With a quiet sigh, William looked back at Edmund.
"What are your conditions?"
Edmund t his gaze calmly. Even now, after becoming fully aware of the overwhelming difference in power between them, the old man carried himself with quiet dignity. His expression remained composed as he folded his hands together in front of him.
"My conditions are simple," he said. "I want you to promise that you will only assign tasks appropriate for my age and strength. I do not wish to be treated like so mindless servant that can be ordered around at any mont."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"I will work under you as an employee rather than a slave, and I will retain my free will."
William listened without interruption. Then, almost imdiately, he raised a thumb with a casual smile.
"No problem."
The ease of his answer slightly surprised Edmund, though he did not show it openly. William then continued in a calr tone.
"In return, all I need from you is loyalty." His smile now carried a faint edge of seriousness. "And if I beco strong enough in the future, I’ll help you get your revenge from angels as well."
Edmund nodded politely, though there was very little expectation in his eyes.
To him, revenge was an old wound that had long since beco impossible to heal. William’s words sounded more like the idealistic confidence of youth than a realistic promise. After all, so grudges were far too ancient and monstrous to settle through ordinary ans.
What Edmund did not realize, however, was that William viewed revenge very differently.
To William, revenge was not a burden or a poison that slowly consud the mind. It was not sothing shaful to move on from. In his heart, revenge was closer to a sacred obligation, a duty owed to those who had suffered. Perhaps after spending enough ti around him, the old man would eventually co to understand that difference.
William stood up from his seat and stretched lightly before glancing back at Edmund with a grin.
"You know, old man," he said, "if we had t several years earlier under different circumstances, I think we would’ve made pretty good friends."
A playful expression appeared on his face.
"Maybe that can still happen eventually. Although I’ve heard grandfathers your age start becoming senile after a certain point."
William burst into loud laughter after finishing his sentence.
Edmund stared at him for a mont before unexpectedly laughing as well.
"Hahaha! Only a young brat of your age could say sothing so ridiculous with a straight face to soone who has lived thousands of tis longer in life."
William laughed even harder. "Careful," he said while extending his hand toward Edmund. "That might end up being your last joke, old man."
Edmund’s smile wore off while William chuckled even more as he realized the joy behind ssing with the old man.
Edmund suddenly went quiet as a faint layer of sweat appeared near his temple. For the briefest mont, he rembered exactly what kind of monster was standing in front of him. William noticed the reaction and decided not to push the joke any further.
Instead, he smiled and shook Edmund’s hand normally.
[Ding!! The mark of the servant has been placed on Edmund Harrowgate.]
William nodded with satisfaction after the system notification appeared before his eyes.
"I’ll contact you whenever I need sothing," he said casually before preparing to leave.
Edmund watched him quietly with a faint smile and then returned his attention to the docunts spread across the table.
The servant mark placed upon him intrigued him greatly.
Although he had encountered similar abilities during his long life and therefore was not particularly shaken by it, the chanism behind it still piqued his curiosity. He ntally noted that he would study it later whenever he had ti.
anwhile, William departed from the island and returned directly to the Eternal Sun Empire. His figure descended silently onto the balcony connected to his room before he casually stepped inside.
The mont he entered, he noticed soone already standing within the room.
"What are you doing here?"
His sudden voice coming from behind startled the young maid badly. She had been nervously fidgeting with her hands and clearly had not expected him to arrive through the balcony instead of the main entrance.
The maid imdiately dropped to her knees in panic and started apologizing; William noticed that it was the sa maid whom he had scared the day before.
He shook his hands and told her not to worry much, after which the maid said. "My lord, forgive !" she said hurriedly. "I-I ca to deliver sothing on behalf of Her Majesty!"
William frowned slightly but did not bother with her nervousness. The maid quickly pulled out a neatly sealed scroll with trembling hands.
"The Empress asked to hand this to you personally."
William accepted the scroll before dismissing her with a wave of his hand. The maid practically fled the room afterward.
Opening the scroll, William discovered a formal letter inside.
The contents included congratulations directed toward Anastasia for reclaiming the empire’s territories, along with polite expressions of regret regarding Aliaster’s death.
The sender was none other than the Emperor of the Ashfall Empire—Cindros Ashfall.
As William continued reading, his eyes gradually narrowed.
Previously, both he and Anastasia had suspected that the Phoenix Emperor might have been involved in the assassination attempt against him as well as the hiring of the Crimson Wolves. However, the evidence had never been strong enough to move beyond suspicion alone.
But after reading this letter, William’s certainty imdiately rose from vague doubt to near conviction.
The tone of this letter was far sweeter than expected. It almost felt artificial.
The Eternal Sun Empire had just destroyed the Light Church, killed Aliaster—the unofficial ancestor-like figure backing the Ashfall Empire—and killed their representatives during the conflict. On top of that, Anastasia had already canceled multiple trade and defense agreents established during Winston’s reign.
Yet despite all of this, the Ashfall Emperor’s letter carried no hostility whatsoever.
The letter alone proved nothing, but combined with everything Anastasia had told him previously, the pieces were beginning to align too perfectly to ignore.
His father, Rudra Solaris, had always disliked the Ashfall Emperor. According to her, Rudra had long suspected that the Ashfall Empire deliberately spread chaos and unrest within neighboring human empires while pretending to maintain peaceful relations publicly.
At the sa ti, the Ashfall Empire openly considered itself superior to nearly every other humanoid race. Humans in particular were often viewed by them as little more than expendable insects, and this racial superiority was only amplified in his speeches and addresses to his people.
William continued reading the latter portion of the scroll.
The Ashfall Emperor, Cindros Ashfall, had also expressed interest in establishing a new international council involving the rulers of all nine empires on Aris. Since the Council of Astral Wardens had dissolved, he proposed creating another organization capable of maintaining peace and coordination between the empires.
William silently morized the information before storing the scroll away inside his inventory.
Afterward, he quietly sat down on the sofa and summoned Barash, who had returned from his mission.
Without wasting ti, he handed William a detailed list containing information regarding assassin guilds operating throughout Northern Aris.
William carefully examined the docunt.
Each organization had a short description attached, along with information regarding influence, territory, and known affiliations. William’s primary goal was to determine whether any of these groups could have been used to manipulate evidence or redirect suspicion to go against them.
Several seconds passed.
William reread the list repeatedly; his expression slowly turned more serious. None of the organizations was situated in the Eternal Sun Empire.
That made sense. During the previous Church-dominated era, independent guilds and organizations had never been allowed to properly develop within Solaris territory. The Church had monopolized authority completely, ensuring that only its own factions retained aningful power.
Because of that, William could confidently say that the Infinite Guild, which would soon be officially registered, would beco the very first major independent guild within the Eternal Sun Empire.
As William revised the docunt again, suddenly his eyes widened as he lifted the docunt closer.
He noticed sothing important.
Every single assassin organization on the list maintained connections with multiple empires, races, or influential factions in one way or another.
Every empire had so level of hidden involvent. Every race possessed ties sowhere in the shadows.
Except one, which was obviously the Eternal Sun Empire.
William’s eyes narrowed slowly as unease crept into his mind; a possibility of events flashed in his thoughts. The situation was beginning to look far more complicated than he had initially assud.
If what he was thinking was true, then the mastermind behind the assassination attempt had clearly prepared layers upon layers of contingency plans.
And it was not just a plan that was supposed to be executed in the coming months, but rather a long-term plan for the future. Till then, William felt that the mastermind would try to isolate their empire from the rest of the Aris.
To do that, one needed diplomatic superiority and chanisms to control people. Maybe that is why the most suspicious master mind in William’s opinion, Cindros Ashfall, was creating a new group to replace the council and get his own hold on the continent.
Even if William discovered the sche behind the assassination and avoided reacting to the attack itself, just like he had done, Even then the larger setup surrounding it was carefully designed to still stir trouble for them.
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