Chapter 564: Warden

Turns out his pants were wet because of the blood from his exploded arm, not because he peed himself. He let his arm stitch itself back together as he stared at the person who almost poked a hole in his head. The man wasn’t that tall; he was only a couple of inches taller than Julius.

He didn’t have any bulging muscles of note either. The swordsman was slim and lithe, wearing nothing but black pants and a black shirt. However, the man still wasn’t breaking eye contact with Julius. He didn’t care that Cain was still holding his wrist either.

“Enough, Zane. He is not a threat, calm down,” the Emperor instructed the man sternly before turning to Julius. “My apologies, Zane can be a bit overprotective. I should have deactivated some of the enchantments before I said anything to you.”

Julius nodded as he accepted the apology. He suspected the enchantments were triggered by his sudden anger and desire to punch the Emperor in the face. In that respect, he didn’t find the predicament all that unreasonable. He would have been more disappointed if the Empire hadn’t had such protections in the first place.

With that said, he didn’t like the look Zane was still giving him. He was glaring at Julius like he had murdered his dog or something.

“Zane!” This time, the Emperor barked out the man’s name, also realizing the look the man was giving Julius.

Finally, the man stopped staring and turned around. He gently removed his hand from Cain’s tight grasp and bowed deeply. “Are you okay, Your Majesty?”

Julius was surprised at how deep the man’s voice was for his stature. It was like hearing two massive boulders grind against each other.

“Yes, I am fine. And if I recall, you were instructed not to disturb us under any circumstances.”

“The enchantments detected hostile intent toward your person. I cannot ignore such an issue,” the man stated plainly.

The Emperor glared at the man. “He is a Tier 3.”

Zane didn’t flinch and met the Emperor’s accusatory gaze calmly. “With the company of two Tier 6s.”

“…”

The Emperor clearly wanted to say something to the man, but held his breath for a few moments before addressing him again.

“You are excused. Do not interrupt us again. Is that clear?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Zane said with a deep bow, walking over to his sword before picking it up and sheathing it in its scabbard. The man strolled over to the door, but not before he gave Julius one last apathetic glare.

When he left, an opaque barrier slammed into place where the door had been, sealing off the room once again.

“Sorry about him. He is good at his job, but is a little too zealous at times,” the Emperor apologized sincerely.

Shockingly, it was Cain who waved him off. “It’s quite all right. Julius’s life wasn’t in any actual danger.”

Julius didn’t know if he was seeing things, but he could have sworn he saw the Emperor look a bit more warily at Cain. Perhaps, he was surprised at how easily Cain had protected Julius from Zane.

“Are you alright?” This time, it was Reinera who had run over to him. Concern was evident on her face as she carefully inspected his arm.

He watched as the flesh of his arm slowly healed over. “Yeah, I am good. I just lost control for a moment,” he said to her.

“That is my fault. I should have been more tactful in how I told you,” her father stated firmly.

“I understand. From your point of view, he is an enemy of the state. I don’t like it, but I understand why you have taken such measures,” Julius said calmly. He was still angry knowing that Edwin had been imprisoned and “interrogated”, but his focus skill helped him rationalize the situation.

Reinera looked between the two of them with narrowed brows. “Wait, I am confused. Why would you be so upset? Is it because—”

“Yes, Edwin is likely being brutally tortured and having his mind ripped apart,” Julius said, feeling his eye twitch despite [Sage of Savagery] holding back most of his emotions.

“This is why I would like you to take me to him immediately,” he said toward her father with the most respectful expression he could put on his face at the moment.

“Of course. I can’t since I have to meet a foreign delegate in half an hour, but I will have Zane escort you there.”

“The same guy who almost pierced my brain with his sword?” Julius asked without amusement.

“Yes. Unfortunately, he is one of the few people who actually has the clearance to enter the facility as well as the clearance to remove any individuals contained there.”

Julius appreciated that the Emperor avoided saying ‘prisoner’ and instead said ‘individuals’.

“That is reasonable. However, I would like to warn you that if he makes another move against Julius, that will be the last thing he will do.” This time, it was Freya who spoke out. She had a smile on her face, and her voice was light, but for some reason, Julius felt a chill run down his spine.

“Ow,” he muttered and looked over to see that Reinera was clenching his healed arm hard enough that his bones creaked.

It would appear that she noticed the same thing and was looking at Freya with worried eyes.

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“Don’t worry, Zane will not do a single thing. I will make sure he listens to all of your requests. Also, take this,” the Emperor said and passed something over to Julius. “The guards at the facility will recognize it, and you shouldn’t have any problems. You can also use it whenever you have any issues with any officials of the Empire.”

Julius inspected the item he had been handed over. It was a slim golden badge the size of his palm. The same shining sun emblem that was on his Contenders’ Crest was placed on the top right of the badge. Additionally, he could feel a subtle working of magic that he hadn’t detected on his crest. He shrugged and put it away for the time being.

“Thanks, if it’s not too rude, I would like to leave as soon as possible. You know, considering that Edwin might be getting tortured as we speak,” Julius said with a forced smile.

The Emperor did a good job at hiding his grimace, but Julius still spotted it.

***

Julius couldn’t lie; having Zane act as his bodyguard felt more satisfying than he would have thought. He didn’t have anything against the guy, despite almost being killed by him. Still, it was like seeing a totally different person.

The moment the Emperor gave Zane orders to follow any of Julius’s requests, the man was as tame as a puppy. Well, as tame as a puppy who wanted to bite Julius’s head off, if the dispassionate look had any meaning behind it.

The man had already led Julius, Freya, and Cain through a secret tunnel, where they boarded a carriage before heading to wherever this facility was.

Julius still didn’t let go of [Sage of Savagery]. While he felt like he had gotten a handle on his emotions and understood the unfortunate circumstances of the situation, he didn’t want to risk blowing up again.