Chapter 89 Shaya’s Engagement
Imperial Capital, Upper City.
Within the grounds of a mansion, so vast it seemed more like a palace than a building, a sunlit courtyard. Lush green plants stood gracefully throughout the courtyard, bearing colorful flowers that emanated a rich fragrance. The air was thick with a mixture of magic and vitality, almost palpable.
Any Beast Tamer specializing in plant-type familiars present would have been utterly astounded. This was because, without exception, every plant in this courtyard was of a Rare Familiar Species, all above King Grade. Plant-type familiars were inherently scarce and difficult to cultivate; any single King Grade plant familiar required decades, even centuries, of nurturing. The successful cultivation of just one King Grade familiar was enough to produce a powerful Master Grade plant-type Beast Tamer.
Yet, within the courtyard at this moment, these plant Kings, considered extraordinarily precious by outsiders, were merely placed about like ornamental potted plants. An elder with a peaceful expression was meticulously trimming the branches of the plants in the courtyard with pruning shears, exuding no aura whatsoever, appearing as nothing more than an ordinary gardener.
“The Thorns of Sin has been annihilated,”
“Viscount Lory lost in a gamble, his spiritual demon lost control and chose suicide.”
“The family’s observers sent there are also dead. The things below, if nothing unexpected happens, have also been completely exposed.”
Suddenly, a voice, filled with extreme deference, sounded from the shadows of the outer wall of the courtyard. The elder continued his work, only pausing after snipping off an excess branch. He tossed the pruned branch into a nearby wooden bucket. “Clean it up.”
“It’s already being handled. The connection between the Thorns of Sin and the family has been completely severed. There will be no loose ends.” The highly respectful voice responded.
“Furthermore, according to the intelligence from the scene, the leader of the group that annihilated the Thorns of Sin displayed a crest.”
“If the eyewitness accounts are accurate… then the insignia of the World Tree and a silver sword should be the crest of the Sword Holders.”
The elder, behaving like a gardener, reached out and brushed the trimmed branches before placing his pruning shears back into his toolbox. A moment later, he turned around. The humble gardener persona had vanished, replaced by an ancient majesty.
“Has Isadorella started her activities again?”
“Does she believe she has learned enough from her previous failure… and accumulated enough strength over these four years?”
“Which Sword Holder has she chosen this time? That little girl named Fiolen, from the White Tower?”
The voice from the shadows paused for a moment before speaking again. “It is not Inspector Aerora Fiolen, Your Excellency.”
“According to the family’s intelligence, the leader appears to be less than Four Rings…”
“Comparing the recorded physical characteristics and voice… it is highly probable that it is Shaya Egut, the third-year student from Saint Roland Academy who previously foiled the Ash Cult’s scheme in the Imperial Capital.”
The elder’s voice then paused for a moment. “Him?”
“Yes, Shaya Egut and the Second Princess must have first crossed paths during that Ash Cult attack.”
“Furthermore, there is evidence indicating he originates from Ceylon, and ‘Shaya Egut’ is likely just an alias.”
“Considering that the ‘Winter Flower’s’ oath chess piece has yet to be found, perhaps…”
The voice from the shadow paused. “This time, he has also sided with the Second Princess.”
“Do we need to, as we did with the previous Sword Holders, join forces with other families to directly target the leader of the Sword Holders…”
“No need.”
The elder interrupted the suggestion from the shadow as soon as it was made. The elder sat down on a chair in the courtyard. Though it was an ordinary wooden chair, it exuded a heavy majesty the moment he sat.
“The Royal Family is, after all, the Royal Family. Even though their rule over the Empire has weakened over the years, their remaining influence is still not to be underestimated.”
“Isadorella’s talent and disposition are indeed outstanding. Over these years, her excellence has restored confidence in the Royal Family for many.”
“As long as she exists, the Sword Holders will exist. In such a situation, forceful suppression as in the past would be counterproductive, stirring their rebellious hearts.”
The elder’s words paused slightly. “Since that is the case, let us try a different approach.”
“The crimson rose and rapier are the family crests.”
“And the coexistence of alluring temptation and a decisive hand is the Borgia way of conducting affairs.”
“I understand.”
The figure in the shadow quietly withdrew. The elder sat on the wooden chair, and after a moment, a light blue magic crystal screen quietly appeared.
“Histria, your information should have arrived, right?”
“What do you think of the previous suggestion?”
The sound of paper being flipped came from the magic crystal screen.
“A quasi-Four Rings at seventeen years old. His talent is… passable.”
After a long time, a clear, pleasant, yet exceptionally cold voice rang out. The pleasing female voice paused, as if reviewing the scene from a recording crystal. After a moment, she spoke again.
“As for his appearance, he is indeed much better than those so-called descendants of saints from the Holy See. He is somewhat presentable.”
“If it is for the family, I have no objections.”
…
In a dark underground room.
Shaya reached out and touched a small area of temporal distortion deep within a hidden chamber yet to be excavated. This area was difficult for ordinary people, even high-ranking experts of Five or Six Rings, to detect. However, to Shaya, who had absorbed dozens of Sands of Time and possessed terrifying affinity with time, it was exceptionally conspicuous.
The next moment, the distorted time merged into Shaya’s palm and disappeared, and lines of information appeared in his mind.
[First Stage of Mission: Trigger Historical Echo – “Escarnia” (Completed)]
[Current Historical Echo has been archived. For the second stage of the mission, please enter the Historical Echo yourself to view.]
[First Stage Mission Reward Issued: “Sands of Time” * 5]
In an instant, Shaya felt the dim starbeams above his Spiritual World grow brighter, with five tiny stars appearing. His spiritual power also increased significantly, and he felt a slight sense of blockage and stagnation, as if he had reached a bottleneck, just one step away from breaking through that illusory and hazy barrier.
Shaya had a premonition that if he were to take just some medicine to enhance his spiritual power or break through the bottleneck, he could completely break through the barrier between Tier 3 and Tier 4, officially advancing to Four Rings and becoming a true Master Grade Beast Tamer. A Four Rings Master was not weak, even on the entire Western Continent; in any country, they could easily receive a noble title and become a prominent figure in high society. Moreover, Shaya was barely seventeen years old, a stark contrast to those Master Grade Beast Tamers who broke through to Four Rings by accumulating years and vast amounts of time.
However, after some consideration, Shaya ultimately abandoned the idea of exchanging items from the Sands of Time shop to advance to Four Rings in one go. His recent advancement speed had been a bit too fast. Although the Sands of Time could directly stabilize the Spiritual World and enhance soul potential, and did not have the problem of a weak foundation from excessive reliance on elixirs like in cultivation novels—in fact, it did the opposite, stabilizing the foundation. However, breaking through to Four Rings by external force was ultimately not as natural and complete as a self-initiated advancement. He felt that his spirit and emotions were still somewhat unbalanced, and perhaps a certain catalyst was needed to achieve a complete transformation and sublimation of his spiritual power.
“My mission is done.”
Shaya turned and looked at the Sword Holder subordinates behind him. Unlike the superficial respect he had received when they met in the military lounge earlier, Shaya could now feel Black Raven and Nightingale looking at him with greater fervor. It was clear they had, from the bottom of their hearts, acknowledged Shaya’s status as the leader of the Sword Holders, rather than merely obeying him due to the Second Princess’s orders.
“The aftermath will be left to you. Appease the victims, distribute compensation, and so on.”
“Including how to collect and record evidence from the underground rooms of the Sleepless City, this source of sin…”
“And how to utilize the newspapers controlled by the Royal Family and official channels to create public opinion in the Imperial Capital, thereby pressuring the nobles and gaining more prestige and benefits for our side…”
“I believe, as elites chosen by that Second Princess, you shouldn’t have trouble handling this.”
“Of course, we are professionals in this regard,” Black Raven replied in a hoarse voice, quickly stepping forward and directing the soldiers from the army who were filing in to seal off the entire Sleepless City.
However, for some reason, Shaya saw a flicker of evasion in Black Raven’s eyes.
“Then I’ll leave this place to you all.”
“Oh, right, don’t forget to give me my share of the spoils from this operation,” Shaya reminded them before striding out of the secret passage.
“Come on, Little Ai, let’s go home.”
…
The sunset colored the streets of the Black Lily District red. Shaya walked on the road home, the young girl beside him clinging tightly to his arm. Her light golden long hair cascaded onto Shaya’s shoulder. Today, Little Ai had used a new sandalwood-scented shampoo. Based on Shaya’s understanding of Aerora, she was the outwardly cold but inwardly warm, classic tsundere type. Even if she occasionally indulged Shaya with some intimacy typical of couples, it would only be in the privacy of their bedroom. In front of others, Aerora generally maintained the demeanor of an ice-cold beauty. The reason she was being so unusually affectionate with Shaya now was, naturally, because they were not a twosome, but a threesome.
Aerora shot a cold glance behind them with her clear blue beautiful eyes. “We’re almost home, why aren’t you returning to the military department and are still following us?”
“Because I wasn’t part of the military department to begin with, classmate Aerora.” Diris blinked her pure eyes. She had been obediently following behind the two, neither getting too close nor too far, like an infatuated maiden watching her beloved fly with someone else while she could only offer silent blessings from afar.
“I’m also a commoner faction student like you. I used to live in the dormitories of Saint Roland Academy.”
“But the abandoned residential area from that attack hasn’t been repaired yet, so I rented a place in the Black Lily District too, just one street behind your house. It’s naturally on the way.”
Diris’s explanation was so logical and convincing that Aerora was momentarily speechless, unable to refute. She could only reinforce her claim by pressing herself closer to Shaya. Shaya, in his heart, couldn’t help but commend Diris’s assistance. As expected of someone from the Royal Succubus Clan, skilled in manipulating people’s hearts. Little Ai wouldn’t normally act so intimately with him in public.
Just then, Shaya felt Aerora’s soft body suddenly stiffen. He stopped walking and looked in the distance. Ahead, a carriage was parked on the street outside Shaya’s residence. The carriage was matte black, polished to a shine, exuding a low-key luxury. In the center, a lifelike crimson rose was carved, signifying its extraordinary noble status.
The owner of the carriage was a middle-aged man, wearing a coat and leaning on a silver-inlaid redwood cane. His graying hair was meticulously combed back, and his entire person exuded an aura of nobility and dignity, appearing out of place in the trendy atmosphere of the Black Lily District. He stood elegantly beside the carriage, as if waiting for something.
“Crimson Rose—the head butler of the Borgia Family.”
“‘Silver Fox’ Riel, Titled Grade.”
Diris whispered into Shaya’s ear, “I didn’t expect their reaction to be so fast. Should I contact His Highness through secret channels?”
“No need,” Shaya shook his head, gently taking Aerora’s soft hand and preventing the blonde girl’s urge to become weaponized.
“This kind of display clearly indicates they don’t intend to fall out completely.”
“I’d like to see what the Borgia Family has up their sleeve…”
As soon as Shaya finished speaking, he saw the elegant and dignified old man look in their direction. The next moment, a multitude of complex emotions—joy, relief, and more—appeared on Head Butler Riel’s impeccably neat face.
Before Shaya could approach, he quickly walked up to him. Then, he bowed slightly to Shaya. This was a special butler’s salute reserved for high-ranking nobles within the Empire, used only by servants towards their masters.
“Young Master Shaya, it is an honor to see you again.”
His voice was respectful and gentle, elegant and appropriate, making the listener feel as if bathed in spring breeze, without the slightest arrogance of a superior.
“This old servant has taken the liberty of visiting today to discuss Young Master Shaya and our young lady—”
“Histria Borgia’s engagement.”
