“Ouch.” 

“Just bear it. There is no antidote which feels like moisturizing body cream, Missy.” 

Lumi glared at Rigel. The man just chuckled before applying more salve to the burn from Jormund’s blood. By reflex, Lumi hit Rigel’s tight where her feet rested a little when she felt a stabbing sensation. Rigel winced in pain too. 

“It hurts!” Lumi did not think she had low pain tolerance. But Jormund was a special class of magic beast, it would be weirder if she could bear the pain. 

“Of course it hurts. But the pain will lessen a lot tonight.” Rigel bandaged her calf neatly. “There, there. I’ll help you change the bandage tomorrow. Please come as usual to the prince’s study. The scar left shouldn’t be too bad since we had the best herbs stocked here.”

Lumi groaned but nodded obediently. Then suddenly realization hit her. 

“Are you allowed to be here? Cain is…”

“He ordered me to protect you. He’s with the King and Alan for now. It seemed like the palace’s staff won’t get any sleep tonight.”

Holden was angry because this ruckus happened before him. Someone clearly challenged everyone in the palace for a fight by planting a time bomb so such a dangerous creature like Jormund could appear in the middle of the banquet. After knowing that Jormund was manipulated to attack Selene specifically, his anger turned into wrath. He was also ashamed that this happened when he was the one who asked Selene to stay. Sure felt like someone throwing shit at him. 

Andromeda was also in a bad mood, just for a completely different reason. 

“You are really skilled, Mister Winters.” Thomas Hopkins said as he put a basin with warm water for Rigel to wash his hands on the table. He was an expert at his job. For him to praise Rigel’s skill meant the red haired man was more than a powerful fighter and famous sin debtor. Lumi had to admit she could no longer deny that Rigel was indeed useful. “I have never seen a pharmacist as skilled as you attending to a patient.” 

“I just used to help at my village’s clinic.” Rigel shrugged. Without saying anything anymore, he helped Lumi stand up. 

“Can you walk?”

“Mm. I can.”

Thomas gave Lumi a blanket to cover herself. He pitied the young girl who had to face such an incident just because she’s a wizard invited by the prince. 

“I heard that Duke Draco was called to be investigated.”

That sentence stopped both Rigel and Lumi from moving. Both even asked in unison, “Really? Why?” 

“Mister Phoenix was injured today because of him. The princess witnessed it.”

Lumi and Rigel looked at each other. Seemed like that kind of fight wasn’t worth investigating in the middle of an important case.

“Seemed like Duke Draco was the one who manipulated Jormund.”

Lumi, who knew her way a lot around the noble, asked in disbelief, “How? He is not a summoner?”

“Well…” Thomas scratched his cheek which was not itchy at all. “There’s this suspicion that he’s an unregistered summoner.”

“Is that even possible?” Rigel raised one of his eyebrows. “I thought all summoners get special education, then and now.”

“If one is willing to learn the art by themselves, the reference books are not hard to get.” Thomas fixed the position of his glasses. “After all, summoning is a rare talent. But the guidance was recorded neatly since the first king of Alrauna reigned.”

Talent is a big factor that differs one person from another. Commoners usually dream of being born as an elementalist. Mastering one element, even if they are not too powerful, would guarantee them a position as imperial knight or civilian guard. They would be educated differently than other people and the chance to work for the royal family opened. 

If one was born with exceptional talent to study ancient runes and energy  transformation mechanisms, they could be promoted as royal wizard. And if one’s natural energy was above average, they could choose to master martial arts and swordsmanship to be a paladin. However, going through the promotion process was not easy at all. This is why wizards and paladins are placed higher in rank rather than mere elementalist. 

The summoner though is a completely different story. Nobody except another summoner knows the true mystery of summoning talent and what they had to go through to be able to call being from another realm.

Lumi thought hard, Rigel could tell from the frown formed on her face.

“You will age faster, Missy.” Rigel patted her head. “Stop with the frown, okay?”

Rigel thought Lumi would explode like she usually does when Rigel teased her. However, she said to Thomas, “It was possible. The late Duke Draco was a summoner. He might have raised his son to be one without registering him.”

Thomas nodded. “That’s also my guess. After all, Late Duke of Draco was the prince’s mentor. He might think he had to hide his pawn well since the prince was a powerful summoner.”

***

 Rigel always thought that the battle to assert dominance between nobles was ridiculous. Afterall, if he was a noble, he’d just enjoy what we have. Delicious food and comfortable residence should be enjoyed to the fullest by having a peaceful life. To rule a land fairly and guarantee the safety of his people would be enough. At least, that’s what he thought. 

But nobles seemed to never be satisfied with what they had. They seemed like they had the need to steal another’s land, rise in rank, and to be in charge of everything. 

“How was the trial?” Rigel asked softly when Cain finally came back. Cain rolled his eyes and threw his cape to Rigel’s lap. 

“Dunno. He insisted that he had no idea about Jormund.” He took off his shoes and jumped to the bed. 

Rigel was a little bit annoyed that Cain threw his cape to him. But remembering this prince indeed has the habit to casually put his outerwear on the chair, Rigel couldn’t really be angry. Instead he folded the expensive fabric neatly and put it on the basket for the maid to take tomorrow. 

Remembering something, Cain lifted his upper body and asked, “Lumi?”

“Missy is fine. She’s with Madam Amalthea tonight. She said she couldn’t believe anyone after all that happened.”

“Oh…”

“They seemed to be super close.”

Cain laid back, closed his eyes and let Nara come near his head to cuddle. “My grandfather took Lumi and Ian in after their parents passed away. You could say, my mom is practically their mom too.”

No wonder Lumi seemed to be so protective of Cain and Selene. She must feel like she owes them big time.  

“Hey. The plant you summoned back then… It was cool.” Rigel naturally had this interest in plants and knew his way around the topic. But since Cain was the first summoner he’d ever known more than just in name, he never realized summoning talent could bring plants from another realm too. 

“Thank you. Tamed it when I was fourteen.”

“... Tame… what?”

Cain just smiled slightly, still with his eyes closed. It was clear he wouldn’t expect further. “Just guard this room. I am tired. And please cancel my morning classes tomorrow.”

At this point, Rigel was not sure for how long he should work to pay his sin debt. Rather than taking missions, Cain treated him more like a secretary or pet caretaker. 

***

The news spread like wildfire. Ruben Draco was locked in the dungeon. He was a suspect for the premeditated murder of the mother of the prince. Trial was scheduled to see if he’s telling the truth about not being a summoner. 

And this morning, Rowan Draco, who had been away from the capital for quite a long time, finally came back. He asked to have a meeting with the king. Holden granted that, but he asked Cain and also Selene to be present as well since they are the victims of this terror. Cain didn’t reject it, but Selene only willing if she was seated far from the royal family. After all, sitting side by side with Andromeda was never a good idea. They were already the hottest gossip topic for noble ladies.

“I can guarantee that my brother is not a summoner, Your Majesty.” Rowan kneeled. He lowered his head, until Holden could see the back of his neck from his throne. Different from Ruben who had a sharp appearance, Rowan seemed soft and polite. But people know he was the better son, better fighter, and also more worthy to be the successor of Draco family. 

“The trial will be held to test this matter.” Holden said. “Damocles is in the preparation stage.”

The Sword of Damocles, just like the scale of Dyke, is an ancient tool used in the Supreme Court. And just like other ancient tools, the judges treat it with high regards. The priestess would regularly pray and renew the chant seals to make sure it is in top condition. 

“I don’t think it is needed.” Rowan said. “Why should we waste time to prove his incapability?”

The room went quiet. 

Rowan had just admitted that his older brother was not the culprit because he had no capacity to do it. He defended his brother while underestimating him at the same time.

Rigel held back his laughter until his shoulder started shaking. Lumi who stood beside him pinched his waist. She gave him a signal to shut up. Laughing was inappropriate for their current predicament. 

“If there’s someone in this room who knows Ruben’s ability well, that would be me.” Rowan now dared himself to look at Holden. “Rather than waiting for the Damocles, why shouldn’t we test it in a more effective way?”

“What are you suggesting?” Holden asked. He frowned deeply. He didn’t like Ruben even after his wife said he’d be a perfect candidate for becoming their son in law. But Rowan? Honestly Holden disliked him more. This handsome young noble was unpredictable. And Holden disliked disobedient dogs more than anything. 

“Let’s test it. Shall we put him with a magical beast? He wouldn’t hold back summoning another beast to defend himself if he were cornered right?” Rowan laughed softly, as casual as he was not talking about his brother. “This shall be a faster way right? And also it could serve as punishment for harming our royal advisor.”

Rowan looked sideways to Alan. Both men were calm, as if calculating what their opponent was about to do. 

“I disagree.” Cain said. “Punishment and proving someone was in the wrong could not be done at the same time. If we’re to consider his already proven bad deeds, which is hurting Mister Phoenix, it still is not making any sense to make him face a magical beast.” 

“Well…” Holden massaged his temple. “I agree with the prince. No matter how disappointed I am in Duke Draco, it is not fair to punish him like that. Alrauna is a nation with clear law. We shall trust the trial process for such matters.”

Rowan, as if he did not just talk about something controversial, then chuckled. “Pardon me if my idea sounds too much. I just wanna give justice to mister Phoenix while making it easy for the judges also. And maybe…” 

Rowan’s smile grew wider. So sweet like a honey but everyone in the room now knew that smile was malicious. 

“I spend too much time battling the barbarian near our border. My way of thinking kinda gets twisted. There is no capable judge there, I learn the fastest and easiest way to prove someone’s innocence is by cornering them far enough to spill the truth.”

It was true that he was placed far from the capital since Ruben took the ‘Duke’ title. Having two prominent leading figures in one family was not a good thing for Ruben afterall. He would be constantly compared and estimated.

“The prince’s guard must agree with me, right?” 

People instantly glanced at Rigel who was caught dumbfounded. 

Rigel could feel his temple twitched. This is the first time  he met Rowan Draco, the first time he interacted with the said man. He did not expect the famous figure to know him, but then maybe nobles around his age tend to know that Rigel was indeed a murderer who wiped clean an entire family. He had spent too much time around Cain and Lumi who seemed not to really know his case since they were barely fourteen when that happened. 

“I do.” Rigel replied in a nonchalant tone. But trained ears could sense that he was not as calm as he showed on the surface. “But only if there’s no other method. I believe for this case, we all should respect the King’s decision.”