Chapter 75 - New Roles (2)

Silently following behind Calina as she headed to her room—Phan Tsu was busy with another class—I examined my mental state and the image of my magic capacity, a growing pool or well from which I could draw. Both felt tainted. I sensed a small, gnawing darkness at the barest edges. It wasn’t something noticeable without deep introspection, but it bothered me.

During the time I wasn’t in control of myself, I’d gleaned some memories from my other self. Nothing useful, though. All the memories were of cold darkness. I wondered about the extra memories and the sealed ones he had mentioned. What were they? Was he the true owner of the black dragon body I had reincarnated into? The dragon soul I had replaced?

"Verath," Calina’s voice came, mixed with emotions.

It snapped me back to attention. “What is it?” I asked, following her into her room. She stood beside the desk, gripping the chair’s frame tightly. Her room was similar to mine, though slightly more furnished. Torn pieces of paper, what looked to be a letter, lay on the desk.

“I have to go back to Asolance, Verath,” Calina said, her voice barely a whisper. “I have to go back now that I’ve confirmed you’ve returned…”

“Why?”

Calina froze, as if encased in ice. A long, palpable silence filled the room.

“Did something happen?” I asked, though it was more of a statement than a question.

She took three steps toward me, standing only a step or two away. Looking up, she whispered, “I received a letter two days ago saying all of my family has been killed. Father is bedridden from a poisoned injury, and only my little brother has survived.”

Burying her face against my chest, she murmured in a muffled voice, “Let me stay like this for a while…”

I wasn’t sure how I felt about Calina crying softly against my chest. In a way, she reminded me of Rhea, the desert nomad who had been my slave. The one who had put up a brave front, tempered by the desert sun, her bronze skin glinting in the light.

Humans. They cry too much.

Even when I was human, I never cried… not once. Not even as a baby.

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The next day—after I had told the assassins to take up residence at the Silver Beauty inn in Asolance—Calina and I left on horseback toward Asolance. It took us perhaps three days. But by that time, the chains of events had already been set into motion. It would have eventually happened sooner or later, but my other self had set the board aflame. The puppets had started moving and their many puppeteers were slinking in the shadows of Shail Kingdom.

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[136 Days Remaining]

“Knight Commander Verath,” Orik said, saluting me with a fist toward his heart, a fashion which was reserved only for those who were knight commanders and above. I was the leader of three thousand soldiers, a Gold Knight Commander, above a bronze and silver commander.

“Speak, Orik,” I said, knowing that the knight would not treat me informally, despite my continual protests.

“Baroness Calina wants to see you, commander. She is in the First Manor House, the communal room.”

I nodded and dismissed Orik with a thank you, before making my way toward the First Manor House.

Most of the soldiers who had been part of my subjugation squad were now part of the three thousand soldiers I commanded. There were two Gold Knight Commanders for each region of Shail Kingdom, and I was one of the eight Gold Knight Commanders in the whole Shail Kingdom. Not even the generals, who was a position above me, could command me. I was only answerable to the king and Calina.

To give you a picture of the military numbers of Shail Kingdom, I would estimate that a little over 20% of the population are soldiers. Of course, that is disregarding the growing population, the strangers, the children, and the travelers from other places. You could thus imagine how the about three hundred thousand soldiers (mercenaries, warriors, and other fighting men included) are spread out throughout Shail Kingdom. Needless to say, the central region where King Balan resided had the most soldiers.

I entered the communal room, the place where Baroness Calina addressed the concerns of other nobles or even the commoners and artisans whose requests had been accepted.

Ah, nobles. They were the cause of the blood on my hands, and the cause for the whispered nickname behind my back. After I had quelled a few rebellious nobles, beheaded them personally, to be precise, and quelled some unrest by a few groups of hundreds of commoners, the northern region was, for the most part, quiet now. The eastern region, however, was a creek full of shit, to put it kindly.

After the four members of the Council of Merchants and the eastern baron had been killed by my counterpart, the region was in a turmoil. The king himself had to send an army to quell some of the rebellions. One of the king's personal general was still stuck cleaning up the after-math of the battles and the new sparks that had sprouted from the ashes.

As for the southern and western region, the barons had survived the assassination attempts and had taken measures to stop any further turmoil.

Veena's father, however, was still nowhere to be seen, even though I had destroyed any roots Malice had in the northern region. It was much easier to do so after I had Baroness Calina's blessings. An army of thousands, let me tell you, can cover a lot of areas—much more than I could. It was also faster since I knew most of their locations with the three assassins behind my back.

In the large communal room furnished with many heavy, exotic rugs, elaborate chairs, and tables with bowls of fruits and light snacks, I walked toward the center of the room. Then I bowed toward my only superior in the northern region.

“Baroness Calina, as you bid, I have come.”

Calina gave out a brilliant smile, though her eyes and face were tired. They were not as bad as when her father had died after the week we had arrived in Asolance, and she had been thrust into baronial matters, forced to take up her role as the heir to the Guardian of the North of Shail Kingdom. The only survivor of the family other than Calina was her ten year old brother, Lord Gustav Serle.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, White Demon,” the man beside Calina said. He had bluntly said the whispered nickname I had received during the turmoil state of the northern region. Pretty brave, considering that not many people dared to say that nickname to my face.

“Likewise,” I said, inflecting my tone with inquisitiveness while shaking his out-held hand.

“My name is Caldun, and I have humbly come to see Baroness Calina and you with the request of aid.”

“Yes, yes, no need to repeat yourself, Caldun,” Calina said. “I have already accepted your request, but instead of lending you a thousand soldiers, I think five hundred should be suitable since you have Verath along with you.”

I wondered in amusement inside my mind, while my outer self was a display of indifference. Calina, despite the fact that she barely even knew who I was, fully trusted me. I suppose, in a way, it was somewhat reasonable since I had been protecting her, everything from assassins to rebellious nobles.

“Hmm, five hundred soldiers...I am not sure that will be enough,” Caldun said hesitantly.

“Clearly, you have never met my Verath here. Do not worry,” Calina said. Her body gesture indicated a complete trust and full reassurance in me.

After Caldun and I exited the communal room, bidding farewell to Calina, we headed to the garrisons where my three thousand soldiers were staying.

“I still do not know why you would want me along for this 'aid' of yours,” I said.

Caldun gave a small shrug, and his hands, probably consciously, went up to touch the large scar than ran across his left cheek. “You will like it. It should be much harder than killing nobles. What you will helping my group do, as the leader of one of the groups in my organization, is to kill a nest of Devourers.”

I was a little surprised at his words, though I did not show it. What were Devourers, anyway?

“Your organization?” I asked.

“Yes, my organization. It's pretty secretive, so you probably have not heard of it.” Caldrun showed a small grim, smile. “We call it the Grim Hunters.”