and so, Kiana nodded. "It will be done, Asher. You won't have to worry about those knights."

"Thank you." Lucius said.

It was much easier to present the associate as one of those who were captured beforehand. Kiana quickly left Lucius to perform her task.

Once she was gone, Lucius folded his hands together and sighed inwardly.

"As much as I'd like to head to the laboratory, and I can probably do it discreetly as well… it will still be something that will get noticed by those Black Rose Knights and will bother me once I return."

Since they were tasked to protect the Inanis Family members, it was natural that if Lucius went somewhere, they would want to insist to accompany him.

If not all three of them, but to have at least one Black Rose Knight at his side.

Fortunately for Kiana, she was probably able to move a little more freely, even if the Black Rose Knights were aware of her identity.

"Speaking of which, Kiana might have prepared my travel for Aisse territory to involve the personal guards of the Inanis Family to keep me safe, and while that's all good and well… it's best to be discreet as possible and not gather any attention."

Lucius decided to focus on the next steps that he was going to take once he was given permission by the Count to cause havoc against the Bergan's Band.

"I'll be able to get the Black Rose Knight's back off me once the Count allows me to do this mission, and while I can probably take the Lost with me as my own security, it will still result in certain questions. Especially, if I will enter Aisse territory with them."

Lucius knew that controlling one single Plow Worm was not enough to cause permanent damage against the Bergan's Band, which was why he needed to actually make a proper plan in regards to do this.

It was easy to imagine how things might be since Lucius planned it carefully in his head, but he still needed to be able to prepare in case anything doesn't go accordingly well.

"If I were to actually cause more than one Plow Worm to rampage in Aisse and truly create enough destruction, it will definitely lead to Rune Beast experts coming to investigate the sudden change in their nature. And it might even lead some folks to fear the creatures and attack them needlessly… which will result into me having difficulty to obtain their Rune Crystals in the future if they try to flee."

Lucius spent the rest of the evening in the library until Kiana returned and informed him of the completion of her mission.

The Count and Countess still hadn't showed themselves at that point, so Lucius took over as the host alongside Kiana and invited the Black Rose Knights to dine with them.

Luckily, the Black Rose Knights were too exhausted to ask him anything and soon enough Lucius retired for the night.

When the next day finally came, Lucius was summoned by Count Gabriel first thing in the morning. He prepared and quickly met his father privately in his study.

"Hmm… are you feeling better now, father?" Lucius asked carefully.

Count Gabriel nodded firmly. "Will you come take a seat first, Asher? I have much to discuss with you… I wasn't able to answer your question yesterday. It is a shame that I was overtaken by emotions and though your mother could have explained it to you, I told her that I want to tell you the story myself."

"Of course, father." Lucius joined him at his desk.

It was apparent that Count Gabriel had calmed down since yesterday and he soon began to tell the story in much greater detail than the Black Rose Knights.

Lucius didn't think that he'd be interested in it, having heard it already from the knights prior but it was still better to hear the account from the person himself.

Once the conversation reached its end, Count Gabriel thanked Lucius for listening to his story.

"Not a problem, father." Lucius said.

"It infuriated me when those knights were unwilling to move right away." Count Gabriel said. "I know that they're doing their job, but you were able to discover that it was the Bergan's Band doing."

"Indeed. And now I can offer someone who will confirm what I told you, father. I'm sure that this will clear things up."