Chương 140: Chapter 135. Sage City

For a while, Captain Edran didn't speak at all. He simply stood up from his chair, walked toward a waterskin placed on a table and took several long gulps from it before lowering it. Even then, he remained silent. Casper wasn't much different. She stayed near the window with her arms folded, her brows furrowed deeply as though she didn't even know where to begin explaining things. Seeing both of them react like this only made Rayne more tense. He already understood that the punishment probably wasn't light.

The name alone—godless ruins—didn't sound like a place people casually returned from. Still, he hadn't expected this kind of reaction from Captain Edran. The man had always seemed like a cold stone wall. Calm, disciplined, and almost impossible to shake no matter what situation they were in. Yet now he looked genuinely disturbed. Rayne didn't interrupt him or ask questions immediately. He simply waited until the captain finally looked calmer. Eventually, Captain Edran let out a rough grunt before speaking.

"Rayne," he said slowly, "do you even understand what the prince's presence there meant?" Rayne shook his head immediately.

"No."

"I didn't think so," Captain Edran muttered. He rubbed at his forehead again before continuing.

"And I doubt you know much about the godless ruins either. Most people don't. Even when they hear stories about the place, they think it's nothing more than exaggeration." Rayne frowned slightly.

"What exactly does it mean then?" Captain Edran's jaw tightened. For a moment, he genuinely looked unsure where to even begin explaining things. Finally, he sighed.

"I won't start explaining the politics inside the kingdom," he said.

"That would take too long. Just understand this much. Prince Caelan was there as a symbolic gesture. I doubt he even spoke much with the council before you arrived." Rayne only grew more confused hearing that.

"A symbolic gesture?" he repeated. This time Casper answered.

"Yes," she said calmly.

"Princes rarely speak openly about what they want. Nobles are expected to understand their intentions without direct orders." She pushed herself away from the wall slightly while speaking.

"And in this case," Casper continued, "Prince Caelan was openly showing interest in both the trial and you. That alone was his way of telling the council to go easier on you." Captain Edran nodded in agreement.

"He probably already had reports from the Pascar Plains campaign," the captain said.

"Enough to know what you accomplished there." His expression darkened slightly.

"And that means he intentionally chose to openly support you despite your bloodline. Otherwise, he had absolutely no reason to call you a hero in front of other nobles." He snorted faintly.

"I'm certain half the noble houses in Valers are going to be soon gossiping about it." Casper gave a faint nod.

"And they'll continue gossiping for weeks." Hearing all that, Rayne slowly thought back to the prince again. At the time, he had been too confused and nervous to properly think about the interaction itself. But now that he looked back on it, Prince Caelan's behavior really had been strange. He had been far too friendly. Nothing about it had felt natural for someone of his status. But if it had all been political signaling, then suddenly it made more sense. Still, one major question remained. Why?

Why would a prince bother helping someone like him? Casper seemed to notice the question forming in his expression because she answered before he could ask aloud.

"Politics," she said simply. Rayne blinked once.

"You performed exceptionally well during the Pascar Plains campaign, and Commander Evans clearly thinks highly enough of you to ask others for help regarding your trial." Captain Edran folded his arms again.

"Prince Caelan absolutely knows that. By supporting you publicly, he's also indirectly appealing to Commander Evans and the military faction around him." Rayne slowly frowned.

"Basically, he wasn't helping me because he cared." Casper snorted lightly.

"You're useful and have potential, Rayne. In politics, that's usually close enough." Captain Edran nodded once more.

"Yes," he agreed.

"But honestly, that's not even the surprising part." Rayne looked toward him.

"The surprising part," Captain Edran continued grimly, "is that even with Captain Verella and Prince Caelan both supporting you, they still decided to send you to the godless ruins." At that point, Rayne finally asked the question that had been bothering him since the verdict.

"What kind of place even is the godless ruins?" he asked.

"Is it inside the kingdom? I've never even heard the name before." Captain Edran walked back toward his chair before sitting down heavily.

"Most people haven't," he admitted.

"Because common folk know the place by another name. They call it Sage City, but nobles and soldiers usually call it the godless ruins instead." The captain paused briefly before continuing.

"The city's ancient. Older than most kingdoms currently standing." His voice lowered slightly.

"And ruined. Also, it's located in a disputed territory. Right along the border between Valeria and the Rakasham Empire." The moment Rayne heard the name of the empire, his expression shifted slightly. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Even the previous soul occupying this body had heard stories about the Rakasham Empire before. It was one of the most powerful countries in the world, and every other kingdom treated it cautiously.

Mostly because of its army, and also because of how brutal they could be. Though, he didn't know how much merit there was in those rumours.

"So, why is the place disputed?" He asked after a while.

"One of the two countries should have been able to lay a complete claim on it." Casper scoffed immediately.

"If it was so easy, then we wouldn't have so many skirmishes with the Empire due to it. We lose around ten thousand soldiers to petty skirmishes due to the Sage City every year. It's a cursed land."

"Cursed?"

"Yes, cursed." Casper nodded.

"I will give you a book for you to understand since there's centuries of history there. Just know that most people that make it into the city never return." For some reason, Rayne didn't even feel that surprised that the kingdom had essentially decided to send him into a cursed city to die instead of simply executing him outright. Honestly, it fit too well with how his life had already gone so far.

Ever since opening his eyes in this body, the kingdom had done little more than throw him into increasingly dangerous situations one after another. Trolls, undead, necromancers, and what not. Every quest somehow became worse than the last. Now they were sending him into a cursed city sitting between two nations. At this point, Rayne honestly wouldn't even be surprised if he actually ended up fighting minotaurs there too. As the thought crossed his mind, Captain Edran leaned back into his chair and spoke again.

"Either way," the man said slowly, "I don't think you could have handled the trial much better than you already did." Rayne looked toward him silently.

"There are clearly factors we didn't account for," Captain Edran continued with a frown.

"Otherwise, the council wouldn't have ignored Prince Caelan openly supporting you." The man paused for a few seconds before asking another question.

"They didn't give you a specific deployment date, did they?" Rayne immediately shook his head.

"No. The verdict only said I could either go alone or with the warband." He frowned slightly while recalling the exact words.

"But they never said when."

"Good," Captain Edran muttered immediately. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully before continuing.

"I'll speak with Captain Verella myself and figure out exactly what's happening behind the scenes." His expression hardened slightly.

"And I'll delay the deployment for as long as I can. You're still under my command for now." Rayne nodded quietly at that.

"Go get some rest," Captain Edran added afterward.

"You've had a hard enough day already." He saluted again before turning toward the door. But before he could properly leave, Casper pushed herself away from the window and followed after him.

"I'll give you the book I mentioned about Sage City," she said casually. Rayne glanced toward her before nodding once more, and together they left Captain Edran's room. The hallway outside was quiet. Most soldiers were probably downstairs eating or tasting the capital ale. Casper's own room turned out to be only a few doors away on the same floor. Once they reached it, she opened the door halfway before glancing back toward him.

"Wait outside for a moment," she said before stepping in. Rayne did as told, though through the brief gap before the door almost closed, he caught sight of the inside of her room. Books were stacked everywhere. Some rested on tables while others lay directly on the floor beside pieces of clothing thrown carelessly around the room. A pair of boots sat overturned near the bed while loose papers covered half a chair. For a brief second, Rayne wondered if Casper was simply an incredibly messy person.

Then again, in his head mages were people like that, so it wasn't too surprising. A few moments later, she returned holding a thick book. She passed it through the gap in the doorway toward him, and Rayne immediately noticed how heavy it was.

"Don't worry too much about all this," Casper suddenly said. Rayne looked up from the book.

"I know you'll survive. So, instead of worrying, wake up early tomorrow. We're continuing your training." A wry smile immediately appeared on Rayne's face hearing that.

"You really aren't going to let me rest even after this?" he asked dryly. Casper simply shrugged.

"Every extra hour you train increases your chances of staying alive inside Sage City." Rayne couldn't even argue against that logic. So he simply nodded before turning to leave. But just before Casper fully closed the door behind him, another question suddenly came into Rayne's mind. He looked back toward her.

"By the way," he asked, "who exactly were those crimson soldiers that dragged me away earlier?" His expression hardened slightly, remembering Atticus.

"They didn't seem like ordinary guards." Casper froze for a brief second after hearing his question. For the first time since the conversation started, she actually looked like she didn't want to answer him at all. Her hand remained on the half-closed door while her brows furrowed faintly, almost as if she was reconsidering whether to shut the door or not. Still, after a few moments, she sighed quietly.

"Crimson is the color of the First Prince, Melakar," she explained.

"The Crimson Guard is his personal guard unit. They are known as his wolf pack, as ruthless as the Crown's Hand." Something clicked in Rayne's mind hearing that.

"And House Lanrice supports him," he guessed. Casper nodded immediately.

"Very openly." Her expression remained calm, though there was still faint hesitation in her eyes.

"So the guards were probably sent to humiliate you before the trial. It was likely meant as a gesture toward House Lanrice more than anything else. They might have requested it too." Rayne slowly nodded at that. Honestly, he had already expected something along those lines. Still, he hadn't expected another prince to be indirectly involved in the trial. Apparently even royal politics had somehow found a way to drag him into them too. The thought alone made Rayne feel tired.

But then another thought crossed his mind immediately afterward.

"And do you know a man named Atticus?" he asked.

"He was part of the Crimson Guard." The moment the name left his mouth, Casper's expression visibly changed again. This time, the reaction was even stronger. Her face fell slightly, and for a second she genuinely looked like she regretted the entire conversation. She stayed quiet long enough that Rayne instinctively felt something cold crawl down his spine. Why was she reacting like this over a name?

"Why do you want to know about him?" she asked. Rayne frowned faintly at the question.

"He was the worst out of all of them," he answered honestly.

"I just want to know more about him in case we cross paths again." Casper immediately shook her head.

"I don't think you will."

"Still, I want to know. Why are you so hesitant to tell me?" That question made Casper fall silent again. Her hand slowly slipped off the door as she stood there thinking about something Rayne clearly couldn't understand. The hesitation on her face only deepened, and at that point, he realized whatever this was, it went far beyond simple politics. Finally, after several long seconds, she seemed to make a decision.

"Atticus is from House Arkala," she said quietly.

"They were viscounts before being elevated to counts very recently. Atticus is the first born of the current count and…"

"And?"

"And… he's also your cousin."

Read 50 chapters ahead Join the discord server HERE. pre order vol 1 here