Chapter 14: I Want Revenge with My Own Hands

Simon had temporarily quelled the unrest in the palace, but there was still an unresolved issue—Belinda.

Previously, he had managed to calm her solely thanks to Lady Pandas’s promise.

However, Lady Pandas was now dead, and her body had even been desecrated.

Simon found it impossible to explain all of this to Belinda.

But since it had already happened, there was no way to change it.

Simon returned to the manor.

The lights inside were still bright.

He glanced at the clock in the hall—it was 10:13 p.m.

Then he went upstairs to look for Belinda, and quickly found her in the study.

Belinda only realized Simon was there when he walked up to her.

She suddenly turned her head.

Her tense expression immediately relaxed, and she let out a breath.

“Simon, you scared me to death!”

Belinda patted her chest and looked at Simon’s purple-gold armor in disbelief.

“How did you manage to walk up to me without a sound in that armor?”

Simon explained.

“You think this is just armor? It’s a magitech device. If I want to sneak in, it won’t make any noise.”

As the final line of defense in front of Alexia, Simon’s combat power was naturally top-tier.

He relied not only on his own strength but also on the aid of magitech equipment.

September Nine had tailored an entire arsenal of magitech devices for him.

Normally, Simon appeared only in armor with a sword at his waist.

Earlier in the palace, the reason the witch’s magic was ineffective against Simon was because his armor was engraved with numerous Pandemic Circuits.

These circuits were specially designed to suppress magic, rendering it ineffective the instant it touched.

Of course, if the magic was strong enough, at most it would only be weakened—whether the Pandemic Circuit or the released magic was stronger determined the outcome.

“Magitech device?!”

Belinda’s eyes lit up.

She hadn’t considered that at all before.

She reached out and patted the armor on Simon.

“Thunk thunk~”

“It’s really hard to tell! Aside from looking cool, it feels just like normal armor.”

“Let’s not talk about this now…”

Simon squatted down, tilting his head slightly to look at Belinda, who was sitting in the chair.

“There’s something I need to tell you first.”

Belinda nodded, then as if she remembered something, pointed to the clock by the wall.

“I’ve been sitting here the whole time. If you don’t believe me, check the time on the clock.”

Simon didn’t turn to look.

He stayed silent for a few seconds, then spoke in a low voice.

“Your mother has met with misfortune.”

He still couldn’t bring himself to tell Belinda that her mother had not only been killed but also dismembered and tainted with chaos corruption.

Belinda, who had been laughing a moment ago, instantly froze.

Her mouth opened slightly.

Her expression went blank, as if she was struggling to understand the meaning of his words.

After more than ten seconds, she muttered softly.

“She died? My mother died? How could she die?”

She stood up and grabbed Simon’s shoulder.

“Simon, didn’t you let her go? You even showed her a way out. She should have gone to find Father!”

“Someone ambushed her on the road.”

Simon said helplessly.

“She left alone…”

“I couldn’t send anyone to protect her. Her Majesty the Empress’s order was to bring back only you. That meant everyone else had to die.”

“You heard what I said before the Empress. Secretly releasing your mother was my own decision, unrelated to the Empress. If the Empress knew I deliberately let your mother go, I’d be punished too.”

Alexia had never intended to spare Lady Pandas.

Simon was also not ready to confess everything to Alexia.

“I’m sorry, Belinda. I broke my promise.”

Simon was truly powerless.

He had never expected things to turn out this way.

A few tears fell from Belinda’s eyes.

She questioned Simon in a quiet voice.

“Can you swear this had nothing to do with you?”

Where her mother might have escaped to—now it seemed only Simon knew.

Alexia had already harbored thoughts of killing her mother at that time, so Simon could easily have set up this scenario to deceive her.

“I can swear to the God of Light.”

Simon looked straight into Belinda’s eyes.

“I absolutely wanted to spare your mother. I never had any other intentions toward her.”

“…Then that’s enough. No need to swear to Him. My mother often prayed to Him, but in the end, she still couldn’t escape death.”

The light in Belinda’s eyes dimmed.

“But Simon, if you want to kill me, do it now. If I ever escape from your hands in the future and find out you were involved in my mother’s death, no matter where you are, I’ll find you and tear you to pieces.”

Belinda made her resolve clear without reservation.

Simon did not refute her, nor did he show any killing intent.

“If that’s the case, I’d willingly accept death.”

He would not lie to Belinda.

Not a single word.

Nor would he ever bear murderous intent toward her.

Only then did Belinda nod dazedly.

She tried to step back, but her whole body felt weak.

She stumbled a few steps and collapsed into Simon’s arms.

“Is this why Martial Law was declared today?”

Belinda asked Simon.

She didn’t understand much about the situation, but she had heard of the Martial Law order in the Imperial Capital.

Moreover, with the large-scale movement of Knights outside, it was easy to hear even inside the study.

Simon nodded.

“Pretty much.”

“Then do we know who the murderer was that killed my mother?”

Belinda pressed on.

“The exact person isn’t clear yet, but there are some clues.”

Simon did not hide it from Belinda.

“It was a witch. To be precise, the Witches’ Council.”

“Witches’ Council?”

Belinda had never heard of such an organization.

“It’s normal you don’t know. They’re extremely secretive. Ordinary people wouldn’t even know they exist.”

Belinda nodded.

She had found her direction for reading next.

But just reading books wasn’t enough.

“Simon, I want to avenge my mother with my own hands. Can you teach me how to use a sword?”

Belinda asked Simon fearfully.

She thought Simon might refuse.

But unexpectedly, Simon nodded immediately.

“Fine, but there’s a prerequisite for learning my swordsmanship.”

“What condition?”

Belinda’s fear quickly turned to anticipation.

Simon took his sword from his waist and placed it in front of Belinda.

“If you can draw my sword, I’ll start teaching you.”

Belinda looked at Simon’s sword doubtfully.

“You didn’t cast some magic that prevents the sword from being drawn, did you?”

Simon shook his head.

“I’m not as cunning as you think. Besides, the space for engraving magic circuits is extremely valuable—there’s no way I’d waste it on such a spell.”

He needed to maximize combat effectiveness.

How could he carve useless magic into his sword?

“Then I’ll try…”

Belinda tried to draw the sword, but even with all her strength, she only managed to pull it out a little.

“This is way too heavy!”

Belinda immediately realized that this sword was far heavier than an ordinary sword.

“If you can’t draw the sword, it means your body isn’t strong enough to wield it. From now on, in addition to your eight hours in the study, you’ll need to train your body. As for how to train, figure it out yourself. You can tell me later, and I’ll help correct you.”

Seeing Belinda struggle to pull the sword out even a little, Simon recalled how Alexia could easily draw it with one hand and wield it so steadily.

For a while, he even suspected his sword was poorly made.

But now, it seemed the problem wasn’t with the sword—it was with the person.