Chapter 221: You Are Not a Burden
Aldrian sighed after reaching that conclusion. If it was true, there would be more chaos within the empire. If the master of one of the largest organizations on the continent truly had a connection with the devils, it would only show that the devils had already penetrated too deeply into the empire, which was not a good sign for anyone.
The events in the Forgeheart Kingdom were still fresh, and they had finally realized that the devils’ influence could extend to the inner circles of noble families. There would be unrest and widespread trust issues across the entire continent if people discovered that one of the largest organizations on the continent was also under the devils’ influence.
Most people on the continent might view the events in the Forgeheart Kingdom as nothing more than the greed of the dwarves. However, if the Alchemist Association were also found to have connections to the devils—especially its master—it would lead many to truly question their sovereigns or those in power.
Aldrian could only hope that his guess was wrong, but he felt it was the most likely situation regarding Master Dan. He sighed at this trouble, noting that his sense of the devils seemed to have strengthened. He now felt irked even by people with strong karmic connections to the devils. He wasn’t sure when it began, but until now, he had never experienced such an irksome feeling when meeting people with strong karma to the devils—Duke Badin, for example.
Was it because he had visited the devils’ territory? Perhaps. When he thought about it, the longer he interacted with the devils, the more sensitive he became to their traces and presence.
He then walked toward his room, and that was when he saw Baek Ji-Min leaning against the wall outside of his room. She looked in his direction, sensing his presence, and greeted him with a beautiful smile. He felt a pang of guilt for not giving her enough attention since they had left the demon territory. Her mother had wanted her to leave the demon territory for her safety. He wasn’t sure if her mother’s situation had been resolved, but she had entrusted her daughter to him for this journey. Determined, he had done his best to ensure her safety along the way.
"Were you waiting for me?" Aldrian asked with a smile, to which Baek Ji-Min responded with a nod.
"Let’s go inside; this isn’t a good place to talk," he said as he opened the door for her. Together, they entered his room.
Once inside, he prepared tea for both of them. When he was finished, he sat on one of the chairs beside a table meant for receiving guests and placed the glasses of tea on the table. Baek Ji-Min sat opposite him, her gaze falling on the glass of tea he had set down.
"Thank you," she said.
She touched the glass and picked it up, her gaze fixed on the tea, where she could see her own reflection on its surface. Sensing something was off about her, Aldrian decided to start the conversation.