The Fallen Oak Tree

"What...?"

Sebastian doubted his eyes.

"Uncle! What happened to the tree?!"

Thomas didn't know why Sebastian was so shaken up but he answered anyway.

"There was a storm while you were gone. It was a pretty strong one too. We heard a loud crash and... the tree fell. Luckily, it fell the other way. The estate would've been badly damaged had a tree that size fallen..."

Sebastian quickly ran towards the tree ignoring the eyes of Thomas who was looking at him strangely.

"He must love the tree more than I thought."

"..."

Linet also seemed confused as she saw Sebastian run up to tree as she just arrived.

"Father, is something wrong with cousin?"

"I don't know. Why don't you go and check on him?"

After being urged by Thomas, Linet walked near Sebastian who was trying to go around the tree.

"Cousin, is anything wrong?"

They had attended Sebastian's engagement party and on the way back, Sebastian decided to come as well. It had been about a week since then and around a month after the storm.

Though Linet felt conflicted seeing Sebastian's engagement finalized, she suppressed her emotions and asked him.

"H-how long has it been since the storm?"

"A month."

"A whole month..."

Sebastian was trembling. Linet was shocked to see him that way.

Hamadryads lived and died according to their trees. Sebastian imagined that Balanos could live on even without it but after a whole month? Would she be able to live?

"Is something wrong?"

"..."

Sebastian couldn't lie to them so easily. Even if he told them a lie, it'd be seen through immediately. Though he couldn't see how he looked like, he had a good idea.

—Sebastian.

"?!"

Sebastian's eyes shot open and he turned to face the source of the voice.

—Place your hand on the tree.

Sebastian ignored Linet and placed his hand on the tree. A green light seeped into him and the tree looked to have less life than before.

"What happened?"

Linet was shocked. The tree remained full of life even after a month has passed but it suddenly withered after they saw a green light.

Thomas also approached them.

—I cannot explain at the moment, I am barely remaining conscious. Your body is now housing my soul, I'll need a little time to recover. In a week's time, I'll regain consciousness and be in a better state than before. Ensure that nothing happens to my tree, leave it as it is.

After informing Sebastian and telling him that, her voice stopped.

Sebastian held his chest and breathed a sigh of relief.

'She managed to hold on...'

When he hadn't seen the tree from afar, he was confused. When he had seen the fallen tree, it felt as if the sky had fallen down. Hearing Balanos' voice assured him.

"I'm fine now."

"I see..."

Thomas only looked at Sebastian strangely after giving the tree a glance. Though it had been there since before he was born and he loved having the tree there as well, in the end, it was still a tree.

That's why neither he nor Linet could understand why Sebastian was acting so weirdly.

Sebastian looked a the stump of the tree and frowned.

"Uncle, was the storm very strong?"

"It was, but I didn't think it'd be strong enough to fell this tree. Maybe it's the age..."

His uncle and Linet might not be able realize it, but he could. The way this tree was felled was unnatural. It looked exactly how a tree would fall if it were hit by some great force.

A very powerful storm coupled with something heavy. Neither of those things were present. If there was, then it was near impossible that the estate wasn't at least partly damaged.

'Balanos was targeted.'

It wasn't only him, even Balanos was unable to escape the threat of assassination.

'But who was able to find out her existence?'

When Balanos had told him about various things, the topic of her secrecy was also discussed. She said that after Sebastian's grandparents, nobody else knew about her and the chances that they told someone were close to nil.

But, there was a bigger issue that needed to be addressed.

Sebastian looked around and sucked in a breath.

'Balanos is a Magus.'

To be able to deal with her without the Wardes knowing, it could only be a Sage. Even if Balanos is confined to a tree, she was at least as strong as Ptelea.

"...Uncle, I have urgent business to attend to so I'm going home first. Linet, I'll visit you again. Can you please make sure that the tree isn't harmed? I'll come back for it soon."

"Sure..."

Linet and Thomas could do nothing but watch him walk away. They then turned to look at each other.

"He's exactly like Clarice sometimes."

"Aunt? She acts like that?"

Linet was too young to remember how Clarice acted and she had mostly seen her dignified side in formal events.

"She sometimes thought of extremely weird and outrageous things. We had a hard time managing her when she was a child. You wouldn't believe how she acted when she fell for Sebastian's father, she actually leapt at the marriage before she told us!"

Linet laughed at Thomas' expression. He looked seriously aggrieved. He was only a few years older than Clarice but he was forced to grow up due to how immature she was.

Though, while he did complain about her, he didn't hold the slightest amount of hate.

Linet couldn't suppress her laugh at that harmonious relationship and ended up being looked at strangely by her father too.

...

Two days later, Sebastian had returned to Aurum and met with Kathrina after working with Markus.

"Young master, here are the things you've entrusted me with."

Kathrina immediately handed him his seal and key as soon as she saw him. Her gaze looked different to the one she had in the past, it was a gaze filled with a fervent desire to serve.

Sebastian ended up taking a step back with how close she had gotten.

"T-thanks."

After he had expressed his gratitude, Kathrina led him to his private room to explain what had transpired while he was away.

"A total of fifty thousand Aur was taken from the vault. Most of it is unused and is in Sir Pine's shop. About the salt farm..."

Kathrina briefly and concisely explained everything. Sebastian didn't need to think too deeply, she had said everything he wanted to hear.

"...you know, you would be a great secretary and administrator."

Kathrina paused at Sebastian's comment.

'What is with her...?'

Her gaze was intense. Sebastian couldn't help but avert his eyes.

"...thank you for the compliment, young master."

Even her words of gratitude felt like each and every word came from the depths of her soul.

'What in the world happened while I was away? She feels like an old servant that has served the family for generations out of loyalty...'

He knew some people like that. That's why he could make the comparison.

As Kathrina finished her explanations, Sebastian cupped his chin.

"Hey, Kathrina, do you have any experience in being a merchant?"

"A merchant? No, I do not believe I have any experience in that area other than buying goods."

"Are you interested?"

"Mmm... Well, it would be a lie to say I'm not but serving young master comes first and foremost."

Sebastian closed his eyes.

In the future, he might possibly have to be in hiding. Anyone that had any connection to him might be persecuted. It would be safer to secure them for now, at least, that's what he had thought about after seeing Balanos' tree fall.

"Kathrina, right now, I will speak to you not as the one you serve, but as one of equal standing."

"..."

Kathrina quietly listened.

"I trust you, and that's why I'm going to tell you this. I will encounter some trouble in the future and at that time, I can't guarantee my own life. Much less the lives of others."

Sebastian's calm explanation coupled with the tense atmosphere led Kathrina to bite her lower lip.

'Someone is after young master?'

"That's why, I'm giving you a choice right now. The others who are near me have their status to protect them, but you are different. I'm worried that one day, I'll just end up finding you dead on the streets. So, do you want to come with me when the time comes?"

"Yes!"

"I know it must be difficult to decide... what?"

"Yes, I will go wherever young master goes!"

"..."

'Something is definitely wrong.'

Sebastian couldn't feel that Kathrina loved him like he did from Amy. It felt more like...

'Like those devotees in the church.'

Yes, devotion. That was the strange emotion that Sebastian kept feeling.

"Ehem... Well, I'll talk to father about your work. I'm planning on starting a shop and I want you to become the owner-in-name."

"I'll do it."

"..."

Sebastian decided to leave it for later. Though her personality became warped, she was still one of his most trusted people. He'd regret it his whole life if she were to get killed because of him.

After talking to Kathrina about a few more things, Sebastian left as soon as he could.

Wanting to evade Kathrina is one of the reasons but the biggest reason was because he wanted to use his spear again.

"And he returns! He who wields a spear and lightning! Greed!"

"""OOOOOOHHHHH!"""

Sebastian took a deep breath. Yesterday, he had spotted something out of the corner of his eye. An underground arena.

It wasn't a legal business, but it wasn't something the kingdom needed to intrude on. Sebastian joined after he wore his mask and cloak. He also colored his spear black.

"Place your bets! Will it be Greed who defeated three of the arena's fiercest warriors or Savage, the man convicted for ripping apart his fellow mercenaries using just his bare hands!"

Sebastian stepped onto the field and faced Savage. He was tall, at least two heads taller than Sebastian. It wasn't just his height, he was ridiculously bulky as well.

He looked more like an orc than a human.

"I'll kill you once the match ends."

"..."

Sebastian ignored Savage's threats. It was illegal to kill people in this arena, but it wasn't like nobody died. Sometimes, there were accidents that led to deaths but the one in front of him had killed several of his opponents already.

Unfortunately, they could do nothing to a man who had nothing to lose and continued to let him participate.

Sebastian raised his spear as lightning crackled around his body.

"Come."