The Reincarnated Villainous Young Master's Guide to Happiness

Chapter 33: Cornflower p.2

Rainier's lips curled into a bright and charming smile, but why did it feel like there was an intense pressure exuding from him?

"Young Master and the Charm Master have been working hard," He said with an offhand tone.

"Are you jealous?" Neo questioned with a raise of his brow.

"Of course not, Young Master," the smile grew bigger.

The alleyway was long and empty. No one dawdled in a place like this during the day.

After a while, they stopped walking.

When they both sensed there was no one around, Rainier took off his blindfold.

"You know, you helping me is as much as you can possibly do. I know this is out of your area of expertise, but your aid has been invaluable," Neo said, meeting Rainier's gaze with his own.

The servant's smile was wiped away and replaced with an inscrutable stare.

Neo pretended not to notice.

They continued to walk again, making turns left and right through the alleys. A maze of stone rose around them the deeper they went.

As the silence between them gradually stretched, Rainier finally spoke, "Hogroots and snakeweeds were illegal before the Church banned them." So is this Quill person really as trustworthy as you say?

Neo felt like he could hear Rainier's unspoken words and held back a sigh.

The man wasn't wrong.

Both plants were rarities even in the black market. Only by knowing the right people could one get access to a small stock of either plant.

The plants grew in hot and humid climates outside the Empire and were often found growing near one another. One was known for burning the flesh of any living being upon contact and the other was capable of corroding the human body upon ingestion.

The Empire had banned the selling of these plants on the market after the Fifty Year War, but underground smugglers still found ways to get around those restrictions. Twenty years later, the Church became a powerhouse in the Empire and they, too, followed the Empire's example and banned the usage of the plants.

With both religion and state barreling down on the possession of these plants, they were treated like endangered species in the black market.

Nazareth had been a dangerous and unstable individual. The Syndicate, being the irresponsible adults that they were, happily gifted whatever plants he wanted as long as he could make the Slave Emblem.

By doing so, they helped him bring the lawless spell into being.

The Slave Emblem.

The mark both he and Rainier wore on their skins

Nazareth traded a dangerous and immoral spell for a plethora of underground connections.

At the time, the emblem was merely a small price to pay. Who would have known the catastrophe it brought the Empire later on?

Officially, the Slave Emblem, (or Thrall Mark as Quill had called it), didn't exist. With so many questions pertaining to its creator, and the research for its antidote, the Empire kept the investigation under lock and key.

The emblem would later appear next spring when the first massive terror attack struck Noble Academy during its Opening Ceremony.

It would signal a hellish year with all players summoned to the metaphorical chessboard.