As the inquisitor said, to this day no one knows what the hero endured in that nightmare.
People only know he became a hero. The Blazing Fire Knight, Lance, forged legend again. That’s all.
“No time.” Lance leaned out the window and waved them off, impatience sharp as a knife.
They’d expected it. The answer came like a cold decree.
“By authority granted under Imperial Common Law, you have no right to refuse.” The words dropped, and the air tightened.
Lance paused, a flint of thought, then spoke. “About the Knight Festival, I know nothing. I have the right to remain silent.”
“As for that Dark Blood Clan woman—Doran’s royal house is using her as a lead. They’re investigating the Shadowspirit Legion’s political infiltration of Doran. I have no right, and no duty, to hand her over before the royal inquiry concludes. Ask the royal house or His Majesty the king‑designate.”
At his answer, the Celestial Spirit inquisitors were like mute men forced to swallow bitterness.
They burned with anger, yet had nothing to strike.
After a few more minutes of silence, the squad’s leader wore his frustration like ash. He finally ground out, “I understand.”
The fearsome inquisitor team slunk off like beaten dogs, leaving a bite of a threat behind. “Blazing Fire Knight, remember this. The Empire despises human arrogance. You’ll regret it.”
“Is that so.” Lance’s voice was flat as stone.
Once they left, the crowd burst into cheers like surf in a storm.
“Doran’s knight! Blazing Fire Knight!”
In the carriage, Gio, the king‑designate, almost bounced. “Well done! The people are seeing you as a savior more and more!”
“Over something like this?” Lance sounded puzzled.
“Of course!” Gio Robel was alight. He called Lance the face of Doran, then spoke of Doran’s long habit of bowing low before the Empire.
Soon, the carriage rolled into the Imperial Bank.
“For safety, I’ll wait in the coach,” Gio said as he stepped down, eyeing a duplex building nearby. “If anything goes wrong, it’s easier to command my special unit from here.”
“Alright,” Lance agreed.
The Blazing Fire Knight and the Feng Wolf Marquis stepped out.
Reporters swarmed from the doors like bees, pelting them with questions.
“Sorry. I’m in a hurry.” Lance pushed them aside, clearing a path with quiet force.
Inside, Celestial Spirits and Doran’s social elite stared round-eyed, watching the two stride in as if escorted by invisible spears.
The bank’s manager had been warned they were coming. He was a Celestial Spirit, yet he came out from the inner hall himself, smile stretched like polished porcelain. “Welcome, Lord Blazing Fire Knight…”
He flicked a glance at the onlookers and hurried on. “The VIP room is that way.”
“Skip it,” Lance said. “I’m pressed for time. Handle it at the counter.”
Faces drained. The manager and his staff turned a sickly shade.
The manager had no choice. “Very well… this way, please.”
Sweat rolled from the clerk’s jaw in beads. “Honored Lord Blazing Fire Knight, and Your Lordship, the Feng Wolf Marquis…”
“Withdraw it,” Lance said, straight as a sword thrust.
“P‑pardon, my lord?”
The Feng Wolf Marquis tossed down a form with lofty flair. “The funds the Feng Wolf Knight invested five hundred years ago in your nation’s construction. The foundation established with those funds. Every share the foundation holds…”
“By the Feng Wolf Knight’s will, and the rights Imperial Common Law grants any actor in Nordland, I demand you transfer it all into my name.”
The clerk started shaking. The manager’s knees went soft. The Celestial Spirits present almost lost all strength, wishing they could melt into a puddle on the floor.
Outside, the people were ecstatic. Some actually danced, laughing like bells.
“Three hundred million gold crowns!” one cried.
Another reeled. “Huh? Oh—three hundred million gold crowns?!”
“Yes! Even if you add up all four dukes of Doran, it’s only one hundred million. With three hundred million you could buy three Dorans’ worth of land. Thirty Dorans’ worth of people. And the yearly wealth those people create for the next three hundred years!”
“What?! That’s basically seizing all of Doran.” Eyes lit up like torches.
“More than Doran… If the Feng Wolf Marquis wills it, he could summon storms across all Nordland, even if he isn’t a Celestial Spirit!”
The Marquis pricked up his big ears. He had never tasted such praise. He basked in it, floating on visions of the Feng Wolf family’s bright future.
Then the clerk’s next words slammed him to the ground.
“I’m very sorry. Yesterday, to aid the front lines in an emergency, the Imperial royal house requisitioned this asset. The balance—every coin—is gone.”
The Marquis blinked through shock, then roared. “What do you mean?!”
Rage surged. He knew everything about his ancestor’s legacy, including the clause shielding it under Imperial law. As long as the Empire hadn’t sunk to violating its own law, the Feng Wolf Knight’s will stood forever.
If the Empire broke its word, its name would plummet like a stone.
Even if it didn’t shake their rule over Nordland.
The manager, anxious but professional, explained. “Your Lordship, not exactly. Five years ago, the Imperial Tribunal passed amendments to the Imperial Common Law. One clause—under emergencies, the Imperial royal house and the military may requisition all materials from nations bound by the Common Law.”
“So—you damned Celestial Spirits. For plunder, you’ve cast aside glory, and the code of your own kind?!”
The Marquis grew more agitated. The manager’s voice settled, even a touch relieved. “My lord, the vile Shadowspirit Legion mounted a general offensive not long ago. The Republic’s rear suffered heavy casualties and urgently needed supplies. Your funds solved their crisis—”
“Like the Blazing Fire Knight, you too will be honored as a respected hero, Lord Feng Wolf.”
Words that cut deeper than blades.
Hearing them, the Marquis went cold. Strength fled him. He fell with a heavy thud.
The onlookers sagged, despair thick as fog. It seemed the Empire’s trick left the two men powerless.
Then the silent young knight drew the Sirius Sword. Steel sang, starlight keen on the edge.
“What if I ask the royal house in person?”
