Masked Knight

The Imperial Capital was bustling as usual.

At the moment, Rody was slowly leading his horse. He was not inside the Imperial Capital yet. He was in a town on the outskirts of the Imperial Capital. The roads here were already much wider compared to the roads of the small towns in the South. After hundreds of years of usage, the limestone surface in the Imperial Capital was extremely smooth. There were a lot of pedestrians, and the commercial area was bustling.

Rody took a deep breath. He was more used to the smell of the air here compared to the South. He carefully walked forward. His blonde hair had already been dyed black with medicinal liquid. However, Rody kept his head low and watched the surroundings out of the corner of his eyes.

The magnificent city wall and a huge gate were in front of him. A team of armored soldiers with spears vigilantly watched the crowd.

Rody immediately lowered his head even more and walked through the front gate with his horse. Fortunately, the war in the Northwest was already over. Otherwise, the security at the gates would not be so lax.

Rody sighed in relief the moment he entered the city. However, before he could calm down, he suddenly felt someone slowly following behind him.

Rody immediately became wary. He had not yet figured out who was behind the assassination attempt on him at the inn.

The captured vampire also said it was ordered by the leader of the vampires.

However, Rody could not understand why he would be targeted by vampires. He presumed it may have been some disagreement between one of the old Tulip Family members and the vampires in the past. This is something I plan to ask Nicole when I return. If Nicole does not know, Old Mark might know something.

He avoided the crowd and was carefully walking towards the Duke’s mansion. Suddenly, a young boy walked in front of him and shouted, “Mister!”

Rody frowned and looked at the boy. The boy was dressed in worn out clothes, and his face was covered in mud. He presumed that the boy was a beggar in the streets of the Imperial Capital. Rody was afraid of being recognized and continued to walk without stopping. There were many people in the Imperial Capital that could recognize him. When he had set off to the Northwest as well as when he returned victoriously, almost everyone in the Imperial Capital came to watch the new Duke of the Tulip Family. If he was recognized here, everything would be over.

“Mister!” The boy behind sped up and stopped in front of Rody.

Rody sighed and whispered, “I don’t have any change. Just take this.” He took out a gold coin and threw it at the boy.

The boy took the coin. Although he was happily surprised, he still did not move out of the way. He then produced something and handed it to Rody.

“Mister, someone asked me to give this to you.”

“Hm?” Rody froze for a moment. He had a strange feeling as he looked at the roll of paper in the boy’s hands.

“What is this? Is this for me?”

The boy nodded his head. “One man asked me to run here and give this to you. He gave me a gold coin as payment! You also gave me a gold coin! God really blessed me, today!” The boy said excitedly.

Rody became vigilant and asked, “Who asked you to give this to me? Where is that person?”

“Right there!” The boy turned around and pointed at an alley, but there was nobody there.

The boy then showed a strange expression and said, “He was there just now.”

“What did that person look like?” Rody took the paper from him with one hand.

“I don’t know. He wore a cloak, and his head was covered. He looks like a foreigner.” After he finished, the boy ran away, laughing happily.

Feeling surprised, Rody walked into a small path with nobody around and unrolled the paper scroll. There was a simple message written with a pencil. The home has been surrounded. Do not go home!

The sentences were written in a hurry, and the handwriting was sloppy. After looking at the handwriting for a while, he felt that the handwriting was extremely familiar as if he had seen it somewhere before.

After thinking for a moment, he felt that something was not right. He had secretly returned to the Imperial Capital and had just arrived, but someone had already sent him a note. Obviously, that person had watched him enter the city. Maybe, at that moment, that person was staring at him.

Rody held the hilt of his sword and looked around. He was in a long alley with walls on both sides. Outside the alley was a lively street.

He took a deep breath and thought to himself. He still could not help but want to go back to the Duke’s mansion to take a look.

Only the ghosts knew who sent Rody that note. Rody wondered if it was from one of the vampires. Since the vampires wanted him dead, they would hope that he would not go home!

Rody shook his head. He was anxious about seeing Nicole as soon as possible. His anxiety got more intense as he got closer to home. He could not endure waiting any longer.

Rody turned into two streets and saw that the mansion was getting closer. The moment he turned the corner, he would be able to see the front door of the Duke’s mansion. Suddenly, a voice came from behind, “Mister!”

Rody looked back and saw a boy running towards him. This boy looked taller than the previous one. He panted as he ran over to Rody’s side and took out a piece of paper. “A man asked me to give this to you.”

Rody was shocked. The boy handed over the piece of paper, turned around and ran away.

“I know that you won’t believe me. I will wait for you at Old Mark’s house, tonight!”

Reading these words on the note, Rody immediately stopped.

Most people did know about Old Mark’s house in the city. Even Nicole did not know about it. He had only been there once before the expedition to the Northwest. No matter who it is, since that person knows about this house, he is probably someone on my side. Most likely, this person is Old Mark himself.

But why didn’t he just come out and meet me?

Rody thought to himself and no longer walked forward. He suppressed his urge to see Nicole, turned around and walked away.

Old Mark’s house was in an alley in the South of the Imperial Capital. Earlier, Rody had passed through that area. Now, he had to go back. He took the paths that were devoid of people. Finally, Rody looked at the buildings on both his right and left and confirmed that he was at the right place. He then stood in front of a medium sized building.

He nervously knocked on the door.

There was no answer. He then knocked harder on the door. However, he did not the expect that with the little bit of force, the door gently opened. The door was actually not locked.

Rody frowned and carefully led his horse inside. He looked around and felt that the place had not changed. The two courtyards were quiet but messy. There were many fallen leaves on the ground, and it looked like nobody had swept the place for a long time. The crooked stone table that was split into two when Old Mark showed Rody how to use the lightsaber was still there.

Rody felt something weird. He tied the horse to a tree and carefully walked towards the room.

The door of the room was not locked and opened once it was pushed. Unlike the courtyard, the room was neat and tidy. The wooden table was also spotless. Rody looked at the kettle on the table, picked it up and shook it.

There was water inside the kettle. This meant that someone was here.

Rody then sighed and gave a wry smile. “At least, Old Mark will not harm me…”

Rody was currently weaker than before. After traveling back and forth, he was already tired. His body felt weak, and he looked for a chair to sit down. Initially, Rody was worried but gradually he was overcome by exhaustion.

A voice suddenly came from beside him, “Are you tired? Rest for a while… I will tell you if someone comes.”

Rody gave a wry smile and said, “You are still following me. I feel awkward not being able to see you because you are using stealth!”

Diane calmly replied, “My mission is to follow you. You are now possessed by the Mystic Dragon. I must watch over you.”

Rody sighed and said, “So that you can kill me when you have the opportunity, right?”

Diane remained silent and did not reply.

Rody sighed and continued, “You will not kill me. All along the way, you had lots of opportunities to kill me, but you did not do so. Why are you lying to me?”

Diane slowly appeared behind him.

“That is because I am curious…” She slowly said, “I am curious as to what was so special about you, Duke of the Tulip Family, that so many people are willing to die for you! I am curious why so many people said that the glory of the Tulip Family’s banner was more important than their lives. Do you know? There was a man who fought desperately against the vampires. When he was in extreme danger, he did not think of how to escape, but instead, he regretted that he could not fulfill his agreement with you!”

Rody nodded and asked, “Is that it?”

Diane laughed, “Is there anything else? We, the Silvermoon Clan are pious and respect the True God Kara! However, you and the Tulip Family have won the loyalty of these people. Even the hunter that has been secretly following you here was the same! I thought that he was a very strange person. He is not the kind of pious person with beliefs. However, he was willing to give his life to protect yours.”

Rody gave a wry smile and said, “That is because you do not know what my agreement was with him.”

Diane did not reply but instead kept quiet.

Rody sighed. He felt tired and frustrated. He was now the equivalent of a useless person. When he was journeying to the Northwest, he was able to march a few days without resting. However, after he had absorbed the dragon's energy, he tired easily. The only thing he could rely on was the sword in his hands. However, he had also lost the ability to wield it. How was he supposed to fight the Emperor? How could he snatch back his woman?

Perhaps, I should ask Andy when I reach home…

Rody’s mind was confused as he thought of Nicole from time to time. Finally, Rody closed his eyes.

At night, Rody was awakened by a harsh voice. “Someone is coming!”

Rody opened his eyes and stood up. He heard footsteps coming from outside the room.

The footsteps were unusually brisk. It was as if that person knew that Rody was already in the room. The footsteps did not stop and went directly towards the room.

The door of the room was pushed open and a slender man walked in.

He was really just like what the boy on the street described. The man wore a big cloak that covered his head. The man’s face was also hidden in the shadows of the cloak.

The man slowly walked in. He then calmly turned around and closed the door. After that, he looked at Rody and chuckled.

“Not bad, your current appearance really looks like a Duke!”

Rody frowned and asked in a low voice, “Who are you? Are you the one who gave me the notes?”

The man did not reply Rody and walked around Rody from a distance. He laughed and said, “Not bad. Looks like Nicole trained you very well. You look good. You have the spirit of a Duke. If it was not said, no one would be able to tell that you are an imposter!”

Rody’s expression changed when he heard those words.

“Who are you? How do you know…” Rody was startled and asked, “Are you Old Mark’s friend? Did he tell you? Why did he tell you this?”

The man laughed as if he was very happy and replied, “Ahh, this is not good. Still so impatient. This is really not good. As the Duke of the Tulip Family, you will experience a lot of important events, you must not be impatient... I guess that is your shortcoming. However, you look good. You look like a brave and fierce soldier… Why is your hair black? Did you dye it yourself? It is no wonder. You come back secretly, and you need to avoid being noticed by others.”

“Who the hell are you?” Rody stepped forward and said in a cold voice.

The man was startled for a moment, and then he continued to laugh. “You still can't tell who I am? My God…” He then paused and spoke to himself, “It is no wonder. He had only met me once. But that is not right. Does he not look in the mirror every day? Hmm? But he also only heard my voice once.”

After that, the man finally pulled down the cloak that was covering his head. He then smiled and laughed at Rody.

His golden hair was like the sunlight, and he had a pair of deep blue eyes like a lake. His handsome face was that of a girl’s dream lover's.

Rody’s eyes grew wide as he looked at the young man in front of him.

“It’s you! Seth!” Rody roared loudly. He looked like he was about to rush towards Seth.

Seth’s smile remained the same. Suddenly, his eyes moved and his smile turned strange. “The beautiful woman inside this room. Why have you not spoken? Are you not willing to let me have the honor of hearing your wonderful voice? Or perhaps you were too shocked by our earlier conversation?”

Seth paused for a moment. He then gracefully bowed and said, “I am the heir of the Tulip Family, Seth Rudolph, the Duke of the Tulip Family. May I request this beautiful lady to give me her name?”