Valerian, The Legendary

145 Homecoming.

Valerian did not leave any room for Calor to shirk from the situation when he used an accusing tone. The old man could only bow his head and asked, “Your Highness, please guide me.”

The young prince scoffed and said, “The mental standards of the people in the town are worth nothing, that much I can be sure of. You would ask how I know, but let me ask you, have you heard of a silver-haired devil that lived in the orphanage?”

His question shocked not only the old mayor but also the four teenagers standing in the distance, only Grace was the one who revealed a sorrowful expression, she blamed herself for his misfortune, she believed that the reason Valerian was pointed out was because of his appearance was different from the commoners here.

The old mayor was not a fool he also understood the meaning behind these words, he gulped and asked, “Your Highness, you mean to say that you...”

His voice became inaudible towards the end of the sentence. He was well aware of the jinx he mentioned. The rugged man, who had been escorting the old man suddenly blurted out, “You are that demon who killed Diligentia?”

The surroundings turned silent, and the people sensed a drop in temperature as Valerian cast a gaze at the burly man. He asked in a calm tone, “Repeat what you just said.”

The man was startled by the change in this guy, but he was a grade six warrior and did not want to be humiliated by showing any weakness so he said, “Why will I not say it, you killed her the night you left the orphanage did you not? Demon.”

The next moment, Valerian stood in front of the man, and his fist was buried in the latter’s belly, making him keel over, trembling from pain and unable to breathe. Everything happened so fast that the people did not have the time to react. The power bought forward by anger was greater than what Valerian might display ever.

Calor woke up and rushed over to his side and knelt on the ground. He said in a begging tone, “Your Highness, please forgive my son, he did not know better. I apologize.”

.....

Valerian scoffed and said, “If not for her, do you think I would have come back to this shithole? It was because you useless people failed in your tasks that my mother died. You as the mayor did not do your duty properly that allowed that renegade priest Eumondatio to pretend to be a righteous one here, and then that bitch Gloria conspired with him to torture my mother.

To save me, she rushed over to the stream bare feet in the middle of the night. She, who was afraid of the dark, braved the woods to find me, what she found was a horrendous death. Do you know how she died? Her entire body was burned by a fire magic spell, every inch of it was burned to the point where she did not even look like a human.

Can you bastards imagine the pain she suffered? Did you hear her screams? Even in the end my mother only wished to see me ensure that I am fine. If not for your dereliction of duty would things have been like this? You could not even serve your office well and you have the guts to come and accuse me of harming the only person I love more than my life?”

His outrage was affecting the whole area, he did not notice but the mana inside his body was circulating faster than ever and it was resonating with the surroundings. Fortuna was looking at him from the side and she was surprised to see that this boy had such a heart. She did not know anything about him other than the fact that he knew her name and was the first person she saw after breaking her eggshell.

He always appeared calm and composed in front of her, but this burst of emotions was something that made her gain a new understanding of this boy. The man on the ground paled in complexion but he was stubborn and still asked, “What evidence do you have for me to believe you?”

Valerian was so angry that he burst out laughing and asked in a disdainful tone, “Who the hell are you to me to prove my innocence to you? What are you? The judge sent on Vita by the Primus?”

At this moment, Priscilla and Mathiyus returned with the four tied-up warriors behind them. When they saw the scene, they were surprised and confused, but Valerian cleared it all up as he said, “I can call over Princess Azula and Mage Rectus for you to learn the truth.”

Calor knew the status of the two people, and shook his head, he said, “No need, Your Highness, I believe in you.”

However, his son had a different opinion, the punch earlier had taken a toll on his legs and the man said, “Why should we believe your people? They will try to defend you.”

Calor shouted, “Tryst, Shut up.”

Valerian shook his head and said, “No need to scold him, I will not stand anyone looking at me with a gaze filled with belief that I hurt my mother. Since you think that the people from the royalty will try to protect me, let’s go inside the town and investigate the truth. The orphanage is the best place.”

The people did not expect him to say this. Valerian looked at the group of teenagers and said, “Regardless of my matters, I will give you all a chance to come clear of your deeds, otherwise, I will make sure that you become an example that none of the people forget how they should treat those below them.”

That said, he walked to the Wraith and hopped on, at this moment he had forgotten about Fortuna. The little kitten looked at him in disbelief but sensing his emotions she moved on her own and made her way to the head of the wraith. At this moment, she thought, ‘Why did I go soft on him? Could it be that his compassionate outrage moved me?’

Valerian looked at the people and said, “Follow me, and later, Calor will go and investigate my relationship with Mother Diligentia and also her relationship with Gloria. The staff will tell you everything honestly as long as you flex your status.”

Priscilla asked, “Why are you so sure that they will reveal the truth?”

Valerian scoffed and said, “Those who stand on the sidelines do not meddle in things not because they do not have the strength to stop the wrong, but because they do not want the mud to stain their clean attire. Threaten them with fake accusations and they spill the truth.”

Priscilla nodded, and she cast a gaze at the teenagers, who shivered as Mathiyus circled them. Valerian said, “Calor, did you come here on a mount? Can you bring along more people?”

The old man nodded and Valerian said, “Good, saves time. Priscilla put Grace and Clove on Mathiyus’s back. The rest will follow the old mayor.”

The maid nodded and gestured for Grace and Clove, who hesitantly followed the instructions.

Calor bought the teenagers to his carriage parked outside the woods a few minutes later and then had his son drive it back to the town. Valerian followed them with Priscilla and Mathiyus. The shadow Leopard did not wish to get inside the township but a low growl from Fortuna made him follow them regardless.

The dragon princess had decided to bring this guy into her cohort. He was intimidating enough for humans at a low level. The group arrived at the town gates very quickly and made their way directly to the orphanage. To make sure that the investigation was not affected by anything. Valerian stayed back with Priscilla.

The son of the Mayor might be holding him in contempt but that punch and that outburst made him realize that things were not as simple as they seemed to be on the surface. Tryst agreed to it, and followed his father to the orphanage.

The townsfolk were shocked to see this old man walking around, after all, they had suffered no less in the past but this guy had never spared a single moment to look after them and they resented him for this act of his.

...

Calor walked inside the orphanage and the first thing that caught his sight was the garden filled with awkwardly cut grass and bushes. He walked inside the building and came to the reception hall, and found a lady sitting behind the counter. He asked, “What is your name, Young lady?”

The lady raised her head with some doubt and asked politely, “Old Sir, I am Camile, who might you be and how may I help you?”

She looked at his attire and thought this rich old man had come to donate his wealth to the orphanage thus her politeness. Calor did not know all this and stuck to his plan. He asked, “May I know where I can find the person in charge of this orphanage?”

Camile shook her head and said, “The position of the manager has been empty since Elder Sister Diligentia died.”

Calor nodded and asked, “Then where is the deputy?”

Camile was getting impatient and said, “Who knows where that lady went? Old sir, why are you looking into the details so much? She was not a good person, to think the position she lusted after had been vacant yet there is no sign of her.”

Calor raised his eyebrow and took out a silver teal and said, “Tell me all that you know.”

Turns out the old ginger was spicy enough to see through the weakness of this person. The truth was about to come out, and Tryst was looking at Camile with an eager gaze.