Kesav followed Boban down a long corridor. After passing through an archway, bright light poured in from outside and suddenly filled his vision, making him narrow his eyes. Only then could he make out the small courtyard before him. Surrounded by covered walkways, the courtyard lay in the atrium at the very center of the castle. Above it stretched a clear blue sky. Perhaps because he had spent so long walking through the darkness, the blue seemed almost painfully dazzling.
The courtyard was an exquisite garden. Beneath the shade of an ancient tree at its center, he saw two people, one standing and the other sitting. One of them wore a black silk robe. His hair was graying, and his figure was somewhat plump. A thick golden chain hung from the folds of skin around his neck and fell to his chest, where it held an emerald so vividly green that it was almost startling.
That emerald was called the Heart of the Ancient Tree. It was a treasured heirloom passed down through the Rosalin family for generations, as well as a symbol of the head of the family. Thus, the man's identity was self-evident. Kesav had not seen his lord for some time, and only now did he realize that the other man looked even more ancient and feeble than before.
The lord is getting old. At this rate, who knows when he will return to the goddess's embrace. Kesav could not stop the thought from turning over in his mind. He knew that the old lord had two sons. The elder son was deeply trusted by his father, but did not get along with Boban. After all, Kesav was the swordsmanship instructor of the lord's younger son. He had always felt that the old lord's arrangement might not