Chapter 144: Death
As they started walking, Jovie glanced at Raven and spoke.
"I thought you were someone with good fortune at first. But when I heard about the Rebel Prince's achievement at the capital, I was honestly shocked. With your measly strength, how did you kill the strongest Wizard of the Empire?"
A smile appeared on Raven's face.
"I made a small plan. In truth, I killed him thanks to his carelessness and pure luck. If I had made even a small mistake, I might have died that day."
"Luck is also a skill. And you fooled all the Wizards and Walkers, instilling deep fear in their hearts. Not even I could've done what you did," Jovie said with a smile, then looked him up and down.
"Your height might give away your disguise."
"As long as I don't leave at night, others won't notice in the dark," Raven shrugged and asked,
"What is Leah's job anyway? If I act out of the norm, someone might get suspicious."
"She's the head chef of Count Alden's household and is responsible for cooking. Two other girls and I serve as her attendants, so you don't need to worry about your disguise being found out," Jovie said, touching her spatial ring and pulling out a few books.
"These are some books I bought from a local bookshop before approaching Leah. As long as you memorize the recipes, it'll be easier."
Raven took the books and stored them in his inventory.
"How did you end up here, Miss Jovie? Are you still after the Fragment of Death?" he asked.
"Oh? So you've finally figured out the compass's true purpose," Jovie said with a chuckle. She paused for a moment and then continued. "I tracked the death energy released from your compass and discovered it's in Raynor Territory. Unfortunately, I'm still too weak to venture into another necromancer's domain alone, so I first decided to improve my strength."
'She's already a Rank-2 Necromancer and has mysterious skills like Eye of Wisdom, Hand of Death, and Chaos Heart.' What startled him more was that her spirit power had already reached the maximum of Rank-2. She was just one step away from the Expert Realm!
"What's your plan after getting your hands on the Fragment of Death?"
"I haven't decided yet. But I plan to return to the Viser Kingdom and fulfill my wish," Jovie said, gazing up at the night sky.
"Your wish?" Raven asked, puzzled.
"I want to kill my father's first wife. To be precise, the Queen of Viser. She was the one who poisoned my mother. Not only that, but she also implanted a Chaos Seed in me to keep me under her control. That used to be the wish of the former me... but now, I've decided to fulfill it."
'It seems she also has a rough road ahead.'
Nodding, Raven looked at the camp ahead and asked, "Is this expedition squad strong enough to reach the Agith Runes?"
Although multiple Expert-ranked Walkers and Wizards were on the team, Raven felt their strength was lacking.
"All previous expeditions failed miserably because a group of wyverns occupied a hill along the path. There are over five Rank-3 Wyverns, so small expedition teams can't pass through. Moreover, the recent abnormal surge in magical beasts has caused most expeditions to give up before even reaching the Wyverns' Nest," Jovie explained.
"What about this team? Even though we have three Expert Wizards and five Expert Knights, I don't think they're enough to deal with those wyverns," Raven said, frowning.
"Under normal circumstances, this team has zero chance of succeeding," Jovie replied, pausing momentarily. "But what if those Knights possessed Rare-grade Aether Armor Sets?"
Raven's eyes widened.
Equipping a single Knight with a Rare-grade Aether Armor Set would cost around a million gold.
"Then, it's possible to wipe out the Wyverns' Nest without suffering heavy casualties," Raven nodded, understanding.
"And those Wizards are from the Wizard Alliance. I heard Count Alden paid each of them one million gold coins to participate in this expedition," Jovie added.
"Why is he spending that much on this expedition?" Raven asked, surprised. "It doesn't seem worth the money."
"That's how valuable the ruins from the old Agith Era are. I've read that they were far more advanced in magic and runes. Their artifacts contain precious metals—Elven Steel, Mithril, Adamantine, Orichalcum, Alexandrite, Dark Silver, and so on. Even if the artifacts are defective or unusable, the raw materials are still incredibly valuable. That's why nobles, Wizards, and Mercenaries eagerly explore the ruins."
"Count Alden has bet everything on this expedition. If it fails, he'll end up a beggar noble. Within a few decades, his house might lose its remaining lands and even be demoted to viscount status," Jovie said, taking a deep breath before continuing.
"But if he succeeds, he might have a shot at becoming one of the Twelve Ancient Households. However, there are many obstacles. First, his house only possesses rare Knight and Spirit techniques and has produced only one Rank-4 Walker in the past three centuries. Unless he gets his hands on an Epic-rank technique or higher, his house will remain stagnant even if this expedition succeeds."
"The second obstacle is betrayal. Wizards and Knights might follow his orders for now, but they have their ambitions. If Count Alden gets his hands on something too valuable to protect, there's a real chance they might steal from him—or even assassinate him. Human nature is unpredictable."
"There are other variables, like high-ranking magical beasts or deadly trap formations inside the ruins. Anything could happen."
…
While talking, Raven and Jovie entered the campsite stealthily and returned to the servants' tent. Most of the servants had fallen asleep, while only a guard and a maid stood talking outside another tent.
"This tent is ours," Jovie said as they approached a small one and walked in.
Nothing was inside except a mat and a pillow placed on the ground.
As Jovie closed the flap, Raven quietly sat on the mat and took out the books she had given him earlier.
Meanwhile, Jovie sat beside him, then slowly lay down, resting her head on the pillow.
"Wake me at four. We must finish cooking before 7 A.M. and serve the guards first."
Raven nodded and opened the book that contained local recipes.
He began reading the books one by one.
As the stars above began to fade, Raven gently nudged Jovie.
"It's 4 A.M."
Jovie stirred awake, rubbed her eyes, and sat up silently. She yawned, fixed her hair, and adjusted her clothes before leaving the tent.
Outside, the wind carried the faint chill of dawn. She found the other two attendants already waiting near the campfire. One of them greeted her with a nod. The three began taking out cooking ingredients from a Knight's spatial ring: packaged meat, vegetables, herbs, spices, and magical condiments all appeared in succession.
Wizard Ariel wandered over to the cooking area a few minutes later, yawning and rubbing his temples.
"Where's Leah?" he asked casually.
"She's sick and resting, Sir Ariel. Might be a cold," Jovie replied without looking up, her hands moving swiftly as she sliced vegetables.
Wizard Ariel gave a soft hmph and walked away without another word.
By then, the other guards began waking up one by one. But the usual morning chatter suddenly shifted when a few guards noticed something strange.
"Hey! Where's Roval?"
"Didn't he say he was on patrol last night with his men?"
"No one saw them return!"
Unease stirred through the camp.
Soon, a few guards were dispatched to search the surroundings. By 5 A.M., the entire camp was awake and on edge.
Twenty minutes later, three guards who had gone toward the lakeshore returned, their faces grim.
"They're dead. Kyle, Tristan, and Max… all of them. Slaughtered."
"And this..." One of them held up a bloodied spear. "Roval's spear."
The news spread like wildfire.
Inside his tent, Count Alden clenched his jaw in irritation. He was a man in his mid-forties, had short grey hair, brown eyes, fair skin, and stood about 165 cm tall.
"Where is Nash?" he asked coldly.
Moments later, a young man with black hair stepped inside, clad in dark silver armor with no insignia.
"I'm here, my Lord."
"You are to investigate this. Don't return without answers."
"As you command."
Nash, one of the five Rank-3 Expert Knights and a distant relative of Count Alden, took charge of the situation immediately.
He began questioning everyone—sentries, patrol teams, servants, and cooks. Eventually, he discovered that Jovie was the last person seen with Roval.
She was summoned to his tent.
Kneeling before the young Knight, Jovie lowered her head and began composedly.
"Last night, Leah and I went to bathe in the lake. That's when Roval and his men showed up."
"What happened?" Nash asked, his voice sharp and unreadable.
"They tried to misbehave with us. But they didn't dare touch Leah since she's connected to Wizard Ariel. They let her go… but forced me to stay."
"Then?"
Jovie's voice trembled—just enough to sound convincing.
"Roval told his companions to leave us alone. They left... I had no choice. I… agreed to his demands in return for his protection. Afterward, he brought me back to camp."
"Did anyone see you two returning?"
"Only his friends saw us. I remember Kyle was even angrier at Roval and tried to fight him. Roval then told me to go back to the tent, so I left hurriedly. That was the last time I saw him."
Nash studied her for a long moment, then dismissed her.
He then entered Leah's tent and asked a few routine questions—about her health, whereabouts last night, and whether she had seen Roval. Nothing seemed out of place.
Raven had completely shapeshifted into Leah, her voice, height, and mannerisms perfectly imitated.
He answered all of Nash's questions and even added a comment.
"Kyle had a little crush on Jovie. But Roval… he's always been a lustful man. He even tried to use force on me when I was working at the castle once. That might be the reason for their infighting, Sir Nash." Raven's words led Nash to conclude.
"What a stupid way to die. You can go back and continue cooking."
After gathering all the information, Nash returned to Count Alden.
"It appears to be a case of infighting, my Lord," he said. "A servant girl is at the center of it. Roval likely acted out of jealousy and fled after killing his men."
Count Alden snorted and rubbed his temple in annoyance.
"Stupid. Send word to arrest him if anyone spots him. For now, gather everyone and begin breakfast."
"Yes, my Lord."
Outside, the smell of stew and grilled meat began spreading across the camp as the attendants worked under Raven's guidance. He moved skillfully, reciting ingredients and cooking procedures like he had done for years.
…