Lucian observed how the crown tried to wipe out the evidence of the Rochefort massacre and the shackleds that appeared.
Blame was put on the shackleds, while they tried to play the heroes who saved the kingdom from the plague of monsters that came out of nowhere.
The Rocheforts played it back with proof of how large group of shackleds appeared only in places where great injustice was being committed.
The crown didn't want its name to be slandered in any way, and offered peace in exchange of their silence, in a form of a crown princess to marry into the Rochefort house, a political alliance on the surface.
It was a perfect way to sweep the dust under the rug and pretend it never happened, and to show that the royals and the nobility were all one big family.
The princess was barely twelve years old, while Edmund was almost twenty.
'Can you contact the shackled Edmund, Voice?' Lucian asked, 'Could you tell it that I will spread news of him being a shackled if it doesn't cooperate with me?'
Voice was silent.
'Tell it that I can plant greater seeds of destruction than its host can, it might pique its interest.'
Lucian decided to visit the church of the Eternal Light to force Voice to speak to Edmund.
The church was a majestic structure, made entirely of white marble that shone like a beacon in the sun.
Lucian entered the grand hall of the cathedral.
A few believers sat in prayer, their eyes closed.
"If it isn't the Glory's founder himself," the high priest said, recognizing Lucian's presence and coming down from the altar to greet him.
Lucian bowed slightly as a sign of respect, "I'm here to pray for the family of fallen soldiers during the hunting competition. I feel a strong need to help them, to ease their pain in any way I can."
A group of men carried chests of gold behind him, ready to be placed in the vault for the families in need.
The High priest smiled and nodded in understanding, "Of course. I am sure the families will appreciate your generosity and your kind heart. May the Gods bless you, my child."
Lucian stepped forward and knelt before the altar, clasping his hands together in prayer. He closed his eyes and bowed his head, 'So, Voice? Are you willing to speak with Edmund now or should I ask the priest for a favor instead?'
'We do not bargain with humans! Laws cannot be bent!' the entity roared.
If it was a normal human, it would have threatened Lucian with Celine's life to get an advantage over him, but it didn't.
It seemed like shackleds didn't care about war, the numbers of deaths and the likes. Humans would bring it upon themselves even without the shackleds' interference.
That's what Lucian deducted so far.
In this world, you couldn't get stronger without risking losing your sense of self. You had to be willing to sacrifice your humanity and your sanity.
Free will and choice were the greatest gifts of a man. Shackleds were the result of the abuse of such gifts.
They first turn you into a slave of your own desires, then into a slave to their powers, and eventually, you lose yourself. Your sense of self and identity vanishes.
Their existence made the strong fear the weak, the rich fear the poor, the noble fear the commoner, the living fear the dead.
How others ended up viewing the shackleds was a result of propaganda, where some people twisted the shackled's existence to fit their agenda.
Lucian also believed that shackleds were a definition of pure evil, and that being hit by a cane was a form of strengthening of mind and willpower.
Every time he got a beating, a part of him crumbled, but another was formed, tougher than before. He had no reason to doubt the church's claims, because what they taught him worked.
Now his view was changing. By understanding shackled Edmund's actions, he could now find more clues about his own situation and deal with it better.
Another important thing was that the prophecy didn't come true, Celine still believed Edmund was alive.
Something told Lucian that if the new Mathieu didn't appear on the scene, Lucian wouldn't have ended with his limbs broken.
Celine wouldn't move the camp in a hurry and the Army would be caught off guard by the change of position of their target.
Both Edmund and Celine stayed in the camp, not participating in the competition, which equaled less chances for an assassination attempt.
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Lucian stood up after he failed to strike a deal with the shackled Edmund, unable to make him follow his lead.
He turned around and smiled at the High Priest, who had been waiting at the side, watching him.
"Could I perhaps trouble you to help me with something?" Lucian asked, making the High Priest nod cluelessly.
They moved to the High Priest's office to discuss the matters privately.
Lucian tried to avoid looking like the richest man in the room, the loudest man in the room, or the most ambitious man in the room
Instead, he tried to become the most necessary man. Because necessary men were not eliminated lightly. He couldn't do it forever though.
As a new business sensation that was taking over the kingdom, Lucian was catching the attention of other rich and powerful people. He was becoming too successful to be ignored.
The Merchant Group already showed signs of being threatened by him. They were afraid that he would take their spot in the economy.
"I've been accused of being a shackled recently and I don't think I would survive the second time," he said, making the High Priest's eyes go wide, "I'm afraid I'm being targeted by my businesses rivals and want to know if there's anything I could do to help myself."
The High Priest was in a difficult situation as well, finding excuses to stay neutral in the conflict, and avoiding getting involved.
Lucian received some blessings for his troubles, and that was all.
He left with empty hands. The person, who accused him of being a shackled was not Mat Hatter, but someone above in the food chain. It was fine.
Most of the donations wouldn't make it to the victims of the tragedy, and it was fine too.
'What an opportunity to preach the Church's teaching against the Church themselves, don't you think so as well, Voice?'
Lucian collected all the names of the fallen knights and their families, making sure he had the correct addresses of every single one of them.
These families would definitely revolt and protest against the church if they knew they should have received some money. And there weren't a few of them.
Lucian glanced at the chests of gold he had given up as he left the office.
'It's a small price to pay to see them burn.'
Proof of corruption, moral leverage, future unrest, Lucuan was investing in instability, and the return would be outrage.
If Lucian wanted a "chunk of the market," he must erode whoever currently dominated it, then fix the problem with himself, giving him the opening to enter.
'I need to become a better hero, or else I'll fail her again. I don't want to let her down.'
'This is how you become a hero, right?'
'You kill the villains, and you win the hearts of the people and your beloved, right?'