TuxedoTranslations

Chapter 43

Original Timeline, Tulip Kingdom.

Wave after wave of monster attacks had finally ceased. Edward let out a long breath, his shoulders slumping, arms hanging loose. His whole body moved like a walking corpse as he came down from the city wall, utterly exhausted.

“Ah… finally over… The western city gate guarded by His Majesty the King should be wrapping up about now too.”

Taking advantage of the fact that no one else was around to see and ruin his image, he collapsed weakly, rolling his sore shoulders with a sigh full of emotion.

“If it weren’t for you, I couldn’t have handled it alone. Ah, if Jacques were here too, it would’ve been even better. Back in the last war, the way the three of us worked together—”

Before he could finish, his expression shifted—he had realized he’d said something he shouldn’t have.

He glanced at Zeman, who was walking ahead. Sure enough, Zeman stopped in his tracks.

The gently swaying white hair hid Zeman’s expression, but Edward knew that hearing that name couldn’t have felt good for him.

“Sorry,” he said quickly.

Zeman didn’t reply—he simply kept walking, stepping from the sunlight into the dark stairwell. The figure bathed in radiance slowly sank into the unknown depths of shadow.

Edward followed, hesitating for a moment before finally speaking: “As your sworn knight, how exactly did Jacques die?”

The last time they’d met, he had asked briefly, but since Zeman had been in a bad state after hearing of Jacques’ death, Edward hadn’t pressed further.

But he couldn’t figure it out—who could have possibly killed Jacques?

As Zeman’s sworn knight, Jacques’ strength was formidable. Ordinary monsters couldn’t possibly have taken him down.

And when had this even happened?

The last time Edward had seen Jacques was two years ago, when Jacques had begun traveling across the continent to investigate something. For a sworn knight to be away from the one he served for so long was already extremely strange.

Zeman didn’t answer Edward’s question.

Still in the dark, Edward pressed on: “Don’t tell me he died in Thorn City… like the old Pope?”

This time, Zeman answered softly: “Yes.”

Edward sucked in a sharp breath.

The old Pope’s death had been connected to that mysterious demonic dragon. If Jacques had died in Thorn City as well, then the dragon was likely involved.

He looked at Zeman with concern.

If that was the case, then Zeman and that dragon were destined for a fight to the death.

For some reason, a sense of foreboding spread through Edward’s heart.

Seeing that Zeman intended to head to another city gate to deal with unfinished matters, Edward stopped him: “That’s enough. It’s my mess to clean up anyway. Leave the rest to me—you can still make it back in time to have lunch with little Albin.”

Zeman looked at him, a faint trace of lingering sorrow flickering in his crimson eyes.

“Go on, go on,” Edward waved him off. “Leave the investigation into why the monsters went berserk to me. I’ve got foresight magic—I’ll be fine.”

After weighing it for a moment, Zeman nodded.

Parting ways with Edward, Zeman walked along the peaceful streets. Sunlight filtered through the treetops, falling over him. Seeing the townsfolk untouched by the monster attacks, he was suddenly reminded of past events.

Perhaps… he had managed to protect something after all.

When he returned to the inn, he felt an intense surge of Padma’s magic and frowned. He couldn’t understand what had happened.

Fortunately, the clerics had all been summoned elsewhere—otherwise, this magic would have been noticed immediately.

Zeman had expected a warm welcome from Albin, but when he pushed open the door, he was met with silence.

He saw Albin, dressed for going out, lying unconscious on the bed, with Jade equally unconscious beside his pillow.

Padma sat nearby, pink hair disheveled, his face buried in his hands in guilt and anguish.

—Albin was in trouble.

---

Over a year earlier, Thorn City.

The day of the funeral had arrived.

In the tall tower, Albin listened to the sounds from outside, then turned back to go over the escape plan with Xiao Hei one more time.

“We’re leaving tonight. After the burial, there’s going to be a banquet. We’ll slip away while the guests are leaving—that’s when the crowd will be big and chaotic, and all the servants will be off eating. It’s the perfect chance…”

He went over the guard patrol details he knew, his heart pounding.

“The west district of Thorn City is the rich area—patrolled heavily, easy to get caught. We should head for the east district instead. I hear the law’s looser there—you can’t even find a patrol officer…”

Xiao Hei listened carefully, nodding at each point.

Aside from timing and routes, there was something else Albin worried about.

Since he’d been kept in the tower for so long without going out, his physical strength was poor—nothing compared to Xiao Hei’s.

It was strange. He clearly remembered not being this weak before.

He thought to himself that he’d have to seriously train later on—otherwise, if the time came to drag his father out of a burning building, he wouldn’t be able to do it. His magic wasn’t strong enough to put out such a huge fire yet.

For now, though, he was worried he’d slow Xiao Hei down.

“If I can’t keep up when we escape, just go on without me,” Albin said confidently. “Don’t worry, they won’t hurt me—last time, the butler didn’t even dare hit me. But you—don’t get caught again.”

Xiao Hei shook his head sharply, meeting his gaze. “I’m taking you with me.”

“But—” Albin started to protest, when Xiao Hei suddenly hoisted him onto his back.

“Hold on.”

Albin gave a startled cry, afraid of falling, and instinctively wrapped his arms around Xiao Hei’s neck.

Xiao Hei carried him around the room a few times. Even with a child on his back, his breathing was steady and his steps sure.

He mumbled, “I’m strong. I can carry you on my back and keep running.”

Albin lay on his shoulder. For some reason, he felt a little happy and couldn’t help but let out a low chuckle.

“Idiot!”

Xiao Hei was baffled. He retorted, “Xiao Bai’s the idiot. I would never leave you behind.”

Albin froze — the simple-minded Xiaohei had just called him an idiot.

“What? You’re the idiot, not me!” he said, deliberately shifting around on Xiaohei’s back.

“No, Xiao Bai’s the idiot!” Xiao Hei’s stance was steady, completely unmoving.

“Bounce back!”

“Bounce-back invalid!”

…

The two bickered for a while, and all of Albin’s nervousness vanished.

He buried his face into Xiaohei’s shoulder and murmured with deep satisfaction, “I’m really glad I met you.”

Thankfully, he wasn’t alone.

Xiaohei’s ears flushed red, and he turned his face away.

Albin climbed down from him and carefully fastened the modified shackles and muzzle back on.

To avoid suspicion, once the shackles had been removed earlier, he had made small adjustments so that they still looked locked, but could be easily slipped off when needed — loose enough not to restrain him.

“Be careful not to get hurt again today!” Albin waved as he sent Xiao Hei off.

Once Xiao Hei was gone, Albin fell back into waiting.

He gazed at the cloudy, overcast sky beyond the high window, brimming with anticipation.

Once he got out of here, he would live with Xiao Hei, try to find Emerald again, and then, when he turned eight, pick up a “Zeman dad” from the forest, and continue meeting people like Brother Padma.

He was in the middle of his daydream when he heard the sound of the lock on the front door.

Turning his head, he saw the butler enter, accompanied by a sturdy male servant.

Ever since the last time Xiao Hei had bumped into him, the butler had always brought muscle along, just in case.

It was still well before dinner — the butler had no reason to be here now.

“Take him away.” The butler, of course, didn’t bother asking the opinion of an “idiot.” He simply ordered the servant to drag Albin off.

Today was the funeral. Albin knew there would be bread for him to eat there, so he wasn’t surprised by the butler’s arrival. He did nothing to resist and allowed himself to be taken to the ceremony.

The memorial service was filled with dignified nobles and wealthy merchants, dressed in black suits and hats, their expressions solemn as they looked down in silence. Dressed in an off-white linen outfit, Albin looked completely out of place.

He was led to the corpse. On its forehead was a strange magic array, and on the array lay a piece of white bread.

A man in a mage’s robe was muttering some kind of funeral rite.

“Eat it,” the butler told Albin.

Albin took the bread, lowered his head, and curled up in a corner, pretending to eat it.

No one would care about him, much less look directly at someone as inauspicious as him.

The butler had no intention of letting someone of his status linger here. Once he saw Albin had “finished,” he immediately took him away.

Albin felt a wave of relief and excitement — once they returned to the tower, he would be able to escape that night.

However, the butler did not take him back to the tower.

Instead, he led him out of the castle gates, where a truck with an iron cage was parked. Next to it stood a shrewd-looking man.

Albin sensed something was wrong.

“Take him,” the butler said arrogantly to the slave trader.

The trader nodded respectfully. “You’re an old customer. I’ll buy this little slave at our usual price — no haggling. And if you need more in the future, you can always come to me.”

The butler had made another profit.

The new head of the family told him to get rid of the boy — an unlucky fool, unwanted even as a servant. Killing him would be a waste; selling him was the most cost-effective option.

Money changed hands and the boy was handed over. Albin realized he had been sold and wanted to run, but then he suddenly thought of Xiao Hei.

If he escaped now, Xiao Hei would definitely be implicated — and then Xiao Hei wouldn’t be able to get away…

Besides, there were so many mages and guards around; even if he ran now, he’d never make it.

He bit the inside of his cheek, forcing himself not to show fear, and let the slaver lock him inside a cage to be taken back to their base.

Still, he thought, at least he had already told Xiao Hei the escape route — so even if he was caught, Xiao Hei could still get away.

On the way, the slave trader slapped the bars of the cage, in high spirits. “This little sin-eater will fetch me a high price.”

His partner, a hired thug, looked surprised. “What’s a little slave like him worth? There are plenty of poor folks scrambling to be sin-eaters. Not worth a thing — who’s going to take one home and feed him for nothing?”

The slaver said smugly, “Those paupers’ sin-eating rituals are nothing like the rich folks’. I’m going to create demand among the nobles — get them competing to keep their own sin-eater. Then I’ll never have to worry about selling little slaves again.”

The thug couldn’t help asking, “Do you think this sin-eating ritual actually works? If it doesn’t, they’ll make you pay dearly for it.”

“Only God knows whether it works. But if mages could just use magic to transfer sin, the temple priests would’ve been raking in fortunes from it long ago. And nobody beats the priests when it comes to making money.”

“That’s true enough…”

“Real or fake — doesn’t matter. As long as people believe, we can make money.” His tone turned sly. “I just have to convince the nobles that keeping a sin-eater in luxury is the only way to show they’re different from the commoners. They’ll be hooked.”

The nobles were always desperate to distinguish themselves from commoners in every way — it was a good angle.

Hearing this, Albin felt a fire of anger flare up inside him.

This slaver even planned to trick and harm more people!

What a vile man!

Wasn’t there any law to punish someone like this?

But then he remembered — this was the City of Sin, where slave trading was done openly. There probably wasn’t any law against it at all.

He bit his lip, thinking hard.

How could he make such a cunning merchant obey?

Then he remembered an earlier lesson — and also thought of Sultanlai, the tyrant whose bloody methods had terrified the nobles into silence. His mind began to churn with ideas.

—

The so-called “base” was like a prison, with iron bars separating the cells. Behind them were many others who, like him, had been sold into slavery — about six or seven people in total. They huddled in corners or squatted on the ground, their clothes in tatters.

When they saw a newcomer, some cast him a lifeless glance full of exhaustion; others sighed softly, pitying his fate.

It was Albin’s first time seeing so many slaves. Looking at their expressions lit an intense urge in his heart —

Escape!

Not only did he have to escape, but he also had to get them out too!

Since he was here anyway, how could he not take everyone with him?

After a little time to adjust, Albin quickly came up with the idea. Taking advantage of the slaver’s absence, he began talking to the other slaves.

It went smoothly — most of them had been kidnapped or framed, and they’d long wanted to escape but had never had the chance.

After a few days, Albin grew close to them, and they began planning an escape together. Compared to the castle, this place was much easier to flee from. The only real trouble was the slave brand burned into the backs of their hands — if anyone spotted it, they’d be recaptured quickly.

But to Albin, this wasn’t a problem. He’d already developed magic for treating burns and scalds while healing Xiao Hei, so he could remove them.

The bigger challenge was shaking off the thugs. With the slaver’s connections, they would definitely be hunted down — and wind magic alone might not be enough.

They were quietly discussing this when they suddenly heard the slaver’s furious, howling roar from outside.

“Damn little slave—!”

The harsh shout made everyone uneasy. Whenever the slaver was angry, it usually meant someone was about to be punished.

Albin and the others grabbed the bars to look outside — and the next sight left them utterly stunned.

Albin saw a black shadow — the shadow of a wolf.

The swift, agile form rushed from the distance and leapt onto the slaver, tearing into him.

No — it wasn’t a wolf. It was a person.

A black-haired boy, wreathed in terrifying dark energy, pounced on the slaver. His dazzling ultramarine eyes blazed with ferocity as his sharp teeth bit clean through the slaver’s neck, blood gushing like a spring.

Albin’s heart gave a jolt.

It was Xiao Hei.