Chapter 76

“An envoy from Limone? Where are they now? Limone is an ally that saved Denabi. You should have brought them into the castle immediately!”

Derrick flinched at Avenger’s sharp rebuke.

“I—I naturally asked them to enter! But they were adamant about going straight to the Young Master. So…”

“So!?”

Just then, a voice cut through Avenger’s interrogation.

“I came here myself. Where is Shane?”

Vittorio was the one who pushed open the door and stepped inside.

Suspicion instantly clouded Avenger’s face.

“Commander Vittorio? What brings you here personally?”

“I told you before, so you should know.”

Vittorio wasn’t looking at Avenger when he spoke; his gaze was fixed on Izack.

Izack’s brow furrowed as he recalled that moment. During the final stages of the ‘White Basin’ raid, Vittorio had crossed blades with him and said something strange.

“…You said that brat’s life was tied to your own. Is he still holding your life in his hands? Commander of the Limone Legion?”

Vittorio nodded at Izack’s question.

“Yes. And I’ve come to collect that life. I’ll ask again. Where is Shane?”

“……”

However, the men in the room could only let out heavy groans. It wasn’t a question they could answer easily. They hadn’t been able to confirm Shane’s location either. Forget knowing where he was—they hadn’t even been able to push past the gate.

Despite their silence, Vittorio continued to press them. Eventually, Avenger had no choice but to briefly explain the situation.

After hearing the explanation, Vittorio spoke with blatant disdain.

“Your lord is isolated in enemy territory, yet his subordinates do nothing but fret behind the safety of the walls. I find myself doubting if the men standing before me are truly the renowned warriors of Denabi.”

“You bastard…!”

“Mind your tongue!”

It was Avenger who barked back at Vittorio before Izack could even react.

“The Young Master is my master and a benefactor to all of Denabi, but he is not the ruler of Denabi. And though they have staged an uprising, the people of the lower district are not ‘enemies.’ They are still citizens of Denabi. I am certain the Young Master thinks the same!”

Izack’s eyes widened as he stared at Avenger. He had dismissed him as nothing more than a stiff, greenhorn chief steward.

Izack lowered his head. Finally, he spoke.

“Commander of the Limone Legion. It seems we don’t have time to waste bickering with each other. I’ll admit it. We have no idea what state that brat is in beyond the gate. But it’s also true that we can’t just blindly charge into the overheated lower district.”

Izack’s tone was dead serious.

Vittorio looked at him. “So you’re saying you’re going to do nothing?”

“……”

Izack nodded grimly. This time, even Avenger decided to listen to what Izack had to say.

Izack looked up and met Vittorio’s eyes.

“Please, lend us your strength. Commander.”

“……”

“……”

Like a slow, distant wave, a quiet shock washed over them.

‘Please.’

That was a word they never expected to hear come out of Izack’s mouth.

Once the ripples of emotion had settled, Vittorio asked a short, clear question.

“What’s the plan?”

“The most ideal way is to scale the walls in an area where people are scarce.”

“Didn’t you say a search party was coming earlier?”

Adele asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

I replied, “That’s assuming we fail to link up with the search party. Even if we do succeed, we have to consider our options. The search party will likely be coming down from the walls themselves.”

“Hmm… it definitely doesn’t look easy to break through the front of the gate without making a scene. But those walls look way too high to climb.”

“True. Climbing them barehanded would be impossible.”

And that applied even to superhumans like Adele.

Denabi Castle was situated at a strategic point in the empire’s northeast. Its fortifications were designed specifically to block invaders. The eastern wall of the castle, built at the edge of a canyon, exceeded 10 meters even at its lowest point.

‘Even a superhuman like Vittorio, who can pull off a three-meter vertical jump, couldn’t clear that barehanded.’

In that case, there was only one answer. Use a tool. Someone had to lower a rope or a ladder from the top of the wall.

“But since the walls are so high, there aren’t many soldiers guarding them. However, trying to find a patrolling guard by shouting from below would be suicidal.”

“Because we’d end up calling the people chasing us instead of the guards?”

“Exactly.”

—Huuuuh…

Adele let out a strangely deflated sound.

She asked, “Then what do we do?”

“It’s not that complicated.”

I pulled a notebook from my pocket and ripped out a blank page.

“We send a message over the wall.”

“A message?”

I gave Adele a thin smile as she questioned me.

“Adele, I saw you earlier. You’re incredibly good at throwing arrows you’ve caught, aren’t you?”

“?”

“…Speak! Did Malik plot this whole thing? What were you planning to do after infiltrating the upper district!”

The shoulders of the bound men flinched at Izack’s booming voice.

After securing Vittorio’s cooperation, the first thing Izack did was interrogate Malik’s people who had been captured while infiltrating the brewery.

Izack ground his boot into the leg of one of the prisoners.

“Aaargh!”

“If you don’t talk, I’ll have your entire family exiled from Denabi. Except for your son, Dale.”

“What are you planning to do…!”

“Nothing much. I’ll just have him enlisted in the Denabi Legion. I’m sure he’ll become a fine warrior. Though, like more than half of the Legion’s soldiers, he probably won’t last ten years before his name is carved into a memorial stone in the cemetery…!”

The prisoner named Dale turned red with fury.

“Not my son! Izack, you traitorous piece of shit… How can you call yourself a man of the lower district?!”

“Did you forget? I’m a man of Denabi before I’m a man of the lower district. So am I, and so are you! If you wanted to beg for mercy, you shouldn’t have laid a finger on Alejandro’s son. You people crossed the line…!”

Izack’s rage completely overwhelmed Dale’s. The prisoner’s expression shifted from anger to sheer terror under Izack’s intensity.

“You… you wouldn’t really do that to my son…”

“Of course I would! Even Alejandro would have done the same. I remember clearly what Malik and your gang of traitors did when you stormed the castle.”

“……”

“Even then, Alejandro forgave you. You were spared once by Alejandro’s mercy, and you were spared again by the salvation of his third son. The Astrier family has every right to claim the lives of your families! And I have no problem exercising that right on their behalf!”

“No! Aaaargh…!”

Izack ground his boot into Dale’s leg once more.

The other prisoners trembled, completely overwhelmed by Izack’s fury.

“We are infiltrating the lower district tonight. You will decide whether we go looking for Malik, or for your sons and daughters. Now, speak…!”

“It—it wasn’t us!”

It wasn’t Dale who answered. One of the terrified prisoners shrieked out like a scream.

“I… I just came because Malik told me to keep an eye on the upper district. Even when I was up there, I was just doing my job! I don’t know anything about a riot!”

Izack moved to stand in front of that prisoner. He lowered himself, thrusting his face inches away from the man’s.

“Are you sure? You’re sure Malik didn’t start this?”

“M-Malik actually tried to stop it!”

“Then who was it!? Who the hell is behind this…!”

“……”

“Speak!”

“Ugh…”

The prisoner finally opened his mouth with great difficulty.

“The Guild…”

“The Guild…?”

A few hours later.

Izack’s operation began under the cover of night.

—Clink, clack.

Izack hooked a grappling iron onto the castle railing. He tugged it to ensure it was secure. A long rope dangled from the end of the hook.

“…Good. Let’s go.”

After confirming the line, Izack was the first to descend the wall. A few soldiers followed, and Vittorio came down last.

They were all equipped with relatively light gear: leather armor and short weapons. Though simple, it was equipment clearly meant for combat.

Izack took a deep breath, looking down at the moonlight reflecting off his blade. He was a man of the lower district himself. Preparing to fight against his own home was a bitter task.

But he owed a debt to Alejandro, and he owed a debt to Shane. And above all…

Denabi needed Shane.

Izack steeled his resolve, repeating those words to himself. He stepped out of the moonlight and melted into the shadows of the lower district.

“…Commence the operation.”

The group moved silently, pushing deeper into the alleys of the lower district. Because it was night, the chaos of the riot had quieted down, but a few people were still wandering the streets.

As they entered a more secluded area, Vittorio caught up to Izack.

“So, you said you weren’t going to look for Shane immediately?”

“Searching this massive district for a brat whose location is unknown is a fool’s errand. It’s faster to find someone who knows where he is.”

“Someone who knows? Are you talking about that Malik guy? What exactly is he?”

“I thought he was… the ruler of the lower district.”

“The ruler?”

Vittorio’s voice held blatant doubt. However, Izack intended to skip the explanation regarding Malik. Izack himself didn’t know much about the man anymore.

What Malik had done with Shane, and whether he had truly incited this riot… everything was a mystery to Izack.

‘That’s why I have to find out… who exactly did this.’

“I know where he stays. Once we find him, we can either suppress the riot or get the brat back—one of the two.”

Vittorio then asked, “Are we assassinating him?”

“……”

Izack hesitated before answering.

“…Depending on the situation, it might come to that.”

When they reached the heart of the lower district, Izack sensed someone nearby. He signaled the group to hold their positions. Then, he crept toward the presence alongside Vittorio.

Once they were close enough, voices drifted over.

“…Upper district goods are actually pretty nice.”

“…Yeah. I realized that after going there a few times.”

They sounded like ordinary residents. Izack was about to signal his team to pass by. But then, the residents’ conversation continued.

“…But it was so satisfying when the Guild attacked the gate this time. We really gave those upper district bastards a taste of their own medicine.”

“…Actually, my husband is part of that group. They said they’re looking for some upper-district brat who got trapped down here. I think they said he was the Lord’s third son?”

“…They need to catch him fast and hang him in front of the gate. Only then will the Lord stop looking down on us. Spending every day obsessed with useless brawling… that war-hungry prick… ptu!”

“…Before they hang him, let’s empty that kid’s pockets! I heard last time he went to the upper town, he paid the inn fees for those idiots who were late and couldn’t get back! His pockets will be fat if we catch him!”

“…Good! Let’s keep this between us!”

“…Hehehe.”

Vittorio’s eyes narrowed. He turned his head to look at Izack.

However, Izack just kept his head lowered, giving no signal at all. He knew this was just the low-life gossip of a few individuals. Somewhere else, someone might be worrying about Shane or speaking of the kindness they received from him.

But at the same time, Izack thought to himself:

‘Have I been in the upper district for too long?’

He should have known. The lower district had always been this kind of place. Before he met Shane, Izack had been steeped in the same way of thinking.

Yet now, the reality of the lower district felt strangely alien to him.

Izack felt his head grow as heavy as a stone in front of his companions. No matter how small a portion they represented, what they had just witnessed was an undeniable cross-section of the lower district.

Perhaps what they had to face wasn’t Malik, or just a few bad actors.

That possibility was what Izack truly feared.