The Runesmith

“What’s the meaning of this? Grand Knight Commander”

Roland looked up at the Grand Knight Commander, Leopold, who stood like an immovable mountain, his sword drawn but not yet hostile. Leopold’s stern eyes bore into Roland’s who would not be intimidated.

"The Counts have decided that you should remain here for now, Professor Wayland. Once they are done discussing the matter, you will be called. You are to remain here and wait.”

There were no explanations as to why he was to stay here but instead an order. It seemed that his position wasn’t taken that seriously. This was not something out of the ordinary, he was a dangerous outsider with magic powers. It was normal for them to be wary of his motives. Probably unless he took down his armor fully and allowed himself to be surrounded by guards, they would not let them into the main De Vere mansion.

“Very well, I’ll wait here.”

Roland stepped back calmly. Leopold’s posture remained rigid, but he gave a slight nod of acknowledgment. Roland did not return to the room where Robert was but instead took a seat near a small window. This entire floor was mostly occupied by the room where his brother was sleeping, with just a bit of space outside. There were multiple floors below, each with many guards, and of course, more guard towers outside with soldiers watching his every move.

The Grand Commander had gone down to keep watch over them at the base of the tower prison. It was a structure made for political prisoners and had multiple floors with one cell each. They had been placed at the last floor and when looking at his map display, he could identify multiple people looking their way. There were seemingly no blindspots and climbing out would be instantly noticed. Luckily, Roland had spread out many of his golems throughout this whole compound, and through a runic network, he could control them all from this very location.

‘I’ve got lucky, they are still ignorant of my true abilities.”

Roland was a unique class holder with tools that no one had previously used before. They had seen his floating golems already but their true capabilities were unknown. A few of them were hovering overhead, recording everyone's movements. Now that Robert was somewhat safe, it would be possible to make their escape. He could analyze everyone's patrolling patterns to probably sneak his brother out but that Grand Commander was a problem. His level was the highest from the tier 3 class holders he had encountered.

‘Champion of Lords huh? Never heard of that one but it would be better for me to avoid this guy…’

His opponent was perhaps not a tier 4 class holder just yet but his level was extremely high. The name ‘Champion of Lords’ likely conferred abilities that made him stronger when in the presence of his lord. There were classes with support skills that would boost the class holders' power immensely once certain conditions were met. Knights made vows to their lords so this man might have chosen obedience to gain power.

‘Probably the best way to defeat someone like this would be to either kill their ‘lord’ or make them perform an act against them but perhaps I can use this to my advantage…’

Roland could see a plan where he used one of his golems to attack Count Graham working. Leopold would be forced to defend his lord in such an event and perhaps give him and Robert enough time to flee. However, the whole place was well guarded with multiple tier 3 class holders everywhere. There were even reinforcements arriving during his scan of the area.

‘They brought in more mages, smart…’

It was starting to look like an escape attempt would be impossible. Even if the Grand Knight Commander was stalled, he would still need to contend with a small army of knights. He was unable to form a teleportation gate here and probably before he could build one, the mages would notice him or use a spell to block their escape.

He gave out a big sigh while settling into the lone wooden chair here. Things weren’t looking good and it seemed that he would need to participate in this noble trial. He was still unsure of the whole picture but in this world, nobles in high positions weren’t given the leisure to elope with just anyone. The head of their house needed to approve of the spouse and it was clear that he did not approve of Robert.

‘They seem to have entered Graham’s office, I should gather more info before deciding on anything, hope paying these bastards off will be enough…’

While he was sitting at his spot and seemingly looking out this tiny window another scene was playing out elsewhere. A small metallic spider was shifting forward from under a cupboard. It was around the size of a tarantula but fully made out of metal. Its body shimmered for a moment as it moved but then quickly blended in with the environment. Its sole eye focused on the large desk behind which Count Graham De Vere took a seat with Count Laurence settling into a nearby chair.

At this point in time, the sun had already set and the light of candles cast flickering shadows on the walls of Count Graham’s office. The atmosphere was serious and the two men faced each other in a discussion. Graham drummed his fingers on the polished wood of his desk, his eyes narrowed in thought. Count Laurence, on the other hand, appeared calmer as if he was actually enjoying this peculiar situation.

“Count Laurance, do you truly intend to go ahead with this farce? That young man is a villain who attempted to abduct my daughter, as a father you should understand.”

It was clear that Graham was unwilling for this to go to court and was trying to dissuade the other count from playing judge. However, the other man came from a unique family of judges that adamantly did things by the book. To no surprise, the idea of not holding the trial was rejected in the next response.”

“Count Graham, you know as well as I do that justice must be served, especially when it involves the nobility. We cannot simply sweep this under the rug. The integrity of our titles demands transparency and fairness.”

Laurence said, his voice steady. Graham clenched his jaw, his fingers ceasing their drumming.

"I understand your position, Count Laurence, but this is more complicated than a simple trial. This young man’s actions have threatened my family’s honor. He must face the consequences."

Laurence leaned back, his gaze steady and his words unyielding.

"If his guilt is proven, he will face the appropriate punishment. But until then, we must uphold the principles of our society. You agreed to this course of action, and I intend to see it through."

Even though Roland was looking at this scene through the small runic camera within his spider, he could feel the tension in the air. He had been really lucky to encounter this man as usually with some gold anyone would look the other way. Perhaps them going through the trial wouldn’t be that bad as long as someone like this count Laurence was there.

“Very well,”

After a few seconds of contemplating Graham responded with a nod.

“We will proceed with the trial. However, I insist on a time limit. We cannot afford to let this drag on indefinitely.”

Laurence nodded, a small smile playing on his lips.

“Agreed. Let us set the trial for three days from now. That should give all parties enough time to prepare.”

"Three days it is. Now, the servants will guide you to your guest quarters, Count Laurence. We shall reconvene tomorrow to begin preparations for the trial.”

The two counts stood, a silent agreement passing between them. Laurence, satisfied with the outcome, gave a polite nod and followed the servant who had entered to guide him. Graham remained behind, his face hardening as soon as the door closed.

“Three days... This will be more than enough time to ensure that whelp’s guilt is undeniable!”

The room fell into a tense silence after Count Laurence left. Roland's mechanical spider remained hidden, its single eye observing Count Graham's every move. As the count continued to write, the pen glowed with a faint magical aura, suggesting he was using some sort of enchantment to either conceal or enhance his words. The countdown to the trial had begun, and with only three days to prepare, he knew he needed every advantage he could muster.

‘This doesn’t look good, it won’t be hard for a count to get some fake witnesses and he might even go further than just that… I need to gather more evidence and allies.’

The moment his thoughts leaned towards allies he recalled one person that could be of aid. Lucille De Vere was also being held at this compound but tightly guarded. Roland had spotted her in the vicinity when he was scanning the area and released a few golems as his spies. Another one of the mini spiders was already crawling up one of the other towers in which Lucille was being held.

‘This might take a while, I can’t just ignore all of those mages.’

The whole area was like a magical minefield. Many mages of tier two were present and their mana detection skills were a problem. His creations needed to avoid their range and take long detours to make it through without being detected. Luckily, his technology was above theirs, and with a net of floating drones monitoring everything and everyone, it was all possible.

As his spider drone crawled the other drones kept watch, their runes camouflaging them against detection spells. Eventually, his tiny creation was able to arrive at the lone window through which it spotted the person inside. It slipped through a small gap in the window, landing softly on the floor. The room was lavishly furnished, a stark contrast to the one Robert was occupying.

Lucille De Vere was inside, looking a lot paler than usual. Her long azure locks which were usually neatly fashioned to her liking were now disheveled, falling around her shoulders in a tangled mess. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, her face drawn with worry. The spider drone scurried across the floor, sticking close to the shadows to avoid detection. Lucille didn't notice it as it approached, her attention focused on the window as she gazed out at the night sky.

Roland guided the spider drone closer, positioning it behind a nearby piece of furniture. He needed to establish contact without alarming her or attracting attention from any potential guards. Some areas inside this room were affixed with magical charms. Stepping onto the wrong area would raise an alarm. To establish contact he needed to guide it through a specific path and finally, it arrived next to her bed and crawled up the side of the frame to make itself noticed.

“Hm?”

The spider projected a tiny, holographic rune onto the floor, glowing faintly. Lucille’s eyes flickered down to the light, her brows knitting in confusion. Lucille now a run mage didn’t take long to realize what the rune was about and who its creator was.

“This rune isn’t this one of Professor Arion’s original runes… Could it be? ”

Her attention shifted to the small golem producing this faint glow. The spider had clung to the side of the bed, with its body hidden out of sight from any guards that might enter this room.

“C…an y-you hear m…me?”

The golem was incapable of producing anything but sound. The audio was stuttering and there was a lot of static but eventually, he received a clear response. Lucille's eyes widened in surprise, and she quickly glanced around to ensure no one else was in the room. Realizing she was alone, she leaned closer to the spider golem.

“Sir Roland? Yes, I can hear you!... Wait, what are you doing here? Were you responsible for that ruckus? Are you alright?”

Her voice turned into a whisper as she put a few things together.

“I’m fine and as you have noticed, I do have my ways. More importantly, we need to talk about the situation you and Robert find yourself in.”

“Robert! Please, you must save him, my father, he has taken him…”

This woman was who his brother Robert had found himself entangled with. She instantly asked him about his brother's safety, something he was happy to reply to.

“Lady Lucille, please calm down, Robert is safe, he is resting in the room next to me.”

“Robert is safe?”

Her hands began trembling as she made the realization and the tears soon followed after.

“Yes, he is safe, don’t worry, I won’t let anyone harm him.”

Roland assured her, his voice steady and calming through the spider drone.

“But we are both being watched closely, and your father is not going to let this situation resolve easily.”

Lucille took a deep breath and took a moment to settle her nerves. She was clearly overjoyed that Robert was safe but the situation was not resolved yet.

“Thank you for looking after him, Sir Roland. But if I may ask, why are you here?”

“Well, that’s a story in itself and I don’t think we have enough time. First, I need to explain the current situation so listen closely.”

Roland began to recount the current events and the plan he was formulating. Lucille listened intently, her eyes going wide the more information she received.

“Then my father…”

“Yes, Father has arranged for a trial to take place in three days. This trial will determine Robert’s fate. Count Laurence will be presiding over it and I think he can be trusted but could you tell me what started this? Why did you two suddenly do this?”

Even now Roland didn’t truly know why his brother took it upon himself to run away with Lucille. It felt like the two were quite desperate and didn’t plan their escape too well.

“Robert and I... we just fell in love, Sir Roland It wasn’t something we had planned… It just happened. My father, Count Graham, he… he had changed, it wasn’t always like this but once he obtained the new title, something was different…”

Roland allowed her to paint a picture and it turned out to be something that he expected. After attaining his new rank, the man became obsessed with securing his family's well-being. Count Graham’s obsession had shifted to extreme control over his daughter’s future, a drastic change that had sparked the desperate escape. As Lucille continued, her voice trembling, Roland listened carefully, piecing together the broader context of their predicament.

“... My father grew increasingly authoritarian, insisting that I marry someone of his choosing to secure our family’s political alliances. I do not have any other sisters and It was decided that I should wed one of the Chalton’s.”

“Chaltons? But… isn’t their oldest son… ten?”

“Yes… He is…”

This started making a lot more sense. Lucille who was in her mid-twenties was to marry a child, something that was allowed in this world. Both of them would probably suffer, the age gap was just too wide and she already had someone to hold dear. The young lord would probably get himself a mistress while Lucille was forced into a loveless marriage. The desperation and intensity of their escape began to make sense now.“I see, I’m sorry that it came to this.”

“It’s not your fault… or Robert’s… My father wasn’t always like this but recently he has changed.”

He didn’t want to pry into her life too much, it was clear that this was an uncomfortable truth. What they needed to do now was to get Robert out of this predicament. Once that was over, they could think of saving Lucille from this fate. She was still a mage and even if she discarded her noble name, there would be places she could easily make a living.

‘Hm?’

As their conversation was concluding he noticed a little beeping inside of his helmet. It pointed him toward the room his brother was in.

“Speaking of Robert… would you like to have a talk with him?”

“That’s possible?”

Roland raised himself from his seat he had already spent at least an hour in and headed towards the holding chamber Robert was in. With everyone involved in this predicament gathered, they could start formulating a plan.

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