Valerian, The Legendary

105 Insect.

Ensoma was sitting inside the attending hall in a relaxed manner, it was not the first time that he had visited the duke. He had no reason to panic. However, one thing that stood out to him was that the Duke was taking longer than usual. He looked at a servant in the hall and asked, “Is the Duke busy?”

His implication was, What’s taking him so long?

The servant was aware of the identity of this man so he did not dare to brush him off, and said, “Sir, His grace is attending to the second prince of the empire in his study. The prince was inflicted by the charm spell of the enemy.”

The merchant was shocked, and he asked, “What did you say? How come the prince got inflicted when he was the person responsible for the final attack?”

The servant was taken aback, and then he replied, “It was the other prince who helped His Highness the second prince.”

Ensoma was shocked even more by this, he could not help but ask, “What prince?”

Before the servant could answer a deep voice sounded, “What brings you here, merchant?”

Ensoma was a merchant and a very rich one, he had a big name throughout the empire, and has always been close to Vulcan. The Duke had consulted with him about some sensitive issues in the city. The merchant spotted Vulcan walking over with calm strides and stood up.

He smiled and said, “I came to congratulate you on victory over the enemy. That too without losing much.”

.....

His tone was warm and familiar, and his friendship with the Duke was not shallow. They had known each other from the days of their youthful travels. Thus, the duke has given Ensoma permission to scavenge and hunt in his province.

Vulcan raised his eyebrow and asked, “Do you think that the loss of two hundred guards who stood against the beast tide is a shallow thing?”

Ensoma noticed something wrong with the tone of his friend. He shook his head quickly and said, “Well, count me ignorant, I did not know the losses were so much.”

Vulcan sat down opposite him and gestured him to take a seat as he said, “It is not about the number, but the importance of life, Ensoma. Not everything must be measured by gold.”

Ensoma smiled awkwardly, he could not help but feel something was wrong in the situation. In the past, Vulcan would just glare at him for a few minutes and then change the topic. He wanted to dispel this tension and asked, “Yes, just now this servant told me about a prince rescuing the second prince, who is it, if I may ask?”

Vulcan looked at him and said, “Oh, you are talking about him. It is a child that my sister-in-law, the empress adopted into the imperial family.”

This statement came to the merchant very unexpectedly. He thought it was some prince from a neighboring country, but this was too indigestible for him. He asked, “How come the imperial family is not worried about maintaining the pedigree of the family? Is it that simple for them to adopt this child? Do you not know that the parents of that children could raise a claim on royal treasures and stuff?”

Vulcan sensed a twitch developing on his eyebrow. He raised his head and while looking intensely at the man he said, “You do not have to worry about the pedigree of the royal family. The Verus household did not gain its current position because of a hierarchical system, but because we know how to nurture skilled and talented people. Do not use this petty idea to imagine things about my family.”

His words were stern and his tone was dominating, leaving no room for Ensoma. The merchant was surprised by such a strong response, in the past, he has many times tried to create a rift between Vulcan and Libra because if the former could take the throne, he would be able to gain even more benefits, but Vulcan had no interest in the throne.

Every time he was provoked, the Duke would just casually brush it off. Today was the first time he was told off by Vulcan. Thinking that the person was just irritated by the stressful incident, he said, “Yes, yes, you are correct. Well, I came today to give you a gift.”

Vulcan pretended to be surprised and asked, “Oh, what might that be?”

Ensoma finally noticed some signs of familiarity in Vulcan and said, “Iker, bring it over.”

The call was meant for his servant, Iker. Soon an old man dressed articulately came in. This man was Ensoma’s butler and had been with him from his youthful days. He was also familiar with the Duke. At this moment, he held a cage in his hand. The cage carried a beast inside it.

The old man bowed to Vulcan and said, “Greetings, your grace.”

Vulcan nodded, but his eyes were locked on the beast in the cage. It was a white fox, and from what the duke could tell, it was very fearful at this moment. The eyes of creatures truly said it all. He asked, “Is this your gift, Ensoma?”

The merchant nodded with a smile and asked, “How is it? Do you like it? I tell you this little thing is very smart.”

Vulcan nodded and said, “I like it, but I will not expect something that has some obligations to deal with.”

Ensoma was surprised, and he did not understand what was going on, so he asked, “What do you mean?”

Vulcan said, “I mean to say that this beast already has a master.”

His tone was calm, nonchalant as if anything had nothing to do with him. Ensoma chuckled and asked, “Old friend, how do you know about that? Are you kidding me?”

Vulcan nodded and replied, “I can say that, because, that owner happened to be my nephew. Valerian Verus.”

He put emphasis on the name at the end. He was trying to put the weight of the family name and relation on the merchant. Ensoma was surprised, but he still did not believe it and said, “You mean to say that I can gift this beast to the young prince rather than you? Fine.”

Vulcan shook his head and said, “It was originally his, but you captured it and refused to return it to him. How can this be counted as a gift? And what kind of gift can make up for what you have done, Ensoma Ecudare.”

The aura around Vulcan changed. Ensoma was shocked by this sudden change, he did not understand what happened, but suddenly a bad premonition struck him, and his pupil constricted. He asked in a shivering tone, “What do you mean Vulcan? What have I done? I realize that it was my mistake for taking away the prince’s pet. It is not a sin, is it?”

Vulcan still did not budge and said, “Val, come here, deal with this mole for me. I am afraid, I might burn down the house if I acted.”

As soon as his voice fell, Valerian walked in from behind a pillar, he has been hiding in the shadows the whole time. His strides were calm and his face was indifferent. Vertex also followed him, he just wanted to see how this child will deal with this guy.

Ensoma on the underhand was shivering, he did not know how Vulcan found out that he was the mole, but this was definitely going against him. He stood up in a panic, and with a disbelieving expression he said, “Vulcan, what do you mean by calling me a mole? What proof do you have to accuse me like this? The friendship of decades, are you going to slander it? Is this how you have decided to deal with me for a mistake?”

Vulcan did not speak but was gazing at him with sarcasm and ridicule dripping from his gaze. Valerian spoke up, “Firstly, Vitis Paralityca.”

Vine sprouted from the floor and they quickly entangled with the two people, Ensoma and Iker. The boy walked over to the old man and tried to tug the cage from his grasp, but watching the other party holding on to it tightly, he sighed. Ensoma said, “You negate this spell and you can have that fox.”

Valerian cast him a gaze and with a bright smile he unsheathed his sword, then with a swift swing, the wrist of the old butler was severed, and Valerian caught the cage.

His action shocked the people, and after getting hold of the cage he snapped his finger. The vines changed, and thorns dug into the skin of two people. They were ordinary people, just like the rest of the servants in the house, only Vulcan was a mage.

Valerian said, “So, would you like to know, how we discovered that you are the mole? In return, you can tell us how much the price of your loyalty, dog. Oh wait, I have to decide which animal are you, a mole, or a dog?”

Then his eyes became colder and he said, “Or are you just an insect.”