The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger

‘As expected, a warrior and a commoner’s skills are worlds apart.’

‘We’re just farmers from the countryside. The warrior nobles are literally human weapons.’

‘Now that I think about it, it might be safer to simply take this and quit now.’

‘I can’t believe I thought of breaking into the baroness’s mansion. All that hunger made me crazy.’

Azadine’s brutal thrashing had sobered all of them instantly.

“It looks like there’s no one else to hire but me.”

Azadine put his arm around Belldon’s shoulder.

“Okay, then. Now hire me.”

“Wa-wait, how can you decide this on your own? Besides, if you can pay them silver coins, then…”

“Of course, I deserve a higher reward. Shall we negotiate the compensation? Okay then, Mr. Employer, I request that you introduce yourself.”

“Uh…”

Azadine strongly drew Belldon closer. With their bodies right against each other, the latter could feel Azadine’s enormous strength. If Belldon rejected him at this point, he would likely get his spine crushed.

“Someone sa-save m…”

“That’s why I’m here to help, right? Come on, I’ll save you, so let’s go, okay?”

Azadine cheekily dragged Belldon away and headed for the Count’s castle.

“…….”

Dame Maya and Sir Zebec were baffled at what had happened in front of them.

‘You’re the one who castrated Young Master Kozel! What do you plan on doing by meeting him again?’

On top of that, Azadine was also a member of the Messenger Clan and was one of the Emperor’s messengers. While his intentions were still unclear, shouldn’t they stop him?

Sir Zebec did not move as he struggled with doubt. By that point, Azadine was already well on his way with Belldon in tow.

With Belldon at his side, Azadine was able to easily pass through the gates of the Count’s castle.

“Ah, Mr. Beldon, who is he?”

“Well, he’s a guest of the Young Master.”

“I see.”

Even the soldiers inside the fortress cleared the way for them without any fuss. Thanks to this, Azadine could see the castle’s interior, which he had failed to do so thus far.

‘Phew, great. Just a look inside the castle is a huge advantage.’

To infiltrate the castle at night required knowing the floor plan beforehand. Even for a messenger of the Emperor, it was reckless to attempt to sneak into a building he had no information about while evading any soldiers inside.

Unless he wanted to murder every soldier he ran into, only a thorough exploration before the infiltration would allow him to search the castle for his target later without risking capture.

“Young Master does not meet his guests unannounced. For now, wait here.”

Belldon ushered Azadine and his party into the parlor.

“Understood.”

Azadine smiled while he marked his time in the parlor. He could sense intense black magic through his vision.

“There’s something strange here.”

It seemed that Azadine was not the only one sensing it, as Mediam found their surroundings questionable.

“It reeks of blood.”

Ismail smelled it as well.

“I’m guessing the Count is deeply enamored by black magic. There’s a rumor that he has let a witch reside in his castle, so there’s no mistaking it.”

“But is it okay to just barge in here without a plan?”

“It’s fine. It’s way better than sneaking in at night without a plan. Seeing the interior while the sun is up is such a huge advantage. We have so many options now.”

Azadine reassured him.

A while later, servants and maids from the castle arrived inside the room. Kozel shuffled in later, wearing a cane and with Belldon in support. To cover the face Azadine had ripped off, he wore a jeweled mask and started making a muss.

“I told you to take care of it yourself! Why must I meet swordsmen personally if you’ve hired them?”

“Well, he demanded quite the payment, so it wasn’t a decision I could make alone.”

“How much did he demand, huh?”

“Hello, Young Master.”

“What the hell? Is it just one man? It doesn’t look like there are many people here!”

Blinded by Azadine in the past, Kozel became suspicious as he sensed only a few people inside the parlor.

“We don’t need to hire many people to carry out an assassination. One skilled person is enough. Besides, I believe that rather than an assassin, Young Master, you need an expert with wisdom.”

“Tch. This bastard. Are you trying to haggle with me right now? Wisdom? What the hell are you yapping about?”

“I’ll ask you something first. Why do you want to capture Lord Tarki? Is it just to vent out your anger? Surely you have more important things to do, am I right?”

“…Oi.”

Perhaps offended by the comment, the Young Master Kozel signaled to Belldon.

“Kill this bastard right here.”

“Huh?”

“Right this moment!”

The soldiers stationed outside the parlor immediately stormed in. Armed with thick bardiches, the soldiers lunged at Azadine, but…

-Bam!

He simply somersaulted backward, landed among the soldiers, and lightly kicked them in the head. That light kick was enough to send the helmeted soldiers into the fireplace and through the window sill.

“Well, well.”

Azadine snatched the bardiches away, handed one to Ismail, and thrust the other straight towards Kozel. The blade of the weapon stopped right in front of Kozel’s nose.

“If I were a real assassin, Young Master, you would be dead right now.”

“…….”

“Of course, I don’t hurt my customers.”

Azadine pulled the bardiche back.

“What the hell is this bastard? Did he just defeat the soldiers unarmed?”

The eyeless Kozel asked Belldon, feeling unsettled as a chilly breeze passed by him.

“Yes. They weren’t even a match for him. Th-this man is really…. really strong. If he hadn’t stopped on his own just now, there’s no way we could have stopped him.”

If they offended Azadine at that moment, everyone in that room would be dead. Picking up on this, Belldon naturally shifted his speaking tone to a more respectful tone.

“Hmm, is that so?”

Kozel also changed his mind as he noted Belldon’s polite demeanor. Provoking a man who could kill him at that moment was the same as going into a coffin by himself. Maintaining this contractual situation would give him some sway over Azadine.

“So, what do you want? I assume it’s not just piddling amounts of money you’re after. How much do you want?”

“I want about 50 gold coins.”

“Ha! Are you crazy? I could buy a manor with all that money.”

Kozel snorted at Azadine’s outrageous demand, but Azadine simply laughed and said.

“I bet the Countess would be willing to pay that and more since what she desires more than a simple raid on the Baroness’ mansion.”

“What?”

“Hic?”

These words startled Belldon, who had been Kozel’s aide and nursery brother. As a personal aide, he has had to read the situation his entire life. He immediately discerned the meaning behind those words.

“Oi, what the hell is this bastard even talking about?”

“Master, what he means to say is….”

“What is it?”

“If something were to happen to the Count now, the Countess would replace him as regent, which means she wouldn’t need to send you to the King’s Church….”

Belldon explained this in a roundabout manner.

‘I’ll assassinate the Count, so hire me!’

He couldn’t say that, could he?

‘Amazing.’

Mediam marveled at Azadine’s quick thinking.

‘Since the Young Master Kozel only wanted to hurt Tarki to hurt his anger, he is nothing but an injured dimwit who is becoming hysterical as he is about to lose all his power and money.’

Azadine, however, had managed to transform a brief encounter on the street into an opportunity to infiltrate the castle. He had even audaciously managed to escalate the matter into a potential assassination of the Count.

Sure, he had learned the relationship between the Count and Countess and his heirs from Baroness Nort, but for him to use that information to create this kind of chance in such a short amount of time? His ability was astonishing.

“You’re a madman. So you want me to introduce you to my mother, do you? So you can assassinate my father, huh?”

“If I’m here to take on a job, shouldn’t I be going for bigger fish? Not to mention, this will also be more beneficial for you, Young Master.”

While he was castrated and blind, Kozel was still a nobleman. Since he was now worthless to the Count, it was in the Count’s best interest to be rid of him. However, if the Countess took over as regent, she would need someone as a steward or manager. This was his only chance to stay in Salasma without becoming a priest.

“You’re a complete lunatic. But that’s all right since you seem to have the skill and guts.”

Kozel glanced back at Belldon.

“Oi, get him out of here.”

“Huh?”

“Look, I’ll contact you later. Until then, you can stay at the Blue Rose. Belldon! Get them a room at the Blue Rose!”

“Oh-okay.”

Though he had made this kind of response, Azadine’s suggestion seemed to have sent a chill down Kozel’s spine.

The Blue Rose was a luxurious inn that was visited by the nobility and the wealthy. The Young Master Kozel rented a private room there for a fortune, and it was there that Belldon escorted Azadine and his party.

Seeing how he was making him bide their time in such a secretive place, it was safe to assume that Kozel was already on their side.

“Phenomenal.”

Ismail had no positive feelings for Azadine but couldn’t help but be in awe.

“What? This inn? Well yeah, at Kozel’s age, renting a place like this on a long term is basically like throwing it….”

“Ah, no. I mean, your ability to adapt to changing situations.”

Everyone in the Messenger clan was trained in espionage, disinformation, assassination, and so on. Still, most of it was merely superficial knowledge. However, the improvisation that Azadine had shown just now was lightyears beyond that.

On the way outside of the castle with Belldon, he had gotten another look at the general layout of the building. He also had, for better or worse, created a line of communication with the Countess through Kozel.

On top of that, he had also asked for a map with details of the castle and the positions of the servants from Belldon as they parted. Still, Azadine wasn’t satisfied.

“We can’t let our guard down yet. From the Young Master’s perspective, I would have chopped his head off if he had been hostile towards me in the parlor. So, who knows? He had already moved us to a known inn. He might unleash his soldiers on us. After all, a fight in the parlor would risk his own life, but a fight here would only risk the lives of his soldiers. Besides, who knows if there’s any secret equipment here that would let him gain the upper hand over us?”

With that said, he scanned his surroundings. He had already checked the building’s entrance and exit. He was restless without the Emperor’s Voice to tip him off in case of an ambush.

He glanced outside the building. Every single movement of soldiers outside made him even more tense.

“Ah, damn it. I relied on the Emperor’s Voice too much during the time I was a messenger. With the Emperor’s Voice, the spirit used to tell me if anyone was approaching. As expected, when something disappears, you feel it straight away.”

“The Emperor’s Voice seemed to be of great use to you. Looks like you depended on it quite a lot.”

As he replied to this, Ismail created a divine prophecy and then blew it away.

“You-”

“Yes?”

“Divine prophecy must be a fairly difficult magic, but you are able to use it at your age?”

“You know well for someone who can’t even use magic.”

Ismail sneered.