Derick knew why Azadin was looking at him with suspicion and cleared his throat.
"Look at this."
Derick took off his boots and revealed his ankle. Clinging to it were newly grown tendon-like structures—vivid red tissues that reminded Azadin of the ones he had seen moments ago on the crow, the ones belonging to the spirit called Voice of Arael.
"They're stronger and tougher than before, and the pain is gone. I can return to active duty."
"By betraying your clan?"
"I wasn't the one who betrayed the clan. It was Chief Hatir and the Elders. They were researching black magic. As for Elder Kenahan... he was a vampire. That's why Lady Arael personally executed him."
"So, that's what Arael claims? You didn't see it with your own eyes, did you?"
"But everyone knew that Chief Hatir was researching black magic. It was already a well-known fact that the Chief and the Elder Council had been indulging in their own greed and studying forbidden magic. However..."
"You lacked a rallying point to start a rebellion, and Arael became that rallying point? Is that what you're saying?"
"That's right."
"But I can sense black mana in this too."
Azadin pointed at Derick's ankle. The muscles attached to his body in place of his severed tendons emanated an ominous energy.
"This is the power of green mana, the force that governs the source of life."
"It's mostly green mana, but there's black mana mixed in too."
"You must think I'm a fool. What do you know about magic when you can't even use it?"
"...."
"Even if Lady Arael has dabbled in black magic, it's because Beauty of Nature alone is incomplete for us to become rulers. In the first place, Beauty of Nature was a power given to our clan by the Emperor to enslave us. True power is something that embraces everything."
They had condemned the previous rulers, the Chief and the Elder Council, for using black magic, but now they were defending Arael's possible use of it, saying that the means justified the end for the sake of their clan.
Azadin smirked bitterly at Derick's twisted logic.
"You've completely lost it. When did you even meet Arael and decide to throw in with her?"
"Right after I parted ways with you. I didn't meet Lady Arael directly, but I encountered her voice."
"Lady Arael? Since when did you start calling her that? Weren't you cursing her out before?"
"That was back when I was ignorant. But now, she is a living god, the savior of our clan."
"A loyalist, huh? No, more like a fanatic."
Azadin felt disgusted at how Derick had so shamelessly flipped his stance. But that only proved the extent of Arael's influence.
Even just through her Voice of Arael, she displayed power close to that of a divine being. For the oppressed herald clan, the Aragasa, it was only natural that they saw her as the long-awaited savior.
'No.'
But Azadin could not accept Arael. Was it because she had permanently damaged him? That was part of it, but...
'Arael is too dangerous.'
She was ruthless and destructive.
If one had to describe her nature in a single word, she was a tyrant. She walked the path of conquest, trampling over anything in her way. If she ever harbored ambitions of conquering the entire Hubris Continent, it would bring about a storm of bloodshed.
'Still, I am curious about what kind of proposal she sent.'
Azadin asked Derick.
"So, why did you come to see me? To get me to side with Arael? Then there must be more to it than just that."
"I brought a letter."
"A letter?"
"I'm only supposed to show it to you."
"Let me see."
As Azadin reached out to receive the letter, he flinched. He sensed an unsettling magic energy from it.
'What is this? This is Arael's letter?'
When Azadin hesitated, Derick sneered.
"What's wrong? Are you afraid of your sister's letter?"
"I am."
The ominous power emanating from the letter, and the Voice of Arael...
Arael's abilities were growing ever stronger. At this point, it was questionable whether she was even human. If she were to claim she was a living goddess, there would be no way to deny it.
Azadin took a deep breath and opened the letter. The moment he did, darkness swallowed him whole.
***
"...."
By the time Azadin barely regained his senses, nothing around him had changed.
When the letter's magic pulled him in, he had a direct conversation with Arael.
But Derick, and everyone else nearby, had noticed nothing unusual.
Azadin crumpled the letter.
"You bastard! How dare you—!"
"You crumpled her letter without even reading it!"
To everyone else, it seemed like Azadin had crumpled the letter without even opening it.
"I already read it. The terms were utterly unacceptable, so I rejected them. And even if I did crumple it, so what? Am I not allowed to crumple a letter from my younger sister?"
Derick scoffed.
"Isn't she your older sister?"
"I told you, she's my younger sister."
For those who couldn't comprehend the magic placed on the letter, it only looked like Azadin had insulted it. The men beside Derick reached for their weapons.
"What should we do, Derick?"
"Shall we just kill him now?"
"We can't accept someone like Azadin, even if he shares Lady Arael's blood. He can't be our superior. For the sake of the organization's hierarchy, we need to eliminate the incompetent in advance."
The majority—no, all—of the herald clan held a singular view of Azadin.
They despised him as the son of a traitor.
They scorned him as a failure.
Despite that, they were enraged that he had become a herald through underhanded means.
And yet, Arael personally rose and extended a conciliatory hand toward Azadin.
Could it be that, despite the vast gap between them, there was still some familial affection? Would Azadin, just as he had become a herald through Elder Kazas's connections, once again rise above them through Arael's connections?
That was something the herald clan who had rebelled in Arael's name could never tolerate.
"Haha, this is ridiculous. You've only just started your rebellion, and rather than focusing on stabilizing your organization, you're already worrying about hierarchy? So, are you planning to kill me? Did Arael order it, or is this your own decision? Either way, it doesn't matter. You're underestimating me too much, and you'll pay for it with your bodies."
Azadin, despite his body wracked with muscle pain, circulated the power of Kazas's Haeseo, Beauty of Nature.
The excruciating pain, as if his limbs were being torn apart, made it impossible to move. But by using the breathing technique Kazas had taught him, the pain subsided, and strength returned to his muscles.
He could fight.
Though after the battle, the fatigue and pain would return even worse than before.
However, Derick stopped his subordinates.
"Enough. We're not here to fight."
"What? But…"
"Lord Derick."
"We mustn't fight him. Because Lady Arael truly cares for her younger brother."
Derick forbade them from attacking Azadin.
"What? That bastard—!"
Azadin was furious at Derick for speaking as if Arael cherished him.
Arael cared for him?
What a joke. There had been countless people who had insulted and beaten him, but none had left wounds as severe as Arael had.
And now they were spreading such nonsense for everyone to hear? Just how much mockery would satisfy them?
Even as Azadin radiated killing intent, Derick genuinely seemed unwilling to engage.
"I have no intention of fighting you, Azadin. If you attack, we will use all our strength to escape."
"To that extent? How unexpected."
Azadin was puzzled by Derick's lack of hostility toward him.
'I was planning to teach them a lesson, so why aren't they attacking?'
After reading the letter, Azadin had deliberately crumpled it, hoping to provoke Derick's group and seize the opportunity to put them in their place. But Derick was being too cautious.
Was he wary of Azadin? Or had Arael given him strict instructions? Or perhaps he had other plans entirely?
Whatever the case, as a herald, Azadin could not be the one to start the fight.
"Negotiations have failed. But out of respect for you, Derick, I won't fight. Now, leave."
"You bastard! We're the ones sparing you!"
"A worthless fool like you!"
"A traitor's bloodline!"
"Oh, come on. You're the ones who turned against the clan. And if a traitor's bloodline is so detestable, then isn't Arael the same? The Arael you all worship so much is the daughter of a traitor, and she's committing another rebellion right now, isn't she?"
Azadin pointed out the hypocrisy, but the fanatics of the clan refused to listen.
"We are a revolution!"
"We are the true clan!"
"What a convenient little worldview you've got there."
Azadin sneered at Derick's subordinates.
"Enough. I understand. We will withdraw. But be careful, Azadin. This place, this Salasma, is not safe. Even the regional head made up an excuse and fled—surely you realize what that means? I don't care if you refuse Lady Arael's grace, but I also don't want to be blamed if you suddenly die while I'm around."
"Got it. Now hurry up and leave."
Azadin waved them away like one would shoo away a swarm of gnats.
***
After delivering the letter, Derick's subordinates fumed with rage, feeling that Azadin had humiliated them.
"That arrogant bastard!"
"Are we really going to just leave him alone?"
"That idiot couldn't even string a bow properly when he was a kid! He wet the bed until he was eight!"
Derick's subordinates, having been dismissed outside the manor, were livid over Azadin's audacity.
Among the herald clan, Azadin was considered the lowest of the low—a traitor's son who had failed even the most basic training. And yet, by sheer luck, he had become Elder Kazas's disciple and ascended to the rank of herald. Now, he dared to look down on them?
That sentiment was widespread.
"Idiots."
Derick stopped them.
"Do you even know that Azadin took down more than ten of Arthra's followers?"
"What?"
"In the easternmost public stage station village, he wiped out half the mercenary band following the count's bastard son. Without our intervention."
"T-that's…"
"And don't forget—the young master Kozel we transported, he was also taken down by Azadin."
Derick recounted Azadin's past exploits. His subordinates had been too fixated on their childhood perception of Azadin to properly evaluate his record as a herald.
Yet, if they looked at the facts objectively, there was undeniable evidence.
Evidence that Azadin had, at the very least, been fulfilling his duties as an emperor's herald.
Even so, Derick's men, still bound by their prejudice from childhood, refused to accept it.