"Master."

On the other side of the town, farther from the district where Illyan lived, a big mansion stood tall.

The place was far from other buildings, and the surroundings carried the beauty of nature coexisting with the beautifully adorned mansion that stood there proudly.

If someone ignorant came around, he would think this mansion belonged to some high-ranking noble.

However, the opposite was the truth.

A group of people who were criminals in the kingdom, who broke the law over and over again, and were considered the scum of society by common people resided there.

It was a wonder why the kingdom didn't do anything to eradicate them.

Everyone believed that certain deals were made in the shadows where these criminals stopped doing harmful things and gave some of their profits to the royalty of Vanaras.

Of course, this was old news. It had already been several decades since this menacing group started to mellow down to the point that their group could easily integrate into Winterfrost Town, where they had their headquarters.

They were mostly ignored as they became part of the town's leading groups.

Yet, only a few at the top knew about this mansion.

A mansion dedicated only to the Patriarch of the main branch of the clan and his closest family members.

However, at this very moment, only the Patriarch lived inside this building with a few servants. The mansion was always quiet and calm.

But now, several men in black entered the mansion stealthily and kneeled before the door of the work office, where the Patriarch of the criminal group was going through stacks of documents.

"Enter." A cold and detached voice could be heard from beyond the closed door as one of the people in black, who seemed to be their leader, entered inside.

Once he opened the door, he immediately closed it back and kneeled down.

Right in front of him was a desk filled with all kinds of paper and parchment as a person sat behind it, scribbling something with a quill while looking tired.

Next to him stood a servant who tended to the man's needs.

At this very moment, he was pouring his cup of tea before quietly waiting for his master's words.

"Leave us." The man didn't raise his head and just commanded in a cold tone.

The servant didn't react in any way except for a low bow and scurried away.

Once the door closed, silence filled the room.

Only the sound of scribbling on the parchment with a quill could be heard.

The man in black was kneeling on one of his knees and was looking down as he tried to manage his breathing to be as quiet as possible.

Several minutes passed like that.

The man in black waited patiently while his master was writing something.

However, after a while, the sound of the quill being put down on the table could be heard as the man sitting behind the table looked at the kneeling man with a cold gaze.

"Speak."

"The physician met with the Former Lord just as the master predicted."

The man spoke with deliberate words.

"I see. So that old geezer truly had some fingers in it?"

Brynjar, who was tired from working incessantly since his return to Winterfrost for the sake of implementing their plan to control the town, couldn't help but rub his exhausted eyes as he leaned on his chair.

However, his interest was piqued as he pondered.

Seeing his silence, the kneeling man who had infiltrated Illyan's manor to overhear their conversation decided to wait for his master's command.

"Alright, finish the report." In the end, Brynjar told him to continue as he listened with closed eyes.

"Yes, sir! The Former Lord was the one who initiated the contact by visiting the physician's manor. Their relationship seems to be on very friendly terms, to the point where the Former Lord even offered the hand in marriage of Miss Aurelia to him."

As the man continued, Brynjar's eye twitched.

"From what I overheard, the Former Lord requested the physician Kaoran to support Miss Aurelia during the expedition. Physician Kaoran supposedly met with Miss Aurelia several times during this year and exchanged methods of medicine with Miss Aurelia."

The man continued to retell the most important parts of Illyan and Vael's conversation as Brynjar listened.

Once he said everything he heard, the office turned silent once more.

"Alright. Continue the observation for the next month. If you find anything suspicious, come to report immediately. Now, you may leave."

Brynjar sat properly to show his imposing physique as he dismissed the man.

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"I will not disappoint." The man bowed once more before leaving.

Once he did so, Brynjar leaned back into the chair while groaning in frustration.

'So he is probably already aware of what is happening. But why would Aurelia even tell him about this… Are they really that close? Well, at least he seems to be unaware of who that geezer is and any deeper implications this expedition and our deeds had. Aurelia would not be able to tell him anything too confidential with the Blood Seal on her either. He probably is just someone who was accidentally thrown amidst this… The question is whether Vanda will be able to recruit him permanently.'

Brynjar thought silently.

He was a little suspicious of Illyan after seeing his miraculous survival and his closeness to Aurelia. He felt something was off but didn't know what exactly.

Because of that, he commanded his subordinates to watch over him. During the journey back, Illyan didn't do anything suspicious, but he was sure that once he got back, he would do something.

And so he did, albeit differently from what Brynjar expected.

He met with Vael, but he seemed to be genuinely ignorant of the truth.

This made Brynjar sigh in relief.

Slowly, his suspicion faded a bit. He would still watch over that man, but with less effort.

'Depending on his relationship with my daughter, I could even make a deal with him and take him from that bitch. His knowledge of mathematics is quite useful. And that was after a year of studying. In the future, it wouldn't be strange for him to surpass Korin.'

Brynjar started to scheme how to steal the talented man as he considered letting him become his son-in-law.

'As long as he is suitable… It is not impossible.' Thinking so, Brynjar smirked.

'That would be like hitting two birds with one stone.'

By becoming his son-in-law, there was no way he wouldn't help him…

Brynjar relaxed as he thought of the future, unaware that Illyan had already been aware for several months that he was being watched.

He acted normally and told only things he wanted the man to hear while hiding his cultivation under the guise of resting.

Of course, there would always be a risk since he was under observation, but Illyan believed that it was also an opportunity.

He didn't mind playing more cards at the same time if it was advantageous to him…

…….

A few days later.

"How did this happen?!"

The mayor was raging in his office as he threw things around.

His fat belly was jiggling from all the exertion, and his face was covered with sweat as he turned crimson like a tomato from the wrath he felt.

Servants didn't dare to get too close as they watched worriedly from a distance.

They had never seen the mayor get so furious before. It was as if a demon had possessed him.

However, some of them thought it was understandable.

The mayor's biggest backer had died somewhere in the wilderness while the town fell into chaos the moment the expedition came back.

It was said that Aziro and his men had actually schemed against the people of Winterfrost together with the academics who came along, but he knew that was just bull crap more than anyone else.

Acolytes were exempt from facing consequences when it came to small cases of murder as long as the bodies were delivered to the front lines.

However, scheming against the entire town would result in immediate execution unless there was a very good reason for it.

It was because the 'human resources' were finite. If acolytes could do what they wanted without care, then the kingdom would have been in shambles centuries ago.

It was obvious that Aziro and the acolytes were the victims here.

But what did that matter?

Those two despicable gangs rose in power while the academics were condemned by the common people. The nobles saw the bigger picture but chose to follow the gangs for profit.

'But why would they do that? Once these guys beyond the borders find this out, then they would send… No…!'

The Mayor suddenly stopped throwing things around as his face turned somber.

'That bitch Vanda… What is she planning? Did she make some deal with someone from outside?' The Mayor bit his finger in frustration as blood seeped out.

There was no way they didn't know that the news would spread sooner or later, even if they isolated the town for now.

No one could enter, and no one could leave.

Yet, there was no doubt that this secret would not last for long.

Unless they just needed to delay the relay of news for a bit.

Thinking about it, it made sense. After all, Vanda was the capital's protector. She definitely had some connections…

"Fuck!" The Mayor got mad again as he threw an expensive vase against the wall.

However, at this moment, a steward arrived with a grim face.

"Master." He called out to the furious man as he bowed.

"What?" The Mayor didn't even try to keep up his dignity as he was too tired, both physically and mentally, and had to wheeze deeply to supply his body with oxygen.

"The young master finally woke up… Mr. Perus, who is by his side, requested your immediate presence." The steward hesitated a bit before telling the Mayor that Perus wanted him to visit his son.

That made the Mayor even paler as he didn't know if he would have another chance to see his son.

Alive at least.

He had lived for half a year in a half-vegetative state, but his situation was getting worse since he got back from the journey…

'Those damn scums…' He seethed in anger as he called out to the steward.

"Lead the way."

……..

As the Mayor hurried to his son's room, another man was tending to him.

It was the old and greedy man called Perus, who used his academic knowledge for the sake of profit as he leeched off the Mayor's backing.

This time, he was cleaning the chest wound on his son that had blackened for unknown reasons.

Nobody else was there, as he wanted the utmost privacy for the Mayor's son's treatment, only calling the Mayor himself to look.

However, if someone had been there and heard his muttering, they would have been shocked witless.

"Maybe I used too strong a poison?" He muttered in an irritated tone as he took out a vial with a strange-smelling content and poured it all over the wound.

"To keep him alive, I will have to keep giving him the antidote every third day… How annoying. But trying to purify his wound now would just bring another problem."

Perus sighed as he tended to the man who was their biggest leverage against the Mayor.

'Still, it's not like I plan on leaving the town in the near future. Within a decade, we should finally wrap this up. Then, I can finally return to the Forest of Silent Night.'

Perus' eyes flashed with bloodlust as he lifted his hand to scratch his face.

However, from such a simple action, a horrifying sight could be seen as his finger slipped from underneath his face where he scratched his itch.

The face that had looked normal until now was distorted, and the words that came out of his mouth were eerie.

"Only then can I finally achieve my revenge. For daring to exile me to the frontlines just because of my status as a bastard. You trampled all over me for years… But now, it will be your time to be trampled over! The entire Ancestral Forest will be flipped over once I gain the inheritance!" Perus' eyes flashed red as he got excited.

Perus, or rather Ezekiel, who had taken over his identity, believed that they were getting closer and closer to the grand finale of the journey after the inheritance.

It would take some time to explore the inheritance place, but even that would be beneficial for the current Ezekiel.

Unfortunately, for the sake of their scheme, he had volunteered to steal Physician Perus' identity to keep an eye on the Mayor and keep their leverage alive.

He had given the bandits a dangerous poison that he made through his Biomancy, which then incapacitated the Mayor's son, and now, only he knew how to keep him alive.

He wasn't a physician and wasn't well-versed in the ways of healing, but self-made poisons were already second nature to him.

Just as his face turned even more distorted from his smiling expression, he heard hurried panting outside as the Mayor barged in.

"What happened to my son?! Is he alright?"

Ezekiel's face was now wearing a reverent expression, as if his previous expression had been a lie, while he bowed to the man.

"I found a way to help him, but it won't be simple, my lord."

While he spoke in submission, his thoughts were different, however.

'What's a few more years of living in this barren land when I can gain eternal life and power…? No one will be able to stop me by then… Only then will I be able to live freely without hiding like a rat all the time…'

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