Chapter 25: D-Day (2)

Count Rubel still felt distrustful of Arthur. However, a famous guild on the Gigana Continent had intervened because of this event. So, he couldn't help but obey that man out of curiosity.

At night, it was still a few hours before the day changed. Count Rubel was asked by Dean to come to the Forest Green Inn. He had to meet with the other team first.

Even though at that time, Count Rubel was already wearing his pajamas and preparing to sleep. However, he was called suddenly by someone famous. Obviously, for him, it was time to show his pluses.

Taking Roby, who was disguised as a royal knight, Count Rubel rode the horse-drawn carriage to Britney Main Street. Fortunately, there weren't too many people passing by that night because it was late.

In front of the inn, as usual, he was greeted by the innkeeper and asked to go straight upstairs. There were several people dressed as assassins on the first floor chatting over tea.

That three floor inn was filled with people covering their clothes. When he reached the second floor, Roby was greeted by several of his friends and continued to take Count Rubel to a room.

In the room, there were Leon, Dean and a girl who had covered herself with a cloak. Count Rubel could see Dean's habit of staring out the window.

"Leon, what brings me here?"

Count Rubel looked at the girl who was eating her dinner. That girl had her back to him as she focused on eating at the table. Leon was also taking notes at the table and was pointing at her.

"Oh, t-this is the p-person you should bring later. S-she c-can detect which ones are strange or negative." Leon pointed at the girl politely.

That girl coughed and drank the water on her desk. Then she turned around and said, "I-I'm Cindy-"

The moment she saw Count Rubel's face, Cindy coughed and tried to drink again. Her body was trembling and she sank deeper into her robes. Leon who saw this panicked.

"H-hey, C-Cindy, what's wrong?" Leon immediately hugged Cindy and asked what happened to her. He tried to pat Cindy's back.

Count Rubel was immediately confused. "Why? What did I do—I mean, what's your problem with me?"

Cindy hiccupped. She returned Leon's hug. Count Rubel immediately glared at Leon, making that timid man also want to cry.

Leon stole a glance at Dean, asking his leader for help. Dean just sighed then approached the two who were hugging.

That man showed his eyes that turned into beast mode. Then, his right hand that turned bigger and almost had sharp nails coming out, held Cindy's shoulder. It was done so that Cindy felt comfortable with the warmth given by Dean and he could also guess what the girl was feeling.

"Whigeris ...."

Dean then looked at Count Rubel. Of course that man being stared at was surprised to see Dean's vertical eyes. Those were the eyes of beast people that he was used to seeing in magazines or books.

Dean could feel Cindy's trauma. He had gotten a report from Team C that Whigeris, one of the eight Sword Masters on the Gigana Continent came there. Cindy was almost killed by the Sword Master.

Count Rubel's red hair was similar to Whigeris'. Of the same style, but almost a different color. However, it was indoors at night, of course the color was more faint.

Dean returned to normal and asked Leon to call Roby. However, Leon was hugged tightly by Cindy. That made things troublesome.

"Never mind, should I give in?" Count Rubel chirped in annoyance. He took a handkerchief from his pocket and tied it to his head.

The handkerchief was able to cover Count Rubel's head. Although the red color of his hair still stood out, at least a lot of it was covered.

Dean patted Cindy again. "Cindy, there's no Whigeris here. Take a look, he's Count Rubel of the Marithus Kingdom. He said you might recognize him."

Cindy slowly looked back. Her gray eyes that were red from holding back tears met Count Rubel's green pupils. That girl saw Count Rubel's face well.

"You... that brute?"

Count Rubel was surprised by the call issued by Cindy. That girl was also surprised to see someone she recognized at that moment.

It was an old story, where Baron Esperen, a noble who only took care of a small village, received news of a visit from a noble above him. The first meet of them.

***

Baron Esperen smiled when he saw the young man in front of him. He did his best to look good in front of the man because in the future, they would continue to work together.

"This is the residence of a Baron? Interesting. I heard that you also have two wives. Are you properly taking care of your village?" The young man said haughtily.

Baron Esperen frantically replied. "Of course, Young Master-nim! You can see the books of the Esperen Household as well. However, that only applies to Count Rubel-nim."

The young man said, "Though I got the preparatory class as a successor faster than the other nobles. Then, please find me a good place for cloth production."

"Yes, Young Master-nim!" Baron Esperen simply left the living room. He did not have good etiquette in front of the young man.

The young man called Young Master left from there. He was curious about the Baron's small castle. The servants there were also very few, you could count them on your fingers. Unlike his house which was probably twice as big as that place.

The Young Master stepped into the main hallway as he had come in the beginning. He returned there because he heard a strange noise behind the stairs of the main hallway.

Ssshhh ....

The strange sound became more and more audible. The Young Master could see a small door there. Then he opened the lock.

Squeak!

The door opened, revealing a little girl, still a child, sitting in the small cupboard. That girl had pink hair and light gray eyes.

Baron Esperen glanced over. He then looked at the Young Master. "Young Master-nim, I found a suitable land to build a factory—"

Brugh!

The Young Master punched Baron Esperen until that man fell down. He arrogantly said, "Hey, you can't even take care of your family members properly. Do you also take care of your little village properly?"

Baron Esperen defended himself. "No! I take care of my family properly." Then he saw the little girl at the open cupboard door.

"I-it's the servant girl! We just can't discipline her! I'm sorry!" Baron Esperen then knelt down to beg for forgiveness.

The Young Master immediately grinned. He stomped on Baron Esperen's foot and said, "Hey, at the academy, I was known as that jerk Felix. However, I'm not as much of an asshole as you are!"

He pointed at the little girl. "One look at her and it's obvious that she's your daughter. You have the same hair and eyes! Moreover, that color is a rare color in the kingdom. Do you want to evade me?"

"P-pardon me, Young Master-nim! Argh!" Baron Esperen cried as his hand was continuously stepped on by the Young Master.

Felix Rubel grinned even more. "If you're not ready to take care of a child, don't make one, your fucking asshole. Cut off your genitals instead of harming others."

He looked at the little girl and turned to Baron Rubel. "Where are the maps and land titles? I'll sign the purchase quickly. Don't you ever ruin my mood."

***

At that time, 12-year-old Cindy Esperen was asked to wear a wig so as not to be mistaken for the illegitimate daughter of Baron Esperen. However, that girl was already aware of the circles growing within her and strengthening them. She had already reached circle 3 by then and could use disguise magic on herself.

Count Rubel, who had not yet met Crown Prince Xavier at that time, was still a jerk and did not two-faced. How could the young master who was 19 years old at the time, now be known as a competent and good count? At that time, Cindy knew that Felix Rubel's true nature was an brute person.

Now it was Count Rubel who understood why Cindy had called him a brute. He immediately said, "Yes, that's the old me. Humans have all changed. I'm still like that, but at least in front of people, I'm very nice."

Yes, the old Count Rubel had never seen someone with a title above him. Until he finally met Crown Prince Xavier, he behaved better, at least in the eyes of the public. He also became a good sycophant as well.

Dean sighed again, he returned to his position at the window, but still continued talking. "Cindy will join the team that saved the nobles later. The assault team that kidnapped the demon race is down below."

Count Rubel asked, "In that case, who will deal directly with the demon race if it is really summoned?"

Leon stammered, "Ah, i-it's L-Leader-nim himself. He's the most powerful among the guild members."

Count Rubel nodded. Then he looked at Cindy again. "In that case, I'll see you tomorrow."

Since the conversation that night was over. Count Rubel returned to the palace and went to bed to recharge for tomorrow.

Then, the long-awaited day arrived. The day when the summoning ritual was performed and Arthur was ready to sit in the chair with the magic circle.