Chapter 110: Grand Banquet (Part 1)  

Hugo Le Baskerville.

The owner of the Baskerville clan.

One of the seven pillars supporting the Great Empire ‘Rok’.

He earned the title “Sword Star” for his significant contribution to unifying the fragmented power of the continent, which was once a complex system of over sixty nations, into a single empire. His rank is of a marquis, and this happened when he was in his fifties.

And about ten years have passed since then.

Hugo was a man with iron in his veins, possessing the heart of a blast furnace.

He drove the rampaging savages far beyond the borders and exterminated hundreds of species of monsters.

With these achievements and the power that made them possible, he firmly controlled the central political scene.

In the process, countless hunting dogs of Baskerville were sacrificed, but Hugo didn’t care.

Once he set a direction, he never looked back, a unique determination.

…But.

Such an iron-blooded man is now trembling.

Hugo, who spent his whole life together with Vikir, was looking at the little girl in front of him with an expression he hadn’t seen in decades.

Pomeranian.

The girl who suddenly sprang out of the next room rushed to Vikir and hugged him.

“Uncle~! Thunder boom-boom! Crush!”

But Vikir could only hold Pomeranian quietly without taking any further action.

Because Hugo’s reaction in front of his eyes was too unexpected.

Curious, I glanced at the side, and even Butler Barrymore was looking at Hugo with an even more surprised expression.

After all, it was a natural reaction from the girl’s perspective to see the reaction of Hugo, the lord of Baskerville, with such an expression.

Shock and fear. An awkward silence filled the office.

Finally, Hugo took a step forward as if he were possessed by a ghost.

“You, you… Is that face… by any chance…?”

Hugo’s hand and voice were shaking. Vikir only realized for the first time now that it could tremble.

His anxious gaze was fixed on the red pupils, half hidden by the black hair of Pomeranian, like bloodstains.

On the other hand, Pomeranian, who was sobbing in Vikir’s arms, turned around and looked startled.

“Wa-a-a! Uncle!”

Pomeranian cried out loud, hiding in Vikir’s arms.

It’s a natural reaction for a girl to have when she sees a middle-aged man with a mustache approaching her with a shaky hand outstretched.

“Moustache! Nose hair! Offensive!”

Pomeranian squealed, hiding in Vikir’s arms.

And surprisingly, Hugo, who heard the words, froze in place, looking like he was in shock.

“My… My mustache? My mustache?”

Hugo groped his trembling hand under his nose.

At that moment, Vikir stepped forward.

“Father, please calm down.”

In response to his cold and emotionless voice, Hugo seemed to regain his composure.

Soon, Vikir asked him.

“This child is an orphan I picked up on the way. I brought her here for a personal errand… Are you concerned about some kind of omen?”

“Um, well. Did you find her on the road? Is that so?”

Hugo answered Vikir while still gazing intently at Pomeranian.

However, since Pomeranian was already tightly embraced in Vikir’s arms, he couldn’t see her face again.When Hugo tried to lift his head again to get a closer look at Pomeranian’s face, Butler Barrymore, who was standing next to him, helped Vikir.

“Sir, there are countless homeless children in the world, just like grains of sand. It’s not particularly strange to bring one child for a personal errand, my lord.”

With those words, Hugo finally stopped trembling.

“…Perhaps it’s a mistake. That’s right. The butler’s words are correct.”

Gradually, Hugo returned to his usual cold expression.

But why did he absentmindedly touch his mustache?

“Is there something wrong with your mustache?”

“…What are you talking about now, Butler?”

“Oops! I didn’t mean to!”

Barrymore said a word without realizing it and received a fierce glare from Hugo.

Eventually, Hugo sighed and sat back on the sofa.

“Well then, I made a momentary mistake. I apologize, my son.”

Hugo apologized, and this surprised Vikir once more.

Gradually, Vikir instructed Chihuahua, the office manager, to take Pomeranian to a quiet room.

“please provide a quiet room for the child since she got startled by the thunder.”

“Yes, I’ll also prepare some warm cocoa.”

Chihuahua, who was familiar with the situation, took Pomeranian with him.

Hugo could confirm that his confusion was due to a misunderstanding because Chihuahua, who was quick-witted, sensed Vikir’s awkwardness and bowed to Hugo and Barrymore before naturally turning away and covering Pomeranian’s face. Then, he quickly left the office with Pomeranian in his arms.

Hugo had been washing his face with trembling hands during this time.

Vikir looked at Hugo, who was still very much shaken, and wondered.

Master. A swordsman who has touched the realm of the epitome perfection is not merely physically strong.

Their souls are extremely disciplined and tempered. A Swordmaster can only be reached by having a strong soul as well as a strong body.

But for Hugo, a man with such a strong soul, to be so disheveled…

‘There must be something going on.’

Vikir decided to think more deeply about Pomeranian.

Then…

“…My son.”

Hugo spoke, opening his mouth to look at Vikir.

“Yes, Father.”

Vikir replied with a brief bow.

As expected, the dialogue Vikir anticipated came.

“Attend the Grand Banquet tomorrow.”

The Grand Banquet. It is a small-scale dinner held only by the direct line of the Baskerville family, especially by a few elites.

For all lower-ranking members of Baskerville, attending it at least once is a lifelong dream.

Once upon a time, Vikir was also such a young Baskerville, just 17 years old, with ‘Van’ middle name. If it were someone else, they would have probably happily wagged their tails and jumped at Hugo’s suggestion.

But Vikir only nodded calmly.

“I will see you tomorrow evening, Father.”

With no hint of hesitation in his demeanor, Hugo simply nodded in response.

Only Butler Barrymore wiped his slightly reddened eyes with a handkerchief.

‘He has indeed become quite dignified.’

He remained a faithful butler who still clearly revealed what he was thinking.

* * *

On that night.Vikir entered the bedroom of the City Hall.

After taking a hot shower, and lying on the soft bed, I felt something strange.

Perhaps because I had been sleeping on dry straw and fallen leaves for the past two years, this comfortable bed felt unfamiliar.

In the end, I got off Vikir’s bed and lay on the floor.

Before coming down, I had hidden a pillow under the blanket, making it look lumpy.

It was like an occupational hazard from years of assassination experience.

“……”

Lying on the hard wooden floor without a blanket, I finally adapted.

“Come to think of it, when I used to go hunting, I always chose to sleep on such a solid stone floor.”

The two years spent with the warriors of Ballak and the wolves were experiences I would never forget. It seemed like I would carry them with me for a while.

Vikir stretched his arms and lay down, thinking about the future.

“Come to think of it, Hugo’s reaction today was quite unexpected.”

Regarding the matter of Pomeranian and the pendant, I was now somewhat confident due to his reaction earlier.

After the banquet tomorrow, I planned to discreetly investigate.

“After that, I’ll reveal the truth at the most effective moment.”

It might be the final moment, a good opportunity to deal the decisive blow to Hugo.

Either way, it had to be a direction that wouldn’t harm Pomeranian.

As Vikir closed his eyes and planned various things…

“……!”

Finally, one of Vikir’s eyes opened.

Whizzing-

It was a faint breeze that an ordinary person wouldn’t have felt.

The cold night air touched his skin.

The window silently opened, and a shadow crept in.

The shadow quietly approached the bed and soon drew a pale dagger from its hand.

The dagger faintly smelled of mana.

Suddenly, the shadow stood in front of the bed. Originally, that was where Vikir was lying.

However…

The shadow didn’t immediately swing the dagger onto the bed. Instead, it quietly poked the end of the blanket and slipped inside.

Of course, Vikir wasn’t inside the blanket but was on the floor, so he could observe the shadow’s movements from start to finish.

“It hasn’t even been a day since I returned. They got the information pretty quickly.”

Vikir chuckled and got up.

And then…

The Top-tier Graduator’s strength was displayed without reservation.

Bang!

Vikir drew the Beelzebub in an instant and swept away the dagger the shadow was holding.

…Thunk!

The shadow’s dagger spun around and stuck to the wall, hilt-deep.

At the same time, Vikir’s grip flew like a snake and grabbed the shadow’s throat.

In an instant, the shadow’s arm was twisted, and it turned and fell onto the bed. Vikir firmly pressed down on it.

Vikir mounted the shadow’s back and whispered softly into its ear.

“Next time, request an official audience and come. I might accidentally kill you otherwise.”

“…I’ll keep that in mind.”

The shadow kept coughing but remained calm.

Suddenly, the black mask covering the shadow’s face was removed.

It was an old acquaintance I hadn’t seen in a long time.