Asked Elu doubtfully .  Perhaps he was suspicious as Justus was willing to confess after claiming it was an important secret .
Though Lifa really wanted him to talk, she was also wondering if that was really fine .
ăâIâm not going to say Iâm being driven by emotions or whatever . Itâs just that it doesnât matter whether I talk or not as there is no record of anything that Iâm going to say in anyone elseâs memory . If youâre afraid to listen, we can end it here . âă
What Justus said was sophistry but it was probably the truth . It wasnât likely that Lifaâs feelings had reached him .
However, not listening was not an option for Lifa .
ăâPlease hold back on the threats⊠Lifa wonât give up no matter what you say . And I wonât let her deal with this by herself so itâs the same for me . âă
ăâThank you, Elu . âă
Lifa was grateful to Elu for resigning himself and consenting to this . It was obvious that Elu thought it would be a bad idea to let Lifa listen to Justusâ story in her current condition . Elu was probably worried Lifa wouldnât be able to handle the risk of knowing highly classified information .
And yet, knowing that, he went along with Lifaâs selfishness .
ăâThen, letâs talk . Harold and I crossed paths five years ago . âă
â
(Justusâ Pov)
The first time Justus heard of Harold, he was working for the research center and had gone to the Royal castle to report on his studyâs progress . There, he happened to overhear a group of knights who were chatting with each other .
ăâI heard someone recently joined the knight order by taking some special test, instead of going through the normal procedures . âăăâHe probably has connections with some higher-ups, right?âăăâNo no, I heard he one-sidedly knocked down dozens of recruits in that special test they made for him . âăăâThatâs just because those recruit were weak . âăăâI canât deny that, but that newcomer is just a 13 year old kid . Heâs the youngest genius to ever enter the knight order . âăăâYou mean heâs better than the vice captain?âăăâWhat kind of monster is that?âăăâIf I remember right, his name was Harold StokesâŠâă
They were saying various things about a boy who had become a new recruit . Because of his uncaring personality, Justus would have normally erased these trivial things from his memory after leaving the castle .
The reason Haroldâs name remained in Justusâ mind at the time was because of one sentence .
âYou mean heâs better than the vice captain was?â
Those words came from one of the men in the group, who was just pointing out a mere possibility . It wasnât so easy to compare this Harold boyâs strength with the strength Vincent had when he was 13 year old .
However, there was still a chance that the boy would exceed him . The knight hadnât brought up that possibility for argumentâs sake, nor was it a figure of speech, he genuinely believed it could happen . That was unbelievable to Justus, for he was Vincentâs acquaintance and knew about his out of the norm battle power .
In the first place, for someone to even be compared to a great figure like Vincent, he or she had to be abnormal .
Vincent was strong . And that didnât only mean fighting strength, for he had a mind that wouldnât yield to any hardships, a sense of justice that opposed all evil, and the kindness to hold out his hand to the weak . He was extremely reliable to his allies and stood like a mighty wall on the paths of his enemies .
Even in other countries, there wasnât anyone else like him . He was what the world would qualify as a hero .
Therefore, Justus was curious about the boy who had a chance to become stronger than that Vincent .
Iâd like to meet him some day .  This thought crossed Justusâ mind .
At a later date, Haroldâs name once again reached Justus, who was immersed in his research as always . Justus was completely cut off from his surroundings and wasnât aware of whatever was going on in the outside world, yet even he had heard of Haroldâs story as it was the hot topic in the royal capital .
Apparently, the boy had disobeyed his superior and deserted in the face of the enemy . But it turned out that it was just an act and Harold had actually betrayed the knight order, for he was a spy from the Sarrian Empire, who had handed them information which allowed their army to launch a surprise attack that led to great damages .
Although the knight troops had been cornered and were on the verge of annihilation, they had managed to exterminate the imperial forces thanks to the last minute intervention from the headquarters of the royal troops led by the supervision head, Harisson . At the same time, they had managed to capture the traitor Harold alive, even though he had been on the brink of death .
Nevertheless, more than half of the patrolling troops of the knight order had either been killed or injured, and if the royal army hadnât been able to make it in time, the situation would have likely developed into a severe dispute between the Star Reader Stellar tribe and the knight order . There was no forgiving Harold, who had planned such a massive disaster, and he was eligible for the death penalty .
This is what was being said among the masses . Upon hearing of this, anyone would agree that it was natural for the situation to develop into Haroldâs execution . However, that was only if that story was true .
When he heard of this, the first thing Justus felt wasnât anger or even disappointment over Haroldâs betrayal towards the knight order . What he thought was that the situation was too unnatural and felt too orchestrated .
From what little he had heard, there were several points that caught his attention . He wondered how a 13-year-old son of an aristocrat could possibly become a spy for the empire, and he felt that the royal armyâs timing was too good .  But what felt the most peculiar to him was how detailed the rumors were and how abnormally fast they had spread only a few days after the return of the expeditionâs troops .
Normally, the information would have been kept under control until the situation could be sorted out and confirmed . Sorting out the situation didnât sound like much, but it took time, and many efforts from many people .
It was strange for that process to end as soon as the troops came back . When he was arrested, Harold had been unconscious and in a critical state, his consciousness should have returned only a few days before the troops arrived at the royal capital . It was doubtful that he had been interrogated and had given all the information he had in that short time span .
The information could have been taken from the imperial troops prisoners, but it was hard to believe that all the prisoners gave the same testimony, moreover, examining the information they gave would have taken time and effort, but the expedition forcesâ hands were already full on their way home, as they had many dead and injured people to take care of .
Justusâ conclusion was that the rumors had been spread intentionally and were very unlikely to be true .  Maybe Harold served as someoneâs scapegoat? He thought .
But so what? Whether the rumors were true or not, it had nothing to do with Justus, and he didnât have an once of concern for the life or death of other people .
Usually, heâd have cast that story aside without a second thought . If he hadnât been concerned about Haroldâs potential going to waste, he would have definitely abandoned him . He likely wouldnât even have been aware that he was abandoning him .
It was luck that led Justus to get interested in Harold, it was luck that led him to hear the bad rumors concerning Harold, and it was due to luck that he happened to have a few connections among the knight order and the tribunal . Thanks to many coincidences overlapping with each other, Justus had the opportunity to visit and meet Harold . Well, he didnât really meet him, not face to face at least . He merely observed him from a distance .
It was at the dungeon of the royal capitalâs tribunal that Justus met him; a boy with black hair and red eyes, whose arms were chained to a wall .
He was Harold Stokes .
The first impression Harold gave off was that of a wolf .
Proud, sharp, aloof, and trusting no one but himself . That was the general atmosphere around him . He was imprisoned in jail, tied by chains, and waiting for his execution, but despite his hopeless circumstances, the fire in his eyes was burning without a glimpse of a shadow .  His red eyes were like two crimson flames .
Before exchanging even one word with Harold, Justus was convinced: âYeah, this guyâs definitely not a spy . â Harold looked as if, no matter the options presented to him, heâd always choose to stand true to his way of life . He seemed like he didnât even mind dying to preserve his beliefs .  That was how powerful his eyes were .
Justus wondered if calling thisăâThe aesthetics of the devilâăwould do justice to the boy . And he intuitively realized that it would be too regrettable to let such a gem die .
From there, Justus made his move very quickly . It had been a while since he had taken the initiative to take action for something other than his research .
Through his work acquaintances, he tried to appeal to the countryâs big shots and influential people, one after the other, so that they would reconsider or delay Haroldâs death sentence .
However, Justus was just a scientist . Nobody was willing to carry the burden that came with accepting his demands .
Therefore, he pulled out his trump card . Justusâ purpose was to save Harold, but that trump card was basically a curse, a taboo experiment, developed by himself .
Then came his second meeting with Harold in the dungeon .  Looking at Justus who appeared before him, the first thing Harold said was Justusâ full name .
ăâJustus FreundâŠâŠâă
ăâOh, do you know me?âă
ăâWhy would a man like you come here?âă
ăââŠâŠ Right, Iâll cut to the chase . If you donât want to just sit here and wait for your death, join me, Harold . â
Justus didnât beat around the bush and went straight to the point .
Harold glared right at Justus, as if trying to read the aim behind his words . Justus knew this wouldnât be easy .  While letting Harold scrutinize him with his eyes, Justus waited for him to speak .
ăâBullshit . Youâre saying you can overturn my execution?âă
ăâYeah, thatâs right . Iâll definitely overturn it . âă
Justus affirmed confidently . He wasnât bluffing, he was just that confident that the weapon he developed and his negotiation skills would be enough to free Harold .
If that weapon could be put to use, the kingdom would be able to get an invincible army . Nobody would hesitate to sacrifice one death-row prisoner for that . In addition, instead of killing him, Justus was going to use him, toy with him, torment him and then kill him, which would serve to relieve those who wanted Harold dead, too .
There would be very few people opposing this, so Justus wouldnât be put under any real pressure .
ăâHowever, I have to tell you . If you work under me, youâll fall further down in hell . âă
ăâ⊠. What do you mean?âă
ăâIâve developed a certain sword that I had to seal away because of one big defect that goes with it . Itâs a sword that rapidly rises the userâs fighting power by absorbing his magical power . But it has a side-effect that cuts-down the userâs life, eventually leading him to his death . If youâre willing to wield that sword, Iâll release you from here . âă
Justus was completely frank and didnât hide anything . Harold was given two choices .
Was he going to accept his death without resisting? Or was he going to die a short while later, in exchange of many more hardships? It was a ruthless choice to give . And either way, the end result was the same, death .
Justus wasnât going to claim that his conscience was hurting . If that had been the truth, he wouldnât have given those choices to Harold . Justus never had a virtuous mind, his principle had always been to act for his own interests .
ăâ⊠. . hehâă
ăâ?âă
ăâHehehe⊠. . Ahahahaha!âă
Harold started laughing .
His voice sounded like it had come from deep in the abyss .  His laughter was filled with evil, and would make any listener shiver . The much too out-of-place laughter continued to reverberate throughout the dim dungeon, showing no signs of stopping . It felt as if Harold had gone completely mad .
ăââŠâŠ Whatâs so funny?âă
Justus finally had the resolution to ask Harold, who was starting to look more like a devil to him . Thereupon, Harold suddenly stopped laughing, and the echo that resounded in the dungeon followed suit .
That silence was a radical change . Justusâ palms were sweaty . Only when he noticed it was actually cold sweat did Justus realize the boy in front of him had mentally overpowered him .
ăâWhatâs so funny, you ask? How could I not laugh?âă
Harold answered while standing up . His arms were being pulled behind by the chains so he wasnât able straighten up his back .  Although he was on the verge of falling forward, his eyes did not separate from Justus .
The chains rang out in the dungeonâs silence .  Without a care for the fact that he was chained to the wall, Harold struggled to walk forward, as the chainsâ clash resounded even more .
ăâFurther down in hell? Cut down my life? The resolution to die?âă
The sound became louder and louder .
Blood started dripping from Haroldâs wrists, where the metal cuffs were attached .  But still, Harold did not stop advancing .
ăâWhat the hell are you implying? Donât you fucking look down on me, Justus!!âă
With one last loud sound, the chains were torn off at last . Harold took several steps and griped the jailâs fence with his hands .
The fresh blood from Haroldâs wrists splashed on Justus, staining his white gown .
ăâHand over that sword, that power . Iâll teach you what true resolution and true hell are, bastard . âă
ăââŠâŠMagnificent, what a perfect answer . âă
Harold and Justus smiled at each other . However, by no means were the two friendly with each other, for those treacherous smiles were akin to a mutual declaration of war .