Aegon's voice was loud and clear, but it confused Xavier and even the knights, though for completely different reasons. He waited for a moment, but there was no change in the situation.

He sighed and said, "You know, it's useless to hide from me. There's a reason my people didn't bind you like the others."

Finally, there was some movement from one of the knights as he slowly lowered his hand and then took off his helmet with the other.

His armor was different from the rest, and there was also a red clover insignia engraved on its chest. It was the reason Aegon had stopped Xavier and decided to personally take action.

The knight was a middle-aged man with clear scars running across his cheek. He glanced at Aegon, his gaze firm and fearless, as he asked, "Who are you?"

"I'm the one who'll be asking questions here," Aegon said, taking a step forward. "And you'll be the one giving answers."

"You sure are confident!" The knight snickered. "Well, I can understand where your arrogance comes from, but you can't scare me with just this."

He tapped on his armor and said, "See this? Do you know what this represents?"

Aegon hummed and then said, "Bring him to his knees."

In the next moment, the shadows beneath him came to life and struck hard against the man's knees. With a cracking sound echoing from his joints, the man was forced onto his broken knees.

"Aghh!" The man groaned in pain and raised his head, meeting the calm, black eyes that stared down at him.

"I told you I'll be the one questioning here," Aegon said and then scoffed. "And I don't give a crap if your lord is Count Wanderwalt."

The man's eyes widened slightly. Clearly, he hadn't expected this young man to know of his lord and still act so brazenly.

He wanted to say something, but stopped when he saw the seriousness in those eyes and remembered how casually Aegon had ordered his knees to be broken. He wisely shut his mouth.

"So, you better start explaining what's happening here," Aegon said as he sat down on a boulder, while Xavier watched everything silently. "Truthfully. I have means to know if you're lying."

"It's not really a secret, so why would I lie?" The man snorted and replied. "My name is Harth, and I'm in charge of bringing these slaves back to the county of Lord Wanderwalt."

"Aren't slaves illegal in the Empire?" Aegon asked, a little confused. "Then how are you doing this so openly?"

"Only among the states close to Dawn and Dusk City do those laws work," Harth chuckled and said. "This is the outskirts. Who's going to tell the Emperor about these things?"

He turned toward the chained people and said, "My Lord and Baron Orelion had a bet, and the Baron lost. So, my Lord was allowed to take as many people as he wanted as slaves in compensation."

Aegon's expression turned ugly upon hearing that, and he turned toward Xavier, who was already fuming with anger.

"Bastard! You're telling me your pathetic lords just gambled with these innocent lives?!" Xavier roared furiously.

"Careful, boy! You can't afford to offend my Lord," Harth said before turning back toward Aegon. "You have good people under you, but it would be better for both them and you to let us go. These slaves are important to my Lord."

Aegon just stared at Harth with complex emotions swirling in his eyes. He had read about such things in books, but this was the first time he had seen such lack of empathy toward one's own kind.

'What a bizarre world.'

Aegon didn't say anything further and just waved his hand. "Do whatever you want with him."

"As you wish, Boss."

Hearing Hecte's voice, Aegon calmed down slightly, knowing she would handle everything on that end. He didn't really want to deal with Harth personally.

In the next second, Harth's body disappeared as if he had never existed, which shocked everyone—especially the knights.

Xavier came over to him and asked, his voice still a little agitated, "What will happen to him, and what are you going to do about this situation?"

Even though there were times when Xavier didn't agree with Aegon, he still trusted him to make the right decisions. That was the reason he believed Aegon would be a better king than him.

"He's in the hands of Hecte," Aegon said with a shrug. "Xiu said they can be pretty ruthless, so he'll have a good time, I suppose."

"You're awfully calm about this," Xavier muttered, though he was already familiar with this side of Aegon.

Whenever Aegon was in emotional turmoil, he would have the calmest look on his face. It was as if nothing could shake him but Xavier knew it was just a façade.

What Aegon was feeling right now could only be understood by him.

"I'm not calm," Aegon answered and turned toward Karbo. "You, tell me where you were taking these people."

While asking, he had already instructed the Red Viel that always accompanied him in his shadow to release the constraints from the chained people.

But they still stayed in the same spot, silent and unmoving.

Karbo realized he could speak again, so he didn't hesitate to explain everything. "My Lord, I'm not clear about all the details, but the Count has discovered something underground, so he wanted many slaves. You know, there's darkness down there, and there's a chance the Creatures of Darkness might manifest, so he likely wants them to take the risk."

"Ohh, I see."

That was Aegon's only response, but Xavier noticed the dark gleam in his eyes, the kind of shine that meant even Aegon was getting angry now.

"Anything else?"

"I-I don't know anything else, my Lord."

"Then why are you still here?" Aegon asked in confusion.

Karbo was also confused by the question, but he got his answer in the next moment as the surroundings around him changed. He found himself in a bizarre, dark space.

That was all he saw before losing consciousness.

"What are we going to do now?" Xavier asked, knowing very well that things wouldn't end well with a Count of the Great Solar Empire involved.

"I have a solution," Aegon said as he touched the bright sun-imprinted pendant on his chest. "I know someone who can help us in this situation."

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