Chapter 737: Justice (1/2)
GDK 737: Justice
***The Sainte Residence.
Wallace was keeping Doyalo company when Rugersey carried the bloody Portlem into the room. Doyalo was Portlem’s uncle - the most important character in their envoy.
Portlem’s chest was covered with his blood. A small chunk of the cracked divine armor on his back was gone. Pieces of shattered wine glass were still sticking out from his flesh, spilling fresh blood.
Doyalo wore a dark face. As soon as he saw Portlem being carried inside, he flew to Portlem to hold him. In a deep voice, he asked, “What happened? Who dared harm you in the City of Shadows?”
The expression on Wallace’s face didn’t look good either. Doyalo and Portlem were some of the most important guests in the House of Sainte. Portlem being injured so badly wouldn’t look good on them.
“It’s those from the Celestial Pearl Pharmacy,” Charlotte replied softly.
Wallace bunched his brows. He turned to Rugersey and asked, “What happened?”
Rugersey handed Portlem to Doyalo and put on a solemn expression before answering, “There was a minor incident at the Celestial Pearl Pharmacy. There seemed to be grudges between Andrina and Portlem. They started fighting in the banquet hall just like that.”
“So it was Andrina who injured Portlem?” Wallace’s heart sank and he immediately asked. He had learned a little about Andrina from Andre. He had been mindful of this powerful little girl who would hang around Han Shuo. Knowing how powerful the little girl was, it wasn’t surprising that Wallace would have thought it was Andrina who did it.
“No,” Rugersey shook his head with a frown. “It was Bryan who severely injured Young Master Portlem!”
“What?” Wallace's eyes widened. He said gravely, “Are you sure about that? Bryan is only a lowgod. How could he injure Portlem so severely?”
“It is true!” Charlotte wore an astonished look as she explained, “Everyone had underestimated his strength. He is even more vicious than Andrina. He did not use all his strength in his first strike when Portlem’s defenses were up, which caused Portlem to lower his guard. Bryan then took advantage of the situation, catching Portlem by surprise by suddenly attacking with his full strength!”
“How is that possible?!” Wallace was astonished. He turned to Rugersey and asked, “Is that so?”
Rugersey nodded and said, “It is indeed so. I reckon Lord Andre will be back soon. He was there when it happened. Your Lordship may verify the details with him.”
That youngster actually possesses highgod strength! Wallace exclaimed in his mind. His eyes started to dazzle brightly.
Andre indeed knew his elder brother well. When Wallace heard that Portlem was injured in the City of Shadows, his first thought was to punish the attacker to appease his important guests. However, after learning that Han Shuo was the perpetrator and that he had displayed highgod strength, Wallace started running a cost-benefit analysis in his mind.
One of the reasons Wallace could command the enormous power and influence he did was that he valued talents highly. Wallace had been mindful about the presence of Andrina, a highgod, in the Celestial Pearl for a long time. When he learned that Han Shuo too possessed highgod strength, he knew he had to consider his potential wins and losses carefully.
Doyalo examined Portlem’s condition. After making sure that the injuries did not threaten Portlem’s life, he raised his head, looked straight at Wallace, and asked, “I believe you will uphold justice for us, won’t you?”
“Don’t worry. I will do you justice as soon as I understand the whole sequence of events!” Wallace nodded and promised Doyalo. He then turned to Rugersey and questioned, “I know a little about Bryan’s character. He isn’t one who would do something like this out of the blue. What actually happened?”
“This… Erm…” Rugersey’s gaze turned to Portlem and Doyalo. He seemed rather hesitant.
Wallace’s expression turned dark. He shouted, “Rugersey, did you not hear my question?”
Rugersey hastily replied, “Yes, my Lord! Andrina claimed that while returning to the City of Shadows, she ran into Young Master Portlem. She alleged that Young Master Portlem tried to abduct Bryan’s women.” He added, “This is all I have heard from Andrina. I do not know about the specifics!”
Wallace had an idea of what happened after listening to Rugersey’s explanation. He had heard rumors about Portlem’s lascivious tendencies. It wasn’t at all surprising to Wallace that Portlem was accused of such acts.
“Mister Doyalo, if it was your side that instigated it, then it’ll be quite troublesome to deal with!” Wallace let out a sigh and said, “The rules of the City of Shadows apply to everyone in the City of Shadows. If I favor your side just because you are our guests, then I, the City Lord, will surely be criticized by all the large family clans!”
Doyalo’s expression turned somewhat sour as he could tell from those words that Wallace was leaning towards the Celestial Pearl’s side. Although the influences of Doyalo’s family clan was immense, they were inside the City of Shadows, outside their sphere of influence. If Wallace, the City Lord, decided not to help them, there wasn’t much that they could do.
“What exactly do you mean by that?” asked Doyalo.
“I will investigate the matter thoroughly and handle the case justly - impartial and without prejudice!” Wallace said righteously.
Soon enough, Andre returned from the Celestial Pearl Pharmacy. The first thing he did was wink at Andre.
Wallace nodded at Andre, excused himself from the party, went to a corner with Andre and started discussing in a low voice. A moment later, Wallace returned with a faint smile on his face and said to Doyalo, “The most important thing now is to treat and stabilize Portlem’s injuries. I will do an in-depth investigation of the incident!”
“I only hope that you will uphold justice for us. I have come to this city in representing the Church to discuss some issues with you. If you can’t even ensure the safety of my envoy, then your House of Sainte is really quite disappointing!” Doyalo said in a deep voice before leaving with Portlem.
After Doyalo, Portlem and Charlotte had left, Wallace sneered and remarked, “Trying to pressure me with the Church? Dream on! Hehe, your House of Batchelder is just a tad stronger than my House of Sainte. And you have no power here!”
“Brother, Bryan the youngster is not to be looked down upon!” Andre said smilingly.
“Youth breeds heroism. The stronger he is, the happier I am!” Wallace laughed heartily, “If he was just an ordinary pharmacist, I might actually be unwilling to offend the House of Batchelder. But as things stand now, hehe, sorry Portlem, consider yourself unlucky!”
“But, my Lord, Doyalo came here representing the Church!” reminded Rugersey.
“He merely represents the Church, it’s not like his House of Batchelder is the Church. I have nothing to be afraid of with him!” Wallace said disdainfully, “Besides, he came here to seek my assistance, not the other way round. My House of Sainte serves the Overgod of Darkness. This little issue isn’t nearly enough to jeopardize the position of my House!”
“Rugersey, you may leave,” Andre smiled.
Rugersey nodded and tactfully left the Sainte Residence.
As soon as the brothers were left to themselves, Wallace asked Andre in an excited and elated manner, “Are you really sure that the youngster has highgod strength?”
“I have seen it with my own eyes!” affirmed Andre, “On top of that, the energy he uses is unconventional and very queer, even queerer than that of Andrina’s. This chap is truly unbelievable!”
“Fantastic!” cheered Wallace. He continued smilingly, “I don’t think that the House of Lavers has interest in staying in the City of Shadows. Eventually, someone’s gotta fill the empty spot they left. If I were to let the other three major family clans share those privileges, they may grow too big, and perhaps even threaten the position of my House of Sainte someday in the future. Bryan has only arrived on Elysium recently and doesn’t have many foundations here. His relationship with Carmelita is good. I think it will be a decent choice to hand it to him instead. I did not take him as a candidate in the past because of his seemingly poor strength. But now, it appears that he is more suitable than Avery in taking this position!”