Hard Carried by My Sword-Chapter 69

Chapter 69
“What on earth is he scheming?” Arnold muttered.
After their audience with Count Rubena, the Storm Caravan had been led to a residence reserved for honored guests. Looked at optimistically, it meant they were being treated well; looked at pessimistically, it meant they were under watch.
It wasn’t just the servants bustling inside. The knights and soldiers stationed as guards were all basically the Count’s eyes and ears.
“Well, I don’t really know the whole story myself...” Gustav’s expression was slightly conflicted. “Isn’t it possible the Count was telling the truth? He mentioned the vampires first, after all, and... well, the idea that he’s suspicious is really just our speculation so far.”
“
Hmm
. That might be true,” Arnold agreed, nodding slowly with a hopeful look. “It would be good if that were truly the case...”
There were simply too many uncertain pieces in this situation, and from Arnold’s position, Count Rubena was not someone he could afford to antagonize.
Unless the Storm Caravan was big enough to sway an entire kingdom, the leader of a medium-sized trading caravan was nothing more than a wealthy commoner to a count. If the Count decided to pin a false charge on him and take his head, he could tidy up the mess without trouble.
A noble’s power always reached its peak on their own land. It was impossible to press them without proof, and even with proof in hand, an immediate move would be reckless.
So for Arnold, the best case is that Count Rubena really isn’t the enemy.
Thinking so, Leon alone knew that this wasn’t the case and that the Count was hiding something.
“Mr. Arnold,” Leon called to confirm that suspicion. “Is Count Rubena a mage?”
“Excuse me?” At the sudden question, Arnold blinked in surprise—then chuckled as if he’d heard something absurd, “
Ha
! That’s impossible. The Rubena family is famously dismissive of mages. Even well-known mages who visited them were treated worse than apprentice knights, I hear.”
“Was the poor treatment the Count’s idea?”
“So they say.”
Leon and El-Cid shared the same thought.
Suspicious.
—That’s pretty suspicious.
Gustav, Arnold, and even Karen hadn’t caught on yet, but they were aware of the existence of the barrier around Rubena’s walls and the faint trace of magic Leon had sensed in the Count himself. Where Leon had only felt an odd tension, El-Cid saw the truth in an instant.
—He’s a high-tier mage. I don’t know his exact school, but that barrier on the wall? That’s his work too. The magical pulse is identical.
El-Cid snorted dismissively, certain of it.
—And above all—if he really wanted to get rid of the vampires, he wouldn’t need you lot. If he turned that barrier offensive, he could melt them all down himself.
So either he needs to keep them alive... or—
—Or he’s planning to use this as an excuse to silence this caravan.
Whatever Count Rubena was doing with vampires within his lands, he was concealing his powers to carry it out. The Storm Caravan, having glimpsed part of it, was practically on his hit list already.
Separating the stronger escorts from the caravan was probably part of that ploy too. Considering how he’d turned the Wolf Fang mercenaries into dhampirs, it wouldn’t be surprising if he planned to do the same to them—forcing them under his control.
The worst part is there’s no good way to explain any of this...
Leon muttered inwardly.
Without revealing El-Cid or who Leon himself really was, he had no way to make it all sound credible. Count Rubena being a mage, the existence of a vampire barrier around the walls, each of these was serious enough to demand concrete proof. Leon’s guesses wouldn’t convince anyone except Karen.
It was then—while the three of them were each lost in thought—that Karen spoke up and drew all eyes her way.
“Hold on,” she said as she rubbed her half-closed eyelids and stifled a yawn, waving a hand lazily. “Doing this now won’t get us anywhere. How about we break for now and gather more intel tomorrow? We can at least pretend to hunt for vampires.”
Gustav and Arnold both nodded at that. She was right—they simply didn’t know enough yet.
With that, the group broke up for the night, leaving only two people walking in the same direction. Of course, those two were Leon and Karen.
“Is Count Rubena really a mage?” Karen murmured it in his ear, her voice so quiet that it would vanish if she stepped a little further away.
Leon replied without making a sound, just shaping the words with his lips,
“
Yeah. A high-tier one.”
Karen replied, “That’s dangerous. If he’s strong enough that I couldn’t see through him, he’s
really
dangerous. We can’t win against that right now.”
“
We need to buy time.”
They looked at each other and knew they were on the same page. The relic that had hung from Leon’s neck ten days ago was gone now—he’d secretly passed it to the Holy Church through Karen.
The relic gave him the right to summon the Holy Iron Inquisitors. It was the one-use token Caesare had given him, and he’d used it without hesitation.
The problem is we don’t know when they’ll arrive or how many will come. It would be ideal if we got three or more.
If they were on Caesare’s level, even one or two would suffice, but according to him, that kind of powerhouse was rare, even among the Holy Iron Inquisitors.
Caesare was someone who was only a step away from entering the realm of Master, so it made sense.
At last, they reached the door to their rooms. Leon turned to bid Karen good night. Or rather, tried.
“Well then---”
The moment he opened the door, Karen, who had slipped in behind him without a sound, stepped inside and shut it at once. Her hands deftly locked it with a
click
—so fast Leon didn’t register it until a second later.
Leon turned, belatedly sensing her presence behind him, but before he could react, his feet left the ground.
“Wha—?”
“
Shh
.”
Karen pounced on him like a panther, pressing a finger to his lips. It must have been an assassin’s grappling move. His feet never touched the floor again until she’d pushed him down onto the bed.
Leon’s eyes went wide, clueless about what was happening. Straddling him, Karen lifted her left hand.
Then, without hesitation, she put her palm to his mouth. What followed were indecent wet sounds, and Leon’s face flushed crimson beneath her.
Anyone hearing just the noise would have no choice but to imagine something else entirely. Whether it was seconds or minutes, she finally lifted her hand from his lips and whispered softly, “Good. Looks like they’re gone.”
“Gone? Who?”
“Someone was listening through the wall. So I thought I’d make a few... misleading noises. Well? Sound convincing?”
Realizing what she’d done, Leon buried his face in his hands. His cheeks felt like they were on fire.
“How would I know that...?”
“Really? I don’t really know that stuff myself, so I figured I’d ask you.”
Karen giggled as if she could read exactly what he was thinking. Hopping off the bed, she wiped her hand clean, then pointed toward the large window.
“Ready to head out?” she asked.
Her intent was clear. Leon immediately cooled his emotions and weighed her suggestion, then decided it was worth trying. A bold move like this on the very first night would be the last thing anyone would expect.
He asked carefully, “Can you get us out without being seen?”
“
Huh
? Mr. Hero, did you forget already?”
With a wide grin, Karen stretched out the shadow at her feet and asked, “Where to, sir?”
***
True to its nickname “Twilight City,” the sky above Rubena after sundown was clear and dazzling. The stars looked ready to spill from the heavens at any moment, sparkling brilliantly overhead.
Before they’d arrived, they’d heard that thanks to this scenery, the nightlife here flourished—so much so that the streets were livelier at night than by day. However, what Leon and Karen actually saw told a different story.
“This place is dead, and it’s not even midnight yet,” Leon muttered, peering out from a back alley, looking up and down the main street.
He wasn’t wrong, and Karen agreed, “There’s movement inside the buildings—people are still awake. They’re just not coming out.”
“There must be a reason they’re staying in.”
“Think the rumors about vampires spread?”
“That could be it.”
The two exchanged thoughts as they moved deeper into the city. With so few people around, they would stand out if they stayed on the main road, so they kept their footsteps and presence hidden, slipping through shadows and narrow alleys as they scouted the city’s corners.
Far from living up to its nickname, the whole place was eerily still, nearly deserted—like a ghost town. They saw more patrols than townsfolk during their hours of searching. The knights leading those patrols carried silver longswords on their backs, a clear sign they were ready to fight vampires.
I still don’t get it. What exactly is the Count’s relationship with these vampires? If they’re enemies, this is too half-hearted. If they’re allies, why set up patrols like this?
—Then maybe you’re right.
About what?
El-Cid answered as if it were obvious, —The world doesn’t always split cleanly into friend and foe.
So the vampires aren’t really his enemies... but they’re not his allies either?
—It’s possible.
Leon tilted his head at that. Neither friend nor foe? That hadn’t even crossed his mind since he had assumed the vampires were enemies from the start.
In Leon’s head, the only two possibilities were fighting the vampires and the Count both, or siding with one against the other. However, El-Cid, who had seen countless tangled messes in his time, could see that angle more clearly than Leon.
Before Leon could overthink further, a voice tugged him back.
“Leon. It looks like we’ve stumbled upon their slums. What now?” Karen asked.
“
Hmm
...”
Before they knew it, they’d come out to the city’s outskirts. Before them lay a forest of ruined, half-collapsed buildings.
Leon paused to think. Would vampires really hide here? They were creatures called the “nobles of the night”—proud, decadent, infamous for looking down on humans. No matter how desperate they were, it seemed unlikely they’d be skulking in some abandoned ruin.
However, he quickly changed his mind. The best place to hide was often where no one would think to look.
“Let’s check it out anyway.”
Two shadows slipped past the edge of the slum district. Without a word, Leon and Karen advanced through the abandoned maze, searching for any sign of life. It didn’t take long for their expressions to go pale with dread.
“There’s... no one?”
“Not even a single vagrant...”
Even when he spread his Aura Sense as wide as he could, Leon couldn’t detect a single soul. There were plenty of places in the ruins where someone might hide, but both of them knew without even looking—not a single living being remained here.
They’d already swept through every corner of Rubena’s territory. This was the only place that could even be called a slum.
Now that I think about it... I haven’t seen a single beggar. No matter how prosperous Rubena is, there’s no way there wouldn’t be at least a few,
Leon thought to himself.
Where there was light, there was always shadow. If there were the wealthy, then there were the poor. If someone lived in a grand mansion, then someone else must be unable to afford even a single room.
And yet here, there were no poor, only traces that they had once existed with no sign of where they had gone. As this realization dawned on them, a chill ran down both their spines. Somewhere in the Rubena County, a darkness lurked—one far deeper than they had imagined.
“Let’s... head back for now.”
Suppressing the unease prickling at his neck, Leon turned away. This unexpected recon had already uncovered plenty. Once they shared this with the others still torn about whether the Count was truly behind it all, they would have even more to think about.
By now, the night was deep. A full, round moon sat high in the sky, watching them from amid a sea of glittering stars.
Perhaps that’s why, just as the two turned to leave the ruins, a dark crimson mist began to gather before them. Leon and Karen reacted instantly, springing backward at the same moment.
Leon drew El-Cid, its gentle radiance cutting through the gloom, while four daggers in Karen’s hands glowed with teal Aura at their tips. The two were ready to unleash their full strength in an instant.
Moments later, the mist’s vague shape solidified—taking on the form of two people.
“Vampires...” Leon murmured under his breath.
Mistification, the act of shifting between matter and immaterial form, was the mark of a high-tier vampire. This meant the young man and older man standing before them were not to be taken lightly.
The two figures exchanged a glance. Then the boy with striking black hair was the first to speak.
“I am Tepes, last royal heir of the Wallachia Clan of Nosferatu. Might I know your names?”
Leon and Karen were shocked. Leon was startled by his claim of royal blood, while Karen was taken aback by the mention of the Nosferatu, long believed extinct.
“Royalty...!”
“Nosferatu...”
The shock only lasted a moment before Leon answered, “My name is Leon. But you don’t get two answers for one. Who’s the man standing beside you?”
“Well said. Indeed, it would be rude not to introduce him.” Tepes nodded, then gestured to his companion and said, “This man is my vassal, Roman—he has served my clan for over four centuries.”
Satisfied, Karen introduced herself, “I’m Karen.”
“I see. Karen, your skill with shadows is impressive. Among my kin of old, few could rival you. You have my respect.”
Despite Tepes’s polite tone, neither Leon nor Karen lowered their weapons. What he had said was too troubling to take lightly.
It meant they’d been watched the entire time—and neither of them had sensed a thing. They’d been completely outplayed.
The only small mercy was that there was no sign of hostility. If they’d wanted an ambush, they’d already given up that advantage by stepping forward to talk.
“So,” Leon decided to gamble on that slim chance. “Why are you here? You don’t look like you want a fight. If you came to talk, start with why.”
At that, Tepes and Roman both twitched. Their eyes flickered in surprise as if Leon’s reaction was out of their expectation. A brief silence fell before Tepes spoke again.
“Leon, may I ask just one thing?”
“What is it?”
“You are of the Church, are you not? I saw you wielding holy power through the dhampirs.”
Leon hesitated, confused. They didn’t know of his Hero status, but still believed he was connected to the Church. Yet they had appeared before him? If they were vampires trying to expand their power, they should have run the moment they got a sniff of the Church.
Half the scenarios Leon had been bracing for turned to dust in his mind. He gave an intentionally vague answer.
“Well, I suppose I am.”
Just like in Blaine, a Hero didn’t have to worry about facing consequences for using the Church’s name for a bit of extra weight. If anything, it was good insurance for unknown situations.
However, the vampires’ new reaction blew past even his wildest guesses.
“
Oh
! I knew it! We have been waiting for you!”
Tepes broke into a bright smile, grabbing Leon’s hand, while Roman let out a huge sigh of relief beside him.
Leon and Karen turned to stare blankly at each other. It seemed they were in for a much longer conversation than they’d expected.