Chapter 33

"Ahhh, it is good to be back. It's been a while since I'm back here."

I smile brightly while looking at the city in front of me. Shadowfall is the city where I was born and grew up. It has been over two months since we started my noble duty, and I already miss it. Sadly, I still have at least four more months before returning home.

We march to the city and arrive at the city gate a few minutes later. I can see many people on the wall waving their hands at us. I can see my men waving back. When we arrive in front of the gate, I look at my men and say,

"Alright, people! You guys can take a break for a moment. However, you guys still need to remember that we are still performing our duty. Don't get carried away, okay?"

"Yes, young master!"

"Good. Enjoy your break."

After saying that, I walk toward the Elves Elder and say.

"Elder, I need you to come with me and have some talk with my father."

"Regarding our new village?"

"Regarding your new village, yes."

"Very well. Lead the way."

I nod and walk to Jullian and Sonia.

"Julian, take the elves and show them around, okay?"

"Of course, young master! Leave it to me!"

"Thank you."

I look at Sonia and say.

"Sonia, do you want to see your Grandmother?"

"En!"

"Very well. Come on."

After greeting the gatekeeper, my companion and I walk through the gate, and I can see people gathering behind the gate. I hear them calling my name, and some give me flowers and other gifts.

"You are a very popular young master Gwyndolin."

I look at the Elves Elder and smile a little.

"I guess so."

The elder looks around for a few seconds and smiles at me.

"It looks like we made the right decision to follow you."

"Why?"

"I once looked at the people when they saw the duke coming back home. Instead of cheering, his people glared at him."

"I see."

I greet the people for a minute before a carriage comes from the north. I know that carriage and smile at the sight of it. A few seconds later, the carriage stops, and I can see my mother, father, and little sister coming out.

After getting out of the carriage, I could see both my mother and Rachel quickly run to me. I open my arms, and they throw their bodies at me. I laugh loudly and spin them around.

"Gwyn! You are back!"

"Oh, my boy! You have grown even more!"

I spin them for a few more seconds and put them down.

"How are you, mom? Rachel?"

"We are doing great, dear."

"En! We are doing fine, brother! How about you? Are you okay?"

Rachel walks around me, checking my body to see if something is wrong. Seeing nothing wrong, she nods her head.

"Good! You are keeping your promise!"

I laugh and pat her head. After patting her head for a few seconds, I look at my father, who watches us from the side.

"Dad, I'm back."

"Welcome back, Gwyn."

I give him a quick hug, and he says.

"Come on. We will continue our chat in the mansion."

"Of course."

The three of us joined my family inside the carriage. When we all get inside the carriage, my father looks at the elder and Sonia and says.

"Gwyn, can you introduce me to your companion?"

I nod my head and say.

"Dad, mom, this is Ailas, the elder of Elves accompany us in our journey."

"Greetings, Lord Cunningham. May mother nature bless you and your family even more."

I can see a slight confusion in my father's eyes, but he nods and holds his question.

"To my right is Sonia, she is my daughter and your granddaughter."

"Kya!"

After I say that, my mother jumps at Sonia and hugs her tightly. I can see Sonia looking at me in panic. She has an expression that says 'HELP'. I smiled at her but did not move an inch. For the rest of the journey to the mansion, Sonia becomes mother and Rachel's hugging doll.

~A moment later~

I thank the servant for the tea and look at my father sitting in front of me. Ailas and I are inside my father's office while Sonia gets dragged by mother and Rachel to who knows where.

"So, what do you want to talk about?"

I nod my head and say.

"Father, I want to ask for permission for Ailas and his people to make a village in our territory."

"Oh? Tell me the reason why he and his people migrate."

I look at Ailas, and he nods his head before telling his story. I can see father's expression get colder and colder the longer Ailas is telling his story. His face may not be moving, but I can feel his aura getting colder.

I wonder why.

Father looks at me and says.

"By the look on your face, you didn't know why I'm so angry, huh?"

How? I know that I did not change my expression. Can my father read body language? Is it his talent? He has sword-related talent but to be a Sword Saint, he needs to be able to read the opponent's body language.

I shake my head and say.

"No."

"The reason why I'm angry is how stupid Duke Yorim is. The only reason why the Rikkun Kingdom did not attack us is that we have a good relationship with elves, at least on paper."

Rikkun kingdom, the kingdom to our east. They are a kingdom where the Elves rule.

"We manage to get a non-aggression pact with them for that reason. We accept Elves as a living being, unlike a lot of kingdoms in this continent."

Father looks at Ailas and bows his head.

"Thank you for not going to Rikkun kingdom, elder Ailas."

Ailas quickly shakes his head and helps my father raise his head.

"Please, raise your head, my lord. You don't need to thank me. We should be the ones thanking you and the young master for taking us under your wing."

My father raises his head, and Ailas continue.

"Without your son, we know we will die. The south is a dangerous place. Before your son arrived, we had been attacked by monsters multiple times. We are lucky it was not a strong monster."

"I see. That's why a lot of people have stab injuries."

I mutter to myself.

"We survive long enough for your son to come because of my talent. I have a talent called [Nature's Illusion]. It let me use the tree to release a mana that can fool people coming close. However, it cannot fool monsters as they have different biology than a normal living creature."

Father nods his head and says.

"I see. Nonetheless, I must thank you. We cannot have another kingdom attack us with the Gokuya kingdom attacking us not too long ago."

"Wait! The Gokuya kingdom attacked us?!"

Father looks at me and nods his head.

"Yes. Ten days ago, they sent a couple hundred riders to our border and attacked them. Lucky for us, a group of scouts saw them before they arrived at the border. I lead a hundred men and manage to repel them. If not for the potions, we would lose more than seventy men in the battle. However, because of the potions, we manage to cut the casualties. We only lost thirty men."

Thirty men? I look down and clench my hand into a fist. If I'm here, I can help them and reduce the casualties to zero. Dammit! If only faster on taking care of that curse.

I snap from my thoughts when I feel two hands on my shoulder. I look up and see my father standing and putting his hands on my shoulders.

"Don't beat yourself, Gwyn. I know what you are thinking, and it was not your fault. You are already doing all of us a favor. Lord Baxter sends a letter explaining what you are doing in his city. He sent them to all other lords in the south. We are thankful for your hard work because if the curse spreads, many more innocent people will die. The soldiers know what will happen to them. It is their duty. They give their life to the people they want to protect. Don't taint their sacrifice. Honor them. Remember their sacrifice and protect their beloved in their stead."

I look at him for a few seconds and nod my head.

"I understand."

"Good."

Father smiles at me and looks at Ailas.

"I accept you to stay in my territory."

He takes a map from the drawer and opens it on the table.

"Let's choose the place where you will stay."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

|Verol - Fish Merchant and Spy for Jonathan Verqur|

"A curse?"

I nod at Lady Catharina's question and say.

"Yes, my lady. Heir Gwyndolin found a curse slowly spreading from Linton city to the rest of the southern territory. Heir Gwyndolin is the one taking care of the curse."

"What kind of curse?"

I look at Lord Jonathan and say.

"I don't know the specific but from the information my familiar got for me, it was a curse that makes anyone get inflicted to feel weak as if they are sick but it cannot be cured with an ordinary potion and medicine."

With all the money I got from working with Lord Jonathan, I awakened my talent, and it was called [Seven Birds]. As the name suggests, I can summon seven familiars in the form of birds. All of my familiars can share their feelings with me. I can see, hear, feel, taste, and smell through my animal companion.

That is how I manage to get this information.

"I see."

I can see Lady Catharina putting her hand on her chin, thinking. She has been doing that lately. I wonder what she is thinking right now. I look at Lord Jonathan, and he only shrugs while smiling. Haaa… He is lucky that it is Lady Catharina who gets close to him. If it were another woman, they would use him.

After a few seconds, she nods her head and says.

"Verol, I need you to do something for me."

"What is it, my lady?"

She takes out a piece of paper and starts to draw something. After a few seconds, I can see a pentagram. However, unlike a regular pentagram, I can see an eye in the middle.

"Can you see if anyone has this symbol on their body or any document with this symbol on it."

I take the paper and nod my head.

"Search for the Alcott family, especially them. It looks like we found the culprit behind their action."

Lord Jonathan takes the paper and looks at it for a few seconds.

"Can you tell me about this symbol?"

She nods her head and says.

"I will explain it later when I make sure we are truly alone, and no one can hear us."

Lord Jonathan looks at her for a few seconds and nods.

"Very well. I trust you."

"Thank you, Jon."

Lord Jonathan nods and gets up from his couch.

"Now, what should we do?"

Lady Catharina smiles and says.

"For now, we need to greet Heir Gwyndolin."