Spider Web (2)

Aris Hisperion stood with her back to the dazzling warp-gate.

No one present had expected the intrusion of such a figure.

“Ugh…!”

“H-How on earth…!”

At her sudden appearance, the color drained from both Victor and Jonathan’s faces.

—Step! Step! Step! Step!

What’s more, Aris had not come alone.

Behind her stood the Heavenly Water Knights, arrayed in full armor.

And even the Violet Battalion, the elite swordsmen of the Bellator family, sixth in the ranking of seal-bearers.

All of them proved their iron discipline under Aris’s command, without a single break in their formation.

—Step! Step!

Following them, the commanders took their place a single step behind Aris.

Respectively, the leader of the Heavenly Water Knights and the commander of the Violet Battalion.

Both were martial artists at the grandmaster level, strong enough to take on legions by themselves.

“Hmph.”

Lastly, a mysterious woman beautifully dressed in a violet gown stood by Aris’s side.

She was the head of the Bellator family, one of the Seven Pillar Families of Hisperion.

Katrina Bellator. She too was a grandmaster.

“This—is insane…!”

Such overwhelming force, enough to crush a kingdom in an instant, had suddenly appeared. Jonathan unconsciously took a step back.

Including Aris herself, no less than four grandmasters had materialized out of nowhere.

And lining up behind them were rows of swordmasters as well.

“What is happening…?!”

Victor was wiping cold sweat from his brow, wetting his dry lips.

—Murmur, murmur.

The knights and mercenaries behind Theo were equally unsettled.

“What is going on…?”

“Why is Lady Aris here…?”

Jonathan and Victor couldn’t make heads or tails of the situation.

However—

It was at least clear that Aris hadn’t shown up to join their cause.

—Goooo!

The pressure radiating from the swordsmen at Aris’s side was as sharp as a blade.

“Sir Jonathan. How long do you plan on holding that sword?”

“Ugh…!”

At Aris’s cool question, jonathan finally lowered the greatsword he had been awkwardly holding up.

The enhanced energy flowing from his blade winked out like a candle flame.

“Lady Aris…”

Jonathan swallowed hard and asked,

“How did you come to be here…?”

But Aris did not answer his question.

Instead, she strode over to Yuria.

“You must have been frightened, Yuria.”

“S-Sister?”

Yuria looked up at her eldest sister in utter confusion.

They had never once shared a kind word in their lives.

What’s more, Aris had sent away all the servants Yuria trusted, had once slipped a mischievous but painful poison into Yuria’s food then endured the same poison for punishment after being caught, and had even bribed Yuria’s combat instructors to impede her progress.

‘This woman came to save me…?’

This hypocrite who would sooner laugh at her death than shed a single tear for her?

Does that make any sense at all?

“And Young master Ian as well. Are you unharmed?”

This time, Aris turned to Ian, flashing him a sly, friendly smile.

“Fancy seeing you again in less than a week. I’m glad to see you’re well.”

“Ah.”

Finally, Yuria understood vaguely why Aris was really here.

She didn’t come for me—but for Ian.

“…”

Ian simply gave Aris a small nod in response.

Still, Aris’s sudden appearance was also surprising for Ian.

Especially with that sly, twisted gaze brazenly showing its cunning, he couldn’t help but get goosebumps all over—wondering, ‘What is she plotting now?’

It felt as if he was caught in a spiderweb, dozens of tiny spiders crawling over his skin.

‘If I accept Aris’s help here, I’ll owe her my life…’

Well, that’s still much better than dying here.

But then, what price might follow this?

What is this woman after?

“Well then, introductions are done…”

Aris unconsciously licked her lips as she glanced at Ian, then turned back to Jonathan and Victor.

“Surrender. All of you.”

“Ugh…”

“… Hng.”

At Aris’s demand, both Jonathan and Victor could not hide their distress.

‘I absolutely cannot surrender like this!’

‘I refuse to surrender!’

Jonathan and Victor exchanged glances.

Just by that look, they could tell their thoughts were in sync.

Of course.

To surrender now would be as good as suicide for either Victor or Jonathan.

They had just been caught trying to murder the duke’s youngest legitimate daughter.

‘Even though we acted under Young Master Theo’s orders…’

Still, their participation in this heinous treason was obvious.

If they surrendered, the best outcome would be a beheading; at worst, they would be tortured or experimented on alive for the rest of their days.

‘I have to find a way to survive! This is our last chance to scheme a way out!’

‘Damn it! How did things get turned upside down like this!?’

Jonathan and Victor racked their brains with all their might to escape the situation.

‘Ah!’

Suddenly—

It was Jonathan who got an idea first.

‘That’s it! That could work!’

After all, the real leader of this group was Aris Hisperion.

If he could just persuade Aris and force a negotiation, there was a chance to escape this crisis.

‘Aris is kindhearted, obsessed with ideals of justice she can’t let go of. She’s soft as tofu.’

It was a judgment that anyone familiar with Aris’s wicked, hypocritical nature would have been horrified by, but Jonathan was one of those unaware.

‘We’ll threaten her by holding the city hostage.’

He imagined warning Aris that if forced to fight here, the city would be annihilated, innocent citizens caught up in a tragic, gruesome fate.

Should she condemn her own people to death through a foolish decision?

“Lady Aris!”

—Mutter-mutter!

Jonathan repeated aloud the very words he had rehearsed internally to sway Aris.

“So what? What are you suggesting?”

The answer came not from Aris, but from Roxy Rochberman, Captain of the Heavenly Water Knights standing behind her.

She was a beastkin woman, over 180cm tall, with lithe muscles, and covered in scars, radiating a wild aura.

“With nothing but garbage in this city, we might as well just kill them all now. Isn’t this a good opportunity?”

“Roxy?”

At Aris’s look, roxy flinched, biting her lip and lowering her gaze.

“S-Sorry, Aris…”

“You shouldn’t say things like that.”

“O-Okay, I’ll be careful…”

Jonathan curled his lips up in a sly smile.

From Aris’s demeanor, there was a glimmer of hope negotiations might be possible.

“We will never surrender! But if you try to forcefully detain us? As I said, the city will be wiped from the map.”

Aris stared at Jonathan, her gaze sunken.

“That’s not what I want.”

“I would think not.”

Jonathan’s smile deepened.

“Then how about a deal, lady Aris?”

“… A deal?”

“Yes.”

Jonathan pointed at Yuria.

“Hand over Lady Yuria to us.”

“What?”

Aris frowned.

“You’re asking me to sell out my own sister?”

Jonathan answered smoothly,

“No. We’re only asking that you let us take Lady Yuria into our care.”

“You just tried to kill my sister.”

“Oh no, that’s a misunderstanding.”

Jonathan waved his hand nonchalantly.

“It may have looked that way, but not at all. We just had a minor friction with Sir Javier during the process, which gave her a scare.”

At that, Javier ground his teeth.

“What kind of bullshit—!”

They clearly tried to kill her!

“No, sir Jonathan.”

Aris refused him at once.

“I don’t trust you.”

“Then what will you do?”

Jonathan gestured across the city.

“Are you willing to sacrifice this city just to save your little sister?”

“…”

“Lady Aris. Since you’ve stepped up, you must make a choice and take responsibility.”

Jonathan raised both hands like a scale.

“Will you save your one little sister but let hundreds of thousands of innocent people die? Or will you trust us with her and ensure everything proceeds peacefully?”

Jonathan added that if Yuria was handed over, the rest would peacefully surrender and face all investigations and trials.

He truly believed—

If they just got rid of Yuria here, theo, the most likely successor, would ensure they were released in time.

‘Ha… What a farce.’

Ian barely suppressed a laugh, glancing between Aris and Jonathan.

‘Jonathan really doesn’t know Aris’s true nature, I see.’

That woman is a cold-blooded monster who doesn’t care a whit whether it’s her own citizens, her own sister, or everyone here.

And yet, seeing her so expertly pretending to worry, Ian almost burst out laughing in disbelief.

“You’re a terrible person, sir Jonathan.”

Aris glared at Jonathan with teary eyes.

“Make your choice.”

“I cannot give up either the people of this city or my little sister.”

Jonathan frowned as if tired.

“With that, we get nowhere. If you get greedy, you might lose everything. That’d mean double the blame on you, wouldn’t it?”

“I’m not afraid of responsibility. But I don’t want sacrifice either. There’s a better way.”

“… A better way?”

What is she thinking?

Jonathan tilted his head.

“Yes. I’ll offer you even better terms. Instead of my citizens and my sister…”

Aris put her hand on her chest.

“I’ll wager my life on the scale instead.”

“… Excuse me?”

Jonathan looked bewildered.

“What do you mean by that?”

“We’ll duel, just the two of us, for a single exchange.”

“Hm? A duel? Me… and Lady Aris? Here?”

“Yes.”

Aris nodded gently, smiling warmly.

“If Sir Jonathan defeats me in this duel, we’ll all simply stand down without doing anything.”

“Huh?”

Jonathan stared at Aris in disbelief.

She was proposing to settle everything by dueling him?

‘What’s the trick?’

Jonathan was an accomplished grandmaster.

Aris, meanwhile, had only reached grandmaster less than a year ago.

True, Aris had mastered the Heavenly Current Style, a transcendent martial art, but as vice-captain of the Divine Sword Knights, jonathan too was a master of formidable martial techniques.

Plus, jonathan had vastly more real-world experience, and in a one-move contest, he was all the more confident.

He knew a secret technique in his martial art that could explosively amplify his enhanced energy for a one-strike victory.

And yet—

“You’re saying you’ll wager everything on a single exchange with me?”

“Yes.”

“What are the details of the duel?”

“Hmm… Let’s do it like this.”

Aris touched her lips, then continued.

“I’ll attack, and Sir Jonathan will defend.”

“… And then?”

“If I fail to bring you down in a single exchange, I lose. If you’re knocked down or fall, I win.”

“Hmm…”

The more Jonathan listened, the more suspicious he became.

The conditions seemed only advantageous to himself.

A single exchange with someone just barely made a grandmaster within a year.

Such a move couldn’t compare to Jonathan’s regular sparring.

He could last not one but ten exchanges, surely.

‘What is she scheming?’

He considered, but quickly dismissed it.

‘What scheming?’

Jonathan curled his lips in a sly smile.

‘It’s just the impulsiveness of a twenty-something with no experience. Her head hasn’t fully matured.’

Aris must be drunk on her lineage and sense of specialness.

Maybe she wanted to reenact some old hero story she read as a child.

Believing that if she took matters into her own hands, everything would miraculously work out.

She’d led a sheltered life in the Heavenly Sword Palace, safely swinging a sword in a greenhouse, flowers blooming in her mind instead of thoughts.

‘She thinks she can defeat me with one move?’

Utterly ridiculous.

“Very well.”

Jonathan accepted the wager.

“All right.”

Aris readily smiled.

Then she turned to Ian.

“Young master Ian. Would you lend me that greatsword you’re holding for a moment?”

————-= Clacky’s Corner ————-=

Aris knows Vladiark’s secret?

【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep