I Became The Pope, Now What?
chapter-370

"I am Darius Vulcan Marcellus, son of none."

Sylvester could understand what the last part of his name meant. He had been thrown out of his house, which meant he could no longer use his family name.

He looked at the man intently to understand what he was thinking through the various smells he induced. There were too many for it to make any clear sense, sadly. There was a pungent smell, spiciness and a burning sensation — hate, anger and rage. But, not only that, there was sadness that borderlines brokenness. However, one scent made him feel the most pity, as it was something he was well aware of.

The sense of emptiness, as if there existed no happiness in the world, no hope and no will to live. — This was precisely what Augustus used to smell like before he committed the act. Darius was feeling the same, and he could understand why.

So, he asked only once. "If you want a new purpose, then follow me. If you want to be enslaved again, do whatever you want."

Clank!

Sylvester threw a small pouch of money at the slave trader. The fat man initially seemed sad, but once he opened the pouch and found five golden coins, his grin couldn't be contained on his ugly face. He just bowed and thanked him. "Thank you, my lord. You are as gracious as the legends say."

Hearing this, Sylvester remembered something. "What happened to the family of three that you were selling before?"

"Oh, they passed away from the winter, my lord. They died from the winter in the Baron's keep. Sadly, by the time they were saved, they had become too weak already and passed away." The slave master revealed.

It was saddening as Sylvester tried to help the family run from the south. He sighed and put that thought at the back of his mind since there was nothing he could do now. Slavery was an evil, perhaps even bigger than demons and bloodlings.

As Sylvester awaited an answer from Darius, he looked around for more slaves to buy for his shop. He needed more since he would soon be releasing the older freed slaves from their duty. However, he had no idea if they would stay with him and keep working, so he had to prepare for contingencies.

He looked at many men and women, some with hunched backs, some old and some young. But he smelled many conflicting emotions from many, which gave away information about their character. For example, many slaves were not forced into slavery, but because they committed a crime or took a loan they could not repay.

He avoided such kind as most of them only want the freedom to return to their normal lives. But, at the same time, the slaves he wanted were those cursed with ill fates and had nowhere to go, even if freed.

"What's her story?" He asked as he noticed a black-haired, white woman, likely in her 30s. She looked like a simpleton, probably in her thirties and looked quite decent. Not a beauty, but not a malnourished woman either. But, her eyes had a strange naivety in them, as if she never grew older.

"There is no story, my lord." The slave master showed the woman with much enthusiasm, trying to sell her as well. "She's been a slave since she was two years old and abducted. She was sold at the tower of god, and since then, she has lived in servitude under several masters. It's astounding to me how she does not look broken."

Sylvester was taken aback to a degree. 'Slave since two?'

He faced her and asked. "Do you want to be free?"

She shook her head quickly and spoke in the most docile manner possible. "No, respected master. I only live to serve others.'

'Ugh… The emotions show no hate or sadness. She really believes what she's saying.'

"Why? Don't you want to be able to do whatever you want to do? Eat whatever you want, and work wherever you want. I can give you work too." He questioned further.

The woman held her head down while replying. "My family will find me. I know it. Everyone has a family, right? What if they come looking for me, and I'm not a slave anymore? How will they get me?"

Sylvester and Lady Aurora looked at each other's faces. Even she showed some expressions as they realised that the woman had lived her entire life in a foolish hope that her family would find her, that her days of misery would end. She took a smile and plastered it on her face permanently, for the hope of good days went beyond the ongoing suffering.

"Do you know where your family lives?" He asked her.

The woman smilingly replied. "I… I don't know."

Sylvester tried to shatter her reality with a few well-placed questions. "Then, how will they find you? You've changed masters so many times. They won't know where to look for you."

Still smiling, her face showed no hint of any doubt. But he could smell the anxiety in her heart. She was searching for answers within and failed to find one.

Sylvester continued to ask. "Why not be free and slowly look for your family instead? Why live on someone else's grace when you can hold your destiny on your own?"

"B-But… My family."

"What's your name?" He asked further.

"Name? Everyone calls me You. All my masters call me You." She replied.

Sylvester looked at the slavemaster and asked him the same question. "Didn't her seller tell you her name?"

"Oh, she never had a name, my lord. Since she was sold at the age of two, she didn't remember her name, nor was she ever given a new name, for she didn't matter to anyone. I got her for a low price as she only knows how to do minor housework."

'If she knows how to do housework, then she can certainly be useful.'

"Fine, I will buy her for a silver Crown. Woman, if you wish to find your family someday, come with me. I won't promise you anything, but with me, you have higher chances than being here and working for lords and ladies, fulfilling all their desires, good or twisted." His offer to the slavemaster was final, but for the girl, it all depended on her wish.

After sharing one glance with Darius, Sylvester didn't wait and returned to his carriage. "I'm leaving, so this is your last chance."

Darius didn't waste a moment and ran towards Sylvester. "Your name and fame mean nothing to me. But you're worth following if you can show kindness to a random person."

Sylvester internally chuckled. 'Hah… And you fell for the trick.'

But he wasn't lying when he offered to take the woman as well. He needed these people to work for him, especially Darius, as Sylvester had too much money that needed accounting, but it would be laundered through the Bard's.

"Get in." He opened the door to the back of the carriage.

However, Darius grabbed the woman's hand and dragged her along too. "You fool, you don't know when god is showing mercy to you and when he's cursing you. Come with me if you want to live."

The woman seemed to know him well as she didn't object to him and accepted his command as if he were her master. "But… What if…"

"No, but and ifs, I will not see you keeping that dumb smile on your face at all times. You are not meant to be a slave. You're too kind." Darius exclaimed and dragged her along to the carriage.

Sylvester saw through what happened. He noticed the aroma of rose and spring combined, a calming scent of love from Darius. Although the woman did not reciprocate it, it was clear that she valued him too.

In no time, everyone got on the carriage, and they resumed their journey. They didn't stop anymore, not even at Baron Strongarm's keep. They crossed it to go towards Duke Colorwood and arrived at the open fields adorning the roadsides.

"You're too unpredictable." Lady Aurora exclaimed as they continued to steer the carriage. "One movement, you're fine with killing an entire civilisation, and the next, you go and save some slaves."

Sylvester chuckled. "Don't they say, never let them know your next move?"

She sighed and agreed with him. "Yes, you're right. But please tell us about your moves from now on. You can trust us, and I'm sure we've all done enough by now to make that feeling mutual."

Boom!

Thud!

"Ugh! What now?"

All of a sudden, the carriage's wheel broke apart for no reason and sent it dragging down. It toppled everyone inside it and spooked the horses enough they ran away, except for the loyal Frost, which belonged to Sylvester.

"Kill the Bard!"

The ground shook, and multiple holes appeared on the surface all around. From each came dozens of men and soon surrounded the carriage. They all wore similar clothes, grey robes with hoods. But they didn't bother hiding their faces and blatantly announced their names.

"We are the Sons of Fire, and in ashes, you shall retire!" Shouted the lone tall man at the front.

Shhh…!

Instantly, out of nearly two hundred men, over half took out their swords or spears and lit them all on fire with fire crystals. It instantly turned the surroundings into a sea of fire, and soon the wizards wielded their fire magic too.

With no change in expression on his face, Sylvester picked up his spear and stood up. He looked at the head of the group as if he were a dead man.

"You came to claim the bounty on my head. That means you also wish to claim the bounty on my mother." Sylvester got down from the carriage and stepped a little forward.

The head of the assassin group scoffed. "Dead men should not be telling tales, Bard. Cry all you want. We shall show no mercy. We are master wizards and higher, or knights of higher rank. The runes we placed on the ground will also keep that Guardian at bay. You killed the King Badgers, but we're different!"

Sylvester looked at the ground and quickly noticed the runes made from earth magic using tiny rock formations. He recognised it was a suppressing rune that required a magical source of immense size, which meant they came prepared.

But Sylvester had something that none knew yet — something destructive that the world overlooked over the years.

"Felix, Sir Dolorem, Gab, Elyon, Bishop Lazark and Lady Aurora! Do not let a single one of them escape! Kill all of them! I want their blood, and I want it NOW!"

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