The door silently and slowly opened, the creaking that usually followed the opening of a door wasn't heard.
Suddenly, a figure dashed through it.
Amidst the weeping of a young girl he swung his sword with precision, his intention to take off the man's head.
The blade stopped mid-air.
'I knew you would do this.'
Arthur thought as he held the blade from the side, it was stuck in-between two of his finger. He applied a little pressure.
Celestine noticed something different, but before she could turn her head-
The tip of the blade broke off the weapon.
The butler glared at him furiously, his gaze filled with pure malice.
"Adrian, calm down."
Celestine ordered.
Her voice was commanding.
Adrian's face morphed into confusion.
"But, Lady Celestine."
He said.
The old man still held the broken sword in his hand tightly, gripping it like a lifeline.
"Adrian, its okay. He's-"
Before she could finish her speech she was thrown aside.
Adrian clutched his swords tightly.
"Wait."
Came Arthur's voice.
But the man wasn't having any of that, he was already attack again.
He swung his sword downwards, intending to cleave Arthur in half.
Only for the young man to catch it in-between his fingers.
"Adrian, wait, I know that..."
His voice trailed off as the man withdrew his blade.
In a second, he had swung it again. Only for Arthur to catch it with the same ease at which he caught the last two.
The old man's expression hardened as he withdrew the blade.
"Adrian!"
Celestine shouted, her voice rang through the room, sharp and commanding.
In a second she came before them, spreading her arms out in a defensive fashion.
He froze.
The man faltered, his sword stopped merely an inch away from her outstretched arms. This time Arthur hadn't bothered to catch.
"Lady Celestine."
He murmured inaudibly, nobody could catch his voice.
"This is Arthur.... he's back."
Celestine's voice was softer now, almost pleading.
The butler's hand trembled around the hilt of his broken sword. His face contorted, almost as if he was trying to find something buried in him.
His lips parted.
"Lady Celestine...."
His voice was hoarse.
"Adrian, the spirit is gone."
She continued.
The man stared her in the eye, then, his sword dropped onto the ground.
The sound of the steel against the polished floor resounded in the air.
"The question.... The one I told you about, he finally answered it."
The man didn't reply, instead he fell onto his knees, feeling the power being sapped out of them.
"Sir, you're back."
He said.
….
It wasn't actually surprising to Arthur that after the whole ordeal Celestine passed out, she had just gotten her brother back after three long years and then he was attacked by Adrian.
Arthur carefully laid her on the bed before leaving her room.
When he returned he found Adrian next to the table with a long list.
"Is this everything?"
He asked as he took a seat, behind the chair the imprint of the magic Celestine had used was clear.
"Yes, every last detail."
The butler assured.
Arthur nodded but didn't take his eyes off him.
His actions didn't go unnoticed.
"Is there anything else you require, sir?"
He asked.
"No."
Arthur paused before continuing.
"I just want to thank you."
"Sir, if its about protecting your sister while in your absence you should know that it was no trouble at all."
Adrian was quick to shun any praise.
"Not that. But even if it was that you and I both know that you're lying."
Arthur replied.
"Thank you for attacking me."
He finally said it.
"If it was the spirit that was really in possession of my body and faking it, if you had believed it so blatantly you would have fallen for the trap.
So, thank you."
The corner of Adrian's lips rose slightly, forming a slight smile.
"It was my duty. Sir, if you'll excuse me, I have a...."
He did not complete the sentence before going through the door.
Now alone, Arthur devoted his time to reading the list.
"Rape. Murder. Smuggling. Plagiarism."
First were all the crimes he was found guilty of, they were only four. They were all categorized into smaller sections.
"Plagiarism."
He repeated the last one again, focusing intently on the paper.
If anything, plagiarism was something which under normal conditions he couldn't be found guilty of.
There was a reason he was named the "Forbidden Magic Maker". Each spell he made was classified under the forbidden rank.
"60 known victims."
Under the rape category he had about sixty victims.
"35 committed suicide, 24 undergoing therapy, 1 killed."
Arthur took a deep breath to calm himself.
"Brianna Rose."
That was the only person under the killed category.
To control himself Arthur went to the next part.
"Murder."
Under this one there was only a long list of people he had killed.
"Three hundred."
The knowledge that he killed so many did little to damage his psyche, in fact he felt nothing. On the battlefield he had killed thousands.
It didn't matter if they were innocent and fighting for their kingdom or bad people, either way they all ended up dead.
He moved onto the next one having visibly calmed down.
"Smuggling."
Drugs, people and weapons.
There were a lot.
"Plagiarism."
This was the final one.
Unknowingly he had already spent hours staring at this long list, absorbing all its contents into his brain.
"The spell 'Magma Rise', Sage-ranked spell."
"The spell 'Magnet Rise', Master-ranked spell."
"The spell 'Air bullets', Veteran-ranked spell.... Wait, wasn't I the one that created that?"
He did remember creating something like that on the battlefield, however it had been a long time ago.
"Stupid."
He murmured once he was done with the contents of the list.
Arthur looked at the ceiling.
"How do the people see me now, the same person whom once made Legend-ranked spells. Now gone as low as to steal even Advanced-rank spells."
He ran his hand through his hair before getting up, he made sure to carry the list with him. He turned off the light in the room as he left.
It wasn't long before he found Adrian.
"Adrian."
"Sir?"
He asked as he took the list back.
"You should prepare for tomorrow, go get some sleep."
Arthur said before turning away.
"Tomorrow, we have a lot of things to set right."
[A/N: Late chapter today. Another one is coming soon.]