Chapter 56 - Linstar’s Fear, Uncontrolled Fury
POV: Gorfolt Joylore
Gorfolt, the chief of knights of House Joylore, remained motionless on the stone wall of the estate, his eyes fixed on the horizon stretching beyond the plains. The cutting night wind shook the house's golden banners, while torches scattered across the courtyard illuminated the warriors on patrol. The grand noble residence of the Joylore family, located outside the limits of Milishion, maintained considerable autonomy—a reflection of the power and influence its lineage had cultivated over the decades.
The alliance with the Cardinal Faction, the faction advocating for the expulsion of demonic races, guaranteed House Joylore privileges and political security. However, in recent years, this stability had been eroded by the growing restlessness of its leader. Linstar Joylore was consumed by fear and obsession. The knight commander saw it clearly. The man who once ruled with unquestionable authority was now sinking into paranoia and insomnia, plagued by recurring nightmares.
The origin of his torment traced back to four years ago, when he had hired a North Saint, a renowned assassin named Kalinóski. The mission was simple: eliminate the last surviving assassin responsible for his parents' deaths.
Everything was planned. Linstar had conducted thorough investigations and was certain that the target would return to help her tribe in a time of need, and a North Saint should have been able to kill her with relative ease. But the plan failed catastrophically. Not only did Kalinóski fail to complete his task, but he also met a humiliating death. Rumors claimed that the one responsible for this turn of events was merely a six-year-old beast child, aided by Verdia Solarion, the true target of the attack.
The knight commander vividly recalled the impact of this news on Linstar. He had refused to believe it, roaring in rage and disbelief in the main hall. The idea that a brat barely out of infancy had overcome a North Saint seemed absurd—an affront to logic. But the survivors' reports were consistent. With each messenger bringing new information about the child, Linstar's expression grew darker, his eyes carrying a silent fury that threatened to explode at any moment.
Not satisfied, Linstar sought out another assassin, someone even more formidable. That was when he contacted Larax, a King of the North, a feared mercenary across the Begaritt continent. If Kalinóski had failed, then a warrior of even greater caliber should be sufficient. However, Larax refused the contract upon discovering the target's identity. "If it were just the elf, fine, but I don't kill children," was his response. The unexpected rejection sent Linstar into despair. His face turned pale, his expression a mix of incredulity and uncontrollable fury.
From that moment on, the name of that boy became a specter—a shadow looming over House Joylore. Over the years, the young beast's skills continued to grow at an alarming rate. Stories about him spread like wildfire. Linstar began losing sleep, the deep bags under his eyes reflecting the crushing weight of his paranoia. His nightmares were filled with visions of the boy becoming an unstoppable monster, coming to destroy everything he had built since his parents' deaths. Imagine that—the boy's master had killed his parents, and now the disciple would come to finish off the son.
The guard sighed, shaking his head. To him, all of this was unnecessary. What was the point of so much effort against a mere child? A six-year-old brat killing a Saint? That was a joke! If it were true, then now, at ten years old, he should be out there massacring emperors? The thought made him scoff, but his expression soon turned serious. The knight commander found it all madness, but he was loyal to House Joylore. If Linstar believed in this, then it was his duty to ensure that House Joylore was prepared.
He turned his gaze to the great fortress behind him, where lights shone through the windows of the main hall. The atmosphere inside was tense. The Joylore family could feel the patriarch's strain. The servants spoke in whispers, the children avoided questioning their father about his constant worry. Even Linstar's wife, Lady Felina, could no longer soothe him as she once had. He had become an obsessed man, and that obsession was slowly poisoning everything around him.
The house leader had no other contacts of King-level assassins to hire, so he decided to make preparations for when the boy arrived. He reached out to Kalinóski's disciple, a new North Saint named Urai, and hired him as a temporary guard. Additionally, he forged disadvantageous alliances with other noble houses to secure help in dire times and even negotiated with Galgard, the commander of the Church's Order of Knights, claiming he was being hunted and forging evidence of threats against his life, securing two personal guards at the Saint level.