Chapter 5: 5

The auction house Sothesty, which is located in the Imperial Capital, had more ladies than ever before. It was because of the auction item, 'Blue Dragon's Tears' necklace.

But it wasn't the five-carat diamond necklace that caught their eye.

It was "Duke Rezart Edwin Spess" sitting in the box seat.

A high-rank aristocrat with the blood of the first royal family, the richest man in the empire, the gold alchemist, and the romanticist who remained unmarried waiting for his fiancee, who disappeared 15 years ago.

These characteristics representing the Duke, combined with his splendid appearance, enthralled women.

On the other hand, he was looking down at the auction items with a cold expression, ignoring all the attention he received. He had no interest in jewelry, whether it was five or fifty carats. The reason he came to the auction house today was because of an old book that would appear as the last auction item.

"It's so boring."

The diamond necklace was sold to someone, and the auctioneer came up with the next item.

" is a special item from the rising swordsmith 'Ron Vita'. Three swords will be unveiled at today's auction. His first masterpiece was called 'The Brilliant Endless Night and the Silence of the Black Sun'."

After the auctioneer's words, the first of the three glass boxes was released. There was a sword in it.

"The Brilliant Endless Night and the Silence of the Black Sun was sold for a thousand gold right here a year ago. The sword was more famous for its durability, which wouldn't break even against Wyvern's claws. When the owner retired from his job, he put it on auction with tears in his eyes."

None of those sitting at the auction house knew about this sword.

Nial, the first owner of the sword, was one of the mercenaries on a subjugation unit headed for the Forest of Evil and he was the only member who survived that expedition. It was quite a famous story. Nial, who was later rescued by a knight of the Count of Arcas, testified that "my life was saved thanks to the sword."

Unlike other mercenaries' swords, which were shattered by Wyvern's claws, it is said to have served as Nial's shield. Nial got attacked by a Wyvern but instead of being slain right there, he bounced far away when he got hit by its claws. The sword ended up saving his life. Nial, who has lost all of his colleagues, has decided to retire although he was not injured enough to retire from the job. That was why the sword reappeared in the auction house today.

"The starting price is 1,000 gold."

People rushed to hold their signs up. 1,100. 1,200. As the price continued to rise, the Duke's golden eyes stared at the sword. The corners of his mouth rose.

'Now, this is interesting.'

He could tell as soon as the glass box was opened. The sword released a considerable amount of black alchemy. He sensed a unique wave from the sword.

At first, it was just mere interest. However, now that he thought about it, there hasn't been one with alchemy ability in the Spess family that handles "iron" until now. Also, it was extremely rare for a person with alchemy ability to appear outside of the Spess family.

Because the dragon's gift, alchemy, was passed down by blood, the marriage to the Spess family was subject to conditions. It is a condition for when a person from the Spess family marries someone with a Genius talent, and the child they conceive will develop alchemy ability.

In summary, a child who awakens its alchemy ability will be adopted unconditionally into the Spess family. The Spess family promises huge rewards. There wouldn't be any harmful clause to prevent the adoption of children, so the opposition was extremely rare.

The Duke of Spess looked at his aide sitting next to him.

"Noah, who's the creator of that sword?"

"Ron Vita is a new swordsmith. It's the hottest topic these days."

"Ron Vita?"

It was a strange but mysterious name that lingered in his head.

Ron Vita. Ron?

The Duke remembered the boy named Ron and he stopped. Why didn't he remember it right away? A boy who saved his life by Stella's grace a long time ago had that name.

The name Ron is quite common, so it could have been just a coincidence.

Duke Spess swept up his golden hair roughly. His heart skipped a beat because of just one theory that came into his mind. While the Duke was unable to organize his thoughts, "The Brilliant Endless Night and the Silence of the Black Sun" won at 1,780 gold.

The auctioneer opened a second glass box.

"The second item is the 'Fairy's Red Dress' sword. Ron Vita himself put up this special item for today's auction."

When the Duke saw the second sword, he woke up from his deep thought. This, too, was an alchemy sword. His confusion turned into a conviction.

The Duke of Spess stood up and spoke to his aide, Noah.

"Buy all Ron Vita's swords from here on out."

The Duke of Spess left the auction house as Noah eagerly held up the auction sign to buy the sword.

He had to meet Ron Vita. Right now.

***

The road that was expected to take them a whole day to traverse entered its third day now. It was because while in the middle of fleeing, they found a group pursuing them, so they ended up taking a detour. The hungry stomachs were filled with fruits found along the way, but it was hard to bear the thirst.

"Ah, raspberries!"

Meanwhile, Eluana managed to find raspberries. There were three dainty raspberries on the bushes. Eluana picked them and stuffed each into Khazar and Louie's mouths. And then she took the last one for herself.

Along the way, Eluana would often find something edible. Eating small but moist fruits will help them regain enough strength to walk.

Khazar fixed Louie on his back before he began to walk again, and Eluana followed them from behind. It was a long time since they had a conversation.

Eluana, who was walking diligently listening to the birds chirping, took a breath for a moment. Khazar was holding Louie and was already walking ten steps ahead. First it was three steps, then five steps, now ten steps away.

"Have I reach my limit?"

Her view began to blur a little. The burning sensation in her back was getting worse. She smelt something burning mixed with sweat.

Her back must be burning... Wait, hold on.

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"… Burning?"

Eluana's shaky eyes turned towards the back. Smoke was rising in the sky. She could see the woods burning from afar. There was still quite a distance, but this is a forest.

"Khazar, run!"

Khazar looked back at the voice close to screaming.

"Fire?!"

"Run!"

Khazar and Eluana started running without hesitation.

The fire spread from tree to tree. Even though there is a distance from the place where the fire rises, they can feel the heat from the wind. Her vision was blurred by the heavy smoke.

Khazar got ahead in a hectic run, but he suddenly turned around and ran back.

"There's fire in the front, too!”

"Let's go to the river. It'll be around somewhere."

"River?"

At Eluana's words, Khazar recalled the map of the empire and immediately took a different direction. There was only one river that extends in the Aden forest.

The Lit River flowing into the Kingdom of Valois.

Now that this has happened, it could have been a better choice to flee outside the empire than to go to neighboring lands. There are places not far away where you can get help.

The problem was that if the forest was deliberately set on fire, there might be pursuers waiting by the river.

Let's think about it later.

What's important right now is to not to be swallowed by the fire.

Khazar ran at full speed while holding Louie. He was able to get out of the forest quickly even though he ran while checking at Eluana, who was lagging behind.

An open meadow appeared in front of him. Not far away, you could see a wide river with fast currents. There was nowhere to hide as he feared. After Khazar finished analyzing in his head, he asked Eluana.

"Can you swim?”

"A little bit. Are we going to cross the river?"

"Only halfway then we'll let ourselves swept away by the current.”

Her answer came right away after he stated his plan while gasping for breath.

"Okay." Eluana quickly nodded as she had made up her mind.

Khazar took off his coat, and tied Louie tightly onto his back. He felt a vibration as they tried to approach the river.

'No way.'

The ground was shaking. He could see dust forming like a fog from afar. A pursuit team on horseback was moving closer.

"Let's move fast!"

Khazar shouted and started running. He jumped into the river, carrying Louie on his back, grasping the distance between him and Eluana's panting breaths. Khazar, who was running through the splashing current, arrived where his feet could not reach the floor and turned his head.

Eluana was still standing by the edge of the river.

"Please. Look. After."

He couldn't hear her voice. She just mouthed her words which were hard to understand. Time seemed to slow down. The pursuers' horses were right behind Eluana.

Khazar shouted Eluana's name.

But Eluana turned away without regret. Her whole body was soaked with cold sweat. Her body has been in limbo for a long time. If she follows, she'll be nothing but a lump of baggage.

Good thing she hanged that sachel bag around Louie's neck.

Eluana unsheathed the sword which she had praised herself three days ago. In fact, she had a hunch since then that this moment will come.

The river was wide. Khazar needed time to get to the middle with Louie fast.

'Dad, I'm scared.’

While shaking her legs in fear, Eluana opened her eyes and brazed herself from the pressure of the pursuers running towards her. She doesn't have the ability to stop these pursuers, but she could buy the two some time.

Eluana swung the sword at the pursuer's horse that came near her side. It was a smart attack, but it was not enough to cut down the horse. The pursuer, who pulled the reins of the startled horse, approached Eluana again.

She swung the sword one more time, but it didn't work. Eluana was grabbed by the hair by the pursuer's harsh hand. Her hairband broke and golden hair fluttered in the air.

"Sister!"

Louie, who was trying to reach for his sister who was far away, was thrashing on his back. Khazar grabbed Louie so he couldn't move any more and jumped into the water current. He didn't look back.

If he dragged on a little bit, everyone gets caught.

The other members of the pursuit team galloped across the river on horseback and stopped without going further as it was impossible to chase after them. Khazar, who swam to the middle, let himself get swept by the fast current. He's losing his strength. He just hoped that the relentless current would move them both out of the border safely.

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