Chapter 184
'Academy Headmaster Howard Draker.'
Howard Draker, with his Kaisir beard, gave a friendly smile and extended his hand to Zeke.
"It's been a while, Cadet Zeke. Ah, I should call you Sir Zeke now."
Zeke hid his contempt for Howard and shook his hand.
"Please, call me comfortably, Headmaster."
Then Arthur added from the side,
"Sir Howard is no longer the Academy Headmaster but a member of the Cross Council."
Zeke was surprised by Arthur's words.
The Draker Cross Council was an organization with judicial and internal audit authority within the clan.
The Draker Court, where Dario had been tried recently, was also under the Cross Council.
The Cross Council consisted of seven members and held significant power due to its control over Draker's judicial authority.
'The traitor Howard is a member of the Cross Council.'
It didn't seem like a good sign.
As Zeke quietly stared at Howard, Arthur gestured for Zeke to take a seat.
He offered Zeke tea and said,
"You handled the Dario case very well."
Zeke's feat of obtaining a confession from a Nostra clan boss had become a hot topic within Draker.
Zeke bowed his head humbly.
"I was just lucky."
"Luck is also necessary to become an excellent knight."
Arthur said with a smirk.
"You must be surprised that I suddenly assigned you a designated mission."
"Not at all. I will carry out any order you give, Lord."
Arthur nodded in satisfaction and said,
"Zeke, you must know that your name is appearing in all sorts of news these days."
"I don't pay much attention to it."
"If you want to reach higher, you sometimes need to befriend those who wield the pen. They're trash, but if you use them well, they can be more useful than thousands of troops."
Arthur took out a news article and placed it in front of Zeke.
The headline read, 'The Knight of Haeju Eradicates the Mafia.'
Zeke looked slightly embarrassed as he read the article.
'At this rate, my nickname will be fixed as the Knight of Haeju.'
Arthur, looking at the article, said,
"Howard came up with quite an interesting idea after seeing this article. You can explain the details."
Howard stroked his Kaisir beard and said,
"Sir Zeke, have you ever heard of a place called Baranawon?"
'Baranawon...'
It was a small country in the west where Liam had stayed before becoming the mercenary king in his previous life.
It was a place with a long tradition like Tebea, but it was an unfortunate kingdom that fell victim to the Empire's war of aggression.
Zeke nodded.
"I've heard it's a small but mystical and beautiful kingdom located in the west."
"It's good that you know. There's a place in Baranawon that no one has been able to access for a very long time."
"A place no one can access...?"
Howard nodded and said,
"It's a cursed place, like the Agamemnon clan. The locals call it the 'Haunted Mansion.'"
"The Haunted Mansion?"
It was a place he had never heard of, even in his previous life.
Howard continued,
"Some say it's an old mansion that has existed since before the Holy Empire, or even since the Liberation War era. It's so famous that every summer, news articles mention it."
"There must be a powerful ancient ghost or a terrible curse on it."
"Even famous mages who went to investigate haven't been able to identify the ghost or the curse. Every year, brave freelance knights and adventurers enter the mansion to defeat the ghost, but none have ever returned."
Zeke's expression hardened at Howard's words.
'This bastard, is he asking me to go in there?'
Ominous premonitions always came true.
Arthur said with an interested expression,
"If the Knight of Haeju lifts the curse on the Haunted Mansion, which no one has been able to solve for a thousand years, it'll be a huge sensation."
Arthur looked at Zeke and continued,
"Zeke, if you lift the curse on the Haunted Mansion, I intend to propose a motion at the conference to allow you to take the high-ranking knight qualification exam this year."
Zeke was surprised to hear that.
"Promote me to a high-ranking knight?"
The Draker knight ranks were divided into ordinary knights, mid-ranking knights, and high-ranking knights.
Usually, after joining, knights spent an average of five years performing missions for the Knights Order, focusing on learning the qualities and skills of a Draker knight.
Once they had accumulated achievements and adapted to knight missions, they were eligible to take the mid-ranking knight promotion exam.
Even then, they had to pass several rigorous tests to finally become a mid-ranking knight.
Moreover, even after becoming a mid-ranking knight, if they didn't achieve sufficient results in their missions, they could be demoted back to an ordinary knight.
After about ten years of this mid-ranking knight process, they were finally eligible to take the high-ranking knight exam.
But Arthur was offering to skip all these steps and give him a chance to take the high-ranking knight qualification exam.
It was an exceptional offer for Zeke, who had just joined as an ordinary knight this year.
Zeke stroked his beard and glanced at Howard, who was looking at him.
'It's definitely a trap... but a high-ranking knight.'
The reason Zeke coveted the rank of high-ranking knight was because of the benefits it offered.
High-ranking knights were eligible to create their own knight order.
Although Zeke had created the Black Sword Knights, strictly speaking, they were just his private soldiers.
But if Zeke became a high-ranking knight, the Black Sword Knights could be incorporated into the Draker clan, and from the next recruitment, he would also be eligible to bring in official Draker knights.
'Moreover, becoming a high-ranking knight would allow me to act independently and not have to worry about the clan's watchful eyes.'
Considering various aspects, it seemed better to accept Arthur's offer.
"I will carry out the designated mission you have given me, Lord."
Arthur looked satisfied with Zeke's answer.
"I knew you would say that."
"I will do my best to meet your expectations, Lord."
Zeke spoke resolutely, got up from his seat, bowed to Arthur and Howard, and left the office.
After he left, Arthur burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! Howard, what did I say? Didn't I tell you that he would definitely accept this mission without hesitation?"
Howard nodded, as if he couldn't help it.
"I just brought it up on a whim, but I didn't expect it to actually happen."
Arthur laughed nonchalantly and said to Howard,
"Really? I thought you had put a lot of effort into it, preparing this and that in Baranawon."
Howard's expression instantly hardened at Arthur's words.
Arthur smirked as he looked at Howard.
"Is Ramon doing well? It seems you see him often, but it's been a while since I've seen him. I don't know what he's doing, holed up in the Siemens main house."
Howard's eyes wavered at Arthur's casual remark.
'Did the Lord know everything all along?'
Arthur got up, approached Howard, and stroked one side of his Kaisir beard.
"I always feel this way whenever I see you. This beard doesn't suit you."
Howard felt fear constricting his whole body at Arthur's smile.
He replied in a trembling voice,
"I-I'll change it right away if you don't like it."
"No, no. It's your beard, your preference. How can I interfere? I was just expressing my thoughts."
Howard trembled in fear as he read the hidden meaning in Arthur's words.
'Is he telling me to cut ties with Siemens? Damn... But if he knew everything, why did he send Zeke Draker into danger?'
Complex thoughts tangled and messed up Howard's mind.
Only Arthur Draker himself would know his true intentions.
***
"The Haunted Mansion. Quite an absurd mission."
While heading to his mansion in Atlas, Zeke recalled the designated mission and pondered its details.
It seemed playful, but there was no way Arthur Draker would assign such a mission without a reason.
Zeke thought he knew Arthur Draker's intentions to some extent.
'There's no way the Lord wouldn't notice the trap set by a petty person like Howard.'
No matter how old the curse was, it didn't make sense to allow him to take the high-ranking knight qualification exam just for solving it.
Arthur Draker was clearly testing him.
It meant that if he could overcome the trap set by Howard and his backers, the Siemens clan, he would be rewarded accordingly.
Although he didn't like it, Zeke decided to play along with Arthur's tune this time.
'Abel, who probably thinks I eliminated Kay, must have given the order. This is the chance to strike at me.'
He had been wondering when they would make a move, but he didn't expect them to set a trap using Howard Draker.
It was quite a bold move, but it had become an opportunity for Zeke.
"I don't know what kind of trap they've set, but I'll destroy it completely."
Zeke arrived at his mansion, packed his things lightly, and rode Bucephalus towards the west where Barashian was located.
***
Zeke arrived in Baranawon the next day.
He wasn't the type to fall for a trap, even though he knew it was there.
He planned to go to the mansion as quickly as possible and catch them off guard.
Baranawon was located in the western part of the continent, bordering the forbidden zone, the Forest of Forgotten Ones, Delfoa, the Troy Duchy, and the Joiner Ghetto.
Since it was a place Zeke had never been to, even in his previous life, he needed to familiarize himself with the atmosphere first.
He entered the capital of Baranawon and looked around the city.
'The overall feel is quite similar to Tebea.'
Tebea, the oldest and most influential of the central kingdoms, had existed since before the Liberation War.
And surprisingly, the small country of Baranawon also had a deep history like Tebea.
Despite being a small country, Baranawon had ancient ruins and hidden mysteries scattered throughout its territory.
'It's a place the Emperor would like.'
He had wondered why the Empire invaded Baranawon first during the Continental War, but it seemed to be because of the ruins here.
The Haunted Mansion was located in the western territory of Baranawon, bordering the Forest of Forgotten Ones.
His old master, Nigel, was in the Forest of Forgotten Ones, so Zeke cautiously headed towards the Haunted Mansion, careful not to run into him.
Arriving in the western territory, Zeke asked the villagers about the Haunted Mansion.
"Are you an adventurer? It's better to go back and not be reckless. I haven't seen anyone come back alive after entering there."
He asked several villagers, but their reactions were all similar.
However, it felt different from the curse of Agamemnon Castle.
In the case of Agamemnon, the citizens of Mycenae felt aversion towards the unknown fear, but the people of this village had a strong sense of disgust towards the mansion.
According to the villagers, quite a few people had seen black shadows appearing near the mansion.
Considering the consistent descriptions of the shadows from various people, it seemed there was indeed something in the mansion.
'A ghost that has resided there for a thousand years. Is it under a powerful ancient curse?'
If it was an ancient curse, it could be related to Narak.
In the end, it seemed he had to face it himself to find out what kind of trap Abel had set.
Zeke found lodging and waited for the right time. When night fell, he stealthily moved towards the mansion.
Rustle!
He quickly passed through the forest and climbed the hill where the mansion was located.
Looking at the top of the hill with his dragon eyes, he saw a lonely old mansion with an eerie atmosphere.
Zeke summoned Dragon Tooth Soldiers and had them scout the surroundings.
Then he summoned Richmond.
"You summoned me, Master!"
Richmond had moved his laboratory to the castle of the Troy Duchy while disposing of Kay's hideout.
Zeke asked Richmond,
"Richmond, do you sense any demonic energy or suspicious aura around here?"
Richmond looked around and tilted his head.
"Master, I don't sense any particular energy."