The Shining Star Above The Heaven-Chapter 1030: The Change in the Family

Kuartin was not satisfied with Aldrian’s answer, but the fact that he killed the town lord in the name of punishment made him slightly lower his wariness toward him.

He had never seen a devil go as far as saving people and enacting justice. Instead, the devils would keep the corruption to weaken their forces from within.

But then Kuartin sighed. He was sent here to investigate the killer of the town lord, yet instead he found something else. The matter related to the Beruin family was also weighing on his mind, to the point that he could only follow the course of Aldrian’s conversation.

What Aldrian said was true, and what he did aligned with his own character.

"You don’t have to worry about my identity. I’m not a devil. In fact, I really hate them. If I hear there are devils in some place, I will make sure to kill them no matter where they are," Aldrian said.

Kuartin looked at Aldrian with narrowed eyes.

"Then why don’t you join the war? You could meet more devils there, many of them even. At this time, we need help from any hands that can support us with their power," he said.

Aldrian smiled. "That’s what I want. Then why don’t you bring me to the frontline so I can kill as many of those devils as possible?"

Kuartin raised his eyebrows, but then he shook his head. "I’m afraid I cannot just bring someone with an unknown origin and identity to the frontline, even more so with my troops. Although I saw that you have done something good here, to suddenly bring you to the frontline is another matter."

"The situation at the frontline is delicate and full of suspicion. Because of the devils’ tricks, it has made our forces suspicious of each other. So you can imagine what would happen if I brought someone unknown to the frontline."

"Moreover, my lord will surely question me regarding you and regarding this matter, and I don’t think he will think too kindly of you or even me for what you and I did here."

"However, you may join the war by joining a voluntary group. Our family has a voluntary group that consists of people who voluntarily join the war. They are from various backgrounds, and as long as you can join it, your identity will be less questionable."

Aldrian thought for a moment before nodding. "Well, let’s do that. However, before I do that, I want to meet your family’s patriarch."

Kuartin frowned. "Why?"

Aldrian shrugged. "To make things clear. Throughout my stay here, I have always heard things that made me hate your family even more. I want to make sure that the Beruin family is truly like what I imagined."

"To stop people like the town lord of this city from appearing again, and to stop the suffering of the people of this city, I need to clean the source of it, which is the Beruin family, or should I say its higher ups. I don’t mind causing a bloodbath, and that is what I have in mind if it comes to that."

Hearing that, Kuartin widened his eyes in shock. He instinctively pointed his sword toward Aldrian again.

"You cannot do something like that to my family. No matter what, they are still the family I serve. Even if I have to sacrifice myself here, I will not let you—"

"Do you really mean what you just said? If you say it with full conviction in your heart, then I will believe your words, and I will also kill you here and now," Aldrian cut in.

Kuartin’s hand trembled, and his heart shook.

"Didn’t I tell you that I can sense all of your feelings, all of your thoughts? You did not have enough conviction when you said those words. Something is weighing on your mind, and it is regarding the Beruin family. Something that makes you feel regretful, and I can more or less guess what it is."

"As a knight of the Beruin family, you have your duty. You obey the order of your lord and do everything in the family’s interest. However, you still have your own heart. You have your own conscience that makes you conflicted with your family’s actions."

"The fact that the Beruin family has someone like you, and that you choose to stay in that kind of family, means that you treasure the family itself. But your loyalty as a knight, as someone who obeys your lord, is already not as strong as before. I think it must be because of the current situation of the Beruin family."

"If that is the case, then your regretful feeling is because of the Beruin family’s situation. And since you treasure your family, you must want a change in your family’s current condition."

At this point, Kuartin could no longer point his sword at Aldrian as it was trembling, and he slowly lowered it. What Aldrian said resonated with what he held in his heart.

He gritted his teeth and sheathed his sword, his face truly showing his inner struggle.

It was as if he did not want to admit what Aldrian said, but his heart would not allow him to deny it. He looked confused and lost about what he needed to do. He glanced at the prisoners inside the cells, who were still showing their desperation and shouting their protests.

Those people’s situation was indirectly also caused by his own family.

As his heart fell into turmoil, he suddenly heard many footsteps and knew that Louis had brought the troops. Kuartin took a deep breath, and then he heard Aldrian speak.

"Follow me. Let’s talk somewhere else."

Although Kuartin still felt confused, he decided to follow Aldrian. They met with Louis and the troops, and Kuartin gave instructions for what they needed to do. The troops started to release the prisoners while Aldrian guided Kuartin to the surface.

They reached the surface and walked across the mansion’s grounds when Aldrian suddenly spoke.

"I want to hear your thoughts regarding the Beruin family. After I hear what you think, I will decide what I need to do to your family."

Kuartin sighed. "The current Beruin family... is not like the Beruin family that I served in the past, or at least not since the patriarch began to seem somehow different."

Aldrian’s expression turned interested.

"Different?"

Kuartin nodded. "Yes, different. The patriarch of the Beruin family, Vergas Alvi Beruin, is a firm and skillful leader. He did not tolerate incompetence and corruption, and he led the family with a balance of cruelty and compassion. He is the type of leader who did not see the citizens under him as mere objects, but as people he needed to take care of."

"Although he is not perfect, at least the Beruin family could be said to be a righteous family that upheld certain qualities of the nobles, where the family members acted as one."

"However, one day, the patriarch’s character suddenly changed into that of an indifferent person. He seemed more cruel than compassionate, and he also started appointing incompetent people to certain positions inside the family."

"He did not care about the well-being of his subjects, and what he did seemed like he was only abusing his power. Then, starting from there, the family’s situation began deteriorating, which also affected the entire territory."

"Some of the elders who did not dare to do anything corrupt because of the patriarch’s firm character started to make their own moves, making profits for themselves. The incompetent ones whom the patriarch put into their positions also became corrupt and only thought about their own benefit. The family became rotten." Kuartin clenched his fist.

"The noble family that I knew, the family that acted like true aristocrats who led the territory with compassion and were cruel to those who wanted to destroy it, changed into nothing more than a noble family acting like bandits. There is no class, there is no wisdom, only greed and destruction gnawing at the family that has been my home for so long."

Aldrian fell into thought after hearing the story. His mind instantly turned toward the devils’ tricks. The fact that the patriarch’s character suddenly changed was already a red flag. There was no way someone’s character could change overnight unless the patriarch had been a master at disguising his true nature for a very long time.

"I know that my family has already fallen into this state, but I cannot do anything. I am just a knight who does what the lord of the house orders. I want to do something, but I feel powerless. To see the family I serve fall into this kind of situation makes me truly grieve," Kuartin continued.

"Inside my heart, I can only hope that the Beruin family I served in the past can return. That the patriarch I once served can return." Kuartin then sighed.

"But I know that kind of hope is, in the end, only my own wish. With each passing day, the Beruin family keeps straying further away from its past glory. I even started to think that I might as well stop being a knight so I would not be affected by this rotten situation."

There was only silence after Kuartin finished his story. He looked so tired, as if he wanted to go somewhere peaceful and simply retire.

Aldrian looked ahead of them as they stopped walking.

"Do you still want the Beruin family to return to the correct path?" Aldrian asked.

"Of course I do. Like I said, I want to do something for this family, to change the current situation. To make the patriarch return to his past self," Kuartin replied with full conviction.

Aldrian nodded.

"Good. Then let me see the patriarch, the source of all the changes in the family. I want to see him myself and check him, to find out what made him change so much. With that, we can start fixing your family’s problem."