[BL] Guardians of Fate
Chapter 100 - 22: A Feeling Beyond Rationality [5]

Chapter 100: Chapter 22: A Feeling Beyond Rationality [5]

"An... An Otherworlder?" Leon repeated in shock, his mind freezing after hearing that particular word. For a moment, he was in disbelief and denial, thinking that his father might be playing a joke on him or something.

Then again, the Duke wasn’t the type to joke. At all.

Still, it was ridiculous!

But at the same time, it made sense. No wonder he had felt so strange at the banquet earlier, like there was a stirring in his soul...

"What proof do you have?" Leon asked immediately, deciding that jumping to assumptions was not the way to do this. "No Otherworlder has returned to this world after High Summoner Xanthe closed the boundary between the two worlds. It’s impossi—"

"One of my men is acting as a royal guard of the King and Queen. If you recall, Nolan became a part of the kingsmen," the Duke interrupted gruffly. "Based on his report, it appears that your princess friend came to His Majesty during the banquet and asked to have an audience."

"Princess friend... You mean Ely?"

Leon could tell that his casual way of addressing the princess didn’t please his father, but that wasn’t his problem right now.

"Yes... Her Royal Highness herself," the Duke confirmed. "She was with two other Guardians, and they reported seeing something strange outside of the city, a definite sign that indicated that an Otherworlder had indeed arrived."

Leon was at a loss for words. If Elyana had really gone to the King and Queen with some of the Guardians to report this, there was very little chance that it was a false news. "But..."

"If you’re still suspicious, you might be interested in what happens next." There was a slight smile on the Duke’s face, but it was not one of amusement. "His Royal Highness the Prince also came in there later to corroborate their little story and substantiate their claims."

Leon stared at him, his eyes uncomprehending. "Evan did?"

"He explained that his Guardians found a dead Linger outside the city by the shore where the Otherworlder probably first appeared. A legitimate clue, since he apparently showed solid evidence of such a thing." The Duke sighed. "It boggles the mind, don’t you think? That the beloved prince would betray his kingdom by protecting an intruder."

"Still..." Leon swallowed, feeling his throat go dry at the implication. "Why do you think that it’s that man? Evan’s friend, I mean. What was his name again..." His brow furrowed in concentration.

"A ’Chris Hanswell’, I recall. But there is a high possibility that it’s a fake name."

Leon’s eyes widened. "What makes you say that?"

"A year ago, I had a meeting with the leader of the House of Hanswell. In preparation, I memorized all the names of the members there." The Duke shook his head. "There was no ’Chris Hanswell’ in the records. Besides, I had met them all during a visit, and I had never seen that man’s face before."

They underestimated the extent of my father’s memory, I presume, Leon thought.

"For now, that man is the most reasonable culprit." The Duke’s features were set into a hard scowl. "I even saw him with the Prince and his Guardians leaving one of the palace’s confidential meeting rooms. That was enough to sow the seed of doubt in my mind. Frankly, it’s shocking that Prince Evan would go to such lengths to protect a trespasser."

Leon’s frown grew deeper at this. "But you’re not even sure if he’s the Otherworlder that they’re talking about. You don’t have enough evidence to prove it. You’re just relying on assumptions."

The Duke raised an eyebrow. "You are correct that I do not have solid proof yet. However, my instincts never lie. There was something strange going on during that banquet. Did you not notice anything at all?"

Leon shook his head. "No. I’m afraid I truly do not understand what you are talking about."

The Duke gave an exasperated sigh, irritation slipping into his features. "I did not raise you to be an utter, clueless moron! What about the order that I gave you? You followed them, didn’t you? What did you find out? You still haven’t reported it to me."

Leon remembered the moment when he confronted Evan and his friend, and he immediately tensed.

True, Evan had acted a bit suspiciously, that was for sure.

But still... hiding an Otherworlder? What would the Prince gain from that?

"I did follow them, but I didn’t find anything out," Leon answered, keeping his tone steady. "I admit he was a little peculiar, but nothing alarming."

"What about his identity?" the Duke demanded. "Did you get confirmation?"

Leon shook his head. "I never got to see his ’Summoner’s Mark’."

"Why not?"

"Evan told me that it was located above his knee."

"The Prince told you that? Not the man himself?"

"...Yes."

"As I said. He is indeed suspicious." The Duke had a thoughtful expression on his face. "What else? What did they talk about?"

"The two of them were having a pretty normal conversation. Evan wanted to show him around town."

The Duke studied him intently. "So he hasn’t been around Angelbay City before, I see. What else?"

"They were... talking about the Echelli clan."

The Duke gave him a blank stare. "What?"

"The ones who created the Elfroien pancakes."

The Duke’s expression twisted into that of annoyance. "Don’t report trivial details like that to me, boy! You should already know better."

"But that’s really what they talked about," Leon insisted. "They weren’t discussing anything else."

"Are you sure about that? You aren’t lying to me, are you?"

"Of course not. They merely spoke of trivial things."

A moment of silence followed, and it was uncomfortable and ominous at the same time.

"If you are protecting the Prince because he’s your childhood friend, I will be very disappointed in you," the Duke finally said, sending his son a sharp look. "If the truth comes out that he was protecting an Otherworlder, his reputation will be tarnished. That is, if he manages to come out of that battle alive, which is rather unlikely."

Leon felt his heart drop to his stomach. "Father!"

"Why are you acting like a novice? You know how fragile the lives of these Summoners and Guardians are. They may be powerful, but they are constantly throwing their lives away. Do you know how many of them have gone up to that demon and lost their lives in the process? Can you even call them ’sacrifices’ when it’s all useless since the Calamity always returns anyway?"

"Still, you can’t just dismiss their sacrifices like that," Leon insisted. "They did it to save us. The people of this world. I think—"

"Oh, for the love of the Oracle." The Duke shook his head in disappointment. "Don’t even think about it, boy. It’s a death wish. Most of those Summoners and Guardians die before they can even begin the sealing process. You’d only be wasting your potential to be one." He eyed his son with disdain. "Not that you even could once the people find out who you really are."

"I never said I was planning on being one," Leon protested. "I just—"

"Good. Then leave it at that. I will not let you tarnish my reputation by becoming one of those foolish Guardians."

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