Ch. 48 Digging up Dirt

20 feet beneath the Wilson mansion's yard, a certain mage was just finishing up his work. Ethan would have probably brought popcorn if he knew what tragedy was unfolding above his head. Unfortunately, to avoid detection, he dug so deep underground that he could barely pinpoint his own location.

"This should be fine…" satisfied with his gift delivery, he began covering up his tracks. However, the mana cores he gathered to fuel his digging were 90% gone. The boy tried his hardest not to think about it.

In the meantime, above his location, an ethereal light burst out of the ground.

"My Lord, something is happening outside." announced one of the guards.

Theodore walked over his wailing relatives and went after the servant. Seeing the unusual light coming from the middle of his yard, he ordered the guard to dig it up.

Just 3 feet below, a small old chest was found. Inside, there was a simple map of the area around Last Heaven. A certain spot was market with an X, and a few choice words were scribbled near the bottom.

"In this place, I leave all that is mine.

God of the pact, Lucian Hastings"

Upon reading the name, Theodore's hands began to tremble and an excited smile appeared on his face. On the other hand, 20 feet below and 100 more to his left, Ethan's smile was about to run out.

'Feels a bit wrong to use Master's name like this. Nah, that bastard would love it.'

The boy was pleased with his machinations, but he ran out of cores. He was afraid of what might happen if the tunnel was found, so he continued to close it using his own mana.

Progress was unbearably slow. Though he was frustrated to no end, Ethan commited himself to finishing the job regardless of how long it might take.

The next day…

Ana woke up as always at the break of dawn. She dressed up and went outside looking for Ethan's usual spot.

'He's not here…' At this time, the boy was still playing with dirt somewhere below the city.

For the past few days, Ana had been lost in thought. Her tiny discovery at the alchemy store sent her spiraling down a path of no return.

'We don't have money problems anymore, but every night he's doing something. He likely found out about what happened to me, which should have thrown him into a rage. Yet, he seemed calm…'

Though it felt absurd, she started thinking Ethan had something to do with the Wilson farms' destruction. To know for sure, she had to speak to a certain someone.

"You awake?" Since Ethan would surely lie, she figured Oliver was her best source of information. However, the boy was always busy ever since the towers fell.

"Hu… just 5 more minutes…" After working well into the night yesterday, the boy wanted nothing more than to catch up on some sleep. Unfortunately, Ana had other plans.

"Wake up." She was done waiting. Being used to waking Ethan with a bang, she pulled Oliver's sheets accidentally throwing him to the floor.

"What the hell?" The boy opened his eyes only to see Ana standing over him. "No…" he muttered.

"I came to talk to you."

Before she could continue, Oliver, still in his pajamas, got up, grabbed her hand, and rushed out of the room.

"Are you insane?" he complained. 'If Ethan finds her in my chamber, who knows what he'll do.'

They did not stop until the dining room where Oliver made sure they sat at the very opposite ends of the table.

"Young Master, should I bring breakfast?" asked one of the servants.

"Sure, just go." Oliver was still drowsy. While he was yawning, Ana was playing with her napkin. "So, what do you want?"

She put the napkin down and straightened her back.

"Ahem… Ethan knows what happened at the Academy, right?"

Oliver flinched.

"I'll take that as a yes. Since you know he knows, then you should also know why he knows… right?"

It was first thing in the morning, and the boy was already feeling a headache taking root. Unfortunately, his guest seemed to ignore this.

"Who told him?" With a tiny smile and determined eyes, Ana pressed on. "How much does he know? And… what has Ethan been up to?"