Cleaver Of Sin

Chapter 350: Gutters

William and Finch remained outside for the moment. They stood at a window, silently observing the sprawling Wargrave Estate through the glass as they discussed amongst themselves. The soft hum of distant activity from the estate grounds contrasted with their growing impatience.

”What is keeping him so long... sighs,” William muttered with a weary exhale. He was already tired of standing and waiting for Asher. Although only minutes had passed, to him, it felt like an agonizing stretch of time, each second dragging longer than the last.

”At this point, isn’t he a bad host?” Finch replied with an exasperated sigh of his own, his black eyes staring at the world beyond the window. The landscape outside was vibrant, yet Finch’s expression remained flat, unimpressed, and tired.

William, hearing Finch’s words, did not reply at first. He simply remained quiet for a moment, letting the silence stretch, before finally responding, ”How about we head back toward the balance and movement training ground? Maybe Instructor Elowen will be done training the trainees by now,” he suggested, turning slightly from the window.

Finch thought about it for a moment before giving a subtle nod. ”We could make use of the precious time here,” he responded in agreement. His tone carried a calm practicality, though a hint of reluctant discipline lingered beneath it.

William smiled as he stared at Finch. Normally, Finch would have declined, as he wasn’t truly interested in training beyond what was necessary or outside his fixed training schedule. Yet seeing Finch agree, and even seem eager, to train brought a genuine and soft smile to William’s face. After all, he wouldn’t want to leave his friend behind in his own quest toward reaching the pinnacle of the world.

”What are you smiling about?” Finch asked, noticing William’s expression as he turned his black eyes away from the window and toward his friend.

”I’m wondering how someone as monstrous as Asher could exist. After all, the survival challenge we just watched him clear is still fresh in my mind,” William lied smoothly, refusing to meet Finch’s gaze. Although the awe lingered in his mind, he was not thinking about Asher at that specific moment.

Finch nodded, accepting William’s words at face value. ’How did he do it?’ Finch wondered silently. The question had occupied his mind ever since the moment Asher had stepped out of that impossible trial alive.

Although Asher possessed the Omni Perception, it wasn’t the reason he had survived the survival challenge. The Omni Perception could not make him dodge attacks with perfect timing and ease, could not enable him to survive falling thousands of meters through open air, could not help him endure fire arrows or push through the devastating strike of a meteor. All of those feats had been accomplished through Asher’s own inexplicable talent and razor-sharp mind.

Even if the Omni Perception were given to Finch and William, neither of them would be able to clear the survival challenge. The trial was never solely about perception.

”Let’s go,” William finally said, breaking Finch out of his thoughts. Finch nodded in agreement. Just as they turned to walk away, a door creaked open behind them. Through it, Asher stepped out with a calm smile on his face.

”I didn’t know I was a bad host,” he said evenly.

William and Finch paused mid-step, their black eyes shifting toward Asher. William spoke immediately, ”Of course you’re a bad host. You left us here like some hobos.”

Asher simply shook his head, fully aware that William and Finch were teasing him. ”You may come in now,” he said as he turned and walked back into his room.

Finch and William did not hesitate. They stepped forward, entering Asher’s room. The moment they stepped in, their eyes were met with another display of opulence, an interior so refined and luxurious it seemed to mock them for being mere Barony heirs.

Their gazes shifted almost immediately toward a presence they hadn’t noticed earlier, an unfamiliar figure standing calmly within the room.

Lyra.

They stared at her from head to toe. They knew she was a maid, yet their minds instinctively wandered. ’What had a maid been doing with Asher alone for minutes?’ They were both too perceptive, and too curious, for their own good.

William’s mind began to spin wildly as his eyes flickered between Lyra and Asher. He remembered how completely silent the room had been earlier when he and Finch were waiting outside. His gaze drifted toward the bed, still perfectly arranged, and then swept over the room again as if searching for any detail, any clue to confirm the nonsense forming in his imagination.

A small, ridiculous smile tugged at his lips as he continued to overthink.

”You can get your mind out of the gutters now,” Asher finally said, his voice cutting cleanly through William’s spiraling thoughts. Asher, of course, could easily guess what William was thinking; it was not difficult when the boy had such a stupid and suspicious smile on his face.

”Ahem... I wasn’t thinking of anything like th—” William began, preparing to defend himself, but Asher cut him off effortlessly.

”Not everybody is like you, going around sleeping with every maid your father hires,” Asher stated with a completely expressionless face.

William’s lips twitched, and he opened his mouth to defend himself against such slander, but Asher spoke again.

”Finch told me.”

At those words, William’s head snapped toward Finch, who seemed to be calmly examining the worth of every item in the room. Finch, startled, almost staggered. He hadn’t said a single word of that sort to Asher. His bewildered expression made it clear he had been framed.

Lyra watched the three of them quietly without reacting. She understood what Asher, William, and Finch were talking about, but she did not speak. She was a maid. She had no right to involve herself unless Asher granted her permission.

’He has friends,’ she thought quietly to herself. A genuine smile nearly crept onto her lips, but she suppressed it, maintaining her calm, composed demeanor. Her mind drifted back to the Tenth Sun’s sixteenth birthday, over two years ago, when he had failed his awakening yet again and locked himself away.

She had watched him train diligently since he was nothing but five years old until the age of sixteen, only for his hopes to be crushed again and again. She remembered the determination that burned in his eyes after failing his first awakening. Although he had been depressed and silent for two whole days, ashamed that he had tarnished the Wargrave Bloodline, he pushed himself even harder the next year... only to fail once more.

’He’s changed,’ she thought. Her mind lingered on the sudden confidence Asher had shown barely a few days before his third and final awakening, confidence that had never existed before. She never asked why the sudden change came about; she kept her questions to herself.

All that mattered was that after a year of tears, depression, and heavy silence, her Tenth Sun had returned to himself. She was overjoyed when he awakened, more so when she received the news that a letter from the Star Academy had been sent for him. To her, it meant the Star Academy recognized the Tenth Sun’s true potential.

Standing here now, watching him interact with friends in such a natural, almost playful manner, made her smile inwardly, like a mother who had finally seen her introverted child step out into the world with confidence and engage in some extroverted activities.