Chapter 110
Horentz Marcano (2)
“Please make sure you tell your daughter not to use her Mind-Piercing Eye on me.”
Horentz could not hide his agitation at Johan’s words.
His normally narrow eyes opened wide.
His exposed pupils trembled faintly.
Horentz spoke in a low voice.
“...Could you repeat that?”
“Please tell your daughter not to peer into my mind.”
The muscles in Horentz’s face stiffened.
He was utterly bewildered.
How did Johan know about the Mind-Piercing Eye? Something truly unbelievable had happened.
Information about the Mind-Piercing Eye was classified at the highest level even within House Marcano.
No one besides the head of the family could access it.
Outsiders had never even heard the name “Mind-Piercing Eye.”
Johan was different.
He clearly knew both the ability’s name and what it could do.
The revelation struck Horentz like a hammer.
His head was spinning, but he somehow held on to his reason.
His mind began racing.
Where had the information leaked from?
What measures could he take immediately?
What should he say right now?
Should he acknowledge the existence of the Mind-Piercing Eye?
Would it be better to deny it?
Countless thoughts filled Horentz’s mind.
The seconds ticked by.
Johan waited for him without saying a word.
After pondering for quite some time, Horentz finally opened his mouth.
“Did His Excellency Count Staviana tell you about the Mind-Piercing Eye?”
Horentz had decided how to respond to the situation.
For now, he intended to acknowledge the Mind-Piercing Eye.
Since Johan already knew everything, denying it would serve no purpose.
Horentz first needed to discover how the information had leaked.
Johan spoke with a composed expression.
“His Excellency the Count? May I ask why you brought him up?”
He answered a question with another question.
It was not Johan’s preferred method of conversation, but he had no choice.
He wanted to satisfy his curiosity.
Horentz said,
“His Excellency has always avoided me. Until now, I assumed it was because of my origins. Since I come from humble stock, I believed the noble Count simply refused to meet with me. Now, however, I suspect that assumption was somewhat mistaken.”
As the Count had recently told Johan, he believed Horentz was the owner of the Mind-Piercing Eye.
That was why he had avoided Horentz.
Who would want to converse with someone capable of reading their mind?
For the Count, a politician to his very bones, Horentz could only be an uncomfortable person to deal with.
The situation had changed somewhat.
Johan had corrected the Count’s misconception.
Horentz was not the owner of the Mind-Piercing Eye.
His daughter Serena possessed it.
The Count would no longer avoid Horentz.
Johan said,
“Do you suspect that the Mind-Piercing Eye was the reason he avoided you?”
Horentz nodded.
“Yes. To be honest, I would call it a certainty rather than a suspicion.”
A sharp gaze glinted between his narrow eyelids.
Johan let out a quiet sound of admiration.
“You are exactly right. Just as you surmised, His Excellency knew about the Mind-Piercing Eye.”
Horentz had considered the Count’s usual behavior, the political connection between Johan and the Count, and the fact that Johan had mentioned the Mind-Piercing Eye. From those details, he had concluded that the Count had told Johan about it.
He had arrived at the correct answer in a remarkably short time.
His mind was quite formidable.
Horentz’s expression darkened.
He spoke with a stiff expression.
“I will not ask how His Excellency came to know about the Mind-Piercing Eye. What I suspect is probably correct.”
“It was because of your father, Lord Horian Marcano.”
At the mention of Horian’s name, Horentz’s expression darkened further.
“...So my father was indeed responsible. That man continues to hold me back even after his death.”
Horentz’s father, Horian, had been quite close to Wolfgang.
While drunk, Horian had once confided in Wolfgang about the Mind-Piercing Eye.
He had claimed that he possessed the ability to see through another person’s mind.
After Horian’s death, Wolfgang had passed that information on to his son-in-law, Count Staviana.
He had revealed House Marcano’s secret to the Count.
The moment the Count heard Wolfgang’s story, he began distancing himself from Horentz.
A family’s innate power was usually inherited by the next generation, so the Count naturally assumed that Horentz had become the next owner of the Mind-Piercing Eye.
From the Count’s perspective, he had no choice but to avoid Horentz.
Johan spoke with genuine admiration.
“Impressive. Except for one detail, every one of your deductions was correct.”
Horentz stared intently at Johan.
“...Did I misjudge something?”
“Not exactly. There is simply one fact that could never have been uncovered through deduction alone.”
Horentz’s narrow eyes became even thinner.
“May I ask what it is?”
Johan nodded.
“I’ll tell you. The truth is, I knew about the Mind-Piercing Eye even before His Excellency told me. Therefore, my answer to your original question—whether His Excellency told me about it—is no.”
He had finally answered the question.
Horentz looked puzzled.
He found Johan’s claim difficult to believe.
If not through the Count, there was no possible avenue through which Johan could have learned about the Mind-Piercing Eye.
At least, that was what Horentz believed.
“How could you possibly... To be honest, that is difficult to believe.”
“I understand. I must also ask for your understanding, as I cannot reveal my source.”
He could hardly say that he had read about it in The Annals of Man and Demon.
Horentz gave Johan an inscrutable look.
“I do not believe you are the sort of man who makes false claims. However, without evidence, I cannot trust what you say.”
Johan nodded.
“That is why I intend to show you some evidence. First, the Mind-Piercing Eye is not a power inherited by the next generation. It skips a generation. His Excellency was unaware of this fact.”
The Mind-Piercing Eye awakened every other generation.
The ability manifested not in the owner’s child, but in their grandchild.
It had indeed skipped Horentz and awakened in his daughter Serena.
Horentz contemplated Johan’s words.
Count Staviana had certainly been wary only of Horentz.
Even when Serena was not present, the Count had refused to meet with him.
Just as Johan claimed, the Count might genuinely have been unaware that the power skipped a generation.
Horentz opened his mouth.
“What is your second piece of evidence?”
Johan answered evenly.
“I know everything about the conditions required to activate the Mind-Piercing Eye, the warning signs that precede its activation, and its side effects.”
The Mind-Piercing Eye was a power burdened with as many restrictions as it had uses.
Its side effects were also deadly. Even among those who awakened the Mind-Piercing Eye, hardly anyone could use it properly.
Horentz spoke.
“That is insufficient as evidence. My father may have divulged all those details as well.”
Johan nodded.
“You are correct. But what if it concerns your daughter? Lady Marcano possesses an inborn trait that allows her to avoid every one of those side effects.”
Horentz’s face hardened.
He could hardly believe his ears.
Information about the Mind-Piercing Eye was one thing, but there was no possible way for an outsider to know that much about his daughter.
Horentz was the only person in the world who knew about her trait.
He spoke in a trembling voice.
“W-Where in the world did you hear—”
Johan abruptly cut him off.
“As I said, I cannot reveal that.”
Horentz’s narrow eyes stared at Johan as though trying to pierce through his very pupils.
He was attempting to assess everything about Johan.
Only after quite some time did he speak.
“Why are you telling me this? Do you intend to cloak yourself in mystery and instill fear in me?”
Johan answered calmly.
“Similar, but not quite. I am merely warning you and your daughter. Please do not use the Mind-Piercing Eye on me. As I told you, I know everything about it.”
If Serena used the Mind-Piercing Eye on Johan, he would notice the signs.
The moment he sensed them, he would not let the matter pass.
He intended to make her pay the price one way or another.
Their entire conversation up to this point had been a warning about that.
Horentz let out a hollow laugh.
“I finally understand. You intend to possess my daughter’s power.”
Johan had just proposed an engagement to House Marcano.
The conversation they had just shared made his intentions clear.
Johan had come to House Marcano because of the Mind-Piercing Eye.
Johan answered without hesitation.
“I will not deny it. I need the Mind-Piercing Eye.”
Eyes capable of seeing through another person’s true intentions would greatly aid his future endeavors, regardless of how he chose to use them.
Horentz’s expression turned cold.
It might have appeared to be evidence that his feelings had been hurt, but the truth was different.
Horentz was calculating internally.
He was a merchant through and through.
He pursued profit rather than emotion.
It was as though gold flowed through Horentz’s head instead of brain matter.
He spoke calmly.
“The price will be exceedingly high. Far more than you can afford in your current position.”
Even ten million gold coins were worthless compared to the Mind-Piercing Eye.
Johan nodded.
“I know. For now, you consider Serena far more valuable than me. But that opinion will soon change.”
Johan was confident that he could make Horentz voluntarily request the engagement himself.
Horentz smiled.
“I shall look forward to it—to the arrival of that day.”
Countless emotions were probably surging behind his smile.
Today’s conversation could only have come as a tremendous shock to Horentz.
Johan said,
“Good. On a separate note, Sir Horentz, may I ask you for a favor?”
A favor.
Horentz wondered what Johan was about to say.
“Go ahead.”
Johan gave an uncharacteristically awkward smile.
“This may sound rather strange... but would you be willing to lend me your daughter for just two hours?”
It was a rather difficult request.
Horentz could not readily answer.
“I must admit, I’m somewhat taken aback.”
“I will compensate you handsomely.”
He spoke as though he were offering to pay a rental fee for an object.
Horentz felt an odd sense of kinship with Johan.
Perhaps gold flowed through Johan’s head instead of brain matter as well.
Horentz said,
“Compensation, you say? I’ll hear you out, at least.”
“I will arrange for the Marcano Trading Company to establish a branch in Beldana, within the Staviana County.”
Aside from the royal capital, Beldana was the most prosperous city in the kingdom.
Yet House Marcano had never been able to conduct even a single copper coin’s worth of business with Beldana.
That was because the Count had always rejected them.
If that relationship could be changed, House Marcano would prosper far more than it did now.
Horentz’s eyes narrowed further.
His eyelids concealed pupils shimmering with desire.
“...Is that truly possible?”
“Of course. I’m sure you have a general idea of my relationship with His Excellency.”
Horentz considered it for a moment before speaking.
“I have one final question. How do you intend to use Serena’s Mind-Piercing Eye?”
Johan’s expression grew solemn.
He spoke in a low voice.
“It is nothing serious. There is simply something I wish to confirm.”
Johan intended to invite Serena to his meal with Butler Haman.