The Devil’s Cage

“T-This is p-payment.”

Aisphany said in a stutter.

She then quickly reacted to the situation and emphasized, “I didn’t force him, he gave it to me of his own will.”

Though, it seemed like her emphasis caused a countereffect.

The coldness in Kieran’s eyes was getting colder.

When she felt the changes in Kieran’s eyes, Aisphany almost cried. She never thought that little sheep would have a lone wolf as a friend.

A sheep and a wolf were two different species, how could they come together?

She even thought she was lucky enough to encounter a fat sheep, allowing her to earn something out of it.

Aisphany was scolding her greed loudly in her heart while she said loudly, “I swear on my family’s name everything that I just said is real!”

Her voice turned out to be decisive and sonorous but…

Kieran didn’t buy any of that because he knew Starbeck’s character well.

Given Starbeck’s character in such a forceful situation, Kieran knew exactly what kind of deal Starbeck has with this girl and how it went down.

BLACKMAIL!

More precisely, it was a one-sided, easy ROBBERY!

Other than arguing a little, Starbeck couldn’t do anything else. He might not even voice his argument, at most he opened his mouth but no words would come out.

Kieran never doubted how cowardly Starbeck was and he never doubted how greedy this woman was under her beautiful looks.

The moment she appeared, her presence had triggered Greed, the cardinal sins to resonate with her in praise. It was enough for Kieran to know how deep her greed was.

Huuu!

Scorching flames burned fiercely on Kieran’s left hand.

Everyone in the security office changed their looks into different expressions when they saw the flame on Kieran’s hand.

Old Peeker and Sayer were purely thinking about rumors, their gazes were looking more and more reverent toward Kieran.

Snacker, Blu, and Riley, however, recalled a lot of memories since they kind of understand who Kieran was.

Aisphany, on the other hand, was much more simple. Fear.

Every rumor about Burning Family came afloat in her mind.

Then, her smart mind started to spin at a speed far exceed her usual thinking speed.

As she recalled scene after scene in her mind, Aisphany quickly caught onto the key point.

“My lord, please spare me! I will help you to locate Sir Starbeck! After all, I am the only one who met him before!” Aisphany fired out her words like chained pearls.

She swore she never spoke this fast in her life before.

When she spoke, Aisphany closed her eyes as though she didn’t dare to find out the reply to her request.

3 to 4 seconds later when she didn’t feel any burns or pain on her body, Aisphany slowly opened her eyes; not two at once but only a small seam from her left eye.

When she saw the fire go out from Kieran’s hand, she finally dared to open her eyes and let out a long breath.

She lived!

However, before she could truly be fortunate, fatigue filled her body and spread all over her muscle, causing her to fall on the floor.

Up until that moment, Aisphany realized she didn’t just feel fatigued and weak, her sweat had soaked her meticulously prepared dress as well.

Fuuu!

The night breeze was blown over.

Aisphany shivered hard but compared to the coldness in Kieran’s eyes, it was pale in comparison.

When Aisphany realized Kieran was staring at her, she forced her shiver away and tried to say in a mild and slow manner, “I met Starbeck in a small alley in Dawn City. He was in trouble back then but someone was protecting him from the dark.”

“That guy is powerful but I don’t know who he is. Starbeck noticed that guy as well and was also quite resistance towards his protection. He even used a certain tool to divert that guy’s attention when he made a deal with me. That guy realized he was deceived but he didn’t feel angry. All he did was warn me not to speak of Starbeck to anyone. Starbeck wasn’t resisting when he was taken away either.”

“I think that guy is Starbeck’s bodyguard and Starbeck should come from a big family, but… something felt wrong in the encounter, something weird.”

Aisphany spilled out the encounter with Starbeck before Kieran even rushed her.

She already knew that if she valued her life, she would have to use Starbeck’s name as an umbrella to protect her from the rain of death.

“My lord, don’t worry. I remember how that guy looked and with my forces and influence in Dawn City, I can easily find that guy along with Sir Starbeck.”

Aisphany was peeking at Kieran’s expression carefully as she spoke.

When she saw the coldness go away from Kieran’s eyes, her worried heart finally felt relieved.

“My lord, I shall depart right away and locate Sir Starbeck for you!”

After that, Aisphany slowly moved towards the security office door.

Kieran didn’t say anything nor did he do anything to stop her; he just looked at her wobbling away.

Sweat was seeping out her forehead and soon covered her entire face.

Then, Aisphany came back.

“My lord, on second thought, I think it’s better for me to listen to your orders in locating Sir Starbeck!” she said.

Kieran took a glance at Aisphany who was looking to please him. He then went straight out the door and grabbed her unconscious comrade.

Kieran’s kick knocked the man out but it didn’t kill him. He threw the man in front of Aisphany and turned his attention to Snacker, Blu, and Riley.

He didn’t speak but his eyes turned the slightly relaxed atmosphere heavy again.

Snacker was grinding his gears, trying to figure out words to persuade Kieran but before the dual sword user figured anything out, his two comrades spoke before him.

“Being able to die under the arrow of a sharpshooter, I have no regrets! Fight me again!”

“Being able to die under your mystical spells, I have no regrets as well! I too want to fight you again!”

Blu and Riley shouted almost in unison.

The similar words stunned both of them right away. They looked at each other and saw a familiar expression on each other’s face.

Both of them were like first friends who had just met as they showed a smile to each other without any prearranged talks.

Snacker, on the other hand, covered his face; his head was slamming at the wall as he groaned in pain.

“Why in the hell you both playing tacitly with each other in this kind of time? You will die! DIE you know? Humans only can live once, if you die that’s it!”

The angry roar exploded from Snacker.

“Then what gave you the right to die for us?” Blue countered Snacker.

“Yeah right, if you are willing to die for us, why can’t we do the same and try to let you live?” Riley sighed.

Snacker was stunned.

“Y-You, guys… this is on me, I have to take responsibility,” Snacker stuttered.

Blu and Riley, however, didn’t care. Both of them looked at Kieran again.

“Being able to die under the arrows of a sharpshooter is my pleasure!”

“Being able to die under unknown mystical techniques is also my pleasure!”

“GODDAMNIT! CAN YOU BOTH LISTEN TO WHAT I SAY?!”

Snacker who was slightly touched by his comrades’ words couldn’t hold back anymore and yelled his lungs out.

His yell sounded like a real roar this time, even a layer of dust on top of the office’s beam was shaken away.

The dust fell on the nose of Aisphany’s unconscious comrade. The big and tall men sneezed.

“Achooo!”

“You! You bastard! I tell you, I won’t let you hurt the envoy as long as I am here!”

The man woke up with his sneeze. When he saw Kieran with his first sight, he climbed up and moved Aisphany behind him while voicing his statement.

“Envoy?!”

Everyone was instantly captivated by the word.

Kieran even squinted his eyes at Aisphany, sizing her up again.

“That’s right. Lady Aisphany here is an envoy from the royal family. She is specially assigned to investigate the unusual incidents of Burning Dawn!”

The man said with a delighted tone.

Then, the man suddenly realized something and he added with a serious tone, “This is a secret, you people better not tell others.”

WTF? Oi! Oi!

“If it was a secret, you shouldn’t have told everyone yourself!”

Everyone was looking at the man like they were looking at a retard, Kieran too.

Kieran even suspected his kick caused some concussion in the big fella’s brain, making him stupid but his thought was soon denied.

“Okay then, I’ll tell you my name in exchange for keeping the envoy thingy a secret! My name is Raulee, I am Lady Aisphany’s most loyal servant! Okay okay, now you know my name, you promised to keep everything a secret.”

Raulee said.

Who the hell promised him to keep a secret?

The guy was talking to himself!

Old Peeker, Sayer and the other trio rolled their eyes at the big dumb fella.

Kieran, on the other hand, walked towards Aisphany.

“Royal envoy?” Kieran asked.

“It’s… It’s a misunderstanding! I simply find an identity for myself that’s convenient, I really didn’t come here to try to scoop a bunch of benefits from the Burning Dawn incident…”

“OKAY fine! I’m a liar! I am here to scoop whatever benefits I can! But I don’t mean any ill intentions, spare me please!”

Aisphany instinctively wanted to claim her made identity but when she caught Kieran’s gaze, she became honest.

She even purposely lowered her voice, hoping that others in the room didn’t hear what she said but she failed.

Everyone heard.

Her servant Raulee even turned over while he was chatting with the others behind bars.

“Oh Lady Aisphany! Are you trying to hide your cover? You are so bold and wise to call yourself a liar in front of the enemy! As expected of you Lady Aisphany! You are the one that I will follow for the rest of my life!”

Raulee covered his mouth; his tears and snot were falling off his face.

How the hell did he just filled in the gaps with his own imagination?

Was this big fella really an idiot? A retard?

Old Peeker, Sayer and the trio were rendered speechless.

“How much do you know about Burning Dawn?”

Kieran did not spare his attention to the idiot. He laid his question out instead.

“Not much but Dawn City really did send a royal envoy to the areas around Supreme Road to investigate the assault on Burning Dawn.”

Aisphany also ignored her servant since she already knew what kind of idiot Raulee was.

In fact, if it wasn’t for Raulee’s simple mind but decent strength, why would Aisphany bring him around Supreme Road?

“Burning Dawn’s assault has captured the attention of Dawn City… which means Starbeck is in Dawn City! So it is really a battle on two fronts? Then… which is the most important part? Around Supreme Road or Dawn City?”

Kieran sat on the chair as his finger kept knocking against the arm.

The information before him was not enough for Kieran to form a full picture but the puzzle pieces he had now coincided with the guesses he had before.

Since Starbeck was the main scroll owner, the place he might be in, Dawn City might be very important but with Broker messing the situation up, his theory might no longer be correct.

Other than that, Kieran also suspected it was because of Broker’s handy work, the sub-missions turned out like this.

After another glance at Starbeck’s letter, Kieran made up his mind.

He looked at Aisphany again.

“My lord, any orders?” Aisphany asked.

“Bring your servant and continue on to Burning Dawn’s campsite. Search for whatever information you can get. I’ll give you 3 days, no matter what your results are, 3 days later you have to come back here to report to me.”

“And you three! I’ll give you another chance to challenge me. Win and I’ll let you go. Lose and you’ll have to serve me for 3 months. After 3 months, I’ll return you your freedom and will not restrict you by any means.”

Kieran glanced over the everyone in the room and said with a firm tone; his words, however, didn’t free Old Peeker and Sayer.

“Sure!”

Snacker, Blu, and Riley nodded in unison.

Aisphany?

From how Kieran viewed it, Aisphany didn’t even have the right to reject.

Contracts were signed one after another.

Aisphany left in a hurry with her servant, Raulee.

Snacker, Blu, and Riley, on the other hand, stood behind Kieran as they saw the duo off. The three of them were suffering a swollen face.

A chance to challenge Kieran? More like an insult to the three of them.

The so-called challenge was over in a few seconds following the signing of the trio’s contract.

The three of them actually ended up even worse than their first encounter with Kieran since this time, Kieran was serious; they didn’t even stand a chance before being struck to the ground.

“My lord, I am willing to pledge my allegiance to you!”

Old Peeker and Sayer said in unison after they witnessed the other trio escape death.

The chance for them to live had appeared and the likes of Old Peeker and Sayer wouldn’t just let the chance slip like that. On top of that, the two of them ought to be faster than the others.

No one wanted to be the passive one in negotiating for their survival.

“I know not only that bastard’s secret hideout, I know another person who has an unusual relationship with him!” Old Peeker said first.

“My lord, I can bring you more than a considerable amount of wealth, I can gather at least 50 superior warhorses as well!” Sayer too didn’t want to be on the weaker side.

Old Peeker and Sayer were beating each other in presenting their own worth.

Kieran, however, was sitting there, as though he didn’t hear anything.

He knew his silence would definitely maximize his benefits.