Vol 4. Chapter 37: The Black Rose Family’s Operation

Inside a luxurious mansion in Molokezeer City,

Marquis Soros-Bibero, who had originally been part of the opposition and wanted to support Duke Deksa as the new emperor, was now kneeling in the sitting room of his own office, trembling uncontrollably.

His entire body was ice-cold, and it felt as though his very soul was about to be torn apart alive by an invisible pressure.

At this moment, Soros was staring fixedly at the floor, sweat pouring down like rain as his entire body trembled. There was no trace left of the dignified image he had once possessed as the foremost great noble of the western region.

The entire office was enveloped in an oppressively heavy atmosphere, so suffocating that it was almost impossible to breathe.

Amid this suffocating atmosphere, Soros anxiously waited for the person before him to speak.

Finally,

after five deathly silent minutes had passed, a hearty laugh suddenly reached Soros's ears, immediately filling the Marquis with joy.

"Not bad, not bad. You truly are a man of your word, Marquis Soros. I suppose that's only to be expected of the leader of the foremost great noble house in the western region of the Snow Night Empire. Your ability to get things done really isn't bad."

?!!

Upon hearing those words, the enormous weight hanging over Soros's heart finally fell away.

The next moment,

the graying middle-aged man excitedly raised his head and looked toward the cold-faced, black-haired man sitting in his office chair, dressed in a handsome military-style coat.

"Your Grace! Since I've already done as you requested and had the nobles under my authority support Princess Fengling, and I've also publicly clarified the 'truth' that the Duke Family's young lady isn't an Abyss Demon and that everything was merely a scheme devised by the former emperor, then... then could you also... fulfill your promise?"

The man's voice was excited, but it carried obvious panic and unease.

Clearly,

Marquis Soros was deeply afraid of the man before him, while at the same time desperately needing something from him.

Hearing Soros's words, the black-haired man smiled with exceptional elegance and slowly placed the report Soros had provided onto the desk.

"Of course, Marquis Soros. Our Black Rose Family has always kept its promises. Since you've already fulfilled your responsibilities, we will naturally fulfill our promise as well."

The man's voice was gentle and friendly,

yet it made Soros and the dozens of people inside the office feel an indescribable sense of oppression. Marquis Soros in particular once again began to feel uneasy, worried about whether the Black Rose Duke before him would truly keep his promise.

After all,

with the other party's strength, breaking his promise and silencing every single one of them wouldn't exactly be difficult.

The only thing Soros could do now

was place his hopes in the other man's mercy and pray that he wouldn't go back on his word.

As for

resisting, the five personal guards who had all had everything below their heads amputated were more than enough proof that such an approach was unreliable.

Resist?

Did he think he had lived too long?

On the other side,

seemingly noticing Soros's anxiety, the black-haired man—Xiao, the Duke of the Black Rose Family—gave a rather 'apologetic' smile.

"Sorry. It seems we accidentally frightened you earlier. Rest assured, Marquis Soros. That esteemed lady has always taught us to keep our promises. Naturally, I will fulfill mine. From this moment onward, all of you will be perfectly safe. At the same time, we will also heal your son's infected wound."

As he spoke, Xiao cast a meaningful glance toward the main door nearby.

At that moment,

a burly Black Rose Knight clad in black armor slowly walked up outside the doorway. In the knight's arms was a white-haired little boy who looked only ten years old. The boy appeared incredibly weak, practically on the verge of death.

The instant Soros saw the little boy, his face filled with anguish.

Seeing this, Xiao comforted him with considerable thoughtfulness.

"Don't worry. It's merely a wound infected by an Abyss Demon. We'll be able to heal it very soon."

"R-Really?"

Hearing this, Soros froze for a moment before his face immediately filled with gratitude, and he hurriedly began kowtowing frantically to Xiao.

The reason he had been willing to act according to the Black Rose Family's instructions was, on the one hand, because of their terrifyingly powerful strength, which he had no means of resisting.

On the other hand, it was because they had promised to heal his son once everything was done.

Soros had only gotten a son late in life, so naturally, he treasured his only son beyond measure.

When he learned that his only son had been clawed across the back by an Abyss Demon while retreating from Skyvault, Soros had instantly been engulfed by a suffocating terror.

Soros knew all too well just how terrifying the Abyss Demons' ability to infect others was. With his child's frail and delicate body, once he was wounded, he would inevitably become infected by the Shadow of Silence Power.

Although ice-attribute magic had already been used to suppress the flow of the Shadow of Silence Power within his body, that ultimately treated only the symptoms and not the root cause.

Once the Shadow of Silence Power completely spread throughout his body, his child would inevitably transform into an Abyss Demon.

Frantic with worry, Soros had tried every method imaginable to save his child, but ultimately, none of them had worked.

And it was at that moment

that Xiao offered him a solution.

He said that as long as Soros and the entire Bibero Marquis Family cooperated with him, he could save Soros's son.

Although Marquis Soros had no idea what method this Black Rose Duke could possibly use to extract the Shadow of Silence Power from his child's body, he had no other choice. He intended to grasp this final life-saving straw.

Because of that, he had no choice but to betray the Grand Duke, betraying Duke Chenier, who had intended to compete for the throne.

This had left Soros feeling guilty for quite a long time.

However,

after learning that Grand Duke Chenier had slipped while walking downstairs that morning and given himself a concussion, Soros felt considerably better.

Anyway... in that condition, he can't become emperor anymore... so there's nothing particularly wrong with me betraying him to save my son, right?

Mm.

So, d-don't feel guilty!

...

Staring at the Black Rose Duke before him, who still wore that friendly smile, and glancing from the corner of his eye at his son being held in the arms of a Black Rose Knight not far away, Soros couldn't help asking,

"Um, Lord Xiao... what are you...? Where are you taking my son?"

"Haha, that? There's no need to worry, Marquis Soros. We're merely taking your son back to our Black Rose Family's camp for treatment."

"B-Back to the camp? Can't you treat him directly here?"

"Hehe, Marquis, you really do like to joke. Naturally, someone infected by the Shadow of Silence Power must be brought back to our Black Rose Family's camp for treatment. That's where all the necessary equipment is. Besides, a confidential treatment method like this needs to be kept secret, doesn't it? But don't worry. This afternoon, we'll bring your fully recovered son back to you. I hope you can understand."

"Yes, yes, yes! I understand!"

Soros nodded repeatedly.

Now that the Black Rose Family was his only hope, he certainly didn't dare say 'no' to the man before him.

Seeing that Soros no longer had anything else to say,

Xiao gave the distant Black Rose Knight a satisfied look. Understanding the signal, the burly knight slowly departed with the Marquis's severely wounded son in his arms.

Meanwhile,

Xiao had put his cloak back on and was preparing to leave when he seemed to suddenly remember something.

Then,

under the frightened gazes of the Bibero Marquis Family's servants and guards, he slowly walked over to Soros and crouched down beside him.

"Right, there's one more thing I should remind you about. Just because your son's wound has healed doesn't mean this matter is over. If you ever decide to tear up our agreement in the future, the wound on your son's back might just... relapse, you know? So... whenever you make decisions from now on, please keep that in mind."

As those cold, unmistakably threatening words entered his ears,

Soros's entire body shuddered.

But even though he was being threatened, he was utterly powerless to resist. Like a servant, he could only lower his head with faint unwillingness.

"I... I understand."

"Mm. Good answer."

...

--

A short while later, Xiao boarded a carriage and, accompanied by several other Black Rose Knights, slowly headed toward the Black Rose Family's camp outside the city.

After they had traveled some distance and confirmed that there was no one around, one of the Black Rose Knights cautiously guided his warhorse alongside the carriage and curiously looked toward his Duke.

"By the way, Your Grace, we're going to such great lengths to help a princess... Is there some kind of plan behind it? Are we planning to use this princess to further control the Snow Night Empire?"

Faced with his subordinate's question,

Xiao didn't answer immediately. Instead, he casually took a sip of water.

"There's no plan."

"Huh?"

Upon hearing that answer, the subordinate couldn't help letting out a cry of surprise. Several other members of the Black Rose Family nearby reacted the same way.

After all, none of them could imagine their Duke, who had always been so calculating and farsighted, doing something without any plan whatsoever.

"Then... Your Grace, are we doing all of this for nothing? Why... did we suddenly start doing this?"

"It's nothing. It's simply what Lady Yumo wanted."

"Hm? Lady Yumo? Why would Lady Yumo ask us to help a princess? That esteemed lady doesn't seem to have ever even met that Princess Fengling, has she?"

The group of burly men looked utterly confused and turned pleading gazes toward their Duke for an explanation.

"..."

After a moment of silence, Xiao, unable to endure the sight of several burly men making pleading puppy-dog eyes at him, helplessly explained,

"It's probably because Lady Yumo feels guilty about personally killing Xue Tianao, so she's compensating for that guilt by helping his younger sister. Also, Lady Limo and Lady Liyu seem to like that princess quite a bit. They've said plenty of good things about her to Lady Yumo... enmmm, and then there's the fact that the princess is a friend of the Child of Destiny. That's probably another reason."

As he spoke,

Xiao thoughtfully glanced from the corner of his eye in the direction of Skyvault.

"Besides, it's not like we're getting nothing out of this. This princess has little power of her own, and she doesn't have much experience governing either. Once she starts cooperating with us, it'll actually make it easier for us to control things..."

No matter what,

although the Snow Night Empire had declined, a starving camel was still bigger than a horse. It still possessed a certain amount of value that could be exploited, and controlling it would ultimately bring far more benefits than drawbacks.

He only hoped

that this princess would know what was good for her and wouldn't start thinking about unrealistic things like avenging her older brother or her people.

Otherwise,

he feared he would have no choice but to ask Shuoyue to help that girl named Fengling with a little brain massage...