Children of the Holy Emperor

CH 37

Martha could never forget the first time she locked eyes with the child.

The young one wrapped in a fur coat stared intently at her without shedding a tear. The child's obsidian eyes seemed so deep and dark, they were like mirrors reflecting not a glimmer of light, as if they were devouring her reflection from their glossy surface and even sucking in her soul.

For a moment, Martha barely restrained the impulse to throw the fur coat away.

"...you're one sharp-eyed bast*rd."

Aslan felt frozen, unable to move a muscle. Kaien's words carried a great deal of implication. He was the one who caused all this, and Aslan was his target.

Could his words be true? If so, how and why?

As Aslan's face hardened, Kaien sneered and walked past him, with a limping gait. Aslan could only watch, mouth shut, as Kaien moved further away from the square. Aslan and Bart were moved to Aslan's shack under the watchful eyes of several bandits. This indicated Jerome's suspicion had not yet cleared.

"We need to check the traps we set..."

"Are the traps the problem right now? Read the room, bast*rd."

At Aslan's words, one of the bandits spat out a glob of spit and locked the door from the outside. It was a clear sign of confinement. Well, it's fortunate that they weren't locked in the makeshift jail used as a village barn.

Drained of strength, Aslan slumped down, leaning against the wall and slid onto the floor of the shack.

"Bart."

Bart, who seemed deep in thought, turned to look at him.

"Did you ask Kaien yesterday if he harbored any resentment?"

"..."

"Do you think this could really all be Kaien's doing?"

Bart's eyes glistened with a strange silvery glow as he looked at Aslan in the dark shack.

"Don't let that kid's words sway you. It's all calculated provocation."

Calculated?

Staring blankly up at Bart, he began to explain in a calm voice.

"The first is to make you doubt him and work hard to clear your own suspicion. As for you, you don't know whether he's responsible or not, and there's no way to confirm it. But if you know someone is framing you, it's easy to fall into another trap by reacting rashly out of a sense of crisis."

"Ahh..."

Indeed. Aslan was contemplating whether Kaien was trying to frame him, and whether he should pursue Kaien out of the shack.

"The second reason is to observe your reaction and see to what extent you are aware of the situation, and whether avoiding major suspicion was pure luck or not."

"..."

What was Aslan's reaction then? Thanks to Bart's warning, he had a sense that something was about to happen, and thus had honestly responded to Kaien's insinuation.

Now, Kaien must be sure that Aslan knows something about the matter.

"...He's a smart kid. Perhaps he had this situation in mind when he persuaded you to take me."

What?

"Persuade... you say?"

As Aslan's eyes widened in surprise, Bart casually tilted his head and responded, "Didn't you say Jerome was a suspicious man? Even when you arrived, he had a stronger intention to kill me. It was the kid's insistence that changed his mind, wasn't it?"