Chapter 54: Plot (4)

"De, Damian!"

Sophia ran towards Damian.

"I, I'm so glad to see you so soon. I, I have no one to rely on but you."

Sophia's face was filled with fear. She trembled as she spoke to Damian.

"The Order will start interrogating Jackson... No, Jackson Cutter. They will surely come for me too."

No one in this place had as deep a connection with Jackson Cutter as Sophia Russell.

The Order would not leave Sophia Russell alone.

"B, but I am innocent. I knew nothing. I, I only just found out about that bracelet from Jackson Cutter!"

Sophia Russell clung to Damian's arm.

"I, I have no one to turn to but you. Please, protect me. I beg you."

"Why should I help you?"

Damian was completely baffled.

Sophia Russell had not only unilaterally broken off their engagement but also insulted the House of Hacsen.

They were now worse than strangers. How could she so easily ask for help?

"I, I'll do whatever you want if you help me!"

"Whatever I want?"

Sophia Russell swallowed hard. A smile slowly formed on her face, which had been steeped in anxiety.

"I'll be your woman again."

Sophia Russell said this with a confident expression.

She seemed certain that Damian would accept her offer.

"I don't need that."

Damian said this with a look of disbelief. Sophia Russell sighed deeply and scolded Damian.

"Damian... No matter how angry you are, you can't stay mad forever."

"What?"

"When a woman comes to you like this, you should pretend to give in and accept her."

"What are you talking about..."

"I understand. I'll apologize again. It was all my fault. So, please, stop being angry and accept me."

Damian felt speechless for the first time since his regression.

At the same time, he was thoroughly disgusted by Sophia Russell's unchanged attitude despite the situation.

"Damian, I know everything. You still want me. That's why you acted like you didn't know me when you first saw me. To get my attention."

Sophia Russell said this with a confident tone.

"You kept giving Abel the seat next to Lady Olivia because of me. You tried to hide it, but I noticed it early on..."

"I can't believe how much you misunderstand. I don't even know where to start."

Damian said this with a cold tone.

"Are you still angry? How many apologies do I need to make..."

"No, I don't need anything. I don't need you. I don't care."

Damian said this bluntly.

"Please, stop your nonsense and get out of my sight."

"Damian..."

"If you ever ignore my warning and show up in front of me again, spouting the same nonsense, I'll cut out your tongue."

To make his intentions clear, Damian even emitted a killing aura.

Sophia Russell's face turned pale.

"If you understand, get lost."

* * *

Damian passed by Sophia Russell.

She stood there like a statue, unable to even think of stopping him.

Damian headed to the jousting arena with Olivia.

He was going there to meet the Holy Knights who were still there.

But something was off.

The atmosphere among the Holy Knights gathered in the jousting arena was very dark.

"Sir Damian, you're back."

Knight Thomas said, his face somber as he spoke to Damian.

"We lost Jacques Noire."

"Is that true?"

"He was hiding his true strength. And he used another dark magic tool..."

Thomas ground his teeth, clearly frustrated at having let the heretic escape.

"Jacques Noire... He was as formidable as the rumors suggested."

Damian said this with a tense expression.

But despite his expression, Damian wasn't particularly surprised.

'As expected, he fled.'

Damian had predicted this would happen from the moment he first met Thomas.

Thomas's strength was far inferior to Jacques Noire's.

If Jacques Noire had wanted to, he could have easily killed Thomas.

'But if he kills a Holy Knight of the Order, it will bring even greater backlash.'

A situation where he couldn't kill or save his enemy.

So fleeing was the only option.

'Good thing I marked him in advance.'

Last night, after sending Victor to the city, Damian went to Jacques Noire's lodging.

Since he remembered Jacques Noire's mana, it wasn't difficult to find him.

Deceiving the senses of a mid-class individual was also easy for Damian.

He secretly drew a mark on Jacques Noire's clothing while he was sleeping.

"Sir Thomas, don't be too disheartened. God is with you, and you will have the opportunity to capture Jacques Noire at any time."

Damian consoled Thomas, who looked moved as he gazed at Damian.

"Sir Damian... To still have faith in such a situation... As Lady Agnes said, you are indeed a model Holy Knight!"

Damian kept a slight distance from Thomas.

Indeed, these fanatics were hard to get used to.

* * *

From the next day, the jousting arena became chaotic.

The Order's reinforcements began investigating all the nobles in the jousting arena.

"Hey! I have nothing to do with that Jackson Cutter guy!"

"Do you know how much I donate to the Order each year? I won't tolerate this treatment!"

The nobles protested, but to no avail.

The Order interviewed and investigated each noble one by one.

Fortunately, since Jackson Cutter hadn't actively interacted with many people, the investigations of the nobles were quickly concluded.

"Speak. Who gave you this bracelet?"

"J, Jacques Noire! Jacques Noire gave it to me! H, he said this would be enough to kill Damian Hacsen... Gah!"

"You wanted to kill Sir Damian? Was there anyone else who agreed to this plan?"

"C, Copperhead Duke! Copperhead Duke was with me!"

The case's main suspect, Jackson Cutter, was interrogated by the Inquisitors of the Order.

The Inquisitors of the Order were known for their particularly cruel methods.

Rumors spread openly that their torture techniques improved every year to extract the desired information.

Jackson Cutter's screams could be heard at all hours, even during meals and bedtime.

The Inquisitors only stopped after extracting even the smallest secrets from Jackson Cutter.

Next, the Inquisitors called in Sophia Russell and Copperhead Duke.

"A, Duke, you are innocent. I did try to kill her, but I knew nothing about the dark magic."

Damian, as promised, defended the Duke.

While speaking, Damian was a bit worried. He knew how persistent the Inquisitors could be.

"Understood. We will only call in Sophia Russell."

"...Eh, you believe me?"

"Of course. How much has Sir Damian contributed to the Order?"

The Inquisitors believed Damian's words without much effort, and only Sophia Russell was taken away.

"I really didn't know anything! He never told me anything!"

Sophia Russell claimed her innocence.

But the Inquisitors didn't believe her at all.

They judged that, as Jackson Cutter's lover, she must be hiding many secrets.

Not long after Sophia Russell was taken away, a sharp scream that seemed to tear the ears rang out.

* * *

It took a week for the Order to complete their investigation.

The Order concluded that there were no other suspects besides Jackson Cutter.

Only then were the nobles allowed to leave the jousting arena.

Although the jousting tournament wasn't over, the nobles rushed to leave the arena.

A long line of nobles heading back to their territories formed.

"Is Sir Damian also leaving?"

Damian was preparing to return to the House of Hacsen like the other nobles.

But Thomas and the Holy Knights came to see him.

"Yes, my family will be worried, so I want to see them quickly."

"Hmm... I recommend you stay a bit longer."

Thomas said with a worried expression.

"Jacques Noire might target you, Sir Damian."

Damian was the one who brought the Order to the jousting arena. The likelihood that Jacques Noire harbored a grudge was high.

"The Order is currently issuing a warrant for Jacques Noire. It would be best to stay here until his whereabouts are known."

While appreciating the concern, Damian had no intention of accepting this suggestion.

With his abilities, Damian could handle Jacques Noire.

In fact, he was hoping Jacques Noire would come to him.

More than anything, he didn't want to travel with the stuffy Holy Knights.

"Thank you for your concern, but I must decline. I can't let Sir Thomas be tied down because of me."

A 2nd-class Holy Knight was a rare asset even within the Order.

He would have many responsibilities and tasks.

"Besides, the great one in heaven is watching over me. How could such a despicable person harm me?"

Moved by Damian's words, Thomas quietly made the sign of the cross.

"Moreover, with the Order issuing a warrant, Jacques Noire will be too preoccupied to target me."

"Sir Damian, at least for a few days..."

Damian repeatedly refused Thomas's suggestion.

In the end, Thomas had to give up.

* * *

Damian set off for the House of Hacsen.

Unlike when he arrived, he had one more companion on the way back.

It was Olivia Copperhead.

"I didn't expect to return to the House of Hacsen so soon."

"Me, me too. I didn't expect to introduce Lady Olivia to my parents so soon..."

Abel sat next to Olivia Copperhead.

Olivia had already fallen out with her father, the Duke. Therefore, she chose to leave with Abel rather than stay in the Duke's house.

"By the way, how long do you plan to keep using formal language? I said you can speak more casually."

Olivia said this with a sullen face. Abel hesitated before speaking.

"...O, Olivia."

"Good. From now on, speak to me more casually."

Damian, sitting opposite them, looked at the two with a bored expression.

He hoped they would get along, but he wasn't willing to endure their constant bickering.

Damian got up from his seat.

"Brother, where are you going?"

"Outside. You two have fun."

Damian opened the window and climbed onto the roof of the carriage. Victor, who was in the driver's seat, looked puzzled.

"Master? Is there something wrong?"

"No, nothing. Just drive the carriage well."

Damian sat on the roof of the carriage and opened a subspace.

He took out an object from the subspace. It was the Elemental Heart he received as the prize for winning the jousting tournament.

Due to the complicated situation, no award ceremony was held.

But as the Duke had promised, the winner of the jousting tournament was Damian Hacsen.

Therefore, Damian received the prize from the Duke.

"Absorbing this is quite a task."

The Elemental Heart could be thought of as a solidified stone.

He needed to melt this stone to absorb it.

From now on, Damian had to use his mana to stimulate the Elemental Heart and melt the elemental power.

Even for someone of Damian's ability, this was not an easy task. However, the reward was certain.

If he could absorb the elemental power, he would gain not only mana but also the power of the element.

'The power of an element...'

Elements were incredibly powerful beings. The abilities they possessed were countless.

'Many elves have absorbed Elemental Hearts to gain elemental traits.'

Some elves gained heightened senses by absorbing a Wind Elemental Heart, while others gained a tough skin that could block aura by absorbing an Earth Elemental Heart.

Those who absorbed Elemental Hearts all became powerful beings surpassing mid-class.

'What trait would I gain by absorbing the Heart of Fire?'

Damian was surprised by the hidden abilities of the Elemental Heart.

The Heart of Fire, containing the power of a Fire Elemental, was known to be rare. Moreover, he had never seen an elf who gained the power of a Fire Elemental.

So, Damian hadn't expected this.

'Let's see what happens once I absorb it.'

Damian infused mana into the Elemental Heart throughout the carriage's journey.

That night.

Jacques Noire attacked Damian.