CH 42 - The First Funeral (Part 6)

Remlend had worked in the Frey household for two years, one of which he had spent attending to Luca Frey.

In those two years, especially this past year, Remlend surmised the young master to be… an idiot.

Luca Frey constantly pulled stupid pranks, skipped all of his lessons, and only seemed to care about his appearance. However, the most extraordinary part was how blindly ignorant he was of his family's position and dealings. Even the youngest Frey children, Elda and Jarvis, were conscious of the Frey Merchant's involvements. On the other hand, Luca was clearly overly pampered and shielded growing up, to the point that he was entirely oblivious to the dark realities of his family.

The Frey Merchant Guild was a notorious powerhouse gaining power every year. Terrell Frey was ruthless in how he ran the Merchant Guild, and Elizabeth Frey's underground connections made their business flourish; any obstacles were conveniently taken care of from the shadows. Their first-born son, Micah Frey, was even more ambitious than his parents. He had taken on many family duties since he was a mere teen. Now with his engagement to Adovoria's Crown Princess Evelyn, there was no telling how far the Frey's influence was going to spread. There was much concern among other powerhouses that the Frey household was growing too powerful, and that's where Remlend came in.

Remlend was an observer. He didn't interfere. He simply reported to his masters all that went on in the Frey household regarding the three head Freys: Terrell, Elizabeth, and Micah. Luca and the other two Frey children were not part of his contract and, thus, not part of his observation logs.

However, Luca had changed seemingly overnight as of last morning. And it was alarming just how much he had changed.

"Young master, I'm impressed," Remlend said. "You are unusually calm this time around despite the sudden attack."

"Remlend, did you bring something to drink?" Luca asked.

Remlend pulled out a metal flask of water and extended it to Luca.

"I'm not worried," Luca muttered. "It's the bandits that were fools to attack."

Remlend watched the young master drink the water. The carriage rocked from an explosion, but rather than being frightened, Luca had an expression of someone annoyed.

How unlike the usual young master.

Remlend was astonished when he heard how Luca had killed Kaiden yesterday morning without so much as a flinch. However, seeing firsthand Luca's complete disregard for violence was an altogether different matter. It sent a shiver up his spine.

Luca's demeanor was entirely different from the conduct Remlend had witnessed about a year back, the last time he had come as Luca's attendant to the Town of Ascot. Back then, the young master was shaking and crying the whole time as the carriage windows were painted red from the battle outside.

It was the first time he had experienced an attack of such scale when visiting his grandmother, and it made such an impression on Luca that he refused to ever travel outside the capital again.

The carriage rocked with yet another explosion, and blood splattered across the window.

"Tsk." Luca's golden eyes gazed with disgust at the blood, and he pulled out two white handkerchiefs scented in peppermint.

He placed one to his nose and the other atop the little yellow chick beside him.

"Children shouldn't see or smell such things," Luca mumbled to the bird.

"Peep!" the little yellow chick chirped back.

I had thought Micah always held his younger brother in higher regard than he deserved, but perhaps he knew something others didn't?

Apart from starting his day by killing someone, Luca didn't have his usual spoiled demeanor and lost the childish twinkle in his eyes. He had a seriousness to him that was bizarrely uncharacteristic given his past behavior.

He still skipped out on all his lessons, but he occupied his time going to peculiar places he'd never gone and interacting with dangerous people he had no prior connection to. He had met with the likes of Natalia Ashford and Kathy. He was even responsible for securing Sarina Ashfallow, going now as Sarka Jarbez, into the Frey's influence.

Remlend looked up and down at the young master. He didn't even care about his appearance; Luca had a red velvet jacket over what appeared to be an outfit meant for exercise. Even his hair was barely brushed.

It's as if he'd undergone a drastic life-altering experience overnight.

Remlend gazed at Luca's golden eyes.

Perhaps it's the Golden Eye Curse at work?

Remlend was familiar with curses, having inherited a nasty curse of his own, but one that he managed to turn into his greatest strength. However, as a youth, he had read up on various other ailments when he initially hoped to break free of his own curse. The one curse that stood out to him was the Golden Eye Curse.

Those born with golden eyes had a forty percent chance of growing up either brilliant beyond all measure, or going completely mad. In many cases neither scenario occurred, and the person lived a regular life, but all of the historically recorded cases usually focused on those whose lives ended in genius or madness.

Perhaps that is why Micah had been so attentive to his brother? Did he possibly know that the curse would activate for Luca?

"Ah. Is it finally over with?" Luca grumbled and peeked outside.

Remlend adjusted the curtain for himself and noted that the outside was littered with bodies. Small rivers and pools of blood surrounded the cobbled road as if a red rain had passed through the area.

"Remlend, could you go out and see when the carriage will be fixed, and we can continue our travels?" Luca spoke through his peppermint-scented white handkerchief.

"Most certainly, young master Luca," Remlend replied and stepped out of the carriage.

His boots landed in a red and sticky puddle.

I'll have to wipe that off before I get back into the carriage. The young master would not appreciate the smell.

It was possible to smell the battle aftermath from inside the carriage, but now that he was outside, the smell of human flesh and innards was intolerable.

"HA! I got twenty-four this time! That's a new record for me." Nirre gleefully wiped down her bloodied sword beside the carriage. "Blake, what's your count this time?"

"..." Blake quietly doused off his own sword with a flask of liquid. He didn't share her high spirit and replied in a weary voice. "Twenty-seven."

"Agh! You have me beat. But next time, I bet I'll get more than you."

"..."

The Frey guards view bandit attacks as a sport to see who can kill more, yet the bandits never learn.

Nirre noted Remlend's presence, and her expression changed. "Oh no. I forgot about the young master. Is he alright?"

"He is doing well," Remlend replied. "He was wondering when the carriage will be fixed and we can head back out."

Nirre gazed at the carriage holding Luca and seemed to notice the broken window and wheel. "Damn it, Blake. You were supposed to protect the carriage. Look at that."

She pointed at the damage.

"..." Blake side-eyed the carriage. "It's the people inside that matter, do they not? Who cares about the outside. The young master is alive and unharmed, is he not?"

"Don't you know what happened last time??" Nirre hissed. "Young master Luca was so frightened from all the rocking and breaking that he has not visited his grandmother in a whole year. Young master Micah probably had us go to prevent last year's fiasco."

"You said he is doing well?" Blake asked Remlend in a tired voice.

"Yes indeed, the young master was unaffected this time," Remlend replied.

"See?" Blake turned to Nirre. "And we have repairing mana stones on hand for a reason."

"How long will it take for the cleanup and repairs?" Remlend asked.

"About an hour. We need to move all the bodies too." Nirre pointed at the carcasses that were already being relocated by the coachmen. "And we need to wait for Henry. He went chasing after the last guy into the forest. Hopefully, he didn't go too far. We don't have antidotes for the poisons deep inside."

Remlend gazed into the darkness of the forest beside the road. The gnarled oak trees curled over one another and towered into the sky with unnaturally black and gray leaves. It was eerie how quiet it was inside. No birds. No bugs. It was impossible to hear Henry and the remaining bandit from inside.

Tap. Tap.

He rapped the carriage window. Luca pulled aside the window curtain from the other side.

"It should be just an hour, young master Luca," Remlend informed him.

"Good," Luca said. "Let me know when we're ready to leave. In the meantime, if you could leave me alone inside here?"

"Very well, young master Luca." Remlend bowed.

* ~ * ~ * ~ *

I had an hour to kill and had zero interest in stretching my legs through the blood-soaked ground outside.

It was the perfect time to ask the System more questions, especially since after seeing Natalia Ashford, the only current piece of information regarding the missing prince was that he had disappeared while inside the Ashford Bakery.

"Hey, System," I whispered. "I want to hear more of what you know about Prince Chase Daylan."

[ Hello Luca, I can most certainly share additional information with you. What did you wish to learn?"]

"You said that two previous Players had come across Prince Chase Daylan two times, and one Player met him three times. What happened in those interactions?"

[ The first time the Players came by the prince, it was always in the year 787. There was no interaction. ]

"What were the circumstances of those three instances then?" I inquired. "787 is when the war will occur and when I died in my original life."

[ It was during the final battle that he had come. He had a picnic near the battle atop one of the abandoned towers. ]

I blinked in confusion.

"A… picnic?"

I heard the rumors about the mad Daylan prince, but to go to another country and have a picnic when a battle took place was remarkably baffling.

Did he have a picnic during the battle when I fought as well? I honestly didn't bother looking up at towers, and was far more focused on the enormous Kobar Empire's approaching army.

[ Yes, it appears he came to watch the battle unfold. He even brought a pair of binoculars. ]

I ran my fingers through my hair and let out a deep sigh.

Crazy. This guy was absolutely mad, but I needed to figure out where he went and what I had changed yesterday that caused his disappearance. He can go have another picnic in the future if he so wishes, but I need him now.

"What about the second time the Players met him?"

[ The second time was a subsequent round in the year 786. The prince arrived at the training grounds with a small army of his own and massacred everyone there, one by one, including the Players. Two of the Players dropped out of the game after that. ]

"What?" I felt considerably more confused. "Did the Players do something to offend him or the Daylan Dynasty?"

[ No, there was nothing of the sort. ]

"And you didn't know his name after that?" I asked. "How?"

I couldn't understand how none of the three Players bothered to learn his name after being killed.

[ He didn't arrive under the banner of a Daylan Prince. He came as the leader of a zealous group of marauders. ]

"Fine. What happened on the third instance?" I asked. "You said only one Player continued after that."

[ Yes, only one Player continued and came across him again in the next round, Round 63, in the year 784. ]

I frowned.

"That's when the game starts, from what I recall."

[ Indeed, bravo, you remember! ]

I couldn't hear the System's tone and could only read the text, but I felt it was mocking me like usual.

[ Indeed. Five days after the game started, the prince appeared in Genise, disguised yet again as someone else, and murdered the Player. ]

Suspicious. It was incredibly suspicious.

"And you didn't think to find out what his name was after that?"

If I was killed by someone, especially if it was twice, I'd want to know who it was.

[ The Player didn't inquire in time, and after that round, in all subsequent rounds, they never came across Prince Chase Daylan ever again. I only observe and record what the Players do and only within the scope of the allowed Game mechanics. ]

I rubbed my eyes. I felt a headache coming over me again.

Chase Daylan was a much more perplexing person than I initially thought. I had thought I was dealing with just a missing prince that would eventually go mad, but there was another rather unexpected layer to him.

I opened the window and gazed out the repaired and cleaned window. My golden eyes reflected back at me.

Chase Daylan, just who or what exactly are you?