Chapter 802: The Fault Is Yours!

When news reaches Peace Haven that Pabos went to the Phoenix family alone, the whole place erupts into chaos.

Rawkins barely manages to dress before racing on horseback to Blood Hill Manor.

He catches Dalton, commander of the Lord Iron Guards, and begins shouting. "Idiot! You miserable idiot!"

"If the young master comes back with so much as a scratch, you might as well bash your head against the manor wall!"

"You're the Lord Iron Guards, my lord's personal guard. What have you been doing?"

"You couldn't even watch over one child!"

"You strut around like you're above everyone else, and you only learn he put himself in danger after he's come back."

"What use are you?"

Dalton's face darkens, but he can only stand there and take the scolding.

Victor arrives shortly afterward and opens with a stream of curses.

Pabos himself is already confined to his home. He isn't even allowed to attend school.

By evening, Peace Haven's senior officials have gathered.

Melissa brings Pabos before them. "I'm sorry I worried you all. I failed to teach him properly, and he caused this mess."

Everyone hastens to assure her that neither she nor the young master is to blame.

So the blame falls on the manor guards, the border guards, the school guards, and the Military Intelligence Office.

Pabos steps forward. "I apologize for what happened, but with my father absent, there are things only I can do!"

He looks around the room. "No one talked me into this. It was my own decision."

"The Lord Iron Guards and manor guards aren't at fault."

"Director Cumberland of the Military Intelligence Office arranged for me to enter Phoenix territory because I asked him to."

Victor leaps toward Cumberland, ready to slap him across the face.

Pabos darts between them. "Uncle Victor, Director Cumberland isn't to blame either!"

Victor points at Cumberland. "The young master may not understand the danger, but you're the director of the Military Intelligence Office. What's your excuse?"

"Do you not know how many people come to Peace Haven every year to assassinate someone?"

"Do you not understand what's happening in Phoenix territory right now?"

"He said he wanted to go, so you let him? What kind of intelligence director are you?"

"Can you do your job? If you can't, I'll remove you from it right now!"

Pabos stops Victor and looks at the others. "This isn't Cumberland's fault. It isn't mine, either."

"The fault lies with everyone in this room!"

"If someone forced me to take this risk, it was you, my uncles and elders!"

Everyone freezes, as though they have begun to understand.

Pabos continues, "I'm not of age yet, but I'm no fool. I know enough to understand what's going on."

"You want the Phoenix family out of the way, and this is your chance to do it."

"You want it settled while my father is in seclusion, before he can hesitate again."

"But there are a few things you don't know."

"First, my grandfather Duke Jansen, my father's adoptive father, is dying!"

"He's been poisoned!"

"The poison came from the Veil. The Church tacitly allowed the Veil to intervene. Someone from the Ika Kingdom passed the poison to the neutral nobles."

"Then Eric, the second son of the Descartes family, handed it to Kaku and lied that it was a medicine to suppress extraordinary power."

The color drains from every face, Melissa's included.

Victor and Rawkins exchange a look, then shout, "Assemble the troops! We're going to get him out!"

Pabos shakes his head. "It's too late. Grandpa Jansen has almost nothing left. He could die at any moment."

"He has chosen to accept death rather than let the Western Federation and the Veil hold my father hostage."

"Now do you understand why I had to visit the Phoenix family, and why I had to go alone?"

"How should my father deal with the Phoenix family when he emerges?"

"Kill everyone connected to this affair?"

"What would that lead to?"

"Would it lead to what you expect?"

"You thought you could turn someone else's scheme to your own ends."

"But they built your wishes into that scheme. Your ambitions are part of what drove it forward."

"Everyone here has had a hand in Grandpa Jansen's death."

"I went there to find a way to reconcile the sides before the whole affair spun out of control."

"I now have a letter in Grandpa Jansen's own hand."

"When my father emerges, none of you may use this as a chance to push him into purging the Phoenix family."

"We must show that we take this seriously, then handle it with restraint."

"Peace Haven cannot withstand the enmity of every noble on the continent."

"Not yet!"

After a long silence, Victor asks, "Young master, what outcome does Duke Jansen want?"

Pabos answers, "Exile Kaku, purge the Tuster faction, use the opportunity to put pressure on the Church, and bring Uncle Orak back to lead the Phoenix family."

Rawkins sighs. "Then what can we do, young master?"

"Nothing! Just persuade my father not to kill too many people!"

After the others leave, Melissa asks Pabos, "Do you resent me?"

Pabos shakes his head. "Mother, you acted for our family, for Father, for Peace Haven, and for me."

"As your son, I have no right to blame you for that choice."

"But you should stand beside Father. Don't let him keep walking alone!"

With that, Pabos goes to his room.

Melissa remains seated in the meeting room for a long time.

Half a month later, a message arrives.

Count Kaku is to undergo an investiture before numerous nobles, with senior church officials presiding.

On that day, the Great Pyramid suddenly begins to shake violently.

The Lord Iron Guards nearby go on alert, but the tremors quickly stop.

Then they see Henwell emerge in a long robe.

His face is grim. Without speaking to anyone, he heads straight for Blood Hill Manor.

Minutes later, Cumberland finishes telling Henwell what has happened.

Henwell turns a cold gaze on the people who have come to meet him. "You have some nerve."

The blood-red light around him fades. His armor and weapons appear.

A wave of force drives everyone back, and Henwell vanishes.

Minutes later, he reaches the border.

Large numbers of troops have been arrayed there for some time, facing Peace Haven's forces across the line.

Peace Haven's soldiers stare when they see him, then salute as one.

Henwell walks toward the boundary alone. The opposing soldiers immediately form ranks.

Peace Haven's troops roar and advance as well.

But Henwell raises a hand and orders his soldiers to fall back.

He crosses the line alone. Facing the assembled armies, he says softly, "Move."

His voice is quiet, yet everyone present hears him.

Without waiting to see what they will do, Henwell walks toward Phoenix Castle.

His blood-soaked cloak snaps behind him, trailing several yards of red light.

Step by step, he reaches the opposing formation.

The Ika Kingdom soldiers ahead of him retreat before they even realize it.

At last the entire legion opens a path several yards wide.

Their commander never dares give an order. He feels as though some enormous predator is watching him hungrily.

As Henwell passes, everyone feels a chill, and even the blazing sun seems to disappear.

From above, an immense shadow spreads across the ground with Henwell at its center.

Its shape resembles a dragon soaring through the sky.