Chapter 359 Collusion
Marquis Ravel huddled in the corner of the study. All the weapons around him had been searched away. He didn't seem to care at all, just holding the bottle of wine tightly. The smell of blood and burnt odor mixed with the spilled wine fermented in the closed space, and it didn't smell pleasant.
The study was a mess, with overturned carved tables and chairs, broken glass scattered all over the floor, books and paintings lying upside down on the floor, and the luxurious carpet soaked with liquid of unknown content, giving it a disgusting sticky texture.
There were footsteps outside the door, and the soldiers guarding the Marquis made way for him. Ravel slowly raised his cloudy eyes.
Countless figures flickered before his eyes, the dark pine forest looming in the mist, as did the ghosts. A silent, pale moon rose, shrouding the equally silent city of Osiris, until, like falling sand, the pine trees, the ghosts, the moon—finally, they merged into a single gray figure.
A face that had appeared on wanted posters many times was looking at him calmly.
"Aha, it's you, ghost, it's really you..." The drunk muttered to himself incoherently: "You are here... Hahahaha! You are here! That makes sense! I was just defeated by a ghost! A ghost——"
He laughed wildly, forcing the surrounding soldiers to hit him hard on the back of the head with the butts of their rifles and sternly ordered him to behave himself and stop playing crazy. But the next second, perhaps because he drank too much or perhaps because of some unspeakable fear, Ravel lost control of his bladder, and the stench of feces and urine filled the air.
"Tsk, this guy is so drunk." Ole took a step back with some disgust and fanned his nose with his hand.
"Lock up Edward Ravel," the professor glanced at the drunk who had lost his mind and said coldly, "Please inform me when he sobers up."
At that moment, a commotion erupted from the end of the corridor. Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw several KMT soldiers roughly shoving a man dressed as a high-ranking general. The man was still young, his body stained with blood and mud, his hands twisted behind his back, his usually meticulously combed hair now disheveled and stained with pine needles, and his straight uniform was tattered and wrinkled. His deep-set eyes were bloodshot, but he managed to maintain a forced composure.
"Mr. Chief, General, this guy tried to escape with his personal guards, but was caught by our people in the black pine forest outside the city." A soldier reported.
"It's Major Theodore Luca, Edward Ravel's adjutant." Greven carefully examined the face and whispered to the professor, "He's a tough guy, a cold-blooded and astute opponent."
The fact that he received such an evaluation from the "Immortal Chariot" was enough to prove that he was indeed not one of those noble sons who simply ran around on the battlefield to gain experience and military merits.
The soldier who was escorting him stopped, and Major Luca stared at the black-haired young man in front of him and easily understood who this person was.
"...I've long heard of your great name, Mr. Ghost." He maintained the elegance and demeanor of a noble officer, raising his chin proudly.
A familiar tune, and Ole narrowed his eyes in displeasure. He felt like kicking this guy in the knee. It reminded him of the "good old days" when he and his friends were in the Imperial Army—those so-called "famous Imperial generals," in private, were mostly just annoying, arrogant bastards.
What's more, the name Theodore Luca sounds quite familiar. It seems that he was very active in the world-destroying war against the tyrant. This shows that this guy might have made some achievements in his previous life - but this time, his glory is expected to end today.
The ghost didn't respond immediately, and Luca felt uneasy at the sight of those emotionless gray eyes, and his whole body became even more tense.
"Do you want to go to the Crescent Mine to contact the 'Shelter' company?" Suddenly, the black-haired young man asked without warning.
Ignoring Luca's drastically shrinking pupils, he looked at the increasingly pale and distorted face and asked casually, "Have you been bribed by them?"
Seeing the young officer subconsciously looking through the open study door, the professor lazily said, "Don't worry, Marquis Ravel is dead drunk and won't hear you 'betraying' him—even if he did, he can't do anything to you now."
"...I didn't betray Marquis Ravel." Luca said in a gloomy voice, "I simply guided him to make the best choice within the scope of my authority."
"It seems you've already figured out how to explain this to your future cellmate and former boss." The black-haired young man nodded nonchalantly and commented rather sarcastically, "Or maybe it's your 'best friend' hanging around the same gallows?"
A few suppressed laughs could be heard from all around, among which Ole laughed the most unconcealedly - he could occasionally appreciate the black humor of his majesty, especially when the target of ridicule was not himself.
And Luka finally seemed to be breaking through.
"You, you don't plan to exchange us for prisoners with the Empire?" He asked anxiously. "I, Marquis Ravel... our family will be willing to pay a very high price in exchange for our freedom. The Empire will not abandon us. The People's Party also has prisoners captured by the Empire—"
"That's not something you need to consider right now," the professor said coldly. "Besides, there are many people here who want to kill you. We will have to listen to their opinions."
Luca stared at him like a madman. The black-haired young man slowly counted on his fingers, giving examples one by one. "For example, the hungry civilians in Osiris City. The soldiers whose wages were withheld and who were brutally beaten by their superiors. And for example, the innocent souls who disappeared under torture in the mines... Are you looking at me in amazement as to why I know about this disgusting, covert deal between Osiris City and the 'Shelter' company?"
He suddenly approached Major Luca and, as the disbelief and fear gradually emerged in the other's eyes, he answered word by word: "The dead told me."
"—The souls you tortured to death told me this themselves."
"Take him away." Seeing that he was too horrified to speak, the ghost stood up straight with a bored look, raised his voice and ordered coldly: "Lock Theodore Luca next to Edward Ravel, and don't let him die."
…
The professor didn't want to stay in the commander's mansion for long, which was beautifully decorated but smelled of blood. Fortunately, his subordinates quickly helped him to prepare a temporary residence.
The black-haired young man leaned back quietly in his armchair, his body leaning back with the back of his head resting on the cushioned headrest. His desk hadn't been tidied up yet, and it was littered with a mess of miscellaneous items, including a piece of white calcite that had been polished to a very smooth finish, and a beautifully carved piece of metal.
The professor glanced at it and looked away expressionlessly.
...He didn't feel extremely sad for a strange kid whom he had only known for less than a day and a night.
He was just a little... dazed and a little tired.
Suddenly, everything went dark, and someone covered his eyes. Nova was stunned for a moment. He wanted to take the hand away, but he didn't want to move. He frowned and said, "What are you doing?"
"Marquis Ravel is sober." The Savior's voice slowly sounded beside him. "As per your instructions, he has learned of Theodore Luca's 'collusion' with the 'Asylum' Company. Now they are accusing each other. Ravel angrily accuses Luca of shameless treason, and Luca sarcastically calls Ravel utterly stupid. If they weren't separated by the prison, the two would have come to blows."
"...I understand. Let's leave them alone for a few more days." The professor said expressionlessly. Finally, he couldn't help but reach out to grab the hand covering his eyes: "But what does this have to do with you covering my eyes?"
Someone grasped his wrist and gently kissed his forehead, but the warm hand before him remained motionless. "Why are you frowning like that? This is a delightful victory, sir. You have successfully captured the city of Osiris. The heart of the empire will be open to you."
"It's not completely successful yet." Nova corrected him seriously: "Two legions haven't returned to the city yet."
Azuka couldn't help but kiss his enemy's pale lips. He didn't go deep, but just rubbed them gently again and again until they became soft, moist and full of blood.
"I don't think that's enough to make you frown," he murmured fondly.
Losing sight made the professor feel a little uneasy. He tried to pull his hand free—but the guy's tongue slyly slipped in, seemingly non-aggressively licking the sensitive roof of his mouth, gently pleasing him. He was soon kissed so hard that he was almost dazed, not even noticing when the hand covering his eyes was replaced by a soft piece of fabric.
"…What are you doing?"
Finally regaining consciousness, the professor frowned. The thing covering his eyes felt soft and opaque, seemingly black. In the darkness, he tentatively touched the knot behind his head—not a knot, but loosely tied, as if it could be undone with a simple tug.
"I think you're too tense right now. You need to relax a little." His lover's voice whispered softly in his ear, "The darkness will help you relax completely and enjoy this whole time."
"...I can't." Beneath the black fabric, the professor lifted his eyelids and warned coldly, "I have a certain degree of psychological trauma from losing my sight and falling into darkness, and you are well aware of this."
"So I didn't tie your hands this time." The bastard explained seriously in his ear, "This means you can tear them off at any time and stop me—whether by biting me or slapping me."
From the professor's unseen perspective, the savior's gaze licked his lover's face with an especially greedy eye. The dark-haired young man, who had been dazzlingly bright in front of everyone, now leaned vacantly and obediently in his arms, completely under his control. His soft hair was a little disheveled, and the black fabric made his face and neck look even paler. Hiding those cold, sharp, smoky-gray eyes, he even revealed a strange fragility and helplessness.
But at this moment, His Majesty remained calm and raised his chin slightly, completely unaware of his own seductive posture that seemed to have put him in a pitiful situation at the mercy of others.
"What on earth are you planning to do that you think I'd attack you?" the professor reminded him somewhat dissatisfiedly, "Just so you know, the sun hasn't set yet, and the room isn't tidied up yet..."
"So just relax." Someone replied with an innocent smile: "What are you thinking about?"
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