He gritted his teeth, took out the letter the emperor wanted him to send to Aleric and said to one of the captains, "Go and send this to Lord Aleric, say what the emperor wants. Do not reveal anything about us. Lord Aleric does not know we are on his side. We are just a mere force of Lord Silas."
One of the captains nodded then disappeared into thin air, heading towards the Red Fort.
Aleric opened the letter.
He read it once. His brow furrowed.
His fist tightened. The paper crumpled in his hand.
"Hmph," he said. "Me? Your dog?"
He looked toward the capital, though it was far beyond the desert.
"Dream on, Emperor Caelum," he said. "Even your ancestors never made my family bend. And you dare to disrespect us now?"
The general beside him did not speak. He waited.
Aleric threw the letter to the ground.
"You want me to betray my own blood," he said. "Do you think I am the only one who carries the name Valerius?"
He smiled, but it was cold.
"Wait," he said. "He is fully healed now. He will show you what Valerius is made of."
Aleric turned away from the general. He looked at the village inside the Red Fort.
Children were laughing. Torin was in the dust with them, playing with a wooden sword. The villagers were working and smiling. This was the same village they had left a few days ago for the archduchy.
Aleric looked past the walls. The vast desert stretched to the horizon. That desert connected to the Beast Empire.
"Let them come," he said quietly. "I will stand alone in their path."
His sword hummed at his waist. It felt his anger.
The general stepped forward. "My lord, what is your answer?"
Aleric did not look back. "Tell the emperor nothing. Let him wait."
The general bowed and left.
The envoy from the capital did not leave either. He walked through the fort. He turned into a small alley. He stopped.
On the wall was a mark. It was a small whip, carved into the stone.
The envoy looked around. He took out an emblem from his coat. It showed the same whip.
The air behind him shifted.
A woman appeared. It was Selene. Level 74. One of the 12 Shadows of Silas.
The envoy dropped to one knee at once.
"Lady Selene," he said.
"Speak," she said.
He told her everything. He told her about the emperor's order. He told her about Hadrian's anger. He told her about the letter to Aleric.
Selene listened. Her face was still at first. Then she frowned.
"Caelum wants Lord Aleric to break his own house," she said.
"Yes, my lady," the envoy said.
Selene was quiet for a moment. Then she smiled.
"Tell Hadrian to do what the emperor told him to do," she said. "He does not need to reveal us yet."
The envoy nodded. "As you command."
Selene's smile changed. It became sharp and strange.
"And tell Hadrian something else," she said. "Prepare the Whip Shadow Guards except from red cloaks."
The envoy looked up. "My lady?"
Selene laughed softly. "Let me give Emperor Caelum a huge surprise. He will never forget it in his life."
The envoy bowed his head low. "Yes, Lady Selene."
Selene stepped back. She was gone in a blink.
The envoy stayed kneeling for a few breaths. Then he stood, put the emblem away, and disappeared into the alley as well.
On the other side of the Imperium, inside Argent Spire Academy, the bell rang.
Silas walked out of the classroom first, Jacob followed behind him. Both of them looked extremely tired.
Jacob yawned, now at level 16. He stretched his arms. "My brain hurts more than my whole body," he said, annoyed.
Silas chuckled quietly and answered him back, "This is because you didn't sleep well last night."
They had not slept properly yesterday. Last night they were not in the dorms. They were in a dungeon fighting monsters alongside their boyfriends.
The whole night they had raided with Rhys, Kael, Theron and Draven. The fight was long and tiring. The loot was normal for Silas and Rhys and Kael, but for others it was a huge gain. The sleep they got was almost nothing. They only slept for 2 hours.
Jacob rubbed his eyes. "Remind me why we said yes to Rhys at midnight."
Silas chuckled, "Because his boyfriend found a few dungeons at midnight suddenly."
"And as we agreed before to raid some dungeons before I go back to my family a few days later, we agreed easily."
They walked down the stone steps toward the courtyard. Other students passed them, full of energy. Silas and Jacob moved slowly.
Silas opened his status window out of habit. The blue light flashed in front of him.
[Silas - Level 20]
EXP: 98%
He stared at it for a second.
"Almost there," he muttered.
Jacob looked over. "Level 21?"
Silas nodded. "One more good fight. Then I get the class change."
Jacob whistled low. "First class change. That is big. You have been waiting for that since level 10. But unlike us who already entered the next class, why didn't you enter that class yet? Is it because of your divine affinity?"
"I don't know, maybe it is because of it," Silas said. He closed the status window. "Once I get the new class, I get the first skill with it."
"What do you think it will be?" Jacob asked.
Silas thought about it. He did not answer right away. Far away in the capital, his Whip Shadow Guards were moving. Far away in the desert, Aleric was holding a crumpled letter. Silas did not know any of those details. He already send one of his shadows to protect Aleric.
He just looked tired, like any other student after a dungeon raid.
"Something useful," Silas said finally. "I hope."
Jacob clapped him on the shoulder. "Come on. Let us eat before Kael eats everything or feed it to Rhys. Then we can sleep for a day."
Silas smiled. "A few hours will do."
After breakfast, Draven took Silas to his room while Theorn accompanied Jacob and Kael took Rhys's hand toward the dorm room. Rhys, Jacob and Silas hadn't moved from their dorm room yet. They decided to stay there till now.
When Silas heard a screech over his head in the open, where they were walking toward the dorm, he frowned, looked up, then put his finger to his mouth and whistled.
The beautiful red bird landed on his hand that he held out for the bird. The big bird landed easily on his hand, while everyone looked at the bird warily. They couldn't feel this bird's level at all, so they got uncomfortable in front of this bird.
Silas untied the letter and let the bird fly again.
Everyone was waiting for this letter. Silas opened it.
[Dear brother,
It's been a long time since I talked to you. Did you miss me yet? ..... Sorry, sorry, don't tear this letter yet. First read it clearly, then tear it up.
The details are confirmed. I'll take care of the person involved in our territory. I already sent a letter to Sylveria. She'd take care of the other one who was responsible for Sylveria Archduchy.
But for your side, if you want, I could take care of it. But I don't think you'll let me handle your matters. It is Margrave Arcon Theros, who is the one who infected those dungeons with dark element and even used those black guards...
Take care of yourself, and I heard some details about brother Aleric. I'm not mentioning them here. Maybe you'll get news soon.
Ronald]
Silas clenched his fist. He really wanted to punch Ronald in the face. The one he hated most is this cousin of his. Although he knows that information from him is the most accurate one.
He looked at everyone grimly and said, "It is Margrave Arcon Theros."
Everyone's eyes widened. Margrave Arcon is one of the prestigious nobles in the Imperium, and he is under Archduke Valerius. If he is the one who orchestrated that matter, then they have already infiltrated many noble houses.
Draven asked grimly, "What about the others?"
Silas shook his head. "He mentioned that he'd take care of the others. He asked me to take care of this margrave."
Draven clenched his fist in frustration. "But he is a noble and we are commoners."
Kael's face darkened too.
He was not just anyone who doesn't know about nobles. He was the direct heir of a ducal house. He already held the title of count. He knew how nobles worked.
He shook his head slowly. "But Silas," he said, "this is already out of our hands. I don't have the power to arrest him right now, because I left my house."
His voice was quiet. He looked frustrated.
Jacob and Theron stood beside him. Their faces were grim as well.
Theron was a commoner. Jacob was too. For them, a margrave was untouchable.
"A margrave is too high," Theron said softly. "We are commoners. We can't even think about moving against a high-ranking noble."
Jacob did not speak, but his jaw was tight.
Then Theron looked up. He had an idea.
"Why don't we inform the emperor?" he suggested. "It's his nation. He would do everything to protect it."
Jacob's eyes lit up. He nodded quickly and looked around at the others, hoping someone would agree.
The group went quiet for a moment.
Then Rhys broke the silence.
His face was grim. His voice was flat.
"He won't," Rhys said.
Everyone turned to him.
"He doesn't care about the three archduchies at all," Rhys continued. "Sometimes he doesn't even care about his own family."
Jacob frowned. Theron looked confused. Kael raised an eyebrow. Draven just stared.
Only Silas did not look surprised.
Only Silas knew the truth. Rhys was the seventh child of Emperor Caelum. But he was not a legitimate prince. His mother was a commoner.
Years ago, to hide the shame, the emperor had ordered soldiers to kill everyone in that house. They killed Rhys's mother too. They killed everyone to hide everything.
After that, Rhys was taken back to the Imperium. He did not grow up with love. He grew up with insults. He grew up with whispers about his birth. The other princes and princesses never liked him. They never accepted him.
Silas looked at Rhys now. Rhys was clenching his teeth. His fists were tight at his sides. His shoulders were shaking a little.
Silas stepped closer. He put a hand gently on Rhys's shoulder.
"Don't worry," Silas said quietly. "I'll take care of him."
Before Rhys could answer, Draven moved fast. He grabbed Silas's hand.
"No, babe!" Draven said. His voice was sharp with worry. "It is dangerous. And you're not even a high level yet."
Silas just looked at him calmly.
Rhys spoke again. His voice was steady now.
"Don't worry, Draven," Rhys said. "Silas is not as weak as you think he is."
He looked straight at Silas.
"No one here knows just how terrifying he is."
Others all turned to look at Silas in confusion.
They had guessed by now that Silas came from a noble family. His manners, his calm, his secrets. But they did not know which family. They did not know his real name.