He even called for me?! Sean truly hadn’t expected that, having only just arrived at the man’s home today, he would be summoned for a private meeting.
Glancing at Igniya beside him, the little witch seemed just as puzzled by the situation, only offering a reminder: “Go on, it’s the Count calling for you.”
As for Alya, she wore an equally confused expression. Summoning Viscounts Isaac and Bernstein earlier had made sense, but why call over this newly arrived noble from a remote region when so many others were still present?
“Lord Vigil? Lord Vigil from Tylermian, is he here?” the caller repeated.
“I’m here!”
Sean’s response drew everyone’s attention back to him, and this time, the status indicators floating above their heads were far more numerous than before.
“Come with me. The Count requests your presence.”
Sean gave Igniya a quick signal to wait there, then followed the butler who had called him. On the way, he deliberately glanced at Viscounts Isaac and Bernstein, still surrounded by the crowd.
They hadn’t said a word about what they’d heard inside, likely because the man in there had ordered them not to speak of it.
But with so many people around, who knew if they’d keep quiet in private?
“This way, Lord Vigil.”
The elderly man leading the way appeared to be in his sixties, dressed impeccably.
Given how deferential the viscounts had been toward him, Sean guessed he was a trusted confidant of Count Hamil, perhaps even more trusted than his own children.
The path was nearly empty, with no guards at the doors, and the servants had been deliberately sent to wait elsewhere. Such solemnity explained why the two viscounts had dared not speak after leaving.
“Go on in. The Count is waiting for you,” the old man said, opening the door.
He didn’t enter, merely gestured for Sean to proceed inside.
It was late afternoon, the time when the sunset painted the sky most beautifully, yet the room was shrouded in darkness, all curtains drawn.
A heavy smell of medicinal ointment hung in the air, thick and cloying.
It reminded Sean of burnt plastic, perhaps slightly less pungent, but still unpleasant.
“Is that the Vigil family member?”
In the dim light, Sean spotted a long couch near the window, fitted with a mattress. Sitting on it was a gaunt, middle-aged man with a face so pale it was startling.
He looked middle-aged, yet his hair was completely white, though his skin hadn’t yet wrinkled with age.
Given that the Hamil children outside were still young, this Count Hamil couldn’t be that old.
But the flesh on his face was so thin it seemed to cling to the bone, and despite it being spring, he wore a thick winter flannel robe.
Sean saw status indicators above his head: [Weakness!], [Hallucinations!], [Nausea!], and more. It was the first time he’d seen so many negative effects.
How had he ended up in such a state?
As the man slowly lifted his head, though he might be hallucinating, he wasn’t yet delirious, still able to converse normally.
“It’s me. Count Hamil, what did you call me here for?” Sean asked, despite the man’s condition, prioritizing the reason for the summons.
“I heard you arrived today.”
The reply came swiftly, suggesting the symptoms hadn’t fully robbed him of the ability to speak.
“Yes.”
“And I heard you encountered a magical beast attack at the southeastern market today?!” Count Hamil said.
At this, Sean fixed his gaze on the frail count. Was this what he wanted to ask about?
“Yes,” Sean confirmed again.
“It seems Cogar City has left a bad impression on you…”
“Thanks to Lady Alya’s timely arrival, I managed to escape danger,” Sean said, tailoring his words to the audience.
He watched the count, who had circled the topic without getting to the point.
“Are you curious why I called you here?” Count Hamil finally steered toward the crucial subject.
“Because I don’t think it should be me.”
“Why?”
“There are many more capable nobles here who would do better than me,” Sean said earnestly.
But inwardly, he sensed trouble. Seeing the count’s condition, he realized the man might not have long to live. No matter how he’d contracted this strange illness, it wasn’t something Sean could meddle with now.
A dying wish to entrust a child? A heavy responsibility?
Nothing that good ever came for free.
Did he think he was the protagonist, invincible no matter what?
If he agreed to anything now, he might not even make it out the door alive.
So Sean instinctively began to refuse, to avoid being dragged into the mire.
“Your answer is just like your father’s back then.”
“My father?” Sean looked at him.
He meant the previous Baron Vigil.
“Over a decade ago, I wanted to unite all the nobles in the southern region, so I wrote to invite him to Cogar City. At the time, I promised to prepare a ranch for you in what is now Xiaowan Town. But he refused, just as you are now.”
Sean was momentarily at a loss for words.
“The Basharan Empire has endured over four hundred years, and the habits of nobles have long since diverged. But in the end, you are still one of us. You cannot remain aloof. That’s why, when I received news of the disaster in Tylermian, I took it very seriously,” Count Hamil continued, ignoring Sean’s reaction.
“I first felt unwell three years ago. Back then, it was manageable—just occasional nausea and discomfort. I thought it was a common illness. But it worsened, and the worst came in the last two months.”
Sean watched him.
The last two months… that would have been winter.
He recalled that when Daniel had returned after the avalanche, he hadn’t mentioned the count being this ill.
“Does the Count suspect foul play?”
“That’s why I called you here… Someone has begun to extend their claws toward the empire’s nobles. I don’t know their goal, but they’ve been at it for a long time. I know my body is failing, so I need to choose an heir quickly. But I also don’t want the southern nobles to fall into chaos because of me. That’s why I need to instruct all the influential nobles on what to do next…”
“Otherwise, it would play right into their hands.”
With that, Count Hamil slowly tried to sit up straight.
“Yet almost all the surrounding nobles frequent various social gatherings, likely already under their watch. But there’s one exception… you. You are an exception among all the nobles,” Count Hamil said, looking intently at Sean.
At that moment, Sean wasn’t too concerned about being an exception. Because the moment the count mentioned someone extending their claws, fragments of memory flashed through his mind.
The avalanche at Creek Village, Bachler’s magic, and the giant rat in the sewer.