Eternal Thief

A sliver of shock flashed past the Duchess’s devilish eyes when she heard about an unknown Ancient Remnant sealed under the Black Hermit Mines, which had been part of her territory for almost ten thousand years now.

’I guess that liar wasn’t a complete after all. But I’ve personally gone into the Black Hermit Mines to investigate, and except for those dormant Abyssal Beasts, there was nothing worthy enough of my attention…’ Dread Duchess’s thoughts run wild at that moment as she remembered the true founder of the Black Hermit Mines.

That ’liar’ was actually another Abyss Wanderer, and quite a famous one, but he was renowned for being a pathological liar.

After that ’liar’ discovered the Black Hermit Mines, he tried to hoard it, but ended up failing, and was caught by the Dread Duchess.

However, when that liar was captured, he begged for his life in exchange for an ancient record which hinted at an unknown opportunity sealed within the mines.

Dread Duchess even went out of her way to personally venture into the dangerous mines, but didn’t find anything except for danger lurking everywhere.

In the end, the Duchess was furious and executed that liar on the spot, and that’s how that matter came to an end.

However, today, Dread Duchess couldn’t help but think about the past and slightly regretted her hasty action.

Nonetheless, she didn’t think much of it as she was more interested in Nomad’s information and extremely curious about how the Moonless Wandering King discovered and pinpointed the location of this ancient remnant.

Furthermore, she couldn’t wrap her head around how Nomad was able to escape alive in that kind of chaos. Not to mention the Abyssal King seemed confident enough to send him there, which means Nomad wasn’t as weak as he appeared, or he was probably hiding something extraordinary.

Ace could see the anticipation in the Duchess’s eyes, and he knew she was hooked and didn’t find his reasoning unbelievable.

He knew that the Duchess wouldn’t let this matter end just because he told her it was his master’s task, and he was forbidden to expose it to others.

After all, the Dread Duchess was still a higher-up of the Evernight Council, and objectively, the Myriad Obsidian Kingdom was the territory of the Evernight Council.

Even if an Abyssal King wanted to do something, the Evernight Council was strong enough to demand an explanation, and that’s why Dread Duchess could now inquire about the reason.

If Ace hadn’t caused such chaos in the Black Hermit Mines, which affects the whole of the Black Hermit City, and its safety, and if the fake Khazars hadn’t been discovered, Dread Duchess wouldn’t have any good reason to meddle in his affair.

But Ace wasn’t easy to deal with either, and he was already prepared to tell a story woven from truth and lies.

“Forgive me, your highness, because I won’t be able to tell you all the details since even I-I don’t know everything, and I was only following my master’s will.

“Furthermore, it was also my master who told me to reveal everything when I think the time is right, and now that I think about it, I finally understand what he meant by it.” He said wryly in a self-deprecating manner.

However, in Dread Duchess’s ears, those words were sharp like knives because, according to the ’Nomad’ statement just now, the Moonless Wandering King had predicted all of this, and he even included her involvement, and probably this entire conversation.

This sent a sudden chill down her spine because the Moonless Wandering King seemed a deep schemer with profound intellect, especially after what happened with the Ghost King.

’First, the Moonless Wandering King handed over the Ghost King and only demanded a reward for his disciple. Now, all of a sudden, he again sent his disciple here and ended up unraveling not only an ancient remnant but also a hidden scheme. It all seems too much coincidental…’

When Ace saw Dread Duchess’s thoughtful expression with a faint frown on her forehead, he knew he had achieved his goal of confusing the Dread Duchess. He shifted her entire focus from Nomad to the Moonless Wandering King while portraying himself as a pawn who was only following orders.

“Tell me something first,” Dread Duchess spoke in an impassive tone, “Does your master also tell you to come to the Lord Castle as well? If yes, then what exactly did you do?”

’I guess there was definitely something wrong with Khazar, or she might be suspecting that I’m also related to Zaria’s forbidden spell…’

“Yes, I was told to come here first to place an item before I left. As for what that item was, I have no idea. I was given that item before I came to your territory, your highness, and I was told that when the time comes, I’ll be told what to do with it.” Ace said in an innocent tone like a clueless sheep.

Dread Duchess’s eyes narrowed as she couldn’t detect any lies or any anomaly from Ace’s speech because she was secretly using her abyssal sense.

“Is that so?” Dread Duchess meaningfully said, “Then I guess it can’t be helped. Tell me about this Ancient Remnant. Did you unseal it, and then what happened in the mines was related to it?

“Furthermore, with how quickly you managed to escape, the ancient remnant is still unexplored, right? Moreover, what are the thoughts of the esteemed Abyssal King in this matter? I wonder if his exalted self has some instruction for me?”

“I won’t dare to instruct your highness, nor my master have such intentions either, at least he didn’t express it, but I’m sure there’s nothing like that.” Ace subtly denied before he said, “As for the Ancient Remnant, it is indeed as her highness has speculated. The chaos is indeed related to the ancient remnant, and I have unsealed it with an item that my master entrusted me with.”

At this point, Ace seemed hesitant and said with a hint of embarrassment, “However, I don’t know if it’s explorable or not anymore.”

Dread Duchess was confused by his last sentence, “What do you mean?”

He solemnly replied, “Well, your highness, the thing is, the moment the seal was broken, the entrance of the ancient remnant vanished, and I somehow ended up at the surface!”