CHAPTER 31: THE DARKNESS KNIGHT RISES

“It’s been a pleasure chatting with you. This is my stop.”

At the station entrance, Wayne carried his suitcase and spotted the driver Veronica had arranged, who was holding a large sign with his name. He politely bade Silvia farewell.

“I missed my train and I’m coinless,” she said with a smile, playing dumb. “As a gentleman, would you really let a lady wander the streets?”

Come on, lady. Do you even know what coinless means?

He rolled his eyes. “I’ll buy you a ticket and give you three baskets of potatoes.”

Instead of responding, she got into the same car.

The driver was a young man. He seemed amazed at her beauty and expressed his envy toward Wayne through his expression. Wayne remained silent this instance, too; anyone could see that the two of them were complete strangers, and there was no need for explanation.

He straightened his back. The driver only had his own intelligence to blame; the misunderstanding had nothing to do with Wayne.

Enrod was much more prosperous than Klofron. With industrialization drawing people from the rural areas to the cities and towns, Enrod would’ve developed even more if not for the economic downturn over the recent years.

None of that concerned Wayne. Mr. Lando’s manor was in a remote location, away from the town’s hubbub. Situated on a low hill north of Enrod, it oversaw the entire town from a vantage point.

The massive manor consisted of four houses with white walls and blue rooftops, circled by lawns. There were also two well-maintained gardens, one with a fountain and the other with a pavilion, allowing the family to enjoy nature in comfort.

The car entered through the iron gates. Wayne gazed at the luxurious manor and marveled at how wealthy his future father-in-law was—even an unoccupied property was attended by dedicated gardeners.

Looking at the familiar garden, Silvia remembered the good times from her past. She exclaimed, “Wayne, I didn’t know you were so wealthy, owning a property in this remote town.”

“I’m not. This belongs to my girlfriend’s family. Her wealth isn’t mine.”

“Can you tell me about your girlfriend?” Silvia asked. “How did you meet?”

Wayne was convinced that she was trying to steal him from Veronica, so he didn’t want to dwell on the topic. He replied dismissively, “Nothing much to say. She came to my detective agency looking for work, and I happened to need an assistant. The feelings developed naturally.”

“She’s so wealthy. Can you afford to hire her?”

“Paid employment. She paid to work at the agency.”

Silvia looked at him in puzzlement. What did he mean? That her daughter was the one pursuing him and paying for everything?

Wayne shrugged. “I’ve already given her a job. Why would I give her a salary? Don’t be surprised. Once the other employers realize this, paid employment will become the social norm.”

The concept was too advanced for Silvia to understand.

In front of the main house, a butler in neat attire awaited the young lady’s distinguished guest. Since the manor was some distance from Londan, only four professional maids dispatched from Londan were assigned for security and cleanliness, ensuring the Lando family could move in at any time.

The gardeners and servants were hired locally and didn’t belong to the family, so they didn’t join the welcoming procession.

The middle-aged butler and four stout maids left Wayne stunned. Such impressive builds. Were they not followers of the Sun? Or was this father-in-law’s preference?

Holy, then won’t my mother-in-law look like those fitness trainers? Thank goodness Veronica didn’t take after her!

The butler was as stunned as Wayne. Wasn’t there supposed to be only one guest? Why had the mistress visited as well?

Silvia smiled at him and shook her head, not wanting to acknowledge her identity. The butler, being a professional, immediately understood her intention. Without asking why, he stepped forward and bowed. “Distinguished guests, I’m Veryl, a butler of the Lando family who will be serving you during your stay. On behalf of the Lando family, I welcome you to the manor.”

“Um, thank you, Veryl. I’m Wayne, and this is Miss Valentine,” Wayne said apologetically. “I traveled alone, but something came up. This lady has nowhere to go, and since I owe her a favor, I’d have to trouble you to arrange another room for her.”

(ಠ灬≖)

Young man, do you hear what you’re saying?!

“I’ll be in your care, Veryl.” Silvia bowed slightly.

The butler immediately returned the courtesy and said politely, “It is no trouble at all. It is an honor for me to serve a lady like you as the Lando family’s butler. Rest assured that I will arrange both of your accommodations with the same care as I would for the master and the mistress.”

Wayne nodded approvingly. Look at that. He’s the very picture of professionalism.

The butler spoke so pleasantly and behaved with such deference that if one didn’t know that he was only doing his job, they would’ve thought that his master had come home!

Wayne felt a vicarious pride as he invited Silvia into the manor house. In ten seconds, his eyes welled up with figurative tears. Poverty had limited his imagination. He had fantasized about the luxury he would witness here, but... his imagination paled in comparison to the real thing!

Compared to this place, the luxury train was like a woodshed—no, a maid’s woodshed. If even a manor in a remote town was this magnificent, wouldn’t the Lando family’s ancestral home in Londan be like a castle in heaven? He cackled silently as he imagined the family’s maids breaking up with the guards at the front entrance due to the impossibility of maintaining a long-distance relationship.

The butler first arranged a guest room for Wayne. Once the door was shut, he bowed at Silvia deeply for the earlier offense.

Silvia smiled and pointed at the guest room across from Wayne’s. She would be staying there for the time being. And she told the butler not to contact Londan. She didn’t want a certain someone to call and bother her.

As soon as the butler nodded, though, the phone in the living room rang. It was a call from Londan—from Auston Lando. Mr. Lando was furious to learn of his wife’s whereabouts, furious enough to want Wayne sunk into the river immediately.

Not long after he began to investigate Wayne, the information was leaked due to his subordinates outsourcing the work to a local gang, allowing Wayne to discover the target on his back.

Fortunately, Wayne’s call for help ended up reaching him, so Mr. Lando was able to get Wayne out of Londan with a little scheme. The end result was satisfactory—but not the process! His daughter, who had not spoken to him voluntarily for a long time, had called him and spoken in a much gentler tone for this matter... The bastard deserved to die!

Mr. Lando had made up his mind that the big shot Wayne had offended would never be appeased, meaning he would never return to Londan.

You want to pursue my little princess? Ha! Not a chance!

His satisfaction didn’t last long—just one night, actually. All his amusement evaporated when he got a call the next day.

Wayne was now going after his wife instead!

It was too much of a coincidence. The brat had to be doing it on purpose!

Still... Mr. Lando trusted his wife. Silvia was too proud to cheat on him, but the intelligence he had gathered was so shocking that he had to make the call for confirmation.

Be calm, but that bastard called Wayne is in some ambiguous relationship with our girl!

Silvia didn’t take the call. She was thoroughly disappointed with her scummy husband. His wife was involved in a scandal with a man, yet he only made a phone call instead of rushing over to kill the man in question?

Scum! Bastard! Die!

***

Londan.

Mr. Lando hung up the unanswered call, his face dark.

“Wayne, is it? Good. You’ve piqued my curiosity...”

***

Enrod.

Silvia found many clothes and jewelry in the mistress’s private dressing room in the manor. The jewelry was one thing, but the clothes fit her perfectly like they had been custom-made. It had been four or five years since she last vacationed here, yet the place still had her clothing ready...

“Bastard! People’s figures change over time, but the clothes here are all the same size. Clearly, he doesn’t care enough!”

She huffed as she put on an evening gown and spun in front of the mirror. She had asked the butler to invite Wayne to have dinner with her; she planned to bring up the magic lessons then. But Wayne declined.

Silvia shook her head before nodding. Her aggressive advance had made him wary. Good. It was a good thing for a man to keep his distance from other women. She hoped that he would maintain it.

On the windowsill, a black owl landed with a magic card in its beak. Silvia took it and read with a grave expression, “The underground catacombs of Palis have projected to Londan... The Death Knight’s whereabouts are unknown, but someone saw his sword, Shadow Nightmare, in Londan...”

“The Darkness Knight rises, unstoppable. His impact prevents the Alliance from expanding our influence in Londan.”

“Death and Darkness’s underlings occupy Londan...”

“The Mist Domain is now deeply rooted and nearly impossible to eradicate. The Great Catastrophe could descend at any time...”

Silvia sighed. Being the District High Reverend wasn’t easy—greater status came with greater responsibility and stronger enemies.

“Death Knight...”

“Darkness Knight...”

“Mist Domain...”

She could not delay things further. She would make her move on Wayne tonight and take him as a disciple so that she could quickly return to Londan to take charge of the situation.