Turning Chapter 792

Chapter 792

Hosanna let out a deep sigh, casting his eyes downward.

"Nahan belonged to the nobility of this place."

Yuder's eyes briefly narrowed in a twitch before relaxing again.

He felt a slight surprise upon learning that the man who despised nobility and power the most was, in fact, of noble descent – of the Empire's nobility. But upon reflection, it didn't seem strange.

'From the outset, it was clear he was of mixed heritage, with blood from the Southern countries. It's not uncommon for someone to grow even more hostile towards the group they were originally part of…'

The explanation of his origin seemed to make some of Nahan's blind hatred understandable.

"You're not surprised," Hosanna muttered, looking at Yuder, who showed little reaction to the shocking revelation.

"It's easier and more intense to hate what you know than what you don't," Yuder responded.

"I see. It's easier to hate what you know… I've never heard that before, but it sounds right."

Hosanna continued softly, as if barely audible.

"It's not a pleasant story. Nahan was almost imprisoned from birth because his mother was from the Southern countries. And I was just a child hired to care for him."

"Then, where do you come from?"

"The South. I was an orphan. To survive, I became a courier for traders crossing the desert... and they sold me off, finding it too troublesome to take me back."

Hosanna smiled bitterly.

"Back then, I barely spoke the language of the Empire. In Nahan's house, being without relatives and unable to speak the language, I was seen as ideal for secretive tasks."

'I can guess what happened.'

It was common for nobles to hire mute servants to hide family scandals. In this case, it seemed they intentionally hired someone from the same ethnic background but effectively mute to conceal a mistress and her child from the South.

"Lord Nahan was truly kind and intelligent, even as a child. Despite the suffocating environment, he never complained and was always gracious to me. I learned the language of the Empire from him… I really admired him."

Hosanna seemed unaware that his reference to Nahan had shifted to a more respectful form.

While he spoke of admiration, the deep and dark emotion in the eyes of this Southern youth differed significantly from that of others who admired Kishiar, like Nathan Zuckerman. Yuder sensed something familiar in those profound feelings.

"Lord Nahan had a dream. When he became an adult, he wanted to return to his mother's homeland in the South. I wished to serve him until the end and go with him to the South. But… that plan could never be realized."

Hosanna clenched his fists on his lap, his eyes filling with pain.

"Since childhood, there was someone who took care of Lord Nahan. We trusted this person because they were always kind to us. But when they learned of Lord Nahan's plans to leave the house, they didn't hesitate to inform the family."

"How did they find out?"

Hosanna's head drooped, his voice trembling thinly.

"It was my fault… I thought we didn't have much time left, and I felt I had to say goodbye to that person…"

Hosanna's character appeared unchanged from the past to the present.

In fact, bidding a final farewell or informing a close acquaintance isn't inherently foolish. However, in this instance, the other party never intended to honor that confidentiality.

'If that person reported it immediately, his belief that they had a human connection was a misunderstanding. That person was likely planted there to monitor them,' Yuder coldly speculated.

"The escape failed, and we were punished. I thought Lord Nahan would never forgive me for revealing the plan... But he forgave me. He was only curious why that person betrayed us."

Hosanna covered his face with his hands, his shoulders trembling slightly.

"We soon learned the answer. The betrayer was brought to our prison for committing a new crime. They said they were also a bastard of the same house, sent to watch us and seize any opportunity to rise by betraying us."

A betrayer's reward for their deed was usually not advancement, but punishment. A house that carefully concealed its secrets would not have let an ambitious bastard go unchecked.

Hosanna's words confirmed this.

"But they said it would have been better not to try such a thing. They regretted their actions and warned us never to stay with that house. Lord Nahan could not forgive them, but agreed to another escape attempt, made possible by his newly awakened abilities."

'Is this really the story of Nahan? Was he that soft-hearted?'

Trusting the same person twice after being betrayed once was not just naive. Had it been someone close to Yuder, he would have hit him on the back of the head and told him to come to his senses.

Yuder couldn't imagine Nahan being so forgiving.

'He's lucky if forgiveness didn't drive him mad.'

According to Hosanna, while imprisoned, Nahan awakened his illusionary abilities. They planned to use this for their escape.

The plan was simple. Use the illusion to fake a fire, and escape in the chaos when the guards fled.

"At first, it seemed to work. But before we completely escaped... we realized we were betrayed again."

Their plan was exposed, again due to the betrayer who had promised to escape with them.

'Incredible.'

"We were caught... and Lord Nahan... was punished by having half his face burned. Then they left us in a truly burning house."

The logic was clear: better to erase a scandal as an accident than risk exposure.

"But you survived, so you must have escaped."

"I awakened my own powers," Hosanna said, with a low and sad laugh.

"I had been searching for a way to escape, and in that moment, my power emerged. If only... it had come a day earlier."

Among the Awakeners, some feared and regretted their newfound abilities, wishing to return to their previous selves. But Hosanna's case wasn't unique. Yuder had encountered countless such individuals in his past life.

Typically, those like Hosanna, who spoke similarly, tended to use their abilities without sparing anything. This approach often led to rapid growth in their abilities, but because they did not spare their bodies, many of them had short lifespans.

"..."

"Yet, Lord Nahan… he wanted to save that person. He insisted we couldn't go alone and asked where that person was. But when we found them in the burning place… they were already dead."

The betrayer had paid the price for their deceit twice, receiving punishment instead of reward both times. Their folly was indeed great, and the consequences terribly harsh.

"I dragged Lord Nahan away from there… We must have moved desperately. We wanted to cross the desert to the South, but in our condition, it was impossible. We lost consciousness while fleeing and were barely saved by a passing traveler's kindness."

A passing traveler. Yuder's intuition sparked.

"Was that traveler the sage?"

"Yes."