Chapter 87

Shortly thereafter, Aurelia formally became a knight of the Grave Guard.

Each aura master had reached the pinnacle of mastery.

Among the knights under the great lords, there are forces composed of Oru Masters. However, cases where their very existence is shrouded in mystery, like the Saxon House’s Grave Guard, are not so common.

Among the Knights of the Night Raven, they are the ultimate force sworn to silence, protecting the Saxon House from within the shadows. For them, knightly nobility or virtue held no meaning. Swords wielded in the shadows, strictly according to ‘the Saxon House way’.

They were knights and assassins, each having reached the pinnacle of their craft. A shadow blade that, when necessary, showed no mercy and did not hesitate to elevate the Saxon House’s infamy.

Aurelia became that very ‘Guardian of the Grave,’ finally becoming the first Grave Guard that Dale had ever possessed.

By forging a very special contract with Dale, and further, with Dale’s magic tome ‘Shuv’. Not loyal to the Saxon ducal house, but a black maiden who swore allegiance solely within Dale’s shadow.

Lady Shadow.

That was Aurelia’s new name.

Not the fallen maiden of a ruined kingdom, burned at the stake on charges of witchcraft after a religious trial in the frozen lands of Saxony, reduced to a handful of ashes.

Dale’s training was yielding solid results.

He attained the realm of the 4th Circle, mastering sword techniques while also receiving instruction in nullification magic from Sepia. Moreover, the tutelage of the continent’s foremost dark mage, the Black Count, was no exception.

Learning has no end. Thus, Dale’s training, honed among the greatest masters, grew more accomplished with each passing day.

And around that time. An uninvited guest arrived at Saxony Castle.

He was a high-ranking envoy of Guild City.

Once the successor to the Seven City Republics in the southern continent, it was a highly developed center of finance and commerce, a golden empire controlling the continent’s gold coins.

“I humbly greet His Highness the Duke of Saxony and the ‘Black Prince’ of the Saxon family.”

The high-ranking envoy of Guild City paid his respects to the Saxon family’s father and son, wearing their characteristic business smiles.

That they had journeyed all the way from Guild City in the southern empire to the frozen lands of the Duchy of Saxony. It could only mean one thing.

“The reason I have come to the House of Saxony is none other than…”

“──The black market is opening, I suppose.”

“Hehe, Your Highness truly is the Duke.”

And it wasn’t just any market. It was the largest black market on the continent, the pride of Guild City.

The Black Market.

Its existence was unknown to ordinary folk, accessible only to the select few who received Guild City’s ‘invitation’.

“The City Master deeply regrets not being able to visit the Saxon family in person.”

“Enough with the formalities. State your business.”

The Duke of Saxony added coldly, and the envoy smiled as if he had expected it.

“To hold a black market without including the House of Saxony, the most renowned in the realm, would be an unforgivable insult.”

The man had come to invite the House of Saxony to that very black market.

‘Has the time already come…?’

The Black Market does not open on a regular schedule. The items traded there are ultra-high-priced goods that lesser nobles dare not even imagine, possessing a value that would cause even the greatest nobles in the realm to bleed money. Therefore, the Black Market only opens when enough such goods have gathered to warrant opening the market.

A secret venue permitted only to the continent’s foremost nobles and wealthy.

And true to its name, the market deals in goods that know no bounds—be it objects or living beings. From every manner of rare item adventurers plundered from subterranean labyrinths, to all manner of goods and treasures the Guild City acquired through its own channels. From noble daughters and sons sold as playthings after their families’ downfall, to creatures so rare they’re seldom seen.

“Furthermore, at this month’s Black Market…”

The Guild City envoy continued in a meaningful tone.

“We have prepared a ‘very special item’ that even His Highness the Duke of Saxony would covet.”

“A commodity worthy of my covetousness.”

The black orb atop the throne asked heavily.

“Are you prepared to take responsibility for your words?”

“Who would dare utter words they cannot stand by before His Highness, the Duke of Saxony?”

The infamy of the man seated upon that throne needed no further explanation. For it was the name of this Black Prince that made even that very ‘Black Prince’ feel like a mere child.

“You may count on it.”

The envoy from Guild City drew a small jewel from his robe. A skull ornament cast in gold. Within it lay the special encrypted magic of ‘Guild City’.

An invitation to the Black Market.

“You are also aware of the Black Market’s rules, I presume.”

The Duke of Saxony did not respond. Yet the Guild City envoy, as if expecting no reply, bowed his head.

“Then we shall take our leave at this point.”

The envoy silently paid his respects and crossed the great hall of the Saxon Duke’s castle.

A storm in a teacup—perhaps this is what they mean. On the tranquil plain, wind and waves began to stir.

Among the rules of the Black Market, the most crucial is that the ‘invitee themselves’ absolutely cannot participate.

Gathering such powerful nobles in one place carries significant risks in many ways. Therefore, the invited noble appoints a ‘proxy,’ and it is the proxy’s role to actually enter and exit the market.

The crucial point is that one cannot know in advance what goods will appear on the market… Therefore, the agent must exercise utmost caution in determining what goods his master needs and what to purchase. Even the greatest feudal lord in the empire must endure losses on certain items.

In a sense, that very uncertainty is precisely the allure of the black market.

Therefore, the person who best understood the lord would assume the role of proxy. In the case of the House of Saxony, there was only one who could truly grasp the intentions of the head of the house, the Black Duke.

“Send me to Guild City.”

It was Dale of Saxony, the Black Count’s son.

“…I knew you’d say that.”

The Saxon Duke’s office.

The Black Count responded to Dale’s words as if he wasn’t surprised at all. His son’s recklessness and audacity were nothing new to him.

“How much do you know about the Black Market?”

“It’s a place where ‘high-value goods’ that can’t be handled externally are traded.”

And the Dale of today is a mage who has reached the 4th Circle. While he may not yet be considered a high-ranking mage, considering the significance of Dale’s 4th Circle, he possesses more than enough skill to protect himself—unless he’s facing the empire’s strongest.

“Guild City is an extremely dangerous place.”

“I am mindful of that fact.”

Guild City. The new name given when the Seven City Republics were subjugated by the Empire. A city alliance and oligarchic republic where the seven Great Guilds each rule one city, with numerous lesser guilds submitting to the Great Guilds’ governance.

The ‘City Master’ referred to the representative elected by vote from those very seven ‘Great Guilds’.

During the Unification War. The Empire’s various dirty deeds were acts impossible without the cooperation of ‘Guild City,’ and thus the former Dale had become the hound handling those dirty tasks, thoroughly understanding Guild City’s inner workings.

For instance, the ‘Shadow Court’—a place even the City Master or the Grand Guild couldn’t touch.

“A lawless land where gold and violence justify any act.”

That’s exactly right. An empire of gold where even taking a human life can be settled with a few gold coins. To survive, you must either amass more wealth than your enemies or possess greater strength than them.

‘Gold is Power.’

Just as the guild masters always say. That’s why the importance of Guild City was undeniable. Especially during this season when the Black Market opens.

“Guild City possesses everything our Saxon House lacks.”

Therefore, this is an opportunity we absolutely cannot afford to miss.

As the financial network and commercial hub that even the empire dared not trifle with.

From sophisticated finance to the textile industry that underpins the very fabric of daily life.

“In other words, it’s like the lungs sustaining the entire continent.”

The House of Saxony possesses power and wealth, the Black Magic Tower, and an incalculable army of the undead. Yet it also faces barren lands and immeasurable threats lurking within. Calling them warlord nobles would not be inaccurate.

That is why the power of the Guild City was necessary.

A financial network and commerce spanning the entire continent. A card that can strangle an opponent’s breath more peacefully, yet more surely than moving soldiers. Sometimes gold and woolen goods pose a greater threat than weapons.

“It seems to you that the black market is merely one objective.”

The Black Count, reading Dale’s thoughts, spoke.

“Do you have other plans?”

“I always think for the Saxon family.”

Dale replied, and the Black Count smiled faintly. It was a conversation between father and son, no different from any other.

The Black Market’s ironclad rule number two: An agent attending the market officially cannot reveal their true identity. Fortunately, twelve-year-old Dale was a precocious child in more ways than one.

When he disguised the artifact ‘Shadow Cloak’ as a black robe and pulled its hood deep over his head, he appeared, at first glance, scarcely distinguishable from an ordinary traveler.

Disguised as a traveler in black robes, the journey toward Guild City began.

Without even the Saxon House’s escort knights, including Sepia. It wasn’t as if he lacked his own insurance. But considering the activities he would undertake in Guild City, cumbersome companions like before were unnecessary.

As an unconventional mage who had reached the 4th Circle.

‘I’ve finally reached the point where I can use Dispel magic effectively in combat.’

Finally free from the guardians’ grasp, he could now truly operate in the shadows for his own purposes.

Officially, the seven major guilds rule Guild City. However, alongside these seven guilds that oversee legislation and administration, another power effectively governs the city.

Those who enforce the judiciary of Guild City.

The ‘Shadow Court’.

And preceding it, the Black Market to be held in Guild City.

What kind of goods could possibly tempt the Black Lord? It would be a journey of considerable length, but one well worth undertaking. Dale lifted his head and pulled on the reins.

Sunlight poured down, yet the shadow cast beneath the black robe was profoundly dark.