My Disciples Became Scoundrels - Chapter 34

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The world tilted. Arkel had killed people? A priest and thirteen children?
The physical description matched Arkel exactly. But that alone couldn’t prove guilt, could it?
“When they caught him later, he confessed. Said he’d killed them himself.”
I gripped the documents so hard they crumpled, the creases sharp enough to tear. Each sentence written there felt like a blade piercing through me.
“…Where is Arkel now?”
“He’s in Suri Prison. Life sentence.”
I already knew how infamous Suri Prison was—a place where prisoners died by the dozens. And my student was locked inside those walls?
“That settles the investigation into your student’s whereabouts and current location. Satisfied?”
“…Yes. That’s sufficient.”
“The next request will be paid work. All the details are in the documents—review them at home.”
Murder. Life sentence. Suri Prison. I repeated those words like a mantra as I walked home, and the landscape that had been clear moments ago now seemed shrouded in frost.
The moment I opened the door, my students shot to their feet from the living room. Jenia’s eyes sparkled as she spoke.
“Master, you’re home! Did you find any of the older students? Master, what’s wrong? Your expression…”
“Sit down. We need to talk.”
Once we were seated at the table, I gave them a brief summary of what I’d learned about Arkel.
Both of them looked stunned. Cesare’s fist came down hard on the table with a bang, his face twisted with anger.
“That informant—they know what they’re doing, right? It has to be someone else. Arkel would never kill anyone!”
I swallowed a sigh. Part of me wanted to agree with Cesare’s certainty that my student could never commit murder.
But the truth was, Arkel was more than capable of killing.
When I first met Arkel, his small village was under siege by a band of brigands.
Several villagers lay dead already. Among them, I found Arkel—barely eight years old.
He was alive. More than that: he had survived. That small bloody thing was stabbing a brigand twice his size with a dagger. Around him lay multiple corpses, cut down by the blade.
I thought he was a gifted child who’d miraculously lived through the slaughter. But that wasn’t it at all.
Arkel was smiling, his hands drenched in blood.
He was someone who found exhilaration in killing. It was in his nature from birth.
Fortunately, after we brought him in and educated him, that side of him disappeared. On the surface, Arkel became a well-mannered, virtuous child.
To the others, he was simply a good older brother. Jenia spoke up in his defense.
“That’s right. Something’s off. Maybe he’s innocent—maybe he was framed. We should go talk to him.”
“Arkel’s been refusing visitors. For fifteen years straight.”
I wanted to speak with him directly, but it was impossible. Cesare’s frustration was evident.
“A life sentence? If visits aren’t allowed, there’s no way to see him at all, is there?”
“That’s how it stands. But I have to see him regardless.”
I believed Arkel had changed. I needed to know whether he’d truly succumbed to his nature or if there was something else behind it all.
Jenia tilted her head at my words, confused.
“But how will you meet him if there’s no way?”
“I’ll get myself imprisoned.”
“You, Master? Commit a crime? Kill someone?”
I explained my plan to my startled students. Cesare let out a relieved breath.
“Phew, in that case you could get released after serving time. We should come with you.”
“No. Three of us would be too risky. Besides, Jenia’s a woman—she can’t enter the men’s ward.”
“Then let’s go without Jenia.”
I couldn’t leave just one of them behind. I was about to convince Cesare when Jenia raised her hand.
“I can pretend to be a man. I’ll strap some things on and we can go.”
“…Strap what on?”
At my question, Jenia stared hard at Cesare. His face went pale instantly.
It sounded like a joke, but the way she said it didn’t feel like one. I turned to Cesare.
“You two wouldn’t mind staying together, would you?”
“Yes! That sounds perfect! Jenia and I will stay and guard the house!”
Thankfully, they both agreed without protest. As I prepared to leave, I remembered something Diare had mentioned.
That Arkel used to meet with Brandon often. I turned to my students.
“Speaking of which, did Brandon move away?”
He was a trustworthy man. If someone like that hadn’t helped my young students, he might have left the city.
Cesare made a clicking sound with his tongue in response.
“No. That man died fifteen years ago.”
“What happened?”
“I heard he was murdered, but I don’t know the details. Arkel told me to go to Brandon if something went wrong, but…”
The memory resurfaced—how Arkel had met with Brandon frequently before he left.
The church murders, Brandon’s assassination, Arkel’s disappearance—all fifteen years ago.
My mouth went dry. The timing was too close to be coincidence. Could Arkel have…?
No, let me stop speculating. I finished preparing to leave as quickly as possible, received my disciples’ farewells, and headed toward Herbert’s Manor.
I entered the countess’s chamber—a room as cold as a coffin. She regarded me with glacial eyes.
“You come without warning, without appointment? And didn’t you tell me to visit once you’d become the strongest swordsman alive? Have you already reached that stage?”
She still wore her black dress, but this time without the veil. Her face looked more like that of a living person than before.
I bowed deeply to her.
“I apologize for the intrusion. I’ve come to ask an urgent favor.”
“A favor, you say?”
Her voice was cold, but she did not cast me out. I broached the subject directly.
“Please report me to the authorities.”
* * *
The wind of the Northern Region, which I felt for the first time in years, was so biting and fierce it seemed to shred the ears.
A region perpetually assailed by blizzards. Even before deep winter arrived, the cold was merciless.
Moreover, the transport wagon I rode in was hopelessly shoddy. Wind seeped through cracks in the wooden planks, and the prisoner’s garb—little more than burlap—offered almost no protection against the cold.
I observed the others inside the wagon. All of them bore the menacing gaze of violent criminals. Through a small window, I glimpsed the world outside.
There stood an immense Barrier Wall. Its height and length defied measurement.
The transport wagon entered beyond it. Only after traveling for a long time across the empty Snowy Plain did the wagon finally halt.
“Everyone out!”
We were dragged out like animals. A blizzard raged ferociously from all directions, and a structure as vast as the wall itself loomed into view.
The prisoners were hauled into that building. Inside, guards in thick winter coats—unlike us—stood watch, their eyes brimming with contempt for the inmates.
“More garbage arrives. What impressive credentials you all have. Serial murder, arson, human trafficking….”
With each file transfer, the guard recited the charges. When his gaze fell upon me, he let out a derisive snort.
“I wondered why a child would end up in a place like this. Attempted murder of nobility? You’ve got nerve, don’t you.”
Suri Prison is a repository for the most vicious criminals. You need to have committed mass murder to warrant admission here.
However, there is one exception: attempted murder alone can secure entry.
When a commoner attempts to harm a noble, or a noble attempts to harm royalty, transfer to Suri Prison is automatic.
There has long been talk of this being excessive punishment, but it has never changed. The message is clear: do not challenge those above your station.
It was a cruel system, but it worked in my favor. I could not have killed someone simply to gain entry here.
Instead, I asked the countess to report me. Attempted Murder of Nobility became my charge.
Once matters were settled, she would claim to have captured the true culprit and secure my release.
I had succeeded in entering. Now the real problem was finding Arkel.
After the body search, a guard fitted Mana-Blocking Shackles around both my wrists. A lengthy iron chain stretched between them.
The moment the shackles closed, I felt the mana within my body drain away. The guard pocketed the key and spoke.
“These are Mana-Blocking Shackles. Don’t think about causing trouble. Move inside.”
Swept along with the other prisoners, I was herded deeper into the prison. The hollow sound of our footsteps echoed through the corridors.
A musty stench hung in the air, and the interior was generally dark. Cold seeped from the stone walls despite being indoors.
But I had no time to feel that cold. From deeper within came a harsh voice—the sounds of multiple people fighting.
“Ahhh! Grab this bastard! Kill him!”
As we emerged into an open space, several prisoners were locked in combat. The word “fighting” hardly did justice to the scene.
Blood stains covered every surface. A man stabbed with a blade groaning in agony, a prisoner who may have been dead or unconscious….
Looking closer, I saw that one man was facing many. He was tall, with a powerfully built frame.
Though the other prisoners were likewise imposing, he showed no concern whatsoever.
He picked up a Glass Knife from the ground and stabbed a prisoner’s abdomen repeatedly. When the man collapsed with a scream, another prisoner lunged at him.
“You monster!”
The so-called monster twisted his body to slip free. Then he wrapped the iron chain shackling both his wrists around his opponent’s neck.
“Gakk…!”
Leaning his weight backward, he choked the prisoner, who thrashed and frothed at the mouth. Guards rushed forward, cursing.
“Thirteen! Let go this instant!”
The man choking his victim finally withdrew. Nearly a dozen prisoners lay sprawled across the floor, moaning.
Surrounded by blood, a single figure stood unbowed.
Between hair the color of murky blue-grey, silver-grey eyes gleamed. Those hollow, empty eyes.
It had been fifteen years, but I could never mistake them. I knew those eyes.
Arkel Balanus.
My first disciple. My murderer.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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