Chapter 237: Seth and Justinian

Taking his monocle off, Seth rubbed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose afterwards, letting out a tired sigh. Putting the pen down, he looked at the crossbow and stared at the near completion of the work, only needing to add a few extra details to improve its look. Whilst it was functional now, and he was sure Isis wouldn’t care about the look too much, it was a matter of pride in his work that he couldn’t allow it to look so bare.

"Gosh." Scoffing and chuckling to himself, he believed how much he was like his teacher in that regard, but forever thankful that he did hold himself to a high standard. He had seen far too many artefacts where the creator didn’t hold such a high standard for artistic detail, and all of them were subpar in the craft. To blend practicality and detail was one of the greatest ways to grow as a runecrafter; after all, it forced the person to condense and shrink to fit into a design.

"Still, he would have made it much better." Looking at the crossbow, he wondered what this teacher would have done to make the design more flattering and realised there was no point in trying to reach such a lofty goal. After all, it would have started at the very beginning; instead of using multiple materials as he had done, his teacher would have used a single one and manipulated it to give shape and function.

A knock on the door broke him out of his thoughts, and carefully settling everything down, he turned. "Enter." His smile fell instantly upon seeing Justinian walk in, his outfit light red, nearly pink. "Go away."

"That is rather rude considering whose home you are staying in at the moment," Justinian smirked and walked over. Without thought, he brushed the tower of books and papers off the desk, letting them fall to the floor and took a seat. Reaching out to grab the monocle, Seth moved, grabbing the pen he worked with and holding it towards Justinian’s throat.

"Do not touch what is mine, Broker." Pushing the pen with just enough force to cause a drop of blood on his neck, Justinian chuckled and lifted his hands, moving back. When the pen lowered, he swiped the drop with his fingers and licked it off his finger.

"I have a name, old man." Justinian’s thin smile never fell. "Besides, do you think I came for no reason? I would much rather spend my time with our beautiful Isis than come and see you. You’re no fun." Rolling his eyes, Seth clicked his tongue and leaned back as Justinian brought his hands up towards his chin and rested them.

"Act age at least. It’s disgusting seeing you try to act cute." Justinian genuinely chuckled, not missing the irony in Seth telling him that. "What is it then?"

"I really don’t understand why you dislike me so much. You see, it’s very hypocritical of you to do so."

"Please do tell me why?"

"Because you are just as much of a terrible person as I am." Seth eyes widened hearing Justinian admit he was awful. Seeing it, he laughed and shrugged, lowering his hands from his chin. "Please, you don’t seriously think that I believe myself to be a beacon of nobility. I offer services to torture and punish Lessers for others; I even did it myself when I first started the enterprise. Of course it’s business; it’s not like I take much pleasure in doing it, after all, filthy work, but if need be, I will."

"You have still not explained why it is hypocritical."

"You’re an old man, a very old man." Seth’s eyes hardened. "I have a lot of connections, you know, and when I first met you, when you wished to sell that statue, you looked the exact same. You also told me your noble title to get in the door, and as I usually do, I did a little digging. There was not a lot to find, but Luar, even if they look down upon us, is still willing to tell things if you invoke certain names or information." Justinian sighed and looked up. "Of course I am not certain, but the Lunarian I know spoke of the one who had the mask you owned previously."

"Do not." Seth rose, his eyes turning murderous. "Do not say the name you will say."

"And that confirms it." Justinian laughed, having to grab his stomach in delight. "I took a guess. Your skill, your age, and how you still look the same. I have connections with a few Lunarian nobles; after all, they are always willing to sell and buy things. They spoke of the Zornaras family and how long ago there was an eccentric who took control of the family. He vanished at some point, and when he returned, he gave up all his wealth and riches and said." Leaning forward, Justinian’s smirk grew a little wider. "That he would pass his family name and title to his student."

Seth took a deep breath, calming himself instantly, and sat back down. "Do I need to ask again?"

"My point is, you are really old, and there is no way you have stayed alive by any natural means. How many did you kill to do it? Hundreds, thousands. The Old Kingdom was famous for its blood magic; did you learn it from them? Siphoning life force or their soul, or whatever they call it." Seth didn’t reply, making Justinian shrug. "It doesn’t matter, really; personally, I am a bit envious of you. If I could learn or do it, I would. But I have a feeling I have no talent in that regard."

"Oh my..." Letting out a groan, Steh leaned back, running a hand over his face. "Why are you here? Yes, I’m old; yes, many died to learn that. I can still hate you as a person. They are not mutually exclusive."

"Sure. Anyway, why I really came was. Did you mess with Augustus’ statue?"

"You’re going to ask so brazenly."

"I can stay, and we can talk about other things." Seth rolled his eyes.

"No. Is that all?" His voice was flat, not showing an ounce of a lie. Justinian stared at him for a moment, thinking, before clapping his hands and jumping off the table.

"Okay." Walking off, he came to a stop just before opening the door. "Although, I don’t believe you." Turning, he walked back ot the desk and looked at the crossbow and monocle on the table, his gaze focusing intently on the size of the craft. Seth did nothing, letting him look, ready to act if he tried to touch it, knowing it would be far more suspicious if he did anything. Finally, Justinian looked at the pen, his eyes widening in absolute admiration at it, recognising the work of art the pen was, unable to understand the runes littered all over, but knowing how skilled someone would have to be to craft it.

"Your pen... I don’t understand anything."

"Are you done?"

"I’m certain." Justinian chuckled, "No wonder Augustus can’t find any runes; I mean, look at how small you can get it. It would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack." Letting out a breath, he turned to Seth. "I’ll ask again: did you do it? To be honest, I don’t really care if you want to topple a statue; it can always be rebuilt, but it’s an annoyance right now."

"Fine then." Seth said with his usual flat tone, "I did it. You happy."

"Your words are meaningless to me, but your craft is enough proof. Those fools who are part of the Brotherhood could never pull something so sophisticated, and as you have made blatantly clear, you hate this city." Justinian stepped back. "Augustus would have you killed if he found out."

"Okay," Seth said, devoid of any fear. Justinian knew there was no point in threatening death; the age he had a guess at in his mind, proof enough that he had likely lived enough of a life to worry about something like that.

"I could kill you." A small, childish giggle escaped Justinian’s lips, one that made Seth skin crawl at how unnatural it was for a grown man to have. "But I have a fun idea." Looking at Seth, his smile was playful. "Do what you want. Augustus already suspects you as one of the culprits, and it shouldn’t take him long to be certain of that. If the statue falls, I do wonder, however, did you think of all the people that would be crushed and killed by it?"

Taking a deep breath that lacked any emotion, Seth slowly rose and smiled, "Didn’t you already say I was a hypocrite? I have seen Empires fall; I have seen thousands die for ideals and meaningless reasons. It really doesn’t matter to me anymore. Right now, my amusement has a focus, and when that wanes, I will move on and find something new." Walking past, Seth opened the door. "Will you leave now?"

Justinian nodded and walked, coming to a stop next to him. Patting his shoulder, he smiled, "Thank you for getting the door."